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June 2009
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August 2009

July 2009

political plants

little fireworks

firework blooms

taking down the power structure

botanical anarchy - taking down the power structure

Happy 4th of July to one and all - except, of course, if you live elsewhere and the 4th of July is just another beautiful summer (or winter) day. In which case ... have a lovely day, regardless!

mama indulgence :: on the road again

mama indulgence :: on the road again

Last week, I was cleared to start exercising again.

I am a runner. Back in high school, that would have been about the second thing I said when answering the question "Can you tell me a little about yourself?" (A singer would have been the first.) Now, running ranks about fortieth. I run when I can - no more marathons in the foreseeable future, but I did run up through the second trimester of pregnancy. And you bet your buttons that I was itching to get back on the road again come my six week postpartum thumbs-up. The rhythmic pounding of feet against ground is calming. After a run, I feel like I have a new mental lease on the day. Things get worked out while running - emotional things and muscle things, if you know what I mean.

Being a runner, I am picky about my shoes. Not the shoe color or the brand - I'm picky about the fit. Running shoes are something that I will splurge on, as long as they give me what I need - blister-free feet and pain-free knees. I was sold on the importance of the right shoe when I trained for and ran a marathon in the same pair of shoes, all the while blister- and pain-free. Shoes matter.

So - imagine my shock when, putting on my old running shoes, they were too small. Like, half a size too short. The width was fine, but my big toes were jammed against the toe box. Um, pregnancy? What the heck did you do to my feet?

And yes ... sure enough, all the other closed-toed shoes in my closet are TOO SMALL as well! Egads. Did this happen to any of you post-baby?

I made my way to the local running shoe specialty store (wearing those trusty flip-flops) and had them fit me to a new shoe. I'm happy with them. After a week of running, no pains.

Just that wallowing in despair knowing that, come winter, I'll have to buy myself some new shoes, lest I trudge through winter in the South wearing flip-flops alone.


mama indulgence :: music

mama indulgence :: violin practice

I've just loved reading about the ways you take care of yourselves as busy mamas. So much wit, so many good ideas, so many kind words. Thanks for that - it kept me smiling through what could have been a frantic day of design and sewing!

Music always has been, and always will be, the way I recharge my batteries. You might recall that, for the holidays, I received a gift certificate for a violin rental from Patrick. Since then, I've been pitter-pattering around the violin strings. I took lessons, and I plan on starting them up again sometime in the near future. I'm no virtuoso - in fact, the cats still think I make appalling shrieks on the thing and implore me to stop by attempting to grab my bowing arm with their paws. Ahem. I'm not that bad! 

I don't get to practice everyday. I try to do a little bit of playing every other day or so, even if it means ten minutes. Patrick really supports me in my musical endeavors and helps to carve out a space for me to pursue them. I try to do the same for his guitar/piano playing. We figure that since music is so important in our lives, Finn should be surrounded by it from a young age. Once he's old enough to be worn on the back in a carrier, we can play our instruments while wearing him. We also plan on working family music making into our daily routine. We already wake up and fall asleep to classical piano music. Once Finn settles into more consistent awake periods, we'll start our family hootenannies.

Singers will sing, musicians will play, and, just like they absorb human language and movements, babies will take in the music that surrounds them and make it their own. We have a culture of joyful music making, 'round these parts.

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