The Tender Things of Life.

Remember how I told you I had baby chicks coming?

Sweet little yellow chick peeking through!

Sylvie (hen on the left) went broody first. I had 7 eggs under her. Later her sister, Lady Grey (hen on the right) joined her in sympathetic broodiness. Those two fluffy mamas fill up a nesting box!

Of the seven eggs, I got four chicks. A fifth one died, and two of the eggs were not fertilized, and I threw them out at last.
I have one yellow, one brown, and two black chicks, although their color will likely change a lot over time.

Today I helped Anna alter her wedding dress. It was too long by about 6 inches. She'd already hemmed the main skirt bottom, but I helped with the organza overlay. I ran two thin hand-stitched seams up from the bottom lace elements, and pulled it taut to make a shirring, thus raising the lacy hem. It only needed raising on the front.

In the kitchen, Adam was baking Wedding Cake Tester #3. Anna was quite excited by this.
Then she and I watched the Julia Child episode where this cake is presented in 1996.  It's Martha Stewart's recipe. Anna saw it as a little girl and asked her daddy for it, for her wedding. And he's keeping his long-ago promise.

If you want to watch the episode, here it is:

Over the weekend in Mississippi, Anna's engagement ring and mine were together for the first time. They are both Belcher settings; the stone does not extend above the shank of the ring. I've loved mine. She wanted one in this setting too.

Philip and Kara made themselves a very fine hammock, a place for rest in the shade after a long day of work. Isn't it fine and sturdy? I'd like to see one of these in my future :)

One of my regrets from my decades in Mississippi is that I never visited Oxford, home of William Faulkner. It's a lovely old town with a square (and a university). I studied Faulkner extensively and read his novels with deep interest. Returning from Clarksdale, I finally had my chance to step foot on its square!

I particularly wanted to visit Square Books and buy ... a book ... anything (well, maybe not anything).

But we'd left early, and they weren't open yet, and we didn't want to delay our drive. So we left --- another time, I hope!

When my daddy died in January, I had time to sort through old photos at their house. I came across this baby photo of Anna.

My old copy of it was water-damaged. I was thrilled to find this good one! She's wearing a Christmas dress, so I guess she's about 6 months old.
A tender age. A dear little girl. So many years, so many adventures, heart-aches, changes, joys, accomplishments, travels. And now she is to be married. A very tender time. Perhaps that's why we dress it in lace and organza. A wedding dress is a most delicate garment, but the relationship it symbolizes will strengthen and toughen with the years.

But now? It's the most tender little sprout of love, and we celebrate its beginning!