handstories

solstice snow memory

     It's a sunny and bright Solstice Eve day, but a couple of years ago, there was snow.  It was wonderful.  Seattle shut down and school was out for days.  Living the closest to school, I sledded down our hill to tend the critters in the classrooms.  It was a great ride, I only had to walk one of the five blocks.  

    The kids and I put out containers of colored water, little toys, and plants to freeze.  Then created a solstice scupture.  Candles were lit behind it each evening for people out walking in our winter wonderland.  

     Happy Winter to all, may your days and nights be filled with light.

non-christmas creating

    Well, I spent a day and a half on the couch or bed, dozing, reading blogs, watching tv, staring, getting up occasionally to uncover a surface. Now I'm upright and making, but not anything I had planned for Christmas.  I started a new base, thinking of jude's hugging trees  that she created last December.

    Nine year old Moon is also creating (as always), and also is not necessarily working on holiday projects.  He did decorate some gingerbread men, but soon moved on to a pizza box.  He has a serious (pathological) addiction to boxes.  We cannot throw any away when he is around, and, not trusting us, he checks the recycle can.  Sometimes I fill up the car & take them to the school dumpster.  And I need to tell his teacher to not allow him to be on recycling duty, because he digs things out of the dumpster.  Anyway, K went to throw the pizza box out, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?  I can use that!"  For what?  "A solar oven."  There is not enough sun.  "I'll save it until next summer."  So he made one, from a long ago tv show memory, and he will save it.  And, yes, boxes are on his Christmas list.

    Here it is with the gingerbread men modeling...

where she tries to shove the last week and a half into one post...

In the last ten days...

Sewing with the Fourth graders...

Horses rounded up for their Wild West Show...

Weaving during Second grade's Ancient Rome study...

Felt making with Third grade...

Then stitched them into lavendar sachets to give their families...

Making journals for the Second graders...

    I also did a few rope tricks in there, went to Blue's band concert (he plays tenor sax and clarinet), sang in our family singing group concert (Moon had a solo, while I fumbled through the Russian song), wrote a proposal and met the deadline a day early, attempted to memorize three songs (in a day and a half) in order to help lead rounds during our school winter sing along (one in latin!)(there was more fumbling there), have done no stitching other than the daily squares (which I almost forgot to do twice), I think there were a couple of colds in the house, too, a bit of knitting during Blue's concert (this knitting ended up being wonky & will add texture & personality to the piece) and yesterday I came home from the last day before break feeling like this...

    This is Blue in 2001, he came home from preschool so tired that he stopped at the couch, leaned over and went to sleep for half an hour.  Yesterday, I used the floor.

    I kept thinking, "I'll make a post tomorrow".  And now, there are table tops and floors to find, a Christmas tree to get up, all of your blogs to read (I didn't even read "diaries" all week!) and a lot of sitting on the couch and staring into space to do.

 

a murder of crows

    Murder is the collective noun for crows.  And this collection of crows was having a from the gut shout during my breakfast.  I went outside to see what all the commotion was.  They were going to and fro, in and out, of the black walnut tree across the street.  Bunches of them.  I wish I could sit in a tree and yell and yell for no apparent reason.

    And look at that bit of blue sky that was there an hour ago.   I had photographer's hope, but it's gone now.

blurry winter

    Finally, this is finished.  The birthday it was intended for was in September...sigh.  We've actually been too busy to see each other since then, and I miss her terribly.  Have you ever noticed how the rhythms of friendships take on a snowball effect?  You may see each other every week for months, then a week is missed, then two, by the time it becomes a month it is more and more difficult to arrange.

    Maybe if I call this a Christmas gift, making it on time, rather than late, we can get back in sync? 

    And apologies for the bad photos.  There has been a serious lack of light in the northwest.  Coming home one afternoon, I saw the sun at the right angle.  I ran into the house calling, "Where's the camera?!"  By the time it was found, the sun was gone.   There was a bit of sun the a couple of days ago, early in the morning.  I ran out, shivering, kneeling on the sidewalk where the few beams of light were.  Of course, this is when the neighbors all came out of their houses.  "It's too cold to do that!"  "Are you crazy?"  Yes, and yes, and still, not such good photos.  I fear it will be a blurry winter.

"just put one foot in front of the other...

    ...and soon you'll be walking 'cross the floor."

    Do you remember that song, from one of the Christmas tv specials, "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town"?

    Well, that's what I'm trying to do these days.  Busy.  With work, with a deadline that's a little overwhelming, but good for me, too, and there's some Christmas magic to try and make for the boys.  Things usually work out, so I'm not panicking....yet.  

    I did finish these socks for a good friend's birthday, mostly while watching the playground, often while listening to her wise words. 

faces from my past

    There has been much talk, looking and focussing on eyes over in jude's "magic diaries" series.  For me it's the whole face...how the eyebrows arch or scrunch, is the mouth relaxed or twisted, what is really going on behind those eyes?  I have always loved finding faces all about.  The face above was outside the door of the apartment my sister and I stayed in while visiting Venice four years ago.  I think it's an intercom system and mailbox.  It was great to be greeted by this open friendly face.

    When the boys were younger, sometimes I tried to make lunch more interesting. 

        

Today's stitching and continuing on "they're welcome" involved a whole lot of eyes!