a collective effort

it started with the idea to make the grammie a quilt.

a colorful mish-mash of fabrics from our stashes.

(those sunflowers are from my garden!!)

for a little woman who had a passion for her garden in her stronger days.

then it turned into a lesson in using the big machine for the girl-child.

those two were my mother’s ideas. she is the patient one.

notice her hands are helping. not mine.

i’m just the picture taker. sans wedding ring and with chewed fingernails *gasp* more bad habits

so i worked on my half alone because there are certain things i won’t do with my children.

teaching them to tie their shoes is one of them.

another is enduring painful lessons wherein i teach something that i really like to do for fun and recreation-but somehow leads to frustration and sometimes even tears on their part-because-well-frankly i don’t really know why-maybe that’s just not my forte.

besides that’s what nana’s are for. don’t you agree?

there was some hand stitching to be done.

a block which read: with love to the woman who taught us to work with our hands.

and the binding. which i really enjoyed sewing with some pearled cotton thread.

two things which ARE right up my alley!

it is now complete. tied with a rainbow of  silk ribbon bows. washed and ready to be delivered today.

because sometimes weekends are for giving…even when you’d rather be taking. a break. or a nap with a newly made quilt that you worked so hard on….

see i’m really not the one with good ideas….i told you so.

ps. tongue in cheek: i did add a small piece of our lady of guadalupe fabric(just in case the little grammie wants to have a “reversion” back to our beloved Catholic faith anytime soon…that was a good idea, huh? *wink*wink*)

frivolities

little. tiny. useless. houses.

but they sure are darling, aren’t they?

i have a whole little. tiny. useless. neighborhood. planned already…

originally found here.

i found that they photograph well too….no bad side!

lacking a conclusion

i gather the lace tablecloth into a ball.

little bits of crumbs fall back onto the table.

even lace has holes.

pieces of the weekend come spilling out of my heart.

a heart overflowing with happiness for healing and grace freely given.

it is late monday but i can feel the love that is still here.

i recall the taste of a glass of shared orange champagne.

smiling  i think of the way it tickled my tongue.

two spoons and one serving of tiramisu.

a movie with my mama.

venturing out again. together. alone.

she holds my arm. a sign of her fragility. and vulnerability.

shadows from her fall lurk around every corner. and with every step.

all of life is so fragile.

we are bones. flesh. blood.

i remember: even lace has holes.

holes are the weaknesses.

things fall through.

yet the delicate fabric of who we are is durable.

and we can soak up so much goodness.

the goodness that is:

::falling asleep to the sound of rain.

the downpour a soothing symphony to the places that ache.

::sunday holiness. awe. praise.

early morning mass.

adoration. contrition. thanksgiving. supplication.

Spirit Food.

no crumbs there.

only Wholeness. and Completeness.

and strength in HIS Flesh and Blood.

i pause and ponder:

how is it that we so quickly outgrew that stage of fitting in just one pew?

my loves are sprinkled throughout the small chapel.

how does such a small chapel contain so much love?

because love is not something that can be contained.

it manifests itself in so many different ways.

and when i am not looking it slips right through those holes and sinks down into my deepest. darkest places…and resides with me.

even in my crumb-iness…

there is an echo of voices and i snap out of it.

stories are being read by my girl and my mama.

they fumble. trying to figure out where they left off last.

so much of life is fumbling and trying to figure out where you left off last….

the read aloud: the swiss family robinson.

so many interesting things to make small talk about.

there is a catch in my throat.

i had hoped these days would come again.

days where we’d hear and feel all of these things again.

will it all fall through again?

maybe. probably.

yes, definitely.

i take those words and set them aside for now.

life has too many holes and crumbs to think about.

and after much fumbling myself:

i leave this post without a conclusion…

3/52

joining barb:

52 weeks of daily life in pictures.

:: trials and celebrations, the extraordinary and mundane — whatever is unique to the week.

it’s kind of too early for these…but i couldn’t resist. and they were so yummy!

they are also delicious on top of gluten-free pancakes and paired with vanilla-greek yogurt-cream-cheese-fluffy-wonderfulness.

 pretty table-settings. and impromptu tea with friends.

thank you….half-half. i will never lose weight because of you….and your creamy presence in every. single. cup. of coffee. i drink.

thank you, Lord, for sweet looking weeds….that almost look like flowers.

girls with pink cheeks and creative spirits don’t belong locked up learning in classrooms. they should be free (with limits) to sketch in a pile of comfy blankets when inspiration strikes.

thank you krusteaz  for finally making a mix that won’t kill my children…i do so love it when the kids can make things with a little help from a box….(this muffin is sans blueberries. but these are oh. so. good when you add a cup of blueberries to the batter. and spoiler: they might not last long enough to take photos.)

hello. nice. big. stack of red linen napkins.

you look like you could use some embroidery. and i sure could use an easy project that will travel. we’ll see how it goes.

and last but certainly not least….

the pure. unadulerated bliss. of having a big brother that will ride you really fast around the yard in a wagon….

(as a side note: this does cause a certain amount of tipping. or so i was later told.)

this really was a good week.

and it’s great to have these pictures to remind me so.

laugh often

at yourself.

and then use a good. free. photo editor.

joining nadja, i did this self-portrait thing.

you should try it too.

focus on your assets (because we all have them).

mine: lip gloss and new haircut.

the sun and its damaging effects is a lot like a good piece of cheesecake. all is fine and well in the moment. but later it’ll bite you in the butt. or in my case: the forehead.

don’t i look younger? though. with this short little cut.  it’s amazing what a new hairdo will “do”.

i had something else in mind. but my sister-in-law/hairdresser nora, sat me down. let me tell her what i wanted and then proceeded to tell me “that’s fine. but i am still going to do whatever i want.”

ok then.

so it was shorter than i intended. but so perfect for summer.

and eating good cheesecake.

and it is a breeze to wash.

and these days i am all about easier ya know.

today in the shower i didn’t even shave my legs all.the.way. i cheated and measured right about where my capris would “show”.

i wanted to hurry up and get out.

i had a lot on my mind.

like how i desperately needed to get to the library. and to the store to buy more borax.

i love borax so. much. it makes things so white. and clean.

i really am this boring interesting in real life.

oh. and speaking of love: there was this desert flower. it was blooming in my grandma’s front yard. all yellow and bright like the morning sun.

and these grilled pita. veggie pizzas. so easy. and so good.

and of course if one is truly living well there has to be sewing.

red work to be exact.

i have great plans for more roses like this one. but i can’t say them out loud. or they’ll never happen. so that’s all for now.

and. finally. for that sweet minnesota mama. and because i pretty much had all of the “blonde” cut off of my own head:

so there was a blonde. and she went to see a ventriliquist perform. he didn’t “notice” her in the audience and began telling dumb blonde jokes (as part of his act). everyone laughed but she became offended. stood up. and told him how she felt. upset that everyone stereotypes blondes as dumb. and stupid. he apologizes profusely. and she says to him: “shut up. i am not talking to you. i am talking to that jerk who is sitting on your lap.”

i am still laughing at this one.

my cheeks hurt. and i am outta here.

i hope your days too are filled with lots of meaningful conversations. good food. creative endeavors. and any(or even all) of  the millions of beautiful things and moments there are to be had.

xo.

otium sanctum

 

holy leisure.

devoting free time to a laudable purpose.

necessary to nurture spiritual interiority.

st. augustine writes about it in his confessions.

as mamas sometimes it is hard to find the time to find any free time. but with this lengthening of days i have found that the best place for me is outside. 

while i read or tend to the sweet little garden. which they sometimes help me with. they ride their bikes. dig in the dirt. play catch.

we all need free time. away from the schedules and constraints of life.

time to be so un-busy that you actually notice the first yellow swallowtail of the season. which is what we did today.

holy leisure. during this holy season of lent.

yes, friends, God is good.

happy first day of spring!

spring-ing ahead

this time change has me out of sorts. it always does for the first month. or so. but the lovely burst of warm weather we are having is making the transition a little easier.

moving books and students outside this afternoon to tackle long division and copywork with the sun shining on our faces made the grueling task a bit easier.

there were still some tears. because of the long division. but for some reason doing work outside with our sweet garden flowers smiling at us and hearing the birds singing their spring serenade makes all the other stuff seem not so bad.

even the weeds were pretty.

sounds idyllic, huh? well, humor me, would ya?

our census packets came today. i am planning a unit study on this subject.

here are just a few things we are reading:

a spotlight for harry 

spellbinder the life of harry houdini

edward lear’s the scroobious pip 

whiskers and rhymes

peter and the wolf

and tico and the golden wings .

leo lionni is quickly becoming one of our all time favorite authors. we love. love. love his artwork and his stories. he is up there with eric carle and tomie de paola.

speaking of love. i am loving embroidery these days. knitting stitches are so hard for me to keep track of right now. i thought that somehow baseball season would afford some quality chair sitting. knitting time. but that is just not happening. so instead of being a poor sport i am venturing out with my scary lump of embroidery thread. i think i’ve shown it to you before. it’s so big it is impossible to lose track of it. i say it like it is an entity. and really it is!

my girl requested a custom embroidery piece. a cute little hoop with a certain bird. music notes and flowers. and i, being the attentive mother, obliged.

i obliged mostly because one day i noticed that the doll cradle was no longer being played with. it was upstairs in a pile of “things to be put away”. i felt a lump in my throat because i had meant to paint it but never got around to it. and that made me really sad so i am trying not to let that happen again.

the time wherein your children specifically request certain things from you doesn’t last long. and i hate having regrets.

are there specific things you regret with regards to your kids? things you’ve left undone?

come on. make me feel better….

standing by and other mama verbs

standing by to watch and count all of the missed catches.

stopping long enough to embroider some flossie doodles.

enjoying some orange marmalade from a friend.

wanting to selfishly stay up late to knit. sew. read. pray. blog. anything. but selflessly going to bed earlier to be better and brighter for them in the morning.

trying to keep the kitchen clean after all meals. (this is a tough one).

taking the time to really look at the pretty colors of the wings of a plastic parrot when they are being shown to me by the littlest hands in my life.

marvelling at that wonderful. purple grape hyacinth. i am loving the magic of bulbs. such a slow hobby. requiring a lot of patience. but the results are so delightful!

thinking about our st. joseph altars. i need a bigger statue. one that doesn’t have such a disfigured face. poor st. joseph.

wishing you all a lovely weekend. and hoping that at least some of your mama verbs are beautiful ones.

the here. the now.

 

life.

it all happens so fast. the morning rush. breakfast. dishes cluttering a clean sink. kids in and out. up and down. noise. laughter. sunlight. papers scattered everywhere. skateboards. shoes by the stairs.

a daddy long legs spider in someone’s bath towel. which becomes drama enough that he wants you to be in the bathroom with him while he bathes. just in case the spider crawls into said bath with him.

he’s no sooner out of the water and he wants to make a volcano.

but she needs her hair braided.

and then the big boys are making plans to go to boxing tonite.

but i had dinner plans with my mom.

my sister-in-law calls. she wants to go to dinner too.

two invitations for one night?

and i can’t do either.

because there is just too much to be done.

and all i really want to do is: sit in my favorite chair. enjoy my fruit salad. do a little embroidery. watch the little people play catch. and wait for my daffodil to bloom.

waiting for your first daffodil to bloom is a lot like waiting for a baby to be born. you know something beautiful is so close. but it’s just not quite ready yet.

we are such impatient creatures.

and life really is so beautiful. here. and now.

always.

happy week-ending, friends. enjoy your here. and now.

the quilted advent calender

i would like to humbly share with you the quilted advent calender. the middle image/picture is from a very old book about the Christmas story. it is of baby Jesus in the manger with the animals bowing to greet Him. i copied it onto some of that computer paper/material.  i did a little embroidery on the edges. and hand embroidered the numbers on pieces of a vintage tablecloth. the top has 3 rod pockets. 2 are yellow. one is blue. there. it is done. except for the advent scriptures i plan to print on cardstock and roll up like little scrolls and tie with ribbon.

it is much nicer in person. but so are most things….. right?