A post in pictures
Artichokes for dinner: a Bean favorite. Mine too. We eat all the way to the heart, dipping each leaf in lemon butter; then wonder at the purple and pale green thistle center.
It’s suddenly warm here. Days perfect for drinking fizzy water and limes. Days for getting first sunburns, working in the garden. A week of vacation: to catch up on writing and sleep and time with my boys.
Bean and I spend every second outdoors in the afternoons, ambling through our meadows, taking stock of everything that is new and green and budding. He found these old baskets from last autumn’s crysanthemums on the brush pile we’re preparing to burn. Natraully, they offered endless entertainment.
Made the first batch of sun tea this week. The temperature has hit 80, and it’s almost soporific. Just two weeks ago I was wearing down and socks, now I’m barefoot, my toes badly in need of a pedicure.
Writing, upstairs, alone in the house, I heard a thud. Unmistakable, reminding me of a childhood in the Rocky Mountains in a big-windowed cabin and my dad, holding stunned birds in his quiet palms. They always flew away, and compelled, I went downstairs and out the screen door looking. It was there, below the frong windows, wings spread wide, eyes closed. But I scooped it up gently, and held it. (My dad always said holding the birds helped them with the shock.) And eventually, he started to blink, and move about, then perched for a while on my thumb before flying off. A small blessing.
Wildflowers suddenly everywhere, and insects. I’m so damn grateful to be through with winter.
We hung Bean’s first tree swing yesterday. So much nostalgia from childhood: my feet scraping the blue bowl of sky.
I found two today, the first of the year. I think of them as my writing talismans. Last year they brough so much: my writing group, Pam, a piece to be published this summer in the Sun. I’ve pressed them in my new Molskine.
He’s just so beautiful. Yesterday in the garden he was stomping about. “I’m going to get the moon,” he said, and then wandered off, gesturing that he’d gotten it and was holding it and bringing it back. “I brought you the moon, Mommy,” he said, beaming.
Good times + Art Everyday
Happy & merry to all of you!
It has been a BUSY week. (Thank you for all the well wishes!) I’ve somewhat recovered from the most horrible sinus infection/fever combo I have ever had. The word misery does not even serve it justice. Seriously awful.
But, I’m mostly better, and we had a wonderful Christmas. I made baked pears in wine with orange zest and served them with mascarpone, toasted walnuts and chocolate, on Christmas Eve. Delicious. Bean was rediculously cute Christmas morning. Eyes WIDE, wide, wide. We used tissue paper and colorful ribbons to make the unwrapping that much more fun–and it was. He’s been playing with his toys non-stop ever since (a wooden kitchen, a Plan City parking garage, lincoln logs and tinker toys were the big ones.)
Yesterday we went skiing and I am finally good enough to not be horrible, and I love the thrill of zipping down the mountain carving great curves in the snow. I’m still pretty terrible, but no longer terribly afraid and that makes all the difference. In fact, I LOVE it. DH also gave me a gift certificate for a climbing class in January, and I am thrilled to get back on the wall. I haven’t climbed in years now, and I miss it.
For the month of January I’ve decided I’m going to do some art every day & post it here. Anyone want to join me? It’s so easy over the holidays to get all blurry around the edges. To forget to focus inward, even though I think that’s what the heart of wintertime should be all about. I’m looking forward to having a commitment to create something every day, as my life seems to be chronically busy of late, and I’ve been struggling to stay focused amidst the tornado of things that clamor for my attention daily. I haven’t done any art in months, and I miss that part of myself. If you want to join me, respond in the comments and I’ll make a special sidebar links for Everyday Art in January.
Foodie things, Art Everyday, Doing, Thoughts & observations | Comments (15)satisfied
Outside a wood pecker hammers into the trunk of a poplar and the sky is the color of snow. I finished my manuscript yesterday, and couldn’t have felt better about it. The stories work, I think, and they’ve begun to carry themselves, the characters leading me to new discoveries and scenes. It’s how I mostly imagine writing should feel–and I’ve decided there is absolutely nothing better writing for two days straight, hours blurring, in a quiet house. DH too Bean over to the inlaws, and I cozied up by the wood stove, clacking away at the keyboard as content as a clam.
Other delights:
My lovely hens have started to lay eggs! Regularly! I’ve been particularly enjoying them soft boiled with a little salt and pepper.
I was inspired by Ali’s beautiful advent boxes to make a set of my own for Bean, and he’s delighted at the advent fairy’s tiny gifts: yesterday a miniature tape measure; today a handful of tiny dinosaurs that grow when submerged in warm water (remember those? So fun.)
I spent the morning vacuuming and straightening, and mopping. The floors now gleam, and this makes me happy.
This afternoon, after a wee nap, I think we’ll head to the craft store to pick up tissue paper and card stock to prepare for the holidays; and also to a home store for throw pillows. Every couch needs a good collection of throw pillows, and we have too few.
What are you doing/eating this Sunday afternoon?
Foodie things, Doing, Daily Photo, Thoughts & observations | Comments (13)Tidbits
Bean said, “Mama, why do we wake up instead of down?”
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My spine feels looser after yoga. I had fun, watching him, hearing his breath, moving through the sun salute.
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We bought pfeffernusse cookies today; a holiday tradition from my childhood.
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Snow is falling in fat, wet flakes outside.
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UPDATED: My brain = mush. Too little sleep. Too many words. I’ll resurface on Sunday-ish. Until then, tell me what are three of your favorite things to receive in your stocking?
NaBloPoMo, Foodie things, Doing, My Notebook | Comments (10)Because it’s Monday
And because I can’t eek out anything more than this, I’m wondering what you’re top 10 favorite foods are. Foods you can’t live without. They can be entire dishes–or individual ingredients.
Mine:
pomogranets & mangos
chocolate
coffee
fresh salad (especially with micro greens, sprouts, etc.)
grilled cheese & tomato soup
cheddar, manchego, and chevre
baklava
sushi
french toast + maple syrup
avocados
(not necessarily in that order)
Runners up:
honeycomb
dates
coconut
tom ka (Thai soup)
pad Thai
bacon
omlettes