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On the way over to the park today -- with little punkin head there -- we were "pumpkin spotting," snapping pictures of some very welcoming homes around town. (All of these images are in my autumn flickr set, if you want to see an enlargement.) Nothing beats a good front porch, especially on Halloween. Here's hoping that all the porches you step on tonight are friendly.
Happy Halloween from our town to yours.
The mailman is leaving hints that Christmas is near. Catalogs and magazines are coming in strong. I don't read as many magazines as I did even a year ago. Often, reading/visiting (& communicating through) blogs takes up that pocket of my days (nights) now. One medium replaced by another.
But there's something extra special about Christmas issues that always has me reaching beyond my standard few subscriptions. The idyllic holiday scenes ... the possibility of creating that atmosphere in my own home ... new recipes, decorating suggestions ... things I might make ... it lures me. It reaches some place deep inside that makes me question: what experiences can I create for my family this year?
For years I've done this, collected and saved. I didn't want to part with them, but simply could not through small apartments, multiple moves, and self-directed goals to simplify, keep all of those heavy piles. Oh and it's not just magazines. There are interesting brochures, colorful advertisements, snippets from catalogs. You KNOW what I'm talking about. You know where I'm headed with this ...
[yes, that says 2003 and it's not anywhere close to being an older item]
... the manila folder. That's where the torn out papers have lived -- and I think they're multiplying in there -- they are reproducing or something. It's a rarity to keep a full issue for me these days. If there's any crafting to be done it's now, so the folder digging has begun, but this year, I'm giving them a more deserving place to live -- a Christmas inspiration binder.
[Blurry I know, but you can see that it's as fat as Santa]
I'm not spending too much effort on the arranging part. I just spread them all over the floor one night a few weeks ago, sorting by decorating, crafty, greenery, etc. The categories were obvious. Some just fall under "pretty imagery" and that works too.
Even my issues of Living were deconstructed. I know to some that is a sacrilege, but I'm being ruthless with my editing. If it isn't meaningful or appealing (to me personally) in some way ... it goes.
Sometime I will cover the binder in nubby, raw linen and adorn it with a large cranberry woolen button. I can see adding pretty tabbed dividers, a section for notes ... not entirely sure. Not this year though. For now it's enough to just enjoy flipping through, imagining and dreaming. It's as though I have this huge, new magazine (free from clutter) tailored precisely to my own taste.
[click any of the images to enlarge]
This is a keeper. Possibly something my girls might want when they are grown. Certainly I know my sisters would enjoy this book. In fact, maybe they already have one. I'll have to ask because we come from the same mindset when it comes to magazines. And we're not the only ones -- that's why the publishing industry is what it is.
I wish I could share every page with you here. I do. Because there is so much, and it's cheerful and warm and full of that delightful feeling that only Christmas can evoke. It's just one of those small, not-really-significant things that makes me, well, sort of happy.
A collection of holiday imagery, articles, and crafty ideas, like Christmas itself, is timeless.
Many people came in to my blog this weekend, from Ali's site. If that is you ... WELCOME!
Like so many others I love Ali's work. Her most recent book, Life Artist, especially and I'm pretty thrilled that she saw something of value in my piece. Thanks so much Ali. The 'history' post means quite a lot to me, so if someone can take away something from that -- all the better.
As you can see, my projects are about to be injected with a big dose of pretty things from Paper Valaise. I would have been happy getting these in a plain old postal mailer, but just look at that personal touch they add to their boxes. That Tiffany-blue ribbon is not part of the order, just a nice way to send things to customers, as though it's a gift. I feel like it's a gift. And the items themselves are pretty much already mentally designated.
We watched part (and are finishing up tonight) the movie, On Golden Pond, this weekend. Whoever did the set design did a fantastic job. If you ever get a chance to see it (we just selected it as a free 'on demand' cable option) be sure to check out the walls of their summer cabin. They are entirely covered with photos. Not in frames, just loose snapshots, maybe with thumbtacks or tape. I was almost distracted from the plot trying to see what was going on there. It was just such a great, very real, sort of quick thing that people do/did sometimes to share their memories. A nice movie for the fall.
Today was pumpkin carving day and and we enjoyed this seasonal treat. It's chai tea in apple cups, with cinnamon sticks to stir in the honey. It's hilarious to hear Marty ask for "dee" (tea). He's so little for tea.
Exciting news today: I'm joining the ever-friendly, multi-talented Lori, administrator of that lovely little flickr group called Inspiration Boards, in my first online handmade swap. Here's how it goes:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.
If you'd like to play along please leave a comment. The first three commenters will receive the same promise (above) from me. I'm targeting early 2008 (love that I have 365 to accomplish this) as we are now (gulp) only eight weeks away from Christmas.
Note: the things I have shown as my work samples thus far may or may not reveal the medium from which my gifts will come. But they will be awesome!
Cheers!
A cooler, rainy day is always just right for children at home with the yuk. I've been feeling more healthy as the day progresses and as I made up the beds, decided to capture a little bit for corners of my home. The little lounger is RB, made for me by my Mom when I was just three. She is getting all sorts of love now from her new owner, my six year old. There's just nothing like a handmade, huggable doll. There's a close-up of her here.
Our new closet is looking fabulous! Paul is amazing at this. I've decided the next images I share will be the finished results. I don't mention this to be braggy, it's just been a long time coming for us. It's a process and this type of closet is really beyond any goals I may have ever had. It's the right thing for the house though. Interesting how I keep making that distinction, as though the house has needs of its own.
Also today, I'm embarking on my plan to bake my way through Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. This book has been on my shelf for about 4 years as I decided I would bake my own bread when we moved into the "new house" (putting this nice convection oven to use). Well, we're two years into that move now and so ... enough procrastinating! The drop biscuit recipe in this months issue of Cook's looks really good too, and if I'm feeling motivated, this might be a part of our dinner.
This has all the makings of a very happy domestic day.
Nothing could replace a warm cup of Earl Gray and falliing asleep on the couch as the kids watched a movie today. How do they just keep on when I know they are feeling every bit as miserable as me?
I should not have waited so long to go in for a test. Last week while out on a lovely walk, balmy day, sky oh so blue, holding little Marty's soft, sweaty fingers in mine and still a feeling of melancholy. I've been wondering why I couldn't shake the something's-wrong-feeling for days. I forced some smiles through our weekend visit, exposing my in-laws to this thing. A sore throat ... no big deal. Drink some tea, get some sleep. Until yesterday, when I barely wanted to be vertical.
We all went in. We all have it. Poor classmates of my children Their Mom's are reading a precautionary email tonight. Resting, relaxing, I think I'll just bring my portable DVD player to bed and watch this.
At what age does our eagerness to listen and learn prevail over visual stimulation in our surroundings? I wonder.
In certain instances a great speaker can really hold my interest. But in most cases, I am still the visual learner, taking in as much or more from my eyes than my ears. I've worked (and continue to work) on this, by retaining interesting bits of talk radio, for example, and have improved over time, but still visual stimulation seems to dominate my auditory capabilities. Is that just a part of being "me"? I believe so. In truth, I hold fast to this and proudly carry it in silent tribute to my father in his absence.
Volunteering in my daughter's kindergarten classroom really brought this forward in my mind. "... Only glue one side of your black rectangle to make a door ..." the teacher explained, all the while my eyes absorbed construction-paper skeletons, or wondered about the little boy wringing his hands. Um, oh what is she saying now? It's a bright stimulating environment, created this way to engage the children. It works. Perhaps too well at times.
Add a camera to the mix and takes more attention from the words. Part of my job this day was to take pictures for the class memory book and I'm sure my doing so only interfered with the lesson in "following instructions."
Taking a picture of someone is like looking inside them; it's completely personal. Kids know this intuitively. Some couldn't wait for me to direct my lens their way, while others were clearly uncomfortable not knowing me at all. At times I made sure to shoot from my hip so they wouldn't feel me seeing them.
As my glance made my way 'round to my daughter's table, I noticed she was a step ahead of some, following each direction to the letter. She has a long attention span for projects and could work on them independently for (literally) hours. She listened, she heard, she learned and applied. Hmmm ... a visual and audible learner ... didn't know that before. Well, on second thought, she does retain nearly every word of the car radio. I just hadn't put it all together.
Evidently it's not a matter of age then, but maybe something in the way we're wired. I'm so glad she has this dual-learning advantage. That will take her far. As for me? ... where was I going with this ... Um, I was distracted by some new pictures from the weekend.
[Chesapeake Bay shore, Taylors Island, MD, July 2007]
In honor of blog action day, I've decided to recycle a few of my old posts, writings in which I share my perspective on a heightened awareness of the day's topic: the environment. Both pieces reconsider the unecessary things with which I surround myself.
I invite to to visit and hope you enjoy A visit to Loblolly house and water, water everywhere.
a break in this east coast heat wave. The climate here is feeling like autumn, complete with those huge, fluffy Cumulonimbus clouds and a breezy 60-degree, windy afternoon. Hooray -- it feels like October should!
Last fall, almost exactly a year ago, we made this scarecrow family (pictured here) from a hay bale leftover from the school carnival. Looking at the pictures, I can scarcely believe the changes in the kids and wonder if the changes in myself are as evident. This was such a fun activity for them that we've decided to make it an annual tradition. In a week or two we'll put together a new straw family to surprise trick-or-treaters on the porch.
Marty had his two year check up today and was not happy with the whole thing. As soon as he heard the nurse say "undress him down to his diaper" the crying began, and did not stop throughout the eye, ear and tummy checking. It continued through a finger prick and two needles - all the while he was sobbing "GO Mama, GO" and "Owwww" "Ow". Sigh. Heartbreak. I don't care how many kids you have you can never get used to participating in holding them still through this ordeal.
He has food sensitivities and obvious allergies and I haven't yet found a balance in his diet to elimate the redness around his mouth and dry patchy excema. For a while we gave up dairy altogether and everything cleared away almost instantly. It was good. But after reading some articles on the risks of processed soy, I dropped those entirely and gradually added back some dairy. At first is was okay and now, patchy redness again. I need to approach this logically and scientifically. The doctor suggested a trip to an allergist might be in order, but he happened to see Marty on an atypical day, where his skin was more irritated than usual. I'm not denying the need of an allergist, I just think I need to try some manuevering in his diet first. I know that will have a big impact and I don't want a prescription. I'm not big on medicines (chemicals) for myself, let alone these little ones, and am going to try all other nutritional routes first. Thanks so much to Ella for "talking" about this with me earlier.
I'm off to wake him and get the girls from school It is a glorious weather day and we will be outside for the rest of it.
A Happy weekend to you.
Today: 8:30 AM spinach and cheddar omlette. 11:30 AM bagel, triple-onion cream cheese, salmon, coffee (with Andrea, Donna, Candace and Tracy). 5:30 PM pancakes. Entirely unplanned. Completely delightful.
