On Hermit's Island

First you walk through an enchanted forest.


And you arrive at a rocky shore.


Don't fret there is sand there too.


And seaweed to play with.


Walking in sand is strange at first.


Of course there is always time to check out what Mama's reading.


But mainly the day is for sand.


And shells.


Phew! What a day. Luckily the camel was there to carry me home!

Just the Stuff of Life on a Day

Moving in is a longer process this time than it ever has been. Alder isn't being too independent these days, who can blame him both Kevin and I are distracted with organizing. This means that only one of us can really focus on working on the house at a time. At this point it really is only the stuff on the dinning room table and a few piles in the living room that need working on. Not much at all. My studio is up and I spent a long evening working on projects listening to Mountain Stage and the rain. We are determined to finish up tonight because there is an island in Maine where we want to be camping tomorrow night.

One of the funky things about this place is that the house next door is deserted, no cool story just a divorce. This means that we look out onto a big dark house at night. At first we thought we wouldn't put curtains up since no one is going to look in but after a few nights we realized we need the curtains to keep us from looking out. There is a big brown cat living in the abandoned house that whooped Bancha's butt the first night we were here, and a few times since then. Bancha is so used to being alpha male that now he stays inside most of the time.

This place is so big for us, we have a bedroom and then all three of us have our own room as well, and there is a spare room. The computer even has it's own little nook. We lucked out on furniture, a Goodwill a few towns over gets a lot of salvage from Target and some furniture stores, we picked up a really cool wood desk for Kevin, two book wooden bookcases and one of those over the toilet cabinets for $200. We are trying not to buy or build too much and wait on somethings for what we can find a flea markets and tag sales.

Alder and I went on a play date yesterday with a cool family near by. The mama is a doula and she unschools her four kids. It was really nice to sit down and talk with another woman who has kids, I enjoyed it a lot. On the way home Alder fell asleep so I just loaded Kevin up in the car and we went on a long drive, ending up at the Northshire Bookstore, which is easily as cool at the Tattered Cover with an entire floor of kids books, crafts and toys (the good kind).

It's finally clearing up after two and a half days of rain, I don't care if it's cloudy in Maine I just hope it doesn't rain the entire time, it might be tough with Alder in the tent all day.

I promise pictures of Maine and the house when we get back, everyone have a good week.

Madeleine L’Engle 1918-2007

I was going to write something different about eggplants and cooking them until they are nothing more than a sweet mass but the eggplants went bad. Then found out that Madelein L'Engle died on Thursday. She has been a writer that I have loved and looked up to for years.

I remember reading Wrinkle in Time on the floor of my summer camp's library. Not the first time but again when I was eighteen and a counselor. It was a rainy day off and there was nothing better to hide away in the library that was only used in the evenings. Over that summer I continued to re-read all of the O'Keefe and Murry family novels (think A Swiftly Tilting Planet or The Arm of a Starfish). It was the summer before college and I fell somewhere between child and adult the books were my escape.

Then a few years later a good friend gave me a copy of And Both Were Young commenting that Flip was me. It was the first time I had read a character that had spoken directly to me as a soul, and one of the few that ever has. I have read this book over and over again lending it out to people who want to understand me better. It probably one of her least known books but it will always be my favorite.

As a writer, and I have been making up stories since I could talk, she has been inspirational because of how she created an entire universe that was so magical and practical at the same time. One that was grounded in our world with a little Einstein, quantum physics, and mythology add to it. Like other loved books I marvel how she was able to write something that felt so personal to me yet was also loved by so many other people who I little in common.

Even now when I am dissuaded on adult fiction I drift back to her books as a respite in good writing. Don't just limit yourself to the children's books her adult ones are also wonderful. If there is a heaven like in the stories I am sure that god has reserved Madeleine's first century or so to discuss the inner workings of her world and the entire creation process.

...and the title was

I realized that when I wrote about words the other day I did not mention the name of the book that I was reading that was so inspiring. It is The Book of Salt by Monique Truong. It is the fictionalized story of Gertrude Stein and Alice B Tolkas' cook. From a first person point of view the story interweaves his current life as their servant as well as the story of how he came to France from Vietnam. It is both sensual and historical. What always amazes me is when authors are able to write a cohesive story without a strait time line. Truong jumps back and forth between three or four different periods in Bihn's life and it doesn't get confusing.

It even inspired me to pick up a copy of the Autobiography of Alice B Tolkas at the library sale I was at last weekend. [I was good... mainly... only two books for me, one for Kevin, and well fourteen for Alder]

For me?

So, I finally get back on line only to find that Amanda of RowdyPea has given me a Nice Matters Award. It was a nice welcome after such a crazy few weeks... it still is a little crazy.

I'm supposed to pass this on so I'll send this on to:

Julie over at Two Birds because she has such wonderful photos and music.

Danielle of Organic Learning because her writing has been helpful in this whole journey of parenting.

Finally I'm giving one to Trish because she is just the coolest woman in Denver and I miss her tons.

Now I have no idea if any of you read my blog but if you do congratulations! Now award this on to some other people.

Words

Have you ever felt like your tongue is dripping with words? It happens to me occasionally after reading something especially well written that just makes me want to write my own description of the world around me down. Unfortunately when ever I feel this way and I sit down at the computer the words run off. This is part of the reason that we have given the computer it's own little nook and my studio has an art table and a writing table. The key word there is writting, not typing. I find words more easily with blue ink and yellow paper than in personal keys. Of course I can still manage to throw out these little pieces, but they are the exception. So for now I will have to hold words like chrysalis in my mouth enjoying them until my desk is cleared.

A few of the words in my mouth right now:

chrysalis
wash (as in down by the wash)
newness
eggplant
consider

Quick Update

Okay the computer is finally on line. I promise to write about the trip and the adventures since the soon but for now I'm just saying hi. As for Bennington all I've seen is the Home Depot, Coffee Shop and the farmer's market. Kevin took Alder hiking today and I am supremely jealous.

We did get a little break this past weekend with family. It was a tumbled mix of Garlic Festival, Dinners, Fireman's Barbecue, and one long evening of wine and conversation. There are pictures to come soon.

There are however no trip pictures, we didn't stop long enough to take any.

I'm glad to be back.