SouleMama

a good day for embroidery

Ezra recently switched from using burlap and a tapestry needle for his embroidery (I talk about how we do this in the book) to wanting to do it 'just like mama' with a regular embroidery needle and linen. I've been a little reluctant about this change - because truthfully, I don't always have the patience required for rethreading the needle (again and again), and untying the inevitable knots (again and again).

This weekend he asked to start a new embroidery project - a woodpecker he wanted to trace from a nature guide. There was so much detail in the lines that I internally groaned at the future mess of knots I'd be untying, and instead, I tried to steer him towards a different project entirely. But he asked again, and with a gulp, I got it ready for him. When it was ready, he cozied up with it by the window watching the snow fall, took a deep breath as he began and said to me,  "Mama. It's a good day for embroidery, don't you think?"

I'm grateful for my weekend lesson from my little teacher. While the reality is that my day today is filled with errands, details and a 'to do' list that also makes me internally groan, I'm happy to take a little reminder from Ezra - to sit with my morning coffee and do a little embroidery with him before starting the day. It is, indeed, always a good day for that. 

little joys in the snow

It's snowing outside right now. We should be getting about 6 inches by nightfall. But we're not going to talk about that. Nope. Instead, shall we flip the coin to celebrating some small joys of the week? Yes, let's do that.

:::: Putting the finishing touches this week on the small quilt collection - a project that I've had such a wonderful time working on for nearly a year now. They're now in the hands of my trusty local frame shop getting dressed up for their show next week.

:::: (We're raising Nikon babies.) Watching two photographers' kids play together with their Mama's cameras, taking pictures, mostly, of each others feet. Sounds about right.

:::: Calvin's new-found skill of using an index. And just like that, a whole world of information just opened up to him. Beautiful.

:::: Open windows. Growing plants. Melting Snow. Spring. (I said we weren't talking about today.)

:::: This video. We're huge fans of The Be Good Tanyas here, but I had somehow managed to miss this video. Not anymore, thanks to several of you who kindly recently sent me the link (thank you!). It's beautiful, and makes me feel full of spring and hope.

:::: Adelaide's new love of reading Tom Kitten to Banjo. And his willingness to listen. That girl and her cat...

:::: Just a little bit more yellow in the house in the form of newly painted kitchen stools. (I swear, that's the last thing I paint/sew yellow for a bit. I promise.)

:::: A weekend ahead full of good things : skiing (see - joy in the snow), friends, and dress shopping at Anthropologie.

Ah, that's better. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

how we make dinner

With LOTS of help, of course. Seems to me the only way to get dinner made these days is to have someone across the kitchen island from me - either helping with my dinner plan, or more likely, choosing to work on their own dinner plan. Today, a favorite recipe of Adelaide's.

Needed:
every measuring cup, spoon and wooden spoon in the house
sifter - optional, but strongly desired
an apron - like Mama (or Papa) - (additional clothing optional)

Ingredients:
3 cups dinner-in-progress scraps - carrots, onions, leeks - anything will do
8 cups water - carried - cup by cup - across the kitchen
2 cups mystery pantry food - unidentifiable, forgotten dried beans? Yup.
2 tiny precious drops - something chosen from the fridge door
6 parts - clean up
2 parts - patience
10 parts - laughter

Mix & stir until everything has been added. If the other dinner isn't done yet, um....add more water. At this point, the excitement can usually be transferred to setting the table (seriously), 'showing' the soup to everyone, and then...carrying it very carefully to its ultimate destination outside with much fanfare.

We call it Compost Soup.

in the sun

I'm feeling quiet and sleepy this morning. (okay, confession: four years behind the masses, I just started watching LOST from the beginning. And I'm staying up far too late watching just one more episode each night, and scaring myself silly.)

So I'm going to hang on today through the bumps and the waves of the day, until this afternoon when the spring sun warms the newly-opened sunporch enough so I can steer us all out there. Where Ezra will play the drums with wild abandon; Adelaide will take the farm animals on a camper journey, narrating the entire trip; Steve will pick up his guitar for some more lovely sound; Calvin will come to the door every five minutes with a building status report on his bike-ramp-in-the-snow; and I will lay on the floor with handwork by my side, but likely ignored, while I close my eyes and let the sun and sounds stream in.  A little bit like yesterday.

brought to you by the color yellow

It appears as though this blog is now officially brought to you by the color yellow. And French Knots. And dear friends who are kind enough to share their gorgeous linen stash (thank you, Jean!) when I really need it (yes, sometimes one really does need linen).

New pillows! With some vintage green doilies I picked up somewhere (can't remember), some french knots, and the back 'leaf' fabric also gifted from Jean (she says it was from Superbuzzy last year). The back is two overlapping panels, with some (handmade, because I'm addicted to making it) linen bias binding holding it all together.

Yes, I made some less than a year ago - in the very same colors, even. Oh, and I loved that Merrimekko fabric! But, unfortunately, the back fabric was white. The key word being "was" - in the very past tense. Now they're more a mash-up of jelly, crayon, and some good old-fashioned mold on top (from sitting on the basement floor waiting - for a very long time - to be washed. Nice.). The front pieces can and will be salvaged for something else, but the pillows needed to go.

The couch needs to go too, but I'm still holding out. Every single time I walk into a thrift or antique store, I visualize the perfect vintage couch, green velvet, please, with dark wood. Soft but not too squishy. And under $400. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? These pillows will match that couch quite nicely. They're just waiting for it.

Then again, maybe I should ditch the couch(es) altogether and just make more pillows. And quilts. I have a feeling I could rally some family support for that idea...

traditions : old & new

I love watching our little family traditions grow - some of them quite without me realizing they're happening. On Saturday morning, I was getting ready for a journey to the grocery store (the epic experience that is the day before Easter), and walked into the living room to find Calvin, Ezra and Adelaide in the 'shanty' (aka - the couch cushions with quilts draped over them), playing "Laura, Carrie, and Mary Ingalls". But the tone was serious - and I strained to listen to just what was going on in there, worried we were reenacting Jack's (the Ingalls' dog) death again or something equally Little House on the Prairie-tragic.

But another very important kind of meeting was happening in there. Calvin and Ezra were having a little sit-down with Adelaide - filling her in on just what Spring is all about, and what exactly she could expect on Easter. They were explaining how the little animals of the forest leave out treats for them to find. They even impressed me with a few "some people are celebrating this....and some people believe this...." that has me believing they do actually hear me when I ramble on about such things. And then in great detail, the description of the 'really special and beautiful' chocolate bunny they would have in their basket from Mama and Papa. (Perfect, I thought, as I mentally added those yummy Lake Champlain bunnies to the grocery list.)

But before I could get too comfortable in my preparedness, I heard "...and Mama makes us all springtime pants!"  Wait, what? I do? A moment of panic set in as I racked my brain for just what was in the Easter baskets last year (a task more difficult than it should be for my 31 year old brain). Chocolate bunny, pencils, paper...yup, pants. And the year before? Hmn...wood animals, earth balls, watercolors....and oh yeah, pants. Oh gosh. That's a tradition. An accidental tradition, but a tradition nonetheless.

As the day went on, I think I slipped something subtly into conversation about how wonderful it is when things change, or how holidays can be different from year to year and new traditions are made. But of course, I was only trying to convince myself. It wasn't until later that night, with a house full of sleeping babes, and the last of the Easter preparations completed (including a massive search for the Easter baskets. Where could they go?), that I finally succumbed to the pant-making. I distinctly remember whining about it to Steve and a friend during that day...but as I started gathering the fabric, I snapped out of that. I mean, really now, how long will it be that my children are looking foward to handmade pants from Mama in their Easter basket? Not long, I am sure. I'll take it while I can. With joy.

Before you imagine the scene to be too idyllic, I should tell you that it wasn't as though they were jumping up and down excited about these little pants. I assure you, it was the candy first. Art supplies second. Mama - made pants a distant third. But they each did put them on, and sat down together like this - giggling and eating and playing. Soon the linen was covered in chocolate and sticky jelly bean slime, and in a few days, I am sure, they'll be handed to me covered in mud from outside spring play. A perfect tradition.

Oh, and the easter baskets? I couldn't find them. At all. So we 'made do' at the very last minute with some clementine boxes. I think we started a new tradition.

circles

Lately, Adelaide has taken to being heavily involved in the direction of our evening meals. Everything from orchestrating who should get which napkin to whether we need forks or spoons; and then announcing "Dinner is ready!" at the top of her lungs (Oh! I need to get that girl a dinner bell).

We all sit down, hold each others hands, and she declares loudly and with confidence, "This is a circle!" We all laugh and move through our blessing and the semi-chaos that is our meal. But my mind and heart always linger at her statement of simple truth, and the awareness that yes, indeed we are a circle in both simple and profound ways. I carry that thought with me always.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Welcome, Spring!

On the last day of winter, after a trip to the beach, we had ourselves a little Welcome Spring painting party. Celebrating the winter that was. Welcoming the spring that is to be. A lovely evening - with the lingering sun - full of music, dreaming, wishing and feasting. Spring has come. (The calendar says so.)

"Listen! The air is alive with flight. Robins descend and descend and descend. Wasps scrape away wood to build new hives. The wind stirs new leaves and transparent light shines through the green energy. Sap flows fast. Hearts pound. Colors explode in yellows, pinks, purples and reds. Petals open wide to all you bring. Everyone participates in the pollination. Honeybees welcome each pea blossom and every day there is a new birth to celebrate. Feel the pulsing life in every tree, in every heart. Release the stirring energy. Sing your own songs to wake up the birds."

-- Nikki McClure, from the beautiful Collect Raindrops: The Seasons Gathered

Wishing you a wonderful Equinox!

A Shop Update

The Shop is Open!

Phew. I'm not very used to this sort of rushing about (kids are an entirely different kind of rushing about), so all of this makes me a little nervous. When you're done looking - if you're looking - come on back to settle in for a relaxed little chat, will you? I'd love that.

In the shop today:

Cards & Wrap - a set of four photo greeting cards with a 'needle work' theme, all together in a linen wrap, embroidered with bits of spring and lined with vintage cotton. While I'm not generally a fan of making lots of the same thing, these seem to be an exception - what with all the combinations of embroidery, bias binding (had to make my own - it's so addictive), and crispy vintage cotton prints. I made a big batch of these, so I hope that some of you that missed out on the holiday version will be able to find one today.

Linen Totes - because no shop update of mine is complete without at least a few of my favorite size bags.

Take-Along Spring Quilt - Oh, I do love making these. Linen, with embroidery, vintage doilies and patchwork on the back. (Though I do wish quilts were easier to photograph. Hmn.)

Ah....a little Early Spring shop update. I always have fun putting these updates together, but this time I especially loved dreaming about the spring season in which they'll likely be used. Spring - full of color, light, and picnics, beach trips and leisurely walks in the sun. That's what was on my mind as I put this collection of things together. The children have been preparing for tomorrow's first day of spring all week...and I guess, in my own way, this little shop update is one way that I do the same.

Thank you, friends, for looking ... and for your interest in and support of what I do!

Today, 12pm EST

Good morning!

There will be a Shop update today at 12pm, EST. I'll post here when it's up and ready, and to show you what I've been up to!

it begins

{One year ago, give or take a day.}

Ah.....we've been watching...hoping...and waiting for this. On March 1st, we turned our bird calendar to a page full of robins - and we all wondered, "Really? This month, they'll return?"

We began preparing the bird book basket - which sits out all year long - with some new additions. The beautiful How To Paint The Portrait of A Bird - a magical tale of dreamy bird love (thank you for the recommend, Jennifer!). And of course, our treasured Bird Song purchased just last year - with the binding falling apart and already in need of duct tape from it's frequent and oh-so-loved use. And the requests to visit the photos in Birds of the World have been increasing each day. And then more waiting.

Then last week, in between the snowfall, we spied our first cardinal pair, frolicking amidst the piles of white, searching for the bits of food.

And just yesterday that we had our first real Spring "bird moment" of the season. Where our little family crowds around the windows or quietly opens the door and tiptoes onto a porch to stare, marvel and wonder at the magic we see. Robins, chickadees, cardinals, a woodpecker (it's type debated heavily amongst the Soule Birders - if only because we're all eager for a good bird debate), and a turkey vulture - all out there yesterday morning at the same time. There was running for the bird books, and the camera....but more than either of those things, there was a lot of watching. And hushed whispers of, "Do you see...?" and "It's a...!". And a lot of big eyes. 10, to be precise.

With big eyes and open windows, we found that silence within - silence that is so rarely found in this noisy house of five. Silence as we closed our mouths and opened our ears and hearts to hear them sing their bird songs.

Oh, I think it's magic. Simply magic.

a march weekend in maine

March, Outside:

March, Inside:

We had a pretty little storm this weekend. I spent much of it with embroidery hoop in hand, stitching away. I'm fairly certain that at the end, my stitched french knots inside might have rivaled the fallen snowflakes outside. If only Calvin did invent that snowflake - counting machine this winter, we could be sure.

As a result of all that snow and all that stitching, I'm happy to tell you I'll be having a Shop Update this week. Wednesday, March 19th, at 12pm EST.

Wishing you a sunny (inside or outside) Monday!

Home

BloesemKids has a great new feature, 'Open House,' of which I am honored to be a guest today. There, you'll find some photographs and an interview about home and work that I did with Irene. It was lovely to spend some time thinking about these things, and to share a space with the other interviewed women and their beautiful homes. Thank you, Irene!

I wanted to take a few new photographs for that interview, and found myself uninspired at best. How many times have you seen my wood floors? A lot. Our house is small, our furniture is old and worn, and sometimes - just sometimes - I get a little tired of the looking at the same thing - and trying to find inspiration for photographs of it amidst the mess and the dust and the worn-out everything. Most of the time, I'm happy with all of this, of course. I love all the 'old' in our home, for so very many reasons. But sometimes, well...you know how it is.

So I asked the kids. What's your favorite spot in the house? And each of them - in turn - led me without a moment's hesitation to their 'favorite spots'. They weren't the spots I expected, and I guarantee that if I asked them the same question again today, it would be three different spots. But still - they had their spots, and oh, they do love them dearly. I took a photograph of each spot, printed them, and with a note on the back of each, popped them in their journals (otherwise known as a big box full of random things - some day I'll organize that) for them for later.

And with new eyes - as they give me so many times - I looked around and saw things just a little bit differently. It isn't just about the things or the space, of course, it's about what we do with those things and that space. And what we do in our home, is lots and lots of living. Like anything full of 'life,' it's always changing and moving to fit the kind of living we do in it at any given time. And while there may be little 'new' that comes into it, and it may not ooze of a magazine photo shoot, there is all that vibrant life that embraces me each time I walk in the door. And hopefully the same thing happens for my children - a deep and true knowledge that they are 'home'. I couldn't ask for anything more.

studio doings

There are only a matter of days left on our Mama's-writing-a-book-sabbattical. Amidst the soaking-up of family time before Papa goes back to work, I'm also trying to wrap up a bunch of things in my studio. Things like...

Playing. I made this lightbox a few months ago with these instructions, and am just now really getting the chance to experiment with it - in conjunction with my flash (though, I think I need a diffuser). It's trickier than I thought. Did you see Seedpod's Still Life Project in completion?  Gorgeous, gorgeous - and all shot in a lightbox, which is inspiring me to keep trying.

Scouting. For bits and pieces for the book photo shoots I'm doing this month. Okay, wait. Pause. Am I seriously antiquing because I need to? Oh my. This could be dangerous.

Making. Back to my beloved little quilts for April's gallery show. I love working on these - so much. I'll share all of them when the set is complete in a week or so. Do you think I might have been inspired by green week?

Loving. My frequent visitors and helpers - and the impromptu pant-making (or button-stacking, or fabric-choosing) sessions they request. By far, it's my favorite studio doing.

WHO Bread goes acoustic

How's all the WHO bread doing out there? I'm thrilled you're trying it and liking it. One very important thing I forgot to mention when I posted the recipe - you have to say WHOOOOOO Bread - like an owl. You just have to - it's a rule (my children say so).

A lot of you asked for a non-bread machine version of the recipe, and I'm happy to tell you that we have one! Allison from In A Nutshell sent along her translation, and was gracious enough to let me share it here with you, too. In her words:

WHO Bread - acoustic style
(bread machine recipe here)

1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter @ room temperature
1 tsp salt
3 cups of flour (we do 2 cups unbleached white, 1 cup whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or, one package)

Pour 1 1/4c. warm water (about 110 degrees F), honey, sugar, and yeast into a bowl. Whisk until well combined and mixture is frothy. Set aside to proof while you mix together the other ingredients.

In a separate large bowl stir together, flour, butter, salt, rolled oats, and cinnamon.

Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined. (I like to do this with my hands.)

Place dough into a lightly oiled bread pan. Cover with a damp towel and leave in a warm spot to rise for about an hour (45 min. if you’re impatient!). Punch down dough and let rise a second time for 45 minutes, covered with a damp towel.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove towel from top of dough and place pan in the center of your oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Done!

Thank you Allison!

We gave it a go yesterday, and it was indeed yummy and light and quite fun to make. Adelaide thought it was worthy enough of a bread-with-tea party. Though I did have a toss-up between what I wanted to eat more - the bread or the baby.

I mean, seriously.

coming right up

So, a little box of books arrived here a few weeks ago. Our book! These three advanced-copy readers have been pouring through their copies, counting pictures of themselves (thank goodness Mama made sure it was even), and sending all sorts of funny and sweet reviews my way. And they're pretty quick to jump at the chance to sign a book for family, though I think that has more to do with being able to use "Mama Pens". I get that.

So, in exactly three weeks, the book will make it's way out of our home (or rather, out of the distributors warehouse), and out into the world. Eek! A few questions I've been hearing...

Publication Date:
The official publication date is April 1st. If you've pre-ordered the book, you'll be getting it right around that date. If you're buying it locally, it will also be available on that date - though you should call your local bookstore to be sure they're ordering it.

International Orders:
The book should be availble anywhere that you regularly order books, so that's your best bet. You can also order directly from Shambhala, who will ship internationally. (And, no, I'm sorry that there are no plans for translation right now.)

Book Events:
In which I hope you can come say hello if you're local! (By the way - at the top of my nightmare list? That would be speaking in front of people I don't know. So, also coming in April? Conquering fears!)

Friday, April 4th
5-8 pm
Edith & Edna
Portland, ME
The official book launch! Along with the opening of my show everyday thread: a collection of photographs and embroidered works.

Thursday, April 10th
6:30 pm
Books, Etc
Falmouth, ME

Saturday, April 12th
3 pm
Rock-N-Romp
Great Scott
Allston, MA

Saturday, April 19th
1 pm
The Odyssey Bookshop
South Hadley, MA

(I'll add this list to my sidebar soon and keep it current with updates.)

Thank you for your patience as you've so kindly waited for this book; and for your preorders; and how sweetly you've been spreading the word. It's coming right up!

Sun Days

(top photo by Steve).
You'll have to forgive me for having nothing to share today besides the joy of the sun. But you see, I'm a little distracted by this sunshine. I love the time change in the spring, and the longer days it gives us. It comes at just the right time - just when I start to feel a little too Winter cave-like - now the days become longer, the sun shines brighter, and the temperatures are just a little bit warmer. I want to curl up like the cat chasing the sunbeams through the house; I want to jump off a snowbank and sit in the brightness of the sun reflected off the snow. I love this assuredeness that March brings. Spring will come. The sun says so.

And just to be sure? I'm painting it on, too.

peace

How many times have I done this before? Been in the midst of work or play to find a naked toddler running up to me - messily crumbling and melting into the bits that only come before nap time?

But there's lunch on the stove - needing stirring; books on my lap - needing reading; little ones at my side - needing loving; and toys at my feet - needing serious picking up.

With a one-arm scoop and a kiss, she's in my arms. The lunch gets stirred, the books get read, the little ones get loved, and the toys wait.

My breathing has slowed and changed to a calmer rhythym. Then I look down in my arms to find her asleep - drifted off to the sounds of our everyday. She's our baby - she may not always get a quiet room of solitude and rocking to sleep. But she does get this. This is her special lullaby.

:: :: :: ::

One in three women are victims of violence. They are our neighbors, our friends, our mothers and our sisters, they are us. It doesn't have to be our daughters. This is it, Mamas. We can change it.

UN International Women's Day - information for children
Faces of Survivors: Voices Reclaimed - photo project
Stop Violence Against Women (Safe Schools for Girls) - Amnesty International
Women Thrive Worldwide - ask your (US) senator to support the I-VAWA (International Violence Against Women Act)
Family Violence Prevention Fund - coaching boys into men

In honor of the women I love and International Women's Day.

kick-start!

I think I've told you - I'm not often on very early morning duty. It's usually Papa time. This week, trying to get Papa just a little bit of catch up rest time (which is kind of a joke - I owe this man about 7 years worth of sleep-ins), I found myself in the kitchen earlier than usual. And I went about the morning my way, which is always a bit silly in it's romantic nature, I will admit. The coffee was on and muffins were in the oven. A light segment of NPR's Morning Edition was on. The sun was streaming in through the windows, and I had my favorite vintage apron on. Just as I was pouring orange juice into a pretty little vintage pitcher, Ezra came down the stairs. After putting his granola request in, and rubbing the sleepies from his eyes, he looked up - his face full of puzzlement, "Uh, Mama. What are you listening to?"

"It's the radio, honey, why?"

"Can I change it?" he asked, nose turned up in half bewilderment and half disgust.

And before I could answer, he hopped down off his kitchen stool, went over to the computer, opened iTunes (at which point, I take over the look of half bewilderment and half disgust - where did he learn that?), and promptly opened exactly the song he was going for. Which would be Sure Shot. By the Beastie Boys.

Uh-huh. At 6:15 in the morning. And it was followed by some Led Zepplin, Jon Spencer, Tom Waits, The Clash, and Bob Dylan (electric dylan, I might add). The music was accompanied by running commentary about the entire playlist from my little guy, who has apparently been getting quite a music (and iTunes) education. Heavy on the classic rock. All before 7 am.

I started a little chat about my idea of 'morning music' and made a few suggestions. Gillian Welch? Iron & Wine? Elizabeth Mitchell? How about anything without electric guitar? Something soft? Something 'quiet'? Or, how about, let's skip the early 90's high school flashback music, okay? I was making no sense, and I knew it. I was digging myself a parenting non-answer hole - I was only a step away from, 'just because.'

"But why, Mama, isn't this "morning music?" he asked, not deterred by my arguments.

And of course, I had to admit that I have no idea what I'm talking about. Mornings are not my terrain. Who's to say that a little Beastie Boys with your orange juice isn't the best way to start a day? This little guy thinks so.

inspiration :: sweet and savory

Oh my.The internet is a very good and dangerous place. Full of inspiration of all different kinds. This weekend, in just one quick Flickr browse of my contacts, I stumbled upon this photograph, which in one click led me to this recipe, which promptly got me up off my chair and into the kitchen - stopping only on the way to gather my loves....for a little donut making. It was the perfect antidote to the blizzard that was storming outside.

That recipe? SO easy and SO good. For some reason I was comforted so much by the baked-not-fried aspect that I totally skipped reading the sugar quantities. Oh my. And really, oh well....because they're donuts, right? We don't eat them everyday. Still, if you make them, be sure you have all 8 of your children, or a few neighbors around to share them with. Otherwise, you'll eat them all up and have crazy sick too-much-sugar head. That's no good. The donuts, however, are good. And they are best eaten warm and immediately. Of course. (My babes like the middles.) Thanks for the inspiration, Liz!

And in other kinds of inspiration, I'm honored to be on Inspiration Boards today. You can find that interview here. Thank you Lori, for the interview and all the work you do to keep us inspired on Inspiration Boards!

for his collections

Recently, Calvin and I made these Wall Pockets together (he was the idea boy, I was the 'make it happen' girl). It's for holding all manner of useful things like cardboard pieces, rubberbands, corks and wood chips. Pieces of wire, bread bands, string, tape, toilet paper rolls and on and on. Things that were taken apart from other things, and lie in waiting until they're made into something else. And then, sometimes something else yet again. He's a repurposer and a maker of things. And a collector of all the 'stuff' with which to make things.

I sandwiched it all together as a quilt, essentially - with red linen on the front, a grey cotton on the back, and cotton batting in the middle, which I thought would give it a bit more heft. The loops on the top are bias binding. The pockets are all linen and stitched on a few times - because you never know which pocket might hold the precious marble collection. There's some embroidery (which you saw a peek of here), which is all from this Clover pattern. The other linen - with the farm theme - was a gift from a reader, and I'm so over-the-top in love with it. I know I've stumbled upon it somewhere online in another colorway, but I'm sorry that I don't remember. (found it - it's Dutch Countryside, and SuperBuzzy has it here).

Lately, Calvin's been drawing elaborate plans for his future bedroom/workshop 'on the farm'. The design sounds dreamy to me - a long workshop table, racks on the wall, and lots of shelves. And with wonder and excitement at all the possibilities such a room might hold, he describes it as "full of nails, cardboard, rope, fabric and a sewing machine!". Oh, this kid.

But in the meantime - until he gets his workshop - he very graciously (for the most part) shares space with the rest of us, and this little wall pocket helps to contain some of the stuff. He's decided he likes it best on the end of his bunk bed - where he can wake up, and reach over for his materials and start making things before even getting out of bed. Huh, I think I get that.

yes!

Oh, yes. That was a real weekend the likes of which my little family hasn't seen in a long time. It included all the important essentials that can be summed up by: a whole lot of nothing. Oh, NOTHING feels so good.

And your kindness in words too - my goodness, thank you. The feeling is mutual, you know. Thanks for cheering me on - I'm still having enormous amounts of fun in this space.

Hello, March! I am SO glad you're here.