Winter's View

   The Uses of Light 

It warms my bones

    say the stones

                                                 I take it into me and grow

                                                 Say the trees

                                                 Leaves above

                                                 Roots below

                                                 A vast vague white

                                                 Draws me out of the night

                                                 Says the moth in his flight-

                                                 Some things I smell

                                                 Some things I hear

                                                 And I see things move

                                                 Says the deer-

                                                 A high tower

                                                 on a wide plain.

                                                 If you climb up 

                                                 One floor

                                                 You'll see a thousand miles more.

                                                  Gary Snyder

                                                                 

                                                                   

Sifting Through

This weekend, while sorting through drawers, we found some kits that had sat there unused for quite a while.  Perfect to take outside on a sunny day and do an archeological dig with.   This one was suitable for all ages. Good thing I didn't toss that old bag of bones that I had found excavated from the initial dig.  That way they could fit them altogether to reconstruct the pirate.  Also it left some chalk like debris that was perfect for writing with.  Another find while sorting through things was our collection of heart rocks found this summer on the coast.  They fit perfectly in this basket.  We followed this day of sorting and playing, and mostly playing,  with a showing of Despicable Me.  And in our own theater.  Can't beat that price, right!     

Splendid Getaway

Splendid getaway.  Splendid place, food,  scenery,  hikes, birds, company, caves, rocks, swimming, weather.  Just an hour away.  Refreshing and relaxing.  Just splendid.     

Paint Post

Emily had some thank you cards to make and she sat down to make them.  Well, not exactly.  First she said, "I have to get some thank you cards," and I said, "No, you don't.  You can make them."  So she did.   She experimented with different colored acrylic paints.  Then she tried using stamps with acrylic paints but that didn't work as they looked just like blobs of paint.   But  what worked was painting over a mesh like stamp with blues and greens then letting it dry.  When it was dry she put the "thanks" stamp on an ink pad and stamped it on top.  I must say the effect was lovely.  With all the paints and paintbrushes out I got inspired to collect rocks at the beach to paint.  And until then, I think they are lovely in their own right.