Just a little something

It's very late and I desperately need to go to bed but I also desperately wanted to post SOMETHING, so.

The first two photos were taken in the "backyard" at the Governor's Mansion here in Jefferson City. The Mansion sits atop a hill overlooking the Missouri River and just up from the Capitol building itself. This neat garden is nestled below the house in a cut out from the bluff that the house sits on. The day that we were there (our first truly magnificent spring day) the tulips were gorgeous. Then I spotted the lilac bushes and rushed over. When the boys caught up with me I introduced them to the glorious scent of lilacs. They were not as impressed. They'll learn.

The last picture is just a simple shot of the corner of my bedroom. We had just opened our windows for the first time this Spring and I had finally removed the ridiculous looking, although incredibly warm, insulated foil sheeting (imagine bubble wrap that is sealed between two really large pieces of heavy duty foil) that we had lined our walls with in order to make our room habitable for the winter. It was originally purchased to help insulate the ceiling of our cellar but we had extra. Looking at it for the last four months reminded me of the pictures strewn throughout the book Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. The interior of every home in that book seemed to be constructed of only 2x4s and aluminum foil. I used to point and make fun of those hippies but who's laughing now?
Anyway... seeing the bare walls again, the curtain pulled back and the fresh air blowing in... well, I was just struck by the simplicity of it all. Mind you, the rest of the bedroom that is not included in this shot is a total disaster. That's why I spent a lot of time focusing on this corner.

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
-Laura Ingalls Wilder