Crystals

Hey again~

So, I want to share with you something I bought last weekend.

It was actually (gasp!) not second-hand as the majority of my purchases are, and it supported a local artist!
I got it from the "Enlightened Illuminations" booth at the Spring Garden Festival that was held by Central Park last Sunday (before we hit up the Lilac Fairy Tea)

I was inspired by the one in Peach Blossoms, that shed such gentle rainbows across the floor while the kiddos play.
Now we have rainbows in our living room between about 3 and 5pm. Huzzah!

Did you know that they say that crystals imbue good energy in a space thanks to those same rainbows?
Buyah, pretty rainbows AND positive energy. Just my thing!!

I hope you consider a crystal for your own home too and enjoy the light show it offers.
Until then, take care and Happy Crystals!!

Tomato Plants!

Howdy, howdy!

Gosh, what a generous community I live in!!
This is the summer I told myself I'd have a garden, and as you saw from that last post, things are slowly but surely coming together with it!
Then, this past couple of days, we've received some new additions to our plot:
tomato plants!!

Four tomato plants and one cherry-tomato starter (off-screen) :)

It's all thanks to the generosity of my two neighbor-friends, Brooke and Katrina.
They are such green thumbs, and get so many starters from seeds that they give them away to friends! What sweeties, right??
I planted them in the back, behind the workshop, where we used to keep the chickens because:
a) it actually gets lots of sunlight back there
b) the chicken poo in the soil ought to make for very fertile ground, right??

That plot had been all but abandoned, and when I finally ventured back there earlier this week, I discovered that it was awesomely overgrown with weeds. I must say, in my novice kind of way, I really enjoy pulling weeds. Especially well-established ones. Ha!
But man, there was this one kind of weed that even brushing against it gently would send all these little sproingy seeds shooting out in every direction!! Even into my eyes!!

Master (Mistress) Gardeners, out there: what is that weed called?? Really, though, what a clever method of dispersing seed, right?

Anyway, here are some close-ups of the starters that I hope will grow into something awesome! :)

And if/when they produce plump juicy tomatoes, I am going to do my part to add to the cycle of generosity and give them to my friends in turn.
Hurrah, for Gift Economy, right??

Well, wish me luck and until next time, Happy Tomato Plants!!

Lilac Fairy Tea

Hey everybody!

So this post is about something that happened this past Sunday, but I only just now got the photos that my friend so generously took on my behalf. So here goes!

Behold: the Lilac Fairy Tea held at the Regional School of Ballet in Corvallis.

It's an annual event, but this was the first time I'd come to the event with Ella Rose, and boy did we have a great time!
The school's staff and students put on a tea lunch complete with performances by the students -- all in the theme of fairy goodness!

The foods offered were dainty little snacks like strawberries dipped in chocolate, butterfly-shaped cookies, fresh fruits, and even edible flowers!

The performances were a mixture of solos and group dances, all in the theme of floral fairies like the strawberry fairy, orchid fairies, and of course the Lilac Fairy herself culminating the event with a grand solo.

Then, to top it all off, the kids got to meet the ballerinas, ask them questions, take pictures with them, and (best of all!) learn a simple dance routine that they all performed together!!

Here are some shots from that part of the event:

Look at that arabesque! :D

Prancing. A must for any ballerina ;)

There were a lot of kids there!

Ella Rose dressed in black to be the Black Swan

Group photo~~!

Well!
That is all for now.
I hope to go again next year and maybe Ella Rose will even start taking classes at the school. Who knows!

Until next time, take care and happy Lilac Fairy Tea!!

Future William?

Hey, all~


Dash snapped this shot of William today and I thought I'd post it here to show ya'll how it kinda looks like what he might look like in the (near?) future.

Click to see the bigger version and zoom-in on his face @_@

Eh? Eh??
Lemme know what you think~!

Until next time, take care and wish me luck with this Future William!!

William's Balaclavas

Hey all~!


So man, today it was in the high 80's, possibly even hitting 90 degrees! Woo-ee!
And yet, I'd like to make a blog post about a piece of clothing that is definitely not suitable for this kind of weather:
William's balaclavas

Do you know what a balaclava is?
I never did, until I entered the Peach Blossom community. Most of the children from the former class have these adorable little hoodie-like headgears that are like a hat, earmuffs, and a neckwarmer all wrapped in one. Pretty much they protect the whole head, except for the face. So nifty, effective, and cute! It wasn't long before I started longing for one.

One "Peachy" mama in particular, Emily, was kind enough to offer to let me trace one of her balaclavas in the attempt of making my own version at home...but you know how life gets in the way of such projects, hm?

So instead, Emily surprised me with a homemade balaclava for William's first birthday! You've seen it before on this blog when I talked about Yogurt Extreme:

I love the dark blue color~

It's technically a little big for him, because it doesn't hug is face very closely, but I just love it to bits~! Before the weather really turned hot, it was our go-to gear for all outings. And will continue to be so for a while since he can always grow into it anyway! :)

It's made of fleece, as opposed to wool, but works just as well to keep him warm~


Being the seamstress that she is, the bigness of the balaclava was nagging at Emily, so she up and made another one for William to experiment with a different style and perfect her technique! Go Emily!! ♡

Reminds me of Spiderman's first attempt at a costume, right??

Wasn't that so sweet??
This one is made of cotton and is all ribbed, with the stretchiness like a t-shirt.
It's definitely snugger around his face, so it'll keep all wind and cold away from his ears, and he's less apt to pull it off like he is his blue one. Either way, I love it just as much!!

I think Emily should start a little business of making these balaclavas for the local community, because if I remember correctly most of the Peachy families got theirs from abroad (?) because they are so much more common for children to wear in places like Norway where they have those outdoor schools and such.

Do you wish your kiddos had balaclavas to protect their heads during those damper chillier Oregon months? If you're interested in having a talented seamstress craft one to fit your child's head, drop me a line and I'll get you in touch with Emily. I know it's hard to think about cold winter gear during a "heat wave" like this, but preparation is key, right??

Well, take care and I hope you enjoyed this little "fashion show" of William's Balaclavas!!

We Have A Car!

Hi everyone!

This just in -- we have a new (used) car!
I have always admired and aspired to the car-free lifestyle and we were rocking it for a while there (in a way) but now we officially have bought our first car together as a family. Behold:

1990 Toyota Camry DX Station Wagon

Let me just give you a rundown on my car history while I'm at it...

My first car was a used Saab that my mom bought for Kathy and I when we were 18 (?) and it got us through most of college and then got adopted by our little bro. I don't think it's still alive anymore...

After college, I was car-free for my life in L.A. and got around through the public transportation system and my bicycle. It was grand. Then when Dash and I got together and learned that we were expecting a baby, we assumed we'd need a car and so leased a Toyota Prius which took us to Oregon, many a long trip, and finally got returned to the dealer when I just couldn't stand the monthly payments in May 2011. Never lease a car.

We were car-free that whole summer and into autumn, until a friend of ours, whom Dash does work for, lent us the use of one of his car from November 2011 through April 2013. A 1993 Toyota Tercel. Such a generous gesture~! It came to us just in time to drive us to Portland for the one ultrasound we did with William, and served us well all the way into this great weather.

So there we were, just embarking on another car-free stint, when early Saturday morning, Dash said that a post on Craigslist had caught his eye and he showed me the 1990 station wagon for sale for just under $1K. The price was right, the build was right and we were pretty much sold even before we went to check it out.

And it's exactly what we need~! A four-door hatchback that will fit the two kids + dog for any family outings beyond Corvallis (I'm thinking Springfield for skating, Portland for flights). But besides that, our two-bike/two-trailer existence should serve us very well in general. As I mentioned in this post, we have a trailer for each kid now and the weather is very suitable for biking around. Just today we went to a birthday party in the park across town, Avery Park. It was a glorious ride~

Anyway! That's all for now~
I'm still going to stick to my goal of being car-free 4 out of the 7 days of the week. And though I haven't been reporting back here about that New Years Resolution, I assure you driving (or being driven around) has been minimal -- hurray!

Well, I hope you are all enjoying the weekend so far and good luck with your own Car!

This Weather~!

Hi again, all!

Man, another row of days missed! Why is that, you ask? Because I had my nose to the grindstone to finish this book, and now it is done and I am back!

Back to the subject at hand.
This Spring (summer) weather...it's amazing!
I am feeling so pumped to take care of long neglected items and find myself outside nearly 80% of the time!

Here is William with neighbor Annika at the park today!

I also just finished the book "You Money Or Your Life" which I really got inspired by and hope to get Dash to read too so that we can be on the same page about more things.

Do as the arrow says and Click to learn more~!

I also just got back from a fascinating and informative talk on "Naked Vs. Nude" told by a local artist named Clint Brown. Those of you who know me are familiar with my appreciation of and fascination with the human body and especially its vital role in creating art through the ages.

I love when it's still warm even after the sun has set...
And it's supposed to reach into the 90's over the weekend (!!) so that ought to be...well, hot I guess. :)

Until next time, take care and enjoy This Weather~!!