March Poem: Afternoon on a Hill

It'a March!

Spring is near.

It's such a glad season.

I can't think of March without thinking of windy afternoons and the big, green fields of my childhood.

No, I don't come from Ireland.

I've lived in Southern California my whole life.

But for a few months every year, the dry California hillsides and fields are gloriously green.

When I was growing up, there always seemed to be an empty field nearby, full of waist high grass, all beautifully green in early spring.

In the afternoons, the wind would blow and I'd head out in the fields, enjoying endless blue skies, picking poppies, and wading through the grass.

The sunshine would be bright, but not hot.

I'd imagine I was Anne, and out for a field day with Miss Shirley and my classmates.

They are some of my happiest memories.

And now, oh how very blessed I am, I share those kind of days with my children.

Out on field days with their classmates, no less.

Dreams really do come true.

Each month our home school group memorizes a poem together.
A different family is responsible for choosing a poem every month.
At the end of the month, when we remember, the kids recite to one another.
We've learned some wonderful poems together.
This month's poem is so perfectly beautiful I had to share it with you.
I feel like it captures the very essence of those windy, spring days of my childhood.
I hope you like it as much as I do.

Afternoon on a Hill

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

   

I will be the gladdest thing

      Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

      And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds

      With quiet eyes,

Watch the wind bow down the grass,

      And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show

      Up from the town,

I will mark which must be mine,

      And then start down!

I hope this weekend finds you feeling the wind in your hair, seeing blue sky overhead, and enjoying some green grass at your feet.

And if you've still got snow, enjoy a dream of what's to come.

Happy March!

Love from,

Greta


PS. And for all my fellow Anne fans, here is exactly what I was picturing when I walked those fields on windy afternoons.
Did you too?

A New Look for Easter Eggs: Jewel Tones

If you are looking for lots of, or any, great Easter crafts, this is not the right blog for you.

At least not this year.

To be completely honest, I just remembered yesterday that I need to get some stuff for the kids' Easter baskets.  Easter prep just isn't at the top of my priority list right now.

We've been reading the parts of the Easter story, and spending time preparing our hearts, but aside from that, my mind is in other places.

Other places like, baby #4 will be here in 2 months and if I don't get these closets cleaned out, things organized, and do something about our room to name a few, I will feel even more overwhelmed when baby arrives.  

It's that whole nesting thing.  Which for me looks more like crazy cleaning and organizing than making cute things for the baby's room.  It's just that way I am.

I mean, who wants to bring baby home to a messy, disorganized house?

Yes, I am slightly distracted.  Slightly frazzled.  And slightly tired at the end of each day.

Anyway.

W will be dyeing eggs.

And to prove how utterly behind I am in life, I am recycling last year's pictures.

But they are still just as pretty.

And we'll be doing them again this year.

Jewel Tone Eggs.

Aren't they beautiful?  
We tried them last year for the first time and I was smitten. (got the idea in Sunset magazine)
Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional pastel Easter egg colors.
I adore them actually.  But there is just something about the deeper, richer colors of these jewel tone eggs that I love also.

Maybe it's a real, red Easter egg that gets me.  
I really think they are lovely.


It doesn't take much effort to make these eggs.
Just buy a carton of brown eggs along with your white eggs and you are set.
Of course you need the dye too.
We use the plain, old Paas dying kit.  
I still love the way those dye tablets fizz when you add the vinegar.

Put the brown eggs in alongside the white and look at how differently the eggs take on the color of the dye.  The kids really like that part.

I've been dyeing eggs every Easter since I can remember and it never, ever gets old.

So I guess I love it too.

At the end of the day, I am not so much into bunnies or chicks or other things that distract us from the real glory of Easter.

A simple plate of eggs, some spring flowers, an egg hunt or 2 and the familiar words of the Easter story bring me joy in a way Easter crafts never will.

We'll be dying eggs tomorrow.  
I can't wait.
Hope these days find you enjoying the beauty of Easter, crafty or not.
Because what really matters is the state of our hears as we contemplate the greatest days in history.  
With love from,
Greta

Poppy Dreams --Part 2

I have to warn you, this is the mother load of pictures. When you go somewhere this beautiful, you can't help taking lots and lots of pictures.

When my alarm went off at 4:45, I immediately thought, "this is a lot of effort for some flowers," but I knew it would be worth it once we got there.

It was indeed.

As you drive down Avenue I through the flat, seemingly barren desert, you suddenly see this: orange hills.

And it just gets better and better. And you keep saying wow! James said, "I just didn't know they'd be so bright!"

As soon as we pulled over, the boys were out of the car and running.

They love to explore.

With each step the views were more amazing.

My sweet William stopped to pick me a bouquet.

Then he took off again.

Lilly liked them, too. She just wanted to sit down and pick handfuls.
"There are millions of poppies, but only one Lilly."

With thanks to Scott N for that one.
We just kept walking and I just kept taking pictures.

Finally though, it was getting warm, apparently there were "pokey things" in the flowers that were bothering James, and the kids were pretty fed up with picture taking.

Until I let them take some pictures that is.

This one is by Isaac.

By William
By James
By James
We said goodbye to our friends and fellow adventures. (thanks guys for giving us the get up and go to get out there!)

Then we got back in the car and went for an "exploring drive". It's one of the boys favorite things to do.

I could have stayed there for a long time.

It was worth the early morning wake up, the 2 hour drive, the gas, and all the other minor inconveniences of road trips with small children.

We'll be back.

Notes:

If you go,

Leave early, you'll miss traffic both ways. And you'll miss crowds in the fields.

Wear layers. It was cold to start with, but got warm fast.

Look ahead at the weather forecast. It can get VERY windy in the high desert. You'll enjoy a non--windy day more.

If your kid is sensitive to his legs being scratched by plants, or walking in long grass makes his skin itch, put him in pants.

You don't have to go to the actual poppy reserve area. We just pulled over on the side of the road at a picturesque spot. We drove by the reserve and the parking lot was full. No need to walk the trails with hundreds of others. Find your own spot.

People fly to Holland to see the tulips. If you live anywhere remotely near, you should make the trek to see the poppies. Even if is just once. For us, it might just become a spring time tradition.

________________________________________________________

On a different note, I'll be taking the rest of the week off to work on some improvements on this blog space as well as to start up a new project with Aaron. Although I have no knowledge or experience in this area, we are starting a web site, a new blog and an Etsy shop.

I hope to have something to show you next week. There will be a giveaway of some of Aaron's linoleum block prints so be sure to check back. I'll keep you posted.

And wish me luck on figuring this all out!

Love from,

Greta

Poppy Dreams-Part 1

Oceans of poppies! We got up early yesterday and drove to the Antelope Valley to see the poppies. But before we got there, we had to stop for some eats.

We found this place.

Katz and Jammers Cafe in Lancaster.

Red vinyl booths, checker floor, gumballs. It was a good find.

The kids thought so, too.
Fun for them = sharing their own table and juice to drink.
little jams
and stools that spin.

I think the people of Lancaster thought it was a little weird that they were still in their jammies. I guess us city folk are different.
Aaron made himself at home in all that dinery goodness.
But my favorite part was George's Cleaners, just across the street.
I mean, look at those mid century lines, stacked flagstone and color palette. I would live here. The building I mean, not necessarily Lancaster. (no offense Lancaster)
We dressed the kids on the side of the road and then they waited for Mommy to stop taking pictures of George's so we could go see the poppies.
Do you love to stop in out of the way towns and explore a little bit?

We do.

It is one of our favorite parts of traveling. It is fun to experience a new place, see new people, get a feel for the local flavor and find the gems, like George's.

There were lots more cool places to photograph, but we needed to get to those poppies.

Don't worry Lancaster, we'll be back to give you your photographic justice.

Easter Sunday

I know Easter Sunday was 4 whole days ago, but I am a bit behind with blogging this week. Bear with me. Here are some shots from our day--Easter 2010.

We always celebrate Easter service at my parent's church.

One of my favorite parts of the service every year is my dad's children's story. He has a dozen plastic eggs and each one has something in it from the Easter story.
Like the nails.
Lilly really liked it this year. Mostly she liked getting into all the eggs and messing things up.

Good thing she's the pastor's granddaughter or we'd be in trouble.
The last egg, of course, is empty.
After church, there is the famous Easter egg hunt. The grass was gone this year, but we survived. Last year Lilly couldn't walk and this year she ran right out there to grab those eggs. She knew just what to do.
For William it was a toss up as to what was best, Easter candy or the bacon from the church breakfast.
It wasn't the best year for photos. No one was very cooperative.
That's a little better. (It all fell apart when I asked them to turn around.)
I did get a good shot of all the cousins before the egg hunt at Nana and Papa's.
William is ready to push the babies out of the way to get at those eggs.
Who needs Easter candy when I have these sweeties in my life?

Happy Easter!

Sometimes I Need a Treat

Yesterday was Easter Sunday. And everyone was dressed in their Easter best. There were egg hunts. Lilies. Family dinners. Hymns. And every where, a feeling of hope and optimism.

But today is Monday. And I'm tired. My kids are tired. We went to the ER last night because James cut his head on a table. He's fine. But that is our 3rd ER trip in 2 months. While we were there, I saw a friend who wasn't doing well. We both cried when we hugged. This morning, I saw a friend at Trader Joe's who just lost her dad. We both cried when we hugged.

It is easy to be filled with hope and joy, with songs of gladness on my lips when it's Easter Sunday. The hard part is the other days.

The days when we feel tired or frustrated or so, so sad.

Those are the times I need a treat.

This might sound incredibly trivial to you. Yesterday we were talking about the Resurrection and today...cookies? It just doesn't match up.

But to me, it does. Because I know a God who is in the small things too. He is in the tiniest wildflower, the quiet whirr of a hummingbird's wings. He is in the hands of the musician who draws her bow across a violin and in my hands, as I held a scared little James last night. He is in every beautiful thing.

So today, when I saw these sweet french macaroons in pink, yellow and green, I smiled. They are beautiful. Beauty eases some of the aches in our heart. God does that. He gave us the greatest beauty of all--the Resurrection--our reason for Easter. And He gave us a world full of little beauties too.

Even cookies.

Not only were they beautiful, they were delicious too.

Hoping you find some beautiful thing this Monday, be it little or big, to bring a smile to your face.

Greta