nuggets :: hands + hearts

nuggets :: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week

Our home has been humming with activity lately.  I've been cooking pots and pots of soup for friends, sending out overdue thank you notes & presents and getting caught up on lots of handwritten correspondence.  With Valentine's Day upon us, we have been making lots of handmade goodness to mail to friends near and far.  My love of fine paper products, coupled with magazines, glue, glitter & red thread has equaled the sweetest end result.  It was a good week.

   

nuggets.

The event of the season happened over the weekend and we were oh so grateful to be part of the action.  The Pastures Preschool Art Show + Open House was a beautiful success.  With hints of hot pink and floating disco balls, the decor, original artwork and children were absolutely precious.  The director of this little red school house has oodles of style & her influence and curating of the show was spot on.  We scored a few one-of-a-kind goodies that we can't wait to gift or use ourselves.  It was a treat to see all of the new little artists dress up for the occasion in capes, tutus, feathers & sparkles.  I spotted many of them running through the yard with giggles & laughter trailing behind them, climbing trees and perfecting their hang-drop.

These beauties were found at West County Design in Valley Ford

Quotes from the week:

Me:  Would you like me to rip that magazine page out, so it's a little easier to cut out your hearts?
Grady:  No mom.  Life is a challenge.  I like it this way.


***


Grady:  If I wasn't that in to parties I would just call my birthday an anniversary.


***


Me:  What do you want to be when you grow up, Grady?
G:  Oh, that's easy.  A painter.


***

Hot pink Russian script adorned the bottom of a new dress I acquired from the free clothing swap.  My friend translated it for me:

Drinking tea is not like chopping wood.  Hmm.  I better have a cup of tea and think about that one.


***

We've had a string of dark, grey days and it finally feels like winter.  Blossoms and bulbs are bursting all around us and serving as a gentle reminder that spring is coming.  We have a lot of cleaning up to do around here and getting the potting shed in order is definitely on the list. A seed catalogue arrived last week and there is so much hope packed into those glossy pages.  For now, I'm putting it aside and trying to savor and enjoy the slower pace of the season we're in right at this very moment.

So the January purge has crept its way into February.  Just when I thought I couldn't purge anything else, well, you know the story.  There is always something to get rid of and organize (or reorganize, as the case may be).  My Real Simple and Sunset magazine hoarding is at an all-time high and making the drawers that I store them in (read: hide them in) too danged heavy.  So it's time to pour that tea, peruse those mags one more time and then pass them along.

Stopped to capture these shots on the drive home from Cotati

Grady groans every time I pull off to the side of the road and grab my camera.  I'll be just a minute, okay?  I can't help it.  There is so much beauty surrounding us and I find that my camera never quite does it justice.  As evidenced by some of the mundane pictures here in this space, I am practicing my photography, playing with the settings and apertures.  Yes, it may seem silly to see a stack of Sunset magazines strewn across my floor (why is she photographing that?), but I'm really just playing with the light, texture and composition of every day items.   I'm learning a little more each week.

I read a really interesting article on French parenting this week.  I discussed it at length with Steve and how instant gratification plays such a big part in our American culture.  Check it out if you're into that sort of thing.  It was enlightening and shared some new parenting techniques and views.

Yes, in case of emergency push here.  A fun emergency.

Speaking of instant gratification...

Uh-huh.  Yep.  We were the lucky guests at yet another ice cream social this week after school.  Our friends who are seasoned parents or grandparents really know how to spoil a child, as evidenced above.  Fresh, handmade cones and on-the-spot whipped cream (and pink to boot!).  Grady had three cones, I had two and Steve had one.  Well, someone had to do it and I'm so glad it was us.  We left with a bag of surplus cones and the urge to go and purchase our very own whipped cream dispenser.  I definitely see more ice cream socials in our future and perhaps you will be invited. 

Steve went to Pebble Beach with some friends for a few days and that afforded me the opportunity to have a Friday afternoon mother-son date with the boy.  First on the agenda - new shoes.  We trekked out to the Converse outlet store, picked up a new pair and donated the sad, old ones.  Obviously, it was time.

Do you see how super cool he is now?  Taking his picture is getting harder and harder.  We rounded out our afternoon with a trip to the bookstore, a quick bite to eat and then a movie and ice cream at home.  Because we clearly hadn't had enough ice cream this week.

Do you see the form on player #2?  Whew.  It takes a lot of work to get that contorted, right?  As luck would have it, he jammed his left index finger just prior to the game on Saturday and was unable to play.  We had invited a few friends to watch and so this was very disappointing for him.

His finger turned a greenish-purplish-blue, but was definitely not broken.  We iced it, taped it and even gave it super healing kisses.  I think that's what finally worked.  The kisses.

Grady was gifted The Invention of Hugo Cabret from a dear friend this week and he was completely immersed in the story and rich, detailed illustrations.  He finished the book in three days, as well as finishing the second Harry Potter last week.  Again, he's on a reading binge these days and devouring books like they were candy.  

I've finally figured out how to get him going in the morning without a struggle.  I've been waking him up about 30-45 minutes earlier than usual and telling him that he can read until 7 am.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?  He slowly starts his day and is content to do his morning chores after all that reading, too.  We've been on time for the bus stop and no morning meltdowns.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?  I like a slow start to my day, so why wouldn't he?  I'm finally getting this mothering thing down after eight years - wink, wink ;-)

My husband is seldom pictured here on this blog, as he is not a fan of the posed photo.  He was a good sport yesterday and posed just long enough for me to snap this live crab shot.  Every year on Valentine's Day he makes his amazing crab cakes.  He even made a few in the shape of hearts for me and the boy (yes, the boy ate a wasabi seasoned crab cake!).  This is such a labor of love and I look forward to it every single year.  Thanks, honey.

Steve's interpretation of a "heart" valentine (left) and my edible interpretation (right)

We had such a sweet Valentine's Day around our household.  Handmade cards, notes, delicious food, drink and sweets.  I say I got off rather easy this year and just hand-dipped some fresh strawberries in dark chocolate.  I have to remember to make these more often!

Hope you had a beautiful and sweet week, as well.