Bliss Beyond Naptime

Summer Spun Away

Oh where, oh where did the time go? My mom's right, once you have kids time seems to accelerate. Or else, my girlfriend's right. The Earth's axel spin is picking up momentum and the world is literally spinning faster and time is accelerating. Whoa. Trippy. Smoke another one sister-girlfriend. Regardless of which conspiracy theory camp you're a member of, the mornings around here are getting mistier too. I love that. It's like frost but not cold. So thick I can't even see the mountains surrounding our home. But when I look straight up - blue sky.  Though I always wish for just one more beach day the fall is so beautiful here it totally makes up for it. Not to mention, the beach isn't exactly the most relaxing place in the world with naked yoga guy (and I'm not talking about Craig) and a baby in tow putting grub in his mouth then crying about it. Exactly what dosage of Benadryl does Soulemama feed her kid to get him sleeping on  the gorgeous handmade quilts in all the beach shots?

 

My little man officially turned ten months old yesterday. Double digits! This has been all a blur the last ten months. Damn earth spinning. Now he's creeping around, not slamming his fingers in drawers over and over again , not trying to scrunch into a little scrunchie then pull certain body parts off his person anymore. Sigh - they grow so fast. Stop with the spinning already!

Speaking of spinning - I spun this up to participate in a spin then knit along. I spun all the Isabella (the happy sheep mixed in with some splashes of subtle surprises) I had left to spin and then the tunic I was working on only came up to my belly button. Yeah, my belly button's not ready for a return debut quite yet after he, up there, happened to it. So I frogged the project and I'm going to put the rest of Isabella up in my shop sometime today. Going to be a sweet sheep deal so check it out!

Attack of Summer

It's been a while. Kale's sleeping in until all hours isn't quite happening like it use to. So I have about five minutes for a quick update. Here's a quick story utilizing all the cool photos Craig gifted me from our fancy camera. Here it goes: Edie and I decided to go out and collect some flowers to make some perfume.

We decided to bring her little brother just becuase he's so cute (who just happened to turn seven months the other day! Where did the time go? Not crawling yet. He will not crawl until we get back from our next road trip for my sanity's sake. We know how that's slim pickings these days!) .

We were all walking up the bushy path up the mountain behind our house. Edie's still blabbing on and on about how much fun she had with Cousin Camryn the week prior.

I was going on and on about how much I love the new bloomers I just whipped up and how I was never ever going to take them off because they're so comfy and cute. So there we were both talking at the same time, not really listening to each other. Or the rustling in the bushes... duh, duh, duuuhh... (scary music that was suppose to be)

No, no, it wasn't a feral baby - that's a stock picture of Kale I haven't had an opportunity to use yet. That's the first time he was on a swing when we hit the road last month. Continuing: we heard a rustling in the bushes and immediately the media victim in my head went to the news story from the day before of a cougar attack on a mother and three year old and how the mother got right in there and shoved the cat off her babe. I can do that, I remember thinking in that moment.

So I looked over my shoulder (while wearing my new hat of course) and I saw distinct movement in the bushes. I said to Edie and Kale, who was strapped to the front of me by the way, hindering my ability to throw myself between a beast and a babe, other than him I suppose, 'what could that be?' then all of a sudden a creature came busting out of the bushes! About three feet long, a foot wide and all super intimidating-like. My first though was, oh my god, there's badgers in these parts! Because it was so low to the ground and so agro. So I grabbed Edie's hand and said "come on, Edie, RUN!". And did I mention we were on a hill? We ran about, oh, one step, and Edie bailed flat on her back, head pointing down hill, feet still up. Kind of like this shot from '07:

I look over my shoulder again, wearing my new hat, and I could see the mystery creature still coming toward us then when I try to get a better look at to figure out what the #$@ it was it retreats a bit, scuffling backwards, but then it comes towards us again! Eeks! So I hoist Edie up, who's flat on her back, screaming like, well, a little girl and say "RUN MUMMY SAYS!" and we run two steps this time then kerplunk flat on her back, same unideal position screaming. Kale starts screaming too (alas, like a little girl) so I just left Edie there (kidding). So we just basically did that dance about three more times until finally we were able to run into Craig's office, where he's extremely busy, on a serious phone call and I yell, "we've been attack!" and I made him look up immediately what I think it could of been. Badger, wolverine, I don't know. But after sharing my story and some deep meditation, in the end I think it was this:

But much, much scarier. Like, I said, it seemed three feet long and a foot wide and it was poised all horizontal rather than cute, fluffy and vertical. So scary. We're asking Craig to go back up with the camera just to confirm so we'll get back to you with an update, more pictures and an epic You Tube video hopefully. My five minutes are up. My baby grouse is up. Happy Solstice!

Spring Birds

So we've been in a springy mode around here. Reading the gardening books, designing the 2009 gardening frocks, getting our minds around how truly blessed we are to be living here, living out our dream. Above is a special score I got from Posy Gets Cozy as a special gift to myself a few years ago just because I love myself so.

 

We finally took down Edie's Valentine montage from her bedroom window and were lucky enough to find a Mama Robin willing to lay a nest down and give us a peek into her mad procreation skillz. Edie's very stoked about seeing her eggs. An interesting experience witnessing her exercise her patience muscles. When's the robin going to lay her eggs? When is she? When, when? Eventually her short term memory muscle lost out on that arm wrestle and we're on to the next segment of our day.

I told her probably in a few days. Mama will lay three robin-egg blue baby capsules and a few weeks after that, when Edie inconspicuously checks under her butt, perhaps there will be babies three. This is kind of a flight-stimulator training for when we get the laying birds. Egg collection will fall under the jurisdiction of an Edie chore (I've always had this fantasy of saying 'not till you do your chores' like Ma always told my imaginary friend Laura Ingalls while I was growing up).

Then it was time to put the Easter tree up. I asked Edie to look at it with awe in her eyes for the camera:

 

I told her,"hmmm, not quite awe. Looks like you're scared. Try with googley eyes. Like how Kale looks at you."

 

There we go. Experiencing deja vu? Here's a two year old awe-struck Didi:

Spring Rolls

I woke up at 4:00 am to the sound of what I thought was the first spring bird but it was Kale's little nose squeaking. Change is in the air. He use to wake me up with the sounds of winter pig; snorting and rooting. So damn cute! Here's the little piglet-bird swimming in some merino I've been dyeing in spring flavours (no fiber has been harmed in the making of this blog post).

The winner of the Rebar cookbook is (drum rolling, Craig's eyes rolling, Kale's rolls rolling, everything's rolling)...:

3

Random numbers generated Mar 20 2009 at 7:46:41 by www.psychicscience.org.
Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

Mind you I had to randomly generate three times because it appears like Diablo seemed so devilishly wrong to most of you. It's actually a drink recipe in the book. I'd post it here but that may violate some copyright rules. Let's just say it's a carrot juice concoction with a wicked jalapeno kick. The correct answers were Chocolate Cocoa Puffs and Granny Candy. Thanks for playing and congratulations to Carrie!

We have a big day here. We're going to "town". Kale's first time in the car for this long - a forty minute drive plus some hustle and bustle for I'm forced to renew my driver's license. In my perfect world we'd never have to leave the vicinity of our township. Wish us luck. Luckily Craig's coming so I can sit in the back with Kale and mesmerize him with my hot pink knitting needles. He LOVES watching me knit. I just cast on some slippers using Aunt Maggie's Slipper pattern. Suppose to be stupid quick. Should be done tonight I bet. It is Pizza and a Movie Night after all (though I'm going to play my mum card and request a batch of organic chicken wings from the restuarant - crazy craving). Love Fridays!

Solstice Sister

 Edie wanted a big sister for Clara so I made one which literally contains a healthy dose of blood, sweat and tears. You can see it there, the blood anyway, on her sweet little ballerina's chest. I may just call them birth marks because they're not washing off.

I vented to a girlfriend it feels like I've been experiencing the worst crafting luck lately. Every project has been either disastrous or a two steps forward at least one step backwards kind of deal. It seems like I lost my decision making skills along with Edie's placenta and with Drippy's, my crafting ones.

Add to the challenge my new sewing room pictured above is now located immediately right next to her new playroom, pictured here ...

... which is awesome but makes it a little tricky to keep some surprise elements intact. So I decided to let her participate in the actual construction of the yet to be named Ballerina girl; helping with the stuffing of limbs, placing the rose quartz heart where it belongs after giving it a quick kiss, picking out eye and hair colour and then Ballerina girl went into hiding until Solstice morning. The ballerina outfit part was the surprise bit.

Every time she came over to my room for a visit she'd have her hands over her eyes so she wouldn't see the finishing touches I was making on the doll. We like to pretend that we're next door neighbours up there and we take turns calling each other and asking "had you had your baby yet?". And if so, the neighbour cooks up a meal for the new mother. So sweet how she has the knack for loving babes already. The little pro. Happy Winter Solstice everyone!

Six Years of Blissfest

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Spring Equinox-cious

Just mildly woozy. Had to think of some kind of pun, ya know. Many thank yous on the congratulations. I'm so moved to hear from all of you and touched that some of you are still reading me! I love you all (and it's not just the juicy hormones talking). Yes, funny how a lot of you say that you were totally not surprised - with the heavy gush factor in my writing lately. I can't believe how much stronger the emotions are this time round. Probably due to incredible capacity my heart has been stretched to since being blessed with the little Tangerine.

So here's the story of  Little Craiglette number two:

It all began with seeing all this cute action:

Who can deny this little mama a baby sibling? She's cuddling a little ceramic lamb, people! And that's not half as sad as some of things around the house she deems as her "babies". Some of her favorite babies include face cloths, pine cones and, actually, her favorite baby by far is these days is this guy:

Photographed in his trademark position; stuck in a tree somewhere on the land. So, we called on the spirit on this night. Luckily I opted out of a night ski with this group of ladies and let Craig ski my trails instead (note to self: get Craig to edit post before hitting "save"). We think this is when we conceived. Maybe that trippy star I spotted wasn't something to be scared of after all!

My hands are a bit frozen. I welcomed the equinox with a knit session outside on the porch this morning. It was chilly but the sun was shining and my latte (midwife said it was cool) stayed perfectly warm. My heart is toasty, too. Thank you so much for sharing in our joy.

Happy Solstice

Day of long shadows. We had a lovely Solstice celebration yesterday. Our friends had an amazing gathering on their land with a skating rink where Edie busted out some skates for the first time, a bonfire, treats and ritual. Would have some pictures but Edie didn't want to get off the ice and Craig was immersed in this epic hockey game and so, just trust me, it was awfully cute. Speaking of cute, Edie playing with her shadow all day long by herself has inspired us to welcome a little shadow buddy as a solstice gift to her:

Meet, hmmm, not sure yet what his name is yet but he was pretty much born next door to the Horniman Ranch (ooo! Horniman!). The deliberation is kind of humorous but calling him Kitty is starting to get a bit on the creepy side (Miss Kitty! bless her little heart). Here's a snippet of the hot topic of discourse going on around here the last couple of days.

Happy Soulstice

Happiest of solistices to you! Enjoy the longest day of the year and the perfect time to reflect on the past whirl around the life-giving fireball. There is a huge party my friend puts on each summer solstice in his "backyard". This particular one, the tenth annual, reminded me we have been living in this special community for about exactly around a year now. Last year's celebration, I remember going home by myself, pouting because the mosquitoes were literally sucking the fun out of me and sitting in our new house by myself for the first time (on the floor because the furniture hasn't arrived yet). This year, hardly any! Yay, that means we can actually take a deep swig of breath at the Horniman without getting our sinuses lodged with the critters!

But the evening was perfect. I saw tonnes of old and one year old friends. Everyone was greeted with a hug and a happy solstice. Edie danced until almost midnight and it was warming to see how many special little kids our community houses and celebrate the reasons why we chose to raise her here. This is my happy new year in a sense. Enjoy this beautiful whirl!

Happy Equinox!

From the Princesses of Spring Arrival. Hope I just didn't give you a heart attack from Cuteness Overload! Aren't they sweet? This was Edie's little play buddy yesterday. What a good time. All the kids played so well together. Very sweet and gentle little girls. Just like my Princess E.

The Momma's uber cool of course. We have so much in common. We ate, talked about eating, shared recipes, swapped Kombucha starter for soap, showed off to each other our current felting/knitting projects and conspired on how to Waldorf educate our children remotely. About time we got together for a hang out session. It's seems like a lot of people slip into hibernate mode around here. Very much how it seems like we did but I was blaming that mostly to settling into our new digs and surroundings. A really cool culture shock. More like culture unshock I suppose. And now, with the melty snow and busts of sun, our social calender is starting to flip its pages more often now.

This is absolutely my most exciting spring in my life. Especially the last week the reality of our plans for May is sinking in, Craig and I have started our Non-Violent Communication 10 week long workshop together and I think I may have found a studio space today (cross your fingers on that one please). On top of that, tonight I'm cashing in my birthday present tonight for an aromatherapeutic massage, cashing in my facial ticket Saturday morning, and, finally!!! getting my haircut the following Saturday. Rebirth, renewal, rejoice! And exfoliate? Happy equinox, everyone.