beach

 

 

For many schools in the U.S., children have a break during the third week of February which is designated President's week in honor of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  This school break is also referred to as Ski-Week, which is a bit of a joke for families who have neither funds nor inclination.

So, we spent a day at the beach racing waves & collecting sea-glass; and it cost exactly one gallon of gasoline (plus the price of a hot coffee and 2 hot cocoas from a cafe to fortify us for the 25 minute drive home).

Rain is forecast for the rest of the week, so today was the day... and it was a perfect day.  I even saw two spouts from migrating grey whales -- the sort of thing you look out for, but the moment you glimpse it, it's so fleeting, that you are not quite sure you really saw it at all.  Akin to seeing a shooting star. And then there are the sea lions, swimming along 30 feet off-shore, gazing at us with curious intensity.  I swear there are selkies among them...

to the sea

 

I must go down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
 

 (from Sea Fever by by John Masefield)

Hello! I can hardly believe it's been a month since I posted.  With my children off school I haven't had much time to myself, and even while my little one has been having his mid-day sleeps, I decided to set a good example for my big boy.  Instead of tapping away on the computer, I've spent my time flopped with him on the sofa immersed in books.

Now it's the end of August and today we had a last hurrah at the beach; we often visit this one because of the tide pools.  Plus I love the curious sea lions who swim as close at they dare, poking their heads out of the water to gaze at us with round, black eyes as we search for shy sculpins and admire scuttling hermit crabs (I'm convinced some of those sea lions are selkies).

Of course a day at the beach is always made better by the presence of friends.  Today we met up with my friend Caroline and her two boys -- and you should know that, besides being a wonderful person, Caroline has been an indispensable resource for me while working on my books.  I'm convinced that every craft book writer should have a friend like Caroline.  She has an amazing craft stash (white boucle yarn for tiny Nativity sheep?  Thanks Caroline!), and she's an excellent resource for ideas, skills & techniques.  Have I mentioned that she helps me test my patterns, too?  My books are better because of Caroline.

I hope you've had a wonderful summer with many good adventures, and if you are in the southern hemisphere, I wish you a wonderful spring!

School's Out

Schools out!

So, today we went here...

 

And did this...

 

We saw lots of crabs, 2 tiny eels, small tide-pool dwelling fish, sea stars, limpets, mussels & barnacles, sea snails, sea anemones, hermit crabs, a bright purple sea urchin, and just past the tide pools where we stood, there was a harem of sea lions playing in the water, waving their rear flippers and sunning themselves on the rocks (yes, I looked it up -- the word for a grouping of sea lions is "harem"...)

"Mama, look here... what's that?"

And then his brother caught another crab...