thank you for asking

Here is a video tutorial for folding paper cranes.

There are so many folks who will appreciate them...

To comfort the hardworking staff...please send to...
The Office of Student Development
Drawer 195
Earlham College
801 National Road West
Richmond, IN 47374

To comfort the grieving families...please send c/o the Office of Student Development, above.
The Heymann Family, who lost their daughter Tracy
The Edwards Family, who lost their daughter Lenore

To comfort the recovering student...please send c/o the Office of Student Development.
Graham Nissen

Your simple, heartfelt thoughts and prayers are appreciated. They may be delivered, folded into the wings of a crane, or simply sent out into the world by our kindness. Whatever small gesture we make, it adds to the light and love in the world. Namaste to each of you.

Here is a lovely blog posting by an Earlham student.

folding for solace

Inspired by this story, Gretta and I have been folding paper cranes. As we were sitting yesterday, I heard news that Lenore, despite our strongest hopes and her amazing courage, had left this world on Sunday night.

I tucked a crane into a note I sent to her family. Gretta and I have been folding cranes when we have a spare minute. We have a growing flock. This morning, as the snow falls gently outside, I have lit a chalice to comfort me as I fold.

These cranes are headed to the Office of Student Development at Earlham College, where the staff has been working mightily to hold our beloved community together through this very sad time. It is one small way that I can add to the comfort, light and hope that we all crave right now. 

I am far away in miles, but I am standing on the heart in spirit. Please let me know if you would like to fold some cranes and send them along...

nestling in

Lindsey and Gretta snipped a paper snowflake garland.

It is hanging in the dining room,  anticipating the flurries forecast for this week.

Now that the house has quieted down, 

Gretta, Batman and I are looking forward to a week 

filled with clean eating and productive projects.

This Monday morning feels fresh and full of promise.

:-)

today's word

thank you.

many a mile

I've driven to Knox College and back, to fetch our early graduating Gretta. The midwest was putting itself to bed for the winter, with combines cleaning up the last of the corn stalks in the fields. The sky was blue and the interstate was flat. The graceful turbines were turning in the wind. Our favorite listening track was HOME, by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros...listen here. It was a quick trip, and we regret passing some exits on I-80...but we were on a tight schedule. The tug was strong, so we blew kisses as we passed by.

Tonight Batman and I will uncork a bottle of champagne and toast the end of 16 years of college tuition.  We invested big time in our kids' education, and we have not regretted it for a minute. CHEERS!

The car is unpacked, the laundry is chugging, we've been to the grocery store, pumpkins from the gardens in VT have been roasted for the pies, the cranberry orange relish has been made and is in the fridge. Gratitude around here is deep and growing and Thanksgiving is just days away.  How about you? Are you feeling the lure of gratitude?

remember these?

in need of sewing therapy once again,

i stitched this tea towel for newlyweds

elizabeth (hobo) and kevin.

recently hungry for light and hope,

i was delighted to find that the christmas cactus 

have snuck up on me and begun to bloom!

i appreciate the comments, phone calls and e-mails

from you, dear friends, who understand the preciousness

of our human family.

thank you for your gentle care and support.

you are the best.

I keep on swallowing...

 It has been a tumultuous few weeks, 

for our nation and in my own life,

with many bright highs and 

more than a fair share of challenges and near misses.

But this is tearing most fiercely at my tender heart. 

No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.

The same fluttering in the stomach, 

the same restlessness,

the yawning.

I keep on swallowing.

-C. S. Lewis

A life long lesson...

"e"very morning that we wake up is a blessing.

Breathe it in, absorb it, and take it out into the world

wherever you go.

Spread the love.

Do not take it for granted.

xo

if just for now

russet, burnt umber, raw sienna, bittersweet, fawn and plain brown mark the shift.

leaden grays and soft whites create the contours between mountains and snow squalls.

drifts of the last fallen oak leaves settle into the tired lawn.

woodsmoke curls from the chimney into the bare birches.

pin points of barn lights fend off an early nightfall.

these gentle comforts are here.

breathing in and breathing out.

being present.

noticing.

creating peace in the moment.

if just for now.

escape

Appreciating the shelter of our little place in Vermont. Only the voting booth in CT will lure me back on Tuesday.

On the list for eventual improvements up here...
-a hand pump in the mudroom
-an outhouse/composting toilet
-rehabbing the root cellar
-possible solar panels
Self reliance and preparedness have become more important to us in the last year or so. How about you?