PLEASE SLOW DOWN

'Time has a way of showing
us what really matters."

I do wish my days, my LIFE would
slow down a wee bit because while
I always try to be present, it is going
by too fast!

Thank you for all the comments to
my last post, Emerson was thrilled
to be in this space and to learn to
knit.  I hope when she is in Germany
she keeps it up.

Besides time with yarn and sticks,
we have been busy putting together
puzzles, reading and painting numerous
masterpieces to hang on my walls.

I did some playing in the kitchen
and prepared quinoa patties with
lots of garlic, broccoli and cheddar
cheese, oh my

My bread came out okay, but it really
must be toasted, and toasted well or
it has a funny texture. I have been
eating it along with my smoothie
in the mornings and it does help
keep me full until lunch.

The heat and humidity remain a constant
here, along with huge thunderstorms
every afternoon. I am ready for winter!

I finished the hat I was test knitting
for Ginny and today cast on a newborn
hat in the same pattern. This hat will
be donated, along with some other
items, to my local women's shelter.
Right now it's warm, but before long
winter will be here and most often
women and children arrive at the shelter
with just the clothes they are wearing.
Every little item helps.

Porter is now two months old!

On Saturday my baby Alex will turn 18
and as a special treat he, along with my
daughter, son in love and Emerson left
at 3:00 a.m. and are now in NYC for a
few days to play tourists.  While I already
miss them all I know they are having a
grand time.  Emerson took her knitting
basket along!

Do you have special plans for the
weekend? On Saturday I will
have Porter here again for the day
and then on Sunday Mike and I hope
to be on the beach at sunrise; the logger-
head turtles are hatching and we would
like to witness the miracle.

Much love,
Tracey
XO

EXPERIENCING THE MAGIC

" It isn't about being the best,
because once you tap into the
creative, flow, the best doesn't exist.
It's about experiencing the magic.
It's about being in that place where
            your heart is free.
It's about grabbing hold of the
                   intangible,
and making something beautiful."

~ Laura Jaworski

 

A weekend of early, quite
mornings with tea and wool.
,
Putting a huge dent in my
mountain of cantaloupes
by making preserves and
freezing a dozen bags to
be enjoyed this winter.

Playing with paints and
channeling my inner child
with oil pastels.

Picking berries, not only
to freeze, but so I can make
this. { It's freezing now.}

Taking it easy today with cups
of vegetable broth and my
favorite magazine. My issue
never arrived, but as soon as
I inquired about it another
copy was sent, arriving
yesterday. Thank you

Veronica.

My Mike smoked ribs for the
guys to eat, there are several
games being played, and I
have some knitting that is
waiting. Enjoy a beautiful
night my friends and
Happy Summer Solstice!
XO

Weekending  with Karen

A BEACH WEEKEND

For thousands of years, the Atlantic
Ocean has beat against the beach of
my childhood, its weary fingers stealing
more and more of the soft silted sand,
grabbing at the estuaries and creeks of
the South Carolina Lowcountry, leaving
us with the detritus of old forests, battered
dunes, and bleeding loss.

~ The Memory of Water by Karen White

 With Mike working and all my
children scattered about I have
been left to my own devices
this long weekend.

A day spent too long at the
beach [really, is there such
a thing?] has left me with a
little too much sun so I decided
to take a break for a day.

I drove to the art store over an
hour away for more paints and
picked up some modeling paste
and new brushes to play with.
I was white knuckled by the time
I arrived due to the amount of
traffic and terrible drivers on
the road. Sometimes I wonder
just what people are thinking,
do they want to be in an accident?

I finished the little cardigan I
was knitting for Miss Addie and
am now working on a hat to
go with it.

I am hoping to make it back to
the shore tomorrow, read my
book and listen to the waves
and then come home and paint,
I'm working on a gift for
Christmas. Sorry Steph, but
there are only 214 days left. :)

Weekending with Karen.

MAKE AND LISTEN ALONG

Every artist dips his brush in

his own soul, and paints his

own nature into his pictures. 

 

~Henry Ward Beecher
 

 

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow.

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~


For weeks I have been following Dawn's
Make and Listen  posts and am so happy
to finally join along.

Did you realize that Christmas is just over
four months away? I know, it won't be
long and even now I feel like I am already
behind.  I was asked to paint a few 'flamingo'
eggs for my son's girl friend to give as
gifts so I have been spending some
time in my studio getting started.  My
paints had been gathering a little dust
so it does feel nice to mix colors and
dip brushes into paints. I have so many
ideas I want to paint, now to just make
the time and not put it off.

While I paint I have been listening
to Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper.
I usually only listen to books when
I run or am working in the garden,
but I have been so drawn into this
story that I have been listening while
indoors. The narrator has the most
lovely English accent and I really do
feel like I am transported back to the
1940's.  When not listening to my
book, I have been just listening to
'silence', it's nice.

A GOAL

When you start with a portrait
and search for a pure form, a
clear volume, through successive
eliminations, you arrive inevitably
at the egg. Likewise, starting with
the egg and following the same
process in reverse, one finishes
with the portrait.

~ James Allen

There are 424 different species
of birds in South Carolina.
I have a goal of painting every
one of them on hollowed out
eggs.
Sixteen down...
408 to go!
Do you have a goal?
xx

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY?

"What is your hobby? Every woman
 ought to have some pet interest in
 life, outside of the everyday routine
 which composes her regular occupations.
 What is yours?"

~The Mother's Magazine, January 1915

This past year I learned a new hobby:
to knit

Before that I use to:
to paint

I received a gift:
an easel

A woman can have
more than one hobby,
right?

What is your hobby? xx

A Fish Bag

"There is certainly
 something in angling
 that tends to  produce
 a serenity of the mind."

~Washington Irving

 ...and there is something
about painting that produces
a serenity of the mind too.

A fishing bag for a son-in-law
who always brings me fresh fish.

It still needs to be lined with
vinyl and a fishing journal added,
but the major part is complete.

Now, to bring out the sewing
machine and start on the next
project on my list...
the sewing machine,
hum...
there goes my serenity.xx