Makin' Mudpies in the Morning

Oh, what a beautiful morning! The weather in our neck of the woods couldn't be finer, and this morning I was privileged to witness three very happy children enjoying the sunshine, the cool breeze, and a classic activity that immediately took me back thirty years: making mudpies.

Using a beginning reading book as their guide, Big B, little b, and little e from next door worked for a solid hour, showing exceptional teamwork and creativity.I was supremely impressed with little b's ability to contribute, and with the big kids' patience and carefulness to include him.Such culinary delights!

“Mud-pies gratify one of our first and best instincts.
So long as we are dirty, we are pure.”
--Charles Dudley Warner

Sneak Peek: The Color Walk Calendar!

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm now taking pre-orders for the 2010 Snip and Snail Color Walk Calendar!

Inspired by our year of color walking, these custom-printed beauties will have inspirational quotes and ideas for kid-made fun each month of the year. Pre-ordering for the holidays is available now! There is a PayPal button on the sidebar, or you may email me for more information. The total price is $25, including shipping and tax, and a portion of all proceeds will benefit The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. I hope you will enjoy these walks with your family as I have with mine!

Yard Sale Score: Birthday Wishes

Yesterday was my thirty-third birthday. (I'll pause while you break out in song. Thank you, that was lovely.)

Still recuperating after planning last weekend's events, I had but one request: a simple morning that allowed me to sleep in and go yard sale-ing. Papa and my sweet boys obliged, waking me up gently at NINE O'CLOCK with French Toast, coffee, and this incredible necklace Papa knows I've long coveted.

After breakfast we set out on a yard sale expedition. It was, I might add, the most beautiful day in recorded history. I would like this Christmas to be entirely secondhand, reused, recycled or handmade. This was the goal in mind for today's journey, and with a single estate sale, I got a great start. I found several vintage children's toys and books in great condition.I found a collection of 1940's photographs that I'll use in some to-be-determined creative way for my stepmother, a.k.a. The Horse Whisperer.I found a stack of books whose recipients are yet to be named, as they may be reading this post.And for myself, happy-birthday-to-me, I found a collection of vintage quilting books and patterns, and some darling fabric.
The rest of the day found us enjoying the slowness and allowing our children to crack us up. I don't know what it signifies--that I'd rather buy fabric and laugh at my kids for my birthday than get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant--but I can live with that. In fact, I'm pretty darn pleased with myself. Here's to a great thirty-fourth year!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Yesterday was the culmination of weeks and weeks of planning a very special event in our community. When so much time and energy is spent on one goal, and it is achieved, the exhale is LOUD. I was grateful for all of it, every single minute; and I was equally grateful this morning to wake up, realize what day it is, embrace the extra hour of early dark and j u s t B R E A T H E.

Somehow, the universe climatically agreed with me. This morning our neighborhood was slightly cool, slightly breezy, and just warm enough. To walk outside was to feel very fresh November air on my skin.

When we picked Big B up from school and returned to our special street, we saw each of our neighbors drawn to breathe the fresh air as well. We stayed in the street for nearly two hours, enjoying playing, breathing, being.
It almost brought me to tears to watch my boys catching lizards and knowing I didn't have to answer the phone or race inside to check my email.
I am experiencing a seemingly dichotomous gratitude for the busy-ness of achieving a high-set goal, and the still-ness of having it behind me.

"The sound of 'gentle stillness'
after all the thunder and wind have passed
will be the ultimate Word from God."
-- Jim Elliot

Project Update: The Safe Motherhood Quilt

I have been working on the quilting of one panel of the Safe Motherhood Quilt Project for several weeks now, and am honored and proud to have hung it in the atrium of our public library this morning, along with two others mailed to me by Ina May Gaskin in preparation for her visit and presentation of the project.

For the backing, I pieced a graph of the rise in maternal mortality rates from 1982-2007, during which time the rates doubled and are now almost five times higher than the U.S. Healthy People 2010 goal. Inside the binding is tucked a length of the red yarn that has bound the New Moon Sisters for so long, welcoming these mothers into the sacred space we created, and offering them peace and reverence. The two other panels (on either side of the blue one) were professionally quilted and are absolutely gorgeous. Papa, The Visionary and I hung the panels carefully. When we stepped downstairs to examine our work, we were amazed that each panel was perfectly on center and even color-coordinated with the space below. This was not intentional. I am looking forward to meeting Ina May Gaskin so much. Her body of work and her vision for this project are so profound. I am beyond honored to be a part of this, and hope that a glimpse of these squares will touch a few hearts, as they have deeply touched mine, so that we might all move toward healthier maternity care and a healthier community of families.Thank you to Rose and The Girl, who just so beautifully happened to be at the library this morning, for entertaining little b while we hung these quilts!

Feathers! (aka The Best Birthday Party Ever)

Sometimes, things happen so serendipitously that we can't help reinforce our inner child's belief in magic. Yesterday we had the absolute privilege of attending the birthday party of a very special six-year old, one Big B has known his entire life. The party took place on a 40-acre ranch a few miles eastward. As soon as we pulled into the gate, I think we all knew this was going to be quite a fun afternoon.The birthday party was beyond fabulous, complete with all amenities and then some--ice cream, pinata, hay ride, corn toss, shaved ice treats, and an old school cartoon projected on a sheet at dusk.Everyone was grinning all afternoon. The magic among our incredible village was everywhere--but I experienced a personal magic, the fulfillment of a quest in the sweetest way I could imagine. Two weeks ago, I decided with total surety that I needed peacock feathers. Lots and lots of peacock feathers. They will be used to bling up an event I'm coordinating, and there is precious little time. When we arrived at the ranch, I learned that there are at least twenty peacocks that live on the land. Some of the little ones (and some grown-ups too!) promptly went on a feather hunt.
I hit the motherload! A bag full of peacock feathers, hawk feathers, quail feathers and more. And--I can't even believe I'm about to type this--as we were on a trail ride, we had to stop to let six huge, gorgeous peacocks cross our path. If that ain't serendipity, I don't know what is!

Beautiful Walk: Downtown Saturday

While Papa was cheering on our alma mater on a brisk autumn football Saturday, Big B, little b and I went to our downtown arts festival and farmer's market to enjoy the fall that is finally here. There were so many sights and people and colors that I asked Big B if he'd like to take a color walk, or a letter walk. He thought long and hard, and said, "Let's take a BEAUTIFUL walk!" So I gave him full control of the camera, and the content, for the morning, and he took pictures of whatever he found beautiful. What a kid.