My four things this week – Blooms, “I’m farming”, little by little, and rainy day painting… what I’m reading I received the most beautiful book in the mail this week – French Country Cottage In Bloom, the latest book by Courtney Allison.  I’ve known Courtney for years, since my early days of blogging, and I’ve loved watching her bring her incredible styling and photography to books.  I own all of them and love looking through them, especially for ideas for styling flowers and tables.  She is brilliant at both, and that brilliance is undoubtedly on display in this book.     what I’m watching Clarkson’s Farm Season 4 is now available!  This is one of our favorite shows on TV.  It is funny, heartwarming, and a realistic look at the difficulties of making a living for local farmers.  I enjoy watching how earnestly Jeremy and Lisa work at farming and running

It’s graduation week, and now we have our first high school graduate!  Marshall is graduating from high school tomorrow, so Jeff’s parents have come up from Raleigh, my parents are driving over, and we’ll be celebrating this milestone.  In case you need a point of reference, this is the toddler who used to streak through my blog photos in diapers!  I love this stage of parenthood, though.  I love that he can now drive himself around, is earning his own money in a job he enjoys, and has such a wonderful sense of humor.  He’s also oddly good at calculus, and I have no idea where that came from!  It’s enjoyable watching him discover his gifts and fill the shoes of a young adult. Between family visiting and putting together a huge trifold board of photos for Marshall’s senior display, I did manage to put together this week’s four things.

After a misty, drizzly morning, the sun is finally shining after over two days of clouds and rain!  I won’t be getting out into the garden today because the easel and writing projects need my attention, but I’m looking forward to getting back into it this weekend. My four things for this week – A return to an author I enjoyed, a treasure hunt, the season of effort, and another annoying project day. what I’m reading I was a little sad when I reached the end of Van Gogh has a Broken Heart, so I was delighted to find the author had written another book about art history mingled with lessons of faith – Rembrandt is in the Wind. I started reading it earlier this week, and it’s just as enjoyable so far.  I’m trying to limit myself to a chapter a day, so I don’t fly through it too

I always forget how busy May is with Mother’s Day, end-of-the-year school events and projects, a birthday in our house, and I seem to end up scheduling too many maintenance appointments during an already busy month.  I keep reminding myself and the boys that the end of the school year is right around the corner, and we all need to focus on finishing well.  I am looking forward to a more relaxed summer schedule. Here are my four things for this week: An art history primer, big wave surfing, developing longing, and big garden jobs… what I’m reading I’m almost done with We Need Your Art, but I felt like taking a break from it today on my walk, and picked up listening to Artcurious by Jennifer Dasal.  I started it but got absorbed in another book, but after enjoying Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart so much, I wanted

Another week of reading, watching, discovering things I love,  and working.  It’s been a busy week, and I’ve admittedly been trying to cram too many things into each day, but that is how I usually operate! Here are my four things for the last few days of April – Getting an artistic talking to, motorbikes across the world, the joys of letting go, and doing work I’m well-suited for. what I’m reading I follow Amie McNee on Instagram, and she’s simultaneously my kind of person and not quite my kind of person.  She’s sometimes a little brash for my taste (I feel like she embraces this), but I like her overall message for creatives.  So, when I saw she came out with a new book, We Need Your Art, I decided to get the audiobook and listen to it.  The coarseness from her Instagram feed carries over into the book,

Is it just me, or has April flown by?  I have blinked, and we’re almost in May.  I’m looking forward to May, though.  While summer has never been my favorite season, I am excited about opening the pool and spending more time outside before it gets too hot.  I’m also loving the longer days. Here are my four things for this week: what art teaches us, a high-tech visit to the past, aging and taking risks, and bouncing from one thing to another. what I’m reading When I saw the title Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive, I knew it was my kind of book, and it is.  The book fits into an odd niche of art history mixed with some Biblical/faith-based teaching, but it all seems to flow.  I’ve realized over the years, as I’ve talked and written

It’s finally feeling more like Spring this week, and I’m getting the jolt of energy I often do that comes with sunshine, grass that’s greening up, and crisp air that calls me outside.  I did some work outside in the garden, but I’ve mostly been focusing my energy inside, organizing and purging while I’m motivated and willing to be ruthless.  I’m going to continue with that work for a few more days, while still spending some time outside to weed and tend.  I hope to get into some bigger outdoor projects in a week or two.  There’s planting, painting trim, power washing, mulching, and we’ll be opening the pool in a few weeks.  And, of course, I’ll still be chipping away at projects in the basement. It’s been a good week, though, with much to show for my efforts. So, here are my four things: birdwatching and record keeping collide,