Stitches in Play

focus

Time for another installment of focus, a little photo project that Sarah and I are collaborating on.

Each week we hope to take time to Focus ourselves and to Focus our cameras.

To Focus on looking and seeing,

to Focus on how we spend our time,

to Focus on friends and family and what's important,

to Focus on what's been there all the along but we just didn't take the time to look.

This week our Focus is on 'the kitchen table." 

But first a little disclaimer.  I waited until the last minute to take these photos.  I wish I hadn't because the past 48 hours have been kinda crazy around here.  First, my husband fell off his bike while racing through the woods with Ezra, and hurt his ribs and wrist.  Just hours later, I decided to clear out the garage and dropped a wood board on my toe, causing it to swell and turn a lovely shade of blue - also, it hurt a bit!  So I sit down at the kitchen table, injured foot elevated on nearby chair, and decide to focus.  To take a minute and breathe deeply.  To feel grateful that Greg is feeling better with a brace on his wrist.  Grateful that I only hurt my toe and not my whole foot.  To take a photo of my kitchen table for this photo project... When the thunder storm causes us to loose power.  So much for making a nice family dinner.  Greg drives the two blocks to the nearest Subway and we eat sandwiches for dinner.  I must say they were pretty tasty (subway now offers baby spinach) and I was glad to not have to cook. And for dessert we ate all the ice cream melting in the freezer.  You gotta do what you gotta do ...and when the power goes out the whole family must suck it up and eat ice cream!  By candlelight.

This morning I get up to find cereal bowls left on the table from the 7am breakfast. (most mornings there's also a 9am breakfast followed by lunch at 12:30)

And the girl eating last night's popcorn for breakfast. 

So I make myself a cup of tea and sit down at the messy table - foot elevated, of course...

When David walks in and tells me that he just fell of his skateboard!  A whole lot of living takes place around our table.  Good thing he's old enough to apply his own antibiotic ointment.

Later Ezra read a book on how to repair whatever was misaligned on Greg's bike.  Then he went and fixed it.  A whole lot goes on at this table.

Oh, and sometimes, we also eat our meals at the kitchen table.

Hydrangeas courtesy of Trader Joe's.  Abby and I stopped by while the boys were in taekwondo and we couldn't resist these blooms.  For five dollars.  They help me focus.  On beauty.  On seeing.  On what's important.  On all that goes on at the kitchen table.

(By the way, I am doing just fine.  I'm able to get around.  My toe isn't broken so Greg just buddy taped it.  I am, however, limited in the shoes I'm able to wear:)

wondering...

The other day we met some friends for fun at the pool.  My girlfriend, who works outside the home, said she was cutting back on her work hours in order to focus on work she truly enjoys.  She hopes this time will allow her to hone new skills and make connections in order to find a lucrative and fulfilling job once her kiddos are grown.

Our conversation got me thinking about what work I would find fulfilling... 

I enjoy twirling on the river with my girl.

I like going out for frozen yogurt on really hot days.

I love reading really good books.  (these are all really good reads!)

I like to doodle while Abby dances to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. 

I love going on nature walks with my family.  And photographing cute squirrels in fig trees.

I have absolutely no idea what will become of me.  Or, rather, who I will become.  I know that I want to feel useful, spread compassion, and have enough free time to play with my family, to travel, read and create.  I will continue to ponder this and keep you posted.  In the meantime I will enjoy more trips for frozen yogurt. I like to combine vanilla, cappuccino and raspberry flavors - topped with hot fudge sauce.  Wonder what that says about me?!

Focus

I am super excited today to begin a little collaboration photography project with Sarah of greenclogs fame.  We are working together, pushing one another just a bit to not only Stop and Notice but to truly Focus. 

Each week we hope to take time to Focus ourselves and to Focus our cameras.

To Focus on looking and seeing,

to Focus on how we spend our time,

to Focus on friends and family and what's important,

to Focus on what's been there all the along but we just didn't take the time to look.

This week our Focus is on 'the garden'.  With all our transitions my family doesn't have much of a garden this year so we visited a beautiful public garden in our neighborhood.

 

 

Thank you to Sarah for being my partner-in-crime on this journey. A healthy dose of Focus is something I really need in my life right now.  I can not wait to try this again next week.

Hope you all take a bit of time to focus on something fun today!

 

rainy weekend snacking

Just popping in to share our weekend snacking favorites. 

On Saturday it rained.  And we snacked. And then it stopped.  And the sun came out.  So we rode our bikes around the neighborhood.  And then it rained once more. And we snacked again. And then the sun came out again so i decided to take pictures of all our snacking.  Of course!

This first snack relies on the concept of "ratio" - a small amount of dark chocolate and a big handful of almonds.  Yummy, healthy, absolutely no prep involved.  Who needs portion control when we have ratio?

Second snack is anything topped with trader joe's cherry preserves.  Perfect on bread, ice cream or right out of the jar.  We didn't make strawberry jam this year so we're making do!

Third snack is this awesome organic popcorn. 

And, or course, I am never too far away from a cuppa warm chai tea.  Helps wash down all the snacks in the most delightful way!  (for some reason i cannot help but channel Mary Poppins this morning....)

Hope your Sunday includes a bit of snacking.  It's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! 

Making space

The other day I came across this quote by Henry David Thoreau -

 "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you've imagined. 

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."

So fitting for my life right now.  In our new home we have pared down all the stuff and simplified our life.  We are living with less stuff and less clutter.  We have traded that in for wide open spaces and tons of natural light.  We are all so much happier in this smaller, lighter and brighter space. 

In our previous home I had a small studio space in the room above the garage.  This worked well in that I didn't have to clean up my mess at the end of the day because no one wanted to go up there - it was always cold in the winter and hot in the summer and quite dark and dreary.  On the down side, I could only work there when my kiddos were in school or late at night because I was so far away from them that every time I went up there, within seconds someone needed some form of immediate attention and I had to come right back down.  In our new home I will be working and making in a bright corner of our living/dining area.  I'll share once I have it all set up but here are some storage solutions for thread and fabric and my sewing machine and iron.  I will be working beside the kitchen and the living space alongside my family.  I will be right here with them - solving problems, helping retrieve their snacks and refereeing their arguments from the comforts of my creative space.  Or maybe i'll just tune out all the noise and stare out the huge window and onto the creek that runs along the back of our property....  i'll keep you posted on this one!

I will also have to keep my space neat and tidy.  And hopefully this will encourage me to complete projects before starting new ones, to work in a more organized fashion, and to try out new ideas that fit our new space and way of living.  I cannot wait to get started!

Abigail organized my thread and fabric.

Thread on the left. Fabric on the right.  In this cabinet in the master bedroom - which is right outside the dining area, which just happens to be where my new work space is located.

Sewing machine and iron in new workspace....

Which is right by the table where my girl loves to arrange flower bouquets.


I have more supplies and lots of patterns and inspiration tear sheets which i'm storing in this great file cabinet from cb2.  This cabinet fits a ton but truly I have chosen to limit my supplies to the things that i really love and need and enjoy working with. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

when in Rome...

I could have brought out the drawing pad and the nice pens.  I could have positioned myself in such a way where I could get the best perspective.  But there was not time for any of that. Abigail was coloring with good old crayola crayons on printer paper.  Both were sitting on the kitchen table while I was clearing breakfast dishes.   So I did what any mama who proclaimed in her last post that she was going to take a bit of creative time any way she could.  And I joined my girl for a bit of crayola time.

  

 

Spending half an hour (yes, it took me 30 minutes) drawing along with my girl was so much fun.  She even sprinkled my drawing with paper punched stars for an added touch! 

Also want to share two awesome films that can be streamed off Netflix.  The September Issue and Bill Cunningham New York.  Both of these are fashion documentaries but they are so much more than that. Even if you have no interest in fashion magazines or photography you will LOVE the human nature story behind these passionate, driven, brilliant people.  Bill Cunningham, especially, is a genius and the this documentary is perfection.

I'm also really enjoying the The Chaperone right now - very well written light summer read.  Have a great week!

trying to focus

"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

 - Mark Twain

It's summer. The weather is scorching hot, each and every day. And I feel like "my imagination is out of focus." 

I have so many ideas in my head, so many projects I want to begin and some fun challenges I want to explore in this space. 

I had planned to write that I am "too busy" to begin these because it's summer, my kiddos need me, there are meals to prepare + housework and laundry to do.  There's driving to day camps and classes and trips to fun and educational places so that no one is feeling bored. 

But the truth is that I can find time - make time - for what I really want to do.

This past month I found the time to read some great books.  I read on the couch with my kiddos. I read in bed when everyone else was asleep. I read during trips to the library, which encouraged Abby to seek out the librarian, who taught her how the dewey decimal system works - why do I always forget that it takes a village to raise kiddos and that I don't have to do it all myself?!

Beginning today I plan to make time to do the projects I can't stop thinking about.  I will find a way to sneak them into our summer schedule. I will not claim to be too busy. I will bring my imagination back into focus. And I will not feel guilty if my children argue (loudly) while I'm working on something that brings me joy.  I will breath deeply and remind myself that siblings fight, that it's part of learning to compromise, it's part of learning to live and share with others - it's perfectly normal.  Just like taking the time to do something for myself, to see, to focus is perfectly normal too.

life is good

Working on clearing up some issues so that you all can view my blog again. 

Extremely thankful to Sarah for some very detailed instructions on how to go about doing this.  You totally rock!

Grateful to all the folks who sent me emails and flickr messages - i heart blog friends so much. 

In the meantime, we're making salad out of veggies from the farmer's market. 

We're finding hearts in the sweetest figs.


 We're playing in the pool.

And remembering always that "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." -Albert Einstein