Springtime Things

Springtime means:

Ants! Oh boy. I'm so glad I'm not squeamish and that I know they are harmless, because they are everywhere. They come and go, so I try to be friendly about killing them and not get too stressed.

Crazy Weather! Holy Cow! I've gone from flipflops and sundresses back to wool sweaters and and socks yesterday and today. I shot a wedding yesterday and the poor family had come down from NY state on Wednesday to glorious sun and warmth, then the day of the wedding dawned chilly and overcast, with spits of rain on and off all day. None of those things could dim the beauteous glow emanating from this couple, however.

General Conference! I just love this chance to set the world aside and immerse myself in spiritual things. It is so restful and uplifting to have this chance all weekend. It happens twice a year and each time it is a deep, cleansing breath of centering on the most important things. Anyone is welcome to listen here.

Making Things! I'm making kits for a service project, little daily art projects just for myself, and these cute little things called Hexipuffs that will someday be sewn together into this. It's good to be busy and feel creative.

And lots more things, but this is a taste. This week is spring break which will be both relaxing and busy, thanks to some scheduled things, the opportunities for unscheduled things, and getting ready for Easter. Plans for Europe are proceeding, with tickets purchased, documents in process, and plans being made.

Now I'm off to make cinnamon rolls, eat some Chipotle goodness and get ready for our traditional breakfast tomorrow. We're sharing with a couple of friends again, and it will be great.

Happy Spring everyone!

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Book Review: Unbroken

Unbroken
By Laura Hillenbrand
Biography
You might like this book if you enjoyed the author's previous work, Seabiscuit, or if you are interested in tales of overcoming difficulty, especially during wartime.

This book satisfied all my senses. It is a well-written account of Louis Zamperini, an early-20th Century running prodigy who unexpectedly made the 1936 Olympic team, was training for the 1940 Olympics (which were canceled because of the war) and then got drafted. His life during the war years included truly astonishing experiences going down in a plane over the pacific, being lost, being found, being enslaved as a POW, being liberated, being enslaved again by his own mind, then being liberated again by the power of forgiveness.

Zamperini is fully described, warts and all, from his years as an incorrigible youth to his incredible talent and work ethic as an elite athlete to his optimism and resilience during his incarceration to his wrenching homecoming all the way through to his recovery and subsequently peaceful later life.

I just fell in love with the man. His frustrating childhood gave me hope that the strong-willed parts of my children will be a boon to them in the difficulties of later life. His wonderful ebullience about life and the joy he found in running made me want to put my shoes on and get back out on the road, in spite of a little hip pain. His ability to keep a hold of his mind as his body was broken in the Japanese camps was hard to understand. I have no idea how I would respond to such evil.

This book also tells an interesting piece of the story of WW2. I honestly did not know that much about the Pacific theater and the role that Japan had played in so much suffering in Asia. I knew bits and pieces but that was all. As I read of atrocities and evils perpetrated by governments and institutions, I found myself thinking of the all-around goodness of individual people and how sad it is that we the normal people must get caught up over and over again in the machinations of others who have become drunk with power. I remember another book, Street of  a Thousand Blossoms, that takes place in civilian Japan during the same time period and tells a different story of the same war. I am grateful I do not have to judge those times or those people, and this book simply tells what happened with equanimity and a lot of compassion. In the end, the humanity of even the brutal guards at the camps was pointed out and the final message was one of redemption.

When considering war, I must conclude again that I cannot understand it using the lens of my everyday experience. It surpasses such simplification. It is evil in all ways, but yet sometimes we must engage in order to protect what is true and valuable. The intentions of individuals are what I believe God will judge, rather than actions that we can only know the smallest part about. This book reminded me that the power of God to show his love to the people of earth truly can transcend the things that we humans bring upon ourselves.

For that, and the life of Louis Zamperini, I am grateful.

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A Day in the Sun

Wheaton Regional Park's new playground

Last week, when the weather was mild, my sister was visiting, and she has three young sons. So, it was time for a day out in the sun. Little boys need to be outside on a day like that, so down to the park with the awesome playground we went. We ate a picnic lunch and I was able to sit in the sun with my sister, which is a rare and precious thing. The boys climbed and ran and explored and it was just grand. My nephews are funny and sweet and quirky and make me smile in a million little ways.

The very friendly Boy in the White Shirt takes his place
among the brothers

Clearly, their good personalities were shining through because there was this little boy at the park that just attached himself to 10-year old E and followed him everywhere. Up the ladders and down. Up the mountain and down. Into the web and all over. I was taking their pictures suspended in the webbing and he was right there, asking me to take his photo as well. Clearly he had found his tribe in these three little brothers. It was cute. At one point I think E was trying to sort of get rid of him by tracing an ever more complex path through the playground but the kid in the white shirt just stuck right by him.


After a couple of hours it was time to go home and we loaded up for a stop at the Trader Joes there on 29 just outside the beltway. It was easier for them to wait in the car with my sis so I promised I would be out in 7 minutes. We synchronized watches and I made it in 3:50. Ha!

There was much feasting on chocolate orange jellies and chocolate covered pretzels. I know TJ's has a lot of good stuff, but for me, they are the highest quality junk food in the land.


This was a good day of blue skies, laughter and fun, and I want to remember it.

There was a pair of hawks wheeling and dancing
overhead. 

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Riding the Waves

Rather like a surfing competition, this has been a rough, intense, up and down kind of week.

My sister visited with her kids. Up. Intense.

My dog, who is old and blind and a bit incontinent, combined those three characteristics a few too many times. Down. Rough.

One kid had a couple of setbacks that threatened to actually break my heart. Down. Intense. Rough.

I got to celebrate some of the fabulous things my friends' kids are doing and accomplishing while simultaneously weeping for my own kid. Up. Down. Rough.


I thought for a couple of hours that I had lost a chunk of data that contained large amounts of my body of work over the last couple of months. Down. Rough. Intense.


My sweet husband did several small but important jobs around the house for our family yesterday. Thanks to him, my vegetable garden is ready to plant! Up. 


Today, I've hit the metaphorical beach and am trying to enjoy the warm sand instead of fighting the water.  I have kind of stopped everything for a little while. I am breathing. And endeavoring to eat more edamame than chocolate chips. And looking for inspiring things. Actually I was doing that all week in an effort to stay on top of the wave and ride it to shore.

I mostly did. My sister and I had a great time. The dog is still alive. The setbacks are not fatal. The data was never lost, just confused.  It's all part of the ride.

Here are some things that were my surfboard:

1. That sister. Heroine. Rock Star. Her legs don't work but she drove to see me with her three boys aged 10, 7 and 7. It took 10+ hours in her magic van (in which she can only use her ARMS for all driving tasks) from TN. Imagine steering, accelerating and braking with just two arms and no chance to rest them if you want your magic van to keep going). It was an awesome visit and I love her for it.

2. This quote I found on Facebook that feels really, really true and reminds me that my job is to help my children to become their best selves more than it is to make sure they do certain things. It also helped me want to be happy for my friends' kids and really rejoice for them. That felt much better than the other alternatives that crossed my mind:

You try all your life to be somebody - well thought of, accomplished, substantial - and then in a flash of light you realize: it was an ill quest. And unnecessary. The things of import are right before us - all around us, even. Offering ourselves in love to those around us is the work of greatest import. Nay, work it is not; it is all there is. (James Ferrell)

3. That kid. Keeps trying. Awesome in every single important way. Introduced me to this song and made me smile.

4. This blog post from C.Jane Kendrick.  
My sister-in-law linked to this and I'm glad because Holy Cow I'm an emotional eater. I could not stop tossing things into my mouth this week as I tried to slow my mind down. Apparently I can only process rapid-fire situations if my jaw is moving. Are there any studies about that? Maybe I could be a test subject.  I gained 8 lbs this week! Sigh. At least I have something compelling I can click on and read while I'm snacking, right?

5. And not really last of all, but I'll stop putting links in this post, is this Tedtalk by Susan Cain. She wrote a book about being an introvert. It is kind of nice to hear someone else say how I feel and talk about how it sometimes is truly better to just do things quietly and alone, without it having to be a big collaboration. This helped me remember that being an introvert is not a liability, which during a couple of moments this week, I thought it might be.


Okay. Back to the waves we go.

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Word Play

I've always loved playing with words. I kept journals as a kid and collected rubber stamps to embellish the pages. I bought stencils and calligraphy pens so I could write in different ways. When computers came around, I immediately loved fonts and desktop publishing. These days, with nothing more than a click and a dream, I can create stuff I never could before. Here is some fun I've been having lately. Feel free to download and use these if you can. I made them for church use, but I'm happy to share.

The first was done in InDesign, the second in a nifty app that I can literally spend hours in called LetterMPress. It's available for both iPad and Mac and it simulates the process of creating letterpress prints. SO much fun. I'll never be able to try the real thing, but this gives you the unique woodblock look, the slowness, the old-fashioned set-up and even the sounds of placing your type and art, securing it all with magnets and bars, mixing custom inks and then watching the paper go through the roller. Digital art agrees with me because I can have all the fun but none of the mess, plus I never lose anything.

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Nature=Love

The world is tilting back toward the sun and the weather is crazy. Today was in the seventies after it being in the 40's on Monday with snow flurries. We're supposed to have wild winds and rain tonight, then tomorrow it will be mild and sunny again.

This is good news. Tilting skies and blowing winds mean that change is coming and it will be time for new things. I worked in the garden today and loved the soft air and green shoots everywhere. I gathered up the remains of last year's leaves to make way for this year's fresh growth and marveled at the regularity of the seasons. I'm still thinking about that last book I read and how the changing of the seasons brought feelings of peace and order. I love that about the natural world.

The other night the moon was so bright there were moon shadows and even in my bright urban sky and with that moon just dominating most of the stars,  I could see Jupiter and Venus right next to each other. I need to get our telescope out one of these nights when they are close. I love seeing Jupiter's rings and  great spot and being able to discern the brightness of Venus' reflective atmosphere.

Inside my own house, nature has also prevailed and all the seeds I planted have sprouted. I give them warmth and moisture, then light and air and soon I'll have plants. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with them and get them ready to move outside in a couple of months or so.

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Opened Up

The winter, mild as it has been, kind of closed in on me. I went for several dr. appointments and testing to find out about the pain in my body and I just couldn't think of anything too interesting to write about. I don't have Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is good news. I do have a vitamin D deficiency, but these days, it seems that everyone does, with the internet and sunscreen and all that.  But that means the pain in my joints is still a mystery. Maybe it is the beginnings of Osteoarthritis, but I kind of failed that test, too.  They X-rayed my back and it was fine, so the constant sciatica might be coming from Piriformis Syndrome. That comes from either running too much or sitting too much. Don't you love it when the doctor says things like that?

So, the pain persists but a diagnosis remains elusive. There are worse things. But it kind of took hold of my mind.

Then I went away for 10 days and could think of other things and saw my family and soaked up the magical light of Arizona. I took photos and taught classes and saw friends and felt a little more real, not so much like I was acting in the play called Kellie's Life.

The rare Army Jeep my brother restored, part by part. It is really beautiful. 

Really, there is nothing better than a three-year old niece in her ballet togs. 

I have the best sisters-in-law on the planet. Seriously. 

I love Arizona. I just do. 

My lovely sister in her 7th month

In between I knit-blogged and worked on art projects and made a fresh start to lose some weight so that I can try to ease some of the pain that way.

Last night I started seeds indoors and started preparing to put the first seeds outside in the garden this week. The indoor batches are on my seed-starting shelves in the family room and sitting here on the sofa while the boys play a board game and Sara works on her painting, I can smell the earthy soil as it cradles those miraculous little packages of life. I'm always amazed, every single year, that something so small and dry can grow into mighty plants from which I can get actual food to eat or flowers to brighten my day. It's just as amazing to me, on Sunday afternoons like these when everything slows down and we just hang out together laughing or making cookies or singing the latest silly song from YouTube, that these beautiful, intelligent, funny creatures are my children, all grown up. It's astonishing.

And then there's this book I just read. It held me until the very end, bringing back my old days of reading books, non-stop, in a day or two. It was beautiful and heartbreaking and hopeful, all at the same time. The words made pictures and textures and I felt like I was actually on a farm in Maine

Spring is coming, I can feel the light and energy building, ready to break open the long darkness of winter and bring new creativity and excitement.

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Book Review: This Life is In Your Hands

This Life is In Your Hands
by Melissa Coleman
Genre: Memoir
You might like this book if you are a fan of the writings of Eliot Coleman, organic gardening expert, or you like memoirs such as Glass Castles that tell real stories of families that go through extreme circumstances.

My Review:
This book just grabbed me by the throat from the first few words and images. The writing is beautiful and almost mystical in tone.  I found it by chance when I was searching my library catalog for the Eliot Coleman books I check out every year in the early spring. He is a gardening expert whose teachings about feeding the soil rather than using pesticides resonate with me. I never knew much about him personally, but this book, by his oldest daughter, has changed all that. She writes with honesty, clarity and care about her growing-up years on a homestead in rural Maine during the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970's.  She tells a story of ideals coming face to face with reality and of the dreams of a visionary contrasting with the daily needs of raising a family. Along the way there is tragic loss, heartbreak and glimpses into what it really means to find the truest meaning in life.

At times, life was idyllic, at times life was just dang hard, and at all times, the Coleman family worked incredibly hard to make their homestead a home. In the end, in spite of outward successes,  Greenwood Farm came just short of that state of being a real, permanent home, and therein lies the conflict at the heart of the story.

To me it is both a thrilling and inspirational account of what can be accomplished if you focus and put your best efforts into something and a cautionary tale of what happens when anything, no matter how worthwhile, starts to eclipse the importance of the relationships we have with other people. It simultaneously makes me want to plant more garden beds but also to hug my husband and children and be grateful for my perhaps less passionate but more balanced life.

In the end, there is love, appreciation and forgiveness. The torn strands of the author's family have been rewoven, perhaps not in the pattern either Eliot or Sue Coleman first imagined, but nonetheless,  beauty can be seen in the end result.

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