Just a little note...

No Sunday Sonnet this morning.  I am considering all that I have to do over the next few days, and have realized that I can't possibly write all the papers, prepare all the lessons, do all the financial/legal paperwork, make it to all the classes.  I will have to edit my to-do list, but everything on it is an obligation or a committment, and how do you eliminate those in good conscience?  Hmmm...

Instead of my sonnet, I am writing a lesson introducing poetry to first grade students.  I'm excited about it.  What a fun exploration it will be... I think I'm just going to ignore the length of my list and take one thing at a time.

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you time to dream.

Tuesday - Days that Shine

Some days shimmer.

Other days shine.

This morning on my way to assistant teach, the orchards on the roadsides were flecked with glitter.  The bare branches, diamond bright with frost and icicles, glistened in the sun.  Who says waiting for spring has to be dull?

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace.

Inspiration - Urban Homesteading

This is just a nod to the folks who are extremely dedicated to the Urban Homestead movement.   I do live on a village lot this year, compared to my previous 15 in the country.  It will be an interesting gardening year, especially because I am renting a cottage which goes on the market in the spring.  If it sells, I will have a couple of months to pack up and move.  I am planning to garden primarily in containers for this reason.

My favorite Urban Homesteading blog is Little Homestead in the City.  What they accomplish on their city lot is inspiring - not just to gardeners, I believe, but really to anyone who eats and cares about our natural resources.    I really love to look at their photos!  So much bounty and beauty in such a small space.  What a beautiful way to nurture!

So just a little mention, to coordinate with the facebook Urban Homesteaders Day of Action.

Sunday Sonnet - Ready

Awake in the soft hours of the morning

I walk barefoot across the cool wood floor

I slow down the thoughts so busy forming

And listen to the stillness in my core

I stand at the window looking aloft

The air is silken gray and pearly white

The clouds hover low and full, winter soft.

I breathe in the morning, drink in the light.

My reverie dissipates like lake-mist

As practical considerations rise

Not ready to tackle the to-do list

But ready for children with sleepy eyes

We will fill this day more than weather

We’ll tell stories, sing, and laugh together.

Saturday Snapshot - Riches

I see the pale winter sky through a bare window.

I hear the beautiful music of guitarist Ottmar Liebert, a song called "Letting Go."  This late in the morning, the children are still sleeping, enjoying the second morning of a very brief mid-winter break from school.

I smell the indulgence of a third cup of steaming black coffee.  I taste the intense flavor of a dark cherry, still slightly frozen and still bursting with  mid-summer freshness.

It is so tempting sometimes to focus on what is bleak and difficult, especially in these gray winter days.  And yet, as I sit here in my quiet house, I feel rich beyond measure.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you an abundance of beauty and love in your days. 

Meditation: Whirling Dervishes

If these gentle souls can find mediation in spinning, I might be able to find meditation and ease in the frantic busyness of my week days! 

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace.

Slow-Motion Sunday - Wholehearted

I began to write another sonnet for my "Little Songs for Sunday" series early this morning when the house was very quiet and still.  As I wrote, my eight year old son came padding into the room.  A constant stream of chatter ensued!  It wasn't long before he trotted back to the bedroom and woke his eleven-year-old brother, who is starting to understand the fine art of sleeping in on the weekend.  My writing time evaporated and I gave myself over, wholeheartedly, to spending a day with my sons in preparation for Valentine's Day.

We made chocolate-kiss roses instead of Valentine's Cards.  I am not thrilled to be contributing to the sugar feast that will occur with the school holiday parties, but this was a cute idea that both of my sons were interested in trying.  To offset the sugary treat for tomorrow, I did my grocery shopping today primarily in the produce section (as I usually do.)  We are all set for some light pasta dishes and some delicious salads this week.  I'm looking forward to a huge salad of greens and herbs, with strawberries and pecans!

I'm writing out "Olivia" themed Valentine's cards for the students in my first grade classroom.  I love the picture book (and maybe tv show?) character Olivia.  Do you know of her?  She is a lively, intrepid character who lives every moment to the fullest.  I aspire to be like her!

Signing off now to read another chapter or two of Kathryn Lasky's Wolves of the Beyond: Lone Wolf to my 8 year old son.  This book is set in the world from the Guardians of Ga'Hoole but focuses on the life of one little outcast wolf (one paw is slightly splayed causing his removal from the pack at birth.)   My son is completely absorbed in the story, and is constantly asking me to read more.  This is a book he could read to himself, but he would struggle with some of the vocabulary.  Because he just wants to get lost in the story rather than work his way through it, we are sharing it.  I am loving every moment of having his little head on my shoulder... his energetic body still and relaxed... as we get lost in a far away place together.

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace and moments of joy.

Saturday Snapshot - Mellow

I see morning light, easing in through the vertical blinds.

I hear the quiet.  No one home but my eight year old son and I.  He is sleeping.  The refrigerator is humming softly behind  me.  I have not yet chosen music for my mood.  At 8 am, do I even have a mood? 

I smell lavender scented dish soap in a sink full of warm bubbly water, waiting for me to get busy. I taste the warmth of morning coffee, brewed as the winter sun rose, pale and silvery, on the eastern edge of town. 

I feel mellow as I ease into this day.

Sunday Sonnet - Quiet

Quiet, a sonnet by Aisling

The quiet of the house envelopes me

Enfolds me in the shadows and the light

The whistle of the kettle sings sweetly

One last cup of comfort to toast the night.

My candles flicker softly on the hearth

My thoughts flicker more softly to the past

I pull my memories close against my heart

Relive them, let them go, and watch them pass.

But when I rise to tuck me into bed

The echoes of those memories rise again

They sing of yesterday within my head

I listen to the lullaby of then

The quiet is a comfort and a prize

It soothes my fall, then inspires me to rise.

 (The first in a series of "little songs" for Sunday.)

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you comfort and joyful memories.

Saturday Snapshot - Joyful Noise

I see the clutter of days spent at home with energetic children...boots by the door, books on the hearth, a plastic toy on the kitchen counter.

I hear the joyful noise of two small boys playing "Zombie Pillow Fight."

I smell brownies fresh from the oven, and taste the rich dark flavor of evening coffee, brewed as the sun slipped down into the bay. 

I feel blessed.

 Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you blessings and joy!