Lovely song

Ever heard of Gillian Welch? I love this woman's voice. And I like the song Dear Someone a lot. I was listening to it last night as I did dishes and watched my husband and son through the kitchen window washing the cars. These lyrics don't apply to me, but the melody sure does.

Unfortunately, I can't find the full length version online. But here is a sample (click here and then click the "sample" button.) Like a lazy evening on a front porch swing at the end of a Louisiana summer. That's what this song feels like to me.

I want to go all over the world
And start living free
I know that there's somebody who
Is waiting for me
I'll build a boat, steady and true
As soon as it's done
I'm going to sail along in the dreams
Of my dear someone

One little star, smiling tonight
Knows where you are
Stay, little star, steady and bright
To guide me afar
Blow, little wind, over the deep
For now I've begun
Hurry and take me straight into the arms
Of my dear someone
Hurry and take me straight into the arms
Of my dear someone

genny

A growing boy

Tristan with rocks in hands

So far, I've been fairly lucky in terms of parenting a 2-year old. I'd heard when they turn 2, look out. But our little one seemed to have missed that and has been mostly a doll with exception to a few incidents that seemed to occur when he was overly tired. His personality had been changing slowly enough that I could adjust my parenting to work for his changes - at least that's how I see it. But recently, it seems that his personality is changing faster than I can keep up with. As a growing boy he has a certain amount of aggression that I didn't expect. Before I had a child I always assumed that parents would put trucks in boys' hands and dolls in girls' hands. But seeing how my son has grown around these types of toys, I now know I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, he has two dolls and a few stuffed animals and he can be very sweet and nurturing, but he does love his cars and tools. I did not place any truck into my son's hand. He picked the truck up, literally and metaphorically speaking. 

I have thus far felt good about my parenting but sometimes now I forget to listen to my heart or can't hear what it is saying through my frustration. If he's overly tired, he's overly aggressive. The late spring sun is difficult to work in - if it's light outside, it's daytime and he doesn't want to take a bath or go to sleep in the day! People don't sleep in the day, he says (even though he naps every day for 2 1/2 hours!), people sleep at night. "It is night time, but the sun stays up longer in the spring." Well, I'm speaking logic and he doesn't yet speak that language. So, I have to wait for fatigue to come, and it does. He's usually good about bath - it's really not very hard to get him to take one. But last night, after bath, he pulled my hair again! It started with him brushing my hair. I would want to brush his after bath and he wasn't crazy about that idea, so I would let him brush mine to make it an even trade. It was great for a time, then he discovered that he could get a rise out of me when he pulled a little too hard with the comb. That turned into his hand pulling. He seemed to think it was hilarious when I told him it hurt (little monster!) But last night I raised my voice at him and he cried. I felt like a bad mommy. He is growing so fast and I imagine that this is the 2-year old version of adolescence. Sometimes they do things you don't understand, nor perhaps do they, but something compels them to do something not nice, they want to push their limits, see what is possible, see what they can get away with, see what causes a rise in mom or dad, see what they can and cannot do, see if they can do what their imagination can do....on and on.

A few  months back, he woke up one morning itching his hands. When I looked at them they were splotchy red. When the little rash and his itching was still there the next day, we went to see his doctor, who gave us a pretty unsatisfactory answer. Over the next few weeks, the itchy rash disappeared but the skin on both of his hands cracked and then peeled off. Just like a snake. I guess maybe he was just growing out of his skin - literally and metaphorically speaking. Something I have to get used to as his growth becomes exponential.

Now I just have to learn to grow out of mine.

A new look at Jack and Jill, Looking to the past for answers

Lately I have been thinking about how people lived in the past, and how they were naturally more environmentally conscious than we are now because so much less was available. Machines weren't being made for household use yet, chemical companies weren't bombarding us with as many products and grocery stores had maybe one item available for cleaning. Might it have been vinegar? Or baking soda (which I'm finding cleans my sinks way better than the 7th Generation spray I was using)?

Surely, you've heard this:

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

But have you heard the second stanza?

Then up Jack got and off did trot as fast as he could caper,

to old Dame Dob who patched his knob with vinegar and brown paper.

Why? Because vinegar is antiseptic, and it's been around for quite awhile. There are articles all over the web about this and vinegar's other myriad of uses. I mentioned once before that I am on a path to discover all the lovely things vinegar can do and what it can replace in my home: cleaning products, beauty products and things I can't imagine yet, but looking online can give me direction. I just have to try some of these myself.

One thing I thought it might work with is getting rid of ants. Since the weather has turned warmer, ants have invaded our kitchen and trying to keep them off the countertops and now the floor has not been fun. I looked online and several people said that vinegar can help. I tried it but it doesn't really help. It helps clean the floor, it gets rid of the ants for awhile, but then they return - not immediately, but eventually.

I've been thinking about how my lifestyle has changed lately, hanging clothes instead of machine drying them (by the way, our gas bill was reduced by over $100 the month after I started doing this), holding onto kitchen scraps for the compost, being more conscientious about what I buy and use, and wondering how all of us could look to the past to see how people lived in order to live more in line with the environment today. I'd like to ask anyone reading this right now to think about any "green" thing you do in your life that is not much different than how your grandmother or grandfather (or further back) might have done. Or better yet, something that you remember your grandparents doing that was better for the environment than a current norm. Please send me a comment about anything you come up with.

I think our predecessors were onto something.

The power of positive thinking

geraniums reaching for the sun

I am amazed by the power of positive thinking. It sounds corny, right? Out of some new-agey workshop, which both draw me in and make me a little wary. But what I am talking about is what I see with my own eyes. 

I seem to surround myself with people who get exactly what they go for. I was raised with the idea that "if you set your mind to it, it will happen," and "you can do anything you want to do." My friends apparently got the same message, because I can't think of a single friend or person in my everyday life who is not exactly where they want to be. Set a goal. Work toward it. Achieve it. It's all in the thought process right? Each goal that has been achieved started as an idea, and small goals were set and achieved until the outcome they wanted has occurred.

"I've decided to move to NYC. But first I'm going to get a job." Really, how can you get a job without going to interviews and what not...what a negative girl I am, really, because my friend C. did get a job before moving to NYC, and then within 6 months she was living there in an apartment with her new job. Nevermind what the economy has changed since then, the girl always lands on her feet. Amazing.

After years of teaching, another friend wanted to go back to school to become an occupational therapist. She started school last fall, and is on her way to getting her advanced degree. 

Another friend wanted to move to Portland, but get a job first. She got it. She's there. 

Another friend wanted to rent a house in a nearby town before she had her baby. She needed a certain number of bedrooms and had a few other specifications. She's living there now, and moved in just a month before her baby was due.

Another wanted not just to be a pediatrician, but to be a pediatric cardiologist. Wow. She's doing it.

Law school...applications are in.

My hubby wanted to start a business with his boys...done.

So when this positive thinking gets you to your goals, why not stretch that idea? What about the power of prayer? Does a collective force of energy toward a certain goal change the outcome of a situation?  

Yesterday when I was on my way out of the gym parking lot, I saw the person in the car in front of me talking to the woman in the ticket booth. The person in the car reached their hand out and the woman took it, and the person in the car squeezed her hand. Then I drove up. The woman told me what she had just told the other person, that her daughter who is 34 years old is in the hospital getting surgery for the 4th time and that the doctors say her arteries are clogged more than anyone they've ever seen for her age. "We're asking everyone to pray for her." By telling each person she comes across, she's aiming to garner a collective prayer, because the force of positive energy can be very powerful, so if a lot of people are sending the same message, perhaps that message will be met. Is it possible? I pointed out a lot of positive results based on goals - but these are all very tangible goals with tangible outcomes. What about what you cannot know? If this woman's daughter recovers well (and I pray that she does), is it a result of common prayer, or a result of luck, or a result of having a good surgeon? Or all three? There is really no way to tell, right? Anything is possible. I certainly think it's possible, but I can't point out any example because there is no way to prove tangible results. But since it is possible, why not try? The same way being conscious of what I am grateful for makes me feel better all the way around, a conscious prayer in the direction of another person may change the dis-ease in their body. And since I'm on the subject, I may as well list a few things I'm grateful for.

~open spaces,

~positive people,

~clean rooms,

~organization,

~strangers who ask you to pray for them,

~strangers who say they'll pray for you (for no apparent reason),

~friends who remind me of all that is possible,

~parents who taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to (thanks mom, dad and Linda!).

By the way, today is my mom and aunt's birthday. They are twins. But not identical. Happy Birthday!

Fleeting Spring, fruit foraging, an early Summer weekend

basket of cherries

In these parts if you blink, you'll miss spring. Spring lasts about as long as a holiday weekend. Sometimes it will tease you as early as February where you'll get a warm day or two. In March it will tantalize you into thinking it's here! it's here! But then the rains and the winds will come and you'll feel duped. In April, you'll get your full bucket of spring. A week or two period where everything is lovely. If you're lucky you won't have any too hot days (but don't count on it). And in May, just when you think the going is good, that the world couldn't get any sweeter than this, spring turns on you and becomes summer. 

Summer here is hot. Yesterday, supposedly it got to be around 103 degrees. It's not my favorite like it used to be. With global warming, the smog of this northern California valley, and having a little boy with tender skin (I'm sure the sun thinks of it as "fresh meat"), how can it be fully enjoyed? But yet, I am still a summer girl. I always loved the summer growing up and that carefree feeling I used to get is still there, coming out in the early mornings when it is cool enough to enjoy, and in the evenings when the heat breaks to the 80's or 90's (hopefully) or 70's (if we're lucky). This weekend I got a taste of that, and those carefree memories.

Our neighbors, the one with the big urban garden? They are gone for the entire month of May. they have friends watching over their house and garden, but also asked us to come in and pick a bit before the birds get to things. Like cherries. Yes, cherries! Their cherry tree is full of lovely red morsels and already have a few bird bites in them, but we saved a basketful and I imagine another basket will be saved today. Somebody has to do it. My husband loves fruit. Growing up, his mother gave he and his siblings fruit as a treat (like, "finish your supper and you can have some figs") so he is in heaven this time 

of year as we take our neighborhood walks. Loquats on the trees free for the taking, 

japanese plums in the parks (he doesn't mind if they're a bit sour - in fact likes them that way), citrus left over from winter - lemons and oranges are always bountiful here in California (it's amazing what people don't eat from their own trees), and later this summer there are a few fig trees around these parts that the 'hoodies know about. Hopefully we'll get some of those before they've all been pilfered. Anyway, be warned: if you see us walking around your neighborhood, look out -  we are serious fruit pillagers. 

My mom found me a great quilt at a yard sale this weekend! For eight bucks I got this lovely

wedding ring quilt - but it was store bought, apparently. Not handmade as I hoped...but still it was nice. I washed it, hung it to dry, and took off our big winter comforter from the bed to replace with our new summer quilt. Much better. I also made some great finds at an estate sale that I am very excited about.

Saturday evening, sitting out in the backyard, we spotted a hummingbird on a wire. How often do you see that? I rarely see hummingbirds and I've never seen one still. But I ran to get my camera because he kept returning to this perch. My hubby said he thinks his mate or a nest is nearby. He's keeping his eyes out for somebody, anyway...

During Tristan's nap I got my office cleaned almost completely! I am very excited about an upcoming project I am making way for. Cleaning this office is a big part of that.

On Sunday afternoon, after nap, Tristan and I walked over to Grampa and Mimi's (my dad and step-mom's) house for a dip in their pool and some Sunday supper. I am so pleased that he enjoys water as much as I do. After supper, he wanted to go back in so we sat on the steps with Mimi and I went around to get the net to fish out one of his toys from the middle. Instead I jumped in. "Do it again!" Tristan yelled! I did. And again. He thought it was very funny. I was happy to cool off. 

A little bit later we walked home. I am happy to report that the temperature did in fact cool a bit and it is still. officially. spring.

High fructose corn syrup, groggy morning

I've mentioned before that I read labels, right? There's a reason for that. My (ahem) stepson left a message for my husband recently, and I watched as my husband listened intently, twice, then replayed it for me. He wanted his father to know that "Genny was right," (he he he) that high fructose corn syrup is really not good for you. Not just that, but that it is bad for you. He had done a little research. Corn. Fructose. These aren't that bad are they? It turns out they are. When they undergo the process that makes them into high fructose corn syrup (hfcs), they are. You can read a little bit about that here and here. Don't worry they are not super-long, boring articles. I found a couple that were short and sweet. Do me a favor, even if you don't read the entire articles, just click on that first "here" and peruse it before you read this blog entry any further (unless you're already well-informed on the ills of hfcs). Thanks.

I think the main thing to remember about hfcs is that it is cheaper to add as a sweetener than sugar, and as long as producing food is the gigantic industry that it is (for good reason: we have how many millions of people to produce food for?), the cheapest method will most always win out, regardless of the cost to our health. The other thing to remember about the items you see in food labels is the less nature had a hand in making it, the less likely it's good for you. This is not based on lots of research on my part, just common sense. It's hard because a lot of those ingredients have very complicated names and some of them are awful chemicals and others are just the scientific name for some ingredients. The third thing I go by? Ingredient list length. The longer the list, the more crap is in it - and the less likely I'll buy it. All this is leading toward a healthier life and being more conscientious about what I put into my body. Here's to having a mom and step-moms (o.k., there are two ladies I call step-mom but they both can be included here) who pay attention to what goes in. Thanks for teaching me.

This stems from something. Last night, we decided to take my lovely, cheerful, sweet son to get some ice cream at our local, old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Our local ice creamery is an icon in our neighborhood. It's been there since the 1940's. My step-mom grew up with it, I grew up with it, and now my son is growing up with it. It makes walking certain directions difficult but usually I'll just tell him that I don't have any money when he says he wants to go into the ice cream store (I purposely leave all funds at home), and that suffices, but occasionally we'll take him for a cone. We always regret it. Last night that lovely boy became a little wrecking ball! Recalcitrant, whiny, unpleasant. Why? Is it the sugar? I'll have to see if they use sugar or hfcs to make their ice cream. I am curious about the effects certain items have on our personalities. Personally I think things would be a lot more peaceful and there would be lot less health problems if everyone would just stop drinking soda. Yes, that puts it mildly, but you know what I mean. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie this summer, because I want to know more about agri-business and hopefully scare myself into eating better. You didn't think I just got a cone for my son, did you? Nah, I partook too. A kiddie-sized scoop of Butter Brittle. In a cup.

But I'm paying for it this morning.

Friday Gratitude

a moment of stillness on Willamette River - Portland Marina

Thank you to Erin from the blog Apples for Poppyanne for my gratitude list reminder. My mind is a blank otherwise.

Today I am grateful for ~

~hummingbirds outside my window.

~pomegranate blossoms in all their fire-orange glory.

~picture frames for prints, long rolled in the closet, waiting to be framed.

~original artwork I love to look at.

~drives to places where you can unroll your window, step outside and hear nothing.

~infinite possibilities from finite choices.

~opening the door to smell honeysuckle in the air.

~ladybugs.

~when people are conscious about the choices they make.

~discovering a blog and feeling really good and comfortable reading it.

~blank canvases and creating something where there was nothing.