Weird Bird in Love

I just listed these two fellows on Etsy. I finally finished Reginald, a doll I started over a year ago, and will list him too, but I need to take a few good photos first. He has fab 80s glasses I found at a yard sale.

It’s got to be two years since I had anything on Etsy. I never had much inventory, and I think I only ever sold one item to anyone other than my mom. (Not that mom purchases are unwelcome… just not quite the same as having an actual stranger want something I made.)

I can tell you in one word what got me motivated to make (and finish) some things specifically to sell: the iPad. Read the rest of this entry »

Zag has been deeply troubled lately by the ephemerality of so much in life. This started before the talk of moving began, though undoubtedly that feeds into it. He keeps wanting to take pictures of things, to preserve a memory. Of the Bean’s bouncy chair, lest we ever get rid of it. Of all his Easter candy, before he starts eating it. Last  night he woke up weeping about the fact that the pumpkin at his school is “going back to nature” and he never got to take a picture of its face.

So last night, for reasons best known to herself, the dog pooped all over the downstairs. (You can see where this is going already, can’t you?) Read the rest of this entry »

I love my job. This is a great parish, in a great community, and my boss is a wonderful mentor. *And* – this is one of those “both/ands” they taught us to look out for, at Hogwarts Divinity School, my seminary – I am starting to be able to imagine being ready to move on to the next thing. Probably being the priest in charge of a parish somewhat smaller than St. Cosmus’, where I work now. My contract at St. Cosmus’ runs through next summer, a little more than a year. I can leave sooner than that if I find the exact right job and it’s time to go. And it would definitely be nice to know where we’re headed next, no later than a year from now…

Soooo I’ve started putting out the first feelers, exploring jobs on the horizon. At least, I thought I was just putting out feelers. Read the rest of this entry »

Zag came to the office with me this morning, partly because Tilt had a headache and partly because he really likes to, now & then. He was just helping me make a sample keepsake box for our Confirmation class. He asked what they would put in the box, and I said, things that remind them of times when they have felt close to God.

He replied: I felt close to God once. It was at the Lego table, and Daddy was putting away my Lego, and I felt close to God.

I asked, What did it feel like?

And he said,

It felt like the gentle strike of a sword.

It felt like the coldness of a penny.

It felt like a rope tied around me.

It felt like a spiderweb.

It felt like everything.

Wow, it’s been quiet around here lately. On the blog, I mean – not in real life . Not sure where I’ve been. Sick (persistent cold), and trying to go to bed early-ish… and my work schedule’s been all weird, lots of Saturday work stuff… anyway. Here I am. Wanting to write a little about my son.

He found two sticks a couple of days ago on our way home from a walk, and announced that he wanted to make them into a cross. I tied them together for him yesterday afternoon, and he immediately announced that he wanted us to have a Peace Corner at our house like they do at his school, and we could use this cross instead of the Peace Rose. (I gather that, at his school, when you’ve had a fight with someone and want to make peace, you bring them the Peace Rose and then go into the Peace Corner together to talk it out and make up. Sounds great, doesn’t it?) I agreed that a Peace Corner sounded like a nice idea, though I’m not sure we have a corner to spare.

Then he started explaining the cross to me. He said that the four spaces defined by the arms of the cross were Life, Love, Water, and Ability. I asked him to explain Water and Ability. He said Ability was when your head and your heart are the same, so it’s like you’re thinking about yourself. And Water is because God created water. Makes sense to me. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week was busy – and, probably as a consequence of my going back to work full-time, my son’s been extra “mama-ish,” as my natal family calls it  - so I haven’t had a lot of space to complete a thought, let alone blog it, lately. But I want to put down at least a few notes about our Bean as she passes the 3 month mark – inspired by Zag’s baby book (wow, we had a lot of energy back then, or something…) and by my friend S’s lovely blog documenting her daughter’s days.

The Bean is big and healthy and beautiful and alert and cheerful. Knock on wood, we’ve lucked out – she’s really a relatively easy baby, as was her brother. Read the rest of this entry »

Zagazoo, our 4.5-year-old son, has a nemesis.

Zag attends this wonderful tiny Montessori school, a four-minute drive from our house. So does R, a six-year-old who is making Zag miserable. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a looong time since I posted a tutorial or even anything particularly crafty… but I finally have something to contribute, and time to write it up!

Going through a box of family hand-me-downs and heirlooms, I found this adorable red wool cap, which belonged to one of my aunties as a child. I love the shape and detailing, and resolved to figure out how to make it. My mother pointed out that it’s basically a sock heel, and after looking at some flap heel tutorials online, I understood how the hat was constructed. Here’s how I made my own. It’s more of a how-to than a pattern per se, but I don’t really like knitting patterns that only work if you’re using that exact yarn. Read the rest of this entry »

During his bedtime songs, after tonight’s chapter of Prince Caspian, the second of the Narnia books, Zag started planning ahead for next year’s Christmas pageant.

Zag: Next Christmas I want to be King Edmund. Not an angel, and not a donkey. I want to be King Edmund. And not a sheep, either.

WB: Is King Edmund part of the Christmas story?

Zag: No, but I want to be him anyway. With his helmet and his sword and his shield. And his armor. And his leg things, if he had them.

This will be quick, as I need to each lunch & then spend some quality time with my son before heading out (baby in tow) to help lead a youth retreat this weekend.

Yesterday Zag was helping me construct a wooden cross – a 4×12 board, with 1-foot square pieces attached either side to be the arms – which the kids will decorate on the retreat. (At least, I hope they will.) He asked if he could draw on the back, and I said he could, because his drawing would be behind the cross and wouldn’t get in the way of the big kids’ art project. So he took a pencil and drew a wonderful Jesus, complete with crown of thorns, filling the back of the cross. He also added small Mary and Joseph figures, one at the end of each arm of the cross, beyond Jesus’ hands. It’s terrific. I want to make another wood cross that Zag can decorate for our house.

While he was starting Jesus’ feet, he looked at me slyly and asked, “Is God behind everything?” I said, “Maybe he is!” I can’t remember his exact words, beyond that question, but we talked about it a little more and it was clear he was thinking theologically. He was playing with the idea that the reason we can’t see God, even though we know God is around all the time, is that God is hiding behind everything.

I like that a lot. If you’re looking for a theology, you could do worse.