I could barely believe the beauty of Manhattan Beach. Lemon trees and succulents in nearly every front yard, warm and fragrant breezes, my feet in soft sand after a painfully long winter. I’d never before attended a wedding held outside in the rain, but now I can heartily recommend it: huge smiles peeking out from under dripping raincoat hoods and umbrellas, steam rising from the pavement, the sound of water all around. ...

Lately I’ve wanted to be more creative in the physical realm versus digital. Over the past few months I have made a tangible shift in habits and possessions at home, unloading the unnecessary to make room for the analog. I started an analog notebook. It’s a fuchsia Moleskine notebook, and I am filling it with pressed flowers, photos taken on instant film, and my words. I have a homely, stately little Smith-Corona typewriter now, purchased from a nice woman who had owned it since high school in the 60’s, and I incorporate its use into my analog journaling. My daughter was so taken with my typewriter that we bought its fraternal twin just a few weeks later. She uses it to write her biology homework, of all things. It can get pretty loud in our house when we’re both typing away. ...

Surgery would never be my first choice to treat any dysfunction. But sometimes our bodies need raw, physical intervention to function properly, and are opened, and our insides are rearranged by skilled doctors with the best of intentions. As I write this, a loved one of mine is snuggled up in his bed, recovering from his second surgery in three months. Nothing life-threatening, but surgery nonetheless. His recovery will include several days spent in bed, followed by several weeks of crutches and physical therapy. I’m by no means an expert on natural healing (really I have so much to learn) but I believe in the power of preventative care, am learning more and more about nutrition as medicine, and am wide open to ancient and naturopathic healing wisdom. I thought it might be worth sharing about how I prepare our home for convalescence, and the natural remedies I use to encourage rest and healing. ...

We take the Metro to the National Mall to watch the Arsenal of Democracy World War II Victory Capitol Flyover. We walk to the western slope of the Washington Monument grounds and stake our claim. A black dog sits nearby and pants in the bright sun. We eat our simple picnic lunch on a blue plaid blanket in a dense forest of legs, lawn chairs and tripods. My girl passes the strawberries around, one eye on the sky. ...

The tender friendships one gives up, on parting, leave their bite on the heart, but also a curious feeling of a treasure somewhere buried. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Southern Mail, 1929, translated from French by Curtis Cate The truest, most loving friends in the world helped us pack our truck and clean our house on a Friday night. Kids raced around, got underfoot and played hot potato. Crazy Phil discovered some 20 year-old homemade pickles in my basement. Despite the corroded lids, despite the fact that the pickles were floating around in a murky, green water filled with unidentifiable objects of plant origin, he ate them. Then he passed them around. Video of that disgusting event here. There was pizza and a little drinking and my girlfriends washed my bathrooms, packed my food, washed my fridges, and slipped care packages of new toys and goodies into the truck for us to discover on our arrival. Their acts of kindness that night filled my heart to overflowing. ...

I’m reusing last year’s bamboo tomato teepees (assembled and installed Martha-style last spring) to support my tomato plants. Bamboo supports are natural and biodegradable, cheap, and a lot nicer in appearance (in my opinion) than metal cages. This year I added jute twine to provide side support for the plants as they grow in the center of each teepee, something that Martha’s gardener did not really discuss but something that I definitely could have used last summer. I tied one end of the jute to the first pole, wrapped the twine around the second and third poles, then returned to the first pole and tied it off. I added enough layers of these “triangles” to hopefully let me weave the growing plants in and out for support. ...

Every Monday afternoon I spend time in Old Town Manassas while my girl studies with her violin teacher. Sometimes I do a bit of studying of my own, sometimes I window shop on side streets, but most of the time I visit this cafe.

The first friend I ever had, someone who came into my life when I was just three years old, sent me these two photos taken on our first day of kindergarten. I cannot get enough of the Donnie and Marie? Luke and Leia? lunch box I am carrying, or the crazy 70’s get ups, or her blond pigtails, and can you believe the adorable red flower I am holding for my teacher? We were so little and sweet, and had no idea that bus steps were supposed to be taken single file. We were innocents, pure in intention, ready to love and be loved, a universe of possibility in tiny packages.

I receive an email from my landlord. Our lease here will be renewed for one final year. Two hours later, I plant the first seeds of spring in newspaper pots and set them under the grow light to germinate. I’m so far behind, but I couldn’t bear to start seeds this year, not with a household move looming. But now, this unexpected change of plans. I think I can catch up. ...

I sewed a Japanese-style cross-back apron out of Baltic linen for a very beautiful and dear friend of mine. I was in such a hurry to ship it off to her that I didn’t bother to take any photos, but she’s graciously allowing me to post her pics here. I used the instructions found here to piece it together in just a couple of hours. Then I slipped a quilted heart into the oversized pocket for extra love.