Amazing What You Can See

in one short walk home from school...

Summer Sewing

Just because I really don't have enough to do, I have decided to pick up sewing again! The pending cross country move with two small children in tow (and everything there is to do along with it) is not nearly as much fun~ I made Norah this skirt minus the ribbon at the hemline on Saturday. This poster claims that they can be whipped up just before dinner, hence the name "Before Dinner Skirts." Hmmm, then I guess I will have to name mine "The Before Breakfast Lunch and Dinner with Lots of Meltdowns In Between Skirt" or the "Bribe My Child With a Cookie to Wear It Skirt." BUT I did get some crafting satisfaction from the making of it. There might be a few more of these in my future...

Remains of the Day

: half-eaten take out salad:
: half-knit "Christmas" sweater, likely partially unraveled, strewn about:
: picnic for "Grandma" still waiting to be eaten:
: one child's dinner still on the table:
: other's child's dinner in the sink, amongst other things:
: last minute grocery buys by the front door waiting to be unloaded:

and this pregnant lady is rolling herself upstairs to bed...

Happy Earth Day!

Today's day was meant for enjoying all of the colors of the season, all of the splendor of spring. We didn't do a lot of thinking/talking about the polar bears, or global warming, or plastics, or waste disposal. We noticed plants on our walk home from Norah's afternoon class, we picked some dandelions, and we talked about flowers. What colors we saw and loved! And then, well, Norah melted down and I spent the remainder of the 20-40 minute walk, policing the Harvey and Norah in the stroller in between her wails.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about ways that we as a family can live lighter on this planet and here are some of the actions I have taken::

:: bring tupperware to use for a take out container. The amount of trash that we accumulate when we take out dinner is truly disturbing. Many places here in Portland offer compostable take-out "boxes" but most still offer the standard plastic. So I bring my own when we call in an order and arrive early. I am also trying to remember to keep a container in the car so that if/when we eat out and want to take food home, I will have something to use.

::actually use those reusable grocery bags of mine.

:: buy in bulk. I swore off singer serving containers a couple of years ago, but I still have loads of plastic that accumulates from condiments, yogurt containers, and snack foods. I am going to invest in a Costco membership when we get back east.

:: buy food from local farmers


And here are some ideas I have for our our new house::

:: start composting again. This time we will build a pile that is not the eye sore that our old pile was.

:: harvest our rain water to use for the garden.

:: replace our lawn with native plants and vegetables.

And so much more, but one step at a time...

The Sun Came Out

and
we

got


in

Loose Ends

I have some projects that have been hanging on around here a long, a very long time and my goal is to complete them before we make the big transition back to Montclair. Today, my sewing machine woke up from its long winter's nap. I had a huge, ugly pile of clothes sitting next to my desk in our office, clothes just waiting for me to add a button, fix a rip, mend a seam. Some of them waited too long--the 18-24 months pants of H's are sadly way too small, but I fixed them anyways as this new little one might just wear them. I dreaded this chore for months, and after one short, enjoyable hour, the eye soar is gone, I have a now "new" pair of old pants that I had forgotten about, Brian can wear his cords again, and I can take that off of my long list of thing to "get done" before our departure. Other items on the list include finishing a couple of Christmas presents (originally for last year), getting some of those half read books off my nightstand so that I can add some more books to read half-way, and a blanket. Here I go...

My Nighttime Activities

Each night, I sit down on my couch at around 7:30 and I remain there until 9 or 9:30. Nothing monumental gets accomplished during this time but it is the only time that I really nourish myself. Tonight, I entertained myself with the following:

Robert Thurman On Buddhism

Project Linus Security Blanket from Knitting for Peace

Martha Stewart's Lastest Living

Practicing

I am practicing a lot these days with my new camera. I am completely out of my league but I am having so much fun. I accidentally push buttons and twirl things around and occasionally my new best friend refuses to function, mad at my incompetence. Then I simply outsmart him with the "turn off and then turn back on" maneuver, he forgives me, and we get along just fine again.

Focus on the Now

There are so many many events upcoming in our lives right now (a visit from family, some visits to friends and family, a move away from, a move to, a settling in, a new baby) that I am finding it hard to stay present and to enjoy the moments happening right now. The coming spring, my active children and this post are all reminders to revel in the present. Soule's post has inspired me.

Right now, I am


bemoaning the dying of the first spring flowers.

loving Seastar Community Acupuncture. Catherine Lowe, my acupuncturist and a certified midwife, is so attentive to my needs and very receptive to any questions that I may have. She and my midwife Linda Glenn have provided me with medical care that has surpassed any of my expectations. I have renewed faith in my body and mind--as corny as it sounds, it is true.

dreaming of the chicken coop that we are going to build in our new backyard (not really in the now, but still so much fun to think about)

eating Starburst candies by the handful (your fault, Aunt Donna!)

feeling kick, kick, kick

Some Time

Many, many weeks Brian spent away from us. Too many weeks. Too much time on planes. Too little sleep. We are coming back now. We are coming back.

Chickens!

I want them! I want them! I want them.

We went to a birthday party this weekend here in Portland and the hosting family was raising their own chickens in an incubator in their laundry room! The chickens are still very young so they send their time underneath a heat lamp warming and getting stronger by the day. Soon my friend will transfer them to the chicken coop that her husband built in their backyard, and then, in a few short months, they will have fresh eggs every morning!

To be leaving Portland is so sad for me and now I had one more reason to be sad. Montclair, New Jersey does not allow clotheslines in the backyards of its residents, so chickens are certainly a no-go. But THEN I found this! Residents can have up to 25 chickens?! Portland only allows three.

Now this is something to look forward to...

A Little of This and That

for today. Norah woke up sick last night and was throwing up into the morning. So, we watched a little t.v., Mama did a little knitting, in recovery, we did a little playing. Not too bad for a sickly night and a sleepy day...

Spring Children's Books

Gerda Muller "writes" four of my all-time favorite children's books. There are only four of them, one for each of the seasons, and there are no words, just simple pictures. Spring, which I have recently pulled from the collection in hopes of sunnier days to come, pictures children planting vegetables and adults plowing land. Many of the activities pictured show life a far cry from what our children experience today, and there is something about their simplicity that lends comfort to the reader.
I also just picked up Elsa Beskow's Peter in Blueberry land at the library. Last year, Norah was much to young for her fantastical writing, but this year the book is grabbing her a bit more. Beskow's books require imaginative leaps from their readers that Norah is just not quite ready to make yet, but the pictures are beautiful and spark conversations that take us in a nice direction. This is one book I am going to have to get for our Spring book collection.

A Bit of Healing

Amazing how my mind can take me far, far away from where I need to be the most--in the present and amongst my children. What fun we had today! Just a couple of moments of "presentness" from me and our whole evening transformed. We put on some music, Follow Me, got out the silks that I dyed for Christmas (which have been lying dormant for months now), and made me believe that we were going to Grandma's house through the forest and with a basket full of food.

I have been getting some help with this "presentness" in the latest book that I am reading: Buddhism for Mothers. Life has taken me too far away from my life and I am ready to get back to it. This book has some pretty effective strategies for letting go of painful thoughts and just being.

The beginnings of Spring around these parts (albeit rainy beginnings) are helpful in this as well. There are daffodils, cherry blossoms,and crocuses rearing up all over our world. And. we. are loving. them.


Oh! And we are all getting pretty excited about the newest addition coming to us in early July--right smack dab in the middle of the summer. Oh yes, finally a summer baby.