There’s something in the air these days.

and no, it’s not just pollen or humidity

I’m talking about the idea of stepping back, unplugging and slowing down.

I mentioned the idea of re-evaluating a few weeks ago, and the idea has been growing and growing in my mind. I need some time to think, to breathe, to make space. I need space in my house, both my physical/literal house, but also my metaphorical/sipritual house. Things are getting pretty jumbled up in there. It’s been over a year now since Natalie joined our family, and I need to take stock of how we’re living. What we’re spending our days on, how we move and grow in our home, how we take care of ourselves and each other, and seemingly less important these days (but really something I’d like to become more important again) how we make money and how we work, what we DO. Because really, how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, right? I think I read that on an inspirational magnet somewhere…. but it’s so true!

here are a few of the blog posts that resound with me lately:

Christine at Lavendar & Limes went on vacation
&
Maeg at Edison Rex went on walkabout (and won’t be back at her blog/business till September — inspiring!)

So… I’m thinking of following in their footsteps. I already closed my Etsy shop for my staycation, and I think it might have to stay closed until I either have new work to add to it, or have a new brand/business to reopen it with. I’m not making any promises or grand statements or creating any self-imposed time limits on this one. I think I’ve learned my lesson with that. But I think I will be back, and I imagine I will be looking for more accountability from y’all. This isn’t even another I’m-not-going-to-blog post, but it is something of a “get out of blogging free” card, if you catch my meaning. I’m unplugging, and we’ll see where it goes from there. I feel better already. Don’t you?

Does this idea make sense to you? Does it call to you? Then do it! Unplug! Make art! Make space! Play and create and lounge and read and do yoga and garden and cook and nap and go to bed early and stop comparing yourself with bloggers/facebook friends/famous people — just be you and enjoy your life, today. Have an average day!

summer!!!

It’s finally (finally!) truly, really, actually summer here in the Berkshires!

Everything is green and lush and buzzing and blooming and chirping, and we are swimming as much as possible and we are enjoying the company of friends and family, and sitting on the deck, and watching fireflies.

This summer is different than other summers, though. We are also going to bed early and chasing a little girl who desperately wants to run everywhere, but really isn’t quite able to. She gets to frustrated when we slow her down! But of course with running-when-you-really-don’t-know-how comes falling, and crying, and new bumps and bruises. Her knees are bruised and she has another one on her cheek, but she doesn’t care! The girl has practically no fear! Unless, of course, you are a stranger, who your mother might leave you with. Then you are scary and horrible and how-dare-you. But that’s just the way it goes. If you are within mom’s reach, everything must be safe. Ah, if only it were so, little one!

But we are also enjoying seeing the excitement of summer through her eyes. She was so little last summer that she didn’t really get to experience much of it, except being really hot all the time (it was so hot!). But this year is different. She is walking and running and talking and experiencing all there is to experience! The world is so exciting to her! And I want to keep it that way.

So we are retreating this week, going to pretend we are also on vacation! This was a little idea I had the other night — we live in a place where thousands of people come for vacations every summer. Why not join them? And we have some family coming in from the west coast, some of whom have never been here, so I’ve decided Natalie and I are going to join them on some of their vacation! (I hope they don’t mind if we tag along?!) This might include, but is not limited to, swimming a lot, hiking and canoeing (ok babies might not come canoeing!), visiting our local museums and galleries, shopping and maybe eating too much, but definitely lolling around, chatting, drinking lemonade and resting. Oh and of course not working. That’s the part I really like. Lately I have been in a constant feeling-guilty-if-I’m-not-working-but-not-having-time-to-work mode, and it’s getting a little exhausting. So here’s to letting myself off the hook and going on staycation! Have a happy 4th, y’all!

After writing that last post about berries and the Northwest and summer and water, I just had to haul out the old photo albums and do a little reminiscing. These photos were taken by me and some University of Puget Sound (UPS) friends, using an underwater disposable camera, at Nolte Lake, summer 2003 — oh and the kiddie pool shot is from the backyard of our ad-hoc theatre Fraternity house, MuNu (that’s me under and in the boat, 2nd and 3rd photos).

Ah, college. This was the summer after I graduated, and most of my friends and I were all only working part-time, and enjoying life full-time. Oh that is so cheezy, but so true.

I was feeling nostalgic about the lake, dreaming about that Northwest summer, and then just this past weekend we found out that our town has the lovliest little beach on a lake! It turns out we knew about it but but didn’t think it was so great. So we had ignored it for the last 5 summers! So sad, really. Natalie went with our friend Sylvie on Monday morning, and then we all went in the evening. I think it was the best day of Natalie’s life so far. And as soon as the rain stops we are planning to spend many days there. And I’m planning to channel that full-time-life-enjoying spirit of those “old days”.

my mom's amazing garden

things i’m thinking about today, things I have been meaning to post about, things I will maybe someday devote entire posts to:

• FALL!

• editing Natalie’s birth story to post for you

• finally making a before/after post for our basement renovation project

• food — specifically introducing solid foods to an infant. And the school lunch program and our nation’s epidemic of STUPID when it comes to nutrition. Including our Doctors. I love our new pediatrician, though, who told me “meat is overrated” when I asked if I had to think about making sure our wee babe got enough protein when she’s finally eating solid foods. I kind of wanted to hug him.

• Naps. Or lack thereof. Natalie is a classic “nap resister” who doesn’t want to miss anything. The No-Cry Nap Solution is helping, though.

• Elimination Communication, AKA “The Diaper-Free Baby”. This is a whole series of posts-worth of content, but let’s just say I’m getting over the feeling of being CRAZY for wanting to try this, and really enjoying the JOY on N’s face when she uses her tiny potty. SHE LOVES IT. I AM NOT CRAZY. And yes, she is not quite even 5 months old.

I don’t have a lot of time, so I’ll keep it short and sweet. A list will do!

1. turns out I love being a mama. YAY! (not that I doubted that I would, but I’m pretty glad that I do.)

2. a tree fell in our backyard 2 nights ago. crazy, right?

3. my aunt moved her shop to an amazing new space! It’s called Ikonium Studio and it’s at 69 Church Street in Lenox, MA — Go visit! There you will find contemporary and traditional Turkish and American fiber art and craft, amazing Turkish rugs, as well as some fantastic paintings and a few things made by other crafty folks and yours truly.

4. I’m doing a show in 2  weeks! I haven’t really gotten back to work yet (still resisting, enjoying “maternity leave”!) but I have to. Today. The show is sponsored by BerkshireMade; Handmade in the Park, downtown Lee, MA, Saturday August 7, 10am – 4pm.

5. tomatoes! summer! swimming!

6. I am told our miss Natalie is very “advanced” — large for her age (10 weeks!), but also strong, smiley from day one and super talkative for weeks now. Also sleeping a lot, but I wont get into that, for fear of being stoned by other sleep-deprived mamas.

7. did I mention summer? With that comes weddings (that we have missed, boo!) and visits from friends and family, barbecues, birthdays of some of my favorite people, craft fairs (I’m only doing one, but you better be visiting lots!), farmer’s markets, tag sales (no, haven’t been to any, but we will), vacations (maybe next year?), and the Berkshire Fringe (starts next week!)!

Yay, Summer!

I painted this red-bellied woodpecker for the birdie calendar for the month of February:

And then last week (during the first week of February) this guy appeared at my bird feeder for the first time all winter:

Pretty cool.

But please excuse the image quality! The photo was taken through my (very dirty) glass door, while trying not to make too much of a scene and scare him off. Also my camera, while pretty awesome, doesn’t have much of a zoom lens. But you get the idea. A month-appropriate visitor.

Next month is the chickadee, but if your feeder is anything like mine it has been covered with chickadees all winter long. One of my favorite things about winter, actually — they are definitely my favorite bird (sorry red-belly, you’re cute, too!).

I was at Twist this weekend! I did not take any photos!

It was wonderful, though, and I had lots of fun chatting with customers and friends and my fearless helpers and fellow vendors (why are you all so wonderful and fun to be with?!) — and thankfully some of them captured the day in pictures. You can see a few nice shots on fellow vendor Maeg’s blog, including a photo wherein I appear to be as humongous as the Sasquatch on her t-shirt, but that’s ok — there’s a baby in there (Did you hear?)! I was so grateful to be able to spend the night with my lovely friends, too, so I didn’t have to drive back and forth Friday night/Saturday morning. They showed me the sights in Florence and Leeds; I’m definitley going to have to go back for some swimming this summer!

So yesterday I spent the day lounging and doing not much of anything, in an attempt to recuperate and get some energy back. John and I had a lovely and gluttonous brunch at the Dakota restaurant, followed by movies and tv-on-the-internet and a leasurly stroll or two around the neighborhood. One of those was at sunset and the sky was so darn pink, it was quite amazing! And again, I didn’t take any pictures. I’ll try next time, I really will.

I am so thankful that I sold almost all of my new holiday ornaments (little stuffed birdies!), but now I need to get back into making-mode for Mass MoCA this weekend! My back is still bothering me, though, and I’m trying not to aggravate it and make it worse. I am going to attempt some gentle yoga today; I really need to get back into that. And apparently back into taking photos for you, too. Like I said, I’ll try!

As I write this, I’m just over 12 weeks pregnant. It’s true! A baby! Making it’s way into our lives at the end of April (2010!)!

I have been soooo tired these last few months, and thankfully that has made it a *little* easier to keep this secret, since it takes all my energy to sit down and get anything done, including this blog post. I haven’t been doing much making, and therefore not a log of blogging, but as Penny’s hubby said about her first few months of pregnancy in this post, I need to remember that I have been busy creating something completely different. I might look like I’m just sitting on the couch, but darn it, I’m working hard!

So far everything is going great with out little bean, and we will get to see much more at an ultrasound at 18 weeks. We got to hear the heartbeat a week ago, and let me tell you that was quite an amazing thing. We had an ultrasound at 6.5 weeks, too, but weren’t really able to see anything but a little blur and a flickering speck of a heartbeat. {Little flickering speck, how I can’t wait to meet you!}

I spent the last 4 days in Pennsylvania with my cousin Becky and her twin boys who just turned one on Wednesday. What a fun time that was — they are quite possibly the cutest and happiest children in the world. It was a nice for me to get some baby practice, too, even though they are technically toddlers — both walking now!

Some FAQ about the baby bean?

• No, we don’t have any names picked out (tho some front-runners, which we will probably keep a secret)
• We still aren’t sure if we want to find out the sex until the birth, but I think I would like to, as I am not a very patient person!!
• Yes, we had been trying off and on for about a year, but it finally happened when we relaxed about it and really believed “whatever happens, happens” (my hubby’s favorite mantra). And then it happened! I really didn’t believe it when I saw that plus sign on the test, and I had to wake John up at 6am to tell him! It has been so hard not telling everyone in the world, and we started telling select friends and family pretty early — at 5 weeks. I decided I didn’t want to go through any of it alone, and especially if something bad happened, you know? You know. And also wanted to share the joy and excitement as soon as we could!
• Thankfully I have been feeling pretty good. Super tired and a little moody, but I have been soooo lucky not to have any morning sickness. I am just constantly hungry, but I get full really easily and nothing really sounds good to eat. I have had some heartburn, which is not terribly fun, but I am so lucky not to have much nausea at all that I really can’t complain. I do pee about every hour, and there are lots of other “symptoms” of pregnancy that I’m not going to get into here, but I’ve got ‘em! It’s been quite a ride so far, and I really can’t believe I’m already a third of the way through!

: )

P.S. Just listed my 2010 calendar in my Esty shop! This year it’s “Birds of the Berkshires”; a whole collection of hand-painted likenesses of our favorite New England avian friends. They’re pretty pretty, if I do say so myself. I’m so happy with how it came out!