Friday, July 30, 2010

Tiger Tail - Rocket Balloons


Thanks to the inspiring Blackburns for these spectacularly popular balloons which shoot into the air, make lovely farty noises and can reach heights of thirty to forty feet before spiraling around and down to the ground. Dexie was determined to operate the pump himself, and Voila! Even a two year old can manage to pump up a Tiger Tail. Exceptional fun with fifty balloons and a pump for under ten dollars.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

American Black Duck Visit

Zach and I spent several hours on our beach yesterday. We had a welcome surprise visit from two American Black Ducks who were far from shy! Zach loves birds and has been told he can keep any bird he can catch. Wisely, this time he decided to sit quietly and let the ducks approach him. They came right up on shore and gathered tidbits (no idea WHAT) not more than ten feet away from us. It was a thrill for us both and made for an idyllic afternoon.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Summer Visitors

Zadie and Zach (Two Zs in a pod) search for minnows in the vast 4,000 acre lake called Androscoggin....The two "sinker siblings" (so named by their swimming instructor when they were children as they hadn't enough cellulite to float) discuss parenthood. It's a rare opportunity as they live on opposite coasts and are at demanding points in their careers.

California boys meet the Vintage Grandparent Toy Collection for the first time.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Good Karma Felted Soap



I love this stuff! The concept it a natural washcloth and soap all in one. Inside this Good Karma Felted Soap is a homemade soap made by Carrabassett Soap Company in Belfast, Maine with Good Karma alpaca fiber and wool felting.

It's great for travel and at home in the shower. Everyone should have their own personal bar. It's soft, though it acts as a exfoliant as well. When you've used up all the soap, the final leftover felting makes a great potpourri for drawers. You have your choice of scents that are lovely, subtle and local.

It makes a great local hostess gift too!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Tribute to Maggie (Oct. 24, 1944 - Jul. 10, 2010)




My guess is that everyone who knew Maggie, secretly thinks that s/he was her best friend. Mag made everyone feel like the most special person in her life. She drew people to her with her immediate delight in their presence, her loving tolerance and her sincere curiosity about every detail of their lives.

Mag was the ultimate Question Queen. She had the propensity to aid people in understanding their own truths. Maggie was commited to insightful questioning, questions that inspired deeper introspection, clarifying questions, challenging questions. .She was a gifted, guiding, enlightening and most of all loving spirit like no other. ..

When anticipating time with Mag, I woud plan ahead with determination that THIS time I would ask her more questions than she would ask me. It never happened. I don’t expect she had a single friend who could claim that Mag talked more than she listened in the relationship. People of all ages flocked to her for her big love.

Even during my final conversation with Maggie, after her week of difficult testing when she lay on her bed unable to turn over or sit up, she continued to ask loving, probing questions about my life. For as long as she remained conscious, she displayed her abiding and deep curiosity about the people she loved.

There is no one who takes her place, serves her unique purpose among my friends and family. And yet, because of who she was, she has left me with the ability to continue our conversations spiritually and to remain together without physical presence.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Bodhi-softa #18


Rather larger than his peers, he is the equivalent size of #17, having come from the same pattern. He is comprised of french indigo dyed linen and his facial features are cut from the same fabric, bleached and dried in the sun. I used a lovely hand-painted mohair yarn to sew those features to his face and to outline his ears and face. His ushnisha (head bump) radiates with indigo beads and the same yarn.

He doesn't mind the heat nearly as much as I do.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Summer in Wayne!


I can't believe it's taken me till JULY to take my first bike ride of the season! My destination was the Cary Memorial Library book sale. I got a huge bag of books for $1.00, enough to take party favors to everyone at the tapas party tonight. There were some real treasures, as always. (The travels of Marco Polo with super old color illustrations, All in a Day's Work, a luscious photo album by Eve Arnold of people performing labor all over the world, Ylla's book of CATS, and so many more!) Of course my bag was too full and caused my bike to be tippy so T had to save me and come and take the books home by car. I biked home feeling grateful that I have a rescuing, schlepping hubby.

Wayne is less provincial in the summer than in the winter. B and B had a tapas party with the MOST fabulous selections for all of us, and the driest Spanish sherry as well. It was a gorgeous evening with breezes and perfect temperatures in the 70s, and so nice to see Graham from England who has been coming to Wayne for 4o years, as well as Jann and Joyce from Alexandria, VA with their stories of winters in NM and research on artist Olive Rush. WELCOME SUMMER!

At My Feet

We have a family of chipmunks around our house. This beats the skunks of last year, though there has been sighting of one of those as well

At My Feet

We have a family of chipmunks around our house. This beats the family of skunks from last year, though there has been a single sighting of one of those as well. The chipmunks are unbeatably cute and so I can't bear to displace them. However it is quite a mess on our path as one of them lives under a stone right at our front door, which means guests are confronted with a dirt pile just before stepping into the house. I've been dropping cut flowers on the hole, partially as offerings to them and partially to see what they might do with them. Answer: They sometimes lug them off and move them around a bit.


On our beach yesterday I found three little pointy things that made me think about collage.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Spanish Supper



We had our last evening of Spanish classes this week, culminating in a Spanish pot-luck dinner. We chose recipes in Spanish from the Goya website and broke bread together Tuesday night.

The class members and teacher are wonderful people: warm, bright, fun, interesting, lively, vibrant and motivated. Basilio, an English Cocker Spaniel, became my friend as I brought him doggie treats every week. As soon as I entered the room, he'd sit and wag his tail, looking up at me imploringly. He does have an imploring look, doesn't he? It looks like we'll be going back in the fall, mainly because we can't bear to not continue the relationship with this fine group.

Barbara in front is a plumber and works for Habitat for Humanity in third world countries, is going to Gaza this fall. Bruce is a retired surgeon and auditor for Bowdoin now. Sherry is a masseuse and wants to return with her nine year old son to Costa Rica where she lived twenty years ago. Pilar, our teacher, has Cuban roots, has taught at Brown and Bowdoin and now is teaching us. Margie is Bruce's wife and retired therapist/counselor cum ceramicist, tennis player, hiker and traveler. and then there's US.