Mother Earth and Her Children

Somehow, M found this misshelved & lost book in the children's book stacks at the library. I'm glad she did. Everytime we settle down to read it before nap time, I get so lost in all the pictures... we both do.

The illustrations in this book are actually details of a single quilt created by Sieglinde Schoen-Smith. It's amazing for me to think that someone could make this by hand out of simple cloth & thread.

Mother Earth and Her Children

Illustrated/quilted by Sieglinde Schoen-Smith from a poem/book long-ago written by Sibylle von Olfers and translated by Jack Zipes

Schoen-Smith's design was inspired by the original 1906 illustrations by the author, Sibylle von Olfers. Very lovely too. You can view a complete digital copy of her book here.

Image above via Stadtmuseum Esslingen

I love Ozzy

As if little Ozzy Rabbit wasn't cute enough, he also has a removable vest with a polka dot lining.

Oh, Fanya. You are too much!

Mommy's Girl

So Baby M has got a big case of Mommy's Girl. It's gotten pretty bad. Only I can take her out of the highchair. Only I can wash her hands and face. Only I can pick her up in a crowd. Only I can read her stories, even though she loves being read to almost more than anything else in the world. You get the picture.

It's gotten so bad that last weekend, I picked up a little board book called Daddy Loves Me. Yes. Propaganda. We've resorted to propaganda. "Look, MarMar! Look at the daddy pushing the baby in the swing! That baby sure is happy. Look at that big smile!"

Funny thing is that she LOVES this book. She wants to hear it over & over again... but only if I read it to her. If R tries to take a turn, it's tears, snot & a panicky begging for "Mommy, hold you!"

I hope, hope, hope this phase will soon be over. Don't get me wrong. It's nice to be needed & loved, but I'd much, much rather share that honor (and the hand-washing & the holding & everything else).

Rules

I love this rule (and this song too):

158. The best thing to do in the rain is be quiet and listen.

Now, if only it would rain here...

Image

New Anthropologie Catalog

What a fun surprise! Today, I got a copy of the new Anthropologie catalog & lo & behold, the photo shoot was held just a few blocks from my house.

And yes, every surface in this town truly is plastered with crisply new & forlornly weathered rock posters. However, now I'm looking at them in a whole new way.

Blame Ringo

Made me smile

Newness

A new haircut that feels just right.

A new blankie & a super-soft new doggie added to the bedtime menagerie (Thank you, Anie!)

And soon to leave for a family beach vacation in Florida. Three cheers for sand, waves & ocean breezes. I can hardly wait! Doesn't it look amazing?

Images here

Wishing it were cold

I'm wishing it were cold here so I could have a snowman friend of my own

Anchors away

It's Mother's Day, which for me means a big breakfast of migas, a freshly vacuumed car & hours away from all things children (love you, Baby M! But nevertheless...)

Not sure where the wind will blow me, but two ports of call will definitely be a leisurely solo visit to the Harry Ransom Center and a little yoga.

A Star is Born!

Looks like today was the day we'd all been waiting for.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a little yellow & black striped caterpillar feeding on one of the milkweed plants in our backyard. Every day, I'd go out to check its progress & watch it grow fatter & longer, until one morning it left its feasting grounds & was hanging upside down from a vine tendril nearby. Next time I checked, it looked like this:

I clipped off the bit of vine & set it up in its new mason jar home on our kitchen window sill. I could not wait for it to emerge.

This morning, the bright green, ever still, unmoving chrysalis had turned black & I could make out the wing markings of the monarch butterfly curled up inside. It was time to let it go.

Amazing! Godspeed, beautiful butterfly. I hope you have a long life & your journey goes safely & smoothly.

Baby M auspiciously wore her beautiful new butterfly dress today. What luck!

Itching for Completion

An evening at home, all to myself, and I had planned to continue with constructing some grey felt storage boxes. I started cutting the pieces & then hit some sort of mental block. It needs to get done. I want to get this done. But here I am, time a-plenty and not getting it done.

I'm thinking about felt, feeling itchy & overwarm and searching for images of Joseph Beuy's work with grey felt. Distractions.

Pictures here, here, here, and here

Collages: III

I wish I could go to Laurie Frick's talk tomorrow... She does some amazing work.

Der Sandmännchen

Happy Easter

Off chasing the elusive Easter egg, with ego in full-bloom, as I finished sewing Baby M's rabbit just in the nick of time. Not too shabby.

Two bits

These past two weeks have had their ups and their downs. I've managed to have a few kicks & a few laughs, but more than anything, I feel like I've been endlessly toiling in isolation. I feel tired, bone tired, and the weight of all the unfinished things presses down on my spirit. I want very much to have more time to clear my head & work on the things that really move me & lift me up, but the window of time is often too short & the other more mundane necessities shout louder & drown it all out.

We are heading off to Dallas to visit the family this weekend, a very quick trip, but perhaps (hopefully?) a restful one.

Two things happened last week that really made me smile & blush. One, I won a trio of charming Ghost Academy cards from the excellent Crow & Canary. How cute is that bird card?
And two, Anna gave me a Kreativ Blogger award. Aw, shucks, Anna. Thank you! If you could only see me blush...

So, now I am to list 7 things that I love. How very good to switch gears & refocus on the wonderful things that sparkle & whizz & make me feel most alive. Not so easy to choose, but here goes.

1. Being quiet & alone, an all too rare pleasure. I think my best & clearest when I can get time like this.

2. Having time to get lost in intricate projects with no clear idea of how to do them, but to think them out as I go along.

3. Swimming laps is as close to flying as I will ever get. It's absolute, dizzying weightlessness.

4. Having fresh flowers in the house. I love bringing wildflowers & the humble flowers that grow in our yard & placing them in unexpected places. There is almost always a tiny, slightly tousled arrangement on our bathroom window sill. It makes the room so fresh & peaceful. 5. Watching a new episode of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. Every Saturday night, we gather up everything we could possibly need & sit down to watch the newest episode on Hulu. I love all kinds of suspense/conspiracy films & this show is the nailbiting-est one of all.

6. My dear family. I couldn't imagine a more perfect morning than to bring our daughter into bed with us & all hunker under the duvet, lingering until hunger & the desire for a big cup of coffee lures us out again (well, not that the coffee lures Baby M out, the toy push wagon usually does that trick).

7. And finally, dear Internet, this one is for you. I love the Internet. I love how it makes the far, close & how it makes the flow of ideas become liquid-fast. I love how it has brought me together with people I had given up as lost & meet new people in places I have never been. My life is so much richer, brighter & larger for having this amazing resource.

Thinking about...

Tom Molloy's work

via Joanne Mattera and Art Lies

Bubbles of color

via kanspice2000

The Office for Word and Images

Imperfection (psst: it's a giveaway)

And listening to the sea