steady on

Helping me stay sane...

• The easy comfort of sewing from a kit. I can't remember the last time I did this, but I just needed something uncomplicated and fun. I found just that at rosylittlethings, a lovely blog that is filled with domestic bliss. Mostly hand sewn, this gem is kept in my "grab and go" basket by the front door, waiting for the next call from a realtor.
• Eating mindfully. Batman and I are doing another 30 day vegan workshop with Heather, and Hannah has joined us. I knew I would need the discipline and structure of a healthy eating program as we embarked on this real estate adventure. A week and a half into it, I am feeling really good. The timing for this has been just perfect. We share a few meals and some cooking with Hannah, so that's been fun, too.
• Remembering that it's important to take one day at a time. It's such an overused phrase, but that does not make it false. Breathing, re-centering and breathing again has saved me more than once this past week. One foot in front of the other...
• Letting go of control. Batman and I have done everything we can do to get this place ready, now we must just let go, be patient and wait for whatever comes next. Ha. If you know me well, you'll know that this is a wee bit of a challenge for me...

I do love to drop down the internet rabbit hole every once in a while, it is a bit of an escape from reality. Do you have any favorite online links that you could share in the comments? I would be ever so grateful. xo

find the cost of freedom buried in the ground.

mother earth will swallow you, lay your body down.

-steven stills, 1970

the waiting begins

inhale.

relax shoulders.

 exhale.

being present to the beauty

that the rains have brought.

inhale, exhale.

shelter

a cup of tea on the porch,

writing a shopping list in the kitchen,

tossing in a load of laundry,

sending a few e-mails,

watering the plants...

and feeling oh, so, so grateful for the simple

roof over our heads.

there are too many who do not have shelter...

in oklahoma and syria and too many

other places.

i sit with a mixture of gratitude
(not wanting to take anything for granted)
and compassion,
(keeping those in distress in my thoughts). 

the light at the end of the tunnel

dogwood from the yard

in the front hallway.

hermit thrush and red clover and tulips

in the downstairs bathroom.

more dogwood in my studio,
in a lovely pitcher batman
brought me from london, years ago.

in the guest bathroom.

on the guest room bedside table.

in the master bath.
(batman's favorites).
my buddy liz, my flower guru,
gave me this simon pearce vase,
handcrafted in vermont.

in the dining room,
in one of my grandmother's pitchers.

on the kitchen windowsill.

in the living room, with landscapes painted by
my great grandfather.

the stager and photographer
arrive first thing tomorrow morning.

what a weekend it has been for batman and i.
there is a delicious weariness that comes
 at the end of good, hard work.
arranging flowers and sipping a glass of wine
 are my rewards.

the rest is up to chance, ganesh, st. joseph and karma.

her sparkling light

we were remembering this morning, potts and i,

of the joy in the neighborhood 22 years ago today.

"it's a girl! it's a girl!"

her siblings sang out.

i have been soaking in the blessings of 

"e"very moment today,

reminded of her shining life that was too short.

we still miss you, erin elizabeth.

xo

mother's day proclamation

I share these words with you again this year as I have several times in the past (here and here). Julia Ward Howe's passion for peace inspires me every time I read her Mother's Day Proclamation...

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

"Mother's Day Proclamation"
—Julia Ward Howe (1870)

green and pink and white

columbine, ready to bloom.

bleeding heart.

a neighbor, enjoying the lawn.

this is one of the latest, longest, most beautiful springs i can remember.

freshly mown grass and mulched flower beds.

still waiting for a bit of work to be done here in CT,

so the house is not quite yet on the market.

patience.

it is the bane of my existence.

*sigh*

p.s. today vermont became the first state to require GMO labeling.
another reason to love the green mountain state.
:-)

handmade joy exchange 2013

I participated in the Handmade Joy Exchange  hosted by Anne last year and could not resist joining her again this year. Anne (of My Giant Strawberry) invited her readers from all over the world to send in their names. She then sent each of us the name of someone else to gift with a handmade surprise. Soon, crafty packages were flying from one end of the planet to the other.

I received a package from New Zealand, with this fun zippered pouch enclosed.

Stitched up by Sally Reynolds, there was also a sweet brooch enclosed.

I love her tagline, "Upcycling as fast as I can"! To see Sally's artwork click here and her handcrafty shop here.

I sent a package to Mara in Greece. She has two blogs. She writes about her family and crafty projects here. Her other blog is filled with beautiful images of Greece, and I could not resist stitching her a handmade gift that reflected all the Aegean blues I saw there.

I decided to use some of the lovely bee ribbon I had been hoarding in my sewing cupboard.

I also used a bit of the custom twill tape I had ordered from Lillalotta when she was having a sale earlier this spring. (I long to get back to my Etsy shop once we have shifted gears in the big scheme of life!)

I am very grateful to Anne for getting all of us organized...I'm guessing it took quite a bit of time and energy!

Be aware of wonder.
Live a balanced life -
learn some and think some
and draw and paint
and sing and dance
 and play and work every day some.

-Robert Fulgham