My Little Swashbuckler (and his Baby Brother)

It's 3:45...

 

Apparently, it's time for some piracy!

A Paper Theater

What did I do yesterday?  I spent the day creating a paper theater at a class taught by the the marvelous Ulla Milbrath at Castle in the Air.

My paper theater was created from a plain, square box swathed in blue metallic crepe paper, and the children riding the dove were cut from a book called Featherlight by Gabriele Eichenauer... (Cutting up a book? Oh, horror, but Ulla insisted...)  You cannot see it in this photo, but there is a little knob at the bottom which can make the dove fly up & down, side to side.

The scene is topped by a glowing golden moon gazing down fondly over the children...

Nearer and nearer the dove came until at last it alighted beside him.  "Croo, croo," cooed the dove.

-- Gabriele Eichenauer (Featherlight)

Weepy at the Library

A few weeks ago we were at the library.  Little Mr. B. was busy sniffing around for something good to read and I sat watching him with our wee Bloom on my lap.   To pass the time, I picked up a copy of Knuffle Bunny Free and started thumbing through it.  Little Mr. noticed and asked me to read it to him.  We loved the first two Knuffle Bunny books and we were finding this one equally delightful.  Then we got to page number 33. I couldn't read another word because I was crying bitter-sweet, tears of joy, and, in case you haven't read it yet, I won't say anything further.  Just know, it's a wonderful book and I encourage you to read it (after reading the first two Knuffle Bunny books, of course.)

But don't say you haven't been warned about that ending...

A Golden Gate Park Adventure

Despite the fact that today was little Mr. B's first day of school (and he was exhausted), we ventured out to Golden Gate Park to spend time with cousins who were visiting all the way from Boston (Oh, the joy of meeting my cousin's nearly 3-year-old daughter for the first time!)

 First stop, the carousel...

 

Where our wee Bloom had his first ever ride...  Round and round we went, ensconced in the luxury of a winged swan chariot.

 Then we did some high-in-the-sky climbing...

 And explored the sand box where lurks a creepy, mosaic sea-monster.

 Watch out tasty little baby!  Crawl away fast... that creepy sea-monster has his eye on you!

After a stint on the swings we had dinner at our all time favorite restaurant: Park Chow.  Next time you're in San Francisco it's worth a visit if only to try their warm ginger cake with pumpkin ice cream and caramel sauce (are you hungry yet?)

But my favorite part of the day?  The winged swan chariot (of course!)

Summer's Last Hurrah

This morning, from our windows, we could see the fog peeking over the coastal hills. Despite the fog, we decided to head out to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve for a bit of tide-pool exploration.  After all, tomorrow is the first day of school...

My friend Caroline suggested it would be nice for the children (and the mamas) to have a "last hurrah" of summer vacation.  I agreed heartily and so, off we went...

After an hour (or two), a bit of sunshine broke through the fog...

 And a lovely time was had by all...

P.S.  Thank you, Caroline, for taking this photo of me, little Mr. & my wee Bloom -- it was time for an update!

P.P.S.  Hey everyone, guess who officially started walking yesterday?!

Sending Love Heart Swap

 On July 26th, Linda of Natural Suburbia announced her Sending Love Heart Swap.

I was excited to be matched with a swap partner in Italy and, because my heart had such a great distance to fly, I added a bird to this heart-felt ornament to carry it across the distant miles...

 

A white dove of peace to bear my good wishes across the ocean...

And a little extra love, hidden on the back of the ornament, just for good measure...

Symmetry

Symmetry from Everynone on Vimeo.

Update

About 5 weeks ago I wrote this post about my mother and was touched by the kind and supportive comments I received in response.  The initial shock of my mother's diagnosis has worn off and I'm happy to report that my mother is tolerating the chemotherapy well. Despite the fact that she has lost all her hair, life seems to be continuing as usual.

Things seem so normal, in fact, that I have to remind myself sometimes that this is really going on for my family. When my mother first told me about her diagnosis I was frightened thinking about the torturous (but potentially life-saving) treatments she would be enduring.  In popular media, people receiving chemotherapy seem to suffer from constant nausea and vomiting, but thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, there are some amazing anti-nausea drugs (thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever invented Zofran!)

I keep waiting for the sad violin music to start swelling in the background as though we were living inside the latest cancer "movie-of-the-week."  Meanwhile, my mom is busy lunching with friends and taking naps. Yes, she's feeling a bit tired from the treatments, but she's always loved taking afternoon naps, so she's not feeling particularly put out by her current nap-schedule!

As far as hair-loss goes, she is now sporting the most stylish of hats... And my deepest, most sincere feelings of gratitude go out to my dear friends who have created beautiful hats for her.  I know love and thoughts for strength & healing went into every stitch.

Love, healing thoughts & beautiful hats for my mama... My heart is full...