Sneak Peek

Cary Grant and I met with the Bishop for a pre-wedding interview yesterday. Here is a little sneak peek.
The Living Room with French doors to the Covered Porch
The first fireplace, in the Living Room. I love the words the owners have on the ledges, so appropriate for our struggle to buy this house.
The Kitchen from the Dining Room.

I am going to need a LOT of rugs.

***Still need your prayers but the Lord keeps blessing us and helping us find the path.
We are really close.***

Pillow Talk

One picks up a lot of things as a computer guy's wife. One of those things is an immense vocabulary of acronyms. Couple that with a husband that works at a large semiconductor company and you have a whole lot of letters flying around. Most of these abbreviations have no meaning to me whatsoever, but like a foreign language immersion class, I have come to the point where I can speak little bit of computer jargon. (My html is rather good, not as good as my French but certainly better than my Spanish.) Come on over and I will amaze you with words like PHP, EC, C++, AR, OR, VI, Shell and PERL.

Once Moose was rattling on about some thing that someone was trying to do and somebody had a plan and wanted to do something when I piped up and said, "That's silly, why don't you just use (insert acronym/computer thing here?) " and he said "That's exactly what we should do!" I don't know what we were talking about but I found it a bit frightening that me the lowly hausfrau of a Unix SysAdmin could see the logical answer over the MBAs at the company. (Perhaps they should hire me and our stock would finally go up???)

Last night as we lay in bed Moose was lulling me to sleep with tales of Santa Clara, terabytes of disc space and cfengine. In my mind cfengine is this sweet hot rod car engine where people pour in buckets of letters and out come comely uniform packages with a ribbon tied around moving in a line down a conveyor belt. I started laughing and when asked I explained my vision. Moose simply said "Actually that is not far off." Then he snatched my pretty car engine away and made the process way more boring and now I know what cfengine does.

Sometimes I wonder what I would have been if I had not been anti-computers in the beginning. I did have a grade of 105% in my CS 101 class in college, I knew how to physically put together a computer which saved the day when Moose's first build your own computer parts arrived, and I put the navbar back on the top of this very blog which is apparently a huge feat that involved style sheets and CSS or something and I thought it was rather easy. The fact is computers aren't as scary as I used to make out. If I do become hot computer geek girl will I channel Penelope Garcia or Lisa Calighan? I think the answer is obvious.

Careless Talk Costs Lives

I dream of riding along city streets and country lanes on my sky blue vintage bicycle while wearing one of my fabulous full skirts with a bottle of sparkling cider, a baguette, something leafy and green (or flowers perhaps) and a Scotty puppy tucked into the basket.

I might be on a reconnaissance mission for the British government doing my part to fight the Gerries. I will discreetly snap photos as I run my fingers through my perfectly set hair when I stop for a rest. I must be careful not to puncture a tire because there is a shortage of rubber you know.

Because really, could any other bike be fit for me and my sense of style?

I found the perfect bike on Craigslist, I will just hope that Moose loves me more than that guitar amp he thinks he needs to buy.

***I really wish I had kept my then vintage bike from when I was in Junior High. It was black with white accents, classic lines and a 3 speed in the handle that you turned like the gears on a motorcycle.****

******* Update*******
My bicycle is now copper and I am wearing a trench coat and black beret. I am a member of the French Resistance smuggling weapon parts in hollowed out books. The Nazis think I am a little bit of French stuff but I have too much "Je ne sais quois."

Happy Easter - Sabbath Leaves

This is a repost from a while back. It seemed appropriate for this day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and savior. Today is very blustery yet there is sunshine in my soul. My house is filled with cherry blossoms, Easter eggs and blessings overflowing.


The other night I had a dream, a vision of the second coming.

We were standing in a building when suddenly there was a tremendous boom accompanied by an engulfing bright white light that shot in from the atmosphere like a comet. The light was bright brighter than anything you have ever seen but it didn't hurt your eyes. It penetrated the whole world. Every corner, crack and crevice was filled. There was not a soul on earth that didn't see the light. "So this is what it means" cried out my soul "When they say that when he comes again everyone will know it."
And HE was there. His coming had knocked out all of the windows and everyone in the world could see him from where their windows had once been. We were all drawn to him. He was beautiful, blonder, younger than I imagined and did not have a beard. I could barely keep my feet on the ground as they kept rising up behind me so I could fly to him.
Those who were not believers tried to rationalize it all away but they could not because he was there. We were sorry for them but he was there and our hearts were filled up.
I went to him and told him I was not worthy. He understood.

Mosiah 27: 31"Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God;"

Goals for 2009

I don't do resolutions, they seem a little too resolute. I like to make goals instead, something to reach for but not too concrete to allow for the ebb and flow of life.

Here are some of Samurai Mom's goals for 2009

Spend more time interacting with each of the children.

Do Family Home evening more.

Serve more.

Adopt more structure into our day.

Sew a tartan Christmas Skirt.

Crochet snowflakes.

If handmade Christmas gifts are to be given - start them in September.

Figure out how to read while knitting.

Go walking.

Learn to listen and ask better questions.

International Babywearing Week

I have been feeling some sadness lately that the things that defined me as a young mother have gone. I am still the same mother but the seasons has passed. I find it strange that people who are meeting me for the first time don't know that I am a babywearing, EC'ing, homebirthing, lactivist, attachment parenting, crunchy mama.

Nutmeg is almost 3 and it is no longer remarkable that she doesn't wear diapers. I never have occasion to strap her on my back - she would rather be running. I no longer make enough milk to feed the world and grow the chubbiest baby that you have ever seen. My "Got Breastmilk?" bumper sticker is somewhere in the pile of stuff that I never look at. I don't speak up during labor discussions because it hardly seems relevant NOW that I gave birth to my babies upstairs on my own bed in this very house. That Nutmeg's birth was the single most glorious achievement of my life.

So when Mommy Bee reminded me that it is International Babywearing Week I felt compelled to make a statement saying this is one of the defining activities of my life. Babywearing made me the mother I am. Babywearing created income, identity and some of the most precious moments of my life. Through babywearing I have taught others how to connect with their precious children. Baby wearing inspired me to make art.

Through babywearing I have lost weight, made friends and been the object of curiosity. I was so used to people staring at me for having a baby strapped to my back that I hadn't noticed that they don't stare anymore, I am just another mother with 3 adorable moderately behaved children. Unremarkable.

When I received my first sling I put it on with a sack of potatoes to practice before the baby came, I have never, ever looked back.
I went everywhere with my baby on my back from hiking up a slippery muddy slope in search of a view to jumping on a trampoline.

This is a compilation of art I have created about babywearing, others have made for my babywearing business, and photos of me, my children and my baby carriers (all homemade.) The slide show is crude- I have no idea how to do this properly.

Thanks to the lady at the Breastfeeding Class for introducing me to slings, to Tracy for insisting that I try a wrap and to my babies for riding around for 7 years.

He Was Beautiful

The other night I had a dream, a vision of the second coming.

We were standing in a building when suddenly there was a tremendous boom accompanied by an engulfing bright white light that shot in from the atmosphere like a comet. The light was bright brighter than anything you have ever seen but it didn't hurt your eyes. It penetrated the whole world. Every corner, crack and crevice was filled. There was not a soul on earth that didn't see the light. "So this is what it means" cried out my soul "When they say that when he comes again everyone will know it."
And HE was there. His coming had knocked out all of the windows and everyone in the world could see him from where their windows had once been. We were all drawn to him. He was beautiful, blonder, younger than I imagined and did not have a beard. I could barely keep my feet on the ground as they kept rising up behind me so I could fly to him.
Those who were not believers tried to rationalize it all away but they could not because he was there. We were sorry for them but he was there and our hearts were filled up.
I went to him and told him I was not worthy. He understood.

Mosiah 27: 31"Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God;"

I don't remember when my fascination began. I must have been very young because I can not remember a time when I wasn't enchanted with India, or at least the idea of India. Elephants, tigers, jewels, silk saris, golden brown skin, heavily incensed air, these images fill my mind when I try to think of the first time I loved India . Perhaps it was when I first read A Little Princess, or maybe it was something else, something I saw when I was very young. When I was around 10 there were some books my grandmother wanted me to have "When I was a little older." I took the books and was free to read them when I wanted to, I read the king Arthur story within a year or so but the book about India I still have, unread.
I have read many books set in India, I love to eat Indian food, I have made several trips to the Sari store to dream about wearing saris. I gently pepper my Indian friend, Renu about the land of her birth, once, she dressed me in a sari, it was so fun. Lately I have been watching Indian movies, mostly dramas about India but a few Bollywood things.
I don't think I will ever travel to India. I would like to but Moose is very adverse to the idea and to be honest there is a long list of places I would like to go before India.
Last night I read a book that I couldn't put down, it was called Sister of My Heart. Finally at 4:15 am I cried defeat and went to sleep. All night I dreamt of henna, curry, bindis and rubies.

Kitchy Quotations?

Seven years ago I saved these prints from the Stake Library, they were throwing them away! I always wanted to do something fabulous with them. I sold some of them but saved my favorites.
This is what I have done with them:

(left to right: Raking Leaves with Father, Brothers Gazing on Landscape, Family Picnic, Sister Feeding Baby, Rain Gear and Daffodils, Dusting with Mother.) (Fantastic duck on lower left: Danvers)
I covered every wall in the "Schoolroom" with them. I would have liked grander frames, but I was on a budget.
(Feeding a Calf, Feeding Puppies)
The last one is on a wall all by itself and has a slightly different tone. It is also about an inch too short for the frame.
I think that it needs a caption. Something kitchy, something ironic, something idyllic, something that captures the spirit of the whole collection but also that picture. I would like it to be a little tongue and cheek. For example: the dangers of educating a lady, or how everyday should be just like these scenes. Kind of like how we call the Schoolroom the "Schoolroom" but really very little schooling happens there.
Suggestions?

"I woo'd thee with my sword, And won thy love, doing thee injuries; But I will wed thee in another key, With pomp, with triumph and with revelling."

Last night I dreamt there was an invisible beast roaming the neighborhood. We discovered him after 2 white and one black sheep came to the door. We followed the trail of chickens, half chickens. He was invisible, a special effect movie's dream beast. Sometimes you could see invisibility moving, occasionally he lost his cloak and you could see a flash of white with spots, like a dalmatian/ polar bear/ tiger.
I vanquished the foe by using Tanya's cross bow that was more like a long bow than a cross bow, a long cross bow of sorts with only a splinter of wood for an arrow. I shot him in the back of mouth piercing him fatally. I am Diana, an Amazon, protectress of the land.