Category Archives: Inspiration

Inspiration

06 Friday Sep 2013

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Inspiration
Happy Friday!

We can feel summer slipping away over here.  The light is changed since we returned from vacation.  The bees have started kicking the drones out of the hives for the cooler weather ahead, poor boys.  The garden is as full as it will get and we are thinking about what worked and what we will amend for next year.  We are planning winter projects and looking back at the steps we made over the summer.  Fall is my favorite time of year in this spot.  The sun is bright and strong, but no longer wilting.  We spent our last summer day at the park yesterday.  Ada is starting kindergarten on Monday!  I am still a bit in denial, and promise not to cry until we are out of her sight.  Autumn is such an exciting and transforming time of year.  It always makes me feel like change is on its way.  What are your plans for the new season?

Instagrams form the last few weeks:

*Ivy in the Window

*Fort Construction

*Josie on the Last Summer Beach Day

*Sleepy Dare in the Pouch

*Early Snowman at The Magic Forest, Lake George NY.  (We were skeptical, but The Magic Forest was pretty amazing.  The forgotten amusement park is small, quiet, shady and perfectly kitschy.  They have a Snow White animatronic exhibit which claims to be from the 1939 World’s Fair, but is in fact even older.  Mouse Planet has a great post about The Magic Forest’s history here.  The gift shop was a beautiful dusty jumble of beaded belts, felt cowboy hats and rubber souvenir tom-toms).

*Magic Forest Angels

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Inspiration

05 Monday Aug 2013

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We have had a busy two weeks!  I am happy to be on this side of the craziness, (and yes, I did start writing this post in Friday and am just finishing it now):

*Beach with Josie’s Birthday Twin

*Ada in Tulle (Originally intended for birthday party decoration, but repurposed by rain and curious bees)

*Fort Greene Park, Waiting for Labor to Begin

*Party Decorations and Dare Welcome Cards

*Ballerina Cupcake Toppers

*Sleepy Josie After the Beach

*Two-Day-Old Dare

*Ada’s Birthday Cupcakes from Chelsea Market

*Sleepy Dare

*Birthday Decorations (Inside)

*Waiting for Ada

*Crayola Sidewalk Chalk (with the best colors!)

Welcome Baby Dare

31 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Sorry for the radio silence around here lately.  It has been a busy two weeks: Ada turned five, we had our annual block party and two birthday parties AND -best of all – we had a baby girl!

Dare was born at home at 12:50 on July 26.  She weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.  She is doing really well and already feels like she’s always been part of the family.

Chris and I have had all of our children at home, and we expected this third birth to be a relatively easy one.  We assumed that we knew what we were doing and we were lucky to have our same beloved midwife for the birth of Dare.  Thank you Joan!  But…babies and children have a way of reminding us that we have little control over our lives.  I was convinced that the baby was coming for an entire week before her birth and kept making Chris stay home for work.  I visited the acupuncturist two times to move things along, to no avail.  A slow leak put us on a path of castor oil and breaking my bag of water, and Dare decided to join us sunny-side-up which made labor and pushing much harder than the previous two births.  When we and the midwife made the decision to get labor going on July 25, Ada cried all the way home saying she didn’t want to share her birthday.  (Little Dare graciously held out for minutes past Ada’s day).  Ultimately all was successful.  Dare kept her heart rate up and worked as hard as I did to join the world.  My mother-in-law was a champ downstairs taking care of the girls and waiting through loud noises above.  When Dare was finally out (thank goodness!!), we had to shake Ada awake.  She had fallen asleep on our bed five feet away from my loudness, and missed the entirety of the pushing.  Both Ada and Josie woke up and smiled to meet their new sister.  My mother-in-law Pat cut the cord.  We toasted and I ate a grilled cheese sandwich.  (We have never had a baby at night, and it was too late for my usual post-labor Indian takeout).

So, here we are a family of five.  Three girls.  Dare has double big sisters.  She is a lucky lucky girl.  I am feeling so so happy to no longer be pregnant in August.  We are settling in to life with this new little creature,  feeling sleepy and happy and blessed.Dare2

Inspiration

19 Friday Jul 2013

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I feel like a broken record, but it is HOT here.  We spend a good deal of time sitting in the little pool, watering the garden and eating popsicles.  We are hoping our beach day tomorrow stays rain-free, but the rain should feel free to visit any other time.

Here are some Instagrams from the week:

*Kiddie Pool and Drying Diapers

*Ada’s Letter Practice

*Swaddle Blankets, Washed and Stacked

*Josie’s Potty Chart, by Ada

*Blanket Fort (With Newly Unstacked Swaddle Blankets)

*Hot Bees, Bearding to Cool the Hive

Have a Happy Weekend!

Inspiration

12 Friday Jul 2013

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Happy Friday!

Here are some Instagrams from the last two weeks:

*El Anatsui Show at Brooklyn Museum

*Josie, Looking for Fish at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

*Crazies Playing with Tulle for Ada’s Party

*Sleepy Josie on Gram’s Quilt

*Party Prep for Clementine

*Patriotic Storage Space

*El Anatsui

*Dining Room

*Frozen Grape Snack

Have a great weekend!

Inspiration

28 Friday Jun 2013

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Happy Almost Weekend!

I can hardly believe that the Forth of July is coming next week.  It was hot hot hot here, so we did a lot of running through sprinklers in the backyard, popsicle-making and watermelon-eating.  Josie is happy to have her big sister home from school and we are getting excited about the upcoming summer birthdays.

Here are some of our Instagrams from the last couple of weeks:

*Party Prep for Cousin Clementine

*Hide and Seek

*Josie Stealing Honey from the Ants

*Dinner (All I want to eat is salad in this weather)

*Tent in the Back Yard

*Josie, Peeling Off Stickers from Ada’s Book

*Busy Bees

*Sister Lunch

The Bees Are Here!

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

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After six months of waiting, our backyard bees have finally arrived!  I must say I am a bit in love.  We don’t have any other pets and we already feel attached to them after a week.  Josie wants nothing but to sit near the hives ,which she calls the ‘bee house’, and watch them every morning.  Ada is upset that I have yet to let her suit up and pull frames out with me.  I took classes with amazing teachers through Honeybee Lives and spent the winter reading and stocking up on bee supplies.  We have years and years of learning ahead of us.  These sweet girls have yet to give me a sting, which I have no doubt deserved thus far.  I am clumsy and hesitant still- not to mention hugely pregnant.  But they quietly let me transfer them from the nucleus boxes into our waiting hives without my wearing gloves (which can prevent sensitive feeling and cause you to squish bees).  My smoker went out in the middle of the transfer and I am sure I bounced them around more than I needed to.  I changed my mind about where their water should be placed, after I not so brilliantly bought what I thought was chicken waterer at an antique shop.  It turned out to be a chicken feeder and all of the bee water came cascading out of the holes when I filled it.  (My parents are going to laugh at me for that one.  What kind of a farm girl am I anyway?!) I honestly got the feeling that I had just given birth when I finally had all of the girls in their new homes last week.

It rained and rained at the end of the week here, so I had to wait impatiently until Saturday to check on the hives.  Inside of one they had already drawn out comb on the new frames by several inches.  The frames were filling up with nectar and brood and I saw many busy foragers flying in with their pollen baskets full.  Chris and I debated whether the quieter hive was being robbed, and later came to realize it was new foragers out on their first flights away from the hive.  They were just memorizing the entrance of their still new homes.  All of this bee activity is sort of magical.  Watching them fly and move and cooperated so precisely it an amazing thing to see.  I feel so lucky to be able to have them here.  I have to agree with Josie- all I want to do is sit and watch the bee house too.

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Family Road Trip

06 Thursday Jun 2013

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We managed to survive (and even have fun) on a nine day driving trip with a two and four-year-old.  This was our last adventure as a family of four before the baby arrives in August.  We used Air B&B to book all of the places we stayed and were super happy with the results.  The houses we found were amazing and cost much less than hotels.  Here are some of the highlights from the week:

*Driving in the Smoky Mountains

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs Va

*White Duck Taco, Ashville NC

*Air B&B Apartment in Converted Garage, Ashville NC

*Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington KY

*Horse Country, KY

*Bright Crayon Colors at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Graffiti, Ashville NC

*Hatch Show Print Archives, Nashville TN

*Racing Silks, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington

*Truckers Chapel, KY

*Warrior Motel, Cherokee NC

*Downtown, Nashville TN

*Restored Woolworth’s Soda Fountain, Ashville NC

*View from the Bathroom, Air B&B Rental at Warm Springs Cottage, Warm Springs VA

*Strange Scenery, Somewhere Near Dollywood, TN

*Barista Parlor, Nashville TN

*Driving Over the Smoky Mountains, TN

*Hatch Show Print, Nashville TN

*Water Tower, NJ

*Kid Breakfast at Sunny Point Cafe, Ashville NC

*Caverns of Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Farmer’s Market Fruit, Nashville TN

*Surprise Memorial Day Fireworks at The Homestead, Hot Springs VA

*Jefferson Pools, Warm Springs VA

*Natural Bridge, Natural Bridge VA

*Tadpoles! Natural Bridge VA

*Wild Turkey Country, TN

*Kentucky Horse Park Lexington

*Clouds and Windshield Bugs, Driving Through NC

Inspiration

17 Friday May 2013

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Instagrams from our week:

*Robin Shells in the Back Yard

*Back Yard Kites

*Perfect Mother’s Day Breakfast: Dough Doughnuts, Cut Flowers (which Ada and Chris wake up early and sneak out of the house for and then let me arrange myself),  and The Times (which I am still not done reading but will finish before the end of the week)

*Ada’s Class Turtle at the Art Show

*Wisteria from the Back Yard

*Mother’s Day Flowers

*Jadite at Moon River Chattel (which I resisted)

*Strange White Pigeon on the Sidewalk

*Bunk Beds!  (Finally arrived after several delivery attempts and are now in the middle of the room, waiting for us to move the bookshelf.  And we got them way on sale)

Have a great weekend!!

Rainy Day

08 Wednesday May 2013

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When I was pregnant with Ada five(!) years ago I worked as a shoe designer.  In an office.  I had air conditioning and sweet coworkers who would bring me snacks when I was hungry, (which was all of the time).  I sat at a desk most of the day and noticed every little kick and movement the baby made.  I don’t think I realized how spoiled I was at the time.  Being pregnant with two other children is a whole different animal.  I rarely sit still in my day, there is hardly ever a period of quiet in the house and I am generally too busy to pay much attention to this pregnancy.  This baby does seems to love bedtime stories and moves all around as we lie in bed and read to the girls.  Our evening routine is one of the rare times I notice the baby moving.  When I was on maternity leave before Ada was born, I spent hours knitting sweaters for her and wondering who this little person in my belly would be.  (Everyone I walked by on the street liked to spontaneously share that my huge belly most certainly contained a boy).  Today is a rainy day in Brooklyn.  A rare day in which we don’t have too much too do outside and the dampness has negated any yard work we had planned. The rain tapping on the roof is making Josie look a bit drowsy.  I am hoping for a long nap from her.   And maybe, just maybe an hour or two of quiet knitting and thinking about who this next baby will be.