In defence of liberty and justice.
Remembering the great war with our neighbors.
fear less, love more
On Letting Go
author unknown
To "let go" does not mean to stop caring.
It means I can't do it for someone else.
To "let go" is not to cut myself off.
It's the realization that I can't control another.
To "let go" is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another.
It's to make the most of myself.
To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.
To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes,
but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.
To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue,
but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires,
but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.
To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.
hide and seek
You will find more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from the masters.
-St. Bernard
So what did we find in the woods?
Good strong walking sticks – for leaning into, marching parade style, and drawing in the dirt.
Ferns.
Not just any run of the mill, standard issue fern. Rather, some of those bronzed fronds were taller than the children.
Signs. And every one of them read and interpreted by Tess, as best her 5 yo self could manage. Thus we learned from the "Bird Hide 400yd" sign that there were 400 birds hiding in the yard. She wasn't sure why.
She also found some directional signage such as, "d-ON-t climm on the logs! I mean…wait a second…..
CLIMB! CLIMB!
D-OHN'T CLIMB!"
I wasn't feelin' log climbing anyway so we were good.
Abbie found lots of things to pick up and look at and toss about. Her mommy did too. So, we had a tendency to fall behind. Pretty far. We were following orange trail markers which helped, but navigation is not my strong suit as anyone who has driven with me can attest. We came round a bend sort of discouraged she and I. We really wanted to see those Dartmoor ponies.
"The ponies are playing hide and seek with us, Mommy. And they are winning." I was tending to agree with her but was more concerned that the rest of the family was not to be found and I was musing aloud WHAT would possess them to have gone on so far ahead. I was so caught up with our silly dilly dallying fun I hadn't noticed they had gotten away from us. It wasn't like them.
When BOO! Out they popped. BEHIND us.
They were pretty pleased with themselves. "We heard you all like, 'I can't believe they left and I am not sure which turn…and…'"
Geesh.
So we found awesome fun. And in the end we won the other game of hide and seek too.
The ponies that is. Those 400 hiding birds? Not so much. ; )
time for home
a taste of heaven
The weekend began with tickets to a play for my husband and I. His idea even and a good one it was. Saturday was full of ball games. Yesterday afternoon found us hiking and hiking and hiking to see the Dartmoor ponies grazing on the six mile trail through the nature preserve. Today we tackled the gutters and made a dent in the leaves. Gave haircuts. Lots of my anatomy is at war with itself at this moment, but it was all so worth it.
You don't want to know how many pictures I have taken. : )
These just make me smile. We began and ended our hike at the playground, which is always nice for the little kids. Having us all there together amounts to all kinds of fun. Never stop being playful.
The object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground. – GK Chesterton
Martinmas!
Martimas has been a family tradition for many years thanks to my dear friend Karen whose family hosted the feast day party and bonfire. In Germany it was a local holiday as well. I don't know that it is in England but since it is a three day weekend we will make our lanterns and have a little parade after dark.
If you want to incorporate some simple crafty or kitchen goodness today visit here or here.
Gorgeous lantern inspiration from this German site.
Happy feast!
Go Team Pedro
One boy's football season wrapped up today with a win, placing them first in their league. This made for a very happy boy. I am a very happy mom as well, not only because they performed so well.
You can learn alot about people from the sidelines. Youth sports brings out the best…and the worst…in people. Coaches run the gamut from those who stack teams and find every loophole to make superstars to those who throw water bottles and argue with the referees to those who maintain a persistant cheerful demeanor come what may. We got the latter this year and were ever so grateful.
I have come to realize athletics is a sort of metaphor, especially for guys. All of life's major challenges play out on this small stage – preparation, teamwork, taking direction, dealing with authority, playing fair, and learning to deal with those who don't. So it is especially important that those responses and attitudes being cultivated are those you'd like to see kids have in analogous situations. It is a big relief when the coach's vision lines up with your own in those areas.
Good work. Great season.
Awesome kid.
TGIF
Happy iphone snaps taken during errand running. Have a splendid weekend.
Pheasant call
Coming around the corner on the farm road we surprised several pheasants foraging around this mound. I surprised my husband even more when I leapt out of the car to try to catch a shot. Only caught one.
Another morning after the time changed I stood in the open doorway as my husband was leaving for work. It was quite dark and still except for a loud call which sounded a lot like my old hens. I guessed pheasant since they are fowl I believe. We checked against this audio and sure enough it was that.
They are VERY loud fwiw and a little creepy when they are squawking in the dark within a few feet of you. They are such a noble looking bird though.
If you have another minute and want a quick chuckle, check out this link from the Daily Mail. Apparently this British bird isn't minding his manners. Might make me rethink stepping out that door at the break of dawn when I can't spot ours lol.
of tallies and tea and treasure hunting
It's been a long day and night and day and now night has fallen again. The American election began mid-afternoon our time. The boys went to football practice, we all ate late and prayed, finally turning on the 'telly' after the little girls were down. Aidan really wanted to fill out the electoral college map and begged to stay up. Kieran crept into the living room with him. I went to bed after one. My husband came up a few hrs later without waking me so I had an idea of how it all shook down. As predicted approximately 50% of our American friends are pleased as punch and the other half are devastated. Such is the division in our homeland these days.
We moved through a busy today nevertheless. Moira met with her worldviews class. Aidan and I ran errands. Alannah was called for a job interview. Four children went to dance. Driving home in the dark I heard the BBC newscaster announce, "As President Obama begins his next four years in office we will take a look at what that means for us." Her colleague piped up and said, "So what DOES that mean for us?"
"well, um…" she said, "Business as usual."
"Righto then," he responded. "Kate and William went undercover to attend the opening night showing of the new movie…"
Obladee, oblada…
It's been a little surreal from this vantage point. I hope you will understand if I just step away from the Facebook feed scrolling wildly still and rest my eyes here for a minute remembering a quieter day last week. Maybe you'd like to join me for a minute too and think about something else for just a moment? Sit. I will tell you about it.
(all pics from the phone in the dark – my apologies)
My friend Umit has been promising to take me to a nearby village which boasts a cluster of antique shops. We headed out with our friend Maria on a very cold, rainy Saturday afternoon stopping first at a local farm store on a large estate. Many of these old properties are open to the public and have some sort of retail attraction now to bring in revenue. This one was was overflowing with natural foods – wines, local cheeses, sweets, olives and a marvelous chest full of meat and ale pies.
(vintage Dickens set)
From there we drove on to the village edge and pulled up to a rambling, low-slung barn conversion. We were greeted by a mannerly black lab who peeked his nose out at the rain and then followed us back into the shop, having wisely decided against venturing out.
I was thrilled to find racks of vintage clothing and shoes and took notes for the girls, whom I have promised to return with. The hats were in mint condition – felted wool creations molded into exquisite shapes, sporting feathers and ribbon trim still in excellent condition.
China is everywhere you turn here although it's not a bit like German china which tended to be primarily transferware in rose or green or blue. Here you have a riot of color and pattern and are hard pressed to find more than a couple pieces that match. The bone china is all similar in weight and style however and looks gorgeous massed together.
(this peasant girl caught my eye, reminding me of the German countryside we left behind)
By the time we finished rummaging it was late afternoon and we had a half hour drive home. That warranted ducking out of the drizzle into the tea room. We ordered a pot for the table and the ladies had scones served with a tray of clotted cream, jam, and whipped butter. I found myself taking cream with my tea though I never do that at home.
(here with a friend on either side – what better place to find oneself : ))
Do you remember these? : ) My Gram had a set of salt and pepper shakers like these. Made me smile to see them here.
I leave you with one more P.S. – a British sentiment for today. You no doubt have seen the iconic Keep Calm and Carry On signs. I love them. I think I love this one even more.
If you hope to truly change the world, however you wish to see it changed, it begins and ends with this.
Be cheerful. Be resolute.
Carry on then. : )
Starry Sky Journal 