And They Lived Happily Ever After...

Bouquet (for Jeffrey, from me)
Between me and the world
You are a bay, a sail
The faithful ends of a rope
You are a fountain, a wind
A shrill childhood cry

Between me and the world
You are a picture frame, a window
A field covered with wild flowers
You are a breath, a bed
A night that keeps the stars company

Between me and the world
You are a calendar, a compass
A ray of light that slips through the gloom
You are a biographical sketch, a bookmark
A preface that comes at the end

Between me and the world
You are a gauze curtain, a mist
A lamp shining into my dreams
You are a bamboo flute, a song without words
A closed eyelid carved in stone

Between me and the world
You are a chasm, a pool
An abyss plunging down
You are a balustrade, a wall
A shield’s eternal pattern
~ Bei DaoTranslated from the Chinese by Bonnie S.
McDougall

And a bouquet of love and appreciation to each of you, dear fireside-sitters. May your weekend be full of love, laughter, and a night that keeps the stars company.

The photo above was taken by my stylish and gorgeous friend, Mandy Kitchen. We were on the lawn of my favorite almost-local destination, the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I wrote once before about Jeffrey and I and fairy tales. For now, let me just say that fairy tales do come true. Today Jeffrey and I celebrate 16 years of marriage. We do thank God every day for the beautiful life we've been given.

The Perfect Rose Tea

I have very few regrets in my life, and every one of them involve an opportunity I missed; a chance I didn't' take. This story is about one of them. Don't worry, like most of my stories, it has a happy ending.

I began reading Victoria magazine when I was just 19 and very impressionable. My dreams were filled with Edwardian style dresses, lovely manners, and high tea. Victoria featured stories about high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia frequently enough that taking tea in that lovely place became a real dream of mine. Fast forward about 10 years or so and you will find Jeffrey and I visiting Victoria, B.C. with my parents. My one goal was to experience high tea at the Empress Hotel. I had even brought a very special dress to wear. (Notable because I do not wear dresses.)

Here's where we get to the regret part... High tea was very expensive. Very. And, nobody but me was interested in it. In fact, my family actively tried to talk me out of it. I felt like I had only two choices. One, I could pitch a fit and get my way, but disappoint everyone else. Two, I could graciously acquiesce and never let on how disappointed I was. I choose number two. Since then, each time I think of that lovely, lovely trip, (and it was wonderful in spite of the tea thing) I feel a pang of disappointment.

Fast forward another eight or nine years to today. I was reading my Victoria magazine, and whaddya know? They were featuring tea at the Empress Hotel again. A tiny twinge. And then.

And then.

My daughter walks in and hands me this:


How did she know? She couldn't possibly have known.

I'm sure I don't need to say it, but we had a marvelous time. I am certain that the most gorgeous teacakes served on the finest china in the most posh surroundings could never compare to our tea party on the floor of my daughter's bedroom. Some days you remember that being a Momma can surpass even your long-held dreams. Some days being a Momma gives you more than you could ever have imagined. On those days, you know that being a Momma is all you will ever need in this world.

Today was that kind of day.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As we enjoyed our tea party, Sloane offered us (Gareth the tiger, Lilybear the Leopard, Gopti the cat, and myself) the recipe for her delicious tea. I asked her to tell it to me again so I could write it down just for you. The rest of this post is from Sloane, in exactly her words.

"This is how you make Rose Tea.

• First you take two teaspoons full of sugar.
• Then you add 6 cups of water.
• And then you put a half of water bottle full of lemonade tea - which is tea mix that has lemony spice taste with a touch of watermelon.

OK, back to our recipe.

• For the rest, well, you put about 8 chocolate chips in it.
• And then, voila, you are finished. Well, almost.
• First you let it get hot. Then cool.

That's the recipe.
But, today I put in double chocolate because my guests all love chocolate. And, don't forget: always add two chocolate chip cookies for your guests. Or, whatever their favorite cookie is. Ours is chocolate chip. To make a nice tea party, you should decorate with whatever your guests' favorite colors are. Handwritten invitations are nice, too. YUM! That chocolate packs a wallop of good!" ~ Sloane Lawson

Lilybear the Leopard with her invitation.

the tea table

the cookies

Meet Gareth the tiger.

This is our hostess, Sloane.

And, this is Gopti the cat, an uninvited, but no less welcome guest.

Happy tea. Happy life. Happy weekend. From the ladies of Team Lawson to you and yours.
Sursum corda. Lift up your heart.

The picture of the Empress Hotel came from here. The lovely tea picture came from here. I took the the tea party pictures today.

Good Things Thursday, Week 6

I find our world to be full of so many amazing, beautiful, good things. There are incredibly talented artists, generous people, amazing projects, incredible parenting, beauty abounding, helpful products, and on and on. The idea of Good Things Thursday is to pass along information about the good things I have discovered. This week, I wanted to share some of my favorite posts. Ever. (Please remember that ever is only about 4 months. I didn't discover blogs until then.) So, for your viewing/reading pleasure.... some good things for you.

~ I love Tangobaby. She is funny and passionate, well informed and wise. I had to use two of her posts. This one, for obvious reasons. This one, because I love fairy tales. It represents only one facet of her blog, though. Pull up a chair and spend some time. You won't regret it.

~ Studio wellspring is a real southern belle. Her graciousness shimmers in her words, her sweet spirit, her insights. Read this post. Choose your favorite. Then, read the comments.

~ It was Persisting Star's joy-giving blog that inspired me to start blogging. I wanted to be a joy-spreader, too. Maddie's style of living inspires me to live a better, more generous, more beautiful life. I picked this post because I think it is representative of her gorgeous spirit..

~ Hula 70 is a woman of many, many talents. Stay and poke around for a while. You will leave brimming with ideas and inspiration. I chose this particular post because I am a list lover and this is probably the best list I have ever read.

~ Ragamuffin Gal really knows how to be a friend. She is also wildly creative and generous. Check out this awesome idea.

~ In the Land of the Lovelies is a relatively new discovery for me. I knew I had met a kindred spirit when I saw this post. How can one woman write a single sentence that completely captures a mother's love?

~ Blue Yonder is part of my daily dose. I love her writing, her insights, her wise parenting. I absolutely love this post because it is full of amazing, creative ideas. It also demonstrates what a terrific parent and teacher she is. I am a teacher in an incredible school district, and I have received a lot of professional development. I know a good bit about the way brains learn best. Let me tell you, Blue Yonder gets it exactly right.

~ Sally Jean makes the best "Pretty Little Things". She also has a wonderful blog. I look forward every month to her list of things to do. I love them all, but this one really cheered my long, long February.

~ Since I am hoping you will share your own favorite posts with me, I figured I should share mine with you. Of my own posts, I have to say that this one is my favorite. I love it because it really reflects who I am.


Oh, I could keep going. There are so many amazing bloggers that I may have to do this again in a month or two. What are your favorite posts? Would you tell me your own and one from someone else? Please won't you send me a link or two?

Happy blogging. Sursum corda!

The Corners of My Home

Flickr has a wonderful group photo pool called Corners of My Home. It's a lot of fun to browse around in, and it gave me the idea for this post. I thought you might like to see a few of the corners of my home; specifically where all my lovely peonies ended up.

This is our mantle. The collage in the white frame was a gift to Jeffrey from his last class of journalism students.

A detail of our mantle. Can you tell I love white? You can't really tell, but our walls are the palest, prettiest green. The color is called spring willow.

This shelf is in our entry hall across from the table below.

I collect antique linens and Myrtle Reed books.

This is the side table between two arm chairs in our living room.

We have a computer armoire in a small, odd space near the kitchen. This is the top of it. I really love glass and crystal.

This shelf is in the hall outside Sloane's bedroom.

This is the top of Sloane's dresser. The walls of her room are a very pale baby blush pink.

This is Sloane's bed just aften she woke up this morning. The women of Team Lawson really love purple.

This is a corner of Sloane's bedroom near her bookcase.

This is our bedroom. You can see part of our wonderful, nickle bed. I longed for this bed for years, but knew we could never buy it. My parents gave it to me to celebrate earning my Masters in Education. This room is full of all the black and white art photography I collect. The walls are a pale, pale blue in the same tone as the green of the public areas.

Here's a corner of our art books bookshelf. This is along a small wall in our bedroom between the closet and bathroom doors. I watched the old bottle in the picture for weeks before I was willing to spend the $20 for it. I am so glad I did, because I really love it. The print above the bookshelf is huge. It is a sreen printing of a stone cemetery angel.

Well, there you have it, all the home-things I love: white candles, books, flowers, crystal, glass, lace, pretty carpets, floral prints, curvy wrought iron, black and white photography, and pale, pretty colors. I hope you enjoyed the brief tour of our little enchanted cottage.

Sursum corda. Lift up your heart.

Oh how I wish I knew how to take great indoor photos. I just can't figure out the lighting thing. I even had Jeffrey holding lamps and white posterboard to try to help with the lighting. Oh, well. Hope you enjoyed them in spite of the poor lighting.

Today I Am...

Watching: Amelie. the birds at the feeder outside Sloane's bedroom window. the last ants as they scurry out of the peonies. the cat's tail flick back and forth as she watches the birds at the feeder. Sloane and her friend as they hang upside down on the swing set.
Listening to: the birds chirp outside our windows at about 4:00 this morning. Songbird by Eva Cassidy. The Road To Here by Little Big Town. Yo Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone by Yo Yo Ma. my daughter chatter about her expectations for the exciting events planned for summer school.

Creating: new playlists on my recently updated iTunes. to do lists for my summer projects. a plan for redecorating Sloane's bedroom. pretty vignettes for all my gorgeous peonies.

Doing: talking to Jeffrey. laundry. some letter writing. computer surfing to prepare for our trip to Chicago. gawking at the work of so many amazing photographers on Flickr. pulling out tear sheets and then recycling old magazines. photographing all the peonies in pretty spots around my house.
Thinking: about how to decorate my new (slightly small and ugly) classroom for next year. about the new scanner I am planning to buy soon. about all the posts I now have time to create.
Reading: lots of blog posts (I'm still catching up from my computerless week). once again, the inspiring How to Get Your Child To Love Reading. the latest issue of Real Simple magazine. The Hobbit (Jeffrey is reading it aloud to us). Boy's Life (this is the book I am reading aloud to Jeffrey when Sloane goes to bed). Things I Want My Daughter To Know by Elizabeth Nobel. Artful Blogging magazine.
Delighting: artandghosts. blogging. this post. afternoons with my husband and daughter and no obligations.
Promising: to keep up with my Morning Pages now that summer is here again. to take a family walk every evening. to be sure to provide time with me for Sloane to practice her piano every weekday. to get the garden planted this week - no matter what! to make the most of this gift of time I have been given.
Feeling: contented. grateful. joyful. very, very thankful that summer is here and my little family is together to enjoy it.

Sursum corda. Lift up your heart.

This post was inspired by Under a Pink Sky. The image is an autochrome. I absolutely adore autochromes. I love the grainy, dreaminess of the resulting image. I am lucky enough to have a few digital images that a friend gave to me. I have no idea of where they came from or what long ago photographer created the gorgeous image above.

Peony Day

Life here on Robin Road is sweet. The children who live on our street play freely in the road, riding bicycles and scooters or passing a football. Part of our soundtrack of summer is children's laughter long into the evening. We are blessed with the kind of neighbors that I thought had disappeared about 25 years ago. Our across-the-street-neighbors are the kind who greet you warmly whenever they see you, invite you to tea, watch your cat when you travel, loan you a myriad of tools, and are absolutely amazing gardeners.

These neighbors have a two foot wide border lining their driveway that is full of iris, peonies, poppies, tulips, and more. This morning Jeffrey was working in the garage when Mrs. M. came over. She was bearing an gigantic armload of white, pale pink, and bright pink peonies for Jeffrey to give to me. She remembered that peonies are my favorite flower and brought some to me. When I say some, I mean at least 40 stems - three armloads full. I spent quite a bit of time today delighting in the scent and filling the house with vases full of nature's most gorgeous flower.

I just love how voluptuous and petalsome peonies are. They remind me of a little girl's petticoat, or a 1950s debutante in her white ballgown. I love the ants that scurry all over the flowers, and the way the entire room becomes scented with a particular spicy-sweet smell. There is nothing like the fragrance of a peony. It was delightful to fill every vase in the house. Sloane and I had a grand time choosing which vase to place where. Even the cat got in on the fun and posed repeatedly with the flowers. It was an altogether delightful way to spend a day.

I hope that the week ahead will bring you at least one surprise as delightful as my peonies today were. May you have many days full of beauty, good smells, and fine neighbors.

Sursum Corda. Lift up your heart!

Peonies

This morning the green fists of the peonies
are getting ready to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open -
pools of lace,
white and pink -
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities -
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again -
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot,
into the garden and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

~ by Mary Oliver
I took all these pictures today. The longer I blog, the more I long for a new camera; one with a lens that uses a macro filter.

Rubberband Balls and Other Sparks

I wrote this post about a month ago. I have no idea how I missed posting it. I will now. Note: Since then we have done several of the things on our list (see below) and we've found that making a rubber band ball is much harder than I remembered.

This morning Sloane found a handful of brightly colored, extra large rubber bands in my supply drawer. She was busily trying to wad them up in her hand, and I asked her what she was doing. She said, "I'm trying to make a rubber band ball." How cool!! I hadn't thought of one of those in years. Just years.

Her idea made me wonder... What other childhood projects, pleasures, joys have I forgotten? What new fun can I introduce into my little girl's life? What fun is Sloane dreaming of? What simple adventures can I plan for our family?

Here's a list of ideas that Sloane and I came up with. If it inspires an adventure or two of your own, please share them and let me have a little peek of your fun.

• Spend an afternoon making a book for someone having a birthday (Daddy's is coming up soon.)

• Drag out the craft supplies and make cards. Always include a silly joke and mail them just to say, "I love you."

• "I love to take beautiful pictures. Then I want to put them on paper and write about them and express my ideas about them." (Sloane)

• Play paper dolls. Better - make your own.

• Blow giant bubbles at eachother and practice your double bubble blowing. You have to catch a bubble on the wand and gently blow another one. It takes practice, but eventually, you can learn to blow a double bubble.

• Buy some Silly Putty and save it till Sunday, color comics day. Pick a silly comic, flatten and press your Silly Putty onto it. Bang it a few times with the flat of your hand; the noisier, the better. Now, stretch and distort the resulting image.

• Have a giant bubble-gum blowing contest. Winner is the one with the biggest bubble - that doesn't end up in their hair. Be sure to take pictures.

• Invite a few friends and have a Old-fashioned Board Game Night. Serve peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches, Cheetos, and grape Koolaid. Have gummy bears and HoHos for dessert. Don't forget to play Pick-Up Stix, Old Maid, and Go Fish along with LIFE and Uno.

We are headed off to Wal-Mart in a bit to buy some rubber bands. Those huge ones of mine she found? Well, we're saving those for the very top of the ball.

Truly Golden Books

I have been absent from the blog world for a while because our computer died. One morning last week Jeffrey tried to turn it on and... nothing. It is shocking to realize how much I missed blogging. How much I missed all of you. Happily, our newer, racier computer is now up and running. So here I am, rushing around trying to catch up on all I've missed in my favorite bloggers' worlds.

One of my blogging friends, Laura at Maude and Mozart, inspired my post tonight. She is a fellow bookaholic, and I love all the vintage images she finds to share with us. Laura's recent post featured delightful pictures from a book published when she was small.

That got me thinking of my own childhood favorites. Did you ever read about a cow named Caroline who made the sweetest cheese from her milk? What about Miss Suzie the squirrel who kept a darling little house at the top of an old oak tree? Did you ever go on adventures with the Lonely Doll and her bear friends? I remember struggling to make out the cursive that all the real Babar books were first printed with. I loved to visit Richard Scary's Busy, Busy World and would dream of driving a green pickle-shaped convertible of my own. And, of course, there were my darling Little Golden Books.

There are so many more great children's books available now than when I was a child. (Go ahead, ask me for a recommendation.) But, I always feel a sentimental longing for the sweet innocence of the books from yesterday. As a teacher and a book lover, I am pretty well-read as regards children's books. I always get a thrill when fellow teachers come to me looking for a great book to read aloud to their class. I have a special fondness for picture story books, and I think that children and teachers abandon them too soon in an effort to "grow up" as readers.

I was a blessed child with parents who not only loved to read, but who also understood the value of children owning their own library of books. (For more on this subject, you must read The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. My parents were way ahead of the research.) Every single week for years of my childhood, my mother took Brett, my brother, and me to the library every Friday to check out all the books the children's department would allow. Every Saturday we got to go to the bookstore to choose our weekly book. For many years, I took home a Little Golden Book every single week. Later, I graduated to a Trixie Belden mystery a week. I would read them in two days and feel so impatient as I waited for Saturday to roll around again.

So tell me, what were your favorite childhood books? And, which Little Golden Book do you love the most? I couldn't pick just one, so my two favorites are featured here.


Happy reading. Sursum corda!

These images are the covers of my two favorite Little Golden Books. The Tawny Scrawny Lion was published more frequently with a slightly different cover, but this one was mine. Not long ago I discovered some very cool journals on Etsy. I can't wait to have one for my own.

I Meant To Do My Work Today

I meant to do my work today,

But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,

And a butterfly flitted across the field,

And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,

Tossing the grasses to and fro,

And a rainbow held out its shining hand,

So what could I do but laugh and go?

- Richard LeGallienne

All photos are from Getty Images. The amazing photographers are listed in order of the photographs and are to follow: Michael Gesinger, Paul Sisul, Kamil Vojnal, Mel Curtis, Rosanne Olson, Rosanne Olson, John Burcham.

Something Amazing

A while ago I told you that I loved papercutting. The art to follow goes so far beyond papercutting that it deserves a name of its own. Hope you enjoy.

Below is a collection of entries for an art contest at the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in Washington D.C. The rule was that the artist could use only one sheet of paper. I could not find the artists names published anywhere.