SouleMama

inspired by green

Just a couple of steps north to DownEast (yes, DownEast is truly is NorthEast), and the landscape is ever so slightly different than what's outside my own door. Just enough so that I noticed throughout our week, and marveled at the color - the rich lush moss, and all the green.

I might be particularly noticing this right now, as I've been spending a lot of time visiting The Art of Embroidery again. This book amazes me - full of beautiful inspiration from nature and then the translation to art and craft through embroidery.

There's a bit of embroidery instruction included in the book, but I think it's best use is as a beautiful reminder of the inspiration that really is all around us - everywhere. Grass, moss, fern, leaves. Everywhere and Anywhere. It's there.

and a little more green today from my flickr favorites:
into the woods
spirals
leaves
bouquets from above
ground floor
the forest floor

all i need

Looking at last friday's works in progress post, I realize that I still haven't finished any of those things I photographed and intended to complete. I suppose it's been that kind of a week. The kind of a hot summer week in Maine where: I'm psyched I bought a seasons pass to the state parks - which paid for itself in this week alone; the bathing suits, and favorite beach skirts are given a quick rinse at the end of the day and dry just barely in time to be worn again in the morning; dinner and 'big' meals fall by the wayside of all-day snacking and playing; and at the end of the day, we all crash in a big pile of sticky, sandy tuckered out and happy bodies. Good stuff. All I need, really.

I started this little embroidery piece at the beach yesterday morning - inspired by my favorite embroidery book (a perfect beach read, yes?) and some of the lovely beach around me, while my little ones covered my toes in the sand and water. In the good busyness of the beach, there was only the tiniest bit of embroidery actually done - but it was just enough. I finished it in a state of happy exhaustion (from the day, not the embroidery) at the end of the night - sinking into the couch with my sweet while we waited and watched our babes use up the last bits of energy they had left catching moths in the dark. The embroidery has no 'purpose' and I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with it - I just felt like making it, and that was enough. There are plenty of things on the crafty to-do list these days that are full of 'purpose' - quilts for my little ones' beds, Etsy shop updates, holiday craft planning, a gallery show to prepare for, and writing projects (book 2 is officially in the works, my friends). And while all of that is important, and very exciting and definitely fun, sometimes the most important thing to do is to toss the list aside (I'm a firm believer that the ability to toss a list is sometimes essential to the completion of said list), and head to the beach to play, sometimes again and again. A little gathering of inspiration, a little refueling, and a little bit of letting go.

I hope your weekend involves just a tiny bit of list-tossing, too. I'll see you here on Monday.

once a year

{Yarmouth Clam Festival}

delivering on my promise...

...of sand and baby toes:

Father's Day evening, at our favorite beach

I'm absolutely in love with watching my babes 'be' out in the world - whether it be watching and listening for birds in the woods, catching waves in the ocean, or climbing a tree in the park. When all the toys and distractions and walls are out of the way, the essence of who they really are just shines. And when I'm paying attention, it radiates so strongly that I can't help but be brought right into it too. Good fun.

summer fare

A very happy June 1st to you! There are a few little changes around here that you might like to know about. I've decided to put off another Etsy shop update for the time being. Unless I suddenly change my mind (who knows - I surprise myself sometimes), I plan on closing up shop for the summer months. No worries that I will return in the fall with plenty of fresh ideas and things to stock it back up with.

Other small changes - you can see a minor face-lift happened here last night - new banner, and colors and things. I also moved my About page to a different - but similar page which you can find here. (Typepad users - have you seen the new "Pages" feature? It's much easier for formatting, adding links and such.) And while I still plan on updating each weekday (I love the rhythm of doing it that way), you might find a bit lighter 'summer fare' upon your visit here. Need I really warn you that there may be weeks dedicated entirely to posts of sand and baby toes? By now, you should know this of me.

Oh, and speaking of sand and the FAQ's - I want to add a wee Portland (Maine) bit to answer some of the "coming to Maine, where should I go?" emails that I get. If you're local, or a Portland lover, I'd be psyched with your help - want to give a shout out in the comments to your favorite spots - crafty and touristy alike? Thank you!

I have a few new projects in the works that I am over-the-top excited about this summer. And I'll share them with you as soon as they're firmed up just a bit (you're seeing bits of one such project in this post!). Mostly, I'm thrilled, thrilled, thrilled that summer is upon us - that the beach bag is perpetually packed, summer adventures are planned, and days are spent outside from waking until bedtime. Heavenly. Here in Maine, at least, we wait a very, very, very long (and cold) time for these few months of summer bliss. They're to be treasured, and not taken for granted. I fully plan on soaking up every moment that I can.

On that note, I wish you a very wonderful June weekend!

so good

We had a lovely weekend away. Calvin was more than fine on his own, and only mildly happy to see us (which I'm taking as a sign of success). There were s'mores, first swims of the season, kayak adventures, plenty of time spent in the hammock, lots of lounging and reading (being deeply moved by this book), and delicious camp food. We didn't get carried away by black flies, though at times I wondered. It was days full of that hard, outside camp play where the kids (and adults) literally fall into their beds at the end of the night dirty and sweaty and smelly, and don't move until the loons call in the morning. I'm so grateful to my parents for the foresight to find a treasure of a spot like that so long ago, and I'm grateful to them for sharing it so kindly with us now. The kids are counting down the days until we go back (um, 34).

Nearly as lovely as the rejuvinating time spent in the woods, is the clarity that I always seem to come home with. In all that silence of the woods, there's plenty of time for the important things - play, sitting, thinking, dreaming. Good stuff. I feel clearer about my/our priorities, big decisions and little decisions alike, and full of ideas, too. But mostly, I feel calm, centered, and connected. The woods will do that to you.

Jeffrey Yamaguchi just did a little interview with Heather Menucicci, Author of Let's Get Primitive: The Urban Girls Guide to Camping. The book looks really fun - I quickly ordered a copy for a certain urban sister of mine who I'm hoping to drag home and back into the woods with us in a month. Perhaps if I bring the sushi...hmnn...or no, maybe this will work:

It's calling you. Katie (and anyone else who needs a visit to the woods) - can you hear it?

bigger than a crow

Each spring, thousands of alewives make the journey up the the fish ladder from the River to the Lake, where they will then spawn. When they're running, the fish swim upstream, having been born *knowing* just what to do. It sounds completely magical to me. I've lived here my whole life, but this is something I've never seen.

Yesterday, we took a little road trip up the coast to Damariscotta to try and catch the running of the alewives, having heard they were running earlier in the week. Do you see what we saw? Yeah...not much in the way of fish. A few little handfuls of fish - not the thousands jumping about that we had thought we'd see. I think the cold temperatures this week have kept them away - perhaps later in the week they'll be running again.

So we were just saying "oh, well" and casually starting to make our way back to the car, when I heard an excited, "Mama!!". It's a bald eagle! And since just two hours earlier in the day, he had told me he wanted to see a bald eagle today, I assumed he just had it on the brain. "No, Mama, it's bigger than a crow!" (that cracks me up). But I should know better than to question one of my kids about a bird - of course, it was a bald eagle.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones looking for the fish - in our afternoon visit there we watched the bald eagle for an hour as it moved about in the trees closeby, and then saw pairs of osprey, followed by other birds of prey we just don't see everday. On the way home, we were pleasantly surprised once again to find a bald eagle nesting. Right in the middle of a very sweet coastal town village, intending to watch fish on their journey, we were instead, the happy guests of a magical show of soaring, flying and dancing by some truly amazing creatures. There are few moments where all five of us are 'still' at the same time (we need a few more years on us for that), but there were moments yesterday that felt suspended in time, as even the 1 year old among us seemed to be fullly aware and in awe of the magic we were watching. The long car ride home was a rare quiet one - with a few 'wow's' shared here and there.

There's so much magic out there to witness, isn't there? I hope your weekend includes a small moment of the magic of the natural world around you. I'll see you on Monday!

 

Oh, that sun

Oh, the sun. It continues to shine, and promises to through the weekend as well. It's restorative powers? Tremendous. It feels as though everything really is okay when the sun is shining. We're all walking around as though we've never seen it before, chasing the sunbeams through the house, and being outside as long and as much as we possibly can. I can feel the energy lift in those around us, too...despite the hardships that I know many in our area have gone through this past week, there's a lightness and a breathe for everyone in the sun's return. It certainly makes the hard work of cleaning up, much much easier. Thanks again for all of your sweet words of kindness this week. They are so much appreciated.

I think that storm was the last final push of the season, and now on the other side of it, with the sun, comes spring that I am welcoming with deep gratitude. I've retired the banner of snowy robins above. And though I usually keep my banners seasonal, in a desperate need for green, I used this photo from last summer. It's Ezra, playing in the Penobscot's West Branch riverside - the river most near and dear to our hearts and our past. I remember that day and moment so clearly, as he laid belly-down on the river's edge, and ran the sand through his fingers over and over, singing softly. There were no toys around but the ones the Earth provides us, and he couldn't have felt more 'full' of things to do. He brought this rich handful up from under the water to show me with delight. "Isn't it beautiful, Mama?" Yes, yes it is, my love.

This weekend, I'll be attempting a rather challenging photography project. One that will require overcoming some logistical challenges, many self-doubts about my ability, and especially, it will require lots of sun. For many reasons, the sun will help.

Once that is accomplished, there will be much time spent playing, laughing and soaking it up with my loves. That's one thing I'm very sure of.

A lovely weekend to you all.

this morning...

Thank you!

Your kind wishes of love, warmth and SUN have made their way to Maine. Look what appeared this morning - strong and bright, and so very, very welcome.

the past 48 hours

 

the ugly:
no electricity, internet or phone : no dry firewood left for heat (it is April, afterall) : a foot of water in the basement : 30 trash bags (and counting) of ruined basement stuff : one tree on the house (no damage) : flooded roads and beloved trails : trees down all around : the stomach flu (just Mama) : lots and lots of cleanup for friends and neighbors much worse off than us : emerging from it all to such sad news : feeling cold, wet, sick, sad, and grumpy

the beautiful:
no electricity, internet or phone : many games of checkers : favorite books by candlelight : embroidery until sunset : a soon-to-be immaculate basement : enough firewood now lying about to last through the upcoming winter (and maybe next?) : awe and humility at the strength of the Earth : feeling incredibly grateful and blessed for what we have

More photos on Flickr. I'll be back in a few days...I've got some drying, cleaning, and warming to do!