Inspiration: Collaboration

Caline sent this delicate and beautiful book to me. For me to work on as our first collaborative project. It was tied together with string so it could fold like an accordian... with the life of a bird depicted on front of each page...the back side left blank.

Also included in this envelope, a small doodle/drawing, made by ME, from August 9th, probably 1987. (It reminds me of Caline, this drawing I made long ago.)
And putting two and two together I felt that maybe I should simply be drawing on the back side of each of her pages, fold the book back up and then send it back. Collaboration complete.

But that's just not what happened.

It became clear that I was wanting to incoporate other things. I even made some stamped things out of clay that I thought I would susupend from the book. (I will be sending these to you, Caline, for our next collaboration if you're up for it....since I don't know how I could send this to you without it getting destroyed...)

Anyway, the thought of hanging things from this bird book got me started collecting twigs with Silas, then discussing "balance" with Emmett and thinking about "color" with Mac.

And then we wished we had a perfectly empty (but not white) room to look at it in with
the sun shining in on it so we could watch the spinning shadow on the wall.

The bird book is alive in our house now!
Twig, Breeze, Balance.




Thank YOU Caline!

Almost as Tall as her Mama!

It's true!

Winter Garden looks like Spring...

...except the light is VERY different!

I have never planted winter vegetables at home...only at school.
I am very excited
malibar spinach, broccoli, radishes, lettuce, beets, winter squash, collard greens, scallions, late season tomatoes, chard, russet potatoes, fava beans, snap peas...as well as more nasturtiums and sweet potatoes around the compost pile!
But the light is so soft and shaded and dappled that it just doesn't seem like there's going to be enough sun. And it hasn't even started raining yet!

!

"Why ARE we Still in Afghanistan?"

I have been asking myself this question and I love it when

I read an article that asks the same question I was too embarrassed to ask

because it seemed stupid. (silly me)....

from the article by Gene Lyons....

"And what if a U.S. president recognized that destroying mud villages and killing children in distant Afghanistan isn't making America safer? That endless war creates endless enemies? What if he showed enough political courage to say that 100 percent security from terrorism isn't possible? That the mad, quixotic attempt to achieve it is sacrificing the lives of our best and bravest while it bankrupts the treasury? Who in the world would be angry with him except the Washington war lobby and Osama bin Laden?"

READ the whole article here!!
And then go ahead and read the most recent Garrison Keillor article.
Another simple and sweet one!

Shiner!

Face meets stairs.
This doesn't even look as
bad as it actually looks.
Bad enough that when I
walk around town with him
I get double takes and then
the once over.

This time he "twipped" on the
stairs playing with Ry.

With all the time he spends
jumping off things I am actually
surprised we haven't had the
tooth chip or the stitches in the
chin.
(yes, I am knocking on wood!!)

He's pretty cute.
Still has those vampire teeth!

Camille Claudel...

...watched the movie last night. About the beautiful sculptor and artist, in love with a more famous/powerful man, Auguste Rodin...who basically loses her mind. She becomes his muse for a time and his work was very influenced by her style more than than he taught her. She was really a force.
Reminds me of Sylvia Plath...and others...
Makes me wonder if she suffered from schitzopherenia, depression or was merely a victim of her time.
Being a woman with a drive like hers must have been such a burden in those days.
An interesting movie with some amazing scenes in it.
Isabel Adjani is so perfect in the role.
This morning I woke up wondering about Camille Claudel's work and I would love to visit Rodin's house in Paris.
I hear (from Erin) that you can go there, touch things, sit in his chairs etc. Wow! I would love to do that.

No More Suckers.

Never pacifiers or binkys.
Always suckers!
And today we say good-bye to the suckers.
Never again will I be forced to look under the bed
or inside pillow cases for "the green one".
Or hear that slurp-y sound as I fall asleep.
Never again will I give it a quick lick to clean it from the dirty floor,
even though we all know that's gross and makes no sense.

End of an oral era.

(...and no big deal at all to Si. He wanted to put them
on the Christmas tree as a decoration. Didn't like at all my
idea about leaving them for the sucker-fairy. He wanted to
hold on to them and treasure them the way Emmett keeps
his teeth no matter how much money the tooth fairy offers...
I get it, I really do...)
This is one baby thing I will NOT miss no matter how sweetly
and nostalgically I talk it up. But I will like seeing them all
colorful on the tree. Someone should make novelty sucker
Xmas lights. Stupid but funny...like for that store of expensive
nonsense stuff...Babette Schwartz.
Getting off track.
So long, sucker.

love knitters

They are so close to finishing this amazing quilt that I think I should make my pitch....This should be for ME!!... because it has all the mistakes and first attempts woven right in there, which is my favorite thing about it. They are getting so good that the next one will be all perfect and who needs perfect when you can have the lovely first time efforts...And I also think it should be mine... because I LOVE IT!
But M&E think this one should be Mac's to take with her to college. (um, a little ahead of themselves?) Anyway, I also think it's pretty great that they are making them for eachother.
Next they are making Emmett's, then Silas and eventually....me?



Another amazing thing about this love quilt is that so many people have knitted squares or rows and each square has a name.
Some were knitted during the inaugural speech, some during sick days, some on trips. Unbeatable in its beauty!!

One Year Ago....

Check out Craig Cami and Finley's blog post about last year at this time....
All of us said "AWWWWWWWW!" in unison when we read it and watched the video.
We will never forget it!
And here's a picture of Silas at his party and pretty much all day today.

Three Years Old Today!

Happy Birthday Silas. We Love YOU!
...and we will never forget the day you were born!

I love this little soapstone carving.

I made this in 1991 in Machakos, Kenya when I was 20. I was traveling at the time during a week off from classes (intensive swahili of which I remember very little). I went on an adventure with a friend... looking for artists willing to show us how they 'do what they do' and we stumbled upon a village called Kissii (where there are little mini-earthquakes ALL the TIME!) and I met a family there that let me hang out with them for a week. I watched them make the most incredible graceful carvings of animals in minutes. Even the children could do it! (I tried but ended up with 1/2 finished, crude impressions....)
When I left they gave me as much soapstone as I could carry and I carved a little bit everyday the rest of my time spent in Africa. I brought a few of the smaller pieces home with me on the plane a few months later.
This is one of them. It is very simple and is my favorite.
What is amazing to me is that it is a carving of a mother, a father and 3 children...long before I had any idea how my future would unfold. I also love that I even have a picture of me making it!

Just look at Them.

Every night all over
the globe
there are parents... watching
their babies
of all ages, for an extra
moment,
after they have fallen
asleep, before
shutting the light, and
feeling...
hoping...
knowing,
for the sake of their
young hearts,
that there is more
good than bad
in the world.

Remember E.T.????

Roasting Vegetables for Soup

It

feels

like

Fall

now.

SNL Tough on Obama, and Rightly So

Anyone else weirded-out, but not surprised, by the GOP's glee over losing the Olympic Bid??

read this article

Exactly what I have been thinking.

..." this episode (with the Olympic bid) illustrated an essential truth about the state of American politics: at this point, the guiding principle of one of our nation’s two great political parties is spite, pure and simple. If Republicans think something might be good for the president, they’re against it — whether or not it’s good for America."...
Paul Krugman

Toughies

the best Napkin Explanation ever...

Check out the Super Clear Napkin Slideshow about Healthcare...
just keep clicking the arrows...51 in all. Very well done!

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

We are going to be on the radio!

I am not sure exactly when we will get the live, semi out-of-the-blue call, but Brent AND Woofy will be talking to us about our CD.
They contacted us after hearing some of our songs....so, WOW! We are curious to see what happens. I wish we could actually see Woofy...Silas would be more into it, that's for sure. Right now phone conversations are difficult for him. He likes to talk about what's right in front of him. It often goes like this..."spidey slippers... and there is Mabel...and my lunchbox had a banana ...." A long string of non-sequiturs. Could be interesting.
You never know what Mac and Emmett might say on live radio either, not to mention MATT! Maybe not such a good idea afterall! ;)
I wonder if he's gonna ask us to sing?

Good One

NY Times article by Thomas Friedman. Check it out.

And, I will add, that Jon Stewart still remains one of the few to put the faux attacks from the right AND the left into perspective.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
America: Target America
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

These Boys are Hilarious

Post-Impromptu-Beach Day, Pre-Pokemon DS Marathon,
Funny Stuff.

Silas Love

Nana can't leave the house without Silas wanting to chase her down to hold up the
"I love you" sign.
He's proud he can do this with his fingers and wanted to show 'shadow Silas' ....and also to "photobooth it to Baby Feee". His words.
Update:check Craig Cami and Finley's Blog for some more love...

Cami's Website!

I just love the pictures on Cami's Photography website. If anyone knows any pregnant mama's who want this time captured in an awesome and natural kind of way, recommend Cami! Maybe she'll have to come for a West Coast/Work trip!!! ;)
...And when you checkout the website you get to hear the original version of "Again"...recorded in my office while tickling Silas!

Check it out HERE

A blast from the past for BeBe's Birthday!

WE Love YOU!!

this is a good one!

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

get yourself a cup of tea and get peaceful...

International Day of Peace Assembly at SDCCS highlights...(some of you may need a tissue...)

Miss Morgan and her kindergarteners softening us all up...


Dmitry and Merrill and their 3rd graders singing in Hebrew... "shalom"...
(and, yes, that is a hobby horse microphone!)


what a wonderful world tear jerker...


hilarious 7th graders (with Mac on piano and Nick on guitar) singing "whirled peas"...


and of course, "all you need is love".
Happy Peace Day!!

Germ House.

First Silas, then Emmett...and let's hope it stops there because it's nasty.
We went to the doctor and it's not swine flu, just run of the mill flu/upper respiratory business and I refuse to get it. So there.
In line at the pharmacy they were both hacking and snotting so much into their shirts so as not to spread germs that it was comical.

A couple of people who were watching me say every 5 seconds, "cough catcher" or "cover your mouth with your shirt", finally said, "Wow. I bet it's really gross in there".
Tomorrow they go back to school. We'll see how that goes.

This face!

My niece Finley!
...thought of this little girl all day today (and during shavasin, cam!)
...she just started pre-school and is soooo her own happy self!
Just look at this face!!!
FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

"So I am just a muggle."

Mac regrets to inform you all that
although she is 11 years old
she did not, by Sept. 1rst, receive
her Hogwarts letter of acceptance...
and is therefore
a muggle.

Bummer.

collard greens and kale for days!

I made the best soup today (despite it being summer weather...)

But just look at it. There is no way the kids will even try this without some serious...garnish??

And bribery and promise of desert.

And Silas won't even try it I am sure. So sad.
It is really really yummy.

Vegan Greens Soup
Swiss chard, collard greens kale whatever... about 4 cups cut up very small like cole slaw.
1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, olive oil
one large potato cut small-ish
great northern beans I can or 1/4 cup dried
vegetable stock 2 boxes
bit of cumin, teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, bit of cinnamon, bit of curry, shake of red pepper flakes

saute the oil onion garlic spices first
add potato for a while
add then everything else
bring to a simmer and then reduce heat and cook on low until potatos are soft.
add parmesan if your are not vegan!

awesome!!

UPDATE: later that day...Emmett loves it. Happy to be wrong!

Everyone but Silas gave it the thumbs up!

coming home to this is the best...

Mac and Emmett have discovered that they can play the basics of almost any song by getting the chords online and sitting down together. This is a new development. Instead of the "pretend play" that used to go on around here, now they spend a lot of time doing this....and their childhood continues to evolve.
I LOVE IT.
Besides the fact that they are learning so much so quickly...they are also having so much FUN. This is the reason I made them practice. Not to be famous pianists but for this. Now, along with the tedious rigor of learning complete piano pieces and figuring out finger picking etc...they get to see why its so worth it. Suddenly it all makes sense! Hurray!!!

What are these people really protesting?

The big concerns seem to be that we will become a socialist country (hardly), that Obama is a fascist (they must be unclear about the definition), that he isn't even a citizen, that he is too smart and his speeches too fancy, that he's responsible for out of control government spending (war $ and tax refunds are o.k. though) and the rest of the folks seem to be misinformed about death panels killing granny and Obama taking away their guns. You know its hard not sound like an arrogant uppity liberal smarty pants when we are dealing with folks like this.

I am ALL for a protest. Where real concerns are brought into the light from the power of thousands of voices. But this is silly.

All in all, a very uneducated gathering. At least from what I can tell from these signs. (I didn't even include the ones misspelled as that is just too low a blow.)
The one civil, clear exception would be the little girl with the CUT SPENDING sign who, you can tell, really IS worried about government spending (on frivolous things like health care, I am sure.)
And then there are the racists who are shouting "racism".
Whole lot of convoluted fear mongering going on around here.

Julia Child

Saturday night mom and I finally got to do something together other than chat while cleaning the house...we went to dinner, frozen yogurt and then to see "Julie and Julia".
What a great movie full of the passions of life! So much fun! Thanks mama.