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?

autumn

'tis the season for acorn caps

wishing you a beautiful & bountiful autumn

breathless...

this book trailer has left me feeling breathless...

fig jam with cognac

My parents have a fig tree in the garden of their house in Los Angeles.  They arrived for a weekend visit and brought me 5 or 6 pounds of figs.

What's a girl to do but make fig jam?

This year I had help.

Just in case 5 or 6 pounds of figs are also dropped in your lap, here's a recipe.  I've used this recipe for the past 5 years -- easy as pie and the taste is rather amazing.

just for fun :: a list

A list, via Che and Fidel, Blue Bird Baby and Spun Monkey  

I am…

making : peg dolls.

cooking :  butternut squash soup.

drinking : coffee (as usual.) 

reading : wonder by r.j. palacio, the night circus by erin morgenstern & the impossible lives of greta wells by andrew sean greer.

wanting : time to slow. there never seems to be enough and it flies by so quickly.

looking : for acorn caps.  my pockets are full, and still i look for more.

playing : picco duetto. over. and over. and over. and over.

wasting : as little as possible.

sowing : tete-a-tete jonquils for springtime blossoms (does one sow bulbs or plant bulbs? plant, I think, but suspect I am answering literally when this was intended metaphorically?) 

wishing : upon a star.

enjoying : my toddler spreading his small wings at a little preschool program 2 mornings each week. he is loving it.

waiting : to see my parents (they arrive this afternoon for a quick weekend visit.)

liking : early dusk. we have resumed lighting candles at supper.

wondering : if I will make the deadline for this new book.

loving : my family. 

hoping : the chemotherapy treatment my mother has been receiving is effective.

marveling :  at the acrobatic squirrels who eat acorns whilst hanging upside-down by their toes from the top branches of our oak trees.

needing : to limit the amount time I spend reading the newspaper and thinking about current events.  this world is so very complicated. nothing is black and white.

smelling : beeswax wood polish. 

wearing : a new pair of black clogs.

following : my instincts.

noticing : that my mopsy-topped boys could probably use haircuts.

bookmarking : wonder, the night circus & the impossible lives of greta wells by andrew sean greer (see 'reading' above)

giggling : because my children are playing off-tune ukeleles & singing puff the magic dragon. at the top of their lungs.

feeling : grateful.

Toll Bridge, Troll Bridge

Back in January, I wrote a post about verified gnome-sightings in a city local to me.  Now there have been verified troll-sightings (spotted beneath a local bridge -- where else would a troll be seen?)

The troll first appeared following the Loma-Prieta earthquake in 1989, after repairs were made to a section of the bridge which had collapsed. It is thought that the troll took up residence to bring good luck and protect the bridge from further disaster.  There is also theory that, when the new bridge was being built, the project was plagued with problems due to the impending demolition of the old bridge span (which is home to the troll.)

If you like, you can read more about it here, here and here.

Vegetable Garden

Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow,
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow,
Do you, I, or anyone know how
Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow?

In early May we set our vegetable garden in the ground -- though really, it's not much of a vegetable garden. All we seem to successfully grow over at the side of our house are blue-lake green beans, strawberries and tomatoes.

And now we head into Indian Summer for a final month of growing and ripening... 

About four weeks ago I caught a low-grade flu.  It was odd to run a fever and sniff and cough my way though most of August.

My green bean gathering duties were sorely neglected; those beans grew and grew until, one afternoon, my husband walked in the door and handed me a rather spectacular pile of green beans.  I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil with garlic, salt, pepper, a few bits of herbs and a finishing dash of lemon juice.  They were delicious.

I hope your harvest this summer has also been good!

Hobby Horse

Trot trot to Boston, 
Trot trot to Lynn.

Trot trot to Salem, 
And home again!

My older son received a hobby horse for his third birthday. We named the horse Trusty, and for several happy years they galloped together near and far. Then Trusty retired to a closet.  Two days ago, I realized that my wee Bloom was the perfect age for a hobby horse and so Trusty came out of retirement. He was taken for a gleeful gallop through the house, but I quickly realized that Trusty needed a companion.  It's much more fun to go for a gallop with a friend (or older brother or mama) at your side.

 

Not wanting to lay out money to buy a new horse (a fine stallion, after all, can cost a pretty penny), I grabbed an old broomstick, some felt, some stuffing, my sewing machine, needle, thread and a glue gun.

 

A few hours later, Trusty had a new companion -- a handsome fellow named Ed to gallop at his side.

My pattern was not fancy (you can see it was cut from some scrappy drawing paper.)  I cut 2 of the main head pattern piece, 2 small ears, 1 gusset (the piece which is pointed at the top), and a 3" x 12" rectangle for the hair.

I stitched in the gusset from the chin down to the neck and then sewed over the top & back of the head with the hair sandwiched between.

Cut the hair into fringes, appliqued eyes and stitched on the ears... Stuffed the front of the head, inserted the broomstick and stuffed the neck around the stick. Used hot-glue to attach the bottom of the neck to the broomstick and finally, cut a wide strip of felt and hot-glued it around the base of the neck.

And then our new friend Ed was ready for a ride!!

For inspiration, I found a number of tutorials online. One of my favorites was this one here at Pink Stripy Socks -- a hobby horse made from a hocky stick (and there is a also a dragon design... brilliant!!)

My other favorite tutorial was for these sweet hobby horses at the blog Light Blue Grey.  I love their button eyes and irresistible grins!

Giddy-up!

Average & Everyday

cover Average Magazine: junk drawer photo by Kate Procrass

Things that are seemingly average and easily overlooked are in reality very special and quietly magical.  --Kate Procrass

Last Sunday I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating buttered toast and reading the San Francisco Chronicle.  I opened up the Style section and was greeted by a double page spread featuring photos of people who had been asked innocuous questions: What's your morning routine? Something you enjoy that most people find boring? Have you bought anything online recently? Something ordinary which inspires you? What do you like to spread on your toast?

I continued nibbling my toast and felt a small kinship with those other toast-eaters.  What do they like to spread on their toast?  "Cow butter mostly, with peanut and almond butters as frequent understudies."  "Butter and jam, peanut butter & honey or Nutella."   "If I have toast it's butter. Real butter. On rye or wheat."

Below the double page spread of random questions and answers was an article about Kate Procrass and her magazine called Average which focuses on the simple, mundane and everyday.  The cover of the magazine features a photo of a junk drawer, and inside, among other things, is a photo of bottle caps embedded in the pavement in front of a street-side snack kiosk in Cairo, Egypt; an article on the humble sheet cake; an interview about the history of a favorite pair of clip-on earrings; a series of photos taken of the interiors of people's refrigerators (I found these photos at once fascinating, and at the same time utterly horrifying.)

I loved the article in the SF Chronicle and especially the following quote by Kate Procrass -- "I don't think there's a problem with being average, or seemingly average.  I don't know why people think that's a bad thing. There are lots of  superlatives used to describe things, but I'd like to describe things for what they are, and recognize that that's still special."

And so this bears the question: What do you like to spread on your toast?