people are poetry

Sometimes, I see a person (usually someone who is doing nothing in particular - standing on a street corner, drinking coffee in a sunwarmed window, walking a dog, leaning against a building at just the right angle at just the right time of day...) and I am suddenly struck by the fact that they are alive. That there before me is another human being. Complete, though unknown, full of their own memories and thoughts an ideas and philosophies... and I have to resist the urge to run up to them and demand of them their life stories, or slide in beside them at the corner booth and just sit quietly... or break out the sketchbook... In general, I'm successful.


But I'm intensely grateful to The Sartorialist for taking snapshots for me, so I can look and look and get lost in the vast, spinning universe of another person... at leisure. And without the threat of police intervention and multiple restraining orders. 


Here are a few souls to get lost in.

all images via the sartorialist

See people today. 

Shuffle and Wry,

-shawnacy

Something Pretty, Something Smart

Because every week should contain

Something Pretty,

Something Smart,

Something to do,

And a bit of art.

... and also one or two things just for fun.

Something Pretty

## I don't know if this counts as pretty, but it is pretty seriously awesome... and the rest of the stuff at LennyMud is fantastic too. 

I would totally roll out of bed and start 'pitying' every 'fo' who got in the way of me and this teapot. love. it. 

## Grey skies? no problem. keep a rainbow in your pocket. great idea from Masa-ka.

Something Smart

## Ever read those choose-your-own-adventure novels as a kid? They were my road-trip staple. Love this comic, philosopher's version from Luke Surl: 

## If you happen to be a physics geek, like me, or if you've ever read Flatland by Edwin Abbot, you will appreciate This Video from Tenth Dimension. If you hated physics and wouldn't touch Flatland with a 40 foot pole made of duct tape and pool cues... watch it anyway. it will change your mind. 

Something to do: 

## First.. go Here to Jackson Pollock [dot] org and fingerpaint  online. Seriously. GO. i'll wait.

...

ok. you know you feel better now. 

## Then look at these...

images found via a cup of jo

and go find some ugly thing you can make beautiful. 

A bit of art:

## Since we seem to be on the subject, I'm a huge fan of street art. HUGE (i blame it on a too-young-and-impressionable viewing of Basquiat). I may or may not have defaced certain pieces of public property in the name of art once or ... thrice. these are pretty rad.

image

the above two images

 image

pvc pipe! genius.

## and OH MY WORD, look at THESE insane sidewalk chalk images. 

and... one for the road...

Remember this - the hug me pillow -  it's still just about the creepiest thing i've ever seen.

why would anyone want to share a bed with half a man's upper torso?

it's a valid question. 

wonderful weekend wishes to you all. 

Graffiti and Ganglion, 

-shawnacy

quote-a-kid

So I was putting Annika down for her nap today and she always complains that she can't sleep because the sun is in her eyes. So I laid her down and walked over to close the curtains, and she sat up and yelled:


"No, no! Don't put the sun away! I love the sun! The sun is my sweeeeetieeeee!




love that kid. 

Artist Love: Lizzy Stewart

I am completely enamoured of the work of Edinburgh artist, Lizzy Stewart. 

It seems to be at once alive with joy, and quietly melancholy. 

It has things to say,

And says them eloquently.

Things to teach,

and with such grace.

She has a new project that has just come out called Toska, which is an illustrated book (it's breathtaking) based on the uniquely Russian experience of Toska, as described by Vladimir Nabokov. He says, 

“No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”

Go and check out all of her work, and take a moment to be abashed. These are the things, folks. The things that make us human and alive. 

You can find her at her site, Here, 

Her blog, Here

And her Etsy shop, Here

I'll leave you with a few more, for good measure

Whirlwinds and Wonderlands,

-shawnacy

Family Dinners

So. We're still without a functional camera. (*snarl) 
But, as with so many things we can't do anything about, it looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up and make the most of what I have at hand.


And I've been intending to do this post for a while anyway.






Today's topic: Family Dinners.

which, at our house are actually something more like this:

As you may have gathered from reading one or two posts, we have quite a large family. Large and kind of insanely busy. But we do the very best we can to make dinner time a family event. I sometimes wonder if it's really all that important (especially when they race through their food and ask to be excused about 14 seconds after I'm finally able to sit down...), but time and time again, I've heard from them that dinner time is the best part of their day. And so... I keep it up. Even on those days when all I have time to do is re-heat some leftovers and slap a jug of milk on the table. 


Here are some of the tricks I've crammed up my sleeve to make it both manageable and fun:


## 1. Thoughtful Preparation. 
This does not by any means imply that every meal has to be a Thanksgiving kind of spread, complete with soup course and cut-glass bowls of olives. However, I have learned that a small amount of preparation goes a LONG way. I have made a habit (by sheer force of necessity) of planning out menus a week in advance. I write down the weekly meals on a cute little chalkboard thingy we have hanging in the kitchen, and keep to it... loosely. Switching tuesdays meal to saturday if it's a better fit, or if I'm simply NOT in the mood to roast a duck. (<--- something I have yet to try)

image

(this one is much cuter and fancier than ours) Mostly, it's for my benefit, to remind me WHY in the great big world I bought three packages of frozen spinach, and not one can of tomato sauce. 
Along with the menu preparation, I also have the kids help set the table, and if time allows, create some kind of fun centerpiece. It's hilarious sometimes, the things with which they choose to 'decorate' our table.


## 2. I usually have some topics of conversation picked out.

We run the orbit of the table first, always, to find out everyone's 'high point' of the day (I honestly never cease to be shocked at how often the kids say that 'right now' is the brightest part of their day), but I've found that, sometimes after that, if there isn't some kind of stimulating conversation to ground us all, things can easily crumble into 

'stop kicking me!' 

'I'm not!'

'yes you are, I can FEEL IT!'

... and etc. ad infinitum. 

so. to avoid such algonquin round-table fare, I usually have some kind of conversation game ready at hand. Sometimes we play round-robin story, where one person starts telling a tale, and then breaks off in the middle and the next person takes up the thread. Or any of those alphabet games that start, 'i'm going on a camping trip and i'm taking with me...' 
Lately, though, we've been on a pirate joke kick. This game started with the eye-rollingly pun-ful joke, 'Did you hear about the new pirate movie?... it's rated Arrrr.' (admit it, you just giggled a little.. and THEN rolled your eyes) But this game is super easy for little kids. They just think of any word that contains the phoneme 'ar' in it, and build their own joke around it. 
some good ones from our family this past week have been: 
'what is a pirate's favorite body part? ... his ARRRm'
and, from the slightly older kids: 'what is a pirate's favorite civil war cemetary? ... ARRlington.' 
It's good silly fun, and at least a few rungs above the endless bickering. 
There are tons of products out there that you can buy - like this table topics game - or make - here are some great ideas from rex and regina - to liven up (or maybe just focus) your dinnertime discussions. 

##3. Manners.
I am attempting to instill some primitive kind of politeness in my children. Using silverware, sitting rather than standing at the table, once in a while employing a napkin... to this end, we do a few different things to encourage rudimentary manners. First, those who have managed to get through dinner with a modicum of decency will receive a manners marble (which I talked about a little bit HERE). 

Sometimes, though the thought of a little blue marble just isn't enough to motivate. These are the days we pull out the pennies. I give each person at the table 5 pennies at the beginning of dinner. When they catch someone talking with their mouth full or eating with their fingers, the offender has to pony up one of his or her pennies, giving it to the one who caught them. At the end of dinner, they get to keep however many pennies they have remaining. 


## 4. And lastly, sometimes you gotta break the rules.
Dinner can't always be a thing of white napkins and polite observations about the weather (or pirates...) 
So every once in a while I'll mix it up, and throw everyone a crazy kind of curveball. Like the other day when we played this great little camp game. 
We have 7 people around our table, so I chose seven kitchen utensils - I mean the weird ones, no 'big spoon' business. We had the beaters from the mixer, a whisk, a garlic press, and a lemon squeezer among others. 
I laid out each utensil in the center of the table and had a set of dice ready to go. Each kid got a roll, and whatever number he landed on, that was the utensil he had to use to eat his dinner. (i got the leftover. It was a pair of BBQ tongs.)
It was a mess, and a hoot, and nobody's manners were going to win any awards, but it was a fun, memorable night. And sometimes, I think that's even more important. 




What about you? How do you survive dinnertime?
Whatever your solution, make family time something special tonight.

Violas and Veggies,

-shawnacy

frustrations galore

Just a quick whiny post. 
Whiny, sleep-deprived and a little bit on-edge. 


This weekend/last 4 days has been INSANE with busyness. We've been up to things here at the ranch, and I have a lot to share... if only I hadn't, in the craziness of these days, inadvertently misplaced the camera chord... 
(ARRRRGGHHHH!!!!) a camera full of awesome, un-downloadable photos... not the greatest thing. 


so... as I'm stuck holding onto these posts till i can share them properly, here are some pretty things to look at:


## crocheted cobwebs.

here

## Feathers in glass bubbles. These are so very nice, I think. And I'm a little dazzled at how they manged to get them in there... 

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/inspiration/add-feathers-to-your-holiday-decor-134961

found via Epheriell Designs

## Check out the Tallest tree in the world... twice the Statue of Liberty!!

## Make this cute Yarn Circle Garland with Hands On: As We Grow

## If you don't know what the word  Mamihlapinatapai means... check it out here. I've determined to use it at least once this week. 

## I'm kind of in love with Mini Eco, a great little site with tons of easy, fun, kid friendly activities. You will not be disappointed. 

## And, finally, I give you THIS. Enjoy. 

Here's hoping the camera chord makes an appearance today... or things might get a little slow around here.

Frantic Searching and Fleet Foxes,

-shawnacy

Something Pretty, Something Smart

Because every week should contain:

Something Pretty,

Something Smart,

Something to Do,

And a Bit of Art.

... and also one or two things just for fun. 

So then, in no particular order, i give you:


Something Pretty:


## Download some Free Desktop Wallpapers from artist Willem Pirquin.
Choose from his selection of Alphabet Letters

or any of his other lovely designs.

## Get this Free Crochet Pattern for Dainty Little Doily Rings from All Free Crochet

Something Smart:


## For all you other bloggers out there, here's a great little post from Crafterminds about How to Use Stumble-Upon to boost business.




## Have you heard about Blarter? A genius idea from A Foothill Home Companion. 

## This Silly Comic has been making the rounds lately. It gets me every time. Yay for chemistry!!

Something to Do:


## How about making a little Moss Graffiti! This looks super awesome, and not-too-difficult.

I can think of a few dull-looking corners of the yard that could use a little graffiti sprucing-up.

## Aunt Peaches has a sweet tutorial up on how to make these amazing-looking Coffee filter flower baskets. These are beautiful!

A Bit of Art:

## Look at this amazing underwater sculpture installation. 

## Can you find the man in this picture?? Totally insane Invisible Man project. 

And Just for Fun:

## Annika saw this the other day and FLIPPED. As soon as I grab some Jelly Beans, we'll be all over this Jelly Bean Bracelet from My Kids Make. 

Happy Friday everyone.

Hornets and Hoola Hoops,

-shawnacy