When Skies are Grey

After a several very grey and rainy days here in Washington and a few grey days in my own heart, I had a taste of sunshine. We woke up this morning to the sun sparkling on a fresh blanket of snow. Although it had mostly melted by mid-morning, it was a keen reminder of the glory that is all around if you just have eyes to see it. The sun filled morning came on the heels of having enjoyed an essay written in 1910 entitled "The Glory of Grey." I read it Saturday afternoon while sitting in front of the fire watching the rain fall. Reminding me to look for the majesty in every moment, and that beauty is sometimes especially noticeable against the grey skies of ordinary life. Here's a little snippet from the essay.

"Lastly, there is this value about the colour that men call colourless; that it suggests in some way the mixed and troubled average of existence, especially in its quality of strife and expectation and promise. Grey is a colour that always seems on the eve of changing to some other colour; of brightening into blue, or blanching into white, or breaking into green or gold. So we may be perpetually reminded of the indefinite hope that is in doubt itself, and when there is grey weather on our hills or grey hair on our heads perhaps the may still remind us of morning."
-G.K. Chesterton

A couple shots from my photography class for the elementary school kids at their Afternoon of Art.

Chesterton Quote of the Day

"You will find that rich colours actually look more luminous on a grey day, because they are seen against a dark background and seem to be burning with a lustre of their own. Against a dim sky all flowers look like fireworks."

-G.K. Chesterton: Daily News, September 3, 1910

Pulling it Together

Every year a local elementary school has a great event called Afternoon of Art. They invite loads of local artists to spend an afternoon teaching kids their art form. Last year, after a last minute cancellation, I was asked to teach the photography class. I am lucky enough to have been asked back this year. So for the past few days I've been working on my Keynote presentation and Pocket Guides for the kids. Hopefully the day goes without a hitch. Maybe eventually I can get the slide show up here on the blog if I can pull it together. There hasn't been a lot of pulling-it-together happening around here lately, I'm afraid.  But here's hoping!

This shot was a lot cuter in my mind. I guess they can't all be winners, can they? It was pouring rain, and Emma was under the eaves while I was doing my darnedest to snap a clear shot before being sufficiently drenched in the solid February rain. It wasn't quite as sharp as I'd hoped, but Emma makes the picture perfect.

Ash Wednesday this week marked the beginning of the Lenten season. A season of prayer and penance as we journey toward the Passion and gift of Easter.
"Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return."


Chesterton Quote of the Day

"Right is right, even if nobody does it.
Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong about it."
-G.K. Chesterton, 'Illustrated London News,' May 11, 1907

the whole world in His hands

This week has been a bit of a ride, more like the past several weeks. Amidst all of the turmoil there have been so many opportunities to see all of the blessings in daily life. I think sometimes we see them best in the conflict and chaos, or at least they're most visible if we have eyes to see. Sometimes my eyes are a little slow to open to the surrounding graces, but each day is a little step toward that. 

Sending a little love to Daddy

Linked together with love

Raindrops keep falling on my head...
(I've had that song stuck in my head since I took this picture)


and one with a smile


a take off a hairstyle idea we found on Pinterest

My sweet Valentine flowers from my number one man Stan.
xo




Chesterton Quote of the Day

"Of the sane man there is only one safe definition.
He is a man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in his head."

-G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles

beauty

Browsing Pinterest for some photo inspiration Emma liked this shot. While we didn't really aim to recreate it, she did like the old fashioned feel about it. So we searched my closet for some vintage finds. This jacket and blouse belonged to her great grandma. Beauty is a sort of timeless thing, we are drawn to it. We see the beauty of motherhood, of service, of a selfless person, of the princess in the fairytale, of love. Mother Teresa talked about seeing Jesus in the "distressing disguise of the poor." One of my prayers for the upcoming season of Lent is to truly look for beauty, for Christ, in the many sometimes distressing disguises that thinly mask the beauty just beneath.

I've quite enjoyed the bit of this book on the power of beauty that I've managed to read, and if I could ever plug through one book at a time (rather than ten) I would certainly like to finish it. The girls and I just finished watching this beautiful true story of an amazing man from the turn of the century who was able to see beauty in its many distressing disguises.

Chesterton Quote of the Day
  It's bonus day. Two quotes for you.

"One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night, or deep in sloping meadows, the feeling that every flower and leaf has just uttered something stupendously direct and important, and that we have by a prodigy of imbecility not heard or understood it. There is a certain poetic value, and that a genuine one, in this sense of having missed the full meaning of things. There is beauty, not only in wisdom, but in this dazed and dramatic ignorance."

-G.K. Chesterton

"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions." 
-G.K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News (19 April 1930)

Vintage Fabulous

This month's Punky Sprouts partner in fun was Crafter's Workshop. Crafter's Workshop has loads of fun templates in various sizes used to bring out the creative genius inside of you. With three 6x6 templates, a Rebel Sprout album and loads of new Punky Embellishments I was ready to let loose some creative genius. I'm not sure if genius was achieved, but creativity was anyway. I loved the new Lil' Blooms - Metal make homemade flowers super quick and easier than ever to make. Of course my very favorite Punky goods are the Lil' Lacey Blossoms and Lil' Blossoms - Parchment since they feed into my complete love for all things shabby chic.

Use templates and Lil' Stems to create your own custom ribbons. Here I used Crafter's Workshop 6x6 Houndstooth template and Punky Sprouts Lil' Stems.

Try layering a couple of templates for added texture and depth. Lay the first template down, mist and let dry. Repeat with a second template and a new mist color. To keep  your canvas flat after misting, allow to dry for a minute or two then sandwich between two clean paper towels. Iron the canvas on the cotton setting with no steam for a few seconds. This will dry the mist and flatten the canvas.

Try layering Blossoms and Petals for layering loveliness. Cut the small Lil' Lacey Blossoms into 8 wedges and layer on the Lil' Petals - Cork.

Supplies: Album: Rebel Sprout Album, Punky Sprouts; patterned paper: Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Basic Grey (from Scarlet Lime monthly kit); Punky Sprouts embellishments: Lil' Lacey Blossoms, Lil' Petals - Cork, Lil' Stems, Lil' Blooms - Metal, Lil' Blossoms - Parchment; other embellishments: Pink Paislee, Martha Stewart, Girls Paperie; Crafter's Workshop 6x6 Templates: Mini Brocade, Mini Chickenwire, Mini Houndstooth

Unexpected Adventures

Ah, Valentine's Day! A day to celebrate all of the rich beauty of love in our lives. My life is filled with more love than I deserve,on every level, from Creator, to family, to friends and to the everyday nuances of life. I love how Valentine's Day gives us an excuse to remember to express that love to those around us.

Aside from receiving and spreading the love this Valentine's Day, our day was filled with a few completely unexpected adventures. The day started out normal enough getting ready for school. The girls wanted Valentine hairdos. Hearts were of course, in order. I started with Emma. She, being only a couple of inches shorter than me now, was kneeling down so I could reach the top of her head. With only a couple of loops around with the rubber band left Emma asked for a granola bar because she was nauseous. I didn't think much of it, as she's almost always hungry (growing girl). As I was pulling the very last loop, she dropped to the floor... out cold. It was terrifying. I sat there holding her and saying her name again and again until she came to. After some juice, a granola bar and a few minutes laying down she was back to normal albeit a little pale. Apparently five minutes is too long to be kneeling on the floor for my sweet girl, and from now on we'll be bringing a chair in for any extended hairdos. Poor baby.

By the time we headed to school she was feeling fine. I gave her teacher a heads up about the morning's events and let her know I'd be at the dentist with my cell if anything came up. No news was good news, and I got my teeth cleaned without a phone call. (Yes, teeth cleaning = Happy Valentine's Day to me... sigh.) I picked up the girls from school, drove half a block and got our next surprise. The clunking sound of a flat tire. I called roadside assistance for some much needed assistance, and settled in for the hour long wait. However, long before roadside arrived assistance did. A nice man and his wife stopped to see if we needed help. He graciously put on the spare tire, and his wife even brought sodas over for the girls. What a beautiful display of kindness on a day dedicated to love. I bought myself a brand new Valentine tire for Stan's car and headed home.

We jetted home hoping to catch the tail end of a beautiful sunset for a halfway decent picture of the day. We headed over the hill to the closest beach on the west side of the Island for the last glimmers of light in the sky. Against the backdrop of a Divinely painted sky, the girls put a little love on display to send to Daddy.

a crummy picture of the faint-inducing hairdo

a crummy picture of the fully conscience hairdo

the aforementioned flat tire


Now for the rest of the pictures from the past few days.

Thank you Pinterest for another fun photo idea.

Emma in the new handmade dress we found on sale in this Etsy shop.
(The same shop where we found the white lace dress Torrey was wearing in the this post.)

One last set of pictures of my green eyed girl in the grass.

Chesterton Quote of the Day

"If individuals have any hope of protecting their freedom, they must protect their family life."
-GK. Chesterton, The Well and the Shallows