more clothespins

quick, easy, affordable, sentimental decorating idea.

pretty ribbon, thumb tacks, tiny clothespins from the craft store

and postcards, photos, pages from magazines,

homemade art, etc.

presto.

a gallery.

daughter Lindsey's brill idea. adapted over the years for dorm rooms, camp bunks, apartments...

rascals

In SW Connecticut, you will find many opinions

 about the deer population.

Indeed, we are not too fond of the way they often 

decimate our gardens.

We have a series of raised flower beds

that we jokingly call "the deer salad bar".

Deer here are nearly tame, daring in their grazing and very hungry.

(I think it may have something to do with the way we humans

 have crowded them out of their habitat).

In any case, we spotted these three in our side yard this afternoon,

and I can't help but be charmed by their speckled coats and sassy tails.

At least for this afternoon, I say "welcome sweet ones".

hot off the needles

Just finished another prayer shawl. 

Very simple, uncomplicated rows of straight knitting, 

with a self striping yarn.

As we head into cooler days, 

I think I will try this pattern again for my next shawl.

Maybe in a squash or pumpkin color.

How easy it is to knit love and hope and spirit

into such a simple garment.

Prayer is not asking for what you think you want,

but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine.

-Kathleen Norris

freshening up

We've been using cloth napkins 

since the establishment of our family in 1979. 

Instead of napkin rings, we use clothespins.

Friends and family write their names on the pins

and reuse their napkins until laundry time.

When folks are away for a bit, 

their clothespin goes out to the clothesline

to remind me of them as I peg out the washing.

:-)

Now that it's just two of us at most meals,

I decided that Batman and I need some funky, fresh napkins.

I raided my fabric stash and found some off beat fat quarters.

Put two right sides together, 

trimmed to square with a rotary cutter, 

stitched 1/4 seam allowance,

turned right side out, whip stitched the opening, pressed

and top stitched around the edges.

Cats, Day of the Dead and knitting, all in one fabric line.

Did some fabric designer read my blog profile?

Dang, it feels good to be sitting at my machine again!

Hunkering in for whatever "Danny" brings.....

What are you up to?

re-entry

Two thousand miles later, I am back home, with a sense of expansiveness, lightness and celebration. And accomplishment. 

This morning I compared notes with a kindred spirit, sought advice from another and will make plans for tomorrow with another.

I get by with a little help from my friends. :-)

And tomorrow, it's back to my studio/sewing room...about time!

my 200th post

To my college sweetie, Peter

 and our four remarkable children,

Stewart, Lindsey, Hannah and Gretta

I am 

profoundly grateful

that we all had a chance to 

grow up

 together.

on the prairie

The closer we got, the more excited she was. 

Just like a little kid.

We cranked up the tunes and she was dancing in the passenger seat.

here's a little bit from one of the tunes

Be Here Now by Mason Jennings

----

Be here now, no other place to be

This whole world keeps changing, come change with me.

Everything that's happened, all that's yet to come

Is here inside this moment, it's the only one.

...

Sun comes up and we start again

...

It's all new today

All we have to say

Is be here now.

---

(And when the sun comes up again, we'll be moving her into her dorm.)

:-)

hmmm...

As the miles evaporate under the wheels of my devoted vehicle (she's taken me on many an adventure), I've pondered our upcoming changes. And I keep coming back to something I read this summer in Love and Death, My Journey Through the Valley of the Shadow, by Forrest Church.

"Want what you have.

Do what you can.

Be who you are."

Maybe it's really that simple.

What do you think?

setting out...

...on a new adventure.

the next chapter.

we are leaving henry and batman at home,

so now it's just us two girls on the open road.

sunday's destination: knox college

this picture is for you, GramElaine!

practicing

Zen pretty much comes down to three things-

everything changes;

everything is connected;

pay attention.

-Jane Hirschfield and Bill Moyers

this week...

...the safest place for me to be

is in the moment...

all good things must come to an end...

batman gets things started.

lindsey and stewart work the rocks.

hannah's foot supervises.

stewart and batman make the final adjustments.

hannah, dawn, stewart and lindsey.

mmmm...

good-bye family.

good-bye summer in vermont.

sigh.

feelin' groovey

lindsey, stew and dawn harvested wax beans last night

and we were eating them 15 minutes later.

the gang is tubing on a local river this morning

and this afternoon we'll make a fire pit.

i bought supplies for s'mores.

happy birthday to my brother doug,

who is hitting the half century mark 

in very fine shape.

 i was only 13 when the woodstock festival happened,

i've only read about it and seen newsclips,

but i'm still inspired by the music,

love and magic of that time.

teach your children well...

(crosby, stills, nash and young) 

love and peace.

-me  

tonight...

a bit of earth will be bursting with  family.

here's the overflow spot.

not a bad place to put your head.

i am in ct for 24 hours.

hannah just got home from a month in germany

where she was nannying.

so the two of us will drive up to vt today.

meanwhile, stewart and his wife dawn (they live in oregon)

have been visiting dawn's dad, roger who also lives in ct

and they will be driving up to vt too.

lindsey drove up from boston last night.

batman and lindsey will fetch gretta from camp

on her evening off

and we will all meet up for supper close to camp.

it's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, all our comings and goings.

but it's worth the crazy planning.

all four of our kids will be in one place for the first time in a

 VERY long time.

my favorite f-word...FUN.

then we'll drop gretta back at camp (reluctantly)

and the rest of us will head to our bit of earth.

stewart and dawn have only seen pictures....

maybe the bears will come by to add to the magic.

we'll pack a lot into just a few days, 'cause that's what we do best.

cooking and eating local food (dance parties in the kitchen!!!)

walking on the road,

talking, talking, talking,

laughing, playing taboo, apples to apples and dictionary,

dreaming about the family venture we are just beginning to imagine.

and a little real estate tour for stew and dawn...

(portland is lovely, but very far away)

and on saturday we'll catch up with gretta again at the fair at camp.

stewart

lindsey

hannah

gretta

xoxooxxo

how can it be august already?

Our friend, Leslie and her three kids, 

Gabriella, Robert and Julia came up to a bit of earth for a few days.

We hadn't seen them in YEARS.

We went to the Billings Farm and Museum 

(one of my favorite places).

The jersey cows were a big hit, especially the sweet calves.

The sheep had been shorn and were out grazing, too. 

We spent a good bit of time at the quilt exhibit.

Julia fell in love with Jim and Joe, the Percherons.

Some of us REALLY enjoyed the antique tractor parade.

We had burgers and hot dogs with grilled onions,

served up by a local fire department.

Judging from the lines, I'd say their fundraiser was a success!

After our buddies left yesterday, Batman and I went out to do errands.

A bear cub crossed the road right in front of us.

And his mama was waiting for him by the side of the road.

About a quarter of a mile from our house.

!!!!!!

They were so shy, I couldn't get my camera out

 before they scampered into the woods.

I think from now on, 

we will pull the wooden sliding door across the breezeway at night, 

eh?

Wouldn't you?

heavy traffic in the country

last evening i fetched gretta from camp for her day off.

the traffic back up to the house was just gruelling.

not!

remembering...

origami paper cranes.

the story of Sadako and the paper cranes.

let us not forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki

and rededicate ourselves to 

peace, justice and hope

in the big wide world and in our own lives

today

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, 

nor how justified, is not a crime.

-Ernest Hemingway

a very special harvest

the view and the garden

In the great period of carpet weaving,

the apprenticeship of a dyer lasted fifteen years.

At the end of fifteen years,

the apprentice dyer was required to make a

color which no one had ever seen before.

-Christopher Alexander

A Foreshadowing of 21st Century Art

And on the more mundane side of life, the garden is struggling with the rain, but a few things are doing well. I pitchforked garlic this morning, the wax beans are just a few days from being ready and the lettuce keeps on filling the salad bowl! Looks like there may be sugar pumpkins by fall. The chard is s-l-o-w.

   

what i've been up to

the recycled chambray and flannel is done!

and ready to go to connecticut. 

for the denim couch in the family room.

i think the weather ratio this summer has been about

three rainy days for every sunny one.

time for lots of reading and netflix.

some recommendations?

• A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
• Love and Death, My Journey Through the Valley of the Shadow by Forrest Church
• The Miracle of Mindfulness,  by Thich Nhat Hanh
• The Creative Entrepreneur, by Lisa Sonora Beam
• The Fingerprints of God, The Search for the Science of Spirituality, by Barbara Bradley Hagerty
• Collect Raindrops, the seasons gathered, by Nikki McClure

and a few good movies?

How About You (a most excellent "sleeper")

Brick Lane

and tonight i'll watch Our City Dreams

about some women artists in NYC 

(thanks Natalya

for the recommendation.)

 on saturday we took gretta to burlington.

to find her graduation present.

so many choices!

isn't she a beauty?

completely refurbished.

that gretta is a greenie through and through.

good thing illinois is flat.

one speed will be just fine.