Sunshine On Cloudy Days

Benjamin as Will Scarlet with Robinhood

Little Joe

Annie, the Great Lamb Stalker

Here's a smallish update for those wondering where we went. We've spent the past few oh-so-cloudy months seeking sunshine in visits with family, finishing up the school year (we still have a couple of weeks left), and preparing the garden for the summer months. My sister Jessica had her third baby boy (I was blessed to witness the big event), we had a lovely visit with Nonna and Papa (maybe lovelier for us since we sadly sent them home with our colds), and a memorable babysitting stint for a two-day-old lamb named Joe. We also spent hours (and hours) reading some wonderful new-to-us books. Our recent favorite: The White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (a beautiful, beautiful book). We have much to look forward to in the coming months, including a quick trip to Portland (and a morning at Powell's City of Books) and Jeff's first 100-mile run of the season (Big Horn 100 in Wyoming) — complete with a week of camping and travel. So you see, there's sunshine even on the cloudiest of days. And snap peas, strawberries and sun-warmed faces are right around the corner. I'm sure of it. ♥

Cheerfulness Taught By Reason

In this fair world of God's. Had we no hope
Indeed beyond the zenith and the slope
Of yon gray blank of sky, we might grow faint
To muse upon eternity's constraint
Round our aspirant souls; but since the scope
Must widen early, is it well to droop,
For a few days consumed in loss and taint?
O pusillanimous Heart, be comforted
And, like a cheerful traveller, take the road
Singing beside the hedge. What if the bread
Be bitter in thine inn, and thou unshod
To meet the flints? At least it may be said
"Because the way is short, I thank thee, God."

Elizabeth Barrett Browning