peak foliage

 

Words right now seem moot.

But I do send love and hope.

Always.

just this...

 

Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder.

Help someone's soul heal.

Walk out of your house like a shepherd.

-rumi

tansy and hope

 Tansy.

I whispered to the tiny blossoms

as I clipped them into the dye pot, 

"Thank you, blossoms, for bringing the magic of the soil 

up through your roots and stems, 

for shining your light these past few weeks, 

and for helping me bring your color into my stitching."

There are so many ways in this world to hope friends.

Don't give up.

Oh me, oh my, what a bit of crazy all of us are going through! We have beloved ones in both California and Oregon, who have air purifiers running in their homes, who have ash falling in their yards, who cannot go outside because the air around them is poisonous, who have bags packed by the door just in case. Global climate change is not a hoax, it's a reality that is knocking at our front doors. And the news from the White House continues to outrage many of us. The pandemic continues its death grip on the nation and yet many ignore basic public health advice. Teaching about the inequities around white supremacy and institutional racism has become taboo, according to someone who is in the position to pull our country together (if only he could see his role in it all). The economy is booming for corporate America, while mom and pop businesses are dropping like flies. 

Maybe like me, it's hard for you to get out of bed in the morning...

But there are so many ways to carry on and to be courageous in these challenging times.

For me, looking out for great stories and at the same time setting limits on how much time I spend listening to current events feels like a good way to cope.

Here's a few links you might enjoy...

• The Soul of an Octopus, by Sy Montgomery, a fabulous read, info here.
• Living on the Edge, a Moth Radio Hour story about a man waiting for a liver transplant, here.
• Renaming a dress pattern in light of current events. Are you not sure what "cultural appropriation" means? This is a very articulate and thoughtful article. From "washi dress" to "trillium dress", via made-by-rae.
• Willow Crossley's flower arranging videos are a delightful distraction! I found her via Tiny Happy, one of my long time favorite blogs.

AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT MUSIC! It can take you back in time (The Moody Blues, for me, yesterday, over the dye pots), it can help you meditate, you can dance away your tensions, you can sing along, and you can clean up your garden beds to tunes.

GET OUTSIDE (if it is safe for you). Take a walk, a hike, a bike ride, a paddle, do some gardening, hang your laundry on the line, pull some weeds, sit on your porch or stoop, look up at the stars, play hopscotch, walk to your neighbor's for a socially distanced visit.

AND REMEMBER, there is still hope and happiness, even in these dark times. Some folks even stare these times down, with determination in their eyes, like our Hannah and her Loren, who decided to get hitched. Don't know where or when, but they are going to do it.

It takes so much energy just to get through a day in 2020.

I see you, friends. Wherever you are, however you are managing, I honor you.

And I send you love.

xo

what a difference a year makes...

 

Above, after a day in Assisi, 2019.

Below, here at our bit of earth, 2020.

Some things remain the same, like gorgeous sunsets

on two different sides of the world and a year apart.

Other things, not so much.

Hang in there friends.

Hang in there.

xo

maggie's mail

Snail mail is near and dear to our hearts. Our family still sends (and sometimes makes) Valentine's cards. We send birthday cards. We send inspirational quotes. We send confetti and stickers and decals to one another. Post cards, special scraps of fabric, old photos, newspaper clippings...we'll slap a stamp on nearly anything! And some of us practice what we call "snail mail ministry", sending notes to folks who may need a virtual hug.

Some of us have even visited the National Postal Museum in Washington D. C.

We are deeply concerned about what is happening to the United States Postal Service. I hope you know what I am talking about. 

Make no mistake. We are training them young. The next generation of snail mailers is just as passionate as us older folks.

Lindsey found this sweet paper airplane fabric and embroidered "Maggie's Mail" on it. She put it in an envelope and mailed it to me. 

I appliquéd it onto a mail carrier's bag that I whipped up for Maggie. Then I put it in the mail.

Maggie hangs it on the doorknob of her apartment in Brooklyn, and stashes her snail mail in it. The next time she and her mama and/or papa go out into the world, she slings that bag over her shoulder, puts on her face mask and makes a bee line for the nearest postal box. She still needs help opening the box, but we know it won't be long until she's tall enough to pull that handle down herself!

This past spring, I made Maggie a pouch and filled it with notecards, envelopes and stickers. She has pen pals from Massachusetts to Michigan and is delighted to find replies in her mailbox down in the lobby of her apartment building.

All of this is especially poignant these days. If I think about how much I miss her and her mama and papa and her cousin Flora and her aunties and uncles, I can feel the tears starting to come. Snail mail is such a simple way to spread the love and feel more connected in these discombobulated times.

I will never take for granted the power of a sticky scrap of paper in the upper right hand corner of an envelope.

xo