Lovely World

sister

Happy Birthday to my sister Suzanna. She has always been the little sister, coming along when my other siblings and I were well into our school years. She had a curly mass of blonde hair when she was little, and was always busy trying to keep up with the rest of us. She is now a beautiful woman, raising four children. I wish her all the best today and for the coming year.

{The above photos were taken in 1976, when Suzanna was 2 years old. That was the year I turned 10. My daughter Miriam will be 10 this year. I paused to look at this old self for quite a while, trying to remember that time. I'm the shorter of the two girls in the top photo and the one on the back of the horse in the bottom photo (I can't remember why we were on that horse!). My other sister Wendy is a year older than me. The top photo also features my brother and our family's dog and cat.}

holiday

 

Today I clean up (slowly, as I'm a wee bit tired) from the busyness of the past few days. Our Passover seder went well. Good company, delicious food, lots of children. The children put on a dramatic rendition of the Passover story - costumes, props, and much improvisation. Most all of our holiday celebrations are now accompanied by some sort of dramatical performance. A great tradition. Some friends stayed on quite late, and we talked and laughed and relaxed. I realize how rarely I do that anymore. Before I had kids, it was easy to stay up late. Now, sleep seems the luxury.

On Sunday, my mother had a family party at her house. That too was a nice time to catch up with each other, and remark how much all the children had grown. Holidays mark time, and I see the passing of that time most clearly at these family get-togethers.

I took the top photo at my mother's house. The bottom one is of our seder table.

brown

A little collection of brown objects.

• my sewn pinecone

• two beach stones

• a pinecone I found on my walk yesterday

• my grandmother's very well-used "Flower Guide: Wild Flowers East of the Rockies"

• and a small framed photo of my grandmother holding my father. He was born in 1931. Check out that car, and my grandmother's flapper hat. So much time and the living of life has passed since that photo was taken.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. The sun continues to shine here, so I'm headed outside.

 

homebound

My little boy's tonsillectomy was uneventful, but he is a little bit sad. He has to stay quiet for two weeks. We will be homebound for a while. Anyone else with a six-year-old boy knows that this may become a bit challenging as he feels better. But, we have many board games, books, and DVDs lined up to amuse us.

It is snowing this morning, making me feel even more homebound. It is a cozy feeling, and I am secretly glad to have an excuse not to be constantly on the go. I wandered around the house this morning and liked the diffuse quality of light that the snow brought with it. These are a few photos I took. They make me appreciate the comfort of home.

Happy Christmas to all. Be well and thanks for being there. XO Maribeth

gnome

We made some holiday elves at a family party over the weekend. I must say, having a craft project to entertain everyone at a party is a whole lot of fun. Most of the elves were made with red and green clothes, in celebration of Christmas. But, because our family does not celebrate Christmas, my daughter Miriam decided to make a gnome, based on the classic book "Gnomes" by Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet. Did you have this book as a child? I did, and I remember spending hours reading through it and almost believing that these little folks lived lives parallel to our own.

new beds

In an effort to ease my six-year-old son into some semblance of independent sleep, we recently put two twin beds into his room, and removed the king-sized "family" bed that had been there. One school day, I moved everything about and had it looking good for his arrival home. I was thrilled to see how happy he was, and the way in which he took ownership by choosing which bed he would sleep in. So far so good. I am sleeping in the other bed until he settles in. He hasn't gotten out of his bed to crawl in with me until the sun comes up.

It's funny, the way this transition has been bitter-sweet for me. I miss the constant closeness at night. But, I don't miss his inflexibility with sleep if I'm not there, nor the kicking in his sleep that sometimes woke me in the night. My job as a parent is to love my son fiercely and hold him close, but also to teach him how to care for himself as he grows. His new beds are part of this work.

By the way, the lamb's wool rug on the floor, also new, is absolutely luxurious. And the sweet dog prints above each bed are by the talented Amy Blackwell.

after halloween

The day after Halloween, we ate a lot of candy. And we went on a lovely hike in the woods. And my son came down with a fever in the evening. I'm worried we will all get sick. I roasted a turkey breast and plan to make some turkey noodle soup today, hoping that will boost our immune systems.

vintage quilt block friday

8 inch squares in basket pattern. Fabric is cotton and appears recycled from clothing. The pieces are hand stitched.

These quilt blocks, and several others like it, were given to me by my dear sister for my recent birthday. The squares were made by my maternal grandmother, Ivis. She had made stacks of them, but never assembled them into a quilt. When she died in the early 1970s, my mother inherited them. Years ago, my mother made a twin-sized quilt for my sister out of many, but not all, of the blocks. And then she eventually gave her the bag of remaining ones.

I like that many of the blocks appear to be made of recycled clothing. My mother frequently talks about my grandparents' "depression-era" mentality, and I think that is evident in the fabrics. I was quite young when my grandmother died, and I guess that seeing these blocks connects me to her somehow - through a love of fabric, color, and pattern.

Please check out these other participants in the "Vintage Quilt Block Friday":

Courtney

Barbara

Heather

You? - Please join us!

quotable sunday

Sweet and Low

Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,

Father will come to thee soon;

Rest, rest on mother's breast,

Father will come to thee soon;

Father will come to his babe in the nest,

silver sails all out of the west

Under the silver moon;

Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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Since having children, sleep has taken on all kinds of new meanings. This poem reflects the gentle, quiet times that co-sleeping has brought to my life. My children are getting older; sleep is easier. But, falling into dreams together continues.

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Be sure to check Friday's post if you have an interest in sharing old quilt blocks!

baby

I was happy to give this doll and pair of shoes I made to a sweet, new baby girl born just a few weeks ago. I made the card as well. Of course, the gift was delivered with a tasty meal (including some ridiculously chocolaty brownies my husband made). Gifts of food are so important in the early post-partum time. As a matter-of-fact, gifts of food are always nice, aren't they?