I purchased a cheap set of watercolors at the pharmacy a couple of days back and introduced them to Amie. The medium is of course very different to what she’s used to: those thick, goopy acrylics as well as crayons and color pencils, all of which stays more or less where you put it down. …
Author Archives: kaat
The Leaf and the Cloud by Mary Oliver
Driftwood Every year, once a year, I need to return to that long poem by Mary Oliver, The Leaf and the Cloud (published in 2000). It is a poem like life, with everything in it, only magnified and condensed. I can’t say much about it, only that it reverberates deeply with me, and comforts me, …
Nature Happenin’
Our work-weekend at the new house was cut short by the inclement weather. The humidity reached 91%, which made painting impossible. We decided not to spent another night there and to come “home” (“to our old home,” is how Amie appropriately puts it) to start packing. While we were there we took stock of our …
The Beginning of Our Woodpile
To many of you it might seem like not much, but to DH and me it looks like the foundation of paradise! Some trees (in the background: 1 large white oak, 1 smaller birch and 1 smaller maple) had to be felled to make way for the new septic system. Their remains have been lying …
Chile’s Quit Now Challenge
I discovered Chile’s Quit Now Challenge (see the logo to the sidebar: it’s the clearest, most uncluttered, Peak Oil logo I’ve come across). I devoted some deep thinking about what I would give up… Cigarettes? Diet Coke? McDonalds? Never did that / haven’t done that in half a decade. Paper towels? TV? Airco? Plastic bags? …
Miscellaneous Artwork by Amie and by Mama
Amie now loves two-step artwork. She painted the Deep Blue Sea and was excited about waiting for it to dry before she added Baby Beluga. She sang the song throughout the process. After reading a Caillou book about growing carrots (which is the only edible vegetable in her book), she also wanted to make a …
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Why the incessant WHY? Also, why (or how?) WHY? is not the same as HOW?
Amie started asking “Why?” a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t stopped. Some of her why-s are genuine questions, asked out of curiosity, but many (more, I suspect) are not. It’s fascinating and annoying and often a challenge. I find myself in conversations like these: Amie, please don’t make that mess. Why? Why do you …
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Harriet And Mickey
Barnyard Crime by Annie LaVigne I’ve been terribly remiss in neglecting to add Mickey’s blog to my blogroll. I read Mickey’s weekly blog almost daily and always (1) either cry with laughter, (2) or choke laughing (when I’m munching or drinking something). This week’s entry is particularly hilarious! Mickey is the other part of Harriet …
Montessori Preschool
(Maria Montessori) After all the hassle of getting Amie into a preschool in Brookline and putting down our deposit… we’re moving. Luckily the hassle was less in the town we’re moving to, but the downside of that was that the choice was overwhelming! But our favorite was always the Montessori school around the corner, and …
Everything works!
Sometimes when Amie is concentrating on something – reading a book, making a drawing, or watching an episode of Caillou – I sneak closer and observe her in detail. I “do the rounds,” check everything. Her eyes work – they see, they blink. Her mouth works, for eating and talking and breathing. Her nose …