peace and happiness...

such a dark picture...  it has been raining on and off for days now.  it is making me feel a bit dull, so i set out this little string of lights i had in my closet.  just for some added light.  and perhaps a bit of magic.  it's been so long since i updated this blog...it is surprising how swiftly the weeks are flying by.

i have been straightening and rearranging a bit in my studio.  this morning i gave it a much needed dusting.  you have to clear the dust every once in a while.  in more ways than one.  i snapped a quick photo of the books i am reading right now.  interesting...apparently i am seeking peace and happiness.  not a bad thing to be seeking i guess.  i have begun doing yoga as a way to ease the tension that collects in my shoulders.  i have done yoga before, but not for a long time.  i had forgotten how relaxing and calming it really is.  although, at this point, i would not want to be seen doing yoga, as i am not as flexible as i once was.  but time and practice will help with that.  hopefully.

i picked up this magazine at the bookstore the other day.  an impulse buy.  i was actually looking for something else when my eyes landed on this.  the gilded symbol on the front with "let it go" drew me in closer.  i picked it up and leafed through it for a moment and i was hooked.  i actually haven't read it yet.  i'm waiting for a moment when i can sit back and relax with it for a while.  those type of moments have been scarce lately.  maybe on mothers day?  

my sweet husband surprised me with this envelope last week.  the "bird lady" came to work and gave him these.  the "bird lady" is a bird owner who comes by the Boys & Girls Club to volunteer.  and to donate her spare feathers.  he knows how much i love my feathers.  i love that guy for always thinking about me.

my favorites are the green ones.

other than reading and playing with feathers i have been keeping very busy.  creating new journals and other nice things for my shop...always working on something.  i created a new journal for myself, as my other one is all filled up.  a new style.  i always experiment by making one for myself first.  i like how this turned out.  i think i will be making more like this.

a page with kind of a zen feel to it.

my husband installed this chandelier for me last weekend.  i found it at Ikea...it's all sparkle and crystals and just so pretty hanging in my dining room.  i have wanted one almost forever and i finally made it happen.  why did i wait so long?  

of course, there was a spot on the ceiling from the old light, so I decided to paint the whole ceiling.  that turned out well...so now i want to paint the walls...a nice fresh white.  that is next on my extensive "to do" list.  the china cabinet in the background is getting a good clearing out too and some of those things may find their way into the vintage section of my etsy shop.  as soon as the sun comes out  long enough to take some nice pictures.

other than that i've just been busy with my kids and three upcoming graduations.  three!  it is strange to have three of them heading out into the wide world all at once.  all seeking their own magic...  i'm so proud of each of them.  but, i still have one left to savor and he is doing some great things with his music right now.  i told him he will need to record some of that for me before he leaves in a few short years.  i'm going to need some music when they're all gone.

so...that's it for now.  i just wanted to say hi and i hope you have a peaceful and happy mothers day...

willpower...

you have no idea.  it was a struggle to take these pictures.  three cookies left.  three teens coming home from a hard day of high school later.  the way i see it, there were only two options.  a)  eat them all.  deal with aching stomach for the rest of the afternoon.  b)  save them for my teens.  be adored by my teens for the rest of the afternoon.

so which option did i choose?

well of course i saved them for the teens!   that's a no-brainer.  i much prefer being adored to an aching stomach.  yep.    

but i did include the recipe for you.  in case you would like to test your willpower...

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

1-1/4 cups butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups uncooked oats

Cream Filling

Preheat oven to 375.  Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add egg and vanilla and beat well.  Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a separate bowl and stir well.  Add oats and stir well.  Add to butter mixture and stir until well blended.  Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.  Bake for about 10 minutes.  Cool on pan for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove cookies from pan and allow to cool completely.  Spread 1 tablespoon of cream filling over the bottom side of cooke and top with a second cookie right side up.  Makes about 18 cookie sandwiches.

Cream Filling

1/2 cup butter softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons milk or cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer on low until combined, scraping bowl.  Beat on high until light and fluffy.

eat.  enjoy.  share them with your kids : )

writer's block...

my thoughts have been all over the place these days.  i haven't been able to settle on anything to write about in this space.  i think it's all of the changes that are happening with the kids and what that means for my life. 

as i wrote on the very last pages of my journal this morning it got me thinking about endings and beginnings.  i'm a firm believer that endings are not endings at all, but rather, time to begin again.

   a fresh start.  new experiences.  different, but exciting.  and perhaps a bit unsettling.  i guess i am feeling like i'm in between somehow...in the process of figuring it all out.

but i'm not unhappy.  i am moving forward.  i am doing all that needs to be done and more.  i am still creating...always creating...that is an essential part of life for me...but, i am trying out some new ideas and experimenting with different materials.  i have been decluttering like a mad woman...a little every day and some days a lot.  everything about that just feels so right.  it's hard to describe, but it's a release of sorts...of life's unnecessary baggage.  i'm itching to paint my walls a nice fresh white.  i am trying out a "capsule wardrobe" which seems to be all the rage these days.  i got rid of most of my wardrobe in the decluttering process and i'm slowly and deliberately building a new one.  i'm dreaming about the future and far flung adventures.  my house looks different.  my closet looks different.  my future plans look different.  and even though i'm still the same old me, i feel different.  really, it feels a bit like magic.

*****

And suddenly you know; It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.

-Meister Eckhart  

how do you spell love...

piglet - "how do you spell 'love'?"

pooh - "you don't spell it, you feel it."

-a.a. milne-

the sky seemed like it was on fire this morning.

  the mornings have been like that lately.

it makes getting up early worth it.

  

january almost over.  already.

christmas was wonderfully simple this year.

all of the family birthdays sweet.

the house has been filled with music.  a new guitar.  a ukelele on loan.

we were snowed in for a few days this past weekend.

  i didn't take any pictures of that.

i spent all of my time baking cookies.  reading books.  looking out the window.

  eating cookies : )

more soon...

seeking good stories...

so, hello...  many sticky floor mornings have passed since we last visited...and starry sky mornings too : )  i must say, the moon was exceptionally lovely this morning - the thinnest little sliver floating in the starry sky.  i love that my mornings begin like that.  that is truly something to be thankful for.  

this time of year is always filled to the brim with various activities and i'm getting that tight feeling in my neck.  i am deeply craving some calm...a little break from it all.  i stopped this morning to take a few pictures.  even though the morning started off with clear skies, a bit of a fog has rolled in, making the lighting kind of dim.  but i got a few for you.  

i've really been making an effort this year to lessen my holiday stress.  i like to decorate, but i really pared down this year and it turned out to be a good decision.  to me, our tree is lovelier than it's ever been.  it is simply strung with lots and lots of little white lights and draped with paper chains, made from the pages of an old dictionary.  my kids and i made the paper chains together on the day after thanksgiving.  it was a nice little time of conversation and laughter...a warm memory to carry with me in this upcoming year of changes.   

on my mantel i placed a few tiny green christmas trees with no adornment at all and this little nativity scene that my mother-in-law gifted me with while she was here for thanksgiving.  i love the simplicity of it.  it is made from twisted wire and has a few little glass beads and a little mother of pearl dove.  it's so pretty and rustic.  and to me it captures the true meaning of the season.

the world seems a scary place right now or perhaps i have just been watching too much news, but it makes me feel a bit blue.  i'm sure some of you feel the same way.  when it all becomes too much, i try to stop and take a few breaths and remember how very blessed i am and that i am surrounded by people who love me.

  i have learned that if you look past all of the bad news and really search, there are some wonderful stories out there.  stories of joy and love and hope.  my favorite thing is this...  every night before we go to sleep, my husband reads the news on his kindle.  but the first thing he does is search for a good story.  something he can read to me before i doze off, so that maybe i can have sweet dreams.  he doesn't find one every night, but many nights he does.  and that really does help.  i really love that guy...

i hope your holidays are filling up with peace and love and hope.  and good stories.  don't forget to search for the good stories...

sticky floors and starry sky mornings...

this morning when i woke up it was still dark out.  really dark.  i took our senile old dog outside and while i waited for him to remember why were out there (that's been happening a lot lately) i looked up and noticed the stars.  the sky was a moody blue-black and there were so many stars up there.  it really was beautiful.  i've really been noticing things like that lately.  i'm sure it was always there, but i'm just really seeing it now. and that's the nice part of my story.

next i headed to the kitchen to brew up some coffee.  it's Starbucks Italian roast this week.  in case you were wondering.  as i shuffled to the coffee maker, my feet got stuck to the floor.  at first i thought i might be dreaming, but as i continued on my way, i realized that i really was fully awake and i really was sticking to the floor.  my teens are home from school this week on some kind of fall break and let me just say that it's been a new and interesting experience.  just about the time i'm heading off to bed at night, they are coming into their "fully wide awake" time.  this involves clanging pans and cupboards and smells coming from the kitchen.  then some laughter, tv noises and maybe some music.  and sometimes, random noises that jolt me out of my sleep and make me listen for robbers.  and then, sometime around 2 or 3 am, some door slamming (can't they ever just close it lightly) and probably some water running.  then usually it is blessedly quiet until 11am or later.  so when they finally got out of bed close to lunchtime (well...my lunchtime), i went about investigating the sticky floor.  i knew some kool-aid had made it's way into the house at some point this week, so that was my first thought.  "ok guys", i asked them, "who spilled the kool-aid?"  they all gave me blank stares and then denied it.  "i'm not mad", i said, "i just want whoever did it to clean it up." "nope, not us", they all said.  "ok, well, who's going to clean it up?", i asked them.  my younger son grabbed the mop and got to work.  how nice, i thought to myself, he's so responsible.  then he said, "boy, that jar of jelly i dropped last night sure did make the floor sticky."  um...hello!?!?!?..

i think i am going to miss this someday.  at least that's what i've been told.  while trying to unstick myself from the floor this morning, i was feeling kind of skeptical, but now, reading this over, i know that i will.  i know for sure i will miss the music.  always music at our house.  good background music, just like in a movie.  and the laughter...for sure i'll miss that.  even now, the house creaks with sadness when they are all out doing their thing.  and the sticky floors?  yeah, i'll probably think fondly back on that someday too.

it's a big year.  my oldest will graduate from college.  the twins are graduating from high school.  and my little baby, who is now taller than me and can sing Johnny Cash tunes with ease, well, he's busy with all of his high school activities.  weeks like this make me contemplate all of the upcoming changes.  and i guess it's natural to look forward some and wonder how it's all going to turn out.  i just thought i would put it out there into the wide world.  maybe you can relate?  and for now, i'm just going to take those starry sky mornings and those sticky floor days and try to enjoy them to the fullest...