August, just around the corner
Posted on | July 19, 2010 | 24 Comments
Summer is galloping by. Full tilt. Allready the shadows are longer as we head outdoors after dinner, the four of us. The boys head to the sandbox. T and I grab our new rackets and giggle as we attempt volley after volley in the fading summer light. Around our heads halos of insects swarm; the air is mellow and smells of the honeysuckle and roses by the front door.
In the garden things are suddenly ready for harvest: arugula every single day, spinach, basil, chives, lettuce. I walk down barefoot, often followed by one or the other boy to harvest a colander full before lunch. The best salads begin with a simple vinaigrette, chopped fresh herbs, every green imaginable, and then whatever we have around to throw in: grilled trout, quinoa, carrot curlicues, tomatoes. I will remember this summer as the summer of fantastic salads.
And of changes.
Wild crazy wonderful changes.
Your comments on my last post really filled me up. I want you to know that. Each one brought new perspective, encouragement, thoughtfulness.
I especially loved this from V Grrrl, because it reaffirmed exactly what I believe:
I think a healthy family is one where everyone’s needs are balanced against each others, where family members recognize that everyone works together for the family as a whole, and that sacrifice and compromise are part of that process.
T and I and our boys all made a promise to each other about this upcoming year. It’s going to be an all hands on deck kind of year, and all four of us are in. We’re all going to try our hardest to do it the first time, follow through, pick up the slack, pick up the messes as we make them, remember to take walks, exercise, eat chocolate, laugh.
It’s going to be such an adventure. I can’t wait.
T and I have basically become adults together. We met when he was just turning 21, and in the decade that I’ve known him he’s either been a student or working in the stock market and I cannot even begin to describe the relief and disorientation I feel at imagining him doing work that matters in the world; work that he loves; work for a salary. It will be a learning curve for us both to discover ourselves anew in these new roles. I imagine it will be all about patience and patience and patience. Also humor. And chocolate.
For the next month I’m working my way through the manuscript for A Field Guide To Now. It’s exciting to finally be in it. Things are coming together. Art, words, ideas. I’m excited by the direction and beginning to trust the process now that I’ve had a few days strung together of consistent project time. (That last photo is a sneak peak at a piece of art that will go into a postcard.)
I’m curious:
What are your plans for August?
What food are you crushing on right now?
What tunes are you loving?
Also: If you could hear just one thing that you need to hear right now, what would it be?
xoxo!
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24 Responses to “August, just around the corner”
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I am Christina Rosalie
Hello. I'm so happy you've stopped by!
I am a multimedia storyteller, digital strategist, idea starter, stalker of wonder, finder of four leaf clovers, MFA graduate student, and mama of boys. My first book,
will be published by SKIRT! Books in September, 2012.
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July 20th, 2010 @ 12:00 am
that is how mr curry and i are…we met at 19 and have grown up together. it’s an amazing thing.
July 20th, 2010 @ 12:05 am
Thinking about your questions….
*vacation to a magical place, lots of swimming and cooking, getting ready for back to school and work
*hummus and toasted flatbread pita, peaches, mango ceylon ice tea
*recycling through all my favorites on my ipod (yo gabba gabba for my kids)
*I would need to hear, “relax, and be in the moment”
July 20th, 2010 @ 12:25 am
“It is alright, you are doing fine, and you will find your feet. It looks difficult, and is, but you will come through.”
July 20th, 2010 @ 12:58 am
I love that phrase: All hands on deck! I may just steal that, because my kids are in for a big change this fall too. Having a working mommy will be different than a mommy who is home all the time. I am probably just as apprehensive as they are. I don’t know what to expect either. And the whole “August is right around the corner” thing? Makes me nauseous. I am under the belief that July will last forever, or at least until I get my work done!
July 20th, 2010 @ 5:29 am
Finally I looked up arugula in the dictionary and found what we call it here: rocket. Ok, now all these mentions of arugula on various blogs make more sense! I had wonderful rocket in my garden too, well until it went crazy and ran to seed.
My plans for August? Well they start with a trip to Jersey (Channel Islands), attending a friend’s wedding and sitting on the beach. And I think that’s a pretty good way to start the month.
July 20th, 2010 @ 7:51 am
Being that I just started a new job my only plans for August is…working. ugh. I would love, love, love to get away right now…
Let’s just say it’d never be words spoken so life goes on without it. And that’s okay…
Food I’m craving? Anything healthy. I NEED to get back to making eating healthy a priority. This seems to fall by the wayside as soon as there’s anything going on (like a new job) above and beyond the normal life stuff.
Music? I can listen to Dave Mathews Band “Some Devil” and never get sick of it.
As for what I need to hear right now? Wow, I won’t even go THERE.
July 20th, 2010 @ 9:01 am
Sarah: rocket is a WAY more awesome name for it! Seriously. Arugula vs. Rocket? Rocket wins hands down.
July 20th, 2010 @ 9:02 am
completing a book of parables
fresh peaches
stuck on Mobi, for some reason
July 20th, 2010 @ 9:29 am
My plans are to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible and to run a 5K by the middle/end of the month!
I’m addicted to cherries right now (and chocolate-covered pretzels!) along with Paramore’s “All I Wanted”…which is kind of a sad break-up song, but I love the vocal/emotional intensity.
July 20th, 2010 @ 10:51 am
“its going to happen, all the dreams, they will become real” and “Your life will be okay”
July 20th, 2010 @ 12:55 pm
Plans for August: Insane amounts of travel — to NYC for BlogHer ’10, to Des Moines and Iowa City and Cedar Rapids for a serendipitous and weird trip that I won that will allow me to see old friends and new babies, and then, at the end of the month, to Black Rock City for a week of dancing in the desert. In the middle of all that, there’ll be a wedding, and a lot of work, and a lot of prep for each trip. It’s all going to be insanely hectic, and I’m breathless just thinking about it.
Food I’m Crushing On: Nachos. The homemade kind. But I need to stop crushing so hard on those. I’m about to start the heavy tomato rotation, and it’s beyond time for that.
Tunes I’m Loving: “Swim Until You Can’t See Land” by Frightened Rabbit. I stumbled across it by way of the KEXP Song of the Day podcast, and I have been obsessed with it since late last week. Can’t get enough of it, and am loving the whole album, plus the one before it. I love developing new band crushes.
If I could hear just one thing that I need to hear right now, it would be this: “What needs to get done will get done, and you will be able to find space between the busy-ness of August.”
P.S. Sarah, I call arugula rocket even though I’m in the U.S. — it is my favorite name for a green EVER.
July 20th, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Oh…and meant to include the link to the video for the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzjERZU3wbY
Happy nearly August!
July 20th, 2010 @ 1:57 pm
Hmm…It’s still firmly mid-summer here and I hope it stays that way for a good long Vitamin-D-soaking up time. Sweden in summer, when it’s SUNNY, can’t be beat.
Love the All Hands on Deck – so much goodness going on for you right now! Anders will be gone for 3 weeks in August/early Sept so I am probably going to be in batshit single-parent mode. Can you believe the calendar is already filling up??
Crushing on: Malcolm Gladwell, salads with leaf lettuce and Green Goddess, getting walking again. Katie Melua: Happy Place!
I need to hear: I love you. Every day. More than once.
July 20th, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
August: Find and begin moving into a house/apartment! Work on papers to send out for publication. Travel to Atlanta for a conference.
Food: The most amazing box of juicy, sweet nectarines. And raspberries (always). And tomato diced up and piled on fresh bread with olive oil, salt, and maybe herbs.
Tunes: The National’s new album has been getting a looot of play lately.
And I need to hear that I will have a home, and a family, and a job I love. That I will finish my degree in 2 years or less.
July 21st, 2010 @ 10:01 am
I am taking 3 weeks of holidays in August. And I can hardly wait. I love my job but, I love taking a break too.
Summer food – pretty much anything that can be eaten fresh – we are consuming lots of raspberries and blueberries right now.
And I need to hear the refrain by Bob Marley ‘don’t worry,…everything is goin’ be alright”
July 21st, 2010 @ 10:06 am
For August, I’m getting back in to early morning workouts twice a week with a trainer and a group of friends. Also starting back up sessions with my spanish tutor. Looking forward to soaking up summer to the fullest – the county fair, kayaking, outdoor concerts, and the little things like salty drips of sweat and ripples of heat on asphalt and clinking cracking ice cubes awaiting lemonade and firefly (sweet tea) vodka. These are things I need to store up for the winter when I get cabin fever.
I am loving zucchini this year. I’ve been sauteeing it with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice and serving with quinoa. Made these zucchini & goat cheese quesadillas last night and adored them. easy and delicious. http://thekitchensinkrecipes.com/2008/07/15/main-ingredient-summer/
Music … “Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons. “Life is Strange” by Donna the Buffalo. “Tall Building” covered by Jamie Hartford/Nanci Griffith. “Wiyathul” by Gurrumul. Also ridiculously eager to get Ray LaMontagne’s new albmum that comes out next month.
What I need to hear… that i’m doing a good job… at life and that i’m loved. and that i’d be loved even if i wasn’t doing a good job.
July 21st, 2010 @ 11:36 am
Glad you found encouragement in my comment. I’ve been with my husband since I was 17, we had a long distance relationship for two years, a commuter marriage when I moved into a university residence halls so I finish my degree, and we have managed two international moves and lived as expats. 2008 was a really rough year for us and for my kids but we came out on the other side as a better family, so I speak from experience!
August: My first road trip in years, accompanied by my almost 15 year-old-son. Will visit a friend I’ve known since I was 12. My daughter goes to Nature Camp. My son to fencing camp. College visits.
Tunes I’m loving: The Court Yard Hounds CD, and Lyle Lovett’s CD Step Into This House and everything by Counting Crows.
July 21st, 2010 @ 11:54 am
* Developing a routine that meets my newborns needs, but also mine.
* Watermelon; its perfectly in season here in Florida, and I can’t get enough.
*everything by Jack Johnson – lively enough for Mama, but baby loves it and sleeps to it.
Right now, what I need isn’t so much about words but silent communication. I wonder if my husband knows how much it means that he still reaches out for me, even with the lovely distraction of a new baby to admire?
July 21st, 2010 @ 2:50 pm
August: be present and enjoy these last few months with my 5yo son being my “only,” while also taking it easy as I enter my last trimester
When not doing the above: exploring botany; honing my drawing skills; creating a ultra-fun website for my web dev. portfolio.
music: 17th century lute
food: home baked wheat cheese crackers
July 21st, 2010 @ 11:10 pm
August is the last month of winter for us so i’m really looking forward to increasing sunshine and seeing cherry blossoms bloom!
In terms of food, i have had toast with nutella 3 days in a row now. It’s the baby! But one thing i’ve loved throughout the entire pregnancy is strawberries. So good.
As for music, i have been enjoying lighting some candles at night and putting the symphony on. I also just heard Martina McBride’s ‘In my daughter’s eyes’ and love it so much.
What i need to hear right now: “Everything will work out.”
July 22nd, 2010 @ 9:25 am
WAIT, Genvieve, whaaat? The baby? EEEP! Congratulations! I’m thrilled for you. (Haven’t checked your woven + spun blog for a while…Have to admit I miss you updating more!)
July 24th, 2010 @ 12:16 am
Plans for August~ plan an anniversary getaway for my husband and I- three years on Sept. 1st… Work, hard… Play hard…
Totally crushing on fresh fruit, and homemade muffins made with fresh blueberries.
Loving the Beatles, Lisa Hannigan and Jack Johnson lately.
I need to hear that all the work I am pouring into my business will pay off.
July 26th, 2010 @ 3:36 pm
August: starting homeschool with my girls.
hitting the beach for the day.
getting together with friends.
foods I love right now: salads w/ grains
& veggies, chicken.
tunes I am loving: can’t think of anything specific. mostly it’s songs from annie my girls have been playing lately, them singing!
Something I need to hear: that this is all worth it….
tara
November 5th, 2010 @ 4:15 am
[...] The pact my husband and I made to be all hands on deck this year. He’s been pretty fabulous about coming home and throwing himself into helping to get dinner on [...]