a mid-summer nights dream

for days now i've been wondering, "what on earth can I possibly blog about?" right now i'm in the doldrums of lazy summer, do-nothing days. yet when I stand back and look at the passing weeks, there are little, simple things sprinkled here and there that add color, happiness to each day. 

as i said in my facebook status yesterday: 

colorful, flowery sundress. check. shades from disneyland. check. beautiful (humid) july afternoon. check. loving family. check. blessed? CHECK. (even in the earthly things. the Lord is always good!)

dream

sewing a civil war ball gown - big and beautiful, swish-y hoop skirt . . .layers of  shimmering fabric. Then the ball itself; dashing blue Yankee soldiers, grey-coated rebels; dancing under a blanket of starry sky.

my fabric. isn't this just delicious?  - i could eat it. the shiniest, satiny-est, pinkish pink ever. i'm in love. 

mid-summer reality   

rushing with my mom to jo-anne fabric an hour before closing. . .paging through pattern books in search of the perfect gown. viola! simplicity never fails. the question is, will i? a visit to a quaint living history museum. . . news of  a civil war ball, a reenactment.  i love to sew, dance, history. why not take a gamble? now i'm staring at a pile of creamy, rosy-pink fabric, wondering just what i got myself into. boning. . .honestly? o.O

dream

living in the country, acres and acres of open land; a little house with an old-fashioned swing in the front yard. all within practical distance of shopping and charming charlie, of course. . . i am seriously a country girl at heart. my families half acre doesn't leave much room for imagination - of running barefoot through fields, and most importantly, raising ducklings. this is very important of course. ducks are a passion of mine. i just love them. . .and to be perfectly honest, i've become somewhat of a professional-duck photographer. :nods:

"all God's creatures got a place in the choir, some sing low, some sing higher - some sing out loud on the telephone wire, some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got . . ."

mid-summer reality

sitting in front of a computer screen, smiling fondly at the thought of watching the sun go down over a lake. there is nothing more relaxing then lolling on a dock, watching boaters, laughing at the antics of fellow "there's nothing to do tonight, lets sit at the pond," families, and oohing-and-ahhing over all the ducks.

then there's the crab-apple trees, hemmed in by a fence and overlooking fields of nothing. pretend the tourists aren't there; here in this corner its easy to forget them. here, sitting on top of the world - aka a fence post, i can reach the branches, feel the breezes cooling my neck. ohhh. . .i could have lived in that moment forever.

dream

getting a music degree. . .teaching piano out of the home. ten long years have passed since my first desire to own a new piano; still i struggle along on my 100 year old upright - my baby. but she's ready to retire. i'm not.

mid-summer reality

just back from hobby lobby, a new pile of fabric to stare at. . .listening to my all-time favorite tenor, andrea bocelli. in september the annual event my family and i host for home school graduates, the ohio summer rendezvous, will arrive, bringing with it yet another ball (masquerade! see why i need a new gown?) old and new faces, and countless memories. i can hardly wait. while most of the work is computer-related, planning has kept me BUSY. right now i'm playing 'my heart will go on' over, and over, and over. . .driving my family crazy, and enjoying myself thoroughly.  it has to sound perfect, not to mention memorized, for the OSR talent show.  and who knows - perhaps, Lord willing, the free piano i'm looking into will actually be the one . . .

special alert, side-noted reality*~ 

the cupcake shop on our square. how cute can something get? just a tiny store front stand, filled with nothing but cupcakes, in every flavor imaginable. it is such fun, ordering a fattening, bad-for-you cupcake, and sitting at the victorian gazebo, people watching and whatnot.*~

(photography: barn, picture of moi, taken by Anna; fabric, ducks, taken by yours truly)