Lauri's Reflections

Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T11:52:00.002-07:00

I am looking forward to the five day weekend and to Thanksgiving. Being the mother of three boys I started the tradition many years ago that everyone has to help cook something. We are all excited about our feast. The kids look forward to their turn to cook. Our menu changes a little bit every year, becomes a little more Colorado and a little less Southern, which is kind of sad, but requires a lot less butter! What's really made it fun today is this Thanksgiving playlist - blues and the B-52's and even the "Funky Chicken"! And here I thought "Alice's Restaurant" was the only Thanksgiving song.

As I've been shopping this week, it seems like the stores think Thanksgiving is already over. The harvest themed decorations are already on clearance. Everything is about Christmas. And I'm just not ready for that yet. Can we have Thanksgiving first, please?

I am having mixed feelings about Christmas. We are very blessed. We don't live extravagantly by any means, but we have enough, and more than enough. And these days I don't take that for granted. An article that spoke to me was this one about Black Friday.

I am especially grateful for my family, our health, our cozy and warm house, getting to cook with my boys, and the chance to spend these days together.

more music

2009-10-25T13:54:00.002-06:00

You can listen to the whole of REM's new album at NPR here. I don't know how long it will be up, so if you are interested, hurry on over.

Wild Things

2009-10-24T17:54:00.003-06:00

I haven't seen the movie, but I heard a most charming interview with Maurice Sendak this week. He talked about the inspiration for the monsters (his relatives) and how scary adults can be to children. He also talked of a fifty cent copy of Robin Hood that he shamelessly begged for, and how the smell of that cheap paper, and whenever he smelled another book with that paper, it smelled like Sherwood Forest. Isn't that lovely? That's a true book lover, sniffing the pages.

Echo and the Bunnymen

2009-10-14T13:06:00.002-06:00

You can listen to Echo and the Bunnymen's new album, Fountain, at their site. Very fun stuff.

Truly Scary Halloween Costumes

2009-10-13T11:27:00.003-06:00

This one's actually from Martha Stewart. Too weird for me. These poor babies look a bit worried....

I Milked Rosebud

2009-09-29T14:25:00.005-06:00

Right now in Colorado, the skies are blue, the trees are turning gold and the air has a crisp coolness. We've had snow twice now on the mountain peaks, and even snow here in town, so it's no secret that winter is on the way. My husband built a very cool greenhouse, so we still have tomatoes growing!

I've been spending a little more time over on Facebook, than on blogging. I've very much enjoyed connecting with some old friends. Some of the things on FB and twitter, I really don't understand. If you are bored, or have a headache, I don't know why you would post that - I always want to say read a book, listen to some good music, take a walk, call a friend, or take an aspirin and quit straining your eyes on the computer. I don't get the point of all the quizzes either, or being a "fan" of chocolate or coffee or music - aren't we all? But it has been great fun to see pictures of peoples children and trips, and find out what they are doing all these years later.

We live quite far away from where I grew up, so it's been fun to connect with people who have some of the same shared experiences. I smiled for a whole day at the "I milked Rosebud" pin that is posted above. I think every kid in the metro Atlanta area probably took a field trip to Mathis Dairy and milked Rosebud. Now that I think about it, I feel sorry for the poor cow. The pin brought back all sorts of kindergarten memories. I used to have that pin, it got lost or tossed somewhere along the way. But now I sort of have it back, and that is very fun.

Goodbye Summer

2009-08-27T20:08:00.002-06:00

The kids started school two weeks ago. My oldest is a Junior. Eeep. And my "little" guys started junior high, which is very weird. They each have seven teachers, with some cross over, and a couple of classes together. It's a huge school with 700 kids, quite a change from our sweet little neighborhood elementary. Getting school supplies this year has been a challenge, all the teachers want different kids of composition books, binders, dividers, $120 graphing calculators, gym locks, etc.

Today was a gorgeous September Colorado day. Yes, I know it's still August, but it felt like September, with that little edge of coming fall in the air. I keep telling our tomatoes to hurry. We could have a frost in as little as two weeks, which is almost impossible to believe. The trees are just a shade less green than they were, and I know that in few weeks we'll see fall colors.

I love fall, but really hate to see summer over. Since we are participating in a community farm, we've tried a lot of fun new stuff from the farm and from the farmer's market: rainbow Swiss chard, edible flowers (which made for a lovely salad, but then I sneezed for a week), duck eggs (which are great for high altitude baking), rosemary lemon bread, bread and butter pickles (made by an 82 year old man), Amish friendship cake, cherry butter, and all sorts of fun lettuces. Every Saturday morning feels a bit like a fun scavenger hunt, we never know what we'll find, and I will miss it when the frost comes.

August, books, writing contests, and an amazing desk

2009-08-04T09:10:00.007-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I grumbled about school supplies being in the stores. It's still summer! What are these people thinking? I guess I was in a bit of denial. School starts for my kids on August 18th, so the summer days are ticking away.

A big congratulations goes to Cynthia Becker! Her book, Chipeta: Ute Peacemaker was awarded the 2009 WILLA Finalist! This wonderful book is a middle grade biography about a truly fascinating woman. Cynthia and I were in a critique group together a few years ago. It's so cool to see people I know succeeding like this.

Here's a couple of fun contests for you writers out there:

Good Housekeeping, no fee, a $3000 prize, judged by Jodi Picoult

Can you write a story in 25 words or less that hints at a larger story?

And finally - look at this desk!

It's a Wooten, a much prized piece from the Victorian Era. At $16,000-something the price is laughable. But I'm drooling over at all the little drawers and cubbyholes. Thanks to Lisa for the link.

The end of July

2009-07-28T15:36:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted. The month was crammed with summer camp, getting ready for an exchange student, showing the student around Colorado, driving classes for my teenager, and I'm not sure what all really.

Our garden is growing well. We even have okra, but not enough to do anything with. I only got six plants. The nursery lady gave them to me for free because she didn't think it would grow here. Neither did we, but it is thriving, along with the herbs, squashes, and carrots. Georgia raised that I was, I never seen okra bloom before. It's really quite pretty.

I've been reading The Movies of My Life by Alberto Fuguet, each of the book's chapters is about a movie, who he saw it with, and what was happening in his life. Not only is it a unique way to structure a book, it's got me thinking about the movies of my own life, as well as the songs, and books, and even TV shows. The same week, a meme about 15 books that have stuck with you was going around facebook. Reading about the books that have stuck with people has been very fun, and has greatly added to my "to read" list. Here's my response for that meme:

"Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends come up with."

Simple Abundance – Sarah Ban Breathnach – being grateful, cherishing life

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe- read countless times since I was about nine or ten

Crosswicks Journals – Madeleine L’Engle - okay, so there are three – it’s cheating a little – I love her fiction too, but her journals encourage others to find creative lives, she was surrounded by so talented people

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver – reading this led to gardening more and to being a member of community supported farm, and to looking at food as a social, political, environmental choice

Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott – a laugh out loud guide to writing, creativity and life

The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron – permission to be creative

The bible – the good, the inspiring, and the weird

Ingathering – collection of works by Zenna Hendersen about a magical race of people – a favorite from childhood

Connections – James Burke – explains how things came to be, how little developments led to huge things like the loom and the computer

Everyday Mattters – Danny Gregory - a collection of drawings from everyday life. A neat reminder to pay attention, to cherish the little things and to be creative

Love That Dog – a short book in poems by Sharon Creech - about a child who finds his poet’s voice – reminds me of the deep emotions of childhood and to not dismiss kid’s experiences, and to encourage their writings

Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman – spooky, weird, wonderful – combined with the American Gods book I started seeing unexplainable things everywhere

The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger

Little Women – Lousia May Alcott – I read all her books as a young girl, but that one has a special place

beach and marsh wildlife

2009-06-23T16:12:00.005-06:00

As you can see, we saw a lot of different animals. We only saw a glimpse of the miniature deer that live on Hunting Island, so I didn't get a picture of them, nor of the numerous dolphins. I did however get a lot of shots of the water where the dolphins just were. I also didn't get shots of the zillions of tiny hermit crabs in various shells, or the live sand dollars we found in the water. The strange creature is a shrimp. The crabs are fiddler crabs - only the males have the claw and they can be left or right clawed. The birds flying overhead were pelicans - one day we saw more than 40 in a line. And of course, that last picture is of two of the wildest things on the beach.

Vacation - Harbor and Hunting Islands, SC

2009-06-22T20:34:00.007-06:00

We are back from a family visit and vacation in South Carolina. Hunting Island is a very special place, a gorgeous beach and a wonderful ocean, but only has a few state cabins and camping. Harbor Island is right next door, with a lot of rental properties, but it's ocean is very shallow (less than knee deep for a long walk out) and has no waves. We ended up spending most of our days on Hunting. Here are a few photos of the trip, more to follow in the next few days:

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T18:57:00.002-06:00

I took these pictures two years ago in Normandy.

Cliffs that were somehow scaled by Allied Troops.

A small humbling portion of the American graves.

Spring in Colorado

2009-05-23T14:31:00.003-06:00

I actually took these pictures a week ago, but haven't had a chance to post.

The lilacs are gorgeous this year, all around town you can catch their sweet soapy scent.

I can never remember what these are called. The rest of the year they are straggly, but in spring - so pretty.

The beginnings of our square foot garden. We actually have four boxes, this one is for herbs and we've already harvested a few basil leaves for a pasta dish. It felt like a big garden until we worked on the community urban garden today. We planted corn, basil, and sunflowers. The day started out rainy and very mucky, but ended up warm. And when I say we, I do mean all of us. It felt odd, but good, to all be raking a cornfield together, and to be forming furrows and planting and covering the seeds. We have a new appreciation for the work that goes into farming.

Instead of Blogging..... ATC's

2009-05-13T18:44:00.003-06:00

I've been busy with a lot of things lately, instead of blogging. One of those things is making Artist Trading Cards. (Also known as ATC's) At first I really resisted the idea. While I feel like I'm a creative person, I don't feel like I'm an ARTIST. That's such a loaded word. But for a few months I've been a part of a cool creative community group and our first project was ATC's.

And I found out that ATC's are a lot of fun, once I got over the artist word problem. The rules are the cards are never for sale, only traded. And the card sizes are 2 1/2 by 3 1/2. Other than that, anything goes. Pottery, scraps, collage, stickers, stamps, paint, cloth - anything is fine. And that to me is a lot of the charm. It's amazing what people come up with. And the size is freeing in a wonderful way. It's such a little thing, not a big canvas, not a huge ART project, not intimidating, just a tiny piece of creativity.

For more information on making your own ATC's look here.

You can see a lovely poem of a slide show with some more pictures of our show here.

Brenda Novak Auction

2009-05-03T08:36:00.003-06:00

The fifth annual Brenda Novak Auction is going on now. Many editors, agents, and writers are offering signed copies, lunches, partial and full manuscript reviews, and query letter help. There's also jewelry, baskets, vacations, and all sorts of fun things. This unique auction raises money for diabetes research.

Thursday Thirteen

2009-04-30T11:17:00.005-06:00

Since it's been awhile since I posted, here are 13 links for writers, readers, music lovers, bloggers, and the curious.

1. The Reader in You from CoolPlums blog, an inspiring post about some of the psychological aspects of writing.

2. Scribbit is offering a free ebook download on how to start a blog, market a blog, and other blog related things. This is a very thorough and well thought out book from a successful blogger.

3. I Listen to Everything is a very fun blog for "people who are sick of the music on their ipods". You can read about new bands and listen to their songs and their favorite songs!

4. Here's a live videocam from The Franklin institute recording a red-tailed hawk nest in Philadephia. You can watch the fledglings eating, or go back and look at when the eggs first hatched. Thanks to my niece, Lorien, for the link!

5. The Fiction Matters blog is doing a neat series on Vonnegut's Rules of Writing. Here's a link to the third rule.

6. And here's a great article on the visceral part of writing by Emily Hanlon.

7. The 10 Rules of Writing from James N. Frey, thanks to the Writing Nag for this fun link!

8. Here's an amazing link for music lovers, all sorts of old 78's that you can listen to online!

9. Twenty by Jenny is another fun book recommendation sight for kids.

10. If you've ever considered a creativity coach, you can apply here for a free twelve weeks with a coach in training. Scroll down until you see "becoming a free client".

11. Mira's List has all sorts of good information for grants, fellowships, and residencies for creative types.

12. Encouragement to read to your child!

13. And instructions for making ever so cute miniature books.

Sunday....brains, spring...and memories

2009-04-19T17:44:00.006-06:00

Saturday afternoon I left our snowy neighborhood for a talk on teaching reading by literacy expert Barbara Swaby. She talked about how our brains are built to talk and hear, but not really to read. She talked about how reading actually physically changes our brains.

Two hours later I left the library. As I drove home, I realized not only had the snow melted, but it was spring! A few brave flowers were blooming in the sun, the melting snow had left the grass green, and lilac branches had tiny green buds on them. Spring!

Today I had to go to a different library to pick up a book on hedgehogs. (One child's current obsession. Please. Can I have a hedgehog please? They only bite until they get used to you!) The library was hosting an opening for an art show from the Alzheimer's Association. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much - I only went into the gallery to be polite -the woman who stopped me in the hall was so hopeful. And then I saw the pictures. All painted by dementia patients. The images and colors were so powerful. Some did look like kindergarten pictures, and some were artistically done. But all of them were incredible. It was like looking into someones memory. Truly. An old barn. A glossy black mare and colt. A child sitting at a window, bathed in gold light. Hyacinths. I wondered why these pictures in particular were left in ravenged brains. They were stories. The whys behind them are probably lost. And I was not the only one with teary eyes.

a snowy Friday

2009-04-17T16:06:00.005-06:00

And so it's Friday. School was canceled, even though we've gone to school on much worse and colder days. The kids were only halfway glad because no school also means no school carnival tonight.

I spent yesterday at the Battle of the Books. I was "Battle Mom", a title that sounds ever so much cooler than "soccer mom". Hundreds of fifth graders were quizzed on 40 different books, ranging from classics like The Mixed Up Files to new ones like The Breadwinner. I'm so glad my boys participated. They've always been book lovers, but this encouraged them to read a lot of different types of books that they normally wouldn't have.

I've got pizza dough rising on the back of the stove, heavy wet snow is pouring down again, and we're ready for a cozy movie night at home. Doesn't seem much like April, but it's still nice.

Here's two pictures from Easter:

Hot Cross Buns (made by my oldest son)

The snow on the branches this time of year always reminds me of cotton fields. We had an indoor egg hunt. Of course the next day was 65 degrees and sunny. And yes, we went outside and hid eggs again.

Happy April! Time to roll out some pizzas.

Sundays and science fairs and educational links

2009-04-05T15:31:00.005-06:00

I had a funny post put up about an 11 year old's guide to doing a science fair project, but it embarrassed the 11 year olds, so I took it down. Let's just say it's been a stressful, obsessive, procrastinating weekend that has left me wondering if their REAL experiment was measuring the effects of stress on parents.

We have about six weeks left of school in which they have ANOTHER research project, track day, the science fair demonstration day, a Revolutionary War Ball (for which I have to create period costumes), the Battle of the Books day, and of course graduation.

Is summer coming? Really?

You can find free educational clip art (like the dreaming little boy above) at Discovery.

Some kids have trouble finding books they like, Book Adventure lets you put in what you are interested in (animals, adventure, history, sports, etc.) and your grade level. You get back a whole list of suggested books to read!

Catching Up Yet Again

2009-04-03T13:53:00.005-06:00

And so it is April. April is a crazy month of projects, activities, endings, trips, and papers due.

Just a few years ago, when my children were smaller, it seemed like every week they were invited to a birthday party. This week though, we were invited to two grownup birthday parties for men "of a certain age".

My alpine strawberry plants are here! Since we're supposed to get more snow tonight I think they'll get to stay inside a few more days.

And here's a few fun links:

FML is a site where people can write in their most embarrassing, heartbreaking, weird moments. Some are hilarious, disgusting, and some are so very sad. And just a warning - if site's had ratings, this would be rated R for language and content. After reading a few I realized I am having a super, super great day!

Polyvore lets you collage fashion pieces. I'm thinking it would be great for character building if you have stylish characters. The site lets you pull and drop clothing, text, backgrounds, jewelry and other accessories to build a collage. You can even pick out music to go on the collage.

And for those of us who aren't so stylish, but like to take pictures and play around with them, Photovisi lets you combine your own photos into all sorts of different collages. I'm thinking cards, backgrounds, gifts..... The site is slow, but has great possibilities.

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T20:18:00.004-06:00

Getting ready to turn off the computers and lights for Earth Hour. I'm not sure what are we doing, other than reading, maybe telling stories, maybe going out to look at the stars....

Spring!

2009-03-21T10:24:00.005-06:00

Happy first day of spring! Even in Colorado, where spring comes late and slowly, we are seeing signs of spring. The aspens are fuzzy - something they do before they leaf out, willow trees are turning green, and many trees have leaf buds on them.

I just ordered 18 wild/alpine/musk strawberry plants for our patio. My oldest son saw them used on Jamie Oliver's cooking show, and asked for them. One summer day, years ago, I hiked around a ski slope while my husband rode his mountain bike. The other hikers kept bending down and picking something. I asked and was shown how to spot the tiny wild strawberries. The berries were about the size of large blueberries, they were sun warm and had a flavor twenty times their tiny size. I hope ours grow! I had no idea there were so many varieties, and so much folklore associated with these plants.

My husband and I both have the gardening bug this year, so we may end up with some very expensive produce. We always do a little bit, cherry tomatoes, some herbs, things like that. But it's been a long time since we really planned a garden. He's already built four boxes for a raised Square Foot garden. Gardening is a challenge here, small amounts of rain, big temperature swings, and hailstorms in the summer.

I know we can expect more snow, April is generally our largest snowfall month, but today the sprinklers are on, the sun is shining, and I'm dreaming of tiny strawberries.

Making Time for Creating

2009-03-17T09:58:00.002-06:00

I found this to be a beautiful argument for making time for creating, for writing, for living - not just for ourselves, but how our creating can help others too.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

2009-03-02T16:34:00.003-07:00

Even Google got in on the act. I think the fun ways they change their name on their search page is part of their charm. If you want to see more of the fun things they've done through the years, click here.

My boys told me their school had green eggs and ham for lunch today. (Sorry, but I don't think I could eat green eggs and ham from the school cafeteria.)

My new filing cabinet

2009-03-01T07:37:00.002-07:00

Isn't it pretty? And the drawers actually slide open and shut without screeching!