katiemae_days

and a Happy New Year..

Freewriting on a  New Year's Eve Afternoon.

What a difference a year makes. What a year of change and like milk apparently, change can do a body (and soul) some good. I wasn't anticipating every change but let me say I am glad things happened the way they did.

For starters...

I got laid off. Never did I expect to go into work the day after Inauguration day and leave without a job. I did know business was slow but well I just never figured I'd be cut. After all, I was doing good work, I'd contributed to the company blah blah blah. When business hurts it hurts. While I'd been secretly dreaming of quitting my job for months I did not have the kahunas to do it. I just didn't think it would be financially responsible. Well they did it for me. So after a few weeks of feeling the blues about it all, I woke up and looked at this experience as a big ole gift. I've never been one to not work and here I am months in to period of not working very consistently by my own choice and design. I launched a small web design business, started to sell some of my photography in notecard form and am about to start a year-long training of which I'll share more once I've truly embarked on this new trail. Of course there are moments, hours, days even where I shout to myself inside "what in the hoot-n-anny am I doing?..I gotta find a job" and then I stop to remind myself of this: I am here more centered from home, something I longed to be doing. And I am transitioning, a journey unto its own as I figure out this new path I'm on. So this change of going from working for someone else alongside some very nice people in a job I didn't particularly love to working more and more from home and exploring new dreams well its been a good thing.

For seconds...

I am exercising once more consistently and getting stronger. Praise the goddess of muscles and getting fit for helping me see the light of day and for that matter the beginnings of some minor tricep definition. No I'm not body-building and I'm not ripped with muscles. I am though investing in a core-fitness boot camp that is nothing short of wonderful. I am pushing myself in new ways that feels exciting and hey I like the way I feel and I'm getting stronger.

And...

My girl started first grade. I am so grateful for her joy and thrill about her new world. She is loving reading, taking pictures and writing stories of her own. She is growing and changing by the day it seems sometimes. We have had so far some spectacular days skiing in the sun, roadtripping this summer, hiking and biking and drawing and painting, reading and just being. How fast time goes. How grateful I am for the sweetness we share.

And...

The Papa continues to work hard in his profession not always finding the easiest way with budget cuts state and federal-wide but he perseveres. I am proud of him for that. I am grateful for our differences. Through them we learn.

For me, this year has flown and I am grateful for the sweetness I can taste, our health, these quiet moments, for the challenge which pushes for change, for what we have tangible and not, for my family near and far and my friendships. As we welcome in this New Year, I think about this journey of discovery. I think about growing my self, my compassion, my family. I think about challenge and flexing to greet new experiences. I think about what I can do for someone else.

For this year, I wish or you joy, peace, health and much love abound. I wish for you time in to just be as you want to be doing as you want to do.

Now I'm off to get some collard greens and black-eyed peas to make for the New Year. A tradition from my southern roots that I gladly keep.

Be safe and well and Have Good Cheer as you ring in the New Year.

twas three days after Christmas...

 

Yep three days after Christmas and I am down with some nasty virus thing that I am determined to not let take over the rest of our vacation week. I am resting today about to watch "The Tudors" on Netflix Instant download while I drink tea and balance my checkbook. My girl is off playing with a friend and the Papa is doing his thing to make sure I'm staying vitaminized and quenched in the fluid department.

We had a fantastic holiday and days leading up to Christmas. A day trip skiing, and another to our big city to see the lights, ride the holiday carousel and visit the Science Museum. We had an Italian-themed potluck here for one night for several families in and around our hood. I made two pans of eggplant parmesan experimenting with different recipes and then made one big pan of lasagna. Friends brought salad and antipasti and dessert and plenty of wine. I loved this night so full of fun and wonderful people and conversation. The kids ended up putting on a play for the parents later in the night. They drew set designs, donned wears from our dress-up stash and kept us well-entertained when performance time came.

I love the days leading up to Christmas, the staying up late wrapping and the putting on finishing and starting touches on some hand-made gifts. I love turning my office into my own little elf workshop in the wee hours of the night. I love the time the Papa and I had feeling excited together about Christmas morning for our girl and the time we spent watching a couple of movies late into the night while our girl snoozed away dreaming of sugar plum fairies and Santa's sleigh I'm sure.

On Christmas Eve, we baked batches of cookies and passed them around to a few neighbors and nearby friends and of course sampled more than a few ourselves.

More to come on Christmas and the rest of Christmas Eve but for now I must stop writing and take a nap or who am I kidding get back to "The Tudors" and knock this yuck out of me.In a nutshell, we had a joyful, peaceful and beautiful holiday. Quiet, tasty and lovely. We hung out with two sets of good friends who were visiting their families here. Good long walks, a swim in their hotel pool and well a night of Rock Band and Guitar Hero now that perhaps deserves a post of its own. 

Hope you have enjoyed your holidays so far too doing just as you want to do.

and we raised our hands to the sun....

Ah we're back my girl and I from a beautiful, all-too-quick trip to Florida. Thanksgiving is my family's time to gather, celebrate and reunite. We meet in Florida because most everyone lives there. This time of year in my family is a sacred place in time. Renewing, fortifying, empowering is the time in being together.

Each night during or after our Thanksgiving meal, we go around the room and say what we are thankful for. All thirty so of us. Beautiful are these moments.

I look to my parents now in their eighties and relish every moment with them. I am honored to look to these two incredible people who raised their seven children and instilled such a sense of family in our hearts. I am grateful for my brothers who are salt of the earth each one, full of integrity and wisdom. I am thankful for my sister and sisters-in-law who for me bypass any in-law designation. I am grateful for the next generation in my nieces and nephews and all that I learn from them. I am grateful as my family continues to grow through marriage and new birth. I am grateful that with my family, I am always at home.

There are a lot of us and being with a big bunch can be overwhelming. What is most special I think are the intimate moments. A walk on the beach, a quiet talk. Seeing my girl play in delight with her cousins and uncles and aunties; Or knitting along side her older cousin and then crawling into her lap in the sun. I am grateful as I see the joy in my sweet dear father's face as he stands before us to give thanks. I am grateful as I see my mother strong and true still putting this beautiful tradition together.   These moments, every single one of them are precious. I know this. 

Another beautiful element in our time together is when the women in my family gather on the beach and celebrate one another. From ten months to eight-five, there are three generations of women connected. We share our strength, our dreams, growth and challenges, our thoughts, gratitude and our quiet. The time is sacred to be sure. We remind one another of our connection as women and as sisters generation to generation. We learn from one another. I look to my mother, our elder, to my sisters and nieces, to my daughter. I am amazed and honored we experience this together.

We were blessed this year to have a beautiful, chilly day for our circle in the sand. We raised our hands to the sun and gave thanks to the elements. We sent light to one anothe and to the outer circle beyond this circle in the sand. Every year our circle grows.

My niece took this picture of my girl and her cousin looking to the ocean. An image so precious to me. This is family. Connection. And for this, I feel so deeply grateful for our time together.

beauty that is....

loving:

the light after a good hard rain

variation in color illuminated

sounds of laughter and joy on the move

three little ones running through the woods in search of eggs, eggs and more eggs

time organic, nothing planned

 this beautiful day spent with dear friends and family

children at play imagination alive

papas napping watching golf

morning, afternoon, evening woven, flowing

loving and grateful for what is..

the food we share

the ease we feel

just being

and letting each other be

nothing more, nothing less

just what is

yes

gratitude

the weekend and what i love

Loving:

1. Tulips. For me, a sign that Spring is coming even if a couple of months away. For now though, Spring appears our dining room table.my favorite color.

2. Handmade cards, using what we have, scraps and paints and pastels, markers and crayons and seeing where freeing our creative minds and hearts goes

3. My girl in her tights and boots. oh yes, how I wished they made these in my size! But more, I love her free spirit mixing and matching to her hearts content. Free and Easy!

4. This picnic bench in our neighbor's yard. I just like it. Feels old and good to me.

5. Receiving a bounty of amazing crocheted hats for Warmth for Washington, thanks to the creative and giving hands of Mia over at Homespun Helpers

6. A completely relaxing Saturday. A walk to town with my girl to pick a special Valentine's chocolate, locally made, for her and one wee one for her Papa.

7. Family ski day! What a great day. Grateful I was to feel so in sync with the three of us riding the chair together and skiing down. The Papa is not always free from work to spend the whole day playing let alone skiing up at the mountain nearby. Hearing the laughter and joy from my girl as she blazed down the hill with her Papa and Mama in tow, yes this I love.

8. The mountains. Beauty to behold, stopping to just look at these majestic and grand peaks and all kids of gratitude about where we live.

9. My girl ready for the day. A full day of skiing ahead(and it proved to be). We skiied until the lifts closed!

celebrating light...

We celebrate Hanukkah right alongside Christmas in our home bringing in the traditions from both the Papa and my childhood experiences together for our girl. For me, its mostly about celebrating the season, of being together, opening our home to friends, cooking, baking, remember seasons past, enjoying this time of year. We light the candles sing the Hanukkah blessings for the eight nights of this holiday. Some years I make a big batch of latkes(potato pancakes)..Last year I made so many for a Hanukkah dinner with friends that I broke my food processor. This year, just quiet lights make this Hanukkah celebration peaceful and bright. We light each candle and wish for peace throughout the world.

And last night, the Papa and I had an ultra-local, no frills date at home once our girl was asleep for the night. I knit up this hat, we watched a movie called "Rendition", drank tea and ate Christmas cookies. A good, relaxing night it was.

The hat I knit up with a bulky Peruvian Alpaca. I like bulky wools  because I can move along quickly and for me a slow knitter well finishing a hat in one evening is darn sweet. I knit the hat for both my girl and me to wear figuring it would fit on me like a beanie and fit her a little bit better. The hat runs small but its cute and sits on top both of our heads like a little button cap. I just knit in the round for 10 or so rows and started a decrease that turned out to be a compilation of several different patterns. Knit two together, knit 3, then 2 then 1. Hat finished complete. I'll have to snap a photo of it on top my girl's head.

I wish I could knit up another fast as we may go skiing tomorrow and well I just don't have a hat that goes over my ears. I'll figure something out!

Enjoy your weekend, may it be peaceful and bright.

days of holiday cheer

Happy Season to you all. I hope this finds you enjoying peaceful, relaxing, happy-filled holidays with those you love.

A sweet relaxing time here. Christmas eve spent indoors making photo albums, playing games, preparing snacks for Santa, watching afternoon's sleet turn into an evening snow. Papa made his family's traditional Christmas eve dinner of pierogies and sausage. Late night, the elves around here were busy putting the finishing touches on presents and wrapping and toasting to the holiday with a wee bit of champagne.  One very excited girl up very early on this Christmas day patiently awaiting till the clock struck 8 to see if Santa ate her carefully prepared snack of homemade cookies and a lovely satsuma just to make sure he had enough vitamin C for the day...And to her tremendous delight, the snack was gobbled and a little note of thanks left. Art supplies, music and fairies were the theme of gifts this year for all, some hand-made, recycled and some not. And from the girl to her Papa and Mama homemade peppermint soap and a beautiful glittering tree shaped ornament made from applesauce, glue and cinnamon.  Friends whose travel plans were stopped short by the snow that came to town came to share our holiday meal. Fish Chowder, Chicken Cacciatore and decadent chocolate cake made for full and happy bellies. My girl and I stayed right in our jammies for the duration...making this a most relaxing day. For the warmth of family and home, for the joy and light in our girl's eyes, for these relaxing days with eachother, I am grateful.

sunday in the snow..yippeee!

Well, I have to give it to our girl for having a beautiful amount of patience this Sunday morning. She woke at 6:45 am very geared up for some play in the snow that came our way last night in a whopper of an arctic blast. Snow and her remembering we would be seeing "The Nutcracker" later in the day were enough to get this girl out of bed very early this morning.

Her Papa, knowing I the Mama needed a bit of extra rest to blast away a nasty cold, went to see if he could coax this girl back to sleep. Nope, she'd have none of that so he went back to sleep and she hung out in her room for a long while reading books and listening to books on tape and by the time I got up to greet her good morning, there she was doing puzzles on her bed.  My girl singing songs from "Mary Poppins" and working on puzzles was a sweet sight for this Mama. Watching my girl so engaged in her own fun loving her time with herself filled my heart.

Since the snow came to town, that meant we had to hustle to find all our colder weather gear. Good trial run for skiing I figured. Glad we did have this practice run as everything was too small from thermals to gloves to her winter coat. This bean has grown.

Once bundled up enough, the Papa and the girl head out into the blustery cold. Her goal was to make a snowman but apparently this snow didn't pack quite enough stick..That's ok though, we live just up the block from a big hill so that's where they head for a little sledding.

They came in to warm up with hot cocoa and mama hugs and before we knew it, it was time to get ready for our afternoon at the ballet. We had fun dressing up together my girl and me. She found just the holiday dress at our last consignment run. A dark red velvet long sleeve that ties in the back. This girl's dream of a fancy party dress.

I think going to "The Nutcracker" with our dear friends has swiftly become an annual tradition in our holiday celebrations. And this local production of "The Nutcracker" was wonderful. The girls both 5 1/2 sat on their mamas laps mesmerized for two hours. We all loved the leaps and twirls and amazing grace and strength of the dancers. We loved the music and beautiful costumes. And living in a town relatively small makes seeing a local production even more fun as we recognize schoolmates and neighbors and all sorts of familiar faces on stage.

Yes, a great afternoon on this snow-filled, cold blustery day making this Mama feel very grateful.

crafts in the making

Here's a glimpse of phase one of our holiday gift project. Its rather simple and yet so exciting at least to us. More on the finished project when we finish. We poured through pictures and talked and listened to good good music around our table. The Papa brought home a CD from the library called "Going Driftless; An Artist's Tribute to Greg Brown". This is one of the most beautiful CDs I've listened to in a long time. With voices like Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Iris Dement, Ani DeFranco, Mary Chapin Carpenter well how could you go wrong. But then there are voices I've not heard before that blew me away like Lucy Kaplansky, Greg Brown's daughters: Pieta, Zoe and Constie Brown, Karen Savoca and more. The entire CD...stellar. , .

Making something together around our table made for a very warm, cozy evening on this cold winter's night.  And oh yes a batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies added just the right amount of sweet to this night. Snow may be on its way and making crafts and cookies and hunkering down indoors and quieting down for awhile sounds good to me.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

quiet in the rush

So we've committed around here to keeping the holidays mellow when it comes to buying. We try to most years. I'm lucky in our household that the Papa is always about mellow when it comes to buying. He is definitely one for recycled, re-found gifts, for making what he can when he has the time. Rarely does he buy something new and if he does, well it will most likely be made by some local fabulous artisan. I follow suit as much as possible. Sure, I buy a book or calendar each year for my girl as a tradition and an ornament or two and this year new art supplies that we need because we've run our markers dry and the well the Mama here wants us to play with some watercolor crayons and some new super cool tri-color crayons that got me all aflutter. 

Now keeping it simple means for me I'm making most of the few gifts I am giving this year. But making gifts still required me to travel to a few craft stores to get my key ingredients. I did that today and I found most of what I needed in two hours (I had to go to 3 stores to find the size magnets I needed) and by craft store #3,  I noticed myself entering the state of holidazed. I had my list, checked it twice and tried to stick to just the list..still I picked up an extra roll of ribbon or two because they were a bargain. Yes I caved to the bargain but not much justification needed for picking up a cheap and pretty roll of ribbon or two that I'll use all year long.

Anyway, as I finished buying my craft-making necessities, I left the building and looked up to the sky. I stopped, breathed and soaked it in...right there in "Michael's" parking lot.

Dear Moon.

There you are quietly illuminating this early night sky. Peacefully still, subtle on the rise. Just the gentle reminder I need to quiet in the rush around. Remember simple. Remember to find the moments with eachother, they're what matter most.

Thanks Moon, I needed that-

K

and you oranges, I just like the way you look in that bowl and you remind me of the quiet and still too and being together around the table