Artist at work

Happy solstice, everyone! It's officially summer, and we know it here. Although it's been raining a lot elsewhere (and we think of our Iowa friends and family often!), it's beautiful and sunny here, and we haven taken the opportunity to get some much-needed yardwork done.

Yardwork used to be a real challenge, what with Maisie wanting to help trim the hedge and mow the lawn and all that. But now we are able to be more productive, thanks to perhaps the best $5 we have spent on Maisie: a bucket of sidewalk chalk.

Like most kids her age (I think), Maisie loves to scribble with different colors. When we bring out the crayons inside, it's a perpetual battle of "No, Maisie, crayons stay on the paper. On the paper! Don't color the kitty, okay? No, not in Mommy's book! On this paper!" But with sidewalk chalk, she is free to scribble away as the mood strikes her. We also sometimes draw pictures that she can color in, but she really prefers her free expression.

It's also a great way to keep her occupied while we do yard work. Today we were able to mow the lawn, weed a bit, and trim the hedge while she colored.

It was a very productive day!