apples for poppy anne

thirty eight

Annette:  Freezing cold outside, warm Unitarian Universalist church and fireplace inside. Good people, wise words, and fair trade coffee. Total Sunday goodness.

 

Erin:  A much needed dinner with friends, but seriously, I am starting to bore myself.

thirty seven and a thank you

 

Annette:  My super-talented husband and his friend were among the artists in our locale who were awarded grants for their genius last night at a super cool ceremony! I, of course, was the beaming photographer, taking loads of photos of everyone and being thrilled for the impressive array of artists and cultural magnificence happening around these parts! When the night ended, Steven and I arrived home with convenience store goodies and a celebratory agenda of Anthony Bourdain-watching and stuffing our faces, I then realized that there were really no photos of me from the evening! It's a rare thing that I get dressed up and even more rare that I put on makeup and do my hair. There needed to be photographic evidence! I liked this one! (which was technically taken on Sunday in the wee hours)

 

Erin:  Another day spent in sweatpants, eating bad food, and wishing I could outsmart this constant nausea.  Poppy is more amazing with each passing day as she learns to share her cheese with the doggies and her apples with mama and daddy.  She wants nothing more than to explore everything on God's green earth with fervor.  I whisper gentle promises that as soon as I feel better I too will be an explorer.

 

 

P.S.  I wanted to thank everyone for the rally of support with regards to AW's ridiculous comment on Friday.  While the people-pleaser in me wanted to address and defend every "point" that was mentioned, the fierce mama bear in me was sharpening her claws and looking for some throats to rip out. 

 

Instead, I looked at it as another wise opportunity from the Universe to be comfortable enough in who I am, what my experience is, and the great mother I am, and to not allow some classless idiot shake the foundation of what I know to be true.

 

It is hard to believe that I once allowed a person just like this into my life.  A person who loved barbed humour and insulting emails and then called themselves a concerned friend.  This event is a great reminder of the things I have learned and the supportive groups of people manifesting in our lives of late.

 

No more drama.

 

e.

thirty six

annette::erin

 

Annette:  Sunday plans were thwarted by nasty weather yesterday. There were only a few intrepid commuters at a lovely class I took yesterday and a sacred dance event was cancelled. Cancelled plans meant impromtu (and generous) supper at A and J's house where I met this fantastic cat, a former stray like many of the kitties who live there. A and J see to it that strays get trapped, neutered and re-released and they can't help but keep some of them. I think all cats are fantastic and special beings. Look at that face! My heart aches for not having a cat. They're definitely my favorite.

 

Erin:  Sometimes you just need a day at home; the home in which you spent your early sick days; the home where your mama brought you tea and soda crackers.  I laid on the couch under sheep skins while Poppy was entertained, a roast cooked, and potatoes were mashed.  A much needed day of being my mama's baby.

thirty five

annette::erin

annette:  An homage to the photo I was going to take on Sunday, but was taking an afternoon walk for exercise and didn't have the camera when the inspiration struck! I live by this Italian deli- and if you have not experienced an authentic Italian deli, you can't imagine the smells, the barbed banter, the music, the fare, yes, the oils and cheeses and the spectacle of it all. The photo above was taken at another store on a Saturday actually, but it's pretty similar to the one I would have liked to take from outside the deli window on my Sunday walk. I have pined many a time to take photos inside, but I might get beat up. :)

erin:  I think we have a night owl on our hands.  We would love it if she would mimic the babe in the picture above her head, but she would rather toss items behind the bed, squeal, jump and giggle at our feeble attempts to soothe her to sleep.  Le sigh.  Night bleeds into day as our nighttime gymnast dances the hours away.  What day is it anyway?

thirty four

 annette::erin

Annette:  Quiet and a smoldering friend-grown and dried lavender wand before the altar. What is more marvelous than the potential and ripeness of a new year, another fresh plot of life to cultivate! May there be love, blessings, laughter, creativity, fullfillment, abundance, growth and crazy unfettered joy in 2010!

Erin:  No words, just a picture that says a thousand.

thirty three

annette::erin
 

Annette:  Dear friends invited my husband and I over for Sunday dinner, to chat, see their garden, and meet their Ukrainian Uncle who, upon hearing of my fondness for rhodiola rosea, gifted me with some fresh dried herb to take home and make tea! Rhodiola is one of my favorite herbs. It's a great mood elevator, energy tonic, adaptogen, and antioxidant among other things! There were beautiful cats afoot, hummus, chutneys, curry, and apple pie for dessert! We had a great Sunday evening among friends- good to ground us all after the intensity of the holidays.

Erin:  A day spent crafting and eating leftovers with my loves.  Resting in the quiet hollow between the holidays.  Needle felting nests and needle felting in my nest of pillows blankets and a freshly bathed babe.  Feeling inspired to keep some overdue promises to myself.  Celebrating everything this year has been and brought while preparing for the challenges and triumphs the new year will bring.

thirty two

annette::erin

Annette:  About a foot of snow that looks like tiny diamonds. Or bubblebath! Snowed in weekend, didn't go far. But, there was eggnog!

Erin:  Last minute shopping for odds and ends reassuring us that we made the right decision with a handmade and minimal Christmas.  Feeling comfortable in my own skin for the first time in a long time.  A good denim shirt and linen pants.  Big decisions made.  Topped off with Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and late night game of yahtzee.

thirty one

 annette::erin
 

Annette:  I woke up to rain and cold this Sunday and wasn't sure I was inclined to leave the cozy apartment. I am truly grateful I that I bundled up, put Muse on the iPod and jumped on the train. We are blessed to have a local Healing Arts center in the area who generously threw a Holiday party of sorts, with free treatments, raw organic chocolate, belly-dancing, singing, and free cups of tea. My dearest friends trickled in, and we connected, chatted, received reiki, massage, and acupuncture among us. I was gifted a smudge stick made of homegrown lavender from friends' garden. This Sunday I am positively aglow with the blessings of kindred community, and the amazing souls I have in my circle of healing and growth! P.S. Erin, I wish you were here!

Erin:  A busy weekend spent mostly in the lovely home and Blackbird Studio of a most lovely and peaceful Rae.  Marinating in good vibes and warm cider.  Making money and gathering some much needed steam to keep moving forward with my bravery and learning.  Feeling in my element...finally.  An overdue family gathering on Sunday with thoughts of felt berries dancing in my head.  Five dozen buried cherry cookies for the cookie exchange.  Good raw wool being put to beauty.  Christmas movies and hot soapy water.  Life is so damned sweet.

thirty

annette::erin
 

Annette: This picture is of my feet, at home, under the tree, after a busy Sunday of the unfamiliar but beautiful ritual of being Godparents to our little nephew. We are not Catholic, but were honored to be a part of the loved little baby's life in this way. I was going to go to Manhattan to see a Bach concert with friends later in the day, but decided to eat ziti and cake with the in-laws, hold the sweet little boy while he slept, and then be home, with feet under the tree. Life moves in cycles and it's wise to rest and be inside when instinct dictates. Says I, humbly.

 

Erin:  Bringing a cold tree into the warmth of our home.  Feeling a little sad for taking her life only to have Mike remind me that it is likely a tree's highest ambition to be someone's beloved Christmas tree.  Watching Poppy reach out to touch her prickly branches and pull away with a giggle only to to it over and over again.  A rather perfect day spent puttering with the tree and decorations, three batches of melt-in-your-mouth buns, a simmering pot of indian spiced squash soup, sanding and finishing the sweetest baby blocks I have ever seen, creating over-sized origami balloons that now rest in the branches of our simply elegant tree.  An evening spent scheming and dreaming about our perfect home and village.  The house is warm and my spirit light with gratitude.  The yin Sunday to last week's yang.

twenty nine

 

annette::erin 

Annette:  I was up this morning before 7am, and could not help but want to drink in the fresh amber and pink morning light as it played across my livingroom! These antique perfume bottles seemed the perfect playmates for the brio of Sunday morning sunrise, and I took copious amounts of photos! The one I chose is not the best as far as composition, but it's how the morning felt to me and so I'd like to share it. It was all definitely the harbinger of a blissful Sunday for me, of spiritual enrichment, leftover Indian food, dance, Chopin and friends!

Erin: a rather unremarkable Sunday of grocery shopping and thrifting for Poppy's texture basket.  A massive diaper blowout with an overflowing cart of groceries left us racing through the store with a nearly naked baby to buy an emergency outfit we had failed to pack on this one fateful trip.  A baby girl enjoying her first practical joke with her new teeth {need I say more?}.  One of those Sundays that sum up all that is tedious about the realities of marriage and babies while at the same time reminding me just how lucky I am to have a partner to laugh with and sigh with and cry with.  So yes, an unremarkable and less than perfect Sunday, but it still counts {even though the photo is from Saturday}.