Sunday Gratitudes

Happy Sunday! Here are some of the things that I have felt grateful for this week:

• Flowers! I just love this time of year when everything begins to bloom and splashes of color appear everywhere!

• Making the time to cook more thoughtful meals. Lately I seem to have been just slapping dinner together with whatever is easy. But this past week I have planned and enjoyed cooking (and eating) a few meals that were just a bit less mundane. I really enjoy cooking, when I allow myself the time to stop and enjoy it!

• The sweet notes that Finn writes to me all of the time. He is such a kind soul.

• The way that the kids' dad and I are communicating and being flexible with scheduling. It makes this whole mess a lot more reasonable to deal with.

• My spring term classes filling in a day. When I decided to teach 2 classes next term, instead of just one class like I have been teaching for the past 5 years, there was a little bit of worry that both classes may not fill. But, I had a waitlist for both classes, on day 1 of registration. So both of my classes are a go! That means I will be much busier next term, but will also have a little bit of extra money for some fun adventures this summer.

• My full life. It may not be perfect, or anywhere close to what I imagined, but I have what I need. Amazing friends, amazing kids, a job, lots of pets, and plenty of hobbies and adventures to keep me busy. My life is far from dull, and I feel lucky.

What have you felt grateful for this week?

Joining in with the other Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots

California Love

I just got back from an amazing weekend trip to California. I saw lots of friends, ate great food, and enjoyed some sun! The highlight of the weekend was a trip to Point Reyes, in Marin County. It was amazing. We saw hundred of elk, a coyote, a bob cat, a weasel, and very many birds. It was spectacular!

 

 

How was your weekend?

Yarn Along

Hello! Happy Wednesday! Joining with Ginny at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

I am super excited because I have a fun weekend adventure planned. Hopefully, I will have lots of pictures to share next week!

Still working on Phoebe's in-threes sweater. I am in the easy, mindless part, so it is a perfect knit for watching movies and catching up on Downton Abbey! I know that Phoebe will love this sweater. She is just in love with the color red these days-- she can't get enough. Personally, this particular shade of red reminds me of Christmas, but to each their own!

War and Peace had to go back to the library. AGAIN. So the past couple of days I have been reading through The Secret Lives of Trees. It is also due back at the library very soon, but I am really enjoying it. It's not a book that you can really plow through though-- it has lots of information packed in, so it is a bit slow going (but good!). Once I get back to an easy mindless read, my brain will thank me!

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

Sunday Gratitudes

Happy Sunday! For me, this week was a week of emotional ups and downs, feeling overwhelmed, and lots of indecision. However, my gratitude practice helped me to find things to be grateful for, even when times were tough. And that is something to be grateful for! This past week I have felt grateful for:

• Snowboarding! On Tuesday evening, I had a chance to go up to the mountain for the first time in 2 years. And it was Ladies Night, so it only cost me $20!

• Powerful Films. A friend and I went to see 100 Yen Love, a Japanese film that was shown as part of the Portland International Film Festival. A couple of days later, it still has me thinking.

• Making plans! I just planned a mini-road trip for part of spring break. Having adventures to look forward to makes me super happy.

• A really amazing field trip this week. I took my students to Reed College to see their nuclear reactor. It was a first for me, and the trip was very interesting (even though I have many hesitations about creating electricity from nuclear reactions).

• Friends. I had a great night out on Friday and had a chance to spend time with a whole group of my friends, including a couple that I hadn't seen for awhile.

What have you felt grateful for this week?

Joining in with the other Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots

Yarn Along

Hello!  Joining with Ginny at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

I have been making some progress on Phoebe's in-threes sweater. I am hoping to have it finished in time for her birthday, which is not until March 1st, so I think I am right on track. Red is her very favorite color right now, so I know that she will be excited for this one.

I am (still) reading War and Peace, and actually just started to really enjoy it. I think I am immersed in the story and have mostly figured out who all of the characters are. And it's good! It actually seems much ahead of it's time with the humor. Maybe the translation has something to do with that, I'm not entirely sure. I still have many more weeks (or maybe months ) or reading it left to go, but I know now that I will make it through.

I have also been trying to get through The Secret Lives of Trees before it is due back at the library. It's non-fiction about trees and how they are classified. Stuff that sounds kind of boring, even to me, but the writing is so fabulous that it is super interesting. Well, at least to a scientist!

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

Happy Chinese New Year!

My Weekend

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was fantastic, but too short! Friday night the kids and I made pizzas and watched the new Goosebumps movie. They have been asking to watch it for months, and they finally had their chance...... the verdict was two thumbs up.
Saturday morning Puppy Cow, my very old dog, woke me at 4:45 and I couldn't fall back asleep. Finn woke up at 5:30 and Phoebe shortly after that. So our day started quite early. It's amazing what you can accomplish in one morning when you get up at 4:45! We spent the day mostly at home reading, playing games, and making valentines. Mid-afternoon, the kids went to their dad's house and I went on a run. I met a couple of friends for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant, and then we headed to the African Film Festival, which is held at the campus where I teach. We saw a film entitled Fievres, and it was powerful. It made me feel lucky for everything I have in this little life of mine.
Sunday I went on a hike to Shellburg Falls, outside of Salem. It wasn't the most exciting of hikes, but it was an amazingly sunny day, and the falls and the forest were absolutely gorgeous in the light. If it were an overcast or rainy day, I would have been fairly unimpressed, but the sun made the drive entirely worth it.
Sunday night the kids and I didn't watch the Superbowl, which is just fine by me.

How was your weekend?

Joining in with the lovely Karen from Pumpkin Sunrise

Sunday Gratitudes

Hello hello hello! Happy Sunday. Popping in here late in the day to share some gratitudes with you all. This past week I have felt grateful for:

• Happy Finn. Finn has been in a super sweet and wonderful mood quite often lately. He has been going out of his way to be sweet to me and his sister, he has been smiling every day at pick up, and he has been in a really good groove.

• Sweet Phoebe. Lately she has been trying really hard to be helpful and to be more independent. (After a few pretty rough weeks where she was being very un-helpful, this is a much welcome change!)

• Feeling strong. A change hit me last week while I was at the gym, and I feel like my body is getting stronger. I guess I was just at a plateau for a bit, and have now made it past. Running seems a little easier, weights seem a little easier, and my lungs seem a bit stronger. It's a good feeling.

• Finding my motivation. The past few weeks have brought a return on my motivation. I have been knitting and sewing, making plans, and getting organized. Oh motivation, how I missed thee. Thanks for coming home!

• Science! Last week the kids and I went to a show at the planetarium on evening spent a couple of hours at the local science museum another. They don't really get much science at school, and as a science educator, I feel a responsibility to make sure they have lots of exposure in their lives. Finn usually complains about science "learning", but lately I have seen a shift happen and he is starting to get excited about science. Apparently, during his free time in school he has been writing research papers for fun. Who knew?!

• Moshi, my amazingly wonderful and snugly dog. I feel so lucky to have her.

• Longer days and sunshine. Need I say more?

What have you felt grateful for this week?

Joining in with the other Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots

The Thought that Broke My Heart

Yesterday the kids and I went to see a documentary entitled Antarctica: On the Edge at OMSI, our local science museum. As you could probably predict, the film, which was full of penguins and seals and fantastic photography, had an underlying theme of climate change.

At one point during the film they were showing the collapse of two ice shelves, followed by several scenes of glaciers calving. After one particularly dramatic calving event, where an amazing glacier arch collapsed, Finn leaned over towards me and said "Mom, there's a good chance that when Phoebe and I are grown ups, there won't even be a world anymore".

That is the moment when my heart broke.

My 8 year old, still so young and innocent, understood what was happening to our planet better than all of the old white men in suits who run it.

And how can I, as his mother, just sit here and let this happen? I can't.

Tears started to run down my face, and at that moment, I vowed to myself that I needed to work harder to fix what is happening all around me. For many years I have been involved in environmental causes: teaching environmental science, climate organizations, rallies and protests. But, I knew then and there that it wasn't enough.

How can I just watch while my beautiful children witness their world breaking apart? A world that was handed to them full of problems that they weren't the cause of. And how can I just stand by and accept it as if it is our fate?

Well, I won't.

I can't.

I have two incredible people who are depending on me to help fix it.

Yarn Along

Hello!  Joining with Ginny at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

I have finally gotten my knitting bug back. I finished Phoebe's jumper (which took me months to finish). I think that this jumper is part of the reason I got so stuck with knitting-- there is nothing hard or wrong with the pattern-- I was just not having fun knitting it. The other part is that I have just not had much motivation for much of anything lately-- several months. But, my motivation is back, at least for now, so I am taking advantage while I can.....So this past week I finished the jumper and also finished a plain vest for Phoebe. Both will be for her birthday on March 1st. Maybe I will get some finished pictures up before then.

I decided to start another in-threes sweater for Miss P as well. I have knit this one before and it is a fun one to knit up. Since she is turning 5, she will soon be too big for all of my favorite "little kid" patterns, so I figured I would make her another while I still could. Plus she picked out some super cute ladybug buttons from the flock and fiber festival last fall (made by the very lovely and talented Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots!) I think this sweater will be the perfect home for them.

I am back to reading War and Peace, as well as several herb books and a global warming reader. I seem to have a giant stack of to-read books that keeps growing because my pace at War and Peace is so slow. Oh well, only 900 more pages to go!

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

My Weekend

Hello! Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was exactly what I needed. For the first time in a long time, I was motivated to craft, to knit more than a few rows at a time, and to finish up some projects that had been started long ago. I felt like the old me finally returned!
I also went to yoga with a few lady friends, had an energizing run, and went out to dinner and to see The Wood Brothers (who are one of my favorite bands!).
It was also a weekend of cooking and baking: chocolate chip cookies, breakfast tacos, chicken pot pie, and lemon muffins. That part probably happened because I cleansed all last week and I was ready for some comfort food!

How was your weekend?

Joining in with the lovely Karen from Pumpkin Sunrise