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Monday, February 12, 2007

it really was that good

stitched

whew. good weekend. it is rare that i wake monday morning in such high spirits. but today i feel good.

thanks in no small part to a lovely weekend.

yesterday. we hosted a baby shower for dear friends. a co-worker of d's and his wife, who are also the little bug's godparents. i am not a social person. but do enjoy the hostess thing. i guess being busy in the kitchen gets me out of small talk (which i am terrible at!). it was a lot of fun and we are so very excited for the growing family. i had hoped to make something but that will have to wait. instead i ordered one of uniform studio's lovely hat and bootie sets. (gorgeous). and some oh so soft organic cotton, soy fiber and bamboo baby clothes from green and greener, a local e-commerce site. (they hope to open a brick and mortar shop soon. yay!)

saturday. dinner with sam and her family at a favorite spot. then, a trip down the boulevard to reform school, and lisa's show. i have to say she is just as lovely as i expected. and the work too. total inspiration. we are lucky to have a lot of artist friends and have established a nice little collection of work. but we hadn't bought anything together. this is our valentine to each other. thank you so much lisa. can't wait to have this gem on our wall.

friday. i had an inspirational walk around the big bug's school with a new friend. there is a house a few short blocks for us that is a regular stop on our walks. the yard is magical. filled with birds, squirrels and butterflies. and it proudly displays a nwf backyard wildlife habitat plaque. i have often been tempted to knock on the door (the sign invites you to learn more) but have not. until very recently. when the sad state of our neighborhood school's grounds, and a looming grant application deadline drove me there for some guidance. i am so glad i did. our neighbor specializes in california native plant gardens and is very excited to help us. (pro bono i might add!) he will be working with me drawing up some plans that we hope will get the funding we need to get them realized. i have started a flickr set with the hope that it will document the transformation. we have identified five areas around the campus that would be perfect for garden environments. a reading garden. a vegetable garden. and perhaps (oh i hope) even a garden with a pond. (i would love to see pics and hear stories of any school gardens in your communities...inspire me please!)

now back to that grant application.

happy monday

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our school has some lovely gardens - a scented garden, a waterfall/small pond, a large pond (with fish and paddle boats), and small garden plots between boardwalks for children to tend. I'll try to e-mail you a drawing of the campus. :)

amy h said...

I agree: small talk is hard.

Lucky you -- you have a Lisa! Enjoy it.

My mother-in-law keeps a garden outside her kindergarten classroom, and it really seems to provide so many opportunities for learning, and the kids love it.

Anonymous said...

I really love this photo you have posted today. Very inspirational.

BunkleLife said...

Good to hear you sounding re-energized - and love the tree/book piece!!!! (and nooooo...my mailbox is empty...is yours ;-)
xoj

Anonymous said...

yay yay yay!! i am so happy that you have that piece. do you know it's one of my favs from the show?? so glad it's going to your home. also so amazing to have met you in person YOU are as lovely as i had imagined. i just booked another show in LA for november, so i will be back! your daughters are so amazing. you've really captured their magic on your blog. it was like i'd met them before!

this single spark said...

Sounds like such a good weekend. I could really use one like that!

how about a butterfly garden?

lisa solomon said...

hearing you tell about meeting lisa makes me realize i'm sad that we have not yet met in person... someday!

congrats on your piece, though, that's fantastic!

there's an amazing school up here started by alice waters [chez pannisse]... that is all about gardening. check out their site
http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/homepage.html

hope your week is as good as the weekend!

62cherry said...

yay! so good to hear. I can feel your happy vibe all the way over here.... ;)

Anonymous said...

J's school has a wonderful garden with a pond. It looks pretty bare now, but when it starts perking up this Spring, I'll email you some pictures.

I can't wait to see the progress of this endeavor- Good Luck!

mudderhouz said...

So nice to hear that you had such a great weekend. I think you really deserved the sun after the rain. Hope the sun continues to shine on your week.

MWM said...

oh, I'm so glad they made it in time! and I can totally relate on the social issue -I like to stay in the kitchen too:)
can't wait to hear more about the school garden -the photos look like there is alot of potential.

hannah said...

so glad you had a wonderful weekend, sets a good tone for the week, no? i am really looking forward to your progress with the school gardens! now hop to it!

Anonymous said...

Tracy, you are the BEST PTA President/mother ever. Your school/children are SO lucky to have you. I'm looking forward to seeing the transformation of your school grounds [and hooray for generous + talented neightbors!].

And I'm with you, terrible at small talk [didn't you notice this when we met?], but love to play hostess [say, isn't it time for another trip up to PDX?].

P.S. That is the best Vday gift ever...love that piece.

petite gourmand said...

glad to hear you had such a nice weekend.
I wish there was a "reform school" around here.
beautiful stuff.

Anonymous said...

Great work.
I went there for elementary school...! Great memories of Mrs. Armijo. The best fifth grade teacher EVER.

Anonymous said...

Happy Valentine's day Tracy. So many things to catch up on. First, I'm so jealous you & D bought that piece of Lisa's, it will look so amazing in your house. Secondly, how lucky that school is to have caring parents like you. Yes, it really does take a village in so many ways, I will be excited to see what you do.

Third, can I have that overhead light fixture please?

Pretty please?

Anonymous said...

i just about melted when i read about your
school grounds gardening oportunity. what
an enormous project to pour lots of love into.
and hurray to you for choosing to stick
with native plants. it is so tempting to get
swayed into other varieties ( i myself am guilty)
but to have a truely native garden is wonderful
and so right for the environment. great to hear - hope to see updates on the blog. enjoy the preocess.