white apples . a blog

bunny days

Juniper and I have seen the Easter bunny in our backyard all week long, hopping in and out of the treeline, munching on our grass, and looking out for little nooks and crannies to hide his eggs.

"Mommy, why does the easter bunny have eggs? I thought so chickens have eggs."

He is large and plump and brown and very impressed with the Swiss chard in our garden bed. So impressed, apparently, that he was particularly generous with us this Easter morning.

"Look at all these wonderful Easter suprises! It's finally Easter!"

Juni has been looking forward to Easter for weeks. She has been talking about eggs and picnics and bunnies and Spring. And chocolate.

"I have to go find my basket! And we need to get the picnic blanket for outside! I think so we have to go on an egg hunt!"

Before I had children, holidays were important, of course - times for reflection or reverance or just good old celebration. But now they are particularly meaningful milestones -  sweet little pauses here and there in these days that tumble away. I remember last Easter as clearly as she does. Like today, it was warm and bright. Seedlings were just beginning to sprout. The finches had started their nest on our front porch. Owen was all giggly, joyful baby chubs. Rolling and sitting were new and exciting adventures. And Juni, she still had some baby in her as well, the little girl still hatching. Now he is lean and fast and full of words. And she is tall and confident and brimming with excitement about everything, with curiosity and opinion and certainty.

Always, they are growing and changing. And so I'm grateful for these special days, these touchstones in the calendar, that help me to remember that our years circle around and around, even as they run away.

"This sure was the very best Easter party I've ever seen, don't you think so, mommy?."

Sure it was.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

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inspired by Amanda Soule. join in on her blog.

through the woods

Oh, I was tempted to keep this one for my very own! I love these prints from Heather Ross' Far Far Away 3 collection. That center panel of Snow White's dwarves... the laundry on the clotheslines... the little girls and her toy horses. All so sweet. And they are a cotton/linen blend, so the whole quilt has a nice texture and weight, while still being soft and snuggly. I also added in some Kona solids and a few dots and bound it with a print from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line. It's a smaller version of this quilt from Fabricworm. (Ignore our terrible post-winter grass and focus instead on our pretty spring sunshine).

I made this quilt for Baby Lulu Apple, the newest little addition to one of my most favorite families. I hope it gets lots of snuggles and drools and baby lovies. I also made this quick-to-knit Owlie Hat from Spud & Chloe Outer yarn, which ended up being huge, perhaps large enough for a two-year-old. Owen had a fine time modeling it, even if it was swallowing up his little head.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*** *** ***

inspired by Amanda Soule. join in on her blog.

 

yarning in springtime

{For knitting and reading inspiration, I'm joining Ginny over at Small Things for her Wednesday Yarn Along}

I had plans for this minty green little wool cardigan. It was supposed to keep her warm on cool spring mornings and chilly spring evenings, a perfect layer for early spring school days spent in the garden, tending to the daffodils and the mud puddles. And it is just about finished - a few garter bands on the bottom, three cute buttons...

But the weather has other plans. It has been 80+ degrees every day. Bright. Humid, even. I'm not sure I will be able to wrangle her into a sweater, even one as soft and squishy as this one, knit with madelinetosh tosh vintage yarn (one of my very favorites!). Hopefully it will still fit her in the fall.

I just started reading An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Grace and Economy by Tamar Adler.

Because I cook with neither grace nor economy.

Grace, however, happens to be her middle name:

the things we make

the world has room to make a bear feel free

Sixteen and a half months. Give or take. His months and days are not divided and analyzed like hers were, by fledling parents, eager for any milestone. This time, we just sit back in amazement.

This boy can do so much.

Words and sentences, songs and stories.

"Oh dear! A mess. I'll clean it."

"Who wants breakfast? I do!"

"A piece of chocolate? Please?"

He sings and dances and tries on everyone's shoes.

He is solid and strong.

He can climb on just about everything. Nothing is out of his reach.

He has the most heartbreaking sad-face you have ever seen. But his laugh fills the whole room. And his little bear snuggles are so very, very sweet.

(upside down crown redux)

Now that Juni spends three days at nursery school, Owen and I have those quiet mornings to ourselves. Instead of the whirlwind that is having a three-year-old in the house, with Owen running to keep up or ducking out of the way, those three mornings are slow and contemplative. He takes the time to explore. To stretch and experiment and try new things. He sings his little songs and hugs the dog and talks to the birds in the backyard. And when he's through with all of that. When the house has had just about enough quiet, he says, "let's get Juni," and we head out the door.

In the last two photos, Owen is wearing his Quick Change Trousers (reversible!) from Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings. The solid is a beautifully soft color-grown cotton that feels almost like a flannel but sturdier and bit more rustic. I love it. Next winter, he just might be outfitted head-to-toe in that fabric. The striped fabric is a crisper, home decor weight. Both are from NearSea Naturals.

*post titled with apologies to Mr. Robert Frost.

even in the leafless winter

Juni has been home from school all week for winter break and we've been enjoying the warm, sunny, most-definitely-not-winter weather - that is, when we weren't recovering from yet another round of stomach bug/norovirus. The past few months have been packed full of colds and sniffles and fevers and stomach discomforts and various other viral-mediated miseries (such as hand-foot-and-mouth disease, GAH! the aftermath of which I am still, STILL, experiencing a solid month later; yes, adults can get it and, believe me, it is not pretty). Right now the wind is blowing and the sun is shining and buds are popping up everywhere and I am so, so relieved to say goodbye to this crazy winter we've had, with its confusingly mild temperatures and its incessant kid-borne illnesses.

Juni only goes to preschool for three days a week, four hours each day. One week off didn't seem like too much of a disruption to me. Yet my usually adaptable little girl seems quite out of sorts with this break in her weekly rhythm. We've experienced unprecedented levels of stubborn defiance this week - throwing things and talking back and a general unchanneled restlessness that leaves chaos wherever we go.

At least we've been able to play outside most days. We've watched little finches build their nest in our birdhouse. We've chased the squirrel away from our birdfeeder (again and again). We've counted mole holes (there are many). We've run around the back yard yelling, "Deer! Deer! Deer! DEER!!!" (okay, that was just Owen).

On a particularly bright and windy day, we dyed silk scarves with Kool-Aid and hung them up outside to dry. This was an easy, fun project and the kids have been playing with the silks every day (with much excitement and high-pitched squealing). I suppose this was our way of welcoming spring - bright and airy and soft and, I hope, I hope, free from germs.

I bought the 35" square silk scarves from Dharma Trading. For dyeing, we used this tutorial and this Kool-Aid color chart.

*post titled with apologies to Mary Oliver and her poem "Starlings in Winter"

happy hugs

Happy Valentine's Day from us to you!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*** *** ***

inspired by Amanda Soule. join in on her blog.