Monpon

Waldorf Doll Giveaway at Imogen's Garden

2011-07-29T10:37:00.001-05:00

Lovely giveaway at Imogen's Garden. Check out her beautiful gal Peach!

http://imogensgarden.blogspot.com/

A sweet blonde gal

2011-07-27T15:49:00.001-05:00

Lovely Trip to San Francisco

2011-07-27T15:35:00.003-05:00

Good things come in Threes

2011-05-29T10:40:00.003-05:00

Can't stop with the dollmaking

2011-02-02T18:47:00.004-06:00

Olive's Doll

Patty's Doll for her kindergarten classroom - handmade sweater and shoes.

Maia's doll with crocheted dress

Sequoia - made with a crocheted cap for hair, crocheted sweater and sweet felt maryjanes

This one was for Maia's kindergarten class

More doll making fun

2010-12-27T22:01:00.003-06:00

Yarn for doll hair

Nora's doll - dress from Cleo & Twigs

Summer's doll - dress from Crafts with Heart

Maia's dolls - Hazel has a new crocheted dress that I made from a pattern I found here.

Making Waldorf Dolls

2010-12-10T09:55:00.004-06:00

I really got the itch to make a waldorf doll recently and I found a great kit from Weir Crafts in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was not expensive and it came with all the supplies needed to complete on doll, including hair, embroidery thread, wool stuffing, a silk-screened body pattern and lots of instructions. Here are the heads, one uncovered to show the nose, neck and eye line.

The bodies were easy to stuff, but tricky to attach to the head. The eyes and face were also tricky, but I suppose it gets easier with practice. The hair was fun, but, again, I could experiment with sewing and mixing yarns for a long time. Now Maia has a new buddy and I plan on making many more!

A Finished Project

2010-11-27T19:35:00.002-06:00

New book! It's called "Spinal" and it is an accordion style cloth book made from digitally designed fabric with iron-on transfers, vintage lace and lots of hand stitching.

Dang, making your own binding ain't fun

Victorian paper doll images (transfers) that I found on google :)

Cells and buttons

I scanned in fabric, thread and a few images from JB's anatomy books

Cells and spines and a little layer of silk organza

Liberated from text!

Interlude

2010-11-19T13:45:00.009-06:00

One of the lovely fall days we had before it hit the 40's!

There are so many lovely bloggers out there and I wanted to share a couple posts that caught my eye in the last few weeks. First is Bluebirdbaby's post about toys. Yes, less is more, especially after a birthday. A big one: Happy Fifth Birthday Maia!

These next two show some pretty nifty art projects for kids:

Little Red Caboose - Projects

Lovely Design - Making autumn leaves

I confess, I am totally obsessed with Bamboletta Dolls. Although they are very hard to get they are super fun to drool over. Love the hair. Maia got one during one of the custom orders they take a few time a year. This is Hazel:

I also have a weaving piece on display in this show - Woven Images. And the Milkweed Project is assembled and is pretty cool! Glad to be a part of it. That's all for now, enjoy your Thanksgiving!

It's nearly November?

2010-10-29T09:46:00.006-05:00

The new fall routine must have swallowed me up, whole. At least as well as blogging goes. It is true that my 8am classes pull me awake before the sun is shining and my new best friend is the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. But the semester is half over; the kids have settled into their new routines of high school and kindergarten, and the chilly autumn wind has been blowing for a while now. Julian's soccer season has ended and Maia's 5th birthday is just around the corner.

I find myself in a new place now, concentrating more on school and less on home. John's work schedule has been adjusted and we now have family dinners together every night. I have been reading Julian's freshman english class books alongside him and we have been discussing plot and setting, themes and writing style. Maia is writing up a storm and beginning to recognize high frequency words.

We got a new roof, two weeks of hammering and nailing and now no more squirrels will winter in our attic anymore. And best of all, we adopted a new dog, a sweet, affectionate little 2 year old corgi mix named Kylee, who lounges on the couch and sleeps at the foot of our bed. The cooler weather has brought out her spunk and her timidness is beginning to leave her. She appears in Maia's drawings often with a big smile on her doggy face.

Pumpkins have been carved and costumes picked out. Soon the trick or treaters will swarm the front door and November will be upon us. We'll watch till the last leaves drift to the ground.

a little crafting

2010-09-02T09:52:00.000-05:00

Cotton skirt with lining I sewed using one of my favorite skirts as a pattern.

First attempt at knitting since a long time, the simplest stitch possible!

Salt, straw and watercolor painting, super fun with Maia.

A little apron/smock that I dyed and stitched on a pocket for Maia's painting explorations.

Overshot: Small Honeysuckle

2010-08-31T10:32:00.008-05:00

These are a few samples of some of the weaving I did over the summer at the ABK Weaving Center . The warp is the dark green color and they are all variations of the star and diamond. The patterns were much more complicated than the ones I did last spring, but satisfying and good to keep the process fresh in my mind and hands.

Stella

2010-08-06T14:38:00.001-05:00

The baby robins have flown the nest and the newborn bunnies grew at such a fast pace that they too have left their hole and are now hopping around the garden and munching on greens. The yard is quiet in their absence as is our house in the absence of our dog Stella. I have finally washed her last bowl of food and water dish and tucked them away neatly in the cabinet. Dog sounds echo around me; the creak of the stairs, and the jingle of dog collars outside the window. Tennis balls lay in the corner, food crumbs stay beneath the table until I sweep them into small piles. Little grey and white dog hairs appear on our clothes and in dusty corners. Her ashes are contained in a white box sitting on the shelf waiting for a burial ceremony that has yet to be dreamt up.

She died almost six weeks ago, shortly after Maia and I found her laying by the back door with her tongue hanging out and tremors shaking her little head. A seizure, perhaps a stoke. Perhaps a series of small strokes.

She had been moping a few days earlier, lazing around the house, not thrilled when I took her out, but I chalked it up to the boys being away. Once though, she refused to go out. I called the Vet and he said to call back the next day to figure out a time to come, if she was still the same. Well, she wasn't. She was fine, or so it appeared. She had recovered from whatever it was and was bounding down the block with Maia.

So we were completely shocked when we found her that day. I picked her up and wrapped her in towel thinking I could rush her to the animal hospital 3 blocks away. Maia was crying and scared and didn't want to sit in the back seat with her still jerking her head. I put Maia in the front seat, belted her in and put on our make-believe ambulance siren. When we got there, I discovered that the hospital has just closed. The receptionist was unlocking her bike and I darted over to her to ask where the closest animals hospital was that might be open in the evening. She gave a name and street, but my eyes glazed over as I though about Stella in the back seat. I thanked her and ran back to the car, not knowing what to do. I ended up driving back home and calling the Vet as I could see she had stopped seizing and was no longer moving.

I sat in the back seat with our little dog and cried. The Vet would come by the next day to pick her up. So we held a little dog wake that evening, with family coming by to say their last goodbyes. It was comforting to have her home while we could process what had happened so suddenly. And the next day Dr. Tom picked her up in a blanket and took her away.

Stella was a force of nature. Stella was a dominant dog. She didn't care for other dogs and would not back down if barked at, which made dog parks impossible and walks not so relaxing until she wore herself out. She was a herding dog, a blue heeler, and would nudge my ankle when she wanted to go out. She would run in circle 8's in the yard when she was really riled up. And she never really got the hang of giving up the ball in fetch.

But she was a real good people dog. She though she was, in fact, a person. She loved to socialize at parties and take advantage of someone's unattended food plate. She greeted everyone with a friendly licks and would force her muzzle into your hands. She'd lay her head on your lap until she got some good petting time in. She slept with Julian for many years until Maia was born and then she lay in the hall between the two sleeping kids.

We'll miss you Stella Luna! Even the licking and the shedding and the moping and whining. You were a good dog, Stella. And we loved you very much.

Four Directions

2010-08-01T12:14:00.003-05:00

Julian stayed up for 30 hours at a checkpoint for the Riverwest 24 bike race on Friday night, I have buried my head in books for the last week and a half reading the Lisbeth Salander trilogy and John pushed aside the dining room table, dragged in the living room couch and we all watched "The Cat Returns" with the new movie projector. Oh, and Maia got to have rainbow sherbet for breakfast. Ah, the freedoms of summer.

Flooding, Again

2010-07-26T16:49:00.003-05:00

This is the view from my front porch during the torrential downpour last Thursday evening. We had about 7 inches of rain in under 2 hours. The sewers were overwhelmed and many of the streets in my neighborhood ran like rivers. Around the city, sink holes opened up, foundations were crushed, and cars stalled in water up to their windshields. Thousands of basements flooded, many with sewage. Now piles of refuse are heaped outside of houses as the clean-up begins. Devastation is wide-spread - $28 million of damage and FEMA is apparently on its way.

Here is some footage of the flooding in my neighborhood:

Flooding in Milwaukee

Shorewood Rapids

Shorewood Rapids - part II

We had about 6 inches of rain water in our basement and have finally dried out. We had water in with the dry clothes in the dryer and found our fans and dehumidifier floating in water. They have all dried out and amazingly still work. We threw out many items that were ruined and are still sweeping up the dirt and bleaching the floors.

It was chaos that night. I was driving in circles trying to go the 1 mile to pick up Maia at daycare - every direction I turned cars were stalled in waste deep water. And the rain just kept falling. After about 40 minutes of driving I finally found a possible thoroughfare, though it too was flooded. I watched nervously as 4 or 5 cars went around me and made it through the flooded intersection. I gritted my teeth and pushed the accelerator. From there it was mostly higher ground and I made it to the day care center about 15 minutes late. Meanwhile, Julian was at home by himself and the lights were flashing on and off and water was filling up the basement. I knew I wasn't going to make it back through those intersections again, so I followed my brother-in-law back to his house in more pouring rain. John made it home before me by walking two miles to our house, abandoning his car when he realized that he could not get any closer. It was totally surreal and it remains so today as the piles grow bigger and more widespread and neighbors share their hardships with each other.

Flash Flood

2010-07-15T09:49:00.001-05:00

The rains came at about 8:30 last night. Thunder claps broke open the sky and the rainwater flooded down into the streets and up onto the lawns. The winds whipped at the blinds and window glass. Rain pelted against the house then calmed into a steady patter. Until 1:30 am when I woke to hear JB calling out in panic and desperation “the basement is flooding!”

“I watched it happen, the rain poured in the basement and kept rising. It wasn’t draining, just getting higher and higher.” I put on my rubber boots and waded through the dirty water to find and unstop the drain. I pulled a piece of plastic and a small rubber ball out and the drain opened with a strong swirl. We put buckets up against the wall to collect the water pouring from small spigots in the foundation. The four inches of water began to drain and JB picked up as much wood and tools as he could and propped them on overturned buckets and garbage cans. We were in the midst of renovating the basement…

I walked outside to check the sewers to make sure they weren’t blocked. The rain was still falling steadily. I stepped through water up to my mid calf to the corner watching it stream down the street until it picked up speed and swung around the corner in currents and into the sewer. I stood at the corner and leaned down to pull out branches and wads of leaves that had were stuck in the drain. The dizzying swirl of water as it rushed into the sewer made me lose my balance for a minute; there was no dry ground to keep me steady, everything was moving. Up the block I saw my neighbor raking the other 2 sewers out but water seemed to be standing still in the intersection as well as up the block where I dared not walk for fear it was deeper than my boots. A new body of water appeared between the curbs, a deep plush carpet of ripples and reflections. It crept up the curb and onto the grass and sidewalks. “The whole village is flooding” the officer told JB when he called the public works.

JB stayed up mopping the water towards the drain while I crept into bed next to Maia. In the morning, no trace of standing water could be found, not even a small slashing puddle. The drains cleared and the rainwater drained into sewers and basements and well soaked grounds. Out on the lawn was the only evidence of flooding; detritus in the form of tee-shirts, flip flops, bottles and plastic bags left by the rushing water and a well defined line of sticks and mulch and tree branches midway between the house and the sidewalk. Now the fans and dehumidifier are humming away in the basement as it begins to dry out. Only small puddles are left now right at the base of the foundation. Rugs and towels are dripping on the laundry line outside under a cool, overcast sky

Cape Town!

2010-06-22T09:23:00.005-05:00

Photos from the their trip can be viewed here.

The boys are safely in Cape Town after a 20 plus hour trip and have been to their first two matches (England vs. Algeria and Portugal vs. North Korea which got seriously rained on). The weather is a warm 70 degrees and they have their 12 days planned out well. They see one more match (Cameroon vs. Netherlands). They traveled to Robben Island to do the Walk to Freedom following the footsteps of Nelson Mandela and toured the Cape of Good Hope and the wildlife preserves where the Black Footed Penguins and Chacma Baboons live. They also plan to see Table Mountain and do a historical tour of Cape town.

They have been planning this trip since last October. Julian got his first passport around his birthday last August.

Julian enjoyed playing the board game Ten Days in Africa in the winter months before his trip and Maia and I have been kicking the soccer ball around, drawing the shape of Africa and pasting zebra stickers inside. We have been reading some books about Southern Africa as well including:

Somewhere in Africa by Ingrid Mennen and Niki Daly

Abiyoyo - Pete Seeger

Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams

Count Your Way Through South Africa by James Haskins

A South African Night by Rachel Isadora

Soccer World - South Africa by Ethan Zohn

We are counting down the days until they return so we can hear about their adventures, see their photos and have them back home where we miss them so!

Locust Street Festival - Beer Run

2010-06-18T09:21:00.003-05:00

A 1.8 mile run/walk with 4 beer stops. Only in Milwaukee??

Go ladies!

A Milwaukee County inmate escapee

Miller making her appearance

Plunger dude

After a few sips from the plunger

Onlookers spray runners with hoses/sprinklers

Miller's competition

Rain and Shine

2010-06-17T08:44:00.010-05:00

We have had some pretty heavy downpours and lots of light rain in the last week or two. This means raincoats, rubber boots and umbrellas during dog walks and soccer games. But the trees, bushes, flowers and plants are verdant with thickening foliage and beautiful blooms.

So, when the sun shines, it is warm and lovely; beguiling the body out of doors. My senses are sweetened by color and scent. Each day new blooms emerge, the poppies and peonies make way for the roses and lilies. Raspberry buds are firm and green; the cilantro is beginning to seed. Bunnies lounge in the grass after nibbling on lilies and chard and the huge-bellied robin is building her nest under the eves of the garage. The days begin early and end late as we conduct more and more activities outside: picnics and bike rides, soccer practice and walks through the park. It is enough just to be outside. It is enough.

8th Grade Graduate

2010-06-09T13:14:00.003-05:00

Julian will be graduating from 8th grade in a few days and I've made a point to get some decent shots of him. Decent meaning no hand up in front of his face, no tongue sticking out and no sour faces. I had to get him in action, at a concert or lined up for baseball team photos. And now I see how much he looks like me, with his hair grown long and his closed-mouth smile, though he has a few inches on me already.

We have spent time chatting in the car on the way to games or walking home from school events - the best ways to get him talking. I am continually surprised at his calmness and confidence, even when he strikes out or bombs an assignment. He is stepping through childhood and into young adulthood and he can oscillate between these worlds quite quickly. He may need help finding his shin guards or keys but he doesn't need help with his opinions.

A hint of rebellion is settling in too - the idea that he should do exactly what he wants regardless of his parents' or teachers' direct instructions. Luckily, a measure of reason is available to him when he chooses, though that hasn't prevented lengthy conversations about his responsibilities and the consequences that come with not taking them seriously. Surely we have a long road ahead of us as he enters High School.

Nonetheless, he is excited about summer break, camping, leisurely days and a long awaited trip to Cape Town for the World Cup with dad next week!

Little miss ballerina

2010-05-27T12:05:00.003-05:00

Maia began ballet last fall and continued through the winter. She started out a bit shy and uncertain, but came to love her teacher, Miss Emily, and the other children as well. This last semester just ended and sadly she was in the middle of the "flu" during her final recital and had to miss it. By the end of the second semester she was galloping, leaping and dancing around the house, dressed in the tutu Grandma made, arms raised high, practicing ballet.

May Days in Pictures

2010-05-20T09:43:00.005-05:00

Starting to feel better after four days of something like the flu

Gathered flowers (and some weeds) from the garden

Maia's still life painting of our flower arrangement

Hanging laundry on the line out in the warm sun

Jumping Maia, fully recovered and then some!

Baseball season is in full swing, too bad they got slaughtered by a terrific fast pitcher on the other team

A little work in the basement which will soon be a rec room!

Feverishly Weaving

2010-05-13T08:42:00.010-05:00

My weaving class is nearing the end with our final critique scheduled for next Monday. This warp faced weaving is as thick as a carpet and took lots of finishing to make it art-worthy. Luckily I had lots of extra weaving to play with and a little help from my sweet elf Maia, who for the first time took up a tapestry needle and did a little sewing with me; a happy moment indeed.

I still have one more weaving to beat out before Monday and it looks like I won't be going to class today since Maia came down with a stomach bug. Puke and laundry, ad nauseum, and I haven't really left her side since yesterday at 6 am. Now she is sleeping after retching up her small breakfast. Poor thing. These are the days that make studio classes difficult, doing anything at all, in fact, is difficult. The unpredictability of parenthood, the chaos, the messes, the endless laundry and cleaning, when all I really want to do is get cracking on the 20 plus hours I have left in my last project. Oh well, that's what the open studio hours are for this weekend and then it is Daddy's turn to clean up the puke!

Making Plans for Nigel

2010-05-03T10:07:00.000-05:00

Well, not exactly plans for Nigel, since he has his future in British Steel. But for Mai and Juj, since these two could run a circus around here if left to their own devices. Most photos lately have shown one or both with the crossing of eyes, sticking out of tongues, or just the "talk to the hand" pose.

I am happy to strike a balance between structured and free-range type activities, for I have found that for kids, a little structure goes a long way and lazy days are absolutely necessary for all of us. But of course for my own sanity I need to have some sort of schedule. Schedule, plan, structure; something to punctuate the day.

Mr. Juj will finally be able to use that passport he got on his last birthday in June when he and JB go to South Africa for the World Cup (Bafana, Bafana - South African Soccer Team) in June. Beyond that, we have planned a week of overnight camp, soccer and a Lego robotics class. Then a little camping, a visit to the great Northern woods and maybe a trip to the Boundary Waters, and I think we are in business.

As for Mai Mai, we have found lots of fun things to do over the winter: Music Together, ballet with Danceworks, and many trips to the library and park. This spring we are going with Mikro soccer and later in the summer some rec. classes in art, gymnastics and swim.

So if you are looking for things for your kids this summer in the Milwaukee Area, here are some suggestions:

Discovery World Summer Camps

College for Kids/Teens at the University of WI - Milwaukee

First Stage Theater Academy

Community Recreation programs (available in most communities)

Milwaukee Kickers Soccer Club

Lake Park Little League (also available in most other communities)

Milwaukee Art Museum Learn and Play

Overnight camps

Milwaukee Wave Camps

Volunteer Center of Milwaukee

For the littler ones:

Milwaukee Kickers Mikro Soccer

Danceworks

Naomi's Music Together

Zoological Society of Milwaukee summer camps

Community Recreation programs

For weekly programs refer to the Milwaukee Moms Events Calender

I looked into teen programs in engineering and didn't find much in WI, so if you know of any summer programs for teens in engineering, drop me a note or leave a comment. More activities listed in older posts here and here. Happy planning.

April Showers

2010-05-01T09:31:00.005-05:00

January may be the coldest month, but April was certainly the most fickle. The hot sun warmed my back during high noon and the frost came fast in the late evenings. The rains pummeled down for days making the grass grow high in uneven tufts. Dandelions heads light up the yard and the sweet smells of tree blossoms waft over the fence.

We bundle up in winter clothing for soccer and baseball games, then run in the yard chasing balls and airplanes in shorts and tees during warmer days. Allergies and sinus infections, colds and coughs report from small bodies that the season is in flux.

What remains the same is the routine of daily tasks: loading the dishwasher, washing clothes, filling cups of juice and milk, sweeping up dust, wiping crumbs and noses, baking pans of enchiladas, flipping pancakes, blending smoothies, grinding coffee, boiling water and running baths.

So we make plans for summer, register for classes, camp and swimming lessons, look forward to trips up north and visits from family. We adapt, we wing it, as we move through the changes, reminding ourselves of the best parts of the day as we lay in bed at night, knowing that May will bring more sunshine and sprouts as we transition into what soon will be summer.

One Doe Press

2010-04-25T14:17:00.004-05:00

My sister has a new blog called One Doe Press. She's got a couple chapbooks published and wanted a place to continue her writing and share her poetry with friends. She writes about injustice, mental health issues like homelessness, drug addiction and depression and the down and out in elegant but gritty prose.

Her newest chapbook, Railway Spine, has beautiful and heartbreaking characters tangled up in impossible situations. She may write sparse and quick poems that seem to hit you over your head or carefully layered prose crafted of rich language and emotional intensity.

Either way she can size up a character in a whip stitch and she never forgets the heat and soul of the matter. All of her chapbooks are available on her blog.

Starting seeds

2010-04-21T18:47:00.002-05:00

Starting seeds
Originally uploaded by monpon.

As many people have noticed, the color scheme here in the midwest is changing. It started with the swell of wood violets growing among the green blades of grass, then the sprouting of red and green roots of poppies, peonies and hastas. Now the yellows have called forth in the perfection of the daffodils and the blossoming of the forsythia. We, too, have started planting for our summer garden; peppers, broccoli, lettuce and basil. Since the blight of our tomatoes last summer left the soil depleted, we will only plant a few of those longed for sweets, and in a different part of the garden. I am still sprinkling chopped frozen kale into sauces and mixing up walnuts with the pesto mix of last summer, but we are nearing the end of the supply. So it is fitting that we get out there and start sowing our own colors into the already blooming gardens that surround us.

Cardinal's red cry

2010-03-31T08:46:00.005-05:00

This cold white dream

of snowy beds

layered high

in stark whites

and cool grays

is startled now

by the black crows

cawing

across rib cage clouds

and the cardinals red cry;

Wake up! Wake up!

Weaving 101

2010-03-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

Floor looms in the weaving studio

First attempt at warp face weaving

Dressing the loom, which is an arduous task, starts with winding on the warping board, threading through the heddles, combing the yarn and tying up.

Happily weaving straight drafts (balanced weaving which shows both warp and weft)

Practicing tabby, twills, log cabin, herringbone and double weave

Experimenting with textures (wools, hemp and cotton) and patterns as well as tension and selvages.

Help for Haiti

2010-03-15T08:56:00.006-05:00

The Children's center at the university held a fundraiser for a hospital in Haiti last week in conjunction with the Loop Yarn Shop. Together they raised at least $3,000. The school aged kids organized the sale and knitted many scarves and hats. Friends and families donated other hand knit/crocheted items. I made a couple of washcloths and a baby blanket to donate and came away with a lovely pink scarf for Maia and a set of red booties for her doll. A great deal all the way around!

Soon my mom is heading to Haiti for a medical mission for 10 days and mentioned that she could use some small toys for the children to play with while they waited with their parents to see the doctors. "Simple" she said, so I though of the felted balls I made last winter. Along with a few books, these will travel with her to Haiti.... so they know that many people are thinking about them after they have gone through so much loss and destruction.

You, me and a pot of coffee

2010-01-30T16:13:00.004-06:00

Coffee, Tea or Rust

We met under a weeping willow,

Near the banks of a muddy river.

You didn’t drink coffee,

Said cafés were loud and smoky.

Didn’t drive either,

Until I taught you in my rusty 1970 Super Beetle.

You sent me black tea from Africa in a wooden box

And Batiks of women hauling water in pots and babies on their backs

I was up all night making prints in the darkroom

And imitating Plath in my journals.

You studied biology and anatomy

Said we’re all just cells

You showed me the cadaver from the medical lab

And paced the halls of the hospital in 48 hour shifts.

Medicine, you said is Voodoo

As you cut obituaries out of the paper as if you were 80

Your cousin says “rust never sleeps”

As we eye the underside of our old Honda

Holding our patch and spray paint.

But the living room floor is strewn with toys

I dip colored fabric into hot wax

Carry a baby in a front sling

Drink decaf lattes with a shot of vanilla.

Now the kitchen table is hidden under medical journals

and watercolor paper, Report cards and glitter.

We drink large mugs of coffee every morning

From a French press,

Whole bean and freshly ground.

And I get teas in pretty tins for Christmas,

Herbal and fragrant.

We kiss in front of the stove.

The kettle whistles.

Victory Garden Box

2010-01-28T17:56:00.003-06:00

"Grow what you eat" etching on front, blades of grass etching on top.

Top view of textured shelf, hinges on top and sides.

Needle felted carrots.

Inside view without shelf. More etching and texturing and shelf platforms.

Jump ring root chains

Metals, will I miss you???

Into the New

2010-01-05T15:34:00.002-06:00

spectral
Originally uploaded by monpon.

The snow is packed tight to the sidewalks and lawns, hard and crusty and spotted with patches of grass and paper-thin leaves. Not enough to play in, just enough to look like January. Christmas trees wrapped in blowing plastic lie by the side of the road, bushes are staked and covered in rough burlap, snow creatures melted and frozen bend into odd shapes. Still, the grayness is fended off by bright lights strung from windows and eaves of the houses on our block, huge spheres of light hang from trees fifteen feet tall, bright bows are tied tightly to porch railings and brown trees are wrapped in white lights.

Blocks and dolls, books and games are keeping us busy inside by the the crackle and pop of a fire. Popcorn popped in a kettle on the stove, hot chocolate with marshmallows, a mattress left in the middle of the living room for Maia to jump on. A fog machine, disco ball, flashing lights and loud music kept the little ones dancing late into New Year's eve. Now, new priorities, back to a regular routine and hopefully a bit more snow to play in and January can't be so bad!

Lucky

2009-12-27T14:35:00.002-06:00

Snowman
Originally uploaded by monpon.

Our smiling snowman only lasted a day and then the rains shrank and melted him into puddles that ran down the sidewalks and gutters. There was rain on Christmas day this year, but more snow came a day later, light and puffy and white. Today the robins and cardinals pick happily at winter berries in the tree branches. Little tufts of snow sit on my lawn chairs and table and we crunch and squeak and slide our boots down the walkway. We sat by the fire drinking sparkling juice and coffee while opening our gifts Christmas Eve, missing those that could not be here to celebrate with us. We ate chilies and eggs wrapped up in tortillas for brunch, nibbled on coconut cookies dipped in chocolate. drank more coffee and opened more gifts as Christmas spread itself out over the last three days. But I keep thinking back to before the rains melted the snows; there was the word "lucky" spelled into the snow at the edge of the driveway. No one know who wrote it or why, but to be sure, it is indeed what we are.

Milkweed Project - crocheted creation

2009-11-27T14:25:00.001-06:00

The Milkweed Project, organized by artist Shan Bryan -Hanson, is a collaborative fiber arts project using knitted and crocheted pieces to link people and the natural word together. People from all over the world have created pieces in response to the milkweed seed and pod forms and they will be exhibited in a giant milkweed pod. My piece along with many others is pictured here at the Sticks and Stitches website. There are some amazing knit and crocheted pieces in with a wide variety of shapes, textures and techniques. I personally tried to create a piece that had the elements of softness and lace like the the seeds and the sturdiness and solidity of the pod. I was so happy to have found this project to keep me connected to fibers during this heavy metal period! More rings and metals projects to come...

Autumn Nature Birthday Party

2009-11-16T09:26:00.014-06:00

So what do you do for a November Birthday Party? It's too chilly for an outdoor picnic, but there is still a lot of inspiration in the changing nature of autumn.

Nature collection from our autumn walks ready for kid crafting.

Party hats! Bamboo and recycled paper from Smock.

Goodie Bags with acorn, squirrel, owl and tree stamps with lots of glitter.

Leaf, owl, acorn, pumpkin and butterfly cookies with lots of frosting.

Japanese bound coloring book.

Woodland animal coloring pages from First School

Nature and air dry clay sculpture made by the kiddos. A variation of the Montessori flower arranging activity we did here.

Gathering around the table for autumn-colored chocolate cake.

Blowing out the candles; thanks for holding up the hat Willie!

Smiling faces; Cute as cake!

Autumn woodlands scene. Holztiger toys from Moolka.

Four!

2009-11-11T14:08:00.003-06:00

Happy Fourth Birthday Mai Mai! What a wonderful four years it has been! From infant to toddler to almost school-age, my Maia can now brush her own hair (!) draw beautiful pictures of her family (with hair and long legs and many arms!), sound out three letter words like Mom and Dad and Pop and Dog and says the sweetest things like "Mom, you are just what I always wanted."

She was amazed by the bed Grandpa made and said "I can't believe he made that by himself," and "I want to work on a tree bed when I'm grown up."

She also wanted a little brother or sister and requested three babies by the names of Percy, Emily and Thomas (can you guess the inspiration?). So we found her a lovely little sister named Hazel hand made by the lovely artisans at Bamboletta who was then renamed Stella, like our dog.

Auntie Steph came through as well with a baby sister for Hazel/Stella. And just look at that handmade quilt for the baby (who is also named Stella!)

So happy birthday dear Maia, you big four-year-old you! You are just what we always wanted!!

Birthday Bed - Lofted tree house

2009-11-09T21:07:00.004-06:00

Grandpa Mike, artist, designer and carpenter!

Fully installed lofted tree bed made for Miss Maia

Decorated with butterfly lights and birds

Underneath the loft is a reading nook

Grandma's Butterfly blanket

Side view - opens with a hinge to create more play space

Maia's first reaction - what a surprise!

Peeking through the branches

Happily decorating

Lights at bedtime - a magical treehouse

In her new bed!

Fall Faries

2009-11-02T14:12:00.004-06:00

These little girls have been spending quite a bit of time together lately, playing hide and seek and dress-up, making pictures with paint and glitter and sharing a good book together. Summer is not quite 3, but looks as big as Maia which doesn't work so good in the hand-me-down department. But they can share dress up skirts and Summer is getting pretty good at keeping up with her cousin. They had their first sleepover on Halloween night. Maia punched out first and Summer tucked her in and made sure her ponies were nestled in nearby. I'm certain there will be many happy play dates to come.

Maia's fourth birthday is coming up and with her love of nature walks and animals, we are planning a woodland party in a few weeks. This must be a popular theme because there are a lot of party ideas on the web right now. We are skipping the fairy stuff and going straight for the woodland animals, forest crafts and fall colors. I love the mushroom and woodland gnome cakes and the fall themed cookies. The felted acorns and party pom poms are pretty fun too. I also loved checking in with this site Party Perfect which is full of party inspiration.

The Elm's Gone Golden Leaves

2009-10-26T11:05:00.005-05:00

Wintergreen oil transfer print

The Maple's scarlet foliage

And the Elm's gone-golden leaves

Let loose upon a cooler air

To ride a whimsy wind

They loop-the-loop

A dart, a glide

A pin-wheel turn, then

Angle towards the ground

I shuffle through their quiet gatherings

Chase them into rounded piles

Cupped and curled like hands waving

They are off in a rustle of laughter

I know these tricks

But still I stare

At gaunt limbs

And barren branches

So soon their clatter softens

And dampness presses secrets deep

Into earth-brown beds for quiet sleep

Under Early snow.

Copper Book Bracelet & Silver Rings

2009-10-25T11:25:00.005-05:00

My first metals project was inspired by a poem I wrote last Spring and by the book form. The text was etched using blue press and peel and bathed in ferric acid. The arm bands were roller pressed so a slight imprint of string is visible, then soldered onto the base text piece. The texture was made with a chasing hammer and everything is held together with a chicago bolt. Liver of sulfur is the next step, along with lots more sanding and filing and fashioning of some sort of closure pin to keep the pages from sliding open.

Two rings complete, one cut and soldered the other pierced. Many more to go!

Metals Gallery

2009-10-10T17:18:00.013-05:00

Susan May - Tall Ring

Peg Fetter Ring

Kayo Saito "Swaying Ring"

Meghan O'Rourke Jali Rings

Joanne Haywood - Blue Bells

Sharon Massey Preciousness Necklace

Meghan O'Rourke fold out bangles

Miriam Verbeek Necklace

We started our intro class with a few rings, using basic skills in sawing, annealing, piercing, drilling, riveting and filing.We have learned how to solder, how to clean the metal in warm pickle pot, how to anneal copper until it glows, how to texture with hammers, imprint with a rolling mill and how to etch using asphaltum and PNP blue. We've used flux and scribes, mallets and ring mandrels, doming blocks and punches, flexshaft motors and firebricks as we began our first project; a tool/jewelry object. It is due next week and I've got plenty of work yet to do. But I needed a little inspiration and found lots in the images above. I love the variety of materials used (crochet and fibers!), the designs, textures and colors.

Inspiring Books:

Stitched Jewels - Jewelry that's sewn, stuffed, gathered & Frayed by Marthe Le Van

Wrap, Stitch, Fold & Rivet by Mary Hettmansperger

Images from Velvet da Vinci and artist's websites.

Late September Camping

2009-10-02T10:30:00.002-05:00

Fishing off the dock on Lake Kegonsa near Madison: It was cool and overcast, but the sun poked through enough to keep us warm. This campground has two playground areas, a boardwalk through marshland and lots of hiking trails.
Ko was the keeper of the fire, making sure my kettle was hot for "tea" and dishwater.
Julian kept the fire burning, the logs stacked and the poker hot.
A cool day for the beach, but rock hopping and toe dipping was fun; lots of holes, canals and castles were dug in the sand. We avoided the rain, ate lots of good food and stayed warm around the campfire while the fall foliage began to dry, change color and blow down around us. Acorns crunched beneath our shoes as we spotted rotting black walnuts and wild turkeys in the forest around our campsite. We woke to the loud honking of Canadian geese flying towards warmer places and held our cups of campfire coffee close.

Useful things: the comfort of crochet

2009-09-25T11:05:00.002-05:00

crocheted dishtowels
Originally uploaded by monpon.

I pulled out my collection of knitting and crocheting needles this week and was comforted by the process of making a few projects I found in Crochet Today - dish towels, a acorn and a halloween bunny hat. The yarn was soft cotton and the needle moved freely through loops and v's, warming my hands and relaxing my mind. A much different experience from the poof and hiss of the gas/oxygen flowing from the torch in the metals lab, the grating rub of the jeweler's saw and the piercing bangs of hammer on metal. The cooler fall weather is coming and what better way to keep warm than cotton and wool and bamboo yarns pulled and looped and wrapped together to make useful things?

Yellowing leaves and ripe tomatoes

2009-09-19T17:30:00.015-05:00

The weather is cool and sunny, a bit dry, but the garden lives on. Kale, chard and green peppers stand strong, while the tangle of cherry tomatoes has dried out and drooped. A mass of fruit has hit the soil (readying for next year's volunteers?) and another mass of ripe red cherry tomatoes is drying on the kitchen counter. Mums the word, and dahlia's too. Maia has collected dry leaves and acorns, sticks and pine cones on her weekly nature walk with Papa and placed them just so on her nature table.

Crafting has taken off since the block party where we beaded, made masks and other recycled crafts from egg cartons. Silver has been ordered and sawed, pierced and soldered and my first piece of metals created.

New Moo cards have arrived which are pretty darn fun and a trip to the outdoor market produced some vintage materials and trim. A dress is being sewn, a washcloth crocheted and lots of tomato based foods are being prepared. The fall sun slants brightly, soccer games have commenced. The autumn season is in the air with tulip bulbs to plant, bags of red apples brought home from the orchard and banana bread baking in the oven.

More pictures here.

Back to something resembling routine

2009-09-11T09:19:00.008-05:00

Back to routine, or so we are trying. Alarms ring at various times in the morning from three different clocks. For the boys, each morning is the same; school and work, M-F, same time. And for the girls there is much more variability. 8 a.m. class two days a week, with appointments, coffee dates, beach visits, play time and lab hours varying from day to day. With the abrupt end of napping, we are reorganizing our afternoons to include some "quiet" play, an earlier start on dinner and getting that bedtime routine started earlier without forgetting the teeth brushing, hair washing and bath time. For a couple of parents who like to go with the flow, (correction - go with their own flow) this is our hardest time - the beginning of a new school year. There is quite a bit of unpredictability built into JB's work schedule, so we are also trying to figure out how to maintain structure and routine despite this and without mom burnout - high standards start somewhere...

Read Alouds for all ages

2009-08-31T11:22:00.011-05:00

Not that reading favors any season, but since we are wrapping up a summer of picture books and trilogies and heading into a cooler season when reading becomes even more necessary, here are a few of our current favorites. John is reading The Last Olympian to Julian and Shadowland is next up in cue. Maia loves all of the picture books listed below and has had us read them all over and over again. Special props to us for complying, since I usually get board with the same old, same old, which is according to Mem Fox, defies one of the secrets to getting your kid to be a reading wiz by age 18 mos. But these picture books have enough detail, humor, silliness, sweetness, surprise, and of course lovely artwork that I can't say no to her little request of "again!"

by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)

The Subtle Knife, Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition (His Dark Materials, Book 2)

The Amber Spyglass

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Conch Bearer (Brotherhood of the Conch)

The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming: Book II of the Brotherhood of the Conch

Shadowland: Book III of the Brotherhood of the Conch

by Rick Riordan

Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2)

The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4)

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)

by Blue Balliett

by Louise Erdrich

Big bug surprise by Julia Gran

The black book of colors [braille] / by Menena Cottin and Rosana Faría

Squirrel at night / by Mélanie Watt

Doodler doodling / words by Rita Golden Gelman ; pictures by Paul O.Zelinsky

Monkey with a tool belt / Chris Monroe

10 things I can do to help my world : fun and easy eco-tips / Melanie Walsh

Dear fish / written and illustrated by Chris Gall

I don't like Gloria! / Kaye Umansky ; illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain

The hound from the pound / Jessica Swaim ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Bad kitty gets a bath / Nick Bruel

The robot and the bluebird / David Lucas

The red book / by Barbara Lehman

George and Martha : the complete stories of two best friends / by James Marshall

The spider and the fly / [based on the poem by Mary Howitt ; with illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi]

Basil/tomato ratio = no bruschetta yet

2009-08-29T11:17:00.002-05:00

100_0295
Originally uploaded by monpon.

So instead I made pesto. Walnuts, olive oil, lots of garlic and salt and pepper blended up and stashed in the freezer. The next batch will just be basil and olive oil frozen for a cold wintry day. Oh, wait, that could be soon because today is down-right autumnal.

Mai in Motion

2009-08-20T09:31:00.007-05:00

In constant motion, despite no naps, this girl just keeps moving, dancing, running, chatting, playing and stopping occasionally for a quick snuggle or hug. Sweet as pie, growing long and lean, loving her pink milk and walks around the block. She looks forward to her weekly trips to the zoo with grandma and grandpa, still detests having her hair brushed (the birds in the nest are going to get mad if you brush it!) and tries to stay as close to undressed as possible. She loves her inherited and much added to collection of stuffed animals. She puts them to sleep in a laundry basket, lines them up on her pillow at night, moves them here and there, talking quietly to them. Dogs and kitties, bears and spider monkeys, penguins and bats. They float in boats, ride in buses, slide down stairs and huddle on beanbag chairs. And she picks one out for me to snuggle with at night when she finally relents and settles in for a few books, a couple of sips of water and finally, a long, sweet slumber.

A Scrap of Honesty

2009-08-15T21:37:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Christi at Writing Under Pressure for thinking of me and passing along an award that allows me to tell you even more things about myself than you already know.

It shouldn't be too hard, right? I did the facebook 25, I blog about family life and the kids and the arts and crafts we do, but honesty? I try to stay a little to the left of honesty. I try to write around things, to capture them in a circle of details and impressions as if I were outside looking in. And now I should write a few scraps of honest truths? Dare I? Won't they all sound as If I am still hiding something, after all I am! Smoke and mirrors baby, smoke and mirrors and more smoke...

1. Although I value creative play, my three year-old is a TV head, and the truth is that I am sooo grateful for the 45 minute blocks or so that she will sit on the couch and yuck it up in front of Peep and the Big Wide World, Charlie and Lola, Hello Kitty or Ruby and Max for the umpteenth time.

2. I guess I should admit that we encourage this by buying movies for her: Bolt, Bee Movie, Wall-E, not to mention most of the Miyazaki films though the only ones appropriate for her are Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro. And her grandpa further encourages her love of cinema by bringing over classic Disney every Sunday night like 101 Dalmatians, Fox and the Hound, Lady and the Tramp, Bambi and the like.

3. And what do I do while she is watching her shows? Laundry? Loading the dishwasher? Checking up on the older brother? Nah! Reading trashy mags like US weekly or those ad-filled parenting mags that just show up in my mailbox and warn me of the dangers of too much tv...

4. Since my slacker mom ways are shining through... when all the tv in the world has been watched, I still have the i touch with a few toddler "games" on it to keep her occupied for a few extra minutes until she starts back in with the juice requests, the "I have to go potty" declarations and the constant assaults on my personal space.

5. I made these Chocolate Chip Cookies adapted by Molly of Orangette three times in the last week - sinful and yummy and really the batter was better than anything I've ever tasted, though I prefer milk chocolate chips to the semi or bitter sweets. It also took three tries to actually wait the full 36 hours of refrigeration before baking them.

6. I love naps, but my sweet little kitty thinks that it is time to give them up and I am stuck in the denial/anger stage of grief over the loss of our nap time.

7. Sadly, I haven't done any "art" for most of the summer except for a few ink drawings with Maia that look like a fifth grader could have made.

8. And my brain is turning a slightly green color, growing fuzz around my right temporal lobe.

9. I appreciate kid-humor: for example, today as we were filling up old, expired surgical gloves with water, the 11 year-old said as one of the fingers in the glove expanded eighteen times its original size "look, my balloon has antidermitus," which then turned into a slew of jokes about that auntie Dermitus having elephantiasis of the handermitus. Luckily no one mentioned anything about "sausage digits."

10. And finally, silliness aside, I do feel as if I am too often on the outside looking in, obsessively weighing, evaluating, and assessing over the minutest details of my life, my home, my work, my family and just for a bit, I do wish it would all just blur up a bit more once in a while.

Consider yourself bitten. YOU on my blogroll (Brian, Jocelyn, Denise, Wendy?) or YOU who are not on my blogroll and could use an excuse for a post, carry on the scraping, after all it's not like you have to reveal all your secrets...

Show Your Codpiece and Turn it Up!

2009-08-13T21:26:00.003-05:00

Now playing at KSJD in Colorado on a show called Native Voltage hosted by DJ Maurice is my bro-in-law, Sean's band Codpiece The show features "Music from native nation, native bands, solo native music, native local bands and mixed with voltage music (Pow-wow, Round Dance, Rock, Metal, Punk, Funk, R&B, Oldies and Reggae) a different kind of a radio program mix that well put a voltage in your soul on the road or at home. TURN IT UP!!!!"

Hang out from 8-10 to listen to a telephone interview with the man behind the bass and vocals of Milwaukee's own Codpiece. You can also listen to a few tracks at Show Your Codpiece on My Space.

Thirteen - It's Official

2009-08-12T10:37:00.003-05:00

Originally uploaded by monpon.

It's official: Julian is a teenager. Papa John bravely took Juj and three friends to Wisconsin Dells for the day on Saturday to enjoy the unnatural attractions of roller coasters and water slides. The boys slept in the on the living room floor and couches and woke up groggy but ready for an epic burrito birthday party affair. Though the party went on and on for hours and hours, I took few photos; I was far too busy looking for my lost glass of wine, readying the burrito bar and socializing with all the friends and family that stopped by that day.

What flashed through my mind as I lay in bed that night were a handful of absurd and laughter-filled scenes that although they were not photographed they remain vivid in my mind:

1. Julian and Pat blowing out their candles with small balloon pumps and big smiles on their faces.

2. Joe-Joe passing out poppers before singing Happy Birthday and the loud confusion of singing, popping and confetti landing on the candles and in Amu's hair.

3. Stella-dog barking and chasing rocket balloons the kids launched in the house immediately after the popper incident.

4. Summer sitting in a puddle of bubbles that I just opened despite Courtney's warning that "bubbles are for outside."

5. Vida Mae and her Shirley Temple curls.

6. Maia and Gracie sitting on the couch playing constructively with "potty putty" and the turtle shaped putty I found in the toy camper van the next morning. Along with lots of other toys and games that were pulled from somewhere deep within Maia's closet.

7. Stella snatching someones burrito off a plate and the walk that I took her on shortly after thinking that something might explode from either her front or back end in which she pulled me down the block ribbons streaming from her collar from balloon kids had tied onto her, not stopping to sniff or mark, just yanking on her leash, anxious to get back to her party. Though she did graze on some of the 16 varieties of grass we have growing on the front lawn.

8. Kobe and Maia sending up the rest of the helium balloons with pictures, notes and names written on them long after the party ended.

9. The laptop cake Amu and Papa made for Julian with his photo on the "screen."

10. Julian opening the package sent by the US government containing his official passport; Welcome to the world kid, this time it is for real!

The few photos I took can be viewed here.

Cilantro to Coriander

2009-08-04T09:25:00.002-05:00

100_9854
Originally uploaded by monpon.

Since the cilantro turns to seed so quickly around these parts, I decided to harvest the seeds and try to dry them and use them over the winter for seasonings in soups, salads and meats. I picked as many seeds as I could before they flowered and my hands smelled of cilantro for the next few hours; such a strong sent! I have used coriander in warm beans and greens salad, lentil soup and mixed in hamburgers, i.e. lamburgers or shiskabobs. Still, I wish the cilantro would hang around a bit longer, at least until the tomatoes and hot peppers ripen for our favorite salsa.

dreamworld

2009-07-25T15:06:00.004-05:00

I dream there is a carnival in my backyard with pony rides. I try to send them away but they say they are shareholders and have come to pick apples in the orchard. They ask where the restroom is and where the snack bar might be, and sure enough it is right down the corridor. I shake my head in confusion. They tour my home like it is a museum, admiring the grand staircase and the marble bathrooms. But there is the lake view they haven’t found out about yet, far back beyond a circle of concrete. My mom agrees, it is too much for the dogs and tries to cordon off the back yard. Still they come.

My dreams. No spiders spinning webs, just fragments in which I know no logic is required. I hide under blankets from soldiers with many other bodies crammed in together like pieces of a puzzle. We lie still when we hear them rummaging, then when quiet comes, we rearrange ourselves to fit still more bodies in. Then there is a train ride and driving and sewing, though the seams are coming apart. I am sewing jeans, endless pairs of jeans; stitches wiz by like lane markers. I know I can wake up and that this is all wrong, but I don’t, I am too tired even to protest. So I go along with the rapidly changing scenarios, cycle through emotions and wonder what lies in wait in the next crevice of my sleeping brain.

July Garden

2009-07-21T11:16:00.005-05:00

In Place

2009-07-18T12:41:00.004-05:00

The laundry sways in the breeze. A dragonfly settles on an orange and pink stripe of a limply hanging shirt. High and low notes swirl upwards pausing for deep strokes then rising in quick motions. Violin, then oboe from the house across the street. Kids buzz by on bikes with baseball hats and bats sticking out of backpacks, folks rattle grocery carts over sidewalks, the jingle of dog tags stop and then start. I am still. I am in place as the wind builds up a rustle of leaves in the oaks and elms.

Muddy footprints flop across the deck, brightly colored toys are scattered across the lawn; a yellow toy boat, a rusted green car, broken balloons in pink and orange. The earth, covered in brown cocoa shells is moist now and the sun shines for just a moment. Weeping mulberry bushes hang their heart-shaped leaves low. My words are limited, hard to come by. I sit.

Thick green vines grow upward and outwards, some with spikes and spines, some smooth and fuzzy, some fragrant with the scent of fresh garden salsa. Blossoms are brown and dry or small and yellow waiting for pollination. Still others open in full white, orange and purple blooms. An endless variety of color.

Children's faces are stained purple by berries; they run through the grass after balls and dogs then sit quietly building statues with rocks and sand. The green hose wraps around a lawn chair dripping slowly through a purple nozzle. Muddy gloves dry in the sun. This is my summer now that all is quiet, the endless chatter and motion settling back into the gentle swaying of laundry on the line.

Colors of Summer

2009-07-15T15:35:00.002-05:00

Snow falling, heat rising and leaves scattering

2009-06-04T20:25:00.003-05:00

stitching
Originally uploaded by monpon.

After the snow stops falling
And the April rains have come and gone
Moss grows soft in dry brown forests

After the heat has settled
And the humidity weighs down
Dry fields crackle and bake

When leaves brighten
And the Harvest moon shimmers
Fat apples drop soundlessly

When the earth stiffens
And dry leaves scuttle off
Bare branches startle

Then I may remember
In bits and pieces
The things that came before:
The snow falling, the heat rising and the leaves scattering.

(text by me for handmade concertina book: coffee and ink dyed paper, text printed on cotton, stitched and hard-bound)

Good Eats Reading

2009-05-31T12:28:00.001-05:00

I happened upon two food-related books in the last week "The Dinner Diaries" by Betsy Block and "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette. They are very different in their focus, but both got me thinking about food and eating.

Block writes about overhauling her family's diet to be more sustainable and healthy and Wizenberg writes about her love of cooking and how food is steeped in memories and stories. The two books compliment each other, while as Block tires to cook with millet and eats an 18th century meal of pease porridge, Wizenberg goes through pounds of butter and cups of heavy buttermilk to get a cake batter just right. While Wizenberg's book has more passion for the pure enjoyment of eating, Block's book offers some good guidelines for eating locally (CSA's), sustainably (less meat and dairy), organic and in-season foods (whenever reasonably possible), fair-trade (especially coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar), choosing seafood that is not over-fished or full of heavy metals, and replacing refined white flour with whole grains (think spelt, quinoa, flaxseed, bulgar, millet, wild rice and barley).

Block's book is heavy with debate and conflict (Husband doesn't eat tomatoes! Raw fish eggs are not safe for children to eat! Son swaps healthy food for junk at school!) and she tends to flit from topic to topic and uses a road map that only she is aware of. Her kids are fussy eaters, and that I can relate to, so she is often frustrated when it comes to family mealtimes. Despite her sometimes over zealous approach to improving her family's health, she searches out good/safe/healthy alternatives that anyone can incorporate into their lifestyles one step at a time.

The Orangette blog writer offers her recipes in the spirit of simply sharing darn good food. She adores french food and writes endlessly about cake (!). Her recipes are intertwined with stories of growing up in Oklahoma, travels to Paris and living in Seattle. She rounds it out with soups, breads and salads along with stories about her family, friends and childhood. Her recipes include Fresh Ginger Cake with Caramelized Pears, Shaved Fennel Salad with Mushrooms and Parmesan, Butternut Squash Soup with Pear, Cider, and Vanilla Bean, and lots more. I enjoyed her argument of the merits of "white" chocolate, which sadly fell out of fashion after the 80's and the story of how she ordered a macaroon cake for her birthday one year that was as big as her head. The second half of the book was a bit "fluffy" and I don't mean the cake batter, though the recipes are just as good. But hey, I am not complaining - I just settled down with a whole grain, honey-sweetened, peanut butter cookie and some fair trade Mexico Kulaktic coffee slow brewed in a french press. Yum!

Eldest son

2009-05-26T21:40:00.002-05:00

juj and mom
Originally uploaded by monpon.

It is a rainy, overcast morning and I had planned on getting out in the garden and planting a few seeds, seedlings and flowers and digging out a couple of old stumps from a pair of dying bushes. But, seeing as it grey and chilly and I am feeling a bit moody (could they possibly be related?), I'll wait till sunnier days. I have been thinking a lot about change lately: kids getting older and needing me less in familiar ways, marriage and the many stages it goes through, especially with young children, and as the semester ends and I reach my half-way point for a BFA, I wonder what lies beyond that.

As for my eldest, he is about to be a teenager in a few short months. And although he has always been strong willed and not afraid to question authority, he is moving into a place where he will be making more and more of his own decisions. It is tricky to find that balance between his decisions and our limits, his opinions and our values, his need to explore and experiment and our insistence on his safety.

Take the issue of technology for example; it is not uncommon for some middle school aged kids these days to have cell phones, video gaming systems, computers with Internet access, i pods, cable TV, email and texting. I feel like half the battle these days is limiting electronics, which is tough with a kid who at an early age played with snap circuits, who asked for batteries and wires for his birthdays and has interests in solar power and electricity. He has to-date taken apart two computers, modified his pc with more memory and ram than he will ever need, added a second disk drive and 11 speakers, downloaded free software onto his Nintendo DS so that he now has a browser and an operating system and can tap into free wi-fi in the neighborhood. There is no stopping this kid and like myself and my sisters and brother he has a bit of the obsessive in him.

I am proud that he has found something he is truly interested in and is self-motivated to learn more about, and for now we've settled on limited computer/electronic time and making sure he rounds out his days with sports, school work, reading, socializing and outdoor time.

But we can tell where his heart really is.

I do wish perhaps that the world wasn't so technologically driven and that this generation of kids wasn't growing up with an endless stream of digital information. This is when I wish for simpler times, a few acres of land with space for tree climbing and fort building, a creek to wade and fish in, a thicket to run through, to play and hide in. And he knows the value of this, I have to trust that. But he is venturing out on his own, full of opinions and ideas that are his not mine. Hold on tightly, I think, and let go slowly.

sandy beach finds

2009-05-23T11:41:00.002-05:00

sandy beach finds
Originally uploaded by monpon.

We had a lot of great finds at the beaches in Oregon and Washington - sand dollars - or their off-white skeletons, crab shells and bivalve clams with hinges intact. We brought them home carefully and Mai shared the crab shell with her fellow 3 and 4 year olds at school who looked at it through magnifying glasses. The clam shells turned out to be good music makers too, when Mai put in a few small stones and shook it like a shaker. Our Music Together class must have inspired her! The oceans, tide pools and estuaries have much different offerings than what we are used to in the great lakes region. Aside from the invasive Zebra Mussels and the occasional dead alewives, the beaches turn up smooth, rounded lake stones make from limestone, basalt, granite and slate with mineral bands of quartz, calcite and agate. I have many happy childhood memories of discovering what might be an agate or holding a perfectly round wave- rolled Lake Superior concretion in my hand.

End of the tunnel

2009-05-18T13:31:00.006-05:00

The semester is finished and I can say a happy goodbye to the tunnel and flag books, bad critiques and late night bookbinding. And Hello to little white strawberry blossoms, planting a salsa garden, starting my summer reading and recreation program. That is after I catch up on my sleep that was interrupted multiple times between the hours of 10:30 and 2:30 p.m. by calls for drinks of water, distress about said water being too warm and yucky and complaints about ear pain. All this while I was in the middle of a nice dream about walking through an underground city in search of my sister's college boyfriend, who I finally found after much google map searching. We were sitting in his apartment with his blond son discussing who inherited some old furniture from the old apartment when I kept getting interrupted by moans, fusses and whines. Nothing a nice little nap with Mai Mai can cure, though I doubt the dream reunions will be worthy of a sequel.

I did think I may have to hang up my blogger password for a while there since there wasn't much in the way of actual blogging going on in the past couple of months. But for now I'll continue to post erratically and with as must gusto as I can muster!

When the living is easy

2009-05-16T19:13:00.002-05:00

swing
Originally uploaded by monpon.

Ahh, laundry hanging on the line near a blooming lilac tree. A bright red cardinal searching for worms in the thick green grass. Fresh cut tulips on the kitchen counter from an errant row of bulbs growing on the front lawn. Cilantro, chives and mint in the garden. Finally, we can wake to sunshine and warm air and spend more than a few hurried minutes out in the yard. We are brightening up the living room with a fresh coat of paint, sitting on the sidelines cheering for Juj's soccer team and making plans for summertime.

I won't soon get the sight and scent of the cherry blossoms out of my head.

2009-05-11T13:01:00.003-05:00

We all recovered well from our travels and are back home after a lovely family trip. We drove along the coast from Seattle to Portland, stopping at Seaside for an afternoon splash at the beach and then drove to the Northwest Portland Hostel where we stayed two nights. It was truly beautiful in Portland, warm, sunny, green and blooming. Yes, we will have that too, soon! The kids got to run and romp and and roll in the parks and yards and we slowed down then tempo of our sightseeing. We did visit the rose gardens, drink some yummy Rogue beer and walk around near the hostel (Paper Source shop!). Most importantly, though, we got to hang out with cousin Ollie and her lovely parents!

Flying to Seattle or Don't Trust Expedia to Actually Book Your Seats Even Though You Pay For Them

2009-04-29T16:04:00.009-05:00

Twelve hours after we were supposed to be at our destination, we are finally on a flight to Seattle. Maia’s got a window seat and is watching Rainy Days with Little Bear, an appropriate theme for one whose first airplane trip is to visit a notoriously drizzly one.

Despite our careful planning, we immediately encountered a major fiasco at the check in desk: there were no seats in our name despite our itinerary. John stood at the Midwest ticket counter, his body slowly slouching and slumping and finally collapsing over a two hour span while the clerk tried unsuccessfully to locate our seats, unravel the mystery of the discrepancy and find some way for us to get to the pacific northwest in time for John's conference. We had booked two months ago through Expedia: four seats to Seattle via Minneapolis, round trip. But although the tickets were confirmed on our itinerary, they were never actually booked by Expedia. Expedia wanted to rebook for the next day at noon and throw our itinerary into the shredder but John and the persistent Midwest clerk weren't having any of it since we had a conference, a car and a hotel scheduled, booked and waiting. Thanks to Midwest, who refused to let Expedia off the hook, we finally got a flight to Minneapolis three and a half hours later. We ran through security and dashed to the terminal, our names being paged over the loudspeaker, only to spend one and a half hours on the tarmac while storms blew in and out and traffic control repeatedly changed directions for the plane's take off route. When we reached Minneapolis, we had missed the connecting flight and needed to find a place to stay close by in order to get up and out by 5am to catch an early flight.

We arrived at Sea-Tac airport tired but happy, our adventure only just beginning. There would be more mix ups, frustrations, fatigue induced crankiness and general disorientation, but our first attempt at air travel with two kids will most certainly be memorable. The views from Moran State Park on Orcas island and while crossing the Puget Sound to the San Juan islands by ferry made up for all for our initial stumbles and hassles.

Luck of the Spring

2009-04-25T14:28:00.006-05:00

April is the rainy season and today like many other days this week, is wet and grey. The grass is greening up, pale yellow-green buds are sprouting from bushes and flies and ants have been spotted. Spring bulbs have grown thick leaves and flowered into yellow daffodils with tulips not far behind. Blue violets cover lawns, dandelions lift their fuzzy heads with strong necks and the crocus delicately pushes aside the dirt to make room for her short stem and wide flower.

It has finally warmed up fairly consistently, but I fear once I change my banner picture the temps will drop down into the nasty again. But we have enjoyed walks to and from class, to the library and playground and of course to the bakery for bread, cookies and coffee.

Maia has been watercoloring up a storm! We have been reading lots of library books (Owl at home by Arnold Lobel, There are cats in this book by Viviane Schwarz, You can't take a balloon into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, Iggy Peck, architect by Andrea Beaty, I love my new toy! by Mo Willems and Skunkdog by Emily Jenkins) listening to Putumayo Dreamland cd's (Celtic and Asian), playing eboo Life on Earth matching game - this one looks even better with images by Charlie Harper, attempting to participate in Turn off TV week (does that include computers, laptops, phones, DS's and video games?) and thankfully, getting back into the spring baseball and soccer seasons.

I made a flag, flexagon and tunnel book this week and read "Seven Days in The Art World" by Sarah Thonton and felt much better about our critiques. Her chapter "The Crit" was as disturbing as it was absurd - 12 plus hour crits for three artworks at CalArts where the instructor says little to nothing and students sleep, eat and occasionally attack the artist for his/her work. Fun times I'm sure. How lucky I really am!

Lost and Found

2009-04-13T11:28:00.009-05:00

I was waiting for this portion of the class, the box making section, and as labor-intensive as it was, I am happy to have completed two boxes made of book board and covered in book cloth and decorative paper. One even has compartments!

The first one we made, the smaller one, came with all the book board pre-cut from a company called Paper Source, which also had clear instructions on sizes of the cloth and paper. For the second one, we were on our own in terms of dimensions, paper and cloth sizes and divider lenghts. The planning, measuring and cutting took longer than the actual gluing together.

As for the class overall, I am a bit disappointed that the instructor has had a hard time stimulating discussion during critique time. For the first project she basically did all the critiquing herself, and for the second project, she had the artist speak about their work and then assigned one classmate to make comments. Despite the coffee and cookies she brought in, discussion was painfully sparse. This last time she assigned a classmate to comment on another work first and then let artist explain his/her ideas, which makes more sense in order to get an unbiased impression about an artwork. Mostly though, the discussion returns to her opinions and ideas and what associations she makes with the materials or images. No wonder no one speaks.

Frankly it is disappointing when an instructor, who may know how to make things really well, doesn't know how to guide a discussion, provide background or helpful

information that may be lacking or help students to think critically, not just do all the critical commentary herself.

My project ended up being a lost or found box that contained a collection of everyday objects that were compartmentalized and paired with an image that gave the object a new context, meaning and history.

And spring is such a good time for finding these little treasures that have been buried beneath the snow and leaves.

Too many people, too much

2009-04-01T19:13:00.005-05:00

John and I got to get away last weekend, the first in many years. John had a Conference in NYC on Friday(along with a million dentists and Irish dancers with big curly wigs) and we celebrated a friend's wedding in Brooklyn on Saturday.

It worked out pretty well that I got to bum around Manhattan on Friday. I walked till my legs fell off - was a little scared of the subway, all the hurried, pushy people, the alphabet soup of rainbow trains, the blaring alarms, long lines and the too much swearing at the ticket machines. So I walked up to MoMA and saw a lovely bookarts/paper/print exhibit called Paper: Pressed, Stained, Slashed, Folded with works by Claes Oldenberg, Anna Maria Maiolino, Eva Hesse, Robert Smith and Joseph Beuys. Also, on exhibit was The Printed Picture which documents the history of printmaking from etchings to photographs to digital prints. Then there is the Kippenberger exhibit and installation, not to mention the permanent collection containting many Picassos, Monets, Miros, Van Goghs, Cezanes, Seurats, Kandinskis, and so on. This is where my brain turns to mush and I require much drinking of coffee on a nice concrete bench in Central Park where there are actually daffodils on the verge of blooming.

Although I didn't make it to Talas, which had just moved to Brooklyn last month, I did make my sewers' pilgrimage to Purl Patchwork for some Japanese cotton print (Kokka) and a party dress pattern (Oliver+S)... oooh the Liberty of London! We quickly toured the Center for Book Arts on West 27th street and saw a display of book sculptures by Jacqueline Rush Lee and many handmade letterpress books.

We also got to play with the dolls and toys FAO Schwartz, ate at Sam's Falafal, saw a late night swarm of bikes for a Critical Mass ride and visited the New York Transit Museum for tees and subway trains for the kids. We did finally ride the subway on a goofy, hiccuping trip back to the hotel after too many Coney Island Lagers.

"Spring" Break

2009-03-20T10:33:00.004-05:00

It's the last day of my Spring Break and I am finally coming out of a seasonal fog. My poor brain was stuffed full of sinus pressure and it took me until this week to refill my nasal spray and now my head is starting to deflate. The week went from sunny and warm 70's to grey and cold 30's - no wonder my brain is in shock. Nevertheless, I did get some good spring cleaning done, except for the room I am now in, which is strewn with bills, reading assignments, notices from school, lists, appointment reminders, magazine clippings and piles of drawings and scribbles. As usual I was far too hopeful as to what I might get done this week and am terribly sad that the assignments and projects start up again next week. But with later hours of sunlight and (slightly) warmer weather, things can only be looking brighter...

We had spent a lot of time making mock up books with different bindings including Japanese Stab Binding, Coptic Stitch, pamphlet stitch and hard cover binding using lots of lovely papers and book cloth. The real work came when we had to fill those 20 or so pages with visual narrative content.

Ink, paint, crayons and lots o' water

2009-02-25T12:24:00.004-06:00

Maia's got the scribbles. She marks up the white walls of the bathtub, she brushes ink on parchment, smacks her hands full of white paint on black paper. She draws fats circles and delicate lines, large swirls and sweeping arcs with fat brushstrokes. She concentrates, carefully watching her brush move through thick paint. She fills the page almost entirely and sometimes she is satisfied with large swaths of negative space. And when she is done, she is done. She moves on to the next project and never looks back.

Running from the brush

2009-02-23T11:39:00.006-06:00

As a rule Maia does not like getting her hair brushed. Also as a rule Maia loves running around the dining room table with loud music and the dog yipping at her heels. For the bi-weekly hair brushing (yup), I usually have to hold her down with my leg around her waist as a "seat belt," spray her hair until it is dripping wet with detangler and gently brush it with the "nice brush." So when she turned the running around the table game into chasing me with a hairbrush game, I couldn't resist the role reversing chase. When she caught me, I had to relent, frightened as I was. The final "do" was not fit for publication and even though I could not see through the wisps of hair over my eyes, my hairdresser took pride in her work and did brush, most importantly, "very gent tel ley."

Reading Habits Part II

2009-02-18T20:00:00.005-06:00

On a shelf above my sister's bunk bed were rows of Nancy Drew (yellow cover) and Hardy Boys (blue cover) books, which she would read one after the other, her head obscured by pictures of mysterious mansions, odd-looking characters in awkward positions. She read as if she could make the world disappear with the opening of a book and the occasional turning of the page. She took an interest in detective work and fancied herself a private investigator and had her own book of notations of the strange and unusual happenings that took place in and around the house.
But, she was credited with teaching me to read - in between the stacks at a library book sale.

When the letters finally merged into words and the words became meaning, I was transformed. The code was cracked. The black and white shapes now jumped from the page in simple, repetitive words: "Run Sally, Run!"

Part II of Reading Habits (my early memories of books and reading)

Reading Habits

2009-02-16T17:25:00.004-06:00

I grew up surrounded by books. Book-shelves doubled as wall dividers separating makeshift bedrooms from the living and dining areas. The shelves reached high to the ceiling and displayed books of every color, heft, height and subject. Books lay in piles alongside beds, in stacks on the dining room table and were strewn across the hardwood floors. In our attic we housed a library - our collection of books bought at yard sales, thrift stores and church basements. We had over sized books with black and white photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, small paperback boxed sets by C. S. Lewis, Burial Grounds of Woodland Indians, the Beatles Songbook and Modern Toys. We had picture books, young adult novels, comic books, stories of Ernest Hemingway and poetry by Carl Sandburg. We were instructed to have clean hands, never to write in books or fold down the corners. Books were our friends we were reminded, only half in jest. We were read to and we read, with varying degrees of interest.

Excerpt from "Reading Habits" a zine project about early reading/book memories for my bookarts class.

I'm a little airplane

2009-02-07T11:32:00.007-06:00

We took a spontaneous trip to Oshkosh last weekend to check out Julian's science Olympiad competition. Julian identified anoles, bull frogs and horned lizards, while other kids tested their knowledge in herpetology, anatomy, cell biology and meteorology. We popped in just in time to see the trajectory and Wright Stuff: a great catapult event and a not so successful airplane liftoff. Julian stayed over in the UW dorms the night before and came home on a bus later that evening.

Meantime, we took Mai to the EAA Air Venture museum to check out their collection of aircraft including sea hawks, monoplanes, a gyrocoptor and a gyro plane, a hang glider, a Wright Flyer replica, biplanes, triplanes and volksplanes and many others in their "assortment of over 20,000 historic aviation objects." We had the most fun in the Kid Venture Gallery exploring an airplane cockpit, doing flight simulators, blasting off rockets, playing with robotic arms and wind machines.

Julian would have loved it, so we'll have to go back when they have their annual Fly-In at the end of July.

25 Things

2009-02-03T16:33:00.008-06:00

1. I am addicted to blogs, coffee, naps and books
2. I am brain-dead by Friday evening
3. I "heart" thrift shopping
4. My secret guilty pleasures are watching bad reality tv shows and reading the tabloids (for shame).
5. I dislike housework
6. I have temper tantrums
7. I dislike schedule and seasonal changes
8. I "heart" kid shows and picture books
9. My favorite kind of book is the memoir
10. Sometimes I feel like I've lost my sense of humor
11. I am happier each year I get older
12. I went on my first date with my husband when I was 14 (we went to Rocky Rocco's and kissed on every corner on the walk home)
13. I love the feel of wool roving
15. I am a vegetarian by marriage
16. I am a coffee snob, french press please
17. I got to relive my childhood through my kids
18. I am intoxicated by the smell of the woods (pine needles, bark, fresh leaves and dirt)
19. I am sad that in some ways it feels like high school never ends
20. I have a love/hate relationship with pets and food
21. I wanted to be a school teacher when I was young
22. My reading comprehension sucked until college
23. I like baths and saunas
24. I wish I could draw better
25. I'd love being alone for part of the day everyday.

This list is subject to revision at any time

Brian tagged me, and Christi, your it!

Picture Books - Recent Favorites

2009-02-01T12:18:00.011-06:00

Kirkus Reviews : This second Bebe-y-Mama outing (Bebe Goes Shopping, 2006) takes the team to the beach for a day filled with sand, sun and some more Spanish-language fun. While a bikini-clad Mama tries to soak up "el sol," her toddler is "ready to roll." Playing in "la arena" with his bucket and "pala," he is soon tasting slimy "alga marina" and breaking apart someone's carefully sand-sculpted surfboard. This bouncing, energetic toddler gets into all sorts of mischief before finally napping on his towel: "Mama gets a break now. "At last, descansare!" / But who had the best time of all? / Sweet bebe!" With her signature Spanish/English rhymes, Elya introduces a gracious plenty of Spanish words interspersed in bold throughout the easily recited text. Salerno's retro-style, full-colored paintings complement and enhance the linguistic clarity. A glossary provides extra support, particularly for pronunciation.

When Liza's mother takes away her beloved crayons, her world suddenly goes gray. How does the budding artist repond? She squirts her toothpaste angrily and stomps through mud puddles. Through these acts, Liza inadvertently creates art-and eventually discovers color in the world around her.Liza loved her crayons. She treasured turquoise, adored apricot, and flipped over fuchsia.

Sparks literally fly as Devon makes the leap from observer to creator. With the help of the Metal Man, can Devon weld a sculpture of his own, or will the scrap metal amount to a pile of junk as his Mom suspects? The unique voice and gritty illustrations capture the urban atmosphere and the heat of the welder's torch.

From School Library —A little boy learns from Harry, a dachshund, how to treat an unfamiliar dog safely and politely. Harry's friendly, gentle voice reminds the child to ask for the owner's permission to pet the dog, allow the animal to sniff his hand, and approach from the side. The pooch coaches the boy as he encounters an excited puppy, a guide dog, and an unfriendly canine. Cues such as growling and tail wagging are explained. Straightforward guidelines and a positive, encouraging tone make this book appealing and practical. Young dog lovers will delight in the variety of breeds shown in the bright, clear illustrations. Harry's advice will certainly come in handy, and dogs will appreciate the safety and consideration shown by readers who put the techniques into practice.—

Pelle has a lamb whose coat grows longer and longer, while Pelle's Sunday suit grows shorter! Pelle shears the lamb, and the wool is carded, spun, dyed and woven. Finally, the tailor makes a new suit for Pelle.

From Kirkus ReviewsA classic nuclear family shares their own Christmas Eve tradition, leaving their conventionally decorated ranch house in Dad's pickup to deck a live tree in the woods with popcorn and fruit for the forest creatures. It's all deliberately cozy--the constant smiles; the hot chocolate and songs (the boy, who narrates, chooses a carol but little Nina wants ``Old MacDonald''); the boy tucked in at the end under a Christmas quilt that echoes the forest scene. A warm Christmas card of a book, in the best sense; Rand's moonlit watercolors are sure to be as popular as the conventional but warmhearted story.

From Publishers Weekly:This welcome sequel to the Caldecott Medal title The Hello, Goodbye Window knowingly describes a child's conflicting personalities. "Sometimes I'm Sourpuss," a multiracial girl admits. "And sometimes I'm Sweetie Pie." Her grandparents, Poppy and Nanna, accept her dueling dispositions, but when she visits they like to know whom to expect. "Poppy, it's me, Sweetie Pie," she promises, keeping her alter ego at bay. She does acknowledge her mercurial moods ("Sometimes you can go from Sourpuss to Sweetie Pie so quick," she admits, in a six-stage Hyde to Jekyll transformation), and her grandparents gently tease her ("Pleasant dreams, girls," they joke at bedtime). Both the sunny moments and the tantrums will ring true for readers of any age. Raschka (see Peter and the Wolf, below) devises competing motifs of light daubs and glowering smears, pairing Sweetie Pie's upbeat sky blue, gold, cantaloupe and pink with Sourpuss's grumpy scarlet, mucky green and purple-blue. Sweetie Pie's balletic, floaty postures contrast with Sourpuss's dramatic scowls and defiant stances; the two personas appear virtually side by side for maximum effect

From Publishers Weekly - In this companion to Dawn and Rain Rain Rivers, Shulevitz uses text as spare as a December landscape to cast a spell of winter magic. Despite predictions to the contrary ("'No snow,' said radio"; "'It'll melt,' said woman with umbrella"), a boy and his dog spy a single snowflake and rush outside in gleeful anticipation. Sure enough, one snowflake turns into two, two into three, and before long snow is "dancing, playing,/ there, and there,/ floating, floating through the air." ... The Caldecott Medalist works a bit of visual alchemy as the tale progresses, gradually transforming the chilly gray watercolor washes with flecks of snow, until his cityscape is a frozen fairyland. Pure enchantment from start to finish. Ages 3-up.

Minnesota Author!

From Booklist - Winter? Cold? It's all in the way you look at things as this imaginative book makes clear. A boy proclaims that summer notwithstanding, his world is warmest in winter. His puffy jacket is cozy, and a fire burns in the fireplace. Comparisons between summer and winter come in clever pairs: jelly sandwiches turn into grilled cheese; cool swims turn into hot baths. Nor is it just the boy who feels the difference: the cat cuddles on laps instead of stretching out on the windowsill. In a linguistic rhapsody, the boy explains how "sleeping radiators awake to their dragon selves, banging and hissing and pouring heat." It takes special art to accentuate the evocative words, and Stringer, who has illustrated many books for others, provides distinctive pictures for herself. With fascinating perspectives that sometimes start on the ceiling, the deeply hued acrylic artwork ranges from friendly to joyous, as in a two-page spread of a party filled with fun and music. A special book worthy of many readings, this radiates warmth. Ilene Cooper

"Just outside my window, / There are tracks in the snow. / Who made the tracks? / Where do they go?" Keen to find out, a little girl follows the tracks throughout her rural neighborhood. Yee cleverly lets the white of the paper stand in for snow, rendering the other elements in soft colored pencils and an almost pointillistic style: ice-blue footprints; woodland flora and fauna in muted browns and grays; and the little girl herself, whose bright-red hooded coat (reminiscent of Peter's in The Snowy Day) adds cheer to the otherwise muted scenes. The singsong text, however, isn't quite as effective; certain lines ("Is that a hippopotamus?") serve the demands of the rhyme scheme more than they advance the story. Even so, this unassuming book will be enjoyed for its petite trim size, its wintry charm, and the gently humorous solution to its small mystery: the girl finally realizes that the tracks were made yesterday by someone she knows very well--herself. Jennifer Mattson

"Every word is a sound in illustrator Johnson's authorial debut, and the pictures tell the story. In his signature style of frosted, crystalline textures and muted tones, Johnson's art shows a young boy waking on a snowy morning and preparing for school, while snow is being cleared away outside. The fun comes from the onomatopoeic text: the "snore" and "purr" of the cozy first image, showing the sleeping boy and his cat, to the "jingly clink vroom" of the closing scene's school bus. Johnson uses visual techniques to amplify each word's meaning. The predawn "hush" appears in dove-gray letters that almost fade into the background, while later, after everyone is awake, the school bus' "honk" is printed in sharp red. This book has a quiet charm that will span age groups. Preschoolers will simply enjoy repeating the sounds and inventing their own, while teachers may want this for early elementary poetry units. Pair the book with Kate Banks' The Great Blue House (2005), which also celebrates sounds and the words that describe them." Gillian Engberg (Booklist)

From Publishers Weekly:"Niemann introduces readers to 33 Chinese characters via an ingenious, breezy tale about a spunky heroine named Lin who's searching for her runaway pet dragon. Throughout Lin's quest, Niemann superimposes bold, black Chinese characters over key images or other elements in his super-smooth digital graphics. When Lin herself is introduced, for example, the character for person is overlaid on her figure, allowing readers to see how it evokes the outline of a body and two legs. Unlike authors of conventional primers, Niemann doesn't try to directly incorporate the special vocabulary into his story (the text doesn't refer to Lin as a person). Nor does he adhere to the expected icon-to-object correspondence every time: as he notes in his genial introduction, some of the match-ups reflect his own imagination at play (the character for work takes the shape of an I-beam at a construction site). As a result, the pages reflect not only Niemann's cleverness, but also his sense of discovery and his enthusiasm"

Fly-flappers and Flit-a-dees

2009-01-26T20:00:00.004-06:00

If you ever watched Winged Migration you might remember how the film documents the bittersweet journey of geese, cranes, swans, pelicans and other birds across the continents. During a particularly whiny with a drippy nose day, Mai and I snuggled up and watched this movie.

"Is that a sad song?" Maia asks.
Hmmm, what do you think? I say.
"It is. Why do they have to flap away?"

I explain a bit and tell her a few names of the birds that are migrating. She says: "No Mama Shana, those are fly-flappers," or "ming wings" or "flit-a-dees."

"I wish I could fly to a warmer place... so fast. Are they going to mexican?"

We have been reading books about backyard birds and made a few of Denise's pine cone feeders and now whenever Maia sees a bird, she says, "oh, that's a black-eyed centra cope!" (huh?) I suppose if someone were telling me strange sounding names all day, I might want to tell them a few too.

Delicioso!

2009-01-21T19:54:00.010-06:00

Inside the glass dome, walking through the arid dessert, greenness appears in all forms. Flowery and shiny, grizzled and furry, spiky and sharp, wiry and reaching, always, towards the sun.

We had a lovely visit from Auntie Steph, Uncle Pete and cousin Olive. Since they came during such cold weather, we visited the children's museum, the aquatarium and the domes (which has it's annual train display in the show dome). We ate yummy Indian (thanks Jen for planting the idea of Bombay sweets in my brain!), has a late Christmas celebration and went out for a Mexican dinner while the grandparents (thank you!) watched the kiddos. As for The Road and book club, thank goodness we has such delicious samosas, bobotie (South African curry) and sweet treats that we didn't have to eat our lovely guest, Steph!

Revisions

2009-01-21T19:25:00.004-06:00

My brain has turned to mush. It is mashed and soupy, sticky and clumped and microwaved on high. It is hard to think thoughts some days, thoughts with logic and reason, thoughts that reference a certain reality of concept and theory, history and politic. I feel like I am missing a certain intellectual aliveness that sparks parts of the brain that loading the dishwasher and picking up legos doesn't. Nevertheless, the dreamlike quality of life with a three year old is a universe unto itself. How exhausting must it be to be three? Just being a witness 24 hours a day to the wide moodswings and intense fits of energy is bone tiring. Of course, all will smooth out in time, as it always does, but today and most likely tomorrow I will rest my poor head and let the magical world of the toddler (always in revision) take me where it will.

In a blue cloud-cloth

2009-01-16T11:04:00.004-06:00

Bluish shadow snow heaped in mounds slope up and down the block, rooftops are sculpted round with creamy white frosting. Frost feathers across the glass windows, scratching stars and forests and muting the view like glass blocks. A croupy cough crackles the air and my brain swims in a pool of sleeplessness and anxiety; the plans and schedules and routines wiped clean again with illness and cold weather warnings. Just when you think family life will "normalize" it gives you a shot of panic and pours a bucket of ice water over your head. Juj had the croup when he was Maia's age and I remember walking around the block in the dark night with a small boy wrapped blankets hoping the air would soothe his cough. But now the wind blows in at an icy -17 and we stay put, wrapped in knit blankets, wool socks pulled up to the knees and as much fleece as possible.

Back to the books

2009-01-13T19:37:00.006-06:00

I am working feverishly on one of my last handmade cloth books... got to get it in the mail like yesterday. I know now that if I were to make more cloth books with a number of editions, there are some things I just wouldn't do again! My book from last semester was also an accordion style book with text and images printed on cloth. I used a lot of coffee and tea dyed organza, ironed onto freezer paper and put through the printer which worked out fairly well. Apparently I have been reading too much Eric Carle because I can see some similarities between this book and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The text begins: "I am eating my way through..." and ends with "I am still hungry." The hand stitching was relaxing. I would sink into the couch after dinner and sew under the light of a table lamp as the kids played or read or slept. The holes developed later, purely by accident by a bit of rust sparking in the microwave, so I cut more and stitched around and through them. I like the idea of peek-holes, of something being hidden and partially revealed as well as the cuts and suture-like stitching. I will be working on a lot more books this next semester with different bindings and although this book isn't where I'd like it to be, it really opened me up to new processes and ideas. What more can you really ask for in art?

Pukin' pirates

2009-01-08T21:30:00.002-06:00

That dang shameless influenza bug got a hold of us and we spent the last week of winter break hosting a big vomit-o-rama fest complete with puke buckets, dry heaving, hot and cold flashes and those nasty aches and pains. We spent lots of time in front of the fire last week, while JB read aloud from The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Or we listened endlessly to The Peter Yarrow Songbook of Sleepytime Songs , which was a nice break from high energy goofiness of TMBG and Laurie Berkner. There is, of course, nothing like a good folk song to put one's miseries in perspective. We also learned to "fight recklessly and plunder mercilessly... to become the most famed pirate the world has ever seen" in a strategy board game called Pirate's Cove. A little couch time, extra naps, lots of Popsicles, movies and games and we rebounded just in time to cram as many activities into the weekend as possible. When we finally could get out, we went to see Act ReAct, an interactive exhibit at the art museum which the kids loved because when else can you run around in circles, jump, dance, touch and emit high pitched screeches in an art museum? And I assure you, me mateys, them much recovered buccaneers was a swashbucklin'. Aye! I soon be makin' them walk the plank, Arrrr!

Inside and out

2009-01-03T19:05:00.001-06:00

Hope you are keeping warm!

Winter at the nature nook

2008-12-28T13:11:00.006-06:00

Finally sunshine. The little one goes to work fluffing snow, arranging pine cones, making sure the bird is warm and freeing the lamb from his collar and bell.

While we slept, soft snow fell on trees, animals and winter children.

The snow goes away, for now. A red pine cone takes the nest and a woolly lamb snuggles in winter girl's lap. The little one wanted to take winter girl's jacket off because the sun was out, but I said we had to wait until spring. (Because it is *felted* on!)

A cloud-nest gathers nearby.

Pine cones are dipped in snow, felted evergreens and stuffed trees are tucked into snow drifts.
I guess I love this play as much as the little one!

Winter bird finds the nest.

And the little one finds the egg!

Happy Sunny Winter's Day

Season's Song

2008-12-27T19:13:00.003-06:00

Warmth and brightness close the night and in the morning we wonder and wish and hope and try. Nighttime, we toss and turn and mumble about wanting, spill fragments of dreams into dark words. If only the warmth could stay forever and I could be blanketed in quilts and firelight. Moments so fleeting I tire trying to hold on. We speak, confused as if our bodies were not solid forms, just fluid and flowing. Now rain and fog, now snow melting. Distances stretch long. Carols once sung, now echo, the lyrics ordered and forever. Eating and full, we soak in a dark wine while dry needles fall to the floor. We chatter and laugh, then sit quietly, so close, we fall into each other and sleep our dream of fire and winter.

On the cold day

2008-12-22T11:13:00.000-06:00

"I'm writing my name on the cold day" - Maia scratching into the frost on Julian's window.

Yesterday was the shortest and one of the coldest days of winter yet. Mai extended her nap and almost slept through dinner. Who could tell if it was day or night? The temp was in the negatives, so the dog walking and snow clearing was done with efficiency else the wind brought tears to the eyes. Getting us through are the celebrations coming soon, a few warm fires, visits from Grandpa and Nana, kid sleepovers and lots of indoor play. A few of my favorite things this last week included seeing Julian in a buttondown shirt and tie for winter chorus (second from left, top row), eating warm tapioca pudding out of the pot, listening to the Verve remixed Christmas, Hanna Andersson's winter sales on outerwear and underwear, Trader Joes peppermint joe-joes from St. Nick, the classic 1985 Live aid video of "Do they know it's Christmas," having a lap full of sewing projects, Jan Brett picture books, a reupholstered couch and a little drooling over the gorgeous Waldorf toys from Nova Natural . What I'm not particularly liking is Mai waiting to go potty until it is nearly a natural disaster and of course saying she does not have to go just minutes before. Any tips? It has been a long time since we last went through this phase. "Come pee with me, I'm lonely" is only occasionally working :).

I've got my love to keep me warm

2008-12-20T13:52:00.005-06:00

Before the real snow fell

Daddy carry

The fireplace waiting

Stella is in over her head

Snow dog

Hip high

Weeping mulberries in a powdery bed.

Snow Day - playing doctor

2008-12-19T09:43:00.002-06:00

We've had a few runny noses this week, so it wasn't a bad thing that a foot or more of snow fell in the last few days. Today is officially a snow day, schools, universities, libraries, museums, whole villages closed while the final inches of thundersnow fall, blow and drift. Except the hospital never closes and John has a consult or two to attend to today. We've got a stock pile of winter books to read, lots of kid movies and a playdate scheduled for later in the day. I admit I am enjoying this, for now. The excitement of winter storms, the knee deep snow, watching the dog jump and bite and attack the snow, being snuggled in deep under warm blankets with no pressure to go anywhere or do anything but whatever becomes necessary. It isn't bad, for now. So we play doctor, build castles and read books and watch the white wind blow out of the frosty window.

Soapmaking - more clean fun

2008-12-16T10:08:00.009-06:00

I found an old box of soap making supplies in the attic and thought it would be good day for an indoor activity as the arctic blast moved through Wisconsin. I used blocks of veggi based soap, chopped them into small bits and microwaved them in a glass measuring cup. Mai added good smelling oils and a few drops of color. She helped me pour the liquid soap into molds (some meant for soap, some meant for Jello).
I got many of the supplies at Micheals and some of the specialty molds and olis at Brambleberry soap making supplier.

Mai especially liked the car molds and decided not to give any of them away, at least for now!

Snow blowing, ice chopping and a very large pair of boots

2008-12-15T09:27:00.006-06:00

Since we now have a corner lot, the snow blowing, shoveling and ice chopping had increased threefold, and since John works often late into the evening, I have taken on snow removal with an obsessive-compulsive attack plan. First, snow blowing, then shoveling, then salting, then chopping, then shoveling some more. It is quite good exercise, as long as you 'bend with the knees' and a rather good way to get out the week's worth of frustrations. Sure, my snow blowing handling is a bit wild (picture me chasing a smoking, revving snow blower down the block...), but I'll get that in time. It's when I hear on the news that the arctic blast is heading this way and am compelled to drop everything and finish clearing what is left of the melting ice in the driveway that I wonder if I am turning into John's father. He has been known to clear two or three walkways before the oatmeal water hits the pot. Maybe this is what home ownership does to folks who happen to be at home more than they are away.

As for the very large pair of boots, those belong to Julian, who now does not fit into an 7 or an 8, but now a 9. That is a men's size NINE. No more cute, bright colored, puffy boys boots. Now it is all big and clunky and twice the price.

The Great Indoors, Part One of Many

2008-12-11T14:34:00.010-06:00

I guess we have transitioned into winter living as evidenced by the increased indoor activities and messes that have appeared around the house this week. In one scene, Julian teaches Maia how to take play dough fun to a new level by plastering her cars to the dining room wall. Board games have also made a comeback for Maia. We dug out and played some cooperative games by Ravensburger like Snails Pace and Domino's, which are super gentle and fun, as well as our own version of Candy Land in which we disregard all rules entirely and go hopping along the squares munching all treats in sight. We play memory (another modified version) with all tiles facing up, taking turns picking one and having the other find the match.

And then there is some reading going on. Pictured also is Julian enjoying an Onion article with a headline that goes something like "Math Teacher Ruins Weekend with Senseless Homework" but probably not using quite such 'polite' words. John is reading Rick Riordan's fourth book in the Percy Jackson series aloud to Julian at night and both of us are enjoying reading John Birmingham picture books to Maia, along with the usual fare of Dora, George, Elmer, Froggy, Little Bear, Clifford, the pigeon and those darn talking cars. So we begin this snowy season.

Little bird, fly through my window

2008-12-10T19:35:00.002-06:00

This little felted bird found a nice perch in a winter plant by the window. Mai has been so interested in what I am up to with my needles and thread and felt and fabric that I often find my creations in a shoe or a lunchbox along with a handful of poly fill, tangled thread strands and the dog's bone. This one was nestled snugly in her toy barn next to a few cows and a chicken in a stroller. I guess that explains who is responsible for the shiny gum wrapper and stuffed animals tucked into branches on our Christmas tree.

And the seasons they go round and round and the painted pony goes up and down

2008-12-05T11:18:00.004-06:00

The ten inches of snow never fell, but we did get a nice 6 inches or so in two installments, with the next two snowfalls forecasted for this weekend. So December rolls winter in with no sort of hesitation. Hello white stuff: soft, fluffy, glistening, and cold, slippery and heavy. Julian doesn't seem to notice the cold on his walks to school. "Feels normal to me," he says, with his too short pants and almost too small tee shirt. He rejected last year's boots as "way too small" and walked to school in his tennis shoes. At least he wears gloves and his hooded jacket when he bikes through the snowy side streets. He has gone though a serious growth spurt in the last few months. Taller, thicker (which doesn't mean much for his skinny bones), sassier and more confident (do these two go hand in hand?). He needs and wants me less and less these days, and admonishes me for being too nosy and caring too much about the minutia of his daily assignments and grades. Independent bound, I guess, and that just great for me. Except when he doesn't do things my way, all the time (ha)! Maia too has scooted up the growth chart, given up her diapers and Nuks, gotten a short, (almost tangle-free) haircut and walks upstairs and downstairs without needing accompanying. I am still using most of my free time to finish up my last two projects for class (a book and a textile meal) and getting terribly distracted by the colorful wool roving that is calling out to be made in to felted fruit and cute little animals, faeries and dolls.

Put your hands together

2008-11-30T13:06:00.006-06:00

The snow is beginning to fall, ten inches have been predicted, so it is a good time to cozy up with a good book or gather the craft making supplies. Better yet, settle in under that hand knit afghan and get your paws on the new book Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl. The book is a companion to a film of the same name to be released in February and is an exploration of the new generation of art and craft makers. The artists, who live from coast to coast, describe in interviews their reasons for creating and selling the handmade, what it means to them to create, what materials they use (emphasis on re purposed and recycled) and their backgrounds and influences. Add a ton of full page photo spreads of work spaces, artwork, materials, artisans and craft fairs and you got a book of inspiration in your palms of your hands. Our holiday Art vs. Craft fair was held yesterday, organized by the author herself for the past five years, and it was not only overflowing with folks (lined up down the block and around the corner) but with some super unique and finely crafted items. These darling George button barrettes were made by Glitter Workshop and the ceramic tab by Circa Ceramics (can you guess who that is for?). Alright, I did want the brain tile, bowl, cup and magnet, but you gotta spread the goodness out. So take the buy handmade pledge and join in the handmade hootenanny.

I have never had cleaner hands...

2008-11-23T12:50:00.002-06:00

I told myself that I had to use up all of my latest art material purchases before going out for more goodies. So, I finished up a felting project I had been intending to do since I read The Creative Family and since seeing Mother Rising's beautiful felted ball necklace. So Mai and I dipped our hands into bowls of warm soapy water to felt for the first time. The smell of warm wool, the feel of squishy soapy balls and the very clean hands where just a few of the highlights. It took a while to get the hang of making the balls, getting it rolled tight enough and giving just the right pressure, heat and agitation to get the fibers to interlock. We ended up with some nice larger balls with bells inside, some smaller ones and some "seaweed" which was of Maia's creation. It seems that at a certain point the fibers get so matted that they can no longer be reshaped (?). Nonetheless, Mai exclaimed "I am so cited bout that!" so I must deem it a success. Happy Sunday!

Coffee, tea or rust?

2008-11-20T17:03:00.005-06:00

Okay, so the giveaway is (what folly) extended indefinitely because folks out there just don't yet know that they really, really want that fibers magazine. So, let us divert our attention to something more pleasing. I have been experimenting with new ways to make marks on fabric, and to my surprise, though coffee and tea are most appetizing, rust is my current favorite. Coffee, I found is stronger, dyes darker than tea and is more colorfast. But rust, lovely rust, of the sort that never stops, is unpredictable and poorly behaved. It bleeds where it likes and continues the process long after you wish it to. And it can take a bit of weaseling to beg old rusty parts off your in laws. The one pictured is made from an old brake drum, some steel wool and rusty pipe fittings. So, if you have anything just sitting away in a rustbucket, save it! And make something with it.

If my apron could talk giveaway

2008-11-15T18:14:00.008-06:00

Apron one is complete! It was put together based on a few designs from A is for Apron by Nathalie Mornu and my own excessive layering and need for text. I used dyed fabric stamped, stenciled, printed on, shibori (ed), resist pasted, bleached, thioxed, and sewn on. Most is cotton, although there is a bit of organza and tulle. I concluded that ruffles are fun and text is difficult. I also, of course, got lots of different interpretations. My intentions were to create something that reflected my views and experience of cooking. The text in the bib, which is really just supposed to be a really wide waistband, is fragments of cooking directions: stir continuously, serve piping hot, reduce heat, simmer 1 hour, etc.) which reflects my dependence on cookbooks as well as my fragmented knowledge of and ambivalence towards the culinary arts. The topic had to be related to food, as are the rest of the projects. Another discovery for those of the fibers minded: The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff which has instructions and examples of gathering, shirring, making ruffles, flounces, godets, pleating, smocking, tucking cording, quilting, applique and using darts. Enough said. An amazing book. Now back to the pile on my desk of thank you cards, PTO meeting notes, budget charts, magazine clippings and the just cracked Pride and Prejudice novel. So for fun, and I have never done this before, I would like to giveaway, in order to clear my desk a bit, an issue of Fiber Arts (sept/oct 2008) which is always an inspiring look-see. So leave a comment and I will pick a name by next Friday. Cheers!

Three is the Magic Number

2008-11-13T20:15:00.004-06:00

So that new three year old tries out her birthday quilt. Jumpworthy? I guess. Actually, she liked the Lightning Mcqueen blanket cousin Lauren made her much better than mine, but hey, I can deal. I had forgotten how much cloth wrangling it takes to get a larger quilt through a small sewing machine, but with that and some leaf raking, I have gotten some pretty good exercise lately. I lined the quilt with a bamboo fill, which was thinner than expected, but decent in warmth, and used the leftover fabric as binding. Yes, those are mitered corners with "invisible" slip stitching! Now, back to things of smaller proportion. Anyone need a baby blanket, or rather, a doll blanket???

Spinning out of the blur

2008-11-08T12:30:00.006-06:00

The blur that was the last few weeks is (maybe) coming into finer focus. Halloween was a manic mix of sweets, disguises and horrors. The wicked witch melted (down) at least once, and all the (adult) characters slept though the midnight movie (Donnie Darko) as usual. Candy, candy and more candy was secretly weighed and distributed between three boys. Nighttime Trick or Treating in the old neighborhood featured some new faces and new wrinkles (including a rolling, glass-clanking traveling cooler stuffed with adult treats of the liquid kind, though I had nothing to do with it :). The festivities were fantastic as usual, with hoards of greedy goblins racing around in packs, weaving through the meek first timers, glowing in the twilight, sacks full. The costume that took the uniqueness prize was Jr. Bucket Head, though we speculated that mom was the real fan.

Lately, the sewing machine has gotten more attention than than the computer. Fiber projects (aprons), appliqued tee shirts (for fun), and a quilt for Ms. Mai's birthday (which is tomorrow!) have all seen the sharp point of a sewing needle. I stole away to see a few art exhibits and am looking forward to spending some time at a few holiday craft fairs. And of course, another party to host, Mai's third birthday. So the mania continues...

Above photo by Grandpa Marc, more blur here.

49 degrees in the sun

2008-10-23T13:55:00.003-05:00

I completely forgot what 49 degrees feels like, and brrrrr, when the wind is whipping off of Lake Michigan, it is chilly! What then might 12 degrees feel like? And why is it such a shock and surprise when those northern winds blow in? Like duh, of course it is going to get cold, it's Wisconsin dingbat! Sounds like something my 12 year old might say these days when he is not busy answering my questions about where his "stuff" is. He headed out a few days ago with shorts and a tee shirt and I stopped him. Where is your jacket? Its in my locker. Where is you other jacket? At Ben's. And where is you other, other jacket? I don't know. And we go on like this for a while discussing his missing keys, forgotten permission slips and soggy assignment notebook. It will take time I reassure myself. Lots and lots of time. And miss Mai Mai now crosses her arms across her chest and pouts! What is this? I don't mind the sneaky little laugh she hides behind her hand when she is up to something not so innocent, but a pout? Already? Luckily she still says things like "I like you dad because you make me laugh" and "I have young hands." And "you can go in the closet dad when we get a cat" referring to JB's allergies. And plenty of sighs and huffs and ah hems to communicate just about anything she wants to, pleasant or not so...

Lot's of autumnal pics here.