My urge to...

...quilt is growing daily. I can feel the creative excitement building. must. refrain....

I might have to put away the fingerless gloves

I need to finish up the fingerless gloves that I started earlier this year. But this is so dang cute.

Pattern is available here

The more I look at it, the more I want to make one.

...I will be strong. I will be strong. (Hmmm. I wonder if I have any rust and brown wool handy?)

...I will be strong. I will be strong...

A box of cereal and some crackers

When I was 9 years old, I lived in West Africa.

I have forgotten much about my life there, but I still remember the morning we drove past a crippled old man sitting by the side of the road. In a split-second, I noticed him, wanted to help him, and wondered if he would be offended by a gift of my afternoon's snack of a small box of cereal. And then he was gone.

Yesterday afternoon, I drove 9 year old Mason to an appointment. As we waited at a red light, an old man crossed the street in front of us, his worldly belongings piled high on the bike he pushed along.

Mason watched as the man stooped down and took something out of the gutter.

Mason: "Mom, why did he just pick that up?"

Answering his question allowed me to incorporate a lesson on gratefulness and appreciation for what we have in life. And compassion for others who are not as fortunate. But before I got to the "compassion" part...

Mason: "If he had been next to us, would it have been okay for me to give him my bag of crackers?"

Flashback to when I was 9 years old, living in Africa...

Favorite saying of the day

"Try hoop dance. Experience whirled peace."

Thank You, Alton Brown

Alton Brown - Book available at amazon.com

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to thank Alton Brown for a kindness that he showed Mason years ago. I wasn’t going to disturb him and had actually walked away, but in a split-second decision I chose to turn back. I really wanted to let him know that, years later, someone still remembered a kindness that he had extended. Because I think that acts of kindness should be recognized whenever possible. So, I tapped him on the shoulder, thanked him briefly, he shook my hand and then I moved away...hoping against hope that I hadn't disturbed him too much.

At almost 4 years old, Mason had been watching Good Eats almost every day of his life; he absolutely loved that show. So when we ran into a Good Eats filming-in-progress at Harry’s Farmers Market, the mother bear in me just had to introduce him to his hero. Despite some irritations he was evidently experiencing, Mr. Brown immediately switched gears and was so very kind to Mason.

In retrospect, it occurred to me that disturbing someone as they were in the midst of work-related problem solving was not a good idea. However, I was about 7 months pregnant at the time and full of all sorts of motherly hormones so I wasn’t thinking very clearly. Years later, I am still so grateful to Mr. Brown for not rebuffing us and instead making a point of charming little Mason.

Melancholic beauty

I find this beautiful and yet it fills me with such melancholy. Is it because of the fluidity of his movements or, more likely, the music? Perhaps it's his interaction with the hoop, as if it is a living being? How amazing it must be to move in such perfect harmony with something outside one's self.

wheel number from E and M-P on Vimeo.

Hooping: A short film

Hooping: A Short Film
This is a cute introduction to hooping as explained to a newbie. I don't agree with all the content (like the part where she says hoopers only use one, maybe two, hoops), but it comes pretty close to matching my opinions.