Still Raining, Still Dreaming

The grass is just growing into a jungle. No hope for mowing in sight. Lots more indoor time than I usually expect in August, and chilly! But lots of time to read...


...And knit on my gossamer sweater, first mentioned here. The title of that post is also applicable to August in Maine as well. I am through with the body and working on the first sleeve. Jake calls it knit lingerie.

Inspired by so many of you stellar sewing Mamas out there (Robinsunne, Ravenhill, Blij Als Mij, Bluebirdbaby, Soule Mama, etc.), I am dusting off my machine and taking it to the local Wizard for a tune-up. The machine that has always made me a little nervous and usually frustrated, probably mostly because of me. No one ever taught me sewing. So can I blame my poor machine? I'm excited and scared to meet up with a Tuned Up Machine and a new mindset. Wish me luck.

Signs of Sylvan

Notice the small item on the right side of the bed: it's a small wooden piglet, snuggled in a knit dollhouse-doll vest, sleeping next to the Sylvan Doll. We are looking at its bottom end.

After a half-hour fuss over not getting to watch a movie, Sylvan decided abruptly to make an ATC for Miss Joanie. We had been speaking about how some people do things like make art, play music, take a bike ride, sing loudly when they are REALLY angry. Instead of throwing books at each other. Some time passed, then this:
Sylvan is learning to sleep alone.
It's just too sticky in our queensize for two grown-ups and a big six-year old boy who likes to sleep with his elbows under your kidneys and his legs smushed between yours. This is his Cozy Nest on the floor of our bedroom. He starts in his own bed and migrates to this spot in the night. The first night it felt like having a newborn again: lots of waking up and fussing all night. The next morning my eyes felt like they were wearing sandpaper.

Books That Blow My Mind into a New Hairdo: 1

OK, putting on my Librarian Hat right now, I have to tell you about a young adult novel called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I read quite a lot of kids' and young adult fiction because I enjoy it and because I like to be able to recommend books to kids/adults with some experience. Let me just say, I've been inspired to be more sparse/selective with my words lately, taking a cue from some other bloggers out there (such as a new favorite, Beauty That Moves). But I just can't help it, I am compelled to tell you about this astonishing book.

Here's what I don't like about the Post-Modern Novel (spanning all age ranges):

• Gratuitous and titillating violence
• Endings with no redemption
• Anything involving child-rape scenes, child shipwreck survivors who go cannibal, etc.

That being said, this book is set in Nazi Germany, is narrated by Death, and begins with Liesel (the main character) going to a foster home with her brother who literally expires on the train, before her eyes. Dark, right? Yeah, admittedly a very tough beginning and it took me 3 tries to actually get beyond it. But I tried again at the high praise of a library patron who was raving (as I now find myself) about the book.

What's incredible here in this story is that Zusak conveys such a depth of feeling for all of the characters, even the ones we start out thinking we don't like. It's about being regular people in the midst of extremely challenging times. For Liesel, these challenges include being a poor, pre-adolescent, child of Nazi Germany, who has recently lost her birth family. It's about the small and large ways that we hold onto our humanity. It's about growing up and learning to love. It's about Death, who is actually quite tender at times and quite overworked at the telling of the story.

Yup, this story made me cry (like The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger), because you could feel the tragedy coming, and Death even gives you a heads up once or twice. But it also made me laugh. I marveled at the way Zusak used language and description, and how he went about piecing the story together. So many times I would reread sentences to get their flavor completely.

I am pretty bereft without the characters and it's been three days now since I finished the book. So I picked it back up and am reading it aloud to Jake, my husband, at night while he does the dishes.

August is here

Apples are growing on our trees.

A photogenic chicken, Little Red Hen (Reddy for short). She is friendly and curious, one of our best girls.

Jake's favorite lillies, almost past.

A tiny cuke, happy for all of the rain.

And Carrie (of Pink Crow Studio) liked the stamp I made her. Making stamps makes me glad. Making stamps for loved ones makes me gladder.

Book Arts: Travel Journal

Jonas (my 9.5 year-old), my mom, and brother are taking a road trip to Indiana. So I put together a little Travel Journal for Jonas, inspired by the Visual Chronicles book that I first mentioned here. My idea was to make a book that would have some pages of prompts and plenty of pages of almost-blank for my boy to embellish on the road. The paper inside alternates between lightweight rice paper in a light tan, and white heavyweight printmakers' paper (because this is what I had, thanks to Joanie's dad).

Any real bookbinders should not look too closely at the binding because I totally winged it.

Inside front cover, some ideas for embellishment:
Bee stamps:

We're big fans of the car game of "If you were a _________, what would you be?" So I made a grid of the three participants on the trip, some starters (time of day, color, animal, season, mountain vs. ocean, etc.) and left some blank space too:


"How many times did you stop for someone to pee?" and "How much did Nana spend on gas? Keep track of each time and then add it up here." Questions on this page:
The back cover:Some things I found out:

• The oven at low temp can help dry out tacky pages of acrylic paint, but doesn't help dry gel medium.
• Gel medium is tacky forever. A little cornstarch rubbed on the affected areas helped smooth things out a bit.
• Drilling the holes for the binding made me almost hyperventilate a few times.
  

More Baked Goods
Could there be a summer post without a special dessert?
This apricot tart (OK, so it's baked in a pie plate because I have no tart pan) was baked in honor of Baby Alice (almost 2), who came to visit with her parents and charmed us with her tiny voice and many words. The tart above was not nearly as yummy as Alice herself.

Bikes and Books

Feet on the pedals, no training wheels.

Yes, we have a new biker in the house. Remember my boy just turned 6 and was given a brand-new bike for his birthday by two of his Bumpas? Well, on Friday he started riding the Jet 16 with no training wheels. Just like that.

So here is a movie of one of Sylvan's first rides (try to ignore the cluttered yard in the background):

Bigger boy, bigger feet. Two bikes, two boys.


It was BookLovers' Cafe yesterday at Rockport Public Library. It's a program that I started at the library as a place for folks to come and be able to talk about the books they have been enjoying. Because so often, when you read a good book you want to tell the world about it! So I bake muffins and scones, we have tea and coffee, and we talk about whatever book is wonderful. While folks talk, I take notes and write them up; people talk about everything from Great Works of Literature to light mysteries to nonfiction and even audiobooks. And nobody passes any judgment on your choices either! The notes are posted on the web at the earlier link.

Yesterday I talked about Once Upon a Tart, my new favorite cookbook: full of great writing and tips and sidebars, written by two guys who have a cafe by the same name in SoHo. The treats in the picture above come from that book: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins and Honey Cornmeal Scones. And I brought in my copy of Collect Raindrops by Nikki McClure, which you first read about in this post. Because I just can't help myself from spreading the Good News about her work.

Surrounded by Talent

Yummy summer tart with local berries (raspberries, black raspberries, and high-bush blueberries) and non-local Kiwis (what beautiful party-crashers). Delicious. The tart crust stayed crisp and delicious even into the next day. This was the sweet ending to our feast with friends from Portland and NYC, featuring amazing mussels and halibut, a zingy herb salad, local wine, and berry gazpacho.
A very non-seasonal ATC, above, but that shows you my new alphabet set "Urban," which I love. Perhaps this ATC is in contrast to the un-Hushlike summer life that we are having and---mostly---enjoying quite a lot.

So check out this first ATC by our recent guest, Susan:
The quote is from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and yes, it features BEADS! Blow my mind into a new hair-do! Thinking outside the box is so fun for everyone involved. (Did I mention this was Susan's very first ATC?!)

Below, my sweet Husby's most recent card, with background drawing by Peter Sis and words by Pablo Neruda:
It always takes him a long time to make his cards, but they reflect his thoughtfulness and care. Again, making ATCs with friends and relations is my favorite way to learn and absorb ideas about process, construction, techniques, and gets me shuffled out of my ruts in short order.

Finally, the top card here is by Jake (the aforementioned Husby) and the card below is by our recent guest, Matt:
Hold onto your hairdos...Both men used the same quote by Neruda, Jake's in the original Spanish, and Matt in the English translation, unbeknownst to each other! The English is: Why do I live exiled from the shine of the oranges?