Turn Turn Turn

"To everything there is a season" - The Byrds

With Labor Day just around the corner, we made mementos to honor the passing of the summer season.

Go give it a whirl!

I've been seriously diggin' the book, "Sharing Nature with Children" by Joseph Cornell. It's a nifty little nature awareness guide that is comprised of games and activities to nurture a love for nature. "Heartbeat of Trees" is just one of the activities that I'm planning to do next spring with Satch in which we listen to trees with a stethoscope. In the spring the sap surges within the tree, and one can hear cracking sounds...the tree's "heartbeat". This exercise fosters a sense of empathy for trees as living things.


Other nifty additions to our seasonal explorations are these Fandex Family Field Guides. They fan out sort of like paint swatches on a ring with vivid die cut images and concise information. They are small enough to take with you on a hike with the wees and easy for little hands to hold. Click on the images for more info.

Have a good weekend, everyone! See you Tuesday.

Faith

"The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings" - J. M. Barrie

Redspottedpurple

How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live 'em. - Shel Silverstein

Redspottedpurple is a new company owned and operated by Hermie Meerman & Francis Hörters who have made a conscious choice to create high quality, imaginative products with respect for both humans and nature. Their products are made from 100% recycled wool, 100% Alpaca and 100% organic cotton, which are hand knit by artisans from otherwise disadvantaged economies in Turkey, Peru and Namibia. The products are made in homes of the craftspeople, not in factories.

I asked Francis about the inspiration for Satchel's much loved Talisman necklace. She explained, "It comes from the original African talisman. We have been traveling a lot in Africa and we admire the traditional body decoration of the African people. It's pure and autonomous. They wear their talisman for good luck and inspiration. We want to give children some good luck and inspiration with our talisman and the little pockets might contain all the secrets they collect during the day".

Satchel is also in love with his "Green redspottedpurple" who has taken rides in his bicycle basket and frequently joins us for breakfast. He has named his creature, "Horbist", and claims that he eats rubber bands and goat cheese. I admit that I too am smitten with Horbist so I asked Francis to tell me a little more about the creatures of Redspottedpurple.

"Our creatures originate from children's imaginations...", she explained, "the first drawings they make, the stories they tell. These drawings and stories show the essence of their fantasy. It doesn't have to look "for real" it's all imagination. The colors don't match, the legs aren't the same. This is a habit children unlearn when they become older. Redspottedpurple wants children and grown ups to keep this habit. That's why the figures make you smile. The recognition of a child's imagination".

Most Alive Monday: Awakenings

Does he ever speak to you?
Of course not. Not in words.
He speaks to you in other ways...how do you mean?
You don't have children.
No.
If you did you'd know. - From the film, Awakenings
It's been stressful and emotional these past 7 weeks...with the decline and death of my husband's cat and the spontaneous illness of my cat. There is no definitive diagnosis at this time. It is suspected that he has a neurological disease. We are syringe feeding him several times a day and during this last episode he was not quite present and it was suspected that he had suddenly, spontaneously, gone blind.

However, Elvis came back to us...he is clearly seeing and connecting with us. It reminded me of the film, "Awakenings". He is walking around and no longer staggering (However, he is still not eating). When I picked him up to place him on my lap and he turned his body to face mine and looked into my face, I nearly wept. I told my husband that I was afraid to be happy about it, but yet I want to happy for this time...for however long it lasts.

I thought long and hard about posting things with a negative bent for "Most Alive Monday", but I believe that even in our most painful moments we are certainly most alive and making the fullest choices we can make. It has been hard for me to see that however...until now. I realized that I've always had a camera 'round my neck and this tool had enabled me to seek out and document my joys even in the most dreadful of experiences or when I was facing uncertainty....and my lens had proved to be quite grounding and healing as I wrote about in this book.

Our door bell rang in the early evening and when I opened the door, a small brown parcel was sitting upon our weathered sisal mat. "Ooooh what is it, what is?!?!", Satch squealed with excitement. I glanced at the return address and replied, "It's my camera". Satch joyfully exclaimed, "Hooray...are you so happy to have your camera back?!?!" "Why don't you make sure it works first", Robert said as we walked into the kitchen. "Lets not go there", I replied, "Satch has the right idea, lets be happy for this moment".

I'm learning that our children have a way of saying what needs to be said. As parents we are told that we must teach our children how to behave in this world...when all the while, our children are teaching us how to be.

When Satch scraped his knee last week, he didn't want a bandage. He didn't want to cover it up. Instead, he decorated it, with magic markers. May we all have the courage to expose our hurts, to face them, to tell the stories and to honor them as we heal.

I'm back...see you tomorrow.

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

A Kick in the Bawlz

"The cure for anything is water - sweat, tears, or the sea" - Isak Dinesen

The tears come in the darkness when the wee is asleep and I awake from slumber feeling like I've been kicked in the bawlz by the universe. It happens every day, everywhere, I know... I know! People lose pets, friends, family members - it happens and yet not one loss is less painful or less tragic than another. It seems like a really rotten trick to give your heart away to a mischievous fur ball for 15 years then have to face the possibility of having to say good bye...too soon. It's always too soon!

On this summer morning I am thankful for public swimming pools, for little boys with sweaty ringlets; for bare feet on wood floors, for homemade kites and warm breezes; for drippy ice cream cones; for hummingbird visits in the early morn; for grass-stained sheets dragged down hillsides while a squealing boy holds tightly with dimpled fists; for the bird's nest we found on the ground (woven with the sticky wrapper of an after dinner mint from McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant) which we gingerly carried home and placed on our mantle; for the little hand that gets tangled in my hair at night; for the purrs of a blue-eyed cat; for the thread of pixels that connect distant friends, and the glow by which I read their words while sipping my morning coffee.

Expert Vet Advice Needed

As you know my cat Elvis is having a crisis. He stopped eating when my husband's cat started to decline. His labs came back normal and he was given antibiotics and he started to eat a bit. Around the time of Zetti's death, he stopped eating again! He then had more labs, an x-ray and an ultrasound and everything came back normal again. In the meantime, he started to eat again and we were hopeful. Today, however, he is once again hunched in a corner which is where he goes when he's not feeling well and has stopped eating AGAIN. This is his third episode. Because he's lost so much weight with the previous episodes, he can not go too long without eating. Everyone is stumped. What are we missing?

Most Alive Monday: Reward

The only thing worth stealing
is a kiss from a sleeping child - Houldsworth


















On Friday I received an email from a local store owner informing me that the letterbox I created and placed in his shop is missing. I am choosing to believe that it was mistakenly removed by a newbie to the letterboxing sport and will be returned to its secret hiding place. I refuse to believe that it was stolen - this is my most alive choice.

I am offering a reward to anyone who returns my letterbox. Click on the reward poster above for details!















*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

Most Alive Monday: Not Photographed

There have been many magical moments experienced, but not photographed:

• Satch and I were walking to the pool when I stopped the stroller for fear of running into what I first thought was a dog. It was a DOE! We stood motionless as she backed up a few steps and continued eating the brush, then two fawns appeared from behind her. We watched for some time before slowly inching forward. It was beautiful.

• We took Satch to the nature center Friday evening for a children's event about night creatures, after which the wees roasted marshmallows 'round the campfire. Satch was so excited to be at his first campfire, and even more excited by the thought of roasting and eating his first marshmallow. Every so often, he asked impatiently, "Where are the MELLOWS?". His first s'mores was a big hit!

• On Sunday we went to the 4H fair at Frying Pan Farm. His pal R, met him there and they bounced themselves silly on one of those inflatable bouncy thingies. Hearing those sweet giggles gave me a flashback from my own childhood when, on one golden July day in Jonesport, Maine, I jumped around inside one of those things with my grandmother and great aunt, Sue. I'll never forget hearing their laughter and imagining what they must have been like as little girls. I'm so lucky to have had that moment with them as a child, even luckier to have relived it yesterday through the squeals and laughter of my son and his friend. Later we went back to R's house for yummy tofurkey paninis.

(and in between, I cleaned the house, did 4 loads of laundry, weeded the garden and mowed the lawn)

My cat is seeing a specialist today and so there's no word on that situation. My camera is still in the shop and there's no word on that either.

The only photo I can share is this one from my childhood. It was taken on the same on the same day that my grandmother and great aunt bounced with me in the inflatable moon walk. It was shot in 1970-something during the July 4th parade. My great uncle, Philip Huntley, and his merry band dressed as clowns and crashed the parade in his 6 wheeled amphibious vehicle, "The Scrambler". Thankfully, someone had the good sense to capture the moment with a Polaroid, and I have the good fortune of being the keeper of this photo. Uncle Phil was well known for many pranks, mayhem and sidesplitting fits of laughter.

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

Mom to Mom: Claire Garland

Now that I'm a mama I've become more and more interested in handmade toys. So, I began researching books about the subject...books with easy instructions and projects for various skill levels. I was delighted to come across "Toys to Sew" by Claire Garland and when I discovered that she is a mom who is living her dream of making toys for children, I knew that I needed to chat her up.

Mom: Claire Garland
Of: Harry (10), May (7), James (5)
Where: Corwall, South West coast, England
Blog: Knitted Babes
Website: Dot Pebbles

1. In what ways has becoming a mother changed you?

To begin, personally, I have become a much more selfless person since my children. More positive and less shy too - whether this is an age thing, I've just had my 40th (!), or whether it's because of my children, I'm unsure. I do think children install confidence in you as a mother as you install confidence in your children - 'you can do it' - 'I can do it'.

On a creative note, when Harry - the eldest, was born I did feel a need to get on with something for me, not in a selfish way but rather in a need to not just sit and do nothing when the baby is asleep' (I've been lucky in that respect) way. I always harboured a creative side - so that need enfurled into making craft things - sewing, then knitting, then crochet as each child has come along... maybe if I had another I could begin macrame!...Only joking, 3 is perfect in my eyes.

2. What is one tip you would like to share about mothering?

Get involved as much as you can with your childrens' school - offer help, your skills - school embrace creative people - this in turn makes your children popular and a name rather than a number and bids well for their future well-being. Also it's is a lovely 'stolen moment' thing to a have a sneaky peek inside your childrens' school life.

3. What is your creative outlet/medium?

I sew, I knit and at the moment I'm into crochet. I also write books; at present I am embarking on writing books for children with the characters being knitted dolls.

4. How do you find time for creativity?

I make time - I hurry through all the household chores; make a point in not watching the tv when there is nothing worth watching on which is most of the time; do the Nigella Express way of feeding the family etc, etc - luckily my husband shares the same ethos - he is teaching himself the guitar.

5. Why do you blog/journal?

The blog was actually not set up by me but my publicist in the US for Knitted Babes. However, it is one of the things I shall seriously look into in 2008 for my own Dot Pebbles co. as I feel it is a fabulous way of connecting with like minded people not only here but all across the globe - how wonderful is that!

6. Which blogs do you frequent?

I don't have 100% access to the internet as my husband works from home too and uses that facility a lot - so I don't have much time to browse. This said, I have on a number of occasions visited 'Molly Chicken' and hence wondered into other sites via that.

7. Who are some bloggers that you would like to meet?

See 6... must get into this more if I want to join the club.

8. What inspired you to create toys?

Most definitely my children - when I set out to do something for myself back when harry was a baby I wanted to make things for him to play with - most of these items ended up in Embroidered Treasures, my first book. A real labour of love.

9. What grounds you, moves you, fills your well?

Crochet, crochet, crochet - my new passion...Plus... weekends, living here in Cornwall - it's so beautiful here by the sea and in the countryside which I am passionate about also. Art, shopping in craft shops and galleries, other creative people, and books - my book of the moment is Susan Cropper's Vintage crochet.

And I'm well into my new venture which is writing story books for children with the key characters being a new range of knitted babes type dolls.