mother's day

I put the kids to work for this one. They each designed and stitched a little something for my mom.

sewing, stray postsmybricole12 May 2010embroidery

appreciation week

It's teacher appreciation week at our school this week. I don't know what says thank you better than an eclair filled with a white chocolate pasty cream, topped with a bittersweet chocolate glaze. Now I must figure out how to attach a clown hat to a clown wig.

Tomorrow is the circus, you know.

baking, stray postsmybricole6 May 2010chocolate, eclair

chalk the walk

My little town is hidden away in the midwest. We don't have big box stores, or oversized museums, or fancy skyscrapers. We're all right with that though, because what we do have, is a community. We catch up with friends at the Lincoln Cafe,

(photo credit to Derek on this one)

we stop for coffee at fuel,

we take walks along tree-lined streets and hang out in the park,

and on the first weekend in May, we Chalk the Walk.

The artists start working on their spots on Saturday morning and then finish up on Sunday. It's great to stop in on Saturday morning and see what people will be recreating, and then see the work progress over the weekend.

saturday -

sunday -

saturday -

sunday -

We popped up on Saturday evening, after the artists had called it a night. During the day the streets are filled with people so it's difficult to get pictures.

There is also an oversize community picture that takes over the entire street and people fill in foot square sections to complete the picture. This year's picture was from the Wizard of Oz. Here's lulu working on our square.

Then we stopped in Sunday to see it all finished,

along with checking out the progress on all the other squares.

Oh and I mustn't forget the cheesecake

It was creamy lemony perfection.

Now I must sew tote bags together because they seem to lack the ambition to sew themselves.

happy monday everyone!

baking, stray postsmybricole3 May 2010art, chalk, cheesecake, drawing, pastels

one step ahead

Well, I'm doing my best to stay one step ahead, but lately there has been a lot of playing catch up as well. I'm working on a picnic quilt, while also trying to make several tote bags. I did manage to sneak in an impromptu trip to Chicago with some friends. Closely followed by the spouse heading out for some hunting with friends. Now the little ones are battling colds/allergies. I was also asked to put together some desserts for a meeting at friend's house. I made double chocolate cookies, meringue shells filled with lemon curd, and raspberry linzer bars with a hazelnut crust. After spending Monday at the stove I was really looking forward to getting the house in order, but cj's cough kept him home. He and I tackled a little project of our own that was a blast, but we have to wait until after Mother's Day to talk about that.

I'm hopeful it will warm up enough that I can get the rest of my herbs into their summer homes this week. I'm also beyond excited to have some friends visit this weekend for one my little town's greatest events.

baking, stray postsmybricole27 April 2010chocolate, cookies, hazelnut, merigue, raspberry

sprung

I have spent most evenings working on the hand quilting on the mostly french general quilt. I'm more than half way done, but need a distraction. Fortunately, Spring arrived and everything is starting to turn green and bloom around here ~

~even the bees have taken notice

stray postsmybricole15 April 2010bee, blooms, flowers, oregano, serviceberry, sewing, spring, viburnum

five faves time

This week flew by with lots of sniffles and coughs. Those are two things that are not my favorite, but here are 5 things that are. #5. these illustrations by Lotta Nieminen

#4. the celebrity lullaby service on Sesame Street - I love it when Elmo says "Mr. Ricky has done enough"

#3. I love these little paper houses

#2. you would have to be crazy not to love this cheesecake

#1. Jamie Oliver's flashmob in Huntington, West Virginia. Go Jamie!

Check out everyone else's faves hosted by Pip over at Meet Me at Mikes.

stray postsmybricole10 April 2010cheesecake, Elmo, flashmob

the good, the bad, and the best

April is autism awareness month. I am aware of autism every month. For those who aren't, there is April, they see pieces on the tv about it, or things to follow on facebook, but then it's on to the next month. I don't blame them for moving on. Some days I truly envy those people. There are those days when I would like to hide from it, but then there are those days, like today when I would like it to come out in the open. Then I could see it and know it and embrace it and maybe even tell it how I feel about it.

Like most things, autism was one of those things I knew little about until it showed up in my world. cj was diagnosed when he was 3. I was torn between feeling glad that finally someone agreed that something was going on and heart-broken that my fears had been validated. No one wants to hear their child has something that makes them different from the standard. He's nine now. We have been through exams by neurologists, psychologists, and audiologists. He has made gains through occupational therapies and speech therapies, and survived MRIs and blood tests. We have come so far, and after all these years I can tell you this, I know everything and nothing about autism.

I know it as stolen my patience. I know it's why I have cried myself to sleep so many nights. I know it's why not a minute passes when I don't worry about him - will he make it through school, will he be able to drive, hold a job, live independently? I know it has pushed its way into every relationship I have, be it with a friend, the spouse, or family.

I don't know who would cj be without autism? Conversations are a challenge for him. There is rarely more than a sentence or two before he moves on, but he speaks to people with such honesty and matter of factness. Would he be the same boy who recently told one of his associates that she has "beautiful golden hair that is soft as a pillow"? When a teacher, passing in the hall, saw him struggling with the zipper on his jacket, she asked if he needed help, without autism, would he still have responded "no, but I'll take a hug"? Who knows? I don't.

I don't know what it's effects are on lulu. She is a second to mother to him, but she is only 5. She has never known me when I wasn't stressed to my limits. I don't know how big of a role it plays in my need to create. I bake, knit, and sew the stress away. If autism wasn't in my house would there be a freshly made quilt tossed in my chair right now?

I know autism brought me to my little town. I felt cj needed a small school community, not an oversized school that ran itself like a business. He loves going to school and he finds a piece of success there everyday. I know autism has taught me that we all turn inward at points in our lives, we all have autism. I know it has introduced me to amazing people. The people who love him for who he is. The people who don't judge.

I know it has taught me to value everything a child has to say, whether it's with words or actions.

I know it has taken a long time, but I accept autism's presence in my house. I sometimes even celebrate it a bit. The other night cj gave me a bedtime hug and told me "Mom, you fill my heart with greater joy".

Moments like that require celebration.