Friday, August 21, 2015

meandering...


my daily walks have evolved over the years.  but they have remained constant.  i've always walked.   sometimes because i had to, but mostly because i wanted to.  it keeps me healthy.  it gets me outside. it has been a way to connect with my kids, my husband.  it gives me time to think.  it takes me to a calm place that can only be achieved through putting one foot in front of the other over and over and over again.


our little corgi, Dexter, loves his walks too.  he used to pull me along..."hurry, hurry, hurry", he seemed to be saying all the time. but he is getting old and lately it seems to be me saying  "hurry, hurry".  he can only make it about a mile most days and some days, after just half a mile he gives me a look.  a look that says, "will you carry me?"  and that melts my heart.  he's just so darned cute.  so, i decided to stop trying to hurry him.  i take a nice brisk walk first and then i come back for him.  this morning i really surrendered to it.  i took his pace.  i think it's called meandering.  i let him stop and smell the flowers.  literally.  and every blade of grass.  and every inch of pavement.  and i didn't pull him along.  instead, i noticed things.

an intricate spiderweb, dewy and silvery in the sunlight, the beautiful morning sunlight which was streaming just so through the trees.

a light cool breeze, a breeze that sent the first of the fall leaves fluttering to the ground soundlessly and in slow motion...almost like snowflakes.

a brilliant red cardinal chasing a large locust, his breakfast trying desperately to escape.

the quiet.  oh my, it was so quiet.  a few birds, an occasional distant bark from some dog who probably wished he could come with us to smell the flowers.

it was just a really beautiful and peaceful morning.  i didn't have my camera with me to capture any of this, so you're going to have to take my word for it.  anyway, i think i would have missed all of it if i was focused on trying to capture the perfect image.

it's so easy to fall into that manic, always thinking of the next thing, rushing around in a hurry way of being.  i feel like my little dog taught me something.  it's ok to sniff the flowers.  and pee on them.  ok, maybe not that.  but it's ok to slow down once in a while.  or more than once in a while.  when we got home, i was still in "meandering" mode, so dexter and i went out to the backyard for a little while.


we explored the beginnings of a "rock garden" that my husband is making because he thought i would like it.  and since beginnings don't look like much, try to envision a peaceful, zen, green ivy and rocks, maybe a bench, kind of garden.


we checked out the progress of the filling "the hole to china" project, which has been going on for several years now.  when they kids were younger i let them try to dig a hole to china.  well, there were four of them and at times, friends, so they made it pretty far.  it's taken years to get it this filled in.  we should have it done just in time for the grandkids.  ha ha!


we explored a fallen tree.  it just fell right over unexpectedly with a giant crash one day.  we were all inside, each of us thinking at the time, "what was that noise?" and then we just went back to what we each were doing.  later when we saw it we each said, "yeah, i thought i heard something".  I peeked in the end,  the inside has been hollowed out by termites.  glad that one was away from the house.


we found a pretty patch of moss and sunlight.  i looked around for fairies, but i didn't see any.


and on the way in, i got goofy and snapped a picture of myself, snapping a picture of myself.  

meandering...
yeah, it's a good thing...



Thursday, August 6, 2015

kantha book...


as soon as i saw this piece of kantha quilt, i thought...for a book.  it's hand stitched, which is really my thing right now, so i bought it and it was waiting for me when i returned from my road trips.


as soon as i had some free time, i pulled it out and started to work on it.  since kantha quilts are traditionally made by the women of India, i paired it with some handmade paper from India that i had in my stash.  


i like the rough nature of it.  the raw quilt edges and the rough paper.  imperfect, yet beautiful.  this one is for sale in my shop, but i might make another one for myself.  i'm almost at the end of my present journal and since i like to stitch in my journals, this one would be perfect.  

i thought i would have a break from driving for a few days, but i am being driven all around town.  practice driving...so some of the teens can get their license.  although they have all waited to get their license, i find this to be a rather stressful process.  also, this is my last day of having 4 teenagers.  as of tomorrow, i will have 3 teenagers and one 20 year old.  this is all affecting me more than i thought it would.  change is often hard and i've never been very good at it.  yet, change is inevitable.  and necessary.  and it's going to happen regardless, so...nothing more to say except this...

"The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday."
-Steve Maraboli-



Monday, August 3, 2015

continuing...


as you can see, i've been continuing to stitch.  i love all of that boro stitching i'm seeing around and i've been experimenting with it on leather.  stitching on leather like this is hard and painful on the fingers.  this leather was kind of thin, so i didn't make any holes first.  i just went at with a really sharp needle.  i wanted it to look rough and not too perfect.  i think i achieved that.  i'm working on a pair of jeans now...much easier.


it's been a crazy month of road trips.  i figured out the mileage...in one month we drove roughly 2800 miles. up to NY to leave our daughter at the Pratt Institute, then home.  then back to NY to pick her up.  then to Richmond to drop her off with our other daughter for a few days.  then back home.  then back to Richmond to pick them both up.  then home again.  no wonder my neck hurts.  but, i am getting really good at passing the big trucks...something i used to be scared of.


my daughter mostly enjoyed her time at Pratt.  she earned several college credits and has begun to get her portfolio together.  she learned a lot about painting and also a lot about some other things...an interesting bit of education to be sure.  in case you're thinking that she's spoiled or something...i have to tell you that she paid for the entire thing herself, right down to the pricey painting supplies that were required.  many, many hours of working...i'm so very proud of her.  she came home inspired and with masterpieces and the beginnnings of masterpieces.  i believe in the power of art so much, that i was willing to drive all of those miles for her to experience that.

i hope to be able to relax a bit for a few days, enjoy the sunny weather and get back to creating.  one thing about all that driving...it gave me a lot of time to think.  i have some amazing ideas that i can't wait to try out.  i do have a few more road trips planned for later this month.  a college visit...my twins are seniors now (which is really hard to believe) and then i'll be taking my oldest back to college.  she is going to turn 20 this week (even harder to believe).  time just flies on by, doesn't it?

hope you are enjoying your summer...