ramsdale reunion

josh & i took off to d.c. a few days after jeff & cris's family left, so i haven't gotten the chance to post any pictures from their week here with us.

one of the best parts of the visit was getting to see the cousins together. heron is just old enough now to hold her own with the big kids, lucas (age almost-4) and wren (just over 2). i'm sure heron's social growth isn't being stunted by our current living situation, where she barely ever sees other kids. it's mama, dada, and nana all day long. but it really was a joy to see her play with her cousins. she can almost play in a cooperative way now. still mostly engaged in her own toys in the presence of other kids, but also interacting and grabbing, joining in on what they were playing with (especially nana's new train set).

: wren loved heron's duck bath, too :
(she dragged it all around the house, and lounged in it for hours at a time--her own personal avian chariot)


: we think heron & lucas look like siblings :


: mom with lucas and wren :


: my brother + my daughter :


: peruvian food : maracuya + lomo saltado :


: josh's hair is getting LONG :


: mom started a hula-hooping contest :


(i think, for number of rotations, and for style, josh was the winner)


: the kids enjoyed many raft adventures :



: mary & linda (my "aunts" from my peruvian childhood) stopped by :

a big day!

this one is called, "don't mess with heron". (i think she looks like a rugby player with josh's tube socks on, & that stern look on her face)


now here's the big news:

heron is walking! she took her first steps a few weeks ago, and she's been taking a few cautious steps every day since then. but today she was practicing all day. every hour or so she'd get up & try again. two steps. four steps. seven steps. & then after dinner she walked all the way across the room. here's our little walker in action, just moments after her triumphant walk across the room:


before reaching that developmental milestone, we enjoyed a fun day in the sun. the kitties got baths, and heron got to swim in her duck bath outside. mom came home for lunch, and we all enjoyed a picnic on the lawn.

: after 5 weeks in the woods, jasper needed a bath :

: our picnic :

: happy heron :

meet marmalade + jasper

so a few hours before jeff & cris, lucas & wren left for the airport on monday, they took a walk in the woods & encountered two orphan kittens. actually, there were 3, but one of the siblings was dead. lucas named one of the two marmalade (as in orange marmalade, which i've lately been addicted to, eating it on ezekiel bread toast every morning), and the spunky one just seemed like a jasper to me--a good southern name (and, i admit, i've been blazing through the "twilight" saga lately. josh has, too, but he probably wouldn't admit this). here they are, snuggled up to their hot water bottle mama:

: warming up in josh's jacket, while he feeds heron breakfast :

josh and i aren't cat people. (we aren't dog people, either. we're people people. and i'd be a goat person if given the chance) but we're nurturers, or becoming more so day-by-day, so what else could we do but take them in? they may grow up to be great companions for mom, but so far she doesn't seem very into that idea! i wonder why? could it be their poop on the bathroom floor, the bottle-feeding every four hours, their need for constant cuddling to keep them warm & emotionally thriving (though they're feral & thus quite dirty still...), the nipping at her heels whenever they're loose in the house?

i took them to the vet today & found out that they're older than we thought. they're five weeks old, so they're already moving into solid food, and i no longer need to bottle feed them every 3-4 hours. i was beginning to think my life for the next few weeks would be entirely consumed with feeding THREE babies (including heron)!

one year ago

it is april 19th, and one year ago today i held my dad's hand as he slipped out of this earthly life.

a year ago today i was trying to mingle the grief with the expectancy in my final weeks of pregnancy.  6 weeks of mourning until little heron, a healer, arrived.  6 weeks of sitting on the deck by the mississinewa, stitching & mourning & hoping, the sorrow & the joy tangled up in the jacaranda art.  oh, the mourning was not (& is not) gone, but with new life a little light was always peering into the darkness.  sometimes with spread fingers, but always peeking in.

jeff & cris, lucas & wren have been here for the week.  tonight after tucking the children in bed we will sit by the fire, smoking pipes and drinking port in dad's honor.  

my brother and his family will leave in the morning.  it has been a week of gathering, remembering, sorting.  i try not to think about how different gathering times are without him here.  but every time i can't help it--the life of the party is missing.  conversations are quieter, tamer, cleaner.  tonight i miss how inappropriate he could be (though yes, he could be calm & contemplative, too).  how later in life he didn't seem to care what anyone thought of him.  how he often offended.  i like this about him now, so much, and how i, i think, might even hope to shock or offend people a little more often.  cheers to you, dad!

heron's nursery/guest room

heron wanted me to post some pictures of her room (which she sometimes lends to friends and family who come to visit, while she sleeps in a porta-crib in mama's studio)

above the changing table + dresser: stripes painting by aaron tucker; bird & shapes painting by gala bent (heron's aunt); birdhouse from seattle; vintage dress & star hook from a waxhaw antique shop.

: apple crate bookshelf :

: bunny from aunt alli; tree pillow by mama :

: origami cranes + branches over her bed :
(*see bottom of post)

: over her closet :

: futon for guests :

swan from the outer banks; shelf made of old oak from our yard; starfish from local antique store; blackboard with chalk stars made by mama

"gosling and cygnet" print to the left of the swan shelf

(* mom & dad sleep beneath bird & branches, too. robin gave us the great blue heron print from her eaton home)

a visit from mom & dad garrels

last week we had the joy of having josh's parents here to visit us for the week. it was a short stay, but we packed tons of good food and conversation into the visit. my mom has a lovely home for hosting-- lots of cozy nooks indoors, and expansive outdoor spaces, too. i enjoyed watching josh & his dad spend the days together. they're such good friends, father and son, and that is so rare.

the salos came, too, mid-week--josh's aunt ineke and uncle neil (marti's brother) from roanoke, virginia, and their daughter carla & her new baby maya from wilmington, north carolina.

: heron meets maya :

: maya and her grandmother :

: josh demonstrates the fine art of baby massage :

: and baby headstands :

: marti and ineke :

: uncle neil by the fire :

: reunion dinner on the porch--carla, ineke, mike :

: father and son :

: heron and her grandma marti :