Weekending: Tulip Festival

This weekend we were so lucky to host my parents for the annual Tulip Festival in town. Too bad the tulips had long bloomed. So we had a tulip-less festival.

But we had so much fun, watching the parade out front of our house, eating fair food, riding carnival rides and just loving our time with Grandmommy and Papa. Look at those faces, so much fun in one weekend!

My mom and I even snuck away for an ice tea and to a beautiful quilt show and our towns restored Century House.

How was your weekend?

Twenty Nine Years

Twenty nine years ago today we left our comfortable womb to join the world.

I'm so glad you were born Missy. And today I'm wishing you gluten free yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

You are my very best!

Loves, ME

*Photo taken by Emily Sweet

Yarn Along: Reading

For the last few nights, the kids have been reading their own bedtime stories. Isabel picked the book, Chester's Way she's been working through page by page (about four pages a night) and Truman is reading Disney's Cars early reader. And then we pick a book together that I read. Last night Truman wore his Max crown while I read, Where the Wild Things Are.

I do worry sometime if I'm raising readers, I so want them to enjoy a good book.

I haven't been knitting lately. Actually most of what we've been doing fits into the outdoor category-- gardening, digging, planting seedlings, sweeping. Or indoor late-spring cleaning, playroom detox and the like.

But I have snuck a few pages here and there for reading. I read the companion book to The Year of Magical Thinking which is, Blue Nights by Joan Didion. It was very good and it finished the story, but I thought The Year of Magical Thinking was such a stronger piece.

And I read Mary Oliver's Handbook of Poetry. It was amazing to see how she constructs a poem. And I love the poetry she's picked out as her examples. Like a tiny crack into her genius brain.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett was delightful, crafting an impossible story into the completely plausible. It was encompassed human emotion and interaction so poignantly. I would suggest this read to anyone.

And what should I knit next? Does anyone have suggestions? Or tell me what your knitting!

To All the Wild Things

This quote is shouted with giggles across from the dinner table.  Standing on our chairs, with big burly voices, "QUIET DOWN THERE!"

And we like to pretend to be Max.

So our hearts are very heavy. We feel like we've lost a very dear friend. And a person whose taught us how to look at the world differently. And let us know it's ok to fall out of our clothes in our dreams, sail away to a forest of Wild Things when we're angry and that we should always learn to care.

Rest in Peace, Maurice Sendak. You will be missed.



Do you have a favorite book by Maurice Sendak? 

Little Artists

I'm looking back on this evening and I am so grateful.

Grateful for an a set of listening ears and a good cup of coffee. A few minutes of sharing my heart, a few minutes of being listened to and my night was magically changed. Thank you, dear listener.

Grateful for four fabulous little people, two we borrowed, who smiles, giggles and hand prints warm my heart.

Grateful for a whole community of people who help our day to day life run smoothly. Teachers, grandparents, amazing caregivers and friends. I am blessed everyday. I am blessed with this day.

Loving my husband who works so hard to keep our garden plans for this year on track. Remember this table? It was too moldy to bring inside so there are now wild flowers planted in the drawer. And it's for starting seeds now, but (but!) soon it will be all kinds of gorgeous.

Even though I pulled out my wool coat and scarf. I love that our walk around the neighborhood in the drizzling evening was just what we all needed. Even in that gloomy weather, we looked at the spring that is facing us!
 
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Giggling that I have chalk pastel dust on my glasses. I guess I shouldn't have left the setting on the table during this type of art project but, it's a good reminder of a sweet afternoon.

We had two very special visitors stop by for a bit.
In addition to reading stories, playing cars, dressing up and stopping for a snack break, we broke out the chalk pastels. And our new favorite obsession, grocery bags. Everyone had a great time.

Isabel channels Rothko in chalk.

We put on aprons, and the dust was still covering hands and shirt sleeves.


There is so much to be grateful for.

Weekending

Dinner with friends
Putting the kids to bed in another house (win!)
Early morning wake up call (Truman, as always)
Breakfast, coffee and mate
Painting and dreaming
Making banana pops
Thrifting
Family Walk
Spending the day with Bon-Bon and John-John
Impromtu date with Eric (more coffee!)
Chicken Tacos
Sewing and mending
Church
Sunday Lunch
Quiet time
Cleaning and organizing
Sprouting Rice
Cooking Pintos

Playing in the rain
Taize Service (I went by myself! Silence!)
Jammies and book reading
Folding laundry, putting away laundry
Making muffins for breakfast
Sneak a applesauce muffin and a cup of tea
Listening to a book
Bedtime

Phew! What a weekend!

How was yours?

Joining the habit of being. 

Asking questions.

Sometimes I forget that if you ask a question. You get a really good answer.

Like, when I asked a painter friend of mine (whose children are now grown), "How did you keep creative when your children were small?" She answered, something so surprising. She said, "I think, perhaps, that I was more dedicated. I was working on small textiles and I would take five minutes to sit down, glue a piece and then move on."

And later she said, "Or I'd sketch in the car. Since the scenery was always moving, I'd take a few moments to view it, draw it. You have to work quickly that way and it keeps your eye engaged, in shape."

Something for me to take away for today.

And how do you stay creative with little time? I'd love to hear how you keep your creative eye, engaged? In shape?