MAY 2008
05.31.08 | IN THE FLESH
I can't believe that I got to see Barack Obama yesterday at a rally in Great Falls. This is truly an historic election, and it was exciting to witness a little piece of it.
My overall impression was that Obama is EXHAUSTED. He spoke very well, of course, and seemed passionate as always, but he looked like he wanted to lay right down on the stage and take a nap!
More photos at flickr.
05.30.08 | PLAYING THE GAME
A bunch of bloggers are doing this today, including Juliette and Suse, so I thought I'd join in!
The Concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
Try it if you like at flickr! And here's more about mine.
Have a great day, everyone! I'm off to see if I can catch a glimpse of Barack Obama in Great Falls with my mom. It should be fun!
05.29.08 | PART ONE: THE LAST OF THE MAY FLOWERS
I can't believe that May has almost come and gone. It brought us many beautiful flowers this year, as well as a few thorns. I'm grateful for both.
I'm also grateful to Jenny at allsorts, for bringing us “A Post a Day in May.” It really motivated me, and I loved seeing what everyone else was posting.
Here's to May — a fresh, young beauty who dances in and out of our lives all too quickly.
PART TWO: A REAL LIVE CRAFT
Can you believe it? A completed project appearing on my blog. I know! (Craig Ferguson inflection.)
I made a couple of washcloths out of this pretty variegated yarn last night. The yarn is called “fiesta.” It's like a party in my sink.
And I'm totally keepin' it real peeps. Check out that filthy faucet! Don't judge me. Right after this I'm going up to do those dishes. I swear.
I found “fiesta” when I was out looking for solid yarn for my ripple blanket. I was actually quite annoyed because I was unable to find many solids at all, and I don't want to use variegated yarn for my blanket. At my local evil discount super-store, there were seven solid colors and 13 variegated colors. (Yes, I counted them.)
In the midst of my angry counting, I laid eyes on “fiesta.”
“Ooh, but this one is nice,” I thought. “I'm gonna take this home and crochet me some washcloths.”
And the rest is washcloth history.
05.28.08 | MORE FROM CANYON FERRY
Here are a few more shots from our little adventure last weekend. With gas prices approaching $4.00, I'm guessing that we'll be exploring the places close to home more than ever this summer. We feel lucky to live in such a beautiful corner of the world where wild, peaceful places are just a short drive away.
Here's my crew, trotting off before me. They are each so precious to me. All my life I dreamed of having my own family. I never could have guessed how truly wonderful it would be.
My biggest girl. Growing up fast. Almost a second-grader. When did that happen? It seems like just yesterday she was a newborn, and my mom and I were trying all her little baby clothes on her. With every new outfit, we would say, “Oh, she looks good in that color.”
Suddenly we realized that we thought she looked good in every color. We laughed and laughed at ourselves. We were so in love with this tiny new being. But you know what? She does look good in bright yellow. And black.
Two things I found in the sand: a flower and a bottle cap.
One yellow, one blue.
One a miracle, one just garbage.
Both beautiful sitting there in the sand.
05.27.08 | CANYON FERRY ADVENTURE
One of our adventures over the Memorial Day weekend was a trip to Canyon Ferry Lake near Helena. Here, Sonja contemplates her place in the universe.
The twins run ahead as we hike down to the lake.
Ani plays in the sand.
Bryni washes off her flip-flops.
Waves lap the shore.
We saw some more gorgeous wildflowers.
And some amazing birds.
The endangered American White Pelican.
A loon.
And another loon.
I hope your weekend was fun too!
05.26.08 | IN REMEMBRANCE
05.25.08 | RIPPLE EFFECT
Please forgive the cheesy title. I couldn't come up with anything better! Eric and I stayed up way too late last night watching episodes of The Office that we had missed over the years on Neflix. That's my excuse.
Last night I also worked on this new ripple blanket! I was inspired once again by the amazing creativity on display at flickr. Check out this fantastic tidal wave of ripples. I can't even stand how beautiful they all are.
05.24.08 | MORE WORMS
More proof that I actually allow, and even at times encourage, my daughters to play with worms. I know, it's weird.
But look at the joy on that face! Even as a worm is trying to slither up her sleeve. Ugh.
It's been raining and raining and raining here in Helena for the last several days. Check out how green that grass is! It's like Oregon around here all of a sudden.
We all love the rain a lot, and the kids have played out in it some. We even went to the Farmer's Market this morning and wandered around in the drizzle.
But despite those outings, I think we're all starting to go a bit stir crazy. Maybe we should set up an obstacle course in the basement or something. Wait! The basement already is an obstacle course. Perfect!
05.23.08 | WORMS
{sonja with a worm — may 2004}
Here is my biggest girl, when she was littler, with a worm. I know, I know, worms are disgusting. But you know what? My girls don't know that.
Eric loves worms. In fact, one of the things I love most about him is that he's a “worm saver.” He saves worms who have wandered away from the safety of the earth during a rainstorm. You know how they sometimes get stranded out on the sidewalk and end up baking in the sun? Well, Eric picks them up and throws them back to safety before it's too late. I love that about him.
And he's passed on that love of worms to our girls. And I have to stop myself from being like, “Oh my gosh! Put down disgusting creature and wash your hands! Now!”
Instead I'm like, “Oh look, a worm! How... nice.”
{sonja with a worm — yesterday}
05.22.08 | BEAUTY
Um yeah, I think my kids are cute.
Last night we took a walk along the trail behind our house and saw a whole new batch of wildflowers. The variety is just stunning. From this purple (I'm guessing) orchid...
...to this elegant beauty...
...to these little cuties — the tiniest, sweetest daisies I ever did see.
Like my girls, they are all different. And all beautiful.
I love that Eric and I live by many of the same creeds, one of which is: Don't pick wildflowers! The girls wanted to pick these flowers so badly they could hardly stand it.
I love that we're teaching them to leave beauty alone sometimes, to make sure it's there for others to enjoy, to not destroy what they love. To walk as softly on the planet as they can.
05.21.08 | PROGRESS
I'm making progress on my daisy granny square blankie. I accomplished a lot last night because I just HAD to sit and watch both American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. I was excited that Kristi won DWTS (duh), and actually called to vote for David Archuletta. He just blew me away last night, that little uber-talented twerp.
Anyway, I made some progress on the blanket. All the daisy squares are done (they are more fun to crochet!). I have a few more regular squares to do, and then I have to decide on a color with which to join them. I also have to decide whether or not I will add another round to each square before I join them. Decisions, decisions.
05.20.08 | FUN WITH APERTURE
I played with the aperture button on my camera the other day after reading Miz Booshay's post on Pioneer Woman. It was lots of fun.
The photo at top has an f-stop of f/8, which means it has a large aperture. (Low f-number = large aperture.) The photo on the bottom has an f-stop of f/36, which means it has a smaller aperture. (High f-number = small aperture.)
So you can see that the smaller f-number, or larger aperture, gives the background of the photo a cool ethereal quality, basically just more out of focus, than the larger f-number, or smaller aperture.
I really didn't have the “shimmery light” that Miz talks about, so I didn't get the dramatic effects she got. Plus, Miz explains this all much better, so be sure to check out her post. And try it yourself! It really is lots of fun.
Now, I have to address an important issue here. When Eric reads
this post, he will surely be irritated frustrated
with me, because I'm certain he told me all about this f-stop/aperture
thing at some point. (Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did. A couple of times.
At least. Starting back in the early 1990s.)
His point will be that if HE tells me something, it goes in one ear and out the other. But if someone ELSE, like Miz Booshay for example, tells me something, I'm all like, “Hey Eric, guess what I just learned! It's fascinating!”
I
can see how that would be really annoying frustrating.
I'm going to work on that, I really am.
05.19.08 | THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR
Wow, I feel a lot better today than I have in the past couple of weeks, both physically and mentally.
Maybe it's the nutritious lunches Eric has been making me every day. (A big veggie salad does make you feel better than half a bag of Goldfish crackers! Wow.)
Maybe it's the fact that I got my bum to the YMCA today and actually sweated out some stress and some toxins.
Or, maybe it's these beautiful blossoms.
And these beautiful bees, who are busy busy busy in our tree.
This gorgeous fella with the red stripe actually chased me away after I snapped the shot of his butt. No kidding. I guess he didn't appreciate being photographed without his permission. And from that angle no less. But don't you just kind of want to pet him? He seemed so friendly. At first.
Then there was this black bee with the uneven antennae. What's up with that?
And the wasps, wicked but beautiful.
Thank you Eric, for taking good care of me. Thank you Spring for finally arriving in earnest. And thank you busy busy bees for your beauty and your inspiration. And for not stinging me in retaliation for photographing your butts.
05.17.08 | PART ONE: SO WORTH $11
I'm usually not a huge fan of cheap plastic crap. But yesterday, when temperatures reached the 80s and the girls wanted to “go swimming,” this cheap plastic crappy pool came in really handy.
Several times this winter, when this big crappy pool got in his way in the garage, Eric actually wanted to throw it away! Can you imagine? He's crazy.
PART TWO: MORE TWINS
By the way, in case you were wondering: No, I did not look like this when I was pregnant with twins. Is that woman even human? Anyway, by the looks of this photo, it seems to me like she already has twins, if you know what I mean. Wowza!
05.16.08 | THE FRIDAY ARCHIVES: ERIC AND ANI
This photo is from 2004. Eric playing with Ani. One of my all-time favorites. I love her sweet pudgy smile. I love his tan sexy neck. I love the look of delight on her face. I love the stripes on the shirt she's wearing, and I remember how cuddly she felt when she wore it.
Fast forward a few years to this morning, when I awoke to the sound of Ani telling Eric all about her most recent scary dream. She had crawled into bed with us, and was all snuggled into her daddy's arms. She was chattering away about her dream. I was very sleepy and I couldn't quite hear, but there was something about a closet... and a monster... and Bryni...
Eric's eyes were closed, so I didn't think he was really listening. In fact I thought he'd fallen back to sleep. But then I saw something amazing. As I kept watching, my sweet husband, his eyes still closed, was nodding and saying, “wow” and “uh-huh” and “scary,” at all the right moments. I know he was tired, and he had just a few more precious moments of rest left in his morning. But he gave his time to her. To hear every detail of her dream. To reassure her that all was well.
And I fell in love with him all over again.
05.15.08 | PART ONE: A TREE
This is a tree in our front yard last night, glowing in the late evening light. The bunches of flowers looked as if they were lit up from within. Like those strings of fancy lights you can buy at Target and swag around your deck for parties. Except way better.
And it only lasted a few minutes. By the time I'd taken the photo, walked to the porch and turned around to look back again, the effect was gone. The light had moved on. The plug had been pulled. The party was over.
It sure was pretty while it lasted.
PART TWO: ME
And because the public my friend Mary demands
it — here is my new haircut, in all it's short, sassy glory. Those
of you who've known me for awhile know that my hair hasn't been this
short since like the sixth grade, so this is big for me. It's also “layered” and “styled,” both
of which are relatively new.
Check out the vain (double entendre) attempt on the right, wherein I attempt to minimize the ol' double chin by doing a fish face. It totally didn't work. That is so sad. And kind of funny. Kind of.
05.13.08 | A SPRING OUTING
We went to the park today for a little spring outing. While the girls rode their bikes, Eric and I walked around the track. Check out that green grass, people! Woo-hoo!
A dandelion bouquet — the sweetest gift a mother can receive.
If The Pioneer Woman can
show off her
husband's butt bottom in his chaps, I can show off
these calves.
The girls rode the carousel. Eric and I both get sick when we ride, although this one isn't half as fast as the one in Missoula.
Fun with shutter speed.
Baby larch needles in the most precious shade of green.
Our brood.
Heading through a tunnel.
*****
So, if you came here looking for a craft blog, you may have been sorely disappointed recently. I don't know what is up with me. I just don't seem to have much crafty energy. I have a big pile of works in progress, so I promise I'll get moving and post some fun projects soon. Good luck with YOUR crafty endeavors... and your spring outings!
05.11.08 | MOTHER'S DAY
I'm taking a break from my Motto Posts for a bit because, to tell you the truth, I started feeling pressure each day when I had to post on a specific topic! I want my blog to be a place where I can express what I'm feeling in the moment. Not a place where I feel like I'm finishing an school assignment.
So, since I'm thinking about mothers today —
Happy Mother's Day, everyone! A day late. Oh well.
My Mother's Day was peaceful and pleasant. I started the day at church, teaching Sonja's Sunday School class. Later we enjoyed a lovely lunch, prepared by Eric and his dad. And then last night after dinner, after Eric's parents had returned to Billings, our family took a leisurely walk up the trail in our neighborhood.
Here are my three little hikers, in all their adorable glory. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world when I look at these girls.
I also feel lucky to have my mother and mother-in-law in our lives, both of whom are wise, loving and amazing grandmothers to my girls.
Here are Grandma and Ani cuddling on the couch this weekend during Eric's parents' visit.
I hope your Mother's Day was filled with leisurely walks, and pretty flowers, and cuddles on the couch, and all of the people and things that YOU love.
05.10.08 | FIFTH: LOVE
Breathe. Drink. Eat. Sleep. Love. Work. Craft.
These are the things in my life that I'm trying to keep in order. And in balance.
Fifth: Love.
Now this one is easy! Sleeping and eating are fraught with “difficulties” and “issues,” but loving the wonderful people in my life is purely a pleasure.
I debated whether I should put Work before Love, or Love before Work, because you know, feeding the children is ultimately more important that loving them! But right now, in our family, it's Eric's job to put food on the table and keep the roof over our heads. I'll be contributing in that way soon enough, but for now “cuddling” and “applying Band-aids” are at the top of my daily duties list.
In addition to my sweet husband and beautiful daughters, I have a wonderful extended family and truly precious friends with whom to share life's journey. I have so much love in my life. Tons of love coming in, and piles of love going out.
In the midst of a very busy life, though, it seems like there's never enough time for it all. And, it's easy to forget how important it is to replenish my own coffers. But there has to be time for it all. Time to breathe. Time to nourish. Time to rest.
And then — time to love, love, love and love some more.
05.09.08 | FOURTH: SLEEP
Breathe. Drink. Eat. Sleep. Love. Work. Craft.
These are the things in my life that I'm trying to keep in order. And in balance.
Fourth: Sleep.
I love to sleep. I really do. But deep sleep often eludes me. I haven't exactly figured out why yet, but more days than not I wake up feeling like I didn't even rest. With droopy eyes and an aching body I often stumble through my day, longing for the energy to enjoy the people around me and the tasks before me.
I will continue to seek deep sleep, because after breath and nourishment, it is my most immediate need. When I'm well-rested, I can Love, Work and Craft so much better. And that's the really fun stuff.
05.08.08 | THIRD: EAT
Breathe. Drink. Eat. Sleep. Love. Work. Craft.
These are the things in my life that I'm trying to keep in order. And in balance.
Third: Eat.
I'll be honest with you. I've written and re-written this post about ten times. I suppose my difficulty in writing about food reveals my complex relationship with food.
Food: My distraction. My enemy. My nemesis.
Food: My comfort. My friend. My life source.
How well I eat — the right things in the right proportions for the right reasons — determines how well I can do everything else.
Apparently food and I haven't worked out all our issues yet. But we'll keep trying. We must. You can't quit food cold turkey. So to speak.
05.07.08 | SECOND: DRINK
Breathe. Drink. Eat. Sleep. Love. Work. Craft.
These are the things in my life that I'm trying to keep in order. And in balance.
Second: Drink.
No, I'm not talking about that kind of drinking you crazy party animals. And I'm not even talking about coffee, that sweet nectar that I often think sustains my life. Nope, this is all about water friends. After breath, water is my second-most immediate need. Why is it so easy to forget to drink?
Lack of water brings on fatigue, grumpiness and false hunger. It causes my head to ache and my brain to slow.
Over the past few days, I've watched the gentle spring rains coax the green out of our grass, and cause the daffodil bulbs to burst forth and flower. Surely, water is no less a powerful agent upon me.
Drink, drink, drink, Molly. Don't forget to drink.
05.06.08 | FIRST: BREATHE
Breathe. Drink. Eat. Sleep. Love. Work. Craft.
These are the things in my life that I'm trying to keep in order. And in balance.
First: Breathe.
Without breath I would die in a matter of minutes. It is my first and immediate need.
Without deep breathing, I feel anxious and tired. My chest tightens and my stomach turns. I often find myself holding my breath when I'm working. When I'm thinking. When I'm driving. When I'm blogging.
So now, I take a moment to step outside my back door. To breathe in the smell of the rain that is gently falling on the spring grass.
In. Out. In. Out. At least ten times. Slowly. Deliberately. The heart rate slows. Tension is released. A series of good, deep breaths recharges, refreshes and re-sets me. Helps me feel prepared for the challenges I face. Like laundry. And dishes. And five-year-old twins.
Prayer and meditation are both part of my time spent breathing. Through deep breaths I commune with the One who created me and sustains me. I meditate on the good things in my life, and I offer up endless prayers of gratitude for life and love and beauty and even pain.
In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Keep breathing.
05.05.08 | MAY FLOWERS AT LAST
{a daffodil in our garden}
{a cosmo on our windowsill}
Oh Spring! Have you finally arrived? I've been waiting for you. Don't let anyone tell you that I was impatient. I knew you'd be coming sooner or later.
I sort of expected you in March, and by April I was a little worried. I'll admit it. It really seemed as though you might never come. But I didn't give up hope. Through the blustery snowstorms and the freezing temperatures and the punishing winds, I believed. Really I did.
I'm sure that soon enough I'll be wishing it would cool down a little already. I'll long for the crispness of Fall and the whiteness of Winter. But right now, I'll I want is you Spring, and your warmth, and your blossoms, and your freshness, and your fragrance.
So I accept your flowers Spring, as your apology for taking so very long to arrive. I forgive you.
05.04.08 | OUR WEEKEND, SET TO MUSIC
This is the tower of the Helena Civic Center, where our concerts were held this weekend. As Craig Ferguson would say, “Remiiiiind you of anything?” Men and their architecture — you gotta love it.
Anyway, the Carmina Burana concerts were so much fun. The bad part — and this was very bad — was that I had to miss Sonja's violin recital because it overlapped with one of my performances! Oh sad day.
Here she is, performing at the recital. Even though I wasn't there, I know she played beautifully.
***
For those of you visiting for the first time from allsorts — welcome! I'm so glad you're here.
05.03.08 | ORDER OF OPERATIONS
I'm tired today for so many reasons. The first is probably the string of rehearsals I've had this week for the performance of Carmina Burana tonight. Don't let anyone tell you that singing isn't hard work. This piece is so challenging in so many ways. It's going to be a fun, exhausting weekend.
The second reason I'm tired is because I don't sleep. Well okay, I sleep, but not deeply. It's been a problem for me since my college days, and having lots o' kids didn't exactly make it better. I don't get what is called “restorative sleep,” so over time my joints and muscles begin to ache and I get just a tidge grumpy, or so I'm told.
So I'm trying a sleep aid. It gives me the dry mouth and makes me feel a little funny, but this morning when I woke up I had pillow creases in my face and my eyes were puffy. This may sound normal to you, but for me it's odd. Eric and I agreed that I looked like I'd actually been “sleeping,” whereas I usually just look like a zombie who laid down for awhile at nighttime.
***
As May begins I have a couple of goals for my blog. First, I'm going to join in at allsorts on the “A Post a Day in May” project, even though technically, I've already failed by not posting yesterday. Oh well, Jenny said it was okay.
I'm also going to start a series on what has become my motto. Or my order of operations. Or my hierarchy of needs. Or my “first things first.”
Breathe. Drink. Eat. Sleep. Love. Work. Craft.
My goal lately is to keep these things in order. And to keep these things in balance. Of course there is more to my life, but I feel most things are contained in these activities. Prayer is part of breathing. Exercise is part of working. Writing is part of craft.
I'll expand on each of them in posts to come. For now I'm off to actually “curl my hair” and “apply makeup”. And then to sing my heart out. O Fortuna!
05.01.08 | QUINTESSENTIAL HELENA
Last Friday, we went downtown for a Spring Art Walk...
...that included a sculpture by one of our favorite artists.
While there, I took some photos of Helena, our beautiful capital city. At top — St. Helena Cathedral.
The fire tower built in 1876 to protect Helena from devastation by fire.
The trolley, ferrying folks up and down the Walking Mall.
The women's mural, honoring the women who shaped Montana's history.
And a tree, heavy with catkins. A sure sign of spring.
