If I Had a Hammer

Yesterday Seth built another frame for a raised planting bed for the garden, and Myles woke up from his nap and watched from his bedroom window. He was intensely interested in what his papi was up to out there with all the banging. I explained to him that, like Bob the Builder, papi was building something out of wood, and that he was using a hammer. "Hammer" became the new word of the day, and this afternoon he went into our storage space under the house, found the hammer, and promptly went to work on the planting beds with quite a bit of banging (which occasionally produced an "ouch!"). He was actually really good with the hammer...he was able to squarely hit (repeatedly) the skinny side of a 2 X 10. It was all very impressive.

We had an excellent weekend in which I pondered aloud, over and over, why we would ever want to live anywhere but Asheville. Friday night we went to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and beer. Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market, which Myles now calls the "market," and bought some asparagus to test Barbara Kingsolver's theory that store-bought asparagus doesn't hold a candle to fresh, seasonal stuff straight from the ground. (Her theory held true, it was the best asparagus we'd ever had, and pretty too with some purple woven into the green). We also tried out some spinach gnocchi from a family that sells handmade pasta at the market. It was pretty incredible (and probably the most greens Myles will eat all week). Seth is interested in trying their shrimp ravioli (can you say expensive?) next. I also went for the chocolate cherry brownie that tempted me the week before. I dig the baked goods at the market!

I confess that we've been doing the whole "eat your dinner and you can have dessert" routine. I know, I know, you're not supposed to use food as a reward, and you're not supposed to use a reward to get kids to eat their food...but you know what? It works. And if the dessert keeps those sweet cheeks around a little longer, I'm a happier mama.

We did a little more planting, some bean seeds, more basil, the elder-berry bush that's been sad ever since we planted it (Seth thinks it will make a comeback). We heard on the radio that we should be pinching the blooms off of our blueberry bushes so they have a big yield next year, so we're learning.

Sunday night my friend Cindy offered this incredible yoga-to-relieve-stress class for FREE! We got lavender-rose water at the start (lavender is soothing, Myles is still into putting lavender oil on his feet after the bath) and chocolate at the finish. It was a wonderful class...I really need yoga to balance out my week, after having a toddler hanging on me, it's really a treat to just breathe deeply, stretch fully, and do something kind for my body. Cindy's a therapist who knows a lot about how to use body movements, art, and creativity to get rid of stress and work through hard stuff. I'm excited to start referring folks to her, as I do get asked for referrals as a minister.

Seth's folks and his brother Jon will be coming on Friday for the weekend...we can't wait! Myles will have a blast and it's the perfect time of the year to visit Asheville. We'll keep you posted. Have a beautiful week!