Five good things | 1

This weekend I'm in Georgia for an old friend's wedding. I remember being younger, daydreaming with Cyndi about moving far away for college, meeting new people, seeing brand new places, and never looking back. It's funny how the looking back that seems so uncool and ill advised when you're young becomes the anchor that holds you steady as you get older. The farther away from home you get, the more you feel the need to glance back, however briefly. This weekend will be one of those glances.

1. For this wedding, I decided to make a quilt as the gift. Cut to this week, and I'm still scrambling to pull it all together. They live in Texas, so I could technically just send it to them after, but I knew that without a pressing deadline, I might not ever finish. So I finished it. It's not technically a quilt, but I'm still proud of this blanket with its quilted top. I hope they like it.

2. Our garden has started to overflow onto the back porch on these more frequent warm days. Yesterday we drove home with the windows down, and after working for a couple of hours, we walked to Inman for ice cream.

3. My favorite lyric these days is from Macklemore's "Ten Thousand Hours," when he says, "The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint/The greats are great because they paint a lot." So whether it's an hour or a half hour, I've been spending time doing the things I want to learn to do, the things I love. Yesterday, it was painting these words (inspired by Elise). (That is, when there isn't a new Following episode on Hulu.)

4. Books! I can't get enough these days, excitedly jumping from a finished book to the next one. The lady at the library has begun to recognize me when I come in, knowing that I have reserved books to pick up and letting me peruse the new arrivals table while she grabs them.

5. I'm calling it: Camping season is officially upon us. I secretly booked a site for Mike's birthday weekend in May, and I'm trying to get friends to come with us. I can't wait to reveal the surprise; I've almost spoiled it several times already!