springing

An ice-cream date outside, ramps in the woods, the dying of eggs...it really must be moving on into spring, don't you think?  The calendar and the weather don't always agree, but when Ani looks outside and says "I can't believe the sky it so blue!" or "I can't believe it's raining again!" or "I can't believe how WINDY it is!", it confirms my suspicion that we are in agreement: it is March and it is Spring. Fickle, welcome Spring.

needle-felting a new buddy

An ear make-over. Totoro, meet Button.

sometimes you've just got to lie down. in the trail...

We tried the natural dyes this year - cabbage and onion skins - and they were so beautiful! There was something we didn't do quite right, as the color was wont to rub off in patches, but generally we were so happy with the sun-print look of the plant silhouettes and the deep rich colors. Of course, I had to buy pantyhose for the first time in at least a decade, but the spectre of them lurking in a drawer somewhere is perhaps a small price to pay for art.

oooh, I love this material! It's so smooth, I like the way it feels!
Honey, it's called nylon.

alpha state

According to the online medical dictionary, the brain's alpha state is the state of relaxation and peaceful awakefulness associated with prominent alpha brain wave activity.  It is what our brains do when we are meditating, making art, dancing, playing music - we all have our own ways of getting there to that zone.  It is when you are still a part of this world, senses engaged, but you are daydreaming and getting out of your head.

Alpha is the stepping stone between the beta state - where we are living in ordinary consciousness, thinking our thoughts, communicating, planning - and theta, or the subconscious, where healing happens, where your insight and intuition live.  Your gut feelings.  This is an important place for us humans to be in touch with.  It is where our knowing comes from.

This is the tiniest glimpse of a talk I heard at the herbal conference this year, and as I sat there listening, I couldn't help but think of the people I live with who daily court the alpha state.  Mind you, they don't know they are after the alpha state in particular; they haven't read the article in Psychology Today that says that increased alpha waves are good for creativity and fighting depression.  It's just where they dwell:  Dan teaches movement as a part of his work, and in particular Suzuki training, which is repetitive and rigorous and demands being in the body, not the head.  Eliza will draw for hours and is starting to really sink into her dancing, both alpha-inducing activities, but what I'm thinking about today is the way Ani can spend hours and hours of her day daydreaming, building worlds and telling stories. 

As an aside, Ani underwent some testing last summer to get to the bottom of some fainting, and one of the questions the neurologist asked us is if we ever see her daydream.  Um...yeah! It was on her official diagnosis for that office visit: fainting spells, occasional headaches, daydreams.

Ani is dead serious when I ask her what she needs to schedule into her day, and she says, "well, I have a story I'm not done telling yet and I have to get back to that".   Being interrupted to do something more "productive" or "academically-focused" is the bane of her existence. Her focus, stamina and vocabulary would astound and impress anyone if the words she is speaking were being written down. Her sister, for instance, routinely writes around 1,000 words a day when she is in the zone, and it is easy for anyone to recognize that accomplishment and give it value.  

So it is one of my challenges to recognize and value the hours - really, hours - of storytelling, building, and crafting a world that happens when Ani is in the zone.  She is unaware for the most part of the world around her, heavily suspended in another state while the story is spun.  Fostering creativity and fighting depression.  That is one smart kid.

a very merry unbirthday tea party

Our friend Z has a birthday in September.  We finally celebrated it together this weekend, and fittingly, it was an Alice in Wonderland party. Perfect for any unbirthday...

the characters

The Mad Hatter(s) 

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, all in one person.

(She's looking at me in character. This photo cracks me up.)

Alice (with new handmade apron and blue eyeshadow)

Caterpillar, with hookah 

The fabulous Cheshire Cat

White Rabbit

The Unbirthday girl, The Queen of Hearts

the treasure hunt for presents

of course, the teaparty

The kids were so pleased with every aspect of this event, and it was lovely to see them working together on the costumes and the fun.  They are so incredibly creative!  Osha created the treasure hunt, and my favorite part was that he included a second layer of clues which were then used to unlock a computer program that revealed another clue. An awesome way to weave his primary love - computer programming - into a present for his friend.  Good feelings all 'round, Dan and I got in a date (a date!) and the girls came home haaaaaaappy this morning. And it's snowing! Happy March!