spark

a toy a day

This year isn't even done yet, I've clearly neglected the Word of the Day and it takes me a week or more to take photos off my camera, yet I'm already thinking about committing to another 365 project. Through the previous project I've learned that in order to do a photo a day, I need either no limitations at all, or a very simple and specific limit. While taking the "no swiping" picture, it occurred to me how much I LOVE the silliness of toy photography.  My siblings and I were pretty goofy with puppets and other toys, and that sense has inspired many a shot for me.  In fact, a silly toy tradition inspired my very first WOTD photo. I think a toy shot could be simple and fun to do each day.  I certainly have a lot of material to work with around here.  And posting the images wouldn't require a lot of blogging work - I could simply post the photo, with no text.  

So, I think I'm gonna do it.  365 toy photos in 2011.  I can handle that, right?  It will start off with a challenge almost immediately, since I'll be traveling Dec 31-Jan 8 with very little luggage space.  Maybe the first 8-9 days can feature the same toy.  

Several times during this past year I considered creating a Tumblr or separate blog just for the 365 project.  This seems like a good time to start that.  Which would you choose? And what to name it?  So far nothing fun enough has come to mind...The Toy Box, Batteries Not Included, PhotoPlay, No Swiping (maybe just do a Swiper 365? Or Swiper and an occasional guest?), Out to Play, ToyLand (you can return again).  Nothing is striking me at the moment.  Except perhaps the Swiper idea.  

Got ideas?

so now what?

Ah, let the late December let-down begin. Did you know that the "post-holiday blues" are now so official that even WedMD has an article about the phenomenon? Insane.  When I was a child, my family kept the decorations up through the 12 Days of Christmas - 11 of which are actually after Christmas Day, folks, despite what some people seem to believe.  My husband and I have often fallen into the "take the tree down sometime before Superbowl" crowd ourselves, so it's always surprising to me when the clock strikes midnight on Dec 25th/26th and the radio shuts off the carols, stores tear down their decorations, and my friends are all posting "good riddance to the tree" Facebook statuses.  It's like there's this sudden *foop* sound of a black hole opening and sucking up every last trace of holiday fun, right at the most bleak time of the year, when we really need that fun to stick around for at least part of the long stretch between holiday glitter and the robins returning.

If you're experiencing a little withdrawal like me and want to keep the spirit going through the next three hundred and some-odd days, you might try some of what I'm thinking about:

Good to the last drop: see if there are any holiday programs still happening in your area.  Here in the RVA, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens' Gardenfest of Lights is still on.  Swift Creek Mill's show "Greetings" has performances through January 2 (it's trippy fun and my friend Holly is awesome in it).  Speaking of greetings, there's an exhibit of extra-large holiday cards (made from doors) at the Main Street Station through at least Dec 31st.  You can see how many tacky houses are still lighting up.  

Winter revelries: go on cold-weather walks and look for frozen puddles, fluffed-up birds, beautiful seed pods, buds already getting set for spring or winter-blooming plants like mahonia.  Try ice skating or the iceless alternative that some malls offer. Consider heading somewhere snowier and doing some skiing.  Get shovels and sleds ready just in case there's snow in your future.  Fill a bird feeder (we like one tube of thistle and one of mixed seed) and see who comes to visit. Snip paper snowflakes for the windows - who says you can only decorate in December?

Dream up the next celebration: there's no time like the present to plan for the future.  What worked this year, what do you wish you had done? So often during a particular season my family mentions what we want to do again, not do again, or which things we missed doing we'd like to take a stab at when the next year rolls around.  But by that time, we've forgotten them! Now while the holidays are fresh in your mind, pull out your 2010 calendar and make notes of the things you hope to do.  For me that includes the Christmas Parade and Grand Illumination that we've never been able to attend, and planning some gift projects for the summer and fall.  I'm also already thinking about when we can have our next chocolate house party.  On the simpler side, I like to pick up a little new wrapping paper while it's on clearance sale.  Good time to find cards, too. (While you're putting everything away, stash scissors/tape/pen with your gift wrap so you're ready to go next year.)

Write a mission statement: I started doing this in 2007 and have now revised my original version twice.  New Years' resolutions bugged me a little - they seemed too specific and too radical, too much of a 'let's completely overhaul this one particular thing about me."  Not that they have to be that way, and not that there's anything wrong with total overhaul or grand goals, but what I wanted to do was to take a more broad look at myself, consider my values, and think about how I can strive for more in many different aspects of my life.  It's not about doing everything all at once or even about a particular end goal, but more about taking stock and noting what I hope for.  It's a living document that I can come back to and re-center myself or re-evaluate what's important to me.  Revising it each year also reminds me of what I've accomplished and where I need a little jump-start.

(PS: UK study about why resolutions fail, and ideas from the head researcher for how to succeed)

Get set for spring: do you plant a garden? Use the cold winter months to doodle sketches of what you'd like for next year and lists of what you'd like to plant.  Find dates for local plant and seed sales/festivals.  When March and April roll around, you won't be caught off-guard and you'll be ready to hit the ground running...or digging, rather.  Plan for any major changes that need to be made to your yard (we have some shrubs to remove) and think about what you'd like to be doing there in the summer.  Attracting caterpillars? Sipping tea in the shade?  Reading in a hammock?  Eating fresh tomatoes?  What do you need to do to make it happen?  Before I put the new calendar up, I also search for as many event dates as I can find - are the new school calendars out yet? How about annual festivals? I love looking forward to Arts in the Park, or knowing what the borders of our summer will be.

Domestic bliss: I find all that holiday cheer and cold weather makes me feel like feathering my nest.  While I'm cooped up inside staring at my four walls, tons of kinds of projects occur to me.  So now's the time to pick the color for the kitchen walls and figure out the timing for scrubbing down our dingy basement and turning it into a play space.  While I'm finding space for new toys and books, I can purge a few, making a run to Good Will or maybe getting together with friends for a swap.  Long dark evenings are also great for curling up with one of the many books on my reading list or working on a long-abandoned craft project...hmm, like those baby books I still haven't made for the boys. Or re-teaching myself how to use my sewing machine.

What do you do to perk yourself up in the long midwinter months?

ready for summer!

too darn hot, originally uploaded by theloushe.

* ice cream maker containers in freezer
* plenty of juice for popsicles
* lemons for lemonade
* teabags and mint for sun tea
* working on laying the patio today
* new white board hung in the hall, already filling with ideas
* playdate roster shaping up
* air conditioning repaired, house cooled
* sidewalk chalk at the ready
* bug jars waiting on the porch

Happy June solstice!

happy thoughts

favorite things from the last week or so

:: cleaning out the garage with the kids while we all wear mardis gras beads :: my two year old telling me he loves me :: lamb vindaloo :: brewing and straining my tea :: the resonance of 20 women chanting aum at the beginning of yoga class :: supported hero pose :: baby elbows :: a fantastic and empowering midwife appointment :: schefflera  :: "bobbling" baby's head in utero :: really great falafel with fresh tomato and lettuce and homemade tzatziki :: werther's originals :: overnight visit from my college roommate :: baking chocolate chip cookies ::  :: new mascara :: a do-nothing dinner date at the mall with my husband :: seeing my kids treat each other with compassion :: weekly playgroup park date :: red currant candle :: planning baby books :: looking forward to reading more Neil Gaiman :: watching Bones ::

:: fresh local peaches :: my old sunflower table that I bought 14 years ago from a church thrift sale :: my older son filling his rainboots with water :: time alone in a craft store :: peaceful Panera lunch with the whole family :: chatting with my dad on his birthday :: daydreaming about winning the lottery :: the excitement of seeing a drained pond being de-mucked by tractors :: chopping veggies with my four year old :: fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden :: 10 more cucumbers :: new really really really comfy velour maternity lounge pants :: my son asking to see a birth video :: homemade sweet potato french fries :: skittery cat, skittery cat, stomp! stomp! rabbity rabbity rabbity rabbity, skittery cat, stomp! :: tea tree and cranberry scrub on my feet :: kids picking juniper berries to roll under the car :: looking forward to my birthday :: discussing baby names :: my two year old "getting it" that there's a baby in there :: new preschool classroom list and schedule :: making all the rest of my prenatal appointments in one swoop ::

yet more project ideas

As the temperature closes in on triple digits for at least the fifth time this week, I'm staying cool indoors and dreaming of projects, hoping I can get some of them started soon.

::a::
belly cast
i've never done one before and think it would be really cool.  i just discovered that there's a woman in richmond who does them.  having a pro on board would increase the likelihood of my doing it a hundredfold.  i don't think i'd have her finish it - i'd sand it and paint or decoupage it myself. 

::b::
maternity portraits
more commemmoration of my childbearing years.  i think these can be gorgeous when well done.  i'm interviewing three photographers by email.  my hope is to do something really feminine and maternal, but not in the passive-madonna way i normally see - something more powerful.  curvy and fierce.  with maybe the standard big-brothers-kissing-belly pose for the sake of being maudlin.

::c::
eye pillows
i have all this old dried lavendar that will soon have no home when we transform the guest room into the baby's room.  i love the herbal eye pillows in my yoga class.  i have a ton of flax seeds.  i have a box of fabric scraps.  put 'em all together...ooh!

::d::
crocheted necklaces
i love the ones here and own one, but feel like i should be able to make them myself.   i can pick beads, i can do a simple chain stitch by hand.  but how does she string the beads while giving herself enough length, and what cord to use?  after staring at my necklace for ages, i figured out a way that i thought worked.  a friend of mine saw my necklace and told me she had been trying to figure out how to make them.  i told her my idea and her eyes lit up.  a week later, she told me it worked!  i saw her creations and they're awesome.  she chose a 0.5mm silk cord that looks perfect.  i'll have to get to work on my own soon.

project list

I'm nesting, but not in a productive way...yet.  I'm just feeling rather like a caged beast, dying to DO SOMETHING but not having much to do besides pacing back and forth.  I think I might be on the verge of being able to actually spring into action on a couple of projects, though.

::1::
major painting/redec
paint to include nearly the whole house.  for this i need to actually PICK A FREAKING COLOR, some form of khaki that goes with honey-oak cabinets/banisters/furniture and that also has a darker version that could be a nice neutral shade for bedroom and office walls.  i think we'll paint our bedroom/bathroom first, then the office, then the baby's room, then the halls/kitchen/powder room.  i also need to tackle the kids' bathroom, which will be yellow.  i need prints of some sort (homemade?) for that bathroom, new towels for our bathroom (ours are now 10 years old and look it), furniture and a few etsy prints for the office, and prints for the baby's room, too.  that's all.  no biggie.

::2::
baby books
big big big project which basically involves taking three kolo newbury albums and turning them into simple yet lovely memory books for all three of my boys.  i put together something like this a few years ago when my friend jen had her daughter, and have since been refining the idea in my head - trying to figure out how to make a more streamlined, less bulky (i.e., no added decorative papers) book.  i think i've settled on a combination of rolled ink borders, rubber stamps, and some hand-drawn illustrations.  minimal attachments/additions to pages.

::3::
journals
specifically, pregnancy journals.  i still haven't officially started one for this pregnancy, although i occasionally jot something in a word file.  i never put ink in the book i bought for my second pregnancy, either - again, i have a collection of notes in a word file.  i need to just DO IT, pick up a book one day and start writing, then copy out the notes into the book. 

::4::
photo albums
i haven't printed photos from 2006 or 2006.  2005 isn't in albums.  2004 is a shambles.  good grief.

::5::
sun print napkins
fun detour from all the home makeover and archival stuff above.  i have some sun print paints that i intended to use over 2 years ago to make nifty maternity shirts.  it might be more feasible to do something smaller, like napkins.  the kids might enjoy it and our current dinner napkins are looking pretty faded and boring.  we have plenty of sun, i have white cotton napkins, i just need to figure out what i'm printing and make it happen.

::6::
christmas cards
i started some gorgeous deep red duplex paper cards with stamped/embossed additions two years ago and never finished.  didn't even send cards last winter.  shameful.  time to get crackin'.

::7::
baby announcements
i have no idea.  absolutely none. ok, wait, no, i did have an idea.  hopefully i'll be getting some pregnancy photos done of me, and can use one as a "before" shot on the outside of a card, and put a b&w photo of the baby inside as the "after".  yeah, that's all i've got.  eh.

::8::
cloth gift wrap
inspired by reusable items made by a friend, i bought some fabric earlier this year in order to start my own stash of christmas wrap. so far haven't touched it.  need to get to that.

::9::
christmas ornaments
or something...i'm a packrat, i save cards that people send, thinking that surely there must be something useful i can do with them.  my favorite thing to do is to make these ball-shaped ornaments that look like some my dad made when i was a kid, except that his were solid colors.  they're pretty time-intensive, though.  i might just cut parts out and recycle them onto blank cards for next year.  hmm, maybe get some assorted reds and greens and blues in duplex cards and use some decorative-edged scissors...

 

getting my groove back

Ok, so it's not evident from what I have written here that there was ever a groove to recover.  You'll have to trust me on this.  I'm coming out of a crappy semester.  High stress, sick kids, terminal illness/death of a family member, depression, and all while dealing with a rather large and very important creative endeavor. More on that later.  At any rate, things are looking up, and I'm trying to get my feet back under me.  Projects I'm thinking about...

♥ Finally planting the garden.  No, it's not too late.  Last year we planted on June 4 and had a bountiful harvest.  I've missed the prime season for lettuces and spring root veggies, but hey, there are always tomatoes and beans.  Hopefully I can clear out the veggie patch this weekend (if the boys will let me) and get to Strange's for some plants and seeds. 

♠ Learning to knit and/or crochet.  I've long wished that I had the skills.  Mom tried to teach me as a kid.  I only ever learned a basic knit stitch and lost interest in knitting, and crochet was a complete flop.  Time to try again, 20+ years later.  I found a cool crochet video tutorial site that looks very, very helpful to a visual learner like myself.  Might also take a class at a local yarn shop at some point. 

♣ Starting yoga classes.  I'm already registered. Wuwu!

♦ Possibly starting a separate blog for kid activities in the Richmond area.  The online resources for local parents looking for fun stuff to do are few and far-between.  Due to the blog format, I wouldn't have to post a huge list of activities/links/reviews all at once and could start small.  I could use categories to make it easy to find free activities, or festivals, parks, animal-oriented items, etc. Viewers could submit suggestions and reviews via the comments section.  Think it would work?