several weeks ago i signed up for the pin it forward project sfgirlbybay started on her blog. a few days later i went to my mom’s house for a long visit and started pinning things as i sipped coffee at the feet of her giant computer.

i love having the little pin it button in my bookmarks bar. it’s faster than saving things to random design folders on my computer, and i like it that when pinning things you can remember where you found the photo in the first place. pinterest, i highly recommend it, especially as a great filing system for ideas.

the first pin it forward is on the theme of what home means to me. since i’m a list maker, i’m writing mine as a list. and i’m also only posting my own photos here. but the other contributors today are spinning theirs as they like. you can check them out for yourself : artyowza, pretty and yummy, fringe, good good, shutterbean, that wondrous time, approprie, 3cf, and type a girl are the other pinners today.

you can see my twenty seven pins on home here. you can see my entire paltry collection of pins here. you can request an invitation to participate in pinterest here or ask me for an invite. i’ve got nine left after all.

home, to me

people i love the most

dog i love the most

creative messes

coffee all day

lived-in bed

food

an always-in-use kitchen

fiestaware in many colors

always looking for somebody’s shoes

always looking for my glasses

Jesus and faith

art by friends

garlands and mobiles under construction

music and music making

books everywhere

thrifted or inherited things that are old

kids in costume

windows

trees

cameras of all kinds

games, all sorts

this is a pic from a birthday party i went to this week. more pics, including delicious food pics, here.

*birthday possibilities* (in a little less than one month)

an sx-70, maybe the tidy and compact kind, and packs of the pricey film so that i’m ready and raring to go

wordy cookie cutters

books on this list (many little wishes)

horse hook or boot hook for hanging something or other

saltwater sandals in that original deep ocean navy blue

*birthday sureties*

a long date with ernie and indian food that i didn’t make

red velvet cupcakes

handmade cards

bike tires pumped and ready to spin

things you could be doing

watching this good short film, a moment is (via hulaseventy). you could watch it a couple of times and then you could have ice cream, or make ice cream.

pinning stuff on pinterest. it’s a good little scrapbook of amazements on there.

spend a dollar on saving up some memories (via enhabiten). my mind is a little blown by this. what a supreme idea.

read the reverend’s blog. i’ve told you to do this before, will i need to say it again? it’s thoughtful and real and not a long and exhausting and preachy thing.

look at these pics of the impossibly cool people in the world and feel a little bad about how uncool you yourself really are.

if you’re the tattoo getting kind, maybe get some of these little tattoos.

also:

make lemonade with real lemons.

find someone with a swimming pool and take them cookies so that you can float the afternoon away.

cook some thai food and eat it for two days.

find some swings and swing high.

go to the bookstore and read all of those overpriced kids picture books to the kids until they can’t take it anymore. get coffee after the not taking it anymore part.

use sparklers for any old reason, any old reason at all.

celebratory

jars with lids that fit properly

houseplants that survive even when ignored and abused

books all over the place

drawings of rabbits

bracelets

napping dogs

pennants and glittering fringy garland at car dealerships

craigslist

peace and quiet

noise that is not coming from tantrums or fighting

clever children, and having three of them

writing lists in pencil (surely i’ve listed this before)

clean sheets

windmills

heaps of cucumbers

turning off the tv

roadside trucks heavy with garden produce for sale for next to nothing

snapping my gum as loud as i can

little rolls of paper

things to do with my mother when i visit her in a week

hug

chase coffee with unsweetened iced tea

go to the blue castle antique shop, and other reasonable facsimiles thereof

sit on the deck in the early morning summer-camp air

chit chat

buy flowers to plant

make her new kitten like me best

force her to stop (or at least drive by) every yard sale in the newspaper every saturday i am there

sew something. thank her for using the seam ripper for me.

watch anne of green gables while sewing

ask her to read off, one more time, the movie choices in the drawer

sit in the kitchen and talk to her while she cooks

make donut muffins

take a long drive in the country

like, lots of times

morning

wind in new leafy trees

clean kitchens

emptying out the garage

no black widow sightings in the garage

plans

the beach

plans for the beach

late talks

first coffee

second, third coffees

lamp light

moonlight, star light, owl and moth light

sleeping kids, their faces and long legs especially

kids with lemonade stands

blackbird morning chatter

doodling

strawberries in a pot

pomegranates blossoming

messy, viney things

slow, quiet sundays

bright watercolor splatters on the floor

time lapse cinematography, even when it’s only for reality tv shows

why no, i’ve not dusted any windowsills for a very long time.

things to do

the work of the garden. it’s quite an undertaking, folks, and i’m barely doing any of it.

running all the time. the “light housework only for awhile” mandate they gave to me after lola’s birth has sadly long expired.

make more lists.

determine which of the bearded people i know are trustworthy.

take more polaroids. the first one since childhood popped out of the camera and it’s over, a habit more expensive than cigarettes.

read the reverend’s blog.

take the mountain of ruthless spring cleaning cast offs to goodwill before it’s been so long that i reconsider.

eat as many meals as possible outside.

sew something, lots of somethings.

seriously consider buying know it all pencils.

forget about pencils and pay the dentist all pinched pennies on thursday.

make a cardboard house with kids instead of doing dishes

daily things

wind, even a little bit

bad messes in many, many places

worrying a bit about this, that

mathematics

making food

coffee, several times over

cat clawing at the kitchen window screen

being wary of spiders

everyone in the house in the same bed for at least a few minutes before morning

bouts of laughter

doling of snacks

bickering and bellowing

feeble explanations about Jesus and goodness and grace

considering the little wrinkles that stay around my eyes even though i’m done smiling

card tricks done by boys

card games played by boys

lola’s songs sung in minor thirds only

checking for seedlings

thinking about new things to make

wishing for time

opening of windows, closing of windows

things that are not grumpy

donut muffins (please, do, make these today. best muffin ever, i’m telling you.)

new fine tip markers, for the kids, to feel all new and prolific about

dogwoods, all bride-like in the yards of everyone

buying something from enhabiten

henry’s lego yellow submarine

clean sheets all around, smooth for a time

really cold air in the morning windows

silvery fence around the garden

spying on the seed pots and wishing they’d hurry it up

wishing for weck canning jars, even though i’ve never canned a thing, though pickles & salsa are coming to mind (surely i could do these?)

a long vacation, coming soon

spring things, forgotten

finding an open window in the morning, cold air walking in, birds at full volume

the sun, friendly, all afternoon

spring beauties

walks before dark, max and me, the fenced dogs jealous of him, someone grilling dinner

rain you can hear all around and not only overhead

earthworms in dirty hands

morning grass

forgetting a sweater

forsythia in every yard, on every corner

robins in the rain, saucy fellows

daylight stretched long on the floor after the house is quiet, the dishes done