A Little Quote and a Little Note: Nurture

"Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings.

Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest.

The blessing is in the seed."
Muriel Rukeyser

I love this quote found today at the beginning of a new year which is attributed to Muriel Rukeyser, who is also responsible for one of my favorite quotes ever, "The universe is made of stories, not atoms," which you will find as a permanent feature of my sidebar. The idea that the blessing is in the seed speaks to me of nurture. As gardeners, we nurture. As parents, we nurture. As friends, we nurture. It is so elemental a component of who we are, or who we strive to be.

Let us nurture this seedling year, which is unfurling before us, a tender, sweet miracle of possibility.

A Little Quote and A Little Note

"There must be more to life than having everything!" ~ Maurice Sendak

It is slightly ironic to me that we give thanks for what we have one day, then run out to buy more the next. I did have to purchase a few groceries today, but made my purchases in our local sleepy village amid familiar faces. I avoided the rush of "Black Friday" in the city, and steered clear of malls and big box stores. If you were in the crowd of shoppers (as my 16 year old daughter and her friend were), I hope the crowds were friendly and the bargains good.

For me, the day after Thanksgiving is my annual day to give my china hutch a good cleaning. I take everything out, dust the wood, clean the glass and wash all of the china. We used some of it on Thanksgiving, so those items were already washed and sparkling, but the rest need a good rinsing to clear away a year's worth of dust.

Over the year, other things collect in the hutch. There are little pottery items our children made in school art classes, a seashell a lovely young friend brought to me from her trip to Florida, programs from concerts the girls sang in, and little photos sent in cards and letters through the last 12 months. All of these items find new homes at this time of year. The keepsakes are tucked into individual "memory boxes" and the photos are tucked in amid those in a big disorganized drawer (a project for another season in life.)

In a few days, we will put up the nativity set that my mother-in-law made for Limerick and I as a gift for our first married Christmas, 22 years ago. It is a full set, with camels and camel master, a beggar, and shepherd boy besides all of the important central figures. It is the first bit of Christmas to go up in our house every year, and the last to come down. Cleaning the hutch allows me to clear the center shelf for the nativity. At night, through the holiday season, we turn on the light in the hutch and the nativity scene looks very beautiful, with its lovingly painted color and detail.

This annual cleaning rite, a seemingly mundane chore, connects me with special people in my life... to the friends and family who made and gave all of the little touchstones that have gathered there through the year. When the holidays end, and the nativity set is carefully wrapped in newspaper and put away, the collecting will begin again. New mementos and keepsakes, new photographs and poems written in a child's wobbly script will be displayed in the hutch between the simple pieces of my Grandmother's china.

A Little Quote and a Little Note

"Artists should always think of themselves as cosmic instruments for storytelling."

~ Ted Lange

Fridays ought to start with sunshine and blue skies... and this one did. Now, late in the evening, the wind is dancing wildly outside in the darkness and the cold is tapping at my window glass. Inside, I'm warm and cozy, sipping my mug of hot tea and listening to my six year old chatter on and on. He is already a "cosmic instrument for storytelling" and an artful little fellow. Perhaps he will help me out with the art-related lesson plan I have to write for school this coming week!

This week it was watercolors and woven paper in art class, along with scissors, glue and lively conversation. Good stuff! Next week, African-inspired face masks from felt. Don't you wish you could come and play with me?

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you color and comfort and joy!

Friday - A little quote and a little note

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~ Maya Angelou

My art education class, by virtue of an instructor whose lesson plans are a launching pad rather than a gilded cage, makes me feel young and playful. We paint, we snip off pretty little bits of colored papers, we dabble with shapes and textures and forms. It is like playing in the garden! Today we carved pumpkins. Her whole premise seems to be to prepare new teachers to be unintimidated by any art material or method. She inspires us to believe that thinking "outside the box" is ordinary, and through the class we experience an organic unfolding of the inner-artist we didn't know was hiding within.

Pictured here, my pumpkin with Zuni Sun carving

photos, and photo editing by Aisling, October 23, 2009

Beautiful Life Friday - Lush Green Everything

It isn’t so much that it’s raining today, as that the wind is blowing veils of mist across the sky. The lush green everything outside my windows reminds me to be thankful for the rain.

In previous years, dust from our country lane has seeped in through the windows and the edges of the front door. This year, with all of the rain, there is very little dust to contend with.

In previous years, we have had to water the garden faithfully every second or third day. This year, with all the rain, we have hardly had to water by hand at all.

In previous years, high fire danger and low lake levels were the norm. This year, raised umbrellas and rain-slicked hair-styles are the norm.

And you know what? It’s all good. I am thankful for the rain, for the lush green everything, for the soft give of the saturated, well-nourished, earth as I walk barefoot through the gardens. It's a beautiful life; rain and all.

For more beautiful life inspiration, visit the Inspired Room.

Beautiful Life Friday - Holiday

This is my first time participating in Beautiful Life Friday…

I’ll enjoy reading and participating while my summer holiday allows the time to do so.

While I’m glad to be pursuing the goal of earning my degree and teaching certificate, I have to admit that my home has suffered for it. When you walk into my house, you notice right away that it looks as though the mom has been in school full time for a year… which she has. I am blissfully enjoying my three week hiatus between semesters, with no big plans. My only goal, very undefined and flexible, is to improve the condition of my house during my “holiday.”

Thus far, the steps have been very minor. Perhaps no one would notice the improvements but me… There are a few less bags of recycling in the basement to attend to, but still a pretty significant collection of cans to crush and boxes to fold before the next batch is carted off to the recycling center. A few odds and ends have been picked up and put away. The dishes have been clean and the counter has been clear just a little bit more often than usual.

Today, finally, I made an improvement that someone might notice besides me. I cleaned the first floor bathroom from top to bottom… washed walls and floors, wood-polished the oak shelves my hubby built for me before we moved here, and scrubbed the tub, sink, toilet, and mirror. Sure, the walls still need a new coat of paint. Yeah, new towels would be nice, since the old ones are fraying at the edge. And definitely, I’d love a basket of pampering bath products on the wide edge of the tub… but my six year old son would have it all spilled and wasted the first time he was alone in the bathroom.

So, I pulled an old blue and white shower curtain from the linen closet to replace the one we’ve been using, and added a vase of flowers and a lotion dispenser and soap dish that have been in the laundry room (meaning, no one ever sees them but me!) I replaced the artwork on one wall with a soft summery scene (though I may change it again in autumn.) For a make-over that required no financial outlay, just elbow grease and flower-picking, I’m pleased… and I’ve already had rave reviews from my six year old who hollered to his ten year old brother that “Mom made the bathroom better!”

Friday Favorites - Country Study

One of my favorite family traditions is choosing a country to "adopt" or study each year. My college courses have kept me so busy that the most I've done this year is to briefly consider a few different countries. We began this tradition 15 years ago when Senryu, my oldest, was 4. (I've written about it before on this blog -- the search term "doll" or "country" would probably help you find other posts about it.) It doesn't surprise me at all, all these years later, that Senryu is the one to ask if we can study a particular country. She asked about Tibet and had already checked a book out of the library.

I am enthused about the possibilities of learning more about Tibet, teaching my little sons about a place in the world they have barely heard of, and about sharing some new experiences with my entire family. Imagine the possibilities... prayer flags fluttering on our northern hill, Tibetan dishes simmering in our kitchen, and mandalas made by two curious little boys.

The photo below shows one aspect of our tradition of studying a new country each year. We dress a doll in a costume which reflects the culture of our adopted nation. From left to right, these dolls represent Sweden, Ireland, Mexico, Australia, Peru, Japan (the tiny one in front), Greece, India, Kenya, Russia and Poland. Since this photo was taken, we have also studied Taiwan (the year that Senryu was an exchange student there) and Turkey (the year that our exchange student, Sonnet, spent with us.)

photos by Aisling

Friday - A little quote and a little note

"It is very beautiful here, if one only has an open and simple eye, without any beams in it. But if one has that, it is beautiful everywhere." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

I turned the calendar to August this morning, as I'm sure many of you did. Although summer officially ends in late September, our household still revolves around the school year and so summer ends unofficially a few days after Labor Day when school begins. This gives us one more month of summer... one more month to squeeze in all of those things we wanted to do this summer but haven't yet. My children have long lists of places they want to go and things they want to do, and I'd rather spend a summer without plans. I'd rather linger in the garden, go to the beach when perfect beach weather arrives on soft blue skies, and eat meals that aren't thought out, but just picked fresh and eaten. I try to compromise between their wish for adventure and activity, and mine for serenity and languor.

I did, sort of idly, hope to clean the basement thoroughly. I wondered if I would find time to reorganize the laundry room this summer. I toyed with the idea of repainting a couple of rooms in the house. But, instead, I have chauffeured my family to festivals and water parks, taken a sick kitty (better now!) to the vet, said goodbye to my Turkish daughter, and sewn several medieval style dresses for my oldest daughter (not necessarily in that order.) If you read this blog very often, you know that I have somehow managed to spend time in the garden, taken photographs (my current form of creative expression), and found serenity in the quiet spaces between the frequent demands of modern family life.

However you fill your summer hours, I wish you joy!

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photo by Aisling, August 1, 2008 - Along our roadside

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