happy halloween

{and thank you}

a good distraction

saturday morning i sat down at my sewing machine at 10:00 a.m. and barely left it until 11:00 that night. it was a therapy i had been searching for all week. and a chore that i looked forward too. of course the request for halloween costumes doesn't understand grief. or mourning. or heartbreak. all of which have been consuming me.

he was my - i struggle to find the words to put to it all he was - my employer, but also my mentor, confidante, companion, hero, inspiration, friend - a constant presence in my life for the last 8 yrs. he used to joke to people that i was his wife but we didn't share a bed or anything "like that". i met him 10 yrs ago and became his personal assistant soon after that. i have known him longer than i have known my husband. and he is gone. it is all so hard.

thank you for all your kind comments, emails and telephone calls. i will get back to you. right now i am throwing myself into all the minutiae that needs to get sorted out, and so looking forward to trick-or-treating with alice and dorothy.





be well...

good bye

turn it off

1 hour tonight los angeles! from 8 - 9. "Fight climate change with the flick of a switch!"

where i'm standing

whoo. hard to find time to put words in this space right now. though i have a couple of projects on my sewing table that i am quite happy with. our neighbourhood public school transformation is still the focus of my attention. two grant applications down (lowe's and city beautification) and one to go (kirk&anne douglas). fingers crossed please.

we had an amazing meeting the other day with an architect who has been "donated" to our parent group by a "westside philanthropist". he has this fantastic vision of what our school can be. it gets me all goose-bumpy. when our neighbourhood elementary school opened in 1956 disney came and filmed it for inclusion in their "circarama" production "a tour of the west". it was a school of the future. sadly - it pretty much stayed in 1956 and is in need of some tlc. (on the upside it maintains its 50's design, keeping with the 'hood.) so we are trying to recapture some of that initial pride in what our school can be. we have great teachers. great kids. great families. just need a little facelift to show the larger community that we care. to pique the interest of those neighbours who are spending thousands of dollars a year going to private school, and those who are writing big cheques to the pta-s of "better" public schools. this is our neighbourhood school after all! we can walk to it. we see our neighbours every morning as we trek along. some walk with us. some are backing out of their driveways for the long and tedious commute to some other school. (and you've heard me say it before - it is the school in our community, we need to be putting our community in the school!)

so back to the grant writing...

have a wonderful weekend!

sunshine and rain

feeling oh so inspired by a very sunshine-y and very generous stash of fabric and trim from lisa. (you are my superhero!) can't wait to see her show down in venice. i already have a selection pulled and have started in on a log cabin pillow (in homage) based on the tutorial found here. it's rainy and cooler and i feel very much like playing with my new machine. (yes halloween costumes are on the pile too!)

and i finally broke down and bought some shinzi katoh glasses. i had been on a thrift hunt for juice glasses for the girls - to replace their plastic ikea ones - and just couldn't find any. not quite true. i couldn't find any they would fight over. which may sound counter intuitive but, for some reason, k is very attached to the colourful plastic in our cupboard and i felt a need to go heavy on the cute quotient to draw her away from the "dark side".

it worked. they fight over them. though e prefers the animals and k the bubble girl.

there is another with a donkey that i am soft on. half filled with a good cabernet. a rainy night. my new fabric stash. and my sewing machine.

perfect.

happy wednesday!

xo

11:48

19:26

12:27

10:32

08:38

07:42

a little rumpled

my mom always ironed our sheets. in fact i think she ironed everything she could. (didn't you?) she always loved ironing. i think the fact that she would set up near the family room where she could watch my brother and i was likely part of it. that and the warm good smell (you know what i mean) and the repetitive motion of it all. and really - is there anything better than tucking into freshly pressed sheets?

given that - i don't iron our sheets. i am lucky if my family goes out the door these days with their shirts ironed. (sorry d!) we are all looking a little rumpled lately. a little tired. it seems we are right back in the throes of the school year, and as is the way, it is flying by. (september where did you go??) i have requests for halloween costumes (dorothy and alice please "mom, they are sisters don't you think?") and a dining room table covered COVERED with pta "stuff" and half finished sewing projects. (dining room table where did you go??) and we are halfway done landscaping the front yard. (must say saturday spent at a plant sale and working the dirt did feel very good.)

then you have the long awkward pauses between awkward and pretty mundane blog posts. and my neglect of two green chickens and sewgreen.

this week i am going to try and establish a rhythm to it all. like that of my mom's ironing i hope. warm and good and with a gentle sway. i love the cooler temps that have finally arrived. and feel the timing is right to re-balance things.

and so, as a start, i will fall back on the exercise of documenting my week. (inspired as usual by carol.) no words. just pics.

enjoy yours. how is your fall rhythm?

(oh and the bunny on the bed - made with love by sam. for k. because when e got this for her birthday k fell in love... thanks hon!)

my gift to myself. by stephanie. upon opening the box i was so struck by the beauty and simplicity of this. it actually took my breath away. it feels to good to hold. the power of handmade. can't be replicated.

and sitting on my new chair - so good as well. (cross number 11 off my list!)

so many of my favourite people have birthdays in september

and dogs too




thanks for letting as share your day with you miss moki!
cake from three dog bakery)

and thank you for all your bday wishes to me!

happy october

thirty.seven

thirty.seven things to do:

1. join treepeople
2. clean off my desk
3. repaint the office
4. paint a mural
5. bake bread
6. keep chickens
7. re-read daniel deronda
8. get out my old slr
9. teach a class
10 take a class
11. pay bills while sitting on this
12. reduce our produce purchases by growing our own
13. attend the pta state convention
14. breath more deeply
15. sit up straighter
16. take more local hikes
17. frame {some of} our unframed artwork
18. knit some wristwarmers
19. knit a bonnet for a babe
20. try to never use another plastic bag!
21. ask for a mailbox to be installed within walking distance of our house
22. send mail on time
23. visit here more
24. see some live music
25. eat dim sum downtown
26. add some variety to our dinner menu while eating seasonally
27. watch more movies after the kids are asleep
28. go out just - d and i - to a movie {have r & j babysit!}
29. ride the orange line
30. sew more clothing for myself
31. organize a block party {shut down the street}
32. draw up a planting plan for the backyard
33. apply for a grant for a literacy garden
34. visit the l.a. county fair
35. grow where i am planted
36. slow down
37. enjoy being {thirty.seven}

that's 3.08 things per month to do before i turn 38. perhaps too much. the slow part. the enjoy part. the most important part.

happy birthday to me. {thinking of you mama!}

feeling autumnal

cooler temps (unseasonably cooler but much loved by me, and the girls) mean it is ok to go out with your tights, cap and scarf on.

we are revelling in the lower temperatures. a trip to disneyland in the rain. (choice of the birthday girl.) but all good for this family who only want to go on the carousel, small world, and eat gigantic pickles. it was a prefect day. (and when the rain cleared it was gorgeous.)

temps to rise up again tomorrow...

c'mon autumn - come back soon!

back{pack} to school

i had started this before e's return to school, but then ran into difficulties sewing through the many layers with my old machine. happy to report my new machine made it a breeze. so good! and ready to hold books and lunches. first grade has been a breeze so far too. so good! (she has an amazing teacher. which for me is so much what it is all about.)

the pattern by liesl. available through purl.

fabric left over from reupholstering an old chair and from superbuzzy.

off to a pta meeting! happy tuesday!

now we are six

When I was one I'd just begun,
When I was two I was nearly new,
When I was three I was hardly me,
When I was four I was not much more,
When I was five I was barely alive,
But now I am six! As clever as clever!
And I think I'll stay six now for ever and ever!



oh how i wish you would my love! it is all passing by so quickly. but it does keep getting better and better. my baby is six. she didn't want a birthday party this year. so we had an unbirthday party last night with our neighbourhood friends. she didn't want a cake. so i made brownies. she didn't want anyone to sing to her. so we hummed the tune as she smiled that marvellous smile that lights up my heart. happy birthday big bug. i do love you.

thank you a.a. milne

5768

i think that since meeting d, and marrying into his large, loud, loving family, rosh hashana has become one of my favourite holidays. i love the idea of possibility and new hopes that come with a new year. and there is something especially poignant about such ideas in the fall, with new beginnings in our lives and other things coming to an end.



wishing you a sweet new year.

looking at these apples reminded me of a great article in the l.a. times food section this week - on heirloom apples grown locally. you can find it here.

in stitches

thanks so much for all the early well wishes. keeping with the birthday season idea (thanks cloth.paper.string!)

i treated myself to a new machine. (it has been a long time coming!)



much to learn of my new toy.

so (hopefully soon) more to come!

happy day

celebrated birthdays (mine and e's) a little early over at sam's.

she spoiled me with this bag (made by hand, organic cotton lining and thrifted linen, filled with vintage sunset books - which she knows i have a weakness for - and the sweetest danish modern cream and sugar set.

and e with this.



(and you worried she might be too old - for this cuteness?? she loves it!)

thanks honey. you spoil us. xo

swapped

i have just completed partnering everyone up for the kids music swap -- please let me know if you signed up but didn't receive an email from me...

enjoy!

back 2 school

first day

first grade

looking forward



hope all went well for all who had new beginnings today

greetings from laguna beach

because it is a l o n g weekend

i'll keep sign-ups open 'til tuesday. so if you want to swap some cool kiddie tunes drop me an email. (see below for more info.)



finally got this up on the wall. and had to share. oh lisa it is beautiful!

enjoy!

Corners of Our Home 26

did i say see you next week. too much good stuff. just can't stay away.



we finally hung this up in our front entry.

i love it. d crafted all of it - the hooks, the mechanism that makes them go in and out, the box that houses it all, and stained it a beautiful water-based yellow. it was inspired by a photo he saw. we originally thought it might go into the "new" bathroom, but in the end felt it belonged here. (closer look here.)

so now a place to hang all that stuff that used to sit on the bench below...

have a great long weekend! (stay cool!)

sign-ups still open for the kids' music swap - details below...

kids' music swap part deux

because you suggested it mama urchin - how about a another kids' cd swap? i so enjoyed this last time... but will keep myself out this go around and just send out the cds i am already committed to. but i am happy to partner everyone else up. the "rules" again:

- it doesn't have to be strictly "kids' music" but can include music that your kids like - just make sure it is appropriate for swapping...
- there is no age limit for the children to participate - but when possible it would be fun to have them make up the playlist
- be willing to ship overseas (fun to hear an international mix of kids' music!)
- have fun with the packaging but no need to send anything other than the cd
- goal is to ship by late september(i'll pin a date down once sign-ups close)
- interested? email me with kid's cd swap in the subject to: t(dot)bartley(at)att(dot)net and include your name, name(s) and age(s) of your kid(s), your blog address (if you have one - not necessary), and your mailing address
- once i see the interest that is out there (please feel free to "spread the word"!)i will close the sign-ups and randomly match the households I will keep the sign-up for the kids' music swap open until the end of the week(Friday 31 August). Please sign up if you are interested! The more the merrier!!

If you would like a button for your website - you can find it here

my back is feeling a little better - day by day - thanks for your well wishes. back to packing for the beach!

from here


to there


put my back out and am starting to panic a bit about all that needs to be done before the return to school next week. did manage to finally get this sewn together. (the fabric a hand-me-down from my sister-in-law.)

off to the beach on friday for (hopefully) a few days of nothing but cool breezes and sunsets...

see you on the return

p.s. if anyone wants a copy of the below listed cd i'll gladly send out 3. (that doesn't include you hannah!) first 3 to request... xo

summer 07 playlist

(or what we are currently listening to in the mini-van)

vacation {the go-go's}
my doorbell {the white stripes}
me and julio down by the schoolyard {paul simon}
movin' right along {kermit and fozzie}
banana puddin' {southern culture on the skids}
it's a small world {maurice chevalier}
it was a very good year {meatcoaster}
summer nights {john travolta and olivia newton-john}
the magic song (bibbity-bobbity-boo) {mary martin}
born to handjive {sha-na-na}
big yellow taxi {joni mitchell}
jackie jackson {franz ferdinand}
mambo italiano {rosemary clooney}
puff (the magic dragon) {peter,paul and mary}
walk like an egyptian {the bangles}
superball bop {jory felice}
mahna mahna {mahna mahna & the two snowths }
rolling home {dan zanes}



what's on your back to school rotation?

car-pool-mom

can't believe summer is almost behind us. it really has gone to quickly. we tried a variety of things with e over the summer. she had 2 weeks up in canada with me her little sister and my mom. 2 weeks (glorious weeks) at home with her dad. a week with a much admired 15 yr old cousin coming to our home. a week with a neighbour and her gramma. a few days with her bubbe. a movie day with her aunt. and 2 weeks of daycamp. i was really pretty unsure about the daycamp. a neighbour recommended it so i looked into it further. it was at a park on my way to work, with our city parks and rec dept and it was very affordable. so i thought i would give it a go. e loved it. arts and crafts. a little theatre. even a field trip. 1 week in july and 1 four weeks later in august seemed to do the trick. part of the appeal is that she attended both sessions with a close friend who lives a block away. (daughter of the friend of mine who recommended it.) and this last week another little friend from the neighbourhood joined in on the fun. i liked too that we got to know some people in our neighbourhood a little better, and so i pitched in shuttling the kids to and from camp (which worked well with my part-time schedule), and after camp care. (d thinks i am crazy but i really do enjoy a house of noisy - as long as they aren't too noisy! - kids. really.)

as i dropped off e and her friends this morning at daycamp - the chipper teen who assisted with the "valet" (gotta love l.a.)service smiled her chipper smile at me and said "good morning carpool mom!".

my heart swelled.

i loved the sound of it. i love loading up the girls, stopping at the two different houses in our neighbourhood, listening in on their continuous chatter, all of us heading into the preschool to drop off k then reloading and making the journey on to camp. and beyond that, i also love thinking that i have reduced carbon emissions this morning by 2/3. in my own little way.

i know you understand.

must run out the door for my last pick-up of the summer... s i g h

have a great weekend.

green{er} thumb

i have this dream about growing chrysanthemums. (alas, these are from trader joe's) the girls have wanted to grow some ever since the early days of reading this favorite. the elderly filipino man who lives across the street from us grows the most amazing spider variety ones in his front garden. i have asked him his secret but could not understand his response. (his english is quite broken - we call him "mr. big mountain" because that is what we think his pronunciation of his name sounds most like. as well as the fact that he is big and strong and has the most amazing smile - this name seems to fit nicely.) they really are the most amazing chrysanthemums i have every seen. the blooms fitting into my two hands cupped together.

i am learning how to work our soil. our dry hard-packed clay soil. the plants we put in this spring are doing well. especially considering the drought and heatwave we have been going through. i haven't lost any yet. and now we are starting to dream of the cooler days of fall. (october - i know you are just around the corner... hellllooo halloween...) thinking about four beds in the backyard to try our hand at square foot gardening. (inspired by this book. i am so loving it - every page gets me looking to try something new. blueberry bush in a pot - yes!)

and more natives around the pool.

and that chicken coop being filled. (we have had a chicken set-back. the chicks we were looking to adopt ended up being all roosters - and this mother hen just wasn't prepared for that. we have a new lead through path to freedom and are hoping to have two - or three - hens soon!)

and mustn't forget. room in the raised beds for chrysanthemums.

happy wednesday!

a little bias

breakfast

moving the plastic off the table (in this case much worn out placemats)


lunch

and replacing it with something homemade. heavy linen and trim choices by the girls. very simple project. which i needed right now.

i finally got around to making my own bias tape for these. i have been wanting to do this for so long. warning - i found it quite addictive. watch out for more... (this tool made it a cinch!)

noodlin'

just kicking back and enjoying the last few weeks of summer vacation.

hope you are too!

(while sitting buy the pool we have started to re-discuss buying a second vehicle. would love your input. more info over at sewgreen...)

have a great weekend!

birds of a feather

on my summer "done" list, i included the initiation of a friday happy hour / playdate group. so good. as our neighbourhood changes and new families move in the sense of community continues to grow. i am not the "creator" of the concept we are following. it began between a couple of neighbours, then combined with an idea another neighbour and i had been discussing. our concept was based on one i heard about happening in an eichler neighbourhood in orange county. the concept is that a flamingo on the front lawn indicates drinks being served. so as said neighbour and i kicked back our raspberry lemon drop we logged onto ebay and scored 8 sets of plastic flamingoes in a rainbow of colour combinations. (perfect for our colourful neighbourhood!) they are from the original don featherstone moulds created in 1957 (just 2 years after our homes had been constructed)- important to the mcm enthusiasts amongst us. the birds were distributed last night. as kids played. mango-tangoes were consumed. and good conversation and company made for a lovely evening.

happy weekend!

up for air

things are still hectic. thanks so much for your comment love and understanding!

a little retail therapy is helping too... i don't advocate it but sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

dreaming of projects to come...

total immersion

i am feeling completely overwhelmed this last week. an emergency at work has had me at the studio every day for the last 8 days for up to 12 hours. too much. out the door as my babes awake and back home in time to bathe them and cuddle them to sleep. i miss my kids so much. i have a newly confirmed resolve that i am not interested in a full-time job. (and so grateful for the situation i normally find myself in.) a new found respect for those women who choose to work full time plus outside the home. and a new compassion for those women who don't have the choice.

hanging out

a wonderful (but hot) weekend here in the southland. temps in the high 90s. perfect for trying out our new solar clothes drier! I had been going on to d about how much i wanted a clothesline. how perfect this climate is for it. he was a little apprehensive about having our skivvies hanging around the backyard, but after drying 3 loads of laundry in one day he was impressed. (that and the announcement from our 83 yr old neighbour that she has been married 53 yrs and has never owned a conventional clothes drier. 53 yrs of hanging it out on the line!)

of course the clothesline purchase was debated with my dear friend before i settled on make and model. sam and i are usually on the phone or email to each other at least once a day. (though we live in the same city we are at opposite ends - 30 miles - and about 30 degrees F apart.) we are usually conversing about various "mom" issues including separation anxiety; what kind of toothpaste the kids like best, and meets our requirements as well; where to find a kid-friendly restaurant near downtown; the pressure to have a huge blow out bday party for a child's 3rd birthday; and just how to raise socially and environmentally conscious kids, by example, on a budget. we decided a little while back to put down some of our "findings" on a blog. another way to keep our conversations going. at first it was just us, then a couple of others stumbled across it, and now we thought we would open it - hang it out there so to speak. please come by for a visit. we would love to hear your comments and suggestions on what is on our minds. you can find us here at www.twogreenchickens.blogspot.com.

happy monday!

what i have done on my summer vacation (so far)

1. travelled home.
2. fell in love again.
3. found out that i am not alone in this love. (listen to "brandon")
4. missed a tornado.
5. helped make a tornado.
6. admired our new front door. (oh d i do love it so!)

7. dug in the dirt.
8. began a neighbourhood friday happy hour / playdate group. (mmmm raspberry lemon drops.)
9. started some neighbourhood co-op childcare.
10. realized i am happiest at home with a house full of kids.
11. taken to cooking and eating dinner outside in our swimsuits.
12. slowed down.

to be continued...

what have you been up to?

tech assistance

any blogger users out there who can tell me how to get "jumilla bugs" to disappear at the top of this page?

thanks!

found it! thanks a!

peace

thank you all. it really means so much.

i am feeling at peace. sorting through photos of our recent trip. and working on new projects. all good. more soon!

::

thanks for all your support and understanding.

flickr has apparently closed down the perpetrator's account. thank you flickr.

for those of you asking, i was made aware of this by another flickr user - a professional portrait photographer specializing in kid and family portraits - who noticed a lot of pics being "favourited" by this particular user. on further investigation it was found that hundreds of photos of young girls had been favourited by this user, and looking at them it was clear that the intention was not a good one. (most were of young girls at the beach.) the photo of one my girls was among them.

i highly recommend you to make all photos of your children open to friends and family only. and to check into any being "favourited" by someone you don't know. because you just don't know.

i am going to close things down here for a while. this has all really thrown me off. not sure what i want to do. i know you will understand. thanks again.

sick

i just received an email linking me a flickr user who had favourited a pic of one of the girls. this person is clearly NOT the kind of person i would want to have looking at pics of my kids. i thought i had kept photos of the girls private but somehow this one missed out and fell into the hands of someone unwelcome. i have blocked the person, and rechecked that all pics of the kids are private, but i remind you all that the bigger flickr (and internet) world isn't as kind and safe as the little piece we frequent...

home {sweet} home

you can take the girl out of the prairie.
but you can't take the prairie out of the girl.

we are
back home in california.
after a wonderful 10 days
back home in manitoba.

more soon...