i totally stole this from davey because it made my heart explode

old friends are like quilts

comfortable, beautiful, made with love and care over a long period of time, something you keep forever. one of my dearest old friends is ashley thayer. we met at a pony club meeting when i was 12 and she was 13. my mom invited her to sleep over and that was the start of inseparability during our young teen years. we would ride horses (usually bareback) all over spring city, hide out in the soccer field late at night, make mix tapes (crazy edna files), make waffles (and dream of the breakfast restaurant we would one day open that would have a big outdoor garden, horses, and a rule that everyone be wearing flannel pjs) and share our secrets and dreams. then in college we would visit each other in our respective providence and broxville, and then there was the year i lived in florence and she in rome and we had christmas in switzerland together. as we've grown older our lives have made it impossible to ride bikes between our houses, but when we talk (usually once a year or so) and even better see each other, its just like old times. we talked last week and it was so great. i love ash. and i LOVE the new project she's been working on, quilt making! out of hand died fabrics! (i hope my efforts to run my own tie dye business back in the day maybe influenced her?) aren't they GORGEOUS!!!??? not to mention her stunning paintings and photography, check her out here. buy some.

i've been meaning to post this for a few weeks

and haven't. the moonrise this last full moon, south of fountain green. it was so lovely i pulled off the road and just watched it and sighed and felt grateful to live in such a beautiful world, and inspired by how effortlessly nature is magnificent even when no one is noticing. (of course this photo does no justice to just how subtle and refined the gradation of blues and pinks and purples was, or how the sky looked almost matte while the moon was so slick and shiny and the creamiest butteriest light).

preparedness

i've always associated oil lamps with preparedness. maybe its the story of the ten virgins, or more likely all the night when we ate dinner by lamp light when the power went out and i always felt safe knowing we had sources of light if the world came crashing down. my friend just shared these most beautiful oil lamps with me . . . can i rationalize 'needing' one so that my home is sufficiently prepared?

babe town

look at my super cute mom! she got her hair all chopped off and it looks great. she's been thinking about it for awhile, and i convinced her to go see my lady melanie who is a hair cutting genius. way to go mom! you look fabulous!

both favorites, or this post is dedicated to kate and the night i played this song for you and told you it reminded me of you and your soul mate

i just discovered that this song that i really love by feist

was originally recorded by another one of my favorites vashti bunyan

makes sense.

paris je t'aime

bonjour mes amis! today pat and i made an announcement about the trip we are taking to france for spring break, and we figured we'd get more kids to sign up if we looked legit. so here is how i look as a french man. and this morning i was making eggs (all i eat for breakfast since my hens are still laying so much!) and seasoned them with my all time favorite seasoning . . . sunny paris! from penzey's spices. if you've never hear of either, you are living a sad and flavorless life. sunny paris is the most delicious blend of french purple shallots, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, basil, tarragon, chervil and bay leaf. it is lovely in anything savory- eggs, meat, pasta . . . just a little bit of french sunshine to brighten your day.

lov-er-ly

my friend put this song on a mix for me recently, and it's been on a pretty much non-stop loop in my head since then. i love it. i can't listen to it enough. so i thought i'd share the love. it's the perfect sound track for this brooding pre-snow day. xoxo

a capitol time in the reef

another camping weekend, this time to capitol reef. i love capitol reef. it's one of the parks that gets less traffic then arches or zions, and it's so simple and lovely and quaint. i love the dreamy big cotton woods (that were ablaze in gold!) the fruit orchards, pioneer vestiges, and great hiking. we spent the night under the crisp cold stars (after reveling around the fire with stories and songs), and the next morning hiked the kohab trail to the frying pan trail, to cassidy arch (yup ol' butch used to hang there) and then down to grand wash. it was a lot of fun, replete with more ipod karaoke (an unsuspecting couple hiked up upon my incredible rendition of bob marley's 'three little birds') and lots of laughing in the sunshine.

need my card?

well you got it. i suppose i've 'arrived' now that i have my very own business card. weird.

ma seour en france

my dear older sister louisa left last week to live in a tiny village nestled in the south of france for a year. sigh. good thing i'll be going to visit her . . . maybe twice. as per my request she started a blog to make the rest of us poor lab rats jealous. start drooling now.

in case you were wondering . . .

what i would look like with a fro and a grill . . .

it seems appropriate today

little wild horsies on the loose!

this last weekend i took a small group of students down to little wild horse canyon in the san rafael swell. it was a gorgeous day with high wispy clouds, that perfect pale southern sun, the cottonwoods were at their absolute peak of brilliant golden yellow, the canyon was twisty and sublime, and the company was excellent. the four kids that came are all wonderful and something about the day brought out the inner child in each of us- we laughed, played, made crazy noises, sang, and shared our thoughts about what matters most, what we most fear, the qualities we aspire to, and what our life theme song would be. all in all, a most excellent day at work.
we were hiking along and the kids just started making all sorts of animal, car, whatever noises, and i secretly took a video of it, they thought i was just taking pictures. so wonderful.

happy sabbath to you

i came to check my email before heading to brunch and church, and found this sweet little clip sent from my dad. i love this message, and i love those who give it, and most of all, i love Who this message is about.

mile high

guess which pretty city i got to visit last week? it was my first weekend off in almost two months so i was ready to get out of town and enjoy gorgeous weather, wonderful food, lovely sites and excellent company.

NOOOOOO!!! someone stole my idea!!!!

my closest friends can vouch for this, i have had this idea of drive-by musicalings for a LONG time, we're talking i cooked up this idea in high school. the premise is this: a group of unassuming folks disperse at random around a grocery store, someone hijacks the speakers in the back and suddenly we are in full swing musical song and dance numbers with carts whirring up and down the aisles, fruit and boxes and bread flying through the air in perfect choreographic delight . . . you get the picture . . .magic! then as soon as the number is over all the performers run into a van waiting by the doors and drive off to hit another unsuspecting grocery store in another mid-sized town. but alas, i discovered today on my friend dainon's blog, that someone has already done it. not quite as choreographed or awesome as i would do it, but still they took my idea. :(

viva la france!

so i spent the morning talking with pat, the other teacher that i am leading a group of students to france with this spring. we talked about all sorts of lovely things, and she showed me little villages and hidden gems we can visit (she is from france and therefore has all the scoops). our conversation left me feeling all giddy and breezy and dreaming of turquoise waters, medieval castles, creamy cheeses and all things french. and then i walked out into a perfect stormy fall day, which for some reason put me in an andrew bird sort of mood. and then i thought, perfect! la blogotheque! the wonderful little site where they film artists that come through paris in intimate, interesting, and unassuming settings, doing there thing. so here is the dashing andrew doing his thing in montmarte.

#45.2 - Andrew Bird - Weather Systems
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Independent web videos.

and then, because i love this, and it's the first blogotheque i ever saw, arcade fire. my favorite is the elevator part.

too rich for these veins!

holy spendy cow batman! i just found this report that shows my alma mater sarah lawrence to be the most expensive college in the u.s. $54,410 a year!!!! dang girl! i thought it was pricey when i went there, but it's almost $20,000 more than it was 10 years ago. i'm glad i'm not a freshman applying now! sheesh! how do people afford college? i mean is it really worth that much? don't get me wrong, i love the ol' slc and loved my classes and experiences there, but that much money just seems ludicrous. what am i going to do with my little ones (that i don't even have yet) grow up and want to follow their mama's footsteps? at that point it will probably be $200,000 a year. crap.

chez moi

here are some pics of my little cottage house. it's snug and warm and oh so nice. missing are pics of the kitchen cupboards and sink, my weird-o vintage gas heater, the bathroom, and my closet/changing room. so more to come. as you can see, there is room to share, so come for a visit! xoxo