katiemae_days

giving warmth...

The rain that came to town earlier this week and by yesterday turned to snow. Saying yes to snow in the mountains and yes to the possibility of skiing and yes for all the gratitude that we feel for having our home, and warmth and each other and yes to the generosity of all of those who knit and crocheted and donated warm woolens to our "Warmth for Washington" project.

My girl and I dropped off the beautiful bounty of crocheted hats from Mia at Homespun Helpers. We took the big box of hats to the Interfaith Coalition just in time it seemed for the latest cold snap. I stopped by their offices again today to drop off another small stash of hand-knit woolens and the staff person told me the beautiful crocheted hats made by Mia had already been distributed to people on the streets.

I'm excited to keep growing the "Warmth" project to be even bigger next year. Thank you again to all who have generously donated their time and hand crafted goodness.

warmth and song...

So when I was down south in the Big City this weekend, my dear pal handed me a stash of hats her mom knit up for the "Warmth for Washington". We'll deliver this next batch late this week or early next to one of our local shelters. We've had an extraordinary amount of snow and rain so I feel grateful to be able to deliver hand-knit warmth to people in need. Thank you so much to S. down in Seattle for her time and energy and heart in making these; and once again to others who contributed to our project. We're gonna keep collecting hand-knits all year long figuring and just continue to cycle them on to those in need in our area. We'll collect right on through summer and next Fall in order to be even more prepared for next winter.

And in the spirit of warmth, my girl and her 5 pals have been singing together for the last many months weekly. They think of themselves as a band and change their name as they feel it. They used to call themselves "Salad-Face" but of late changed the name to the "Jingle Bell Rockers" or something close. A friend of ours, "C" has been working with the girls each week teaching them a whole variety of songs. Each of these girls loves to sing and dance. So in celebrating the New Year, the end of our last few months of lessons, we had a potluck Sunday night hosted by my dear friend of 3Wallins fame.  Let me tell you, she put Martha to shame with how beautifully she entertained our crew. The elements of this night were just so rockin great. Wonderful friends, delectable food and drink, and magnificent song. 

"C" is an amazing teacher of children, there is just no doubt about it. Each and every time I watch one of these concerts big or small, I've got tears in my eyes at some point in the night. Not just because of the sweetness of the music coming from these kids but because she inspires so magnificently the love of music in each one of them. She teaches piano, guitar and singing and while most of these end of the season shows feature all of her students, performing their songs, many of which they've written themselves or improvise in the moment. This, though was a special show of just our girls for just our families.

What struck me most as it always does when I hear my girl and her pals sing..is the freedom they feel. All singing out strong, feeling the music and moving their bodies as they felt it. Ahh this is how those tears come, that is for sure. This is pure joy in the moment and each one of us as parents felt it and were beaming. The girls sang from "My Fair Lady" and "Mary Poppins", "Wizard of Oz" and oh a 60s classic(I think?) "Grazing in the Grass". Now there may not be much cuter than 5, 5 year olds singing out with flare "Baby, can ya dig it!". The night was perfect really except for us missing one of the band and her family due to the flooding south of us. Fortunately, they are just fine but the road to where they live was under water this weekend.

There is a freedom within that music inspires. Freedom to let our souls dance. When the music sinks right down into my bones, I feel it. Who cares if I can't carry a tune so well, I'm singing out when I've moved too. And dancing with every muscle in my body. Music my path for being one with myself..in the groove so to speak..Now that is a hard one to express but its that feeling of just being so in tune, and deep down connected with myself that all feels pure. Joyful. And this joy is what shined so brightly in these wonderful girls. I love seeing in my girl, in each of these girls, the freedom they feel in themselves and the magic that ignites. For all of this beautiful warmth, I am so very grateful.

giving warmth

Here are a few of the beautiful warm and toasty items contributed so far to "Warmth for Washington". We are continuing to accept donated hand-knits through the winter and appreciate so much your participation near and far. Thank you!

with our hands

On this rainy Northwest day, my girl and I hunkered down in  the kitchen and  made a two loaves of a lovely white french style bread. We read books while the bread was rising and listened to music together. The Papa had to work late tonight so it was girls night around here. All day I thought about making bread of kneading and working the dough with our hands.  I have felt inspired and incredibly awake inside in thinking about this marvelous time we are living in, that we are being in. Being in. Yes.  Actively.

Yes there is much to do on the arduous path ahead but we will continue to trek, together. For me, my family, my community near and far, I feel inspired to keep working and giving in ways perhaps I cannot even imagine yet. I know deeply we will continue to raise our voices and dig in. With our hands, hearts and minds, we will be of service. With compassion, we will work together. We will ask what can we do.

As we made this bread together tonight,  I thought about all that we want to continue to teach our girl about digging in and giving back to our community, our country our world, about speaking out for what she believes in, in a way true for her does matter, her voice can affect change and that she is capable of achieving with hard work what she may dream.  I thought about how she will understand one day the magnitude of the tides that are changing and how blessed we are to be raising our girl in this momentous time.

I am deeply grateful we are living in this time and that this day has come when hope persevered and won. I am grateful we can see together barriers beginning in big ways to fall. As my dear friend and I were smiling widely chatting across the internet with each other today sharing our pledges of hope and commitments of putting our compassion into action, she shared this with me.

The Great Leap

It's yours-take it!
Leap like a lunatic, over the chasm below,erupting as you go
Your true self awaits you
Now, you will know!

written by Jane Evershed


We have leapt together perhaps toward our new collective self. And we will continue to make tremendous leaps by working together in this new day. Amazing.

As we finished our stories for the night and turned our her light and said goodnight, my girl said "Mama, I'm so glad to have this night with you"...yes my sweet I am so glad too.

inspired.....

On this September day, i am feeling inspired. I stop on my bike and look to the bay and feel grateful for where I live, for who is in my life, for what we have each day. And I know for all that I have and receive, I can give just as much...

I was recently inspired, moved really by a project I first learned about over at Soulemama called Nest: Bringing Warmth Home which "seeks to connect knitters and other fiber enthusiasts with people in need of warm items for the coming winter. We plan to distribute new donated hats, mittens, fingerless mitts, cowls and scarves in the Ft. Kent {Maine} area by mid-September." I told a coworker friend about it and we're getting ready to send our warm woolens over to the other coast to help out with this wonderful project.

Learning about the Nest: Bringing Warmth Home project was timely I guess along with learning about the 29-Day Giving Challenge as I am consciously working on ways I can give more to my community big and small.

Fall is approaching, and the temperatures are beginning to dip here in the Northwest too. Gas and oil prices are projected at unprecedented highs this winter nationwide, many face crisis in meeting the challenge of heating their homes. According to this article in our local paper, community and emergency assistance organizations across the country are not necessarily going to have the budgets to help all of those in need. And for many, who are not in a home rented or otherwise and living on the street, winter can mean even more brutal challenges.

So we got to brainstorming my friend and I about what more we can do locally. Having been inspired by this wonderful project in Maine, we have decided to get something going right here in our neck of the woods.We thought first we would gather friends and family, coworkers together for for a warm-clothing drive for our town and county.

Then we decided why stop there, let's open this up to a much larger community and see how we can work together to help. We will donate what we gather to a few local agencies in our country who provide clothing to those in need. More information on these non-profits in the next few days.

So...we welcome you to join in our project: "Warmth for Washington". Knitters, crocheters, fleece-crafters, we welcome your hand-made warm and cozies (hats, scarves, mittens, fingerless mitts, cowls) If you are not a knitter purchased warm and natural-fiber items in new condition are much appreciated too:

Please mail your items to:

Warmth for Washington
PO Box 2415
Bellingham, WA
98227-2415

I am grateful for the chain at inspiration that began by reading about this project in Maine over at SouleMama  and to Jean at Nest: Bringing Warmth Home for inspiring us over here to do a little more for our community.