Little Bird, Little Bird...Fly Through My Window

Spotted! The elusive Blue House Finch!


In the birdbath...



So tame, so sweet. I just need to make him a nest.

You Hit me like a Flower

My book and more readings about the plight of bees (link found via the urban homestead folks) have my anxiety spiraling out of control. I don't know if I can continue reading the book because I'm just getting more and more freaked out about the future of food. It makes me feel so small and helpless. We start getting our CSA deliveries a week from Friday and I plan to hit the farmer's market. I will make a raised vegetable bed this summer to start fall veggies (and plan for next summer). I'm dreaming of buying a patch of land and keeping bees. But are these small tokens and my wild dream enough? IN TEN YEARS, BEES MAY BE EXTINCT. If Kidlet were to have children (with the aforementioned three year-old boy, she tells me), will they know a peach? I have crazed sci-fi horror stories running through my head of the poor being hired to pollinate trees by hand and fruit costing the price of gold, only to be sold to the wealthy. I know I am going over the deep end, but really. What if?

Ok, deep breath. Good, good.

I have a tendency to panic , can you tell? Maybe I should turn my crazy ideas into a novel.

Everyone's NOT Working for the Weekend

Thank you for the bloggiversary wishes. Y'all are the best. (Hugs, hugs.)

Did you have a nice weekend? We did over here. The work thing ended up being a non-issue and the weekend really felt like an extended weekend. Amazing!

We took two walks in the persistent drizzle. Oh, clouds above, I thank you for the moisture you have brought to my parched yard. Aside from giving my thirsty plants a well-deserved drink, it meant all yard work was put on hold. Well, I did try talking Kidlet into going to the nursery yesterday but she refused and ordered me to clean the closets. Really.

We had dinner one night at a friend's house and then had the same friends up the next night. They have an almost 3 year-old boy and Kidlet and he were wild things, jumping and pounding on furniture (and sometimes each other). Kidlet was heartbroken when her requests to have them over again last night were denied. We needed a quiet night before the working week.

Did a little knitting on Hubby's sock. The cuff looks too loosey-goosey, but I need to knit another inch or two before I can properly assess it. I also am now 12 rows from being officially half-done with Clapotis. I finished the little bird over a week ago but haven't had time to give it the photographic treatment. Maybe when the sun comes out again I can do some visual updating since no one wants to just hear about the same three projects endlessly without photos.

We hit the museum to see the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. Lovely. I felt so inspired. Kidlet and I did projects with circle stencils and rulers. Seeing so many amazing things lately (via Flickr, mostly) it reminds me that I need to start doodling again.

No pizza was made, but I baked two loaves of bread.

I rubbed our dog's belly half the night, last night. She has a bad tummy ache. :(

Oh, one more thing...check this out. Love this idea and what happened to the webs

Rainy Days and Fridays Rarely Get Me Down

Despite the fact that Kidlet did that neat trick where she wakes up at 4 a.m. with eyes wide open and only falls back asleep 10 minutes before I need to get up for the day...

Despite the fact that I have a scratchy throat...

Despite the fact this three day weekend is starting to look less 3 day-ish due to work obligations...

It's lightly raining and it's cloudy and that makes this girl mighty happy.
Tea in the tea pot and homemade raisin bread from my Grandma for breakfast.
Homemade chocolate chip cookies from last night for a morning snack at work.
Feeling happy, lucky and melancholy all at once.

And today is my two year blogiversary. I may not be the most prolific, but I'm glad you hang in there and stop by when you can. It's all the folks I've met in my virtual (and sometimes real life) neighborhood that make this fun.

Enjoy your extended (or not so extended...I feel your pain!) weekend. Think I'll make pizza.

Friday can't come fast enough. Really.

The weekend...well, my moodiness continued through Saturday in fits and starts. I think it had to do with the instant middle-of-summer heat (at least in part). I go limp when it gets too hot. But many good things happened this weekend. Let's recap, shall we?

Dabbled in the garden and didn't make too much headway. I now have a pile of leaves from the fall that is about 3' high and 5' wide and another (much) smaller pile of twigs that I want to compost but I'm paralysed; I can't move forward. "Do I want the pile over here? Do I want it over there? Do I want to wait and buy a tumbler? Should I buy a wood chipper so I can chop up all the bits to make compost faster?" One small thing that may have pushed me a little further along is that I saw a nice compost set up at the local nursery yesterday afternoon for a fair price (like this one). I'm still waiting to be stimulated by the government so maybe when the check comes, I can consider it. I did at least plant Kidlet's Tiger Paws Aster, Echinaecea, some Thai Silk Poppies for me and silver leaf thyme. Got one packet of Snack Mix Sunflowers in the ground too. I was going to plant the tomatoes, but they just look so tender. I don't feel ready to put them out into the rocky, windy desert otherwise known as my yard.

Played mini golf! It was Kidlet's first time and about 2/3 of the way through, she started wilting in the heat. Cold fruit smoothies were obtained shortly after, as was a checkerboard and checkers so all became right with the world again.

Friends came up for pancake breakfast. Children ran amok. I drank buckets of coffee.

I'm 95% done with my bluebird. He just needs some eyes (and a nest). I'm hoping tonight will be the night for finishing.

First, thank you for all of your fine book recommendations. I need to write them down in my little notebook so when I have that dilemma; I've got a list to work from. But the book I had put on my queue at the library a week ago came up so I'm diving in. I chose it based on recommendation of Katie at GardenPunks. I'm nervous to read it because I know it is going to be full of scary info, but I'd better start educating myself (and growing more of my own food!) At least I joined the CSA this year...

Splurged on a few summer things for Kidlet and myself and then we took Hubby out for a celebratory sushi dinner...not sure if I'm officially able to release the details but congrats, Greg! It was Kidlet's first real sushi dinner and she was a champ. She didn't really eat much, but she was game for trying things out. Her favorite were the 'jewels'...tobiko, aka fish eggs.

Ok, back to the working week. Sigh.

PS. I apologize if this post is a little harder to read today since everything is smooshed together. I'm done fighting blogger today with the line spacing + photo issue. Don't know why it does what it does, but grrrrrr.

"Kidlet as a kitty with her friend, two beds, and a mouse"

My mood has been icky lately so instead of spreading that around, here's something cheerful (see picture above).

One thing that doesn't make me feel icky is that I'm about 90% done with my little bird. This is the first stuffed toy that I've made that has made me down-to-the-bottom-of-my-heart happy. I can't wait to share.

I'm hoping to kick some booty in the yard this weekend but the weather might kick me...90 degrees?! We've leaped right into summer. I can say that now, but it isn't unusual to have a brisk Memorial Day. Well, if the weather kicks my booty, I will finish my bird, make sno-cones and try to find a new book to read. I can't commit to any book lately. Any suggestions?

Have a lovely weekend, friends. Blow some bubbles, will ya? I think I will.

Flying Along

I'm cruising along with my little bluebird (that looked nothing like the pattern once I finished the 'head/body' so I happily started modifying). I need to get down to the yarn shop for some beak and leg yarn, but it's coming together so quickly. I love it. I think I'm going to make a flock.

I spent my Mother's Day cleaning the garage. No, no need to groan. It was AMAZING. Kidlet kept herself occupied for the entire three hours and I did a massive reorganization. I thinned out stuff last year so this was just putting everything in its place. I love the gentle ache of a finished project. Next week: the yard. It can no longer be put off.

I ate pie, spent time with family and friends (and had buckets of fun), cooked and knitted. I also revisited my Create-a-Thing-a-Day Month and while I was coming up for weekly themes, I found a theme that I want to explore for a month: children's books and illustrations. More details to come!

Edited to add: whoops! I forgot to link to the original bluebird pattern. See, mine didn't quite look like that little guy.

The Day of the Mama

It's Mother's Day and I give you a photo of a baby. I would have brought you flowers and chocolates but the flowers hadn't opened yet and neither had any store with decent chocolate. Oh, and I'm not dressed yet.

Happy Mother's Day to you...you know who you are. You work hard. I know you do.

Hope your day is filled with the good stuff. Y'know...sunny skies, wildflowers, cool breezes, and happy, smiling kids.

And a special shout out to my own Mama...I love you Mama! You are my best friend. I'll call you later and maybe we can do something, ok?

Done! (or Things are Looking Up)

Exam finished! I will start queuing up the movies. Thanks for the suggestions!

Super groggy, despite the gallons of coffee I drank this morning. I am sure the coffee will kick in about 7 pm tonight and I will knit like a fiend. Knitting...oh, how I've missed you.

The weekend after this abbreviated work day will include: a meet up with fellow bloggers and kids, breakfast with Mama, dinner with Mom-in-law and GMom-in-law. Garage cleaning? Compost pile formation? Creativity. Wine. Bread. Love.

Some "Argh!" and a Whole Lot of Random

Argh! Tom Waits tour dates are announced and the closest date is in Phoenix. Looks like I'll have to miss it. But it's dubbed "The Glitter and Doom Tour"; with a name like that, it is so hard to resist! At least I've seen him twice. Not gloating (much). :)

And I think I need to learn to crochet. Here are a few reasons why...

...so I could make a lovely blankie like Smosch and like Alicia.
...so I would have need for one of these nifty hook rolls by Bean.
..so I would have an excuse to purchase more gorgeous yarn (well, I already have an excuse called knitting, but more yarn can't hurt, right?).

I started knitting a bluebird today while waiting to go to Kidlet's school for their annual Parent Tea. 'Twas adorable. I love Kidlet's school. I didn't love Kidlet's meltdown when it was time for me to leave. She's having some big mama separation anxiety issues as of late. Poor little sweetie-bee.

Me? I'm feeling a bit better. I believe this was the culprit.

Tomorrow, final exam! I've hardly studied at all! Woo hoo! Flying by the seat of my pants!

I'm going to start loading up the Netflix queue with goodies to watch this summer, since I've only watched...hmmm...maybe one movie in the past six months. Any suggestions?

One question...

Why is it that as soon as the weather really starts getting good, I get sick?

Never fails.

My eyes are little red slits, my sinuses are full of fire, and I'm feeling small.

It rained last night and that is a mighty fine thing in my book.

Now go out there and have a loverly day.

Settling

The earth seems to be settling down a bit and I'm trying to do the same. Things are still feeling uneasy but let's just skip over that, eh? Onward...

From a friend I heard about a new CSA. After receiving some government money, I may do my part in stimulating the economy and join. The year before last, I joined a CSA that was linked to the co-op. It was their first year and I felt like I should support the effort, however meager it could turn out to be. I skipped joining last year because I wasn't digging the pounds of bitter greens we seemed to receive weekly. Now the co-op CSA subscriptions are creeping toward $500(!) so there is no way I will be able to give them a second chance. I know joining this new CSA is a risk, particularly since it is only one farm but I'd like to support them (and partake of their farm eggs...love, love, love straight from the farm eggs!). I'm really excited about it!

I didn't get much done at all this weekend (are you surprised? no).

--Got the hair cut but it didn't turn out at all like I hoped. Hubby seems to like it however; he has been telling me it looks really good. To be told I look very nice even though I don't feel like I do is a good thing.

--VERY glad Kidlet and I missed the Kentucky Derby. I would not have like to explain that they were euthanizing the poor, dear horse, right there on the track. So very sad.

--Made some pumpkin curry soup and chapatis for dinner.

--Pushed my way through oceans of paper in order to distill them into our Important Papers file. It feels so good to have that done. Now I know where to go when I'm looking for Kidlet's birth certificate, although I couldn't tell you where mine is.

Hang in there, dear readers. I'll be posting more interesting content soon. Just let me get through this week of final exams and then we'll be talking projects galore.

Meme Me

Katie over at GardenPunks tagged me for this one earlier this week. A wee meme to send us off to the weekend...yay!

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Hubby (long-term sweetie, at the time) and I had just moved back to our roots from our beloved, debauched New Orleans. I started working for the company for which I still work. I guess I am stable after all.

My to-do list/What I actually did recently

My to-do list is so enormous. Truly. But here is a sampling...

Get important papers together.
Make an emergency contact list.
Clean the garage.
Start the compost pile.
Get my hair cut.
Find a new doctor.
Study for my final exam.
Change my blog header

What I really did...

Made an emergency contact list.
Made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow (yay!!!)
Tried to study last night but Kidlet was being a pill and wouldn't go to sleep. I heard her padding out of her room at 9:40, "Mama! I'm lonely!" Mama's patience had run out about a half hour previous. At ten, she went to sleep and about 10:15, I followed suit.

Snacks I enjoy

Oh, chips...how I love thee. And how you make my tummy hurt.
Cheese. I can't live without cheese.
And fruit. I always try to bring fruit to work so that I don't sneak out to the snack machine to buy the aforementioned chips and experience the tummy ache.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire

We would make a big family homestead. Keep sheep and spin wool. Give buckets of money away to help the plight of the honey bees. Become a bee keeper. Help Kidlet's school start a huge garden ala Alice Waters.

3 bad habits

Stressing
Being a cranky old lady
Stressing (can I stress this enough? Ha ha...)

5 places I've lived

Omaha, NE
Dillon, CO
Palo Alto, CA
New Orleans, LA
Reno, NV

5 jobs I've had

Dog Washer
Cook in a restaurant where the servers were Asian transvestites
Registrar for art galleries
Maid (starting at the tender age of 12)
Hologram salesperson

5 people who have interesting blogs that I'd like to tag

Me, I'm just going to tag a couple of homegirls...

Madre Adoptiva
Coyote Craft

Join in, if you like!

Have a splendid weekend, crossing things off your very own to-do list and not doing things on your to-do list like basking in the sun or watching the Kentucky Derby (argh! I think my hair appointment is at the same time as the race!).

Escapism

The earth keeps rumbling and we carry on. We drive north to our beloved desert lake and soak up the sun. I was chilly but resisted putting on my sweatshirt, trying to keep in the spirit of 'early summer'. I ask myself, 'what if this earthquake pattern continues like this for months? For years?' Gotta say, all this quaking doesn't do my little anxiety-ridden self much good. I am trying to just ride it out (ha ha). The one I experienced this morning was actually pleasant, sort of like riding a floaty air mattress on gentle waves.

Didn't get much work done in the yard this weekend. Tied up some rosebushes, did battle with the junipers (can I tell you how much I hate those plants (ie. fire hazards)?), watered and weeded. The whole backyard is in desperate need of loving care but I don't think it is going to get much until school is out (two more weeks!) and possibly until after the garage is cleaned out (soon? I can only hope...).

Things may end up being a little bit quiet around here for a while (no surprise there, eh?) . I am busy getting (well, attempting to get) settled into my topsy turvey work situation and finishing the aforementioned school. I'll try not to be a stranger.

Whoa, easy there Mama Earth

No, not a belated Earth Day post but just a crazy fact. We've had almost 400 earthquakes out here since February 28th. Yeah, 4-double-0. Just felt a cluster that had me half-diving under my desk. Luckily, the majority are tiny (1.2, 1.4, 2.2) but this is, as my geology professor would say, "an unusual pattern".

Well, ok...I do have a little something in the honor of (belated) Earth Day. A friend turned me on to these blogs, GardenPunks and Little Homestead in the City. Gotta say, I'm catching the fever to build some raised beds and grow food all year long.

Upheaval

I'm experiencing extreme work upheaval which is giving me extreme stress so let's look at those Monkey socks that I forgot to post a few weeks back, shall we? Knitting = comfort.

Knit in a one-of-a-kind colorway of Lorna's Laces sock yarn for my mama's birthday. I really loved this pattern. It never got boring and was always nice to see how it emerged with the colors. My mama was pleased (yay!). And I think maybe I'll knit up a pair of these for me next year. Yeah, next year. I've got so many projects lined up that I think my queue won't be in need of filling until sometime next year.

Stalled on Clapotis and a birthday bunny (like this one, if you can see past the whiskers), but I've just been too tired at night to get any knitting done. At least the semester will be over in a few weeks and...all knit, all the time, baby. That is, except for my create-a-thing-a-day-month project but knitting is creation, right? Actually, I've been thinking about the CTDM project (let's just call it that, eh?) and I'm really excited. I'm going to have specific themes for each week and I'm coming up with some good ones.

Hope you have a good one...

Poetry

This morning during the usual rush to get out the door, Kidlet pointed to a book that I had sitting in her room. I told her it was a book of poetry.

"What's poetry, Mama?"

I opened the book and read a brief poem about sleeping under the pines and on the boulders and how a calendar was no longer necessary because they were living in the moment, at peace. I explained it to her as best I could.

"I've got a poem for you, Mama, 'I love you'."

That's a good one.

Snow in Spring

Sorry, I've been a bad blogger-pal lately. Guess my mood is, well, moody. Creative projects are at a standstill, except for coloring in coloring books with Kidlet. I guess I'm just at a holding pattern while I finish up the last few weeks of school and get through the next little bit work stress (it's 'personal evaluation' season and I have to assist with an upgrade this weekend).

But despite the 'slogginess', I do have ideas.

--Taking a cue from the illustrious Keri Smith, I'm thinking of instituting my own little 'create-a-thing-a-day month'. It won't be until June since there's this thing called 'final exams' in May.

--Nessie has inspired me with her entryway to tackle ours.

--I need to start thinking of gardening and some fun ways to decorate the yard. I think I'll get Kidlet to do some rock paintings but I want to really go all out this year. Lights, lanterns, sparkly bits that shine in the sun, gnome houses...

Ahhh, just thinking about all that good creative stuff makes me feel better all ready. How 'bout you?

Lanterns and a Party

"You can tell it's a Halloween party by their spooky eyes." Kidlet is very interested in Halloween, despite the fact it's 6.5 months away.

Have a festive weekend, all! Maybe hang lanterns on your patios to celebrate spring...

How do I do what I do? A ramble on creativity...

Here is the question that was posed to me by Dominique...

"How can you, as a creative person, find the right balance in doing many projects simultaneously? How do you manage to complete many projects while keeping a healthy body and mind?"

I've been thinking about this question for about two weeks now. Pondering the question of creativity and how I shoe-horn it in to my life, made me question...what the heck am I doing? The answer slowly revealed itself to me. How do I do what I do?

I make multitudes of lists. While I am sitting in class at school or waiting for a computer to reboot (endlessly) at work, I make lists. Lists for arts/crafts/ideas I want to try. Lists for books I want to read. Lists of upcoming knitting projects. Sometimes I make the same list more than once but making the list multiple times takes me that much closer to fruition. Having such limited time means I need to distill the idea until it becomes very clear to me what I want to do. Once I'm there, I can execute it in fairly short order.

Be satisfied with small bits of progress. I find I just about lose my mind if I don't take time to knit at least every other day, and I'm better if I can get a few rows in every day. While I'm not adding a huge chunk onto my project, at least I have touched it and that soothes me like nothing else.

Finding creativity in the most mundane things. I carry my camera everywhere and try to keep my eyes tuned to the easily overlooked. I also try to look at activities that wouldn't be considered artsy in a creative light. Making bread. Digging a hole for a plant. Even cleaning the house with an economy of movement and a song in my head can be satisfying (well, not as satisfying as making a collage, but I try!).

Taking it all less seriously, although this is not easy as art has always had an elevated status in my mind. Somewhere inside me, I feel like I need to take it seriously, as if some collector was going to come across a pile of my stuff and say "Oh! You undiscovered genius! I will be your patron!" and shower me with accolades and cold hard cash. I need to remember that I'm doing this for myself, and that is all.

My creative life is quite limited right now. I have so many obligations: a full-time job, part-time school, full-time mama/wife/family member...I could keep going but won't for fear of overwhelming myself. I'm finding that I like to work on several things at once instead of slogging through one project at a time, despite the fact it feels counter intuitive (wouldn't it be faster to concentrate on one thing? for me, the answer is no). Despite lack of time, I still manage to end up with finished objects and I think that creativity in my life is one of the few things that keeps me sane (sane-r?). I also look ahead to the future for when I might have more time to undertake larger projects or expand my arsenal of the crafts that I do.

Thanks so much, Dominique, for bringing this question my way. It's been quite enlightening and cleared out a few mental cobwebs.