One Rare Bird

Unraveling (Again)

Along with starting back to school this week I am also participating in Unraveling 2: Living in my World, the sequel to Unraveling: Ways of Seeing Myself, an e-course put on by the always-lovely Susannah Conway, which you might recall me doing last Fall. I'm again planning to share my Unraveling journey with you through my weekly photo assignments (and subsequent thoughts) during these next 8 weeks - starting today with "Home" and my favorite places therein...

"In February we moved into this house. We had been looking for a good rental in our favorite neighborhood for nearly two years when this one came available. After many years of living in houses and neighborhoods I've strongly disliked, I finally feel like I am home and I never want to leave!"

"The whole family knows that this is MY couch. I love to lay here and read or watch movies. I especially love this couch when no one else is home!"

"This is my very favorite place to spend time working and studying for school. It's also where I eat breakfast with my kids  - the only time when we're not rushing around in the morning. The lighting is lovely all day long and the garden-view is beautiful even in Winter."

"I am seriously addicted to being in bed. I can never have enough linens and pillows and throws around me. This is where I do most of my reading and writing. This is where I snuggle my kids and where John and I talk late into the night. This is also where I shed most of my tears and find comfort in heartache. My bedroom is my sanctuary. And even though I've never owned a real bed, or mattress set, or dresser with working knobs, this will always be my very favorite place - my own little womb."

Crush of the Week: Naughty Betty

I'm not sure I've mention before how addicted I am to greeting cards and ephemera in general, so let me go public with my addiction by sharing one of my new favorite card companies: Naughty Betty (aka: Christine Montaquila and Courtney Weinberg). When I say I love greeting cards I don't  just mean any old greeting card. There are three basic criteria I am looking for in a greeting card: 1) Humor - usually something that pokes fun at the idiosyncrasies of life, 2) Sentiment - it has to have the right sentiment behind the humor or else it's just stupid, offensive, or demeaning, 3) Design - it's gotta look good. So I hope you love Naught Betty as much as I do because Hell really is more fun when you have others who are willing to go with you...

"[Naughty Betty] strives for a life filled with creativity, sarcasm and organized chaos..."

Brannock is 5

Today is my son's 5th birthday, and I'm once again shocked at how quickly the time has flown by. It's undeniable how his life, with his huge sense of love and wonder, has changed the trgectory of my life forever. So today goes out to the One and Only: Brannock. Happy Birthday!

Fresh Strawberry Cream Pie

I've been meaning to share this recipe ever since I made it for my Book Club a few weeks ago. And if you're fortunate enough to live where you can still find local strawberries, there's no way you want to pass on giving this pie a try. Summer ain't over til it's over - Enjoy!

Strawberry and Whipped Cream Pie

Crust:

• 1-1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 6 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Blend graham crackers in a food processor for 3 minutes. Mix everything together by hand, and press firmly into a 10-inch springform pan.  The crust should also go up the sides of the pan about three inches.  Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, until it has firmed up a bit.  Let it cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

• 5 cups strawberries, washed and stems removed.
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon gelatin powder, soaked in 1/4 cup cold water

Roughly chop one cup of the strawberries and place in a small saucepan with the sugar.  Cook until reduced to a puree.  Remove from the heat, then stir in the soaked gelatin.  Mix with the remaining strawberries, then immediately pour into the cooled crust.  Spread the out so the top is level, then prepare the whipped cream topping.

Topping:

• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon gelatin powder
• 2 tablespoons milk

 Whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.  Soak the gelatin in the milk for two minutes, then heat gently until dissolved.  Gradually fold the whipped cream into the gelatin, then spread on top of the strawberries.  Chill for several hours before removing from the pan and slicing.

{recipe via Sweet Fine Day}

Upward and Onward

These past few weeks have brought quite a few changes to my life, and though I am excited with where life is headed, I'm also tired and just want to take a very long nap. Both my kids are back in school and even though Brannock has transitioned almost seamlessly into pre-school (same school, same kids, same teacher), Haven has had a tough time easing into the strangeness of her new school, with all new kids, and an all-day schedule. (I think she needs a very long nap too.) I've also been pursuing some changes that have been outside my comfort zone. To start, I've been on what I like to call an "accelerated" job-hunt wherein I've written and submitted so many resumes and cover letters that if someone calls me for an interview I might have to ask them to remind me what is was I applied for, exactly. I'm also going back to school, which suffice to say is not my first attempt, but - fingers crossed - definitely my last. And all of this on top of my usual nurosis and pursuit of all things personal-growth related. So today I'd like to make a toast to new beginnings - because even with all the anxiety and discomfort and newness comes excitement, adaptability, and a reminder that we have a choice, everyday, to make life what we want it, or at the very least the ability to still rise up through the outpouring of shit life sometimes throws our way.

I Don't Have a Choice, but I Choose You

I cannnot get this song out of my head. It brings me to tears every time I listen to it, and I seriously hope it makes you shed a few tears as well. Happy Monday!

Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars

{A special thanks to my friend Bekah for introducing me to this lovely duo}

Stopping Long Enough For Time to Pass

Yann Pendaries

It's not very often I wake up without a headful of thoughts on what needs to be done that day, and this morning was no different, except for one thing: I rolled over to look at the clock and as my eyes adjusted and readjusted so that I could read the numbers, the numbers changed. And not only did the time become clear with that tiny change but I realized how rarely I witness the numbers changing on a clock. I can't remember the last time I stopped long enough to focus on the passing of time and absorb how quickly time passes; and also, how when you stop, clear your mind, and pay attention, it doesn't seem so fast anymore. I thought this was something I already understood, but now I know I didn't actually understand it until now. Clocks aren't so bad under this new light. They remind me I am alive and urge me to stop moving so that I can watch life move around me.

You Are Not a Stranger Here

"Man is not himself only...He is all that he sees; all that flows to him from a thousand sources...He is the land, the lift of its mountain lines, the reach of its valleys."  ~Mary Austin

"You didn't come into this world.  You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean.  You are not a stranger here."  ~Alan Watts

"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful."  ~e.e. cummings

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."  ~Kahlil Gibran

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy amidst the simple beauty of nature. ...I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles."        ~Anne Frank

"I begin to see an object when I cease to understand it."  ~Henry David Thoreau

My Last Month on Earth

Prompt 32: Extra Credit _{^{(via Reverb 10)}}

"If September 2011 was your last month to live, how would you live it?"

The first thing I'd do is I buy the VW bus I've been wanting and hit the open road with my family. We'd go as fast and as far as we wanted and see as much as we could see. We'd also stop a lot and walk through redwood forests and cool our feet off in fresh water streams. I'd watch the sunrise and hold my loved ones tight. I'd start writing letters. Lots of letters. I would say all the things I'm too busy or too scared or too lazy to say. I would sit close to friends share the silence that is so comfortable in true companionship. I would read and snuggle in bed and not waste another hunger pain on something cheap and quick. And when I washed a dish or folded a tiny sock I would saver it and be grateful for the act in and of itself, because really, all I have is today.