Sea Shells

"John & Michael often spent summer days on the lagoon with the boys, swimming or floating most of the time, playing games with the mermaids in the water."
-J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan



I just finished this novel The Highest Tide. It's a lovely, quick read if you are craving salt water like I am. I tend to read about winter in the summer, the summer in the winter.

Love this portion of an e.e. cummings poem
Days of Innocence section 5:

"maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles, and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea."

Captain's Log: Notes While Speeding Through the Galaxy

My friend Ami sent this poem around on Friday and I wanted to share:

Postcard: October 18/01, NYC

On the subway an old

Polish man takes me in charge,

rides two stops past his own

to make certain I find

the right place to get off. When I try

to thank him, he shakes his head

no, forget it. No one, he says,

should be lost when someone else

knows the way.

-Samuel Green

Thanks so much Ami!

***

And, since it is the weekend, I thought I would share this post from Purl and A Bee featuring the book Weekend Sewing.

I love everything about the post and the featured photos. Must check out this book!

***

Our sump pump gave up on us and thank heaven for good plumbers. I've discovered lots of long lost things {as you do when there is a flood} but mostly they are things that I can let go of to make room for new ideas in my life. I'm realizing the only things I really want to keep are quilts, photographs, books and letters. I can replace the vacuum cleaner, but not the letters between my husband and me or photographs of people I can't call anymore.

***

I've had more inquiries than normal for my little photography shop that could which is exciting. I'm relieved to know that even in hard times, people still want to take in and preserve moments from their present lives.

***

Our girl fell asleep in her big girl bed all by herself last night. Normally I lay down with her until she falls asleep. {I know, I know.} It was something we've talked about for months. I told her she would know when she was ready and, much like a year ago when she decided to give up her pacifiers, last night she decided she was ready. We tucked her in and she was all giggly with "the friends" comprised of Bear, a baby doll, Curious George, and a small lamb. I'm sure the promise of the Ariel Bath toy she spotted the other day was a great motivator. As we listened for her in our room, I thought about what it sounded like as I fell asleep as a child. I remember blue light from the television down that hall. I remember hearing The Tonight Show theme song and the occasional laugh from one of my parents. I wonder what she will remember: soft yellow reading light, typing keys or turning pages or none of that at all.

***

I'm teaching myself how to use Photoshop. Wow. So much to learn. I've put it off for so long thinking that I would rather focus on making each photograph better on its own to limit editing time, but I want to stay in the curve with the industry and see what is out there. I'm loving being able to write on photos. Very cool.




***

We are getting excited about a trip to see my parents by the sea. I can almost smell the salty air, a welcomed change from this:


***
My husband gets credit for telling me about Andrew Bird years ago. The embedded version below of his song Lull has been in my head for about two weeks now. It just keeps coming back. The video is odd, but interesting. He performed a different version of this song here in Lexington at Woodsongs and you can see that performance here. It's amazing to see how he puts it all together and how it must sound inside his head. I wrote this post listening to it.



Lull- by Andrew Byrd

Being alone, it can be quite romantic
Like Jacques Cousteau underneath the Atlantic
A fantastic voyage to parts unknown
Going to depths where the sun's never shone
And I fascinate myself when I'm alone

So I go a little overboard, but hang on to the hull
While I'm airbrushing fantasy art on a life
That's really kind of dull
Oh, I'm in a lull

I'm all for moderation, but sometimes it seems
Moderation itself can be a kind of extreme
So I joined the congregation
I joined the softball team
I went in for my confirmation
Where incense looks like steam
I start conjugating proverbs
Where once there were nouns
This whole damn rhyme scheme's
Starting to get me down

Oh, I'm in a lull
I'm in a lull

Being alone, it can be quite romantic
Like Jacques Cousteau underneath the Atlantic
A fantastic voyage to parts unknown
Going to depths where the sun's never shone
And I fascinate myself, sure I do
When I'm alone

I'm rambling on rather self-consciously
While I'm stirring these condiments into my tea
And I think I'm so lame, I bet I think this song’s about me
Don't I, don't I, don't I?

I'm in a lull...

***

Sorry for the scattered post. I am so behind. Hope everyone is having a restful weekend.

For Your Beach Bag

We're shaking sand out of our bags after my first week off in two years. It was a much needed break. I'm really sad that vacation is over. But, like Grandpa used to say, "I'm blessed with work," so I shouldn't complain.

Here are a few suggestions for your getaway:

I've been on the road a lot lately for work. My beautiful husband made me a mix that I first listened to at 6 a.m. on the way across the state. The first song, To The Stars, is from this album which everyone needs. The orchestration is amazing and the lyrics are like the most genuine love letter.
"Oh my darlin'
Dear I love you to the stars
love you from my heart"
click here to listen or buy.



I just read the new David Sedaris short story collection, When You Are Engulfed In Flames and though there are a few gems (particularly the first story "It's Catching" which made me laugh out loud) many of the stories chronicle awkward moments in travel that lack the depth in personal relationships that set his other work apart. It is worth reading, but if you have to choose just one, pick up his book Dress Your Family In Corduroy & Denim for the beach. A bonus is that you can probably find it on your bookseller's bargain table now.

I picked up these super comfy flip flops that don't hurt your arches.



And, no kidding, I found the most beautiful, fluffy beach towels at Marshalls on the cheap.

Before we left, I downloaded a couple of Yo Gabba Gabba and Backyardigans episodes for the video ipod which was a lifesaver during long waits at restaurants and during travel. It's a lot less cumbersome than the portable DVD player. Also, several PBS shows like Super Y are free podcasts. Check them out on itunes.

I hope you have a vacation scheduled soon, even if it's only to the backyard.

Field Trip

Let's go to Aarhus, Denmark!
One of my favorite bloggers lives there and it sounds just perfect.
Check out her images of her enchanting hometown here:
Afternoon in Aarhus and also here on Bloesems World Tour.

It All Began With That Shoe On The Wall

My most recent obsession all began with this delightful post from Spagat about her upcoming trip to Procida, the gorgeous Italian island where they filmed The Talented Mr. Ripley. Then it started to grow when I read this post about a trip to Portland. Then I remembered a vacation spot which seemed like a good idea at the time, but would be a much better idea now that my daughter is older. And, just like that...the vacation obsession is born. I've planned about 60 in my head since Friday. One includes an amtrak up the west coast.

I've planned a weekend in my mind to Maine and trips to Bainbridge Island. And to the Greek Isles and Hawaii. Or back here to my favorite place.
And just for kicks, check out this place in the Maldives.

There are so few consecutive blank days on the calendar this summer, that I'm desperate to find a break in the work. We've looked at places close by and places far and I'm still coming up with not enough of something to make it happen. I'll keep looking.

Where ever it is, I hope it will be a new adventure, have salty air, a little bookstore, sandy paths and time to read, and carve out a space for just us.

In the meantime, maybe I will plot these imaginary vacations on the calendar and during those weeks, eat food that would be local to that area, play music from the region.

Where are you going this summer?

Snow Water

Yesterday's snowflake reminded me of a Michael Longley poem called Snow Water. In the poem Longley, a "fastidious brewer of tea, a tea Connoiseur as well as a poet, " asks the reader to bring him the gift of snow water to make his tea on his 60th birthday.

You can listen to him read it here. I love the quietness of the poem, like the gorgeous camera work in Snow Falling on Cedars of melting water droplets from leaves and pine needles.

We heard Longley read this poem in Sligo on his 64th birthday. The next day he gave an interview and talked about how his writing is changing as he ages:

"...I'm interested in getting simpler. I think that's the real challenge: to be polite and graceful and simple. The drift is towards being less and less “artistic” and simpler, and rising to, you know, the directness of the late self-portraits of Rembrandt or the last string quartets of Beethoven. I don't mean to say they aren't complex, in their conception and execution, but the effect is direct and simple."

This poem is great too about a family retreat home. "Home is a hollow between the waves..." is my favorite part.

Dear Reader

When I started this blog about 1 year ago on my 30th birthday, I was keeping a promise to myself to write more and trying to break the sometimes isolating experience of being a parent. I wanted to find and share creative endeavors that can get lost to sleep deprivation.

This year, inspired by the painting-a-day painters, I will be posting more frequently and daily when possible. As WH Auden once said, "I write so that I know what I think." That is certainly true for me. But beyond that, I hope that this year, Teaworthy continues to be a place worthy of your time and relevant to your experience.

In December, my daughter and I spent an afternoon in Chicago's Shedd Aquarium. I was so moved by all of the parents there, like me, juggling children, snacks, cameras, coats and strollers. We all helped each other by holding doors, picking up a dropped blankie, and navigating strollers into elevators.

It was just one of those times in my short tenure as a parent when I looked around and felt like I had everything in common with everyone there. We all were there just trying to have a good day with our kids, make something magical for them, and a memory for us to have long after they have outgrown needing wipes for sticky hands.

Part of me wanted to be a family photographer for each person there: for the parent who can't see how they look carrying their sleepy toddler on their shoulder, facing a wall of blue water with waves of light passing over their faces each time the sea turtle swam past. I wanted to write it down for them, for me, for all of us, or film it at least. There's an Indigo Girls song about those moments though when you can't. "Don't write it down. Don't take a picture. Remember this in your heart. " I think about that a lot.

A few days ago, I saw John Grisham on Charlie Rose and he said that when he writes, he doesn't think about the critics. He thinks about the fan who buys his book the day it comes out. He wants his readers to be so absorbed with the novel that they, "stay up late and call in sick to work" just so they can keep reading.

I write here in this place with you and days like that at the aquarium in mind: the universality of human experience. I hope this is a place you stop in with your coffee or tea where you can read something that makes you feel that we are all in this together.

----

And speaking of Audience, I get such a kick out of Nick Hornby and love what he wrote here about his readers. Enjoy:

From Nick Hornby, The Polysyllabic Spree, October 2003, p. 21-22:

"If you write books -or a certain kind of book, anyway- you can't resist a scan round the hotel swimming pool when you go on holiday. You just can't help yourself, despite the odds: you need to know, straight off, whether anyone is reading one of yours.

You imagine spending your days transfixed and humbled, as a beautiful and intelligent young man or woman, almost certainly a future best friend, maybe even spouse, weeps and guffaws through three hundred pages of your brilliant prose, too absorbed even to go for a swim, or take a sip of Evian.

I was cured of this particular fantasy a couple of years ago, when I spent a week watching a woman on the other side of the pool reading my first novel, High Fidelity. Unfortunately, however, I was on holiday with my sister and brother-in-law, and my brother-in-law provided a gleeful and frankly unfraternal running commentary,
'Look! Her lips are moving.'
'Ha! She's fallen asleep! Again!'
'I talked to her at the bar last night. Not a bright woman. I'm afraid.'
At one point, alarmingly, she dropped the book and ran off.
'She's gone to put out her eyes!" my brother-in-law yelled triumphantly.'"

Flickr Favorites: Inspiring Images

Click on the image to enlarge


See more of these amazing photographers at Flickr.com or here:
1. Card catalog., 2. Felt Mushroom Cottages, 3. Devotion, 4. new love, 5. Wednesday breakfast, 6. you are one with the burden of lost dreams, 7. Afternoon tea @ St. Mark's Square, Venice, 8. first day of winter, 9. llibreria - bookstore - Amsterdam, 10. Hydrangea Still Life 2, 11. Tell me the truth about Love, 12. Gelato, 13. 20060516 P5165407 Italian icecream (gelato) shop, Florence, Italy, 14. Tea & Tintin, 15. colorbands2, 16. tips, 17. new book, new mug, new yarn, 18. Pearly, 19. Vintage Pink Royal Typewriter Ad, 20. visions of Gracie danced in her head, 21. ballet class, 22. a slow morning at the beach, 23. Kawaii Kitchen, 24. The Tea Cubby, 25. realism, 26. green tea, lavender, and honey cupcake bombe, 27. cherry-vanilla cupcakes, 28. basil cream filled cupcakes with raspberry mousse frosting, 29. cupcakes, 30. scooping frosting

You can search for images by any description. I looked for photos tagged books, gelato, sails, tea rooms, coffee, prayer beads, lily pads, cafes, pubs, rivers, typewriters, pearls and so on.

Many of the photographers are not pros. Just like you and me, they are capturing moments in their lives, things they want to share.
**I made this mosaic using Big Huge Labs mosaic maker.

I heart Etsy

Twice this month, I found something for my daughter for the holidays that was promptly recalled because of lead paint (a Curious George tool bench and a Fisher Price Medical Kit). This has me thinking about a trip I took to Munich in December and how all of the toys sold in the square seemed like they were made in Santa's workshop: wooden parts, hand-painted without chemicals. If you ever get the chance to go to Munich during their Christmas market, GO!






Photos courtesy of the Munich Christmas market site. I'll try to post some of my own closer to Christmas.

So, in search of thoughtful, hand-made goods that support artists, I've found some beautiful, affordable things for her at Etsy.

For example, at this lovely little Etsy boutique called Robin's Egg Pink (how sweet is that) I found these pretend cupcakes...



...and a precious apron


to go with the wooden pastel kitchen that Santa has indicated he will be bringing. I bought them late Friday night and they were at my door in the most adorable robin's egg blue and brown decorative box with pink ribbons on Monday morning. I just love it. I may have to go back to her shop to get one of her toddler afternoon tea jackets.



Etsy has gifts for everyone. Where else can you get a shirt like this?



I keep an Etsy link in the right hand column of this blog year-round to search for items by color which is so much fun. This time of year, searches like "mittens" "christmas cards" and "scarf" yield great results. Happy searching!

Cams Gone Wild

National Geographic has live web cams set up in 7 locations. Take a trip to Botswana after dinner.

Moving Little Troopers

The military lexicon was often used in my house growing up; a remnant of my dad’s army days. “At ease,” he would tell the dog barking at the neighbors. Mother’s Day shopping trips were “missions” involving “recon” and herding up all of us to get to church on time involved directives such as, “move out troops,” etc. He’ll agree with you by giving an affirmative, “that’s a Rog” (pronounced with a soft “g” short for Roger).

When we arrived at my parent’s house for a visit with our 4-week-old, Dad jokingly mentioned that he had moved 40 men with less gear.

As summer travel is on the horizon, I have been doing research on traveling with small children. (See, prior post Vacation Dreaming) When in doubt, ask the experts! The best tips I found weren’t from parenting sites at all but from spouses of military personnel: http://www.military.com/spouse/fs/0,,fs_militarymama_travel,00.html
Who better to orchestrate a strategy for the movement of gear and people?

Also, for the ambitious traveler, I love the concept of this group: http://www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk/
These vacation spots are kid friendly cottages with all the baby gear on site. They offer that they know it takes more than a cot and a high chair to be toddler friendly. Cottages available in England, France, Italy, Spain, & Greece.

Speaking of summer travel, I stumbled upon the Seat Chiller. It's a one-size-fits-all car seat cooler to keep the seat chilled between stops or when the car sits in the hot sun. This one is available online at http://www.babydagny.com/c/Favorites/p/Seat_Chiller.

Vacation Dreaming

This time of year, I start thinking about something like this:


When, in actuality, I should be thinking more along these lines:

That's right.

Real Simple Magazine has issued a special travel edition on news stands now.

I checked out a lot of the links mentioned and of them, this one seems most helpful: http://www.travelwithyourkids.com/

Some of the, "fool proof" suggested international trips make me both admire the parents who can literally (and spiritually) go the distance to get there, while simultaneously making me laugh Bridget Jones style (Aha. Ahahahahahaha...) at the thought of what it would entail for my little family to pull off such a trek. Either way, vacation is fun to think about.