the ritual of morning. it shifts with the seasons. but there are only a few versions. we still are being drawn by the summer light, the summer routine. edgar and i pulled off to the lake to wander and see other morning walkers. bare feet pushed into flip flops. planning the day. organizing all the challenges and responsibilities that will face me. i enjoy the sun and the water and the ducks and the neighbors and edgar's rhythm as he saunters beside me. he loves to splash through puddles, cooling his feet. and then we're home. making coffee and toast. filling bowls for edgar. for the cats. noticing that i should vacuum or straighten, but heading to the studio instead. all the little moments that prepare me for the day.

early summer mornings when the light is fresh and the air is clear. the scents are bright. early, when the day is young. the house is quiet. my hair is still matted and i'm sipping fresh coffee. eggs are poaching with lovely grey sea salt and balsamic vinegar tossed in the water. more coffee. and pesto on my eggs, a cup of yogurt and the cats rubbing against my legs. soon i'll fetch the load of laundry that washed while we slept last night and hang it in the sun. i'll admire it a few minutes and then get edgar out to the lake. i'm into it now, my morning has drifted into a day. and i suspect my matted hair will stay curly and crazy until the heat forces me in for a shower hours from now.

it felt like a morning to tour around neighborhoods with coffee in hand looking for tables and lawns laden with stuff people no longer wanted. i left the house around 8.30.....tom and edgar both sleeping soundly. i emptied tom's wallet before leaving. exhilaration and expectation taking over. i love the feeling of the streets on weekend mornings. weekends and holidays have a distinctly different openended and timeless feeling to them. so i drove to different neighborhoods. i gave a donation to a sale that was raising money for an animal charity (there was nothing i wanted to buy). i may have found our next house...a private estate sale in a nice neighborhood. i bought a first edition hardcover of 'ahab's wife' for 75 cents (it saddens me that there is no longer a sign for 'cent', just the $ one). and that leads me to the great finds of the day. a fabulous 50 year old underwood typewriter, complete with plastic dustcover and several boxes of replacement ribbons for $10. (there will be a 'cent' sign on that) and at the same sale of the grandparents belongings this perfect pair of purple suede maryjane's in the original box. they were too tiny and delicate for me, but perfect for krista's dainty little feet. a lovely morning!

after finishing clearing out the house yesterday, we went for a drive and got caught in a crazy tornado-esque storm. thankfully it was just a storm, but the winds were mighty and the sky was a raging purple-y black with branches and dirt being whipped across the roads. but before the storm we saw this house sitting meekly above the road. i had to go back to get the photo. so simple and peaceful and unassuming in it's loveliness.
and this morning the porch swing is damp from the stormy night. but the light is fresh and the air is clean. there are 5 or 6 squirrels chasing and playing in the crabapple tree. one of them is our golden squirrel. years ago there was a family of blond squirrels in one section of the park not far from our house. but we hadn't seen them for several years. and now we have our own in our yard. she watches me while i sew from the tree that stands by the porch. yesterday she sat in the dining room window while i talked to my parents on the phone. our own golden squirrel. krista tells me they are good luck!

and just as i'd posted this she decided to play out in the open, so i grabbed my camera, and here she is. i think i want to name her greta.

the endless days of june are sweet this week. this morning i was awake at 4.30 when the sky was becoming silver with the very earliest start of dawn. stress has been tickling me awake too early the last couple of nights. i stare at the computer looking for houses and making plans until the black at the windows turns gray. and by 6.oo the sun is strong, the day is in full swing. i'm slow. my eyes sting for a good part of the morning. but i walk edgar around the harbor and feel so fortunate to feel summer on my skin. i love the early hours of sunlight with a cool morning dampness still close to the ground. the stress i rarely feel has been real this week, but the long hours of light finds a way to loosen it some. i cut fabric and sew with windows opened fully on to the street, with strong light and loud music and rediscover what i do and why i do it.

sunday morning in silence. although there were bells about an hour ago. it may be that it's easter, but there are so often bells, maybe it's every sunday. i have a little fire going to chase the chill from the air. i'm drinking my tea cooled with milk and sweetened with a touch of sugar. the orchid that my parents placed in my care while they are gone has burst one of it's buds into a flower. the sun seems to be around today so i'll hang laundry on the line. and i have boiled my biggest mason jar in preparation for spring and the gallons of iced tea it's about to hold. edgar is waiting for his breakfast, but in a leisurely sunday way rather than the eager lets get going weekly way. i'll get him his food. it's been a wonderful morning.

i love mornings. usually edgar gets me up pretty early and i have a lovely chunk of quiet time before the house starts humming with the day. the quiet time mostly consists of the computer and breakfast. sometimes coffee. sometimes tea. sometimes orange juice. i've been known to have all three. this morning i had dessert after my cereal.....a couple girl guide cookies. i know i know....we don't usually have overt junk food in the house, but naomi is selling them for brownies. and they are so delicious!!!
but then the kitchen pulls me into it's vortex....feeding edgar and the cats. putting away the clean dishes that washed overnight. sweeping the floor. listening to cbc. there is a kitchen energy that exists when the house is working the way i like it. the work of the kitchen feels cheerful and bright when the energy is right. chores without the heaviness of obligation. and that's the way i'm finding it these days.
i must force myself off to run mundane errands.

the early morning cups me in it's warm dark hands. when edgar wakes me and drags me out of bed before i naturally would, i have an hour of groggy lazy morning time. the furnace is running with a constant hum clearing the chill of night and replacing it with a warmer house. i have a fire on as well and the cats are curled in front of it, arranged around edgar who, ironically is fast asleep again. i am sprawled on the couch with a laptop propped across my legs desperately wanting to use this hour to it's fullest. it's a good hour. the house is quiet and clean, but the most i can do is get a glass of water and stare at the computer. my eyes sting from waking just a little too early and there is a kink in my neck that will hopefully stretch out over the course of the day.

it's a velvety time watching the sky grow smoky as it lightens and turns from night. and that is all i really need to do....watch the morning arrive and awaken with the day.

it's been a wonderful morning. curled up with a cup of tea and lemon yogurt, reading proust. watching the sky fill with light, filtered through the half naked trees. floyd licking the yogurt bowl clean, but getting his extra long white whiskers covered with yogurt and watching him figure out how to clean himself. it's a little magical that an extra hour has simply materialized in my day. tom is still sleeping. i'd like to be vacuuming, to get that chore done for the day. but i'm trying to stay quiet so he'll get an extra hour of sleep. i emptied the dishwasher from last night and found enough pots and pans and bowls to fill it up again. so, dishwasher music is coming from the kitchen. edgar is galloping around the yard, pounding across the porch and into the leaf covered lawns with a little more energy than usual.

i'm putting on the kettle for one more cup of tea and a few more pages of proust until tom is awake. then i'll vacuum and fill my bath and later, spend the afternoon watching football and building quilts.