hans: a knitting pattern

Did you know that there are no hedgehog species native to the United States?  So then how did I end up with hedgehogs in my garden?

Come back tomorrow for a sweet little knitting pattern I put together for you -- just in time for whipping up some wee hedgehoggy holiday gifts!

3 Queens

3 Queens from Matt Bieler on Vimeo.

This is so very beautiful and answers the question "What do stay at home parents do, anyway?" Thanks for the tip Rachel.

thank you!

Dear friends -- Writing this post has been on my mind for quite some time.

Every so often I have a peek over at Amazon.com to see how my book has been doing, and I notice a new review.  A few of the reviews were written by people I know, and I have thanked them personally for their kind words.  However, most of the reviews on Amazon for my book were written by people who I do not know, and it touches me deeply to know they have taken the time and effort to write these lovely reviews.

So, I want to take the opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has supported my efforts by acquiring a copy of my book, and to send an especially big thanks to those who have written reviews.  Your thoughtful words make my heart shine.

Look! All the little peg dolls are smiling, too...

Alice in Wonderland: Suzy Lee

cover of Alice in Wonderland by Suzy Lee

I had been trying for three years to get my hands on an edition of Alice in Wonderland by Suzy Lee and hit the jackpot recently when I found an Italian edition listed on Book Depository.

from Alice in Wonderland by Suzy Lee

I was intrigued by the concept of this wordless book, where Alice navigates her way through a toy-theater tableau, alternately chasing and being chased by the white rabbit.  The end has a funny surprise, where worlds within worlds are revealed (a sort of alternative "through the looking glass" world, if you will.) Suzy Lee, herself, describes it as a "dream within a dream..." You can read about her process of visualizing and creating the book here.

cover of Open this Little Book, by Jess Klaussmeier, illus. Suzy Lee

Besides enjoying Suzy Lee's Alice in Wonderland, we've generally been on a Suzy Lee kick.  I cannot tell you how many times my three-year-old has requested to read Open this Little Book (by Jesse Klaussmeier, illus. by Suzy Lee.) Now he knows it by heart and I love hearing him "read" it to himself...

cover of Wave by Suzy Lee

We also love this book, too!

bloo-ti-ful

My 3-year old normally sleeps though the night, however, he has been waking in the wee hours for the past week.  He wants a hug, to visit a bit and have something to drink before going back to sleep.  This leaves me feeling exhausted.

 

But every night, when I go to him, he greets me by saying, "Oh, mama! You look bloo-ti-ful."  Tousled hair, rumpled pajamas and all, I am bloo-ti-ful.  In that moment, I don't mind those wee-hours wake-up calls in the least.

What do your children say which, in that moment, makes your life seem perfect and takes your breath away with joy?

p.s. Rachel has such a way of seeing, understanding and writing about these sorts of moments.  You can find her inspiring words here, here, here and here...

Sky High: a book trailer

Doesn't this look like a delightful book?  You can learn more about it here.

Thanksgivukkah

photo by john gara: buzzfeed

This year, the first night of Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving, and so November 28, 2013 has been dubbed Thanksgivukkah.  I learned about Thanksgivukkah from my father who sent me a link to this post on Buzzfeed.

photo by macey j. foronda: buzzfeed

The clever folks at Buzzfeed have come up with an intriguing Thanksgiving/Hanukkah related menu: potato latkes with cranberry-applesauce, Manischwitz brined turkey, sweet potato bourbon noodle-kugel, challah-apple stuffing, horseradish-chive mashed potatoes, rye pumpkin-pye, and pecan-pie rugelach.  You can find links to all their recipes here.

I'm not so sure about sweet potato bourbon noodle-kugel, but I mentioned the recipe for pecan pie rugelach to my brother, and we might just give it a try...

You can read more about Thanksgivukkah here at the SF Chronicle and ABC News websites.

asher weintraub: menurkey.com

And you can also click here to find out about a turkey-shaped menorah called a Menurkey.

Anyone else out there planning to celebrate Thanksgivukkah?

flutter-kite craft

I posted about these flutter kites a year ago, and they are still one of my favorite crafts.  They're easy to create, fun, and great for rainy days when everyone is feeling cooped up.  We always seem to have one or two among the book shelves for a quick run around the house when the mood inspires. Just grab the end of the string, take a dash around the sofa, and these little kites will flutter & fly satisfyingly in your wake (or you can take your kites outdoors on fine autumn mornings as we did today.)

I usually make these kites from construction paper, but today I decided to get fancy and cut up some watercolor paintings.

 

Besides oak leaves, some of our other favorite shapes for kites are butterflies, fish and ladybirds.

Generally, I use cellophane tape to attach short pieces of yarn (about 15 inches long) to the kites; however, for this kite (made from heavy-weight watercolor paper) I trimmed a scrap and glued it to the back of the leaf, sandwiching the yarn between the leaf and the triangular scrap (see photo above.)

The kite is ready & now it's time to fly...

(or sit on a bench and give it a hug.)

happy halloween!

boo!

it's almost time for...

trick-or-treat! 

(are you ready?)

a morning walk and a... peacock?

 On this misty, moisty morning we went for a walk and spotted... a peacock!?

 Little one wanted to say hello and chased after...

But the clever peacock eluded him and ducked behind some hedges.

 

We consoled ourselves by gazing up into the branches of apple trees...

And admiring ornate gateways...

And exploring hidden gardens...

if i were

if i were a month i’d be october.

if i were a day i’d be friday.

if i were a time of day i’d be dusk.

if i were a font i’d be garamond.

if i were a sea animal i’d be an octopus.

if i were a direction i’d be north.

if i were a piece of furniture i’d be a writing desk with secret compartments.

if i were a liquid i’d be coffee.

if i were a gemstone i’d be a garnet.

if i were a tree i’d be a redwood.

if i were a tool i’d be a pencil.

if i were a flower i’d be a violet.

if i were an element of weather i’d be the wind.

if i were a musical instrument i’d be a cello.

if i were a color i’d be grey.

if i were an emotion i’d be longing.

if i were a fruit i’d be an apple.

if i were a sound i’d be humming a lullaby.

if i were an element i’d be oxygen.

if i were a car i’d be a Peugeot.

if i were a food i’d be a mushroom tart.

if i were a place i’d be home.

if i were material i’d be wool.

if i were a taste i’d be umami.

if i were a scent i’d be leaves on the forest floor.

if i were a body part i’d be hands.

if i were a song i’d be St. Clare by Suzanne Vega.

if i were a bird i’d be a dove.

if i were a gift i’d be chosen with care.

if i were a city i’d be paris.

if i were a door i’d lead to a hidden garden.

if i were a pair of shoes i’d be red cowboy boots.

if i were a poem i’d be the flowering of the rod by HD .

Joining in with Stephanie, Julie, Lisa, and Amanda...  If you join in, won't you let me know?  I'd love to read your list, too.

Music by Which to Paint Peg Dolls

The soundtrack behind my first book was Leave Your Sleep by Natalie Merchant, It's a Big World by Renee and Jeremy, anything by Jolie Holland, plus, weather permitting, some Yann Tiersen.  This is what I was listening to while I worked on that book.

These days, while working on the second book, I'm still listening to a lot of Jolie Holland. And since my older son has started taking cello lessons (my old cello has emerged so I can play along while he practices) we are listening to a lot of this.  However, I am searching for some new music by which to paint peg dolls... Help!!

What music would you recommend while painting peg dolls (and whilst stitching and sewing and typing away on the computer?)

Another Poem by Sara Teasdale

The Coin

by Sara Teasdale

Into my heart's treasury

I slipped a coin

That time cannot take

Nor a thief purloin.

Oh, better than the minting

Of a gold-crowned king

Is the safe-kept memory

Of a lovely thing.

Sara Teasdale

When I was in the 4th grade I had a teacher who assigned all her students to do something which seems quaint and old fashioned.  Each month she gave us a poem to memorize and then required every student to stand, one by one, in front of the class and formally recite the poem.  We had to first say the title of the poem, then the name of the poet, and then recite clearly, in even measure, the words of the poem.

We memorized Sea Fever by John Masefield; Oh Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman;  Eldorado by Edgar Allen Poe; Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost;  You are Old Father William by Lewis Carroll;  Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash; and Stars by Sara Teasdale.  Even now, I remember the first stanza of each poem, and can still recite, from start to finish, three or four of the poems we were required to memorize.

Of all the poetry we memorized, Stars was my favorite. Over the years, I have occasionally run across other poems by Sara Teasdale, but, until recently, had never thought to read more of her work. About a month ago I acquired a small volume of poetry called Stars To-Night. In this book I found such lovely poems. Below is one of my favorites.

On the Sussex Downs 

By Sara Teasdale

Over the downs there were birds flying,

Far off the glittered sea,

And toward the north the weald of Sussex

Lay like a kingdom under me.

I was happier than the larks

That nest on the downs and sing to the sky,

Over the downs the birds flying

Were not so happy as I.

It was not you, though you were near,

Though you were good to hear and see,

It was not earth, it was not heaven

It was myself that sang in me.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Do you have any favorite poems or poets?