{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

Saturday Pictures

My Saturday in pictures:

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

Bumps in the Road

So, I wasn't sure about writing this post. However, I thought since the events took over my mind and my ability to sleep for the past two months I'd share. Let me begin by saying: "All is well in our world". Our sweet and sometimes wild child, Max was recently diagnosed with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy of Childhood. Back in September he had a grand mal seizure and then again in October. The first event was decidedly frightening. Like, OMG kinda scary. The boys and I were alone that night and Coleman was such a tremendous assistant! Not sure what I would have done without him. The second was a cake walk and the next will be, I expect even easier to deal with. We've gone through an MRI, EEG and CAT scan looking at that lovely brain of his. His EEG showed abnormal spikes which is where the diagnosis came from. As the neurologist said if you're going to have epilepsy this is the kind you want. It's benign and he'll grow out of it. As far as dealing with it, it's predictable in that it only happens when he's asleep. For Max both events happened when he had only just fallen asleep.

As for Max, he's taking it all in stride. Juicing it at times. He has been so brave and strong through these past couple months. From the ambulance ride back in September to the MRI and all the other pokes and prods, he's just rolled with it. This boy has such character.

Apple Pickin' Time

My friend, Nori and I took our boys apple picking nearby recently. It was a lot of fun to watch the four boys run around the orchard. They didn't really pick apples; just the rotten ones on the ground that they threw around or rolled down the hill. Being outside on such a gorgeous day does a body good. These are the things we'd be doing with our family back home this time of year. I'm glad we're at the point that we have "family friends" that we can share these special memories with. We've been in Soquel for four years now and it's really just beginning to have that home feeling that good friends bring to a place. Massachusetts will always be home to me, but I think this place has become that to my boys. Our adventures here have really been lovely and sometimes challenging. We have made true friends here, though. And our hearts are now home on two coasts. Joy.

In their lavender garden Max reads over the shoulder of the sculpture.

::Out and About::

Walking along the beach in this crispy weather is such a joy. This evening the sun was setting as we walked down the hill to Hidden Beach in Aptos. I was bundled in a fleece and a big cozy sweater and socks my mother, Rose made me. I love wearing these warm hand knits made just for me. The beach was nearly empty, as the low 50s in these parts is cold and apparently not beach weather. Oh, but for us cold weather folk this was just about perfect. It's been a while since we did this walk. Kitty had surgery in August and this is her first trip to the beach since then. Happy Kitty-Dog.

Clay in the Classroom

This past week I volunteered in Coleman's classroom, as well as the other two fifth grade classes. That's a total of 96 kids. The first group (Coleman's class) things seemed chaotic, the second group was smoother, the third I think I may have had it down pat. We built clay masks with a native northwest look and feel. Though, I think some kids made that connection more clearly than others. Regardless of the theme, they were each and every one of them fabulously creative. And I'm pretty sure most of them had fun, fun, fun! How can you not have fun with a slab of clay and 90 minutes?

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

Max and Kitty.

Eat

Kale is my new favorite food. I must confess kale scared me at first. My sister has been eating it for years, I've just been slowly taking the dive. I've been enjoying kale/pear/ginger smoothies, but kale salads are sort of a new obsession. It makes me feel healthy just looking at it, and I think it's pretty. I've even begun to crave this salad.

Ingredients
Salad:
Bunch of Kale, washed and chopped.
1/2 cup pepitas, toasted
3/4 cup diced mango, I used frozen
sprinkling of pomegranate seeds

Dressing:
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, minced
lots of fresh black pepper
little bit of salt
drizzle of agave

Mix the salad ingredients then the dressing ingredients then toss them together, combining thoroughly. It tastes best if you let it sit at least ten minutes before you dig in. Enjoy!

Smile

Watched a great movie the other night on happiness, streaming on Netflix. It's called happy. At just an hour and fifteen minutes it was small on time investment and big on [happy] information. Much of which is related to the books on change I mentioned the other week.

Here's what the Netflix blurb says about happy: "Happy takes viewers on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real-life stories and scientific interviews, the film explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion."


 

::Grateful::

I am grateful for

::Really wonderful new music.
::Good books to read, lots of 'em!
::My wonderful boys.
::My loyal dog.
::My trusty sewing machine.
::Rain

::Mist
::Sun
::Clay
::Metal
::Good friends
::This season of thanks and of giving.

{Listen}

I forgot to return the movies to the video store, such a bummah when that happens. How wonderful, though that when I turned on the radio for the 1/2 mile drive to the store PRI's The World was playing and they were talking about a desert blues band from Mali called Terakaft. Such good stuff. Check it out, give it a listen. Enjoy.