This week

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic reception of my Poetry in Every Day Beauty workshop/ecourse (I'm not really sure what to call it!)

There is still just over two weeks before we begin so there's plenty of time to find a friend and sign up two for one! Everyone who signs up will get an email a few days before we begin.

This week has been a slow one. Lots of art and coloring time; exploring a new to us park after dinner;  watching the flowers bloom; going on walks around the neighborhood; just slowly savoring these days of summer. 

I hope you have had a good week as well and a wonderful weekend to come!

Make and Listen Along

This week I have been making an e-course. Finalizing the first draft, making it ready for a second draft, to polish it for final draft. I had put it aside for pretty much the whole summer. The other day I was inspired to finish it and share it. To step out in faith that someone needs it, that maybe my words and pictures will resonate with others. 

It doesn't require much time on the computer. It encourages you to get off the computer and open your eyes to the beauty that surrounds you each day. 

Won't you take a look and let me know what you think?

Look for the Light

I did not mean for there to be so much silence here for so long! I have taken a break from social media, but fully intended to keep up with my blog & blog reading. What do they say about the best of intentions?

There has been so much tragedy and heartbreak in our country, in our world the past few weeks. I can't take it. I needed to step back from the social media because of all the comments, opinions, judgements and the general bombardment the sheer weight of the news. I made the mistake of going on Facebook this morning. Oh my aching heart!

I do not live in a vacuum, I do read the news in order to be kept up to date a little bit and what I see and hear is so sad. I was starting to get a bit depressed, hence the stepping back. This morning though I realized that stepping back from reading it all and stepping back to fall into a little bit of a void are two different things. I long for a world of peace and beauty. My thoughts need to be "how can I bring even a little bit of that peace and beauty to the world" rather then thinking "I wish someone would bring peace and beauty to the world."

My first step will be to get back here regularly, if nothing else! I miss the interaction of all the inspiring women who stop by this space and whose spaces I stop by. So be looking for me to come knocking on your doors this week!

My second step is to finish fine tuning my Poetry in Everyday Beauty workshop in order to have it ready to run in early September. Look for more information on that at the end of the week. I have been hemming and hawing about finishing this all summer. Now is the time. I want to find & create beauty in my everyday and I want to find & create it along with all of you.

Rhythm

The rhythm of the seasons is going full steam ahead here. I am noticing a subtle shift in the mornings this week. The air is just a little crisper. The sunlight is shifting as it moves across the living room. When I went out to check on the garden this morning I found this leave in my path reminding me that very soon fall will be knocking on the door.

Today I will be working on a little pre-school rhythm for the fall. Ree is pre-school age and she is very insistent that she "do school" so she can read and do math. So I ordered a few things and today will be putting together a rhythm for our days. On paper at least. And really nothing will change to how we go about our days. Except that we will do a few things at the table that we will call school and she will (hopefully) be happy!

I am ready for the rhythms of our days to change. I like summer and the slower days but I am looking forward to our fall and winter rhythm too. And by the time spring rolls around I will be ready for a summer rhythm. I am so glad nature provides these changes for our bodies and minds.

This past week we were camping and it seems like after this annual trip I am always ready for the shift to begin. Although I will also be squeezing out every last drop of our summer too. I am not quite ready to leave behind the fish n chips, the beach evenings or the sound of the peepers at night!

End of the week

The other night, after a day of thunderstorms and intense rains I was cleaning the kitchen up from dinner. I noticed the dining area was full of a golden glow. I grabbed the camera and went running outside. The dish cloth was on the table, a trail of water was on the floor, the sink was full of half washed dishes. My family is used to this by now. Ree came running out the door after me not knowing what "neat" thing I was going to see but she has learned that when I drop everything, grab the camera and head out the door there is something pretty good.

The sunset was amazing. Just what we needed to see after days of gray and gloom. While it wasn't particularly bright, it had a soft beauty about it. I think it's because of the way the clouds were breaking. And the blue of the sky behind them was stunning. I couldn't quite capture the color. 

Just as we were getting ready to head in the house we heard a plane taking off...we live just a few miles from the airport and our house is in a flight path, so we have planes flying very low over our house many times a day. I captured this shot as they flew off into the sunset. What a view they must have had!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Ode to the Kitchen Floor

littered with crumbs,

paper, toys and spills

we stumble across it to the coffee each morn

run across it throughout the day

we sit on it to draw or play

spread big projects across it

there are dents & gouges throughout it

I say they give it character

we don't often think of it

or give it it's due

but the life of this family

revolves around this floor

we gather for joy and sorrow 

for work and play

it asks for almost nothing in return

except the occasional sweeping

every day and night it is here

collecting the crumbs of our lives.

Weaving words with the Write ALM prompts

A week of Evenings

I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!

A week of Mornings

I often take a picture each morning of what I am doing while I drink my morning coffee. Amanda from The Habit of Being began a hashtag on Instagram a few months back #hellomorningcoffee that I enjoy participating in. I love seeing what everyone else is doing while they have their morning beverage. Usually I am reading or writing. Or looking out the window.

Sometimes I take pictures that don't feature my coffee. This morning when I sat down I realized I took a morning picture each day this week. 

I think for next Friday I will focus on "A week of Afternoons". I've got to get more practice in with the new camera!

Morning::Noon::Night

Morning, noon and night...three little peeks into my day yesterday. Linking up with Kim at Mothering with Mindfulness

 

Morning:: 7AM

 

Noon:: 1PM

Night:: 7PM

These days

The days have been flying by in a blur! 

Holy Week was spent with Momma recovering from her cold and Ree in the throes of hers. We didn't do nearly our usual Holy Week activities. But there is always next year!

Easter weekend was beautiful. I kept it simple this year for the most part. Simple is nice. And no anxiety. We had Easter dinner here and it was a wonderful day with our family.

Easter Monday dawned beautiful. The girls and I spent the majority of the day outside soaking up the fresh air and sunshine.

It's been quiet on this little blog lately. Not for lack of things to post, but rather for lack of time it seems! Baby is teething hence not sleeping. That makes momma a little punch drunk at times. But the early morning wake up calls have been great for my creativity. 

Do you remember that poetry project I mentioned a few months ago? I am in the process of writing it up as a little bit of an e-course type thing. I have no idea if there will be interest in it but the idea of it has only gotten stronger instead of less, so I am rolling with it. And the writing is pouring onto the paper. So we'll see where that will lead! And that is where a lot of my "free" time has gone. More like a stolen moment here and there!

Things are going well here in our little world. The spring time is a beautiful time. Or as Ree keeps saying every time we step outside, or every time she notices a flower or every time she sees the buds on the trees "the world is so MAGICAL right now! I can't stop breathing it in." I have no idea where she gets these sayings but I love them!

What has been happening in your world? And I promise to try and be more faithful at stopping by everyone's own blogs!

Morning::Noon::Night

Morning, noon and night...three little peeks into my day yesterday. Linking up with Kim at Mothering with Mindfulness

 

Morning:: 8:30

 

Noon:: 1pm

Night:: 5:45pm (full disclosure....this was taken Saturday evening. But I love it so wanted to share. Plus I forgot to take a picture last night!)

Yarn Along

I finished a sock this past weekend!!! It is so bright and cheery. I love it! I have only partially cast on the second sock though.

As for reading I'm reading the Passion in the Gospel of John for Holy Week. I also started reading The Poetry Home Repair Manual last night & it is really good so far. My grand plans to do a big poetry study for April has pretty much gone by the wayside. Getting a cold at the beginning of the month meant I didn't do much of anything, much less anything with poetry.

So for now I have been reading a little bit here and there. I actually have journaled a few poems following along with the Write ALM prompts. I was feeling bad about not following through with the plans I had until I realized poetry doesn't have to just be in April! 

Hopefully next week I will be able to share more progress on that second sock!

Morning::Noon::Night

Morning, noon and night...three little peeks into my day yesterday.

Linking up with KC at Mothering With Mindfulness

 

Morning:: 8:30am

 

Noon:: 1:00pm

Night:: 8:30pm

Leap

At the beginning January, I got an e-mail from Amanda saying that sign-ups for her next session of Write Now were open. I hemmed & hawed about signing up. I'd wanted to take it since she first offered it this past Fall but the timing wasn't right with the end of my pregnancy falling during the course. And then at the beginning of the year I thought I shouldn't do it because I had a new baby.

I finally took the leap and just signed up. I am SO GLAD that I did! Last Friday was the last day and I've felt kind of lost this week with no daily e-mails! 

I learned so much, and am feeling much more confident in my writing because of the course. I think the biggest thing I took away is the need to write every day. No matter if I sit down with something in mind or sit down and just write the first thing that comes to mind. Right now I'm just journaling for the most part. But that's a start. And I'm not really sure where I want the writing to take me. But I am happy with it and what I've learned.

At the beginning of this week, when I was feeling a little low and floundering a bit about "what should I write now?" I decided to start putting together a little project for myself. 

My word for 2014 is Poetry. Finding the beauty in the everyday moments. Funny thing is, I haven't really read too much poetry before. I want to change that. So I've started putting together my own little "course" in poetry. I'm hoping to have it complete in time for April--National Poetry Month. 

I want to read poetry, but also books ABOUT poetry. How poems work. How to read them. How to write them. To read a biography or two about a poet. While e-mailing back and forth with Amy about this, she asked if I was going to stick with a genre or time frame or just dive in. I thought about it and decided I may just dive on in. 

Right now I am still compiling information and putting my thoughts together. Which is why I am starting now! I think (I hope) a month is enough time to get my thoughts straightened out and be ready to go in April. 

My question for you:

Who are your favorite poets?

What is your favorite poem?

Do you have any suggestions of books on poetry?

I picked that book up at the bookstore the other night. I haven't read too much of it yet, but I think it's going to be a great resource! 

I am very excited about this new project of mine! I will be sure to report back here as I move forward with it and finalize things!

Out my window

Yesterday's WriteALM prompt was "out my window." 

As you have probably guessed, out my window is a favorite thing for me to photograph! As I was happily going from window to window yesterday (and this morning!) taking pictures of the beauty I found, I wondered if maybe you were tired of seeing pretty much the same pictures? And why do I feel the need each & every day to photograph what I see?

So I stood & pondered as I watched the sun go up (earlier & earlier each day!)

It is because each day is different. Even though I stand in the same spots each day, the beauty outside is different. Even if I stood at the same time each day, the light is different. The shadows are different. I notice something different about it. 

It always seems to be the morning when I stop & notice. I would like to train myself to take little moments throughout my day to glance out these same windows and see how the beauty out my window changes as the hours go by.

Radiant

sending out light; shining or glowing brightly

This weekend we stopped by a local beach for a few minutes. Ree & I had been there a week before and marveled at the image of the ocean turning to ice. My husband wanted to see it so we took him Sunday morning. Not thinking that we had had three snow storms since with no time for the snow to melt. 

So we didn't see the effect of the ocean ice as Ree calls it but it was still a beautiful day. When I saw the prompt for yesterday was Radiant I thought of these pictures and how the day most certainly was radiant. The sun on the water; the sun on the swans; the sun on the snow.

We didn't stay long at all but it was nice to have these moments of beauty with my family. And as Ree kept saying "I am breathing in the air!" as she stood taking deep breaths. I didn't realize how much we all needed to breath in the crisp fresh air but I am so glad we took the time to!

Be Still

There is nothing like a winter storm or a sleeping baby to make one be still for a length of time.

Both of those things happened around here yesterday. We had the first of three storms hit us. We took the day to hunker down at home doing art, preparing decorations for a lego birthday party this weekend, reading, resting, watching movies. 

As I sat in the chair watching the snow come down, holding a baby who had fallen asleep on me for the third time, I thought about the prompt, be still. There was a time when I didn't want to be still. That I'd be sitting there attempting to knit, or getting anxious that the dishes & laundry weren't done or the house needed to be picked up.

Instead I sat there feeling the weight of my sleeping baby, nuzzling her soft head, and watched a movie with Ree. 

This morning dawned bright and beautiful. I tried to capture the way the sun was hitting the snow but couldn't. It's exceptionally beautiful this morning for some reason.