The snow has been coming down all day. It is quiet and peaceful here in the woods, although I do hear the regular rumble of the plows down on the road. The little card in the second photo provides a contrast to the current whites and grays. Could that green exist in this same place? I love this little card. It was sent to me in a package when I ordered from an etsy vintage shop.
I hope you are enjoying the snow if it has come your way.
❀ Maribeth
I am drawn to images of animals, as I'm sure many people are. They are so a part of our lives, of our environments.
The above top image is from a memorial plaque at the Bath Abbey (The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul) in Bath, England. I just loved the aged marble and the sensitive expressions on both the animal and human faces. I was also very interested to see the beaver alongside all of the domesticated animals.
This is the second sheep I have made. It has a pink fleece (lovely German mohair) and a black ruffled ribbon around its neck that provides a somewhat solemn feeling to the piece.
We lost a beloved cat this week, so I am also thinking about how animals come in and out of our lives. If you own different pets over a lifetime, that is many losses along the way.
Be well.
❀ Maribeth
:: Dear friends. Thank you again for all the warm comments you have left me as I return to my blog. They are very meaningful.
:: Here you see a collage of many patterns (the lid of a vintage paper box, a small embroidery that an etsy seller from abroad tucked in my package when I ordered from her shop, and a clipping from a recent New York Times Weekend Arts section). I pair this photo with a "Bird in Flight" that I made this month. Hand-dyed wool, vintage silk flowers, and an old factory spool. I bought a handful of these spools at the Brimfiled Market last spring. I hope to get back to the show this year to find more of these. They allow me to portray and support animals in motion.
:: I read an interesting post on Bookhou this morning about the worth of handmade work. I recommend both makers and purchasers of handmade goods read this. Arounna is articulate in her argument. I also have to say that, as an owner of two Bookhou bags, her work is beautiful and worth the investment.
:: Finally, along the lines of work and worth, I read this in Mary Rose O'Rielly's spiritual memoir The Love of Impermanent Things:
"It was so hard for me to learn to value my own vocation - it's still my basic instinct to spill over for anyone who asks - and now, in midlife, I am not going to give up what I know."
Does that sound familiar to you?
It is all green here. We are settling into summer. The first round of lettuce and radishes are just about done. The peas and string beans will be harvested in a couple of weeks. One more day of walking the kids to the school bus stop. I have been enjoying these walks, the morning air so full of life. We have a very long driveway, so there is always something interesting to see along the way. My son and I saw a coyote on the driveway a few weeks ago.
Here are some lovely things for you:
♥ Chinelos de Trapo (don't you want a pair?)
♥ Kettle's Yard (let's go here)
♥ Sonia Delaunay at the Cooper Hewitt (too good)
Bye for now.
I have been so busy, here and there. Here is a brief glimpse of me, look quick before I'm off to something else!
I keep looking at my feet in this photo. I have been attending yoga class regularly and often find myself focused on the contact between my feet and the floor. I really like this grounding. It is a point of mindfulness.
I put a few birds in my etsy shop earlier today. Please take a look if you like. Lovely World Handmade.
Hope all is well. ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
We have had turbulent weather lately. Lots of rainy storms. Last night a big one blew through. I had never heard such strange howling of the wind. I sat up watching the trees sway in the flashes of light from the electrical storm. We had trees down over the driveway this morning. Lots to clean up.
As I was walking around town this morning I came upon this sad bird's nest. It had obviously blown out of the tree during the storm. Poor little birds must wonder where their nest and lovely eggs went.
The storms have washed out quite a few of the girls' softball practices and games. I have to admit that I have enjoyed watching the games that have been played. I also enjoy watching my daughter learn something new.
The Green River runs through the length of our town. Here is a view I had of it today. It flows into the Hoosic River, which then dumps right into the Hudson River. The water has been running high all spring. This has been a boon to kayakers and other boaters.
Lastly is a photo of a shelf on my work table. (The photo on the middle shelf is of my parents, me, and two of my siblings. We are all just a year apart in age.) I have been so engrossed in activity that I have had very little quiet time working there. I awoke at 5AM this morning, restless, so I was able to creep quietly to my work room to paint before anyone woke up and demanded my attention.
Have a nice long weekend. We have some travel and some celebrations ahead of us.
Busy.
My children are on school break.
Passover began yesterday evening. We had 15 people for our seder. A very nice time, after days of preparation.
Our public library's annual used book sale is this coming Friday and Saturday. I am very involved in organizing this event. Today we moved two moving trucks full of boxes of books to the school gymnasium. We unload and set up over the next two days. Hard work, but good work. And it is very satisfying work for a book lover.
I apologize if I owe you an email, and for being a bit absent from my usual blog reading.
I've been busy.
Many years I find myself in July, wondering what happened to those lovely months of April, May, and June. These are often months full of activity. I am committing myself to a mindful appreciation of spring this year. Yes, this week is a busy one, but I am going to stop and notice and be present.
Do you ever try to control the people and things around you?
I do sometimes (I used to do it a lot more, I'm loosening up). And it never really gets me anywhere. I have begun to note that the harder I push at controlling people or things, the worse it feels. My body and mind become tight, constricted, and inflexible as I try to impose outcomes that would probably be well enough left alone.
My children and my husband are often at the receiving end of my efforts to control. I think this comes from the perceived role I have taken on to make the day, and our lives in general, run along smoothly and on schedule. Do you ever find yourself barking out orders like a drill sergeant? In particular, I do this in the morning as the kids get ready for school and in the evening as it gets close to bedtime. This is good for no one. And interestingly, on the days I am not working myself up into a tizzy, everyone gets off to school and to bed just fine.
Another potential area of trouble: food. Trying to control what my kids eat. That is a tough one. (One of the very funniest essays I ever read touches so beautifully on this: Ian Frazier's "Lamentations of the Father" in the Atlantic).
So where is the better place to be? Of course, it never hurts to ground myself right there in the moment. No worries about what comes next. My infatuation with the past and future only act to unanchor me from the task at hand.
I recently found myself sorting it out this way:
control = fear of loss of control = burden to self and others
loving care = interdependence = closer trusting relationships
So, I can be a parent (or be a wife, or a friend) who acts out of a place of fearful control or out of loving care. I pick the latter. How about you?
I've noticed this process of control vs care in knitting. When I'm knitting without angst, the yarn gently unwinds from the ball and twists itself into the piece I am making. If I am in some way frustrated with my progress, I am more likely to drop a stitch or knit too tightly or botch things up some other way.
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"Only in an open, nonjudgemental space can we acknowledge what we are feeling. Only in an open space where we're not all caught up in our own version of reality can we see and hear and feel who others are, which allows us to be with them and communicate with them properly." Pema Chodron