A Break

Winter took a break this weekend. The snow slunk into the shadows or quietly melted into the ground. The sun put in a little extra effort to warm the air and the winds took the hint and mercifully abated for a few days.

Here in Wyoming winter can last half the year. We know that any breaks like this must be taken full advantage of. So, we packed up our crew and headed down to the river for a little exploration. We blinked our eyes in the bright sunlight, like a bear emerging from hibernation.

We weren't the only people who had the same idea. There were joggers, families, bikers, and two middle aged men with mini-monster trucks riding them on the rocks (they were completely silent as we passed and then returned to a rather boisterous conversation) all down by the river.

There were spots where the river was frozen and other areas where the water carried chunks of loose ice downstream. The ducks and geese were adorably hanging out in little web-footed troops.

We were just out for an hour or so, but it was completely refreshing. This morning there is a fresh dusting of snow on the ground and it is once again cold and wintry outside, but I feel completely ready to take on another round of winter after our little break.

How was your weekend?

Nature

Each moment of the year has its own beauty . . . a picture
which was never before and shall never be seen again.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Lesson Learned

A week or two ago we had a friend contact us to ask if we had received a package she had send in December. We had not! A little investigation turned up the error, the package had been sent to our previous address. We contacted UPS and they confirmed that it had been delivered.

My heart sank. I sent a letter to the address asking the recipient to please give us the package. Nearly a week passed and I heard nothing. Yesterday I was mulling it over. Should I just let it go? Should I contact the police? Should I visit our old house and politely confront the person?

I had very little faith that we would ever hear from this person or our package. I wasn't really as upset about losing the package itself as I was about the thought that someone would just take it.

Then yesterday afternoon I got a phone call, I was actually thinking about the whole thing when the phone rang. I answered the phone to silence. "Hello?" Nothing. "Hello???"

A rustle of papers. "Ummm, is this Maria?"

"Yes, who is this?"

The caller identified himself as Nick. He apologized for the delayed response and said that he works out of town. He had our package and some other stuff from UPS! Wahoo!

Eric ran over and picked it up on his way home from work. I couldn't believe it, the package was unopened. The young man had simply set it aside, meaning to get to it when he was home from work (I guess he travels a lot).

We opened our gifts (which were perfectly picked out for each of us) and were thrilled in addition to the gifts, we received a little lesson on the kindness of strangers! I think perhaps Nick will soon be getting a little something from the Kindness Bandit!!!

Cordelia going bananas over one of her gifts


Really, she's cray-zay about these blocks


Who wouldn't be?

Have you ever been surprised by the kindness of a stranger before?

Recurrent Theme: Birds

I think perhaps it started with Disney movies watched in my childhood, but somewhere along the way I began to believe that my whistle and a finger extended would be irresistible to birds. I am not sure what I would do if a bird were to land on my finger, but it doesn't stop me from trying. Now don't get me wrong I am not what you would call a bird enthusiast. I don't spend hours and days crouching in the underbrush noting bird calls and making migration charts. I do however seem to really like birds...Cordelia has recently started noticing birds everywhere. She points them out while we are on walks saying, "Bird, tweet, tweet."

When I look around my house I see that there are a lot birds. I don't collect birds, but somehow they seem to have covertly infiltrated my house.

Black and white bird


Art piece by Michael Copeland with bird wing

Key chain with picture of Eric, my cousin Erin et moi on our Caribbean cruise with a giant bird


Art piece by me


Cordelia's book


Japanese woodblock print


Owl print


More of my sculptures in progress


Toy


Origami

Do you have a recurrent theme?

They Are Here!

Eric and I went to ENMU in New Mexico for the first two years of our college education. While we were there we made friends with a young father named Andy Mason. We were instantly drawn to his straightforward attitude, his humor, his kindness, and his musical abilities.

We left NM, but we held onto his friendship. He has been one of the most dependable friends we've ever had. He is also a super-gifted musician and he and my Mr. have worked together musically on several occasions. Over the years Eric and I have watched his music career grow and grow. He has spent the last several years working as a children's musician. You may recall that I have talked about him a few times here on this blog.

When he and his lovely lady Anne were visiting in 2009, just before Cordelia was born, we started talking about making some music videos for him. One thing led to another and we had a full blown project on our hands. For the next several months Eric and I worked at making videos worthy of his awesome music.

Finally, we finished them! The video is called Andy Mason is in Your Living Room. I have been waiting and waiting for it to become available online and it finally is! Please go and check it out here(you can see part of one video and order if you feel so inclined). We have gotten nothing but amazing feedback on the videos. Cordelia loves them! I hope your family will too. For the record, there are 10 videos, an interview with a robot and a live performance. He also has several albums which are in heavy rotation at our house, you can check out his site here.

I will also post a button on my sidebar in the next several days. Thanks for taking a look we are so excited about this!!!

Back to My Practice

A few years ago when Eric and I were living in Montana (I miss you MT) we signed up for a yoga class. We were a little nervous when we stepped into our first real yoga class, we had taken a brief intro years earlier. We had to take off our shoes and we didn't know where to put our stuff, where to roll out our mats, what to do as we waited for class to begin. I seem to remember feigning some awkward stretches.

Then we spotted our teacher; she was super petite, crazy buff, with wild and curly black hair that was never really under control. She seemed very kind, but also very intense--- and she was really into yoga. We saw her do handstands, balancing poses, inversions, etc. on that first day and it was completely intimidating. She did it all with control and gentleness. We could have hightailed it out of that class, but we were both intrigued--what if we could do some of those things, have that peaceful look, that calm control?

Soon we were in class 5 days a week, seriously investing ourselves in yoga. We would walk into class, ready and excited to be there. We started applying to grad schools the following year and our yoga teacher suggested that instead of grad school we focus on yoga. We guffawed at the suggestion (yep, guffawed) and continued on with our plans. I regret that guffaw, because I know that would have been a totally sound choice. I love yoga and I love Montana, but I felt as though I needed to go to grad school at the time. We assured ourselves that those plans would continue to include yoga....but they didn't, at least not for several years.

Over the course of those several years I found my life growing in new ways and it was all very exciting, but I always felt a little off. I was busy with school, work, art, Bumblebee, then motherhood. I knew that I missed yoga and I would need to return to it at some point, but there were so many hurdles and distractions.

Finally I decided to ignore all of those hurdles and distractions and just give myself a little time. Well, truthfully Eric nearly forced me to make that time for myself, what a great hubby I have! I am excited to say that I am finally back into a regular practice, reminding my body what it is to do yoga. I found that I have new arm strength thanks to Cordelia and tight hip muscles, thanks to grad school. I am a different person than I was when I first started yoga, but I am happy to be starting from here.

My sweet distractions!

Obviously there are still many distractions, but I am continuing on in spite of them. I hope to be a good example to my daughter, but I also hope to remind myself of the strength I know I possess. After every class I come home and happily go about life as usual, but I feel a subtle change-- a quiet happiness as though a piece of the puzzle is being carefully put back into place.

The Kindness Bandit: Jenny the Donkey

Have you heard of Best Friends Animal Society? They are an organization in Utah dedicated to eradicating the homeless pet problem in America. They are a large organization with many elements including: rescue, adoption, outreach and education. I highly recommend that you take a moment to peruse their site. While I was at their website I decided that the Kindness Bandit might be of some assistance.

I wish that they would allow a gentle donkey in our rental, but alas they will not. So I decided to get involved in an ongoing monthly sponsorship. I chose to adopt Jenny, read more about her here. I know all too well how desperately animal rescue organizations need help in the form of food, bedding and cash donations. If you are interested in helping you can sponsor an animal through Best Friends for as little as $5 a month, or you can choose something in your own community!

I invite you to submit your Kindness Bandit deeds (with photos if at all possible) and I will feature them on an upcoming posting of the Kindness Bandit. Just remember to be creative and to be kind! Additionally, I will link to your blog or website.Please submit your Kindness Bandit activities to maria @ planetwimmer.com
In the mean time I will continue on with the Kindness Bandit as always!!!

Build a Terrarium

Perhaps it is the snow and bone chilling winds outside, but I am in need of a little green...not money (well that wouldn't hurt), but plants. I decided to answer the call of my green thumb and start a little terrarium. My ultimate plan is to have 4-5 terrariums of varied sizes and shapes in some sort of artful display.

Step 1: Gather your supplies. I chose a small glass container, a couple of plants, gathered some rocks and twigs from outside, and a few tiny birds to decorate.

Step 2: Put a layer of rocks or gravel in the bottom of the container for drainage. You don't want soggy roots, that would be humiliating.

Step 3: Break apart your plants into manageable bits, with root-balls intact.
**Optional: Name plants and figurines.

Step 4: Spoon in a layer of fertilized soil.

Step 5: Add and arrange plants and twigs.

Step 6: Add decorative elements like rocks, pebbles, figures, etc. I started with the larger pieces first. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.

Step 7: Inspect your materpiece from all angles. Admire your work. Give your plants a good misting and then put the lid on your terrarium.

Step 8: Enjoy the terrarium!

Mothering

The art of mothering is to teach
the art of living to children.

~ Elaine Heffner

Blueberry Breakfast

I woke up this morning with a strong hankering for pancakes. Now that seems simple enough, but I have a long history of bad pancake making. The problem was all in my impatience, I would cook them on the outside and they'd be all goopy on the inside.

I went online looking for a good recipe and found this one. Of course I couldn't follow it exactly, I did 1/2 a cup of soy milk and 1/2 a cup of water instead of one cup of soy milk. I also added about 3/4 c. of blueberries that looked like they were willing to go out with a bang.

Batter


Pancakes


Note that we use a tea strainer for sifting powdered sugar.

They turned out wonderfully! Paired with a glass of o.j. you can't go wrong!!!

Class is in Session

Well, I am back to teaching this semester. Last night I had my first night back after the winter break. Going in this time I felt a lot more confident than I did with my first class. I went in a bit early to make some copies and planned to have enough time to comfortably settle in.

Well, I had on some boots (Eric calls it my equestrian look) and when I stepped out the door I had to grab the handrail to prevent myself from a full face plant--I have a startling gift for amazing wipe-outs. I had to do a quick run inside to adjust my wardrobe and then I was back out the door with plenty of time.

I got to the school, unlocked the classroom door for a few waiting students and headed off to make some copies.I walked into the mail/copy room and walked straight to the copy machine and it was all jammed, someone had just left it (BOO!). Thankfully I am good at fixing those confounded machines and I got it all printed before class started.

I ran into the classroom, slightly frazzled, but mostly in tact. My students all looked up at me expectantly and I just dove in. I have a mixed bag of students, a few talkers, your garden variety class. I was just happy when a few of them snorted appreciatively at my bad art history jokes.

When I let them out a few came up to ask questions or to say how excited they were for the semester I breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew that I would feel so comfortable as a teacher?!Oh, and in case you are wondering I am definitely an absent minded professor!

Little Things

Sometimes it is all about the little things (isn't that the title of this blog?) and today I thought I'd wander about and find a few of the little things that are making me happy.

Snow out the window, remnants of yesterday's storm.

Here are some dresses, made by my mother, to go in the shop at the end of the month. We are waiting for our little dress model to drop by!

Cordelia, playing.


Bumblebee and some stuffed animals (carefully watched) warming in front of the floor heater.


Messy curls

Here are several of my sculptures in varying degrees of completion...prep for our show in March.

What are some of your little things today?

Tree and Square Project

I have been busy working on a great many things, but I have one project that has been at the top of my list. I have been making a quilt for Cordelia out of her tiny baby clothes. I have a ton of clothes saved, but there were several that were stained or just not worth passing on. I put them all in a pile and started cutting through them.

On one side I have the standard square blocks that I have been working on.

The other side is a major expansion on an idea I read about here. I have taken the extra bits and cut them into leaf shapes. Next I cut a tree out of brown corduroy that has sweet pink dots all over it. I adhered the pieces to a pink and white striped fabric and have been sewing around it all, outlining it with embroidery floss.

I think, perhaps, you may be able to guess what has slowed the production on this quilt. I have a little helper who is adorable, but not particularly helpful. Hopefully I will finish up in the next couple of days or weeks. I will be sure to show you the completed project!

What projects have you been working on?