wednesday's view

The view from our upstairs window this morning:

As with all the seasons changes, I often feel like they have passed me by.  The changes are so subtle, yet so dramatic.  One day you look up and realize that the leaves are ALL off the trees...and you never took the time to notice while it was happening.  So this year I have consciously tried to observe the changes. 

A close relationship with the seasons changes is fascinating,  and good for the soul. 

View from last Wednesday, when this tree was at its peak.

View from just 2 Wednesdays ago, when the changes were just starting.

This to me is a reminder to just be, to go out and sit with my children in a big old pile of leaves (hopefully dry!) and breathe in and out and hear the crunching and hear them talking and laughing and imprint it on my heart forever.

hoops up...at etsy

Red Delicious and Cosmo

Getting ready to churn out some more, too!

the light is so golden

pictures last week and today:

cute boy--looking quite grown up since he got his first trim last week, courtesy of Rob.  We only did the bangs, hence the back is still long.  I think it's adorable.

'Cosmo' Hoop

Enjoy being blissed out in this spinning sparkly circle.  Green, purple and silver holographic tape make this hoop something special.  It's an adult 39" size...stay tuned for more sizes and tape combos coming soon!  This hoop sells for $23.

schoolhouses and cemetaries

Today, a beautiful, crisp October day, we visited some old cemetaries. Old cemetaries are everywhere, often we don't even know where they are. We live just down the street from one that now sits between a school and a grocery store. We were here for years before we even knew it existed. There are 2 south of us, both on busy roads, that I drove by a million times before I noticed them. Actually, they moved one of them a few years ago to make way for some road widening project. So today we went to 2 I had never been to. One is a secluded, fenced and treed in spot that backs up to a large concert venue (Verizon aka Deer Creek). I wonder what the story is--there are only a handful of graves, only taking up a small part of the cemetary, the latest dating from the 40's. There was a grave for a stillborn and a 2 month old, both alone. That was so poignant and sad. I wondered these people's stories. It's so hard to imagine that this spot, once distant to town and in the country, now is in such close proximity to loud rock concerts...something these people could never have dreamed. Now on concert nights the stillness is broken and the sound reverberates through the ground.

On our way to another cemetary (geo-caching) we passed this old schoolhouse. Again, the questions. When was it built? What is the story? What was the teacher's name and what was she like? What did the children go on to do? I wish I could go back in time and get glimpses, it's so hard to imagine it at all. And again, it's so desolate and sad. Why has it (and so many like it) been allowed to fall into ruin? I have always loved old schoolhouses. There used to be one in near ruins near my house growing up, and I dreamed of fixing it up into a house. It was torn down. I was sad then too. Why do so few people seem to care?

This is hard to see but it's the old blackboard at the front of the schoolhouse.

changing leaves & self portrait

Horsey is looking out the window at the changing leaves.

Children are looking out the downstairs windows.

wearing a sparkly dress and 'tip-tap' shoes.

It feels good to wear jeans, heels, and sweaters again. 

buy this book!

I just got this book in my hands last Friday night and I adore it.  If you are local, do yourself a favor and contact Jane at The Wild to get yourself a copy.  It's $7--seriously--for a total wealth of information that is engaging and easy to understand.  Topics cover Health & First Aid (making tinctures! salves, how to treat headaches, depression, colds, etc etc) to Non Toxic Cleaning and Body Care, to Gardening. 

I was sold on this book before I even read the Intro and reading the Intro when I got it made me love it even more:

."..no part of the process was trivial or mundane.  Creating and using something homemade never is.  I came to realize that my skepticism abouth the importance of these acts was based on a cultural belief that the domestic sphere is somehow less important than the public sphere.  Which, of course,  is such a load of crap. (amen, sister!) If we DIY only the elective, recreational parts of our lives-or only what other people can see-then how much of our lives are we really reclaiming?

...DIY is for everybody!  Gardening, homemaking, healing:  these are all such basic aspects of human life on this planet, and they are important for just that reason.

...to me, DIY is not a show of prowess, or even a hobby, rather, it is a necessary step towards living our lives on our own terms.  ...we cannot depend on a market-informed cultural consciousness to enlighten us--we have to do it ourselves."  (ding ding ding!!)

--raleigh briggs

new (to me) shoes & other thrifted finds!

Today was a crisp, fall day.  I went to my neighbor's house and set up shop there with them and some other friends hoping for a good yard sale turnout.  It didn't happen, but oh well.  I spent more than I made shopping there, but looky what I got!!  2 'new' pairs of shoes that fit me perfectly!

these animal figurines.  I can picture the children playing blissfully with them.  Hopefully.

these awesome fish earrings

handmade necklaces

the red beads in this one are from a London bead shop.

a ring.  I LOVE this ring!

and I got a bunch of other stuff too.  Oh, I forgot to take a picture of my new patent leather purse.  Very chic.  And I got 3 books and a glass crab for Grace for christmas (as well as some funny 'goodbye kitty' coasters for her).  Yes, I'm getting a head start on Christmas.  It won't sneak up on me this year!  Since we have a deep freeze now, I'm thinking I will make ahead and freeze a bunch of cookie dough.  And I like to have frozen entrees at all times, so I want to get a bunch of those done too.  I'm making a list of potential presents for the kids, too, and as always my goal is to keep it simple.  Just a few presents each and a nice stocking.  Speaking of Christmas...

I got this package from whisker graphics and I love it.  I love, love, love glassine.  I'm going to get some from here.  Such a pretty presentation.

Stickers!

And this is what I got.  I have always wanted bakers twine, usually you only see it in red & white.  I'm not really a red & white kinda person, but this!  This was for me.  I think I will use it to wrap pretty packages of Christmas cookies.

I was cruising craigslist/ebay/etsy for wood montessori/waldorf toys and found this.  Oh!  I love it so much, and love that it's from a local (to me) seller.  I can't imagine a cooler toy in the mall or in Target.    There's something so tactile and pleasing about wood toys too.  My children really gravitate to them.  I've pared down the kitchen playset toys, we had tons of plastic food, etc, and have purchased 2 sets of these.  They will love them.  We already have some wood food and have a bunch of felt food, plus we have a nesting metal bowl set, little whisks and spoons, etc. 

Anyway!  I'm writing some more articles, I have SO many thoughts and ideas!  I hope the paper will publish some more of my articles.  I got great feedback from my homebirth article.  Thanks for taking the time to write!