Nature Girl

I have been working on this project for quite some time, and it has finally all come together as close as it can come to the way that I had pictured it in my mind.

Addie is my absolute Nature Girl.

She loves everything outdoors... weather... animals... bugs... rocks... plants... And she's a pro-collector... leaves... butterflies... stones... snake skins... I used a thin piece of cork board and attached it to the layout then used small sewing pins to attach the items, (some needed The Ultimate Glue, too.) I took little tiny tags and inked them and put the "regular" name of the item (i.e. pinecone,) and on the other side, the scientific name, (for pinecone it's Pinophyta Strubius.)

The challenge was to create a layout using Graphic 45 papers using color photographs, and the Botanicabella line totally spoke to me for this photo of Addie blowing a wish flower. I also had a nice collection of things she had found and given me... ivy (in the shape of a heart she found just for me)... a special rock... a piece of a blue robin's egg... a seashell... along with some notes she took on a hike with Sean.

If you lift the field notes you will find her notebook paper and pencil drawing of one of the sights she saw on her hike of an inchworm hanging from a tree. I covered the drawing with mica using Sepia Accents.


Combining this photo and the notes and the collection, I created this layout especially for her... to remember the love of nature this little girl has.

The ultimate inspiration for this piece was the stick that the layout is tied to for hanging. Addie found this amazing stick covered in lichen, and I asked her if I could have it to make something out of it, of her.


We had a great morning this morning at Borderland State Park where we took a hike, just the tour of us with one of the ranger's, Joe, and learned about dragonflies. Joe was duly impressed with Addie's knowledge of insects, birds and nature. He said that he teaches school groups of 30 kids and has only met one other girl like Addie. She is truly a Nature Girl.

Here are a few shots from today...

Nature Girl Cardstock: Graphic 45, Bazzill Basics
Paper Stamps: Stampin' Up, source unknown & Close to My Heart
Ink & Adhesive: Ranger
Plastic, Canvas & Chipboard Letters: Lil Davis
Tags: ProvoCraft
other: mesh, twine, pins, seashell, stick, egg, moth, pinecone, cork, leaves, rock, pencil, wooden letters, Scrabble tile & wood

Happy 4th

The Red Tent

A good book teaches a good lesson.

And of all the things to gather from The Red Tent by Anita Diamont, this lesson comes inferentially through a stunningly written book about a strong and remarkable woman, Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, son of Rebecca and Issac, son of Abram.

The story begins by unraveling the history and background of Dinah's "mothers," her biological mother, Leah, and her sisters, (Dinah's aunts,) Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah because, "If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully. Stories about food show a strong connection. Wistful silences demonstrate unfinished business. The more a daughter knows the details of her mother's life - without flinching or whining - the stronger the daughter."

Dinah, the only girl, revels in being doted on by her mothers and is folded into their tightly woven sisterhood. But she is, alas a daughter and realizes this when her parents ruminate over Leah's step-mother, Ruti, "There was no room for me between them, no need for me. My mother's eyes were full of Jacob. I did not matter to her the way she mattered to me. I wanted to cry, but I realized that I was too old for that. I would be a woman soon and I would have to learn how to live with a divided heart."

Dinah comes of age in an age beyond her teachings. Although not allowed to speak as such, Dinah's thoughts show how enlightened she is. Her hate for Ruti's subservient ways would be something women then would not have felt.

The significance of the red tent encompasses that "secret society" we women covet. And even when the secrets are revealed, the language is one that men cannot hear. "'In the red tent, the truth is known. In the red tent, where days pass like a gentle stream, as the gift of Innana course through us, cleansing the body of last month's death, preparing the body to receive the new month's life, women give thanks -'"

Many disappointments outline Dinah's life... the missing connection she feels with a grandmother she "imagine would understand [her] instantly and adore [her] above any of [her] brothers"... the betrayal of her brothers and their viciousness... her enormous losses... but her great insight helps her to realize why they exist, "The painful things - ... seemed like knots on a beautiful necklace, necessary for keeping the beads in place."

Ah, that I will remember what those knots are for.

{This and Sea Glass by Anita Shreve are both up for grabs for anyone who wants them.}

RIP Michael Jackson

Wednesday Spaghetti

We have happily jumped on the saucy bandwagon called Wednesday Spaghetti! As stated on their site in their mission statement...

Wednesday Spaghetti was formed to increase public awareness of the need for families, caregivers, and peer groups to spend quality time together in an in-home, casual dining setting in order to discuss general life issues, household guidelines and practices, personal habits, issues, and goals, educational habits, issues, and goals, employment habits, issues and goals, family habits, issues, and goals, physical health-related issues, emotional health-related issues, spiritual issues, relationship issues, community events and resources, and other such topics; to support and conduct nonpartisan research, educational and informational activities to increase public awareness of the importance of togetherness, communication, and good nutrition; to provide simple to make, nutritious meals to any family or group in the community, regardless of race, color, creed, religious beliefs, ethnicity, economic status, or location at no cost to the family or group.

So, in the interest of communicating a sense of community, value and care to our children, to others and to ourselves we have begun the weekly tradition called Wednesday Spaghetti.

Tonight we had 9 friends for a pot of spaghetti with sauce and meatballs... some garlic bread... watermelon... freeze pops... ice cream... brownies... and some extra treats brought by our guests... and we had SUCH a nice night. The kids played, the adults ate, the hamster had a workout and we can't wait to do it again next week.

Thanks to our guests for what you brought, but also for coming! What a great success!

Connor & everyone helps clean up!

Liam jumping in a mud puddle & the kids looking for a snake!

Addie eating an ice cream & the "kids'" table!

This Day is For

Guess who?

This day is for celebrating... for looking back... for looking forward.

This day is for singing... reminiscing... for being hopeful.

This day is for questioning... promising... for projecting.

All of this is for you.

But for me, it's a day to tell you how much I love you.

I love you, Mom.

Sea Glass

Sea Glass by Anita Shreve is a narrative novel that unfolds during the tight times of the Depression. It highlights the lives of two newlyweds and those that encompass their tight, but varied circle of friends, co-workers, and comrades.

It's a truly gripping account of the nitty gritty life of people trying to make it in a time of bread lines and strikes. From the couple just starting out to the privileged elite, the effects of the times touched all.

Sexton, the young virile salesman and wife of Honora who must humble himself.

Vivian, the rich debutante with money to spare and a heart that turns to gold.

McDermott, the quiet thinke with more honor than most.

Alice Willard and her hopeful letters.

Alphonse, the young boy with the experience and ways of a man.

And Honora. Naive, then worldly Honora who loses her visions, and dreams, and innocence and gains wisdom, but a wisdom with at an enormous price.

The dissection of the marriage between Honora and Sexton is so well written and more relevant than any I've encountered in any book.

At one point when Honora has had it with Sexton and his whiny, reclusive, unaffectionate ways, she feels the need to talk to Sexton about something that's truly upsetting her. And that is the moment Sexton brings home a gaggle of people to the house for a few days of work. The energy and zest these people bring to their home is palpable, and it invigorates Sexton for the first in a very long time. However, at their first moment alone Honora brings up what's bothering her.

The words that describe how Sexton feels about this opened my eyes to the juxtaposition between a husband and a wife. Men and women think and feel so very differently and if we could just acknowledge a little more how the other thinks and feels, things would run a lot more smoothly.

Sexton thinks, "Jesus Christ, why is she doing this? Doesn't she see that it's the first time he hasn't felt like a bum since Christmas? He hasn't felt this good, this useful, since the late fall, nearly a year ago. And she wants to pick this particular moment to have this fight? Has she forgotten what it was like all winter and all through the spring, when he was so tired and depressed and... ashamed... that he could hardly look at her?"

The vulnerable hidden beneath a false facade of bravado and the air of not caring.

The story of a marriage, of friendships, of hardships, or trying times and what endures, Sea Glass is a great read. It would make a compliment to history studies on the Great Depression in high school, too. The novel is a personal account of life in the time my grandparents grew up.

Sea Glass is up for grabs... if you want it, let me know.