more leaping

organic u-pick raspberries: $2.50/pint=a steal

You know how when you are about to give birth to your first child, you know your life is going to change pretty radically, and you've read all you can, and you've folded all those baby clothes, and you can demonstrate all those nursing positions you read about, and you're as ready as you can be...BUT.

You have absolutely no idea what it will really be like. Leaping blindly into the unknown.

I'm having all that all over again and this time, it's not a baby, but a new chapter in my librarian life that I am preparing for. I've been hired to be a district elementary librarian, starting this fall. This is just what I have been working for in my master's program, it's exactly the field I want to be in, and the benefits are many.

I have also left behind a fabulous part-time job at my beloved Rockport Public Library: the people, my colleagues, my mentor and leader (boss is the wrong word), have all helped me become this professional person who I am. It's kind of weird to leave a job I love so much.

But now, this summer, I am folding all those baby clothes, excited and a little scared and having no idea the directions my life will have to change and re-form. I am reading a lot of kid lit and school library materials, preparing benchmarks and lessons, creating systems, and doing what I can to make this transition smooth. I'm sure I've overlooked some really big deal thing that will blindside me in the fall, but oh well. I am doing what I can.

After that first child is born, you can't remember not having him in your life. What did we DO before parenthood, we ask each other, what did we TALK about, and think of the TIME we wasted! I'm thinking of my family, my boys who are grown up enough to do a little bit more for themselves, but I know they'll still need me as much, in different ways. I'm thinking of Mr. Crafty, who is ready to step up his already-significant involvement here at home and bolster me up and give me ideas, the way I have done for him these past 12 years. For my part, I am planning our fall menus at least through October. Because that is a complete creativity-suck for me.

And as for the creative endeavors part, that's part of the mystery. I know a lot of creativity will be in my work life: creative organizing, teaching, and managing. I'm stepping out of my home life and into the workforce, full-time, for the first time. I will always be a Maker of Things, it will just be different now than it has been.

I'm waiting to see how it unfolds.

Speaking of unfolding, this quilt will be a gift for my eldest who will turn 13 this December. Check out the Yellow Submarine-inspired fabric in that lower left corner. Love. It. And I love the boy who it will snuggle. SHHH! It's a secret!

Blog Readers: I'm asking for any advice you might have about making this transition. Thanks.

leaping

People are living in their bathing suits around here. And you know I couldn't resist these little ruby slippers, tossed off under the restaurant table.
Must be summer. A little crazy, a little sanguine, like this pile of noodles: colorful disarray. Everything wonderful, intense, and schedule-less.

Slipway in Thomaston:

best seafood around,

great location

If you live in Maine...

You probably didn't move here for Hot and Humid reasons. I, for one, did not. You are already familiar with the fact that Hot and Humid are not my friends. So when it's like this, I can tell because I am wilted and grumpy, and I end up washing a lot of towels (single use only or they smell funky because---surprise---they don't dry) and a lot of linen clothes.

The dress that you can see, above, is pretty much a glorified nightgown that happens to be appropriate to wear to work. When I put it on I always think: "Hmm, am I really just wearing a brown shapeless sack?" Not that I care, on a day when I am preparing to stand in the heat at work and attempt friendliness and patience all day. I'll take anything that helps (mint water is a good plan also). But surprisingly I get a lot of compliments; the buttons down the back elevate it from brown-sackdom.

Today: utter bliss. Waking up, instead of icky damp hotness, to clear, blue skies, and clean-feeling air. Laundry day. I feel like the universe is sending me a Valentine on days like this ("really? you love me this much?").

This is My Weather!

And may I introduce you to my hand-me-down pink, cheetah print, synthetic summer skirt? Pretty much the opposite of the linen dress and not something I'd opt for in H & H weather or for work. But she rocks it in a whole different way. She's sort of a home skirt, an over-the-bathingsuit skirt, a garden skirt.

Note to self from the boys: "these are the only good sparklers to buy, so don't be cheap and buy the lame ones ever again."

Summer. Sigh. Now I need to go out and hang another load on the line!

(Thanks for the nudge, Hilary S. xo)

what happened to June: Part 3

mr. crafty at work again,

this time to make a hanging fairy house

And then a brief, stressful day of laundry and repacking and reorganizing (some yelling, frustration, irritation, and exhaustion too) before we were off to Monhegan Island. You'll remember it from last year.

Once there: utter bliss. Total relaxation. No meal planning to worry about. No dishes. Big questions like: Is it time for ice cream again? Hmm, which book should I read now?

Lots of hiking, reading, fishing, knitting, fairy houses, and beauty everywhere.

You know. The usual. So much gratitude for this special time outside of time.

what happened to June: Part 2

Back in the land of cool mist and fog...

the flowers were wearing a delicate mantle of dewsparkled spider webs

so we knew for sure

it was enchanted there

A vacation in two parts. First, at Fiddlehead, a little cottage designed to look like several lobster huts put together. With a secret loft room for two scrambling boys.

Reading, rocks, and beach clean-up, listening to waves break from my bed. The crescent moon over the water. Every room looks out on the ocean. Totally relaxing.

you can tell mr. crafty was here

what happened to June: part 1

We were in the land of fancy, beautiful weddings, with many pairs of fascinating, beautiful shoes. It was also the land of hot and steamy and no one was wearing polar fleece at this formal affair!

I was happy in my "dress flipflops," thanks.

(taken through an open window)

Then, home again, where the hot and steamy followed us (briefly). Sometimes, after dinner on a thunderstormy night, all you can do is just lay right down on the cool floor and read aloud by candlelight. (The Penderwicks at Point Mouette---another family favorite in the series!)

Bridges, Sewing...

When our dear, pleasantly round-bellied friend turned two, we knew we had to make him a little round friend. These babies are small in size, easy for a toddler to hold, about 6" high. So, I did make the little brown one at left, and fashioned him in the image of the boy who would receive him.

Oh and then there was my adventure with making a tunic top out of this raspberry cotton voile. Sleeves, people, are not easy. My first attempt resulted in a wicked fit of frustration that included the destruction of what I had done up to that point. Good thing I over-bought on fabric, right? Here's a link to a very helpful tutorial by Don't Fear the Ripper, which really walked me through the steps, although the author was a little glib about the sleeves. I will have a photo of the finished garment soon. I am a little sad that there is not as much shoulder/arm ease as I would like...but I am not skilled enough to know how to adjust the pattern for future attempts. Harumph. I'll still wear it, but it doesn't fit me as I wish it would.

Then there were the 6th grade bridges. We knew this class was amazing and creative and it certainly showed in their bridges: some designs that had never been tried before in the history of this project! Teams of students work together to create blueprints and a model of a bridge, in addition to each student's business letter responding to the call for bids on a bridge, and their bid price, based on their estimates. It is a math block: lots of record keeping for supplies (toothpicks and glue), check-writing, interest-rate calculations, payments for workers and engineers, healthcare percentages, etc.

Jonas's team, Sky High Engineers, created a suspension bridge. The first!

And then the bridges are tested out to see how much weight they can hold. It's not all about the weight though: they are graded on craftsmanship and beauty as well. A five-gallon bucket is suspended from the center of the bridge and water is added, one yogurt container at a time, as the eager audience counts in anticipation! Lots of excitement.

Do you see in that picture, above, that there is one full bucket already? Crazy, right? Notice the tightly held anchors (the nylon thread), pulled so very taut.

I think they filled TWO buckets....

...Before she finally gave way! (Sky High Engineers were the winners for weight!)