Birthday Week!

Last week was my birthday, and it was hands down my favorite birthday week in recent memory.

It started with seeing John Prine in concert. Although he is old and his voice is quite gravelly, he had so much charisma - we were fortunate to have seats so close that you could easily see that he was constantly grinning. The audience sang along to the heartfelt and humorous hits. It was one of the best concerts I've seen - definitely an artist better in person than the audio-only version.

Because I love food, I also have to mention that over the course of the week we ate at my three favorite restaurants - a gastro pub, a vietnamese bistro, and a foodie cafe. What a TREAT. I also heard from favorite friends who I haven't connected with in a while, which was fun and grounding.

For my birthday I got a few new craft supplies and went hog-wild at the sewing machine and with my embroidery hoop. See below.

needle/scissor case made of wool felt - still needs some work

On top - embroidered seasonal decor for our front door,
on bottom - a pouch (for sewing tools), complete with zipper!

My family also had a build-your-own pizza and game night this week. It was SO fun (and I have to admit that I am generally not a big fan of games). My niece has been particularly affectionate toward me lately, sharing my chair, giving me hugs, and she helped me blow out the candles on a cake that she and my mom made together. And my nephew was sweet and mild as usual, a little sausage in his 9-month pajamas (he is 5 months). Too cute.

SB even splurged and got us great tickets to see To Kill A Mockingbird at the most well-loved theater in town. So the celebration will continue. :) In short, I am so grateful and feel so loved.

Sacred Spaces

I have had a lot of evening work meetings lately, which means that I've had more time at home in the morning. Because I am a morning person, this has been great; I have been going for runs, cleaning, listening to music, and crafting before work! A disadvantage is that evening meetings keep my mind tick-tick-ticking beyond bedtime, but soaking up the morning sun in pajamas at a sewing machine is the BEST.

That's right, for the first time in my life I have a sewing machine in my own home. It is my mom's old machine, and the instruction booklet contains her hand-written notes from more than 30 years ago. I am thrilled and have ambition to make everything from nerdy holiday decor to clothing for myself. Which reminds me, I've added another new favorite blog to the sidebar on the right side of the page - lladybird - click on the link to see a badass woman who sews the most awesome clothing. Wowza.

I have also begun knitting again, starting with a basic washcloth. It is so easy to do, but I have historically been quick to give up whenever I make a mistake. This time I'm just continuing to knit despite mistakes, and am about half-way through the washcloth with only one little hole where I mixed up a stitch. Practice will eventually make perfect-enough, and in the meantime I just enjoy the way that knitting shuts off my usual thinking processes (about the future, the past, worrying, etc.) and keeps me present.

Speaking of the present, it is a gorgeous time of year. I had the good fortune of spending a recent staff meeting visiting local sacred Dakota sites. It gave me an opportunity to really think about this space, this land, that I have called home for more than a decade, and the rich history (both good and bad) of this place. One of the sites was a restored prairie on a river bluff, the other a forest in a river valley. It was my first time to either place, even though I've lived nearby for so long. It was a powerful reminder of the sacredness surrounding us, even when we aren't looking.

Lastly, below is a photo of a bouquet that I got at the farmer's market last weekend. I love the combination - delicate flower clusters with furry caterpillar-like purple blossoms.

New Look!

Like all of us, I am constantly evolving. Today felt like the day to update the look of this blog. I'm not sure if it is the changing season or changes happening within me, but today was the day. The previous orange-yellow design and graffiti hearts were former inhabitants of my happy place, and today that place is blue and rich with organic textures. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Also, for fun, I recently looked into the top 15 most played songs in my iTunes library. There were definitely some surprises in there - favorites of the past. My top 15 were:

Blue Ridge Mountain, Hurray for the Riff Raff
The New SF Bay Blues, Hurray for the Riff Raff
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
You Are My Sunshine, Ray Charles
Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show
Long Way Home, Norah Jones
Candy, Nat King Cole
Look Out Mama, Hurray for the Riff Raff
Appalachian Death Sigh, Bill Fox
Long Way Home, Tom Waits
Lost Highway, Hank Williams
I'll Fly Away, Allison Krauss & Gillian Welch
Sign on the Window, Bob Dylan
Blueberry Hill, Louis Armstrong
September Fields, Frazey Ford

It seems that across genres - bluegrass, jazz, country, and blues - I like it mellow.

Collections

As a wannabe minimalist, I have more collections than I would like to admit. Over time, I have collected things both intentionally (i.e. cookbooks, fabrics, stationary) and unintentionally (i.e. miscellaneous papers and articles, notebooks, various nostalgic items, and a whole host of hobby "accessories" that I never ended up using). I like projects, and have a closet full of beads, stamps, and scrapbooks to prove it!

Having recently moved into a house, I now have more room than ever for material possessions. And yet, the tranquility of the uncluttered space has me determined to stop buying things and better appreciate what I already have. A simple, peaceful home has made me want for a lot less. There is a button pinned into my cubicle wall that says "do small things with great love." That has proven to be the recipe for happiness in my life. Thus, my next project will be one that REduces, instead of PROduces - I aim to go through all of my hobby supplies and only keep what I truly love.

Another piece of this realization resulted from noticing just how passionately I feel about the smallest of my hobbies - embroidery. I've never really aspired to embroider well - just enjoyed the act of embroidering, and the way that embroidery is so imperfect and heartfelt and human. It is a perfect example of how much vibrance and love can come from something so little. Wondering what I'm talking about? Scroll through this site: Feeling Stitchy.