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Gratitude

I'm joining Taryn and others over at Wooly Moss Roots today for Gratitude Sunday ~ taking the time to acknowledge all the things (big and small) that we're most grateful for in the past week.

• Springtime and tulips.  The buds on the trees. New growth, new life.

• The first signs of strawberry season. Hoods, baby!
• The miracle of seedlings

• The opportunity to see Brian Swimme's talk on the cosmic evolution of consciousness.  My mind was blown.
• Watching this episode of Nature.  My mind was blown twice this week!  
• That I am employed and make a *livable* wage.  I heard a little about American Winter on the radio the other day (yet another show filmed here in Portland) and it was incredibly eye-opening. 
• Beanie, always Beanie...

What are you grateful for this week?

These Days

These days I've been:

• Planting flowers- Dahlias, Liatris, Euphorbia
  
• Planting veggies- Copra onions, Red Zeppelin onions, Sugar Snax carrots
• Listening to– this song (Thanks Colleen!)
  
• Smelling- Rosemary in the garden, lots of curry in the kitchen
  
• Watching- Alias (so I'm a little behind), The Life of Pi
  
• Reading- Wildwood, The Years of Rice and Salt, maybe Daughter of Smoke and Bone
  
• Eating- Honey glazed salmon, Salad rolls
• Hoping- to build this bench this summer
  
• Planning- my next vacation
  
• Loving- Spring! Finally there's some action in the garden!
  
• Feeling- grateful for more sunshine, amazed when things actually start growing from seed on my windowsill.

What are you up to these days?

Journey of the Universe

"...Hidden in this cosmic dust was the immense potentiality for bringing forth mountains and rivers, oyster shells and blue butterflies."

~ Journey of the Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker

Gratitude

                   Bert and I, Colleen and Greg

Things I'm thankful for these days:

• Autumn.  I am trying to be outdoors more this season instead of starting my hibernation too early.  I would rather be inside with a cup of hot chocolate and the whole first season of Downton Abbey instead of raking leaves. 
• Friendship. More specifically, the friendships I've developed through blogging. When I decided to start a blog years ago I had no idea how influential and important your friendship would be.  And I had never met any of my blogging buddies in person until I met Colleen and now she is one of my dearest friends. She reminds me of Joseph Campbell because she's an amazing writer (now published!!!) and because she is a voracious learner.   Sara always has spot-on book recommendations for me.  And Tiffany recently reminded me I should be planting garlic NOW.  And thanks to her I heard this beautiful song. (Yes, I know I must be the only person left on the planet who hadn't heard of them...)

             

• My amazing Bean. I think I will always be afraid that my teenage daughter might turn into an alien at some point but right now I am so grateful to have the relationship we do.  It amazes me sometimes how much love you can feel for one little being- a rumpled up combination of confidence and insecurity, interested in everything, deciding her fate, planning her life, charting her course.  Bubble tea, sushi, sketchbooks, music. Kindness. Silliness. Her laughter drifting down the stairs.

What are you thankful for these days?

Autumn

The leaves are turning and it has been a beautiful autumn so far but I'm disappointed that I haven't been out to take more pictures. I'm a fair-weather photographer... We made crockpot applesauce again this year which is an all time favorite: apples and a couple cinnamon sticks on low for about 6 hours and you're good to go. I just core and quarter them leaving the skins on and then use an immersion blender at the end to incorporate them into the sauce later. It's easy and delicious and no sugar is needed.

Hope you're having a lovely week!

The Rules

Do you have pieces of advice, helpful tidbits or "rules" of life that you swear by? Do you swear up and down that you should never date a co-worker? (Wait, that's me. And wait, didn't I marry a co-worker?)  Do you always bring your own car? (Doesn't everyone think this? You go to an event, you're there 5 minutes and realize it's lame but you let someone else drive so you're stuck there. Hence rule #8: always bring your own car.)  

So thinking about my "life rules" also helps me draw something daily- a quick and easy drawing exercise and a way to get Beanie to think about what her own "rules" for life might be.  

 

Procrastination

It has been grey and rainy over here so the weeds have been flourishing in the garden and slugs are taking over everything. To sum it up: no gardening, no baking, even less cleaning means more time to draw. This is a drawing of my friend Jan and her partner Janet. (Please send any positive vibes, prayers and otherwise good jujus their way.)

I struggle finding ideas for things to sketch tho...there are only so many starbucks logos I can draw.

Hunger Games Obsession

Does that beard look familiar?

Beanie has been working at her Uncle's restaurant lately, for spring break, and as you can see my girl has again found a way to bring a Sharpie into her work. I think she keeps them in her pocket...

The Hunger Games have officially invaded our house. We have a full-fledged obsession going on over here...

So have you read the books? Are you as obsessed as we are?  What did you think of the movie?  (No spoilers please, I'm only beginning book two!)

Creating Color

We spotted this beauty on the way home the other day and it reminded me of all of the photos like this one:

...that I have collected on Pinterest. And since I will never actually have room in my home for a rainbow library, I decided to make myself my very own rainbow bookshelf.

It's the little things, isn't it?

 And do you want to know what else is making me smile these days? Having my daughter text me photos like this one from art class. You know how you think your kid is pretty talented at something and then they turn a corner and *POW* they are amazing?   

 

What's bringing happiness your way these days?

Freedom

Yes, it's a theme: November = Gratitude.

I've been reading this book and I'm loving it. But page by page I'm reminded how grateful I am to I live in a free country. I can express myself. I can disagree with the government without fear of being "re-educated" and sent to the boonies to live with peasants. I can read whatever books I want, even ones that some people think should be banned. I can occupy _________ and most of the time (except maybe in Tennessee or Oakland) can I express my displeasure in peaceful protest without fear of retribution. 

What are you thankful for?