Fleeced

I'm covered in little bits of fleece fuzz.  In fact, it's been quite a fuzzy day over here.  First, I cut a yard of rainbow-striped fleece into three scarves, fringing the bottom in 1"-strips; one for me, two for the local community Coat Closet.  Then, one of the parent volunteers of our Brownie troop came over to help cut down to size the fleece we're using to make blankets for hospice patients at Thursday's meeting.  Then, while Sis was at gymnastics, Bud and I made a fleece pillowcase for a large 25 x 25" fluffy feather pillow.  And it is this light pastel rainbow micro-fleece which shed all over me, Bud, and the living room, including Albus the cat who kept trying to help.  I've cut all of the extra scraps into more scarves for the coat closet.  And the non-scarf-sized remnants were braided into "chew toys" which the cats actually chased around the house!  Who knew fleece could be such fun?!

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Fleece No-Sew Pillowcase

pillowform, size of your choice
fleece, color(s) of your choice

Measure the size of your pillow.  Add 8" to each dimension.  For example:  our pillow was 25 x 25"  so I cut 2 pieces of fleece 33 x 33".

Place fleece wrong sides together (i.e. right sides facing outwards.) Using a piece of cardboard cut 4 x 4", cut a 4 x 4" square out of each corner.  Then cut fringe 4" long and 1" wide along each side.

Tie three sides of the fleece together using the knot of your choice.  Insert the pillowform and tie the fourth side.

My Fall Fashion Fetish

I think it started last winter. Not my usual outdoor scarves, in flannel, fleece, or wool, knitted or crocheted, but light fashion ones for daily use.  Pink and peach stripes, with white (right there, just right of center.)  My first scarf.  Yes, I'd woven one, but I never wore it--too precious for all my efforts.  But my store-bought one, I could wear.  And I did, along with a pink, yellow, and orange loosely-woven one (on the right end.)  In fact, both scarves are visible in practically every picture of me in England.  While there, I picked up a lovely silver scarf brooch with Celtic knots at St. Martin's in the Field.  I also picked up a lovely floral pink one at "Downton Abbey" (near the center.)

But now they are multiplying!  I hang them on the back of our bedroom door and love to look at the colors and patterns.  Yes, I tend to florals and pastels, like pinks and lavenders.  But there are some bold black and white ones or blacks with rainbows--and more orange that I would have expected because I don't like that color.  

I know I'm Jamie-Come-Lately, that women have been fancying scarves for a long time.  Every week I see a new how-to-tie-a-scarf-twenty-ways on Pinterest, though I tend more to drape or tie in a simple knot.  I also have a few of those infinity scarves that need no tying.  

I like how they dress up an outfit, making a simple turtleneck and sweater more festive. And I can choose them to reflect my mood--and my kids like to help sometimes (Sis also likes to choose my earrings.)  They also hide stains well!    

Best yet, as far as I can tell, they aren't going out of fashion anytime soon.  Who knew I'd be stylish?!

Helping Hands, Warm Hearts

Today, our hospice team made 60+ easy, colorful, fleece scarves for our patients.




Instructions:

• Buy 3+ yards of fleece.
• Fold in half, with selvage edges together.  
• Cut in approximately 12" strips.
• Remove selvage edge.
• To make fringe, cut strips approximately the length of the shaft of the scissors (3 to 4").  Make a cut in the middle, then in the middle of that, halving each section until you've made 1/16ths (this is easier than measuring out fringe every 3/4" or so).  
• Then you can be done or tie decorative beads on each fringe piece.

Holiday Fun: "Christmas Gift!"

Merry Christmas!

And it is here.

Bud was up at 6:15 a.m.. "I've been singing carols all night," he told me as he crawled in bed. Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Joy to the World. "Pa rum pa pum pum." And he was ready to get downstairs. "I heard bells in my head last night. Jingle bells." But he hadn't heard Santa.

Amazingly. Because Santa made lots of noise for quite awhile.

We heard a key in our front door. Gommie and Pop had arrived. Just then, Sis's little voice called from the other room, "It's Christmas!"

Yep.

They ran down to meet G&P, but the lit tree and pile of presents were hidden behind the red curtains. So we had the unveiling as they pushed through the curtains to see. Wow. So many gifts, such filled stockings.

And what chaos to unwrap it all. Fun, too, of course. Star Wars everything: figures, ships, puzzles, sheets, jammies, games, Legos, books. Also How to Train Your Dragon. And Harry Potter, for the adults. Arts and crafts, cooking (books, beans, and tools), clothes, beans, knickknacks, books, soaps, candy. There were even toys in the tree! Lavish, indulgent, delightful abundance. Given in love and generosity and pleasure. Received in the same way. A huge thank-you to Santa, Gommie and Pop, Cousin Hungry (we love all the wonderful gifts and will call later), aunts and uncles, friends.

Sis and Bud, for the first time, actively participated in the giving. Sis dug under the tree so her present would be the first Bud opened. She had consulted with Mama and chosen a Captain Rex helmet for Bud; he chose a Playmobil nativity for her. They were so excited and wrapped it up themselves. And opened them first. Giving each other hugs of gratitude amid exclamations of "awesome!" They gave us gifts too. Gommie and Pop had gotten their fleece scarves early because Texans suffer in our New England cold. The kids had chosen the patterns--red with white polka dots for Gommie, moose-cammo for Pop--and we'd tied them. Sis even made me a "thank-you" bag, with notecards written with "thank you" and pictures of singing, baking, Star Wars, for all I do. I also got a school decorated box with some chocolates in it. And they loved watching Mama open her Lego Hogwarts castle and me the hedgehog figures and Harry Potter pop-up.

The kids are playing with everything, literally. Open, play, switch. Open, play, switch. Mostly sharing, no tears yet. The adults alternately sit and watch, or prep food--monkey bread for breakfast and prime rib roast etc for lunch. The angelic voice of that little girl soprano plays in the background. The cats prowl for stray plastic and ribbons. And the Elf on the Shelf--Shaun, after the sheep, this year--after two days of moving constantly and inspiring desperate and frantic searches, has returned to the North Pole.

And best of all, the gift I desperately want but cannot give: the forecast of 2-4" of snow tonight and tomorrow.

That Robin-Blue Box and Other Treats

Mama doesn't like Valentine's Day. Like many of the older, long-married people quoted in a recent NYTimes article about gift giving, Mama resents being told when to show her love, preferring to spread gifts around throughout the year. Additionally, many of her gifts aren't physical objects, but gifts of time, generosity, thoughtfulness--letting me sleep in, unloading the dishwasher before I get to it, bringing my shoes inside before I go out in the cold, finding just the right show ("Downton Abbey"!!!!) to watch on Netflix.

Except this year.

Because Friday night, she nonchalantly said to me, as we were preparing tea and scones for our "Downton Abbey" marathon, "I did get you something for Valentine's Day. Do you want it now or later?"

Surprised, and never one to delay gratification, I laughed and said, "What, chocolate? A little blue box?"

And it was!

There was a little robin's egg blue box from Tiffany's, with a pair of dangly, rose quartz earrings. Beautiful. Unexpected. Special. Surprising. Typical of her. Especially because we'd agreed, as usual, not to bother, and so I hadn't, beyond a homemade card. It reminds me of my mom's story about one of my dad's most romantic gestures: as they were heading out to dinner around Valentine's Day years ago, he reached under the car seat and handed her a much-desired Swatch watch.

I guess you do look for someone like your dad. Even if he's a she!

Otherwise, we had a relatively low-key Valentine's Day. The kids barely finished making their 20 cards for class--Sis made foamy-sticker covered cards, with pencils attached when she learned that other kids would be giving treats, while Bud signed his name to paper-airplane valentines from the store, since I remembered how hard it was to get him to make cards last year.

At church, the kids had made several cards for the congregation, which they helped distribute Sunday morning before their own party. One of the little wooden baskets my kids had decorated with their names on it went to another young mom in the congregation, I noticed. I had (more than) half-hoped she'd offer it to me, since her child had made one for her specifically as well (which I actually made sure she got after service, it having been left on the table), but she didn't. I'm trying not to care.

In perhaps true twin fashion, the most important valentines for the kids came from each other, cards they'd both worked on at school and were eager to exchange. Bud also made a giant paper heart with other hearts for Mama and I, which he'd kept under his pillow all week as a secret. We had cards for them, plus fleece scarves in pink and blue. Sis wondered where the chocolate was!

They got enough of that at school. Even though Bud was borderline sick, with runny nose and a sleepless night, he didn't have a fever and so I wanted him to be able to participate in that important school rite: the valentine exchange. She'd decorated a shoebox, he a bag, and they passed out their cards (a fair-to-everyone unlabeled batch of 20 to prevent them from favoring one child, ignoring another) in an impressive ritual. But they couldn't sort the loot until they got home, dumping it out on the table and exclaiming over all the pencils and candy hearts and chocolate kisses and lollipops and fruit-by-the-yard and tattoos and gift baggies and stickers and . . . and . . . and . . . figuring out what was from whom, who liked Princesses and who chose Spiderman. The collection was much more impressive than I used to get. And clearly just as awe-inspiring and impressive.

Eating the treats off and on throughout the day, the rest of our Monday was pretty routine until they hit exhausted meltdown midday. So we didn't call anyone, didn't finish the cards we were behind on for the whole family, didn't refrain from greedy-grabbing and throwing and crying, except long enough to rest while watching Ratatouille.

With bedtime at 6:30 because of all the tears, Mama and I had plenty of time to continue our "Downton Abbey" marathon, this time with orange-chocolate truffle cake. All in all, a pretty good Valentine's Day.

Birthday Weekend in Vermont

Having enjoyed Vermont so much this fall, we decided to visit again, this time in winter and, after the events of the last few weeks--deaths and politics--it was good for us to get away for a holiday weekend (I'm sorry we missed you this time, Sew and Sow.)  And it was marvelous!  Here are a few snapshots outlining the fun.




Our first stop in Vermont was the Vermont Country Store.  It's a rest stop, snack place, and souvenir shop.  We started our holiday shopping, picking up things for each other and friends and family.  We did not buy the hat that Bud models here!

A lovely tree with cookie ornaments

Next up:  King Arthur Flour.  Last time, we arrived very late in the day, when the bakery was almost completely empty of its goodies.  So we made an effort to arrive midday.  Oh, so good.  We had lunch--tasty grilled cheese, delicious homemade kaiser rolls, chocolate croissants, cardamom roll, and my favorite almond cloud cookies.  I liked the quote on the wall near the cafe, "All sorrows are less with bread" (Cervantes.)  And of course we did some shopping.  Sis was so excited to pick up boxes of cinnamon puff muffin mix, her new favorite.  And I got some unique mixes--Portuguese sweet rolls, Scottish oat bread, orange cranberry brioche. It was a tasty way to begin the weekend.

Another stop we made on the way was the Vermont Toy and Train Museum in Quechee.  There we wandered amid the displays of toys from our childhoods--Cher doll, Luke and Leia dolls, Donnie and Marie dolls, Holly Hobby dolls, various lunchboxes including Holly Hobby, Happy Meal toys, bubble bath dispenses, boxed Halloween costumes with plastic masks, Fisher Price Little People.  And there was a great model train through the Vermont countryside in summer, fall, and winter.


In the same complex, there were various shops, including an antiques store, with old photos ("instant ancestors"), tools, tea sets, food tins.  Fun to wander with the kids.

And then we arrived in Woodstock, considered one of the most picturesque towns in the country.  With holiday decorations, snow, early American houses, a preserved downtown including old dry goods store and pharmacy and unique shops, covered bridge, nearby river, and the surrounding mountains, it really is a great little place.  And we were staying at the Woodstock Inn, a venerable hotel sitting back from the town green.  (Lambeth, the kids said it was second only to the Lainston as their favorite place to stay!)

In our room were two treats--chocolate-covered strawberries and a notice that we would be riding in the town's Wassail parade, on the hotel's own wagon, both arranged by Mama and the concierge for my birthday!!!!  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.  It made for the perfect weekend.

But before the parade Saturday afternoon, we spent Saturday morning wandering the town, listening to the high school band play carols, and visiting the Dana House and the historical society with its displays on Christmas past.  (This was after breakfast, when we discovered our waitress grew up in the town we live in and her cousin owns the deli near our pediatrician's office.  Small world.)  Sis and Bud even ran down to the river behind the house, enjoying the snow (which we haven't really had in Connecticut.)

The parade!!  Mama had given me a heads-up about it, actually, first to see if I were interested and second so that I could pick a festive outfit.  As the theme was Victorian, I wore one of my long historic house skirts and my lovely blue wool cloak from Gommie, under which were layers of sweaters, leggings, extra skirts, and warm socks--because the morning temperature had been 3F!!  We all got a ride to the staging area where Sis was in her element around all of the horses.  Across from us was the donkey brigade which we just read about in the morning's paper (the group helps youth and adults with developmental disabilities who take care of the miniature donkeys.)  The little donkeys wear stuffed animals on their backs and pull small carts, led by their handlers.

And then we got on our wagon, wearing matching plaid fleece scarves supplied by the hotel.  The festooned wagon was led by two humongous Belgian draft horses.  We rode along with another family and an older couple, singing "Rudolph," "Jingle Bells," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" and waving to the crowds (over 2,000 cheering people!)  It really was wonderful to see all the holiday cheer.  And I liked seeing the old town from the wagon, which put me back in the 19th century.  Though, it was pretty cold.

After the parade, we warmed up by the fire at the hotel with hot chocolate (and Bailey's!)  At 4pm, we went to look at the town tree, Yule bonfire, and luminaries as the sun set.  Dinner was the Wassail Feast at the hotel, with a variety of dishes such as prime rib, sliced salmon, Yorkshire Pudding, pumpkin bread pudding, buche de noel, and trifle.  Mama and I made Yard of Flannel--hot apple cider and rum-whipped cream--and sat by the fire.

That evening we sat in the room, warming up from the day.  I worked on my crocheted birthday blanket, in Lion Brand Thick and Quick Celestial Stripes.  The kids made Rainbow Loom bands and played with their light-up wheelie bopper toys from the Vermont Country Store.  (It was a no-screen weekend.)

Sunday, though it was cold again, we went to Billings Farm--with its draft horses, decorated farmhouse, and craft activities.  The kids dipped their own candles and then Bud made a pomander with cloves and a clementine.  Sis was enamored with the white Percheron draft horses and some more Belgians.  And I liked the snow, the barns, and the warm kitchen with apple pie and roasted pumpkins.

  

On our way home, we ate at delicious Worthy Kitchen (poutine!  fried chicken!  pickled pineapple!)  and then moseyed our way home.  We did stop at the lake we'd visited with my folks in October--it was completely frozen and snow-covered.  I did a 20-yard hike into the woods and watched Sis poked the ice with her toes.   

We got home after dark, with snow falling gently on our town, the last little treat of the weekend.

My favorite photo, from town (actually taken from the car as we drove by.)

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There was one uncomfortable thing that happened repeatedly in Vermont:  there were a lot of questions about our family, race- and/or gender-based.  From the woman at King Arthur Flour who thanked me for having a big heart and adopting Sis, to a white woman who said hi to Mama in Mandarin and was surprised she didn't speak Chinese, to the six or seven people (and I'm not exaggerating here) who mistook Mama for a boy/my son, Sis for a boy, and Bud for a girl.  Never have so many assumptions been spoken to us aloud by so many in such a short time.  It was rather disconcerting.  We've had less trouble in rural Texas, for goodness sake.  Come on, Vermont, what's with that?  (And no, it wasn't just the tourists from elsewhere.)
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Almost Advent

Tomorrow starts our Advent, as we countdown to Christmas.

"How is it already December?" I seem to keep asking myself.

Anyway, as some of you recall, I had an Advent Activity plan last year that didn't work out as planned. Basically, we were going to choose one each day from a basket I never put together. We did some, but I didn't figure out how to control the choosing, like we can't make snow ice cream if there is no snow.

But I've got it figured out this year: socks! I'm hanging a swag of socks on my mantle, cheerful holiday-themed socks I picked up for $12 total in the dollar section. Each sock, hanging from a numbered clothespin, will contain an activity. I got the idea from Family Fun (though, my activities differ from their gifts). And since we won't check the sock until after school, I can manipulate the choice by inserting an activity we can do that day.

And so here is my list, very similar to last year, of activities I might include:

1. Make a holiday wreath with greenery from yard.
2. Make gifts for teachers and others.
3. Decorate our chalkboard with holiday pictures.
4. Make paper decorations for doors and windows.
5. Make snow ice cream/angels/paintings/snowman.
6. Have a holiday tv marathon--Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, Olive!
7. Go caroling by telephone by calling family members and singing to them.
8. Donate canned goods to the local food pantry.
9. Make fleece blankets to donate to the Linus project or scarves for another charity.
10. Hang our holiday branch on the front porch to decorate.
11. Make gingerbread houses.
12. Walk around the neighborhood at dusk and look at decorations.
13. Start a neighborhood Secret Santa chain.
14. Have dinner by candlelight.
15. Have a holiday book read-a-thon.
16. Watch Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, The Nutcracker, or other seasonal movie.
17. Learn about another winter holiday.
18. Stuff, seal, and send Christmas cards.
19. Make a holiday treat for animals (either our cats, birds and squirrels, or shelter animals).
20. Print covers of thank-you notes.
21. Decorate a backdrop for our Nativity.
22. Host a family Solstice party and stay up late.
23. Play "Christmas morning" and practice how to thank someone for a gift.
24. Read the Christmas story in the Bible and talk about how every child is special.

And when I'm not up for those, a couple of pieces of candy in the stockings will no doubt be greeted with cheers, too!

The Mitten Tree

One of my favorite children's books is The Mitten Tree, by Candace Christiansen and Elaine Greenstein. In the story, an older woman whose children are grown and gone enjoys watching the neighborhood school children gather near her house as they wait for their school bus. One day, she notices that one boy, standing alone and away from the others who are playing in the snow around the spruce tree, lacks mittens and can't play in the snow. So she gets to work on a pair of blue mittens for him. That next day, she hangs them on the spruce tree for him and soon he is playing happily with the others. By the end of the book, she has knitted mittens for all the kids and they, in turn, have surprised her with a whole new basket of brightly-colored yarn. Neither side "knows" where the mittens or yarn come from, "but someone must . . . "

It's a charming story about generosity, community, kindness. And everytime I read it aloud to Sis (for it is she who always requests it), I want to knit mittens. Mind you, I don't knit well enough to knit mittens; I'm only able to create simple rectangular knit-and-purl scarves. However, I might be motivated to learn to knit mittens. Sure, I could probably crochet some mittens (I'm a better crocheter). But it just isn't the same, isn't like the story. And I want to make lots of mittens and give them all away.

Somehow, an idea is germinating in the back of my head, a kind of fiber arts ministry, not just prayer shawls and baby blankets and baby caps and mittens but all manner of handmade yarn items (or why stop at yarn? fleece blankets and cotton pillowcases!) to donate . . . . I love to make all these things but don't need to keep them. And everyone feels better with a special homemade item just for them. I just have to figure out the details.

Advent Activities: Prep Time

Because of the birthday bonanza weekend, we didn't hew too closely to our Advent activity schedule. We did do sugar cookies and decorated more gingerbread houses, but much of the activity was prep work. We picked up materials for Secret Santa packages and fleece for scarves for gifts. And so tonight, we'll take a break and do a carol sing via telephone. It should be fun.

Advent Activities

The kiddos are very interested in the concept of "how many days until _____." And so counting down to Christmas is going to be a big part of our family celebration this year. Starting tomorrow. Besides advent calendars, I'm inspired to have an "Advent Activity Basket" containing 24 sheets of paper, with a different activity written on it, which I read about in Mothering. Each day, we'll select an activity for that day (I might "stack the deck" by not placing all the activities in at once, so I can control some of the timing. And have the right materials on hand).

My 24 include:

1. Make a holiday wreath with greenery from yard.
2. Make holiday cards for recovering soldiers.
3. Decorate our chalkboard with holiday pictures.
4. Make paper snowflakes for our patio door.
5. Make salt dough ornaments.
6. Make Christmas cards for family and friends.
7. Go caroling by telephone by calling family members and singing to them.
8. Donate canned goods to the local food pantry.
9. Make scarves out of fleece and donate them to local shelter.
10. Play holiday songs on the piano and have a sing-along.
11. Make gingerbread cookies and decorate.
12. Walk around the neighborhood at dusk and look at decorations.
13. Look at pictures of past holidays.
14. Have dinner by candlelight.
15. Have a holiday book read-a-thon.
16. Watch Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas or other seasonal video.
17. Learn about another winter holiday.
18. Make paper chains and paper cones to decorate house.
19. Make a holiday treat for animals (either our cats, birds and squirrels, or shelter animals).
20. Print covers of thank-you notes.
21. Learn about how other cultures celebrate Christmas.
22. Write a letter to Santa Claus.
23. Play "Christmas morning" and practice how to thank someone for a gift.
24. Read the Christmas story in the Bible and talk about how every child is special.

If you have any favorite holiday activities, please comment!

Brownies Years in Review

I was trying to think what we had done as Brownies this year, and I looked back and realized I didn't record last year, either.  So, here goes--a review of this year and last.  I must be forgetting some for 2012 or we just had a quieter year . . . . I'm not quite ready to plan next year, though I know there will be archery!

2013-14
Badges:

• Kitchen Scientist
• First Aid
• Cookie business--Give Back
• Girl Scout Way
• World Thinking Day
• Bridging to Juniors 

Field Trips:

• Aquarium overnight
• Corn Maze
• Frozen movie party
• Frozen singalong
• Ice Skating

Service:

• Birthday-in-a-bag
• Cookies-in-a-bag
• Pet food collection
• Singing at assisted living facility
• Fleece blankets for hospice patients
• Gifts of Caring cookie booth for soldiers

2012-13

Badges:

• Brownie Quest (4 badges total)
• Cookie business--Know My Customers
• Fair Play

Field Trips:

• horseback riding
• local dinner theater
• Disney on Ice
• Moms' day tea party
• swim party
• backyard night out

Service:

• Create and maintain colonial-inspired garden for historic house
• sing at assisted living facility
• books for Read to Grow
• scarves for community center coat closet

Let the Fall Fun Begin

Yesterday, we attended one of our favorite events, fall or otherwise:  our old church's annual harvest festival.  And we had a wonderful time.  There were dozens of vendors--so many fabulous crocheters, some lovely crafters, and great food.  We got a large embroidered cat cushion for the couch, a lovely dried flower arrangement for the front door, a stained glass starfish for our upstairs window, and some cute screen-printed cat shirts.  For lunch, we had empanadas, chicken fingers, plantains, and chocolate cheesecake.

And we saw so many church friends!  The kids said several people they didn't know came up and said, "You've gotten so big!"  It was 11 years ago at this event that we debuted the twins, over-dressed for the fall day, and introduced them to the church that had supported us so.  How time flies!  Our friends, who just had a baby about 2 months ago, similarly brought their newborn to the fair--also overdressed in a fleece bunny suit for the 69F day.  I think it must just be new parenthood.  But she was very sweet looking, just like ours were.

Good memories, good times.

There will be a whole bunch of fall fun in the coming weeks--and Gommie and Pop arrive this weekend!

Fall Fun Possibilities

1. Applepalooza (our family fall open house, with apple desserts)
2. Apple picking
3. Decorate a pumpkin
4. Make apple or pumpkin butter
5. Church in-gathering celebration--this was last weekend
6. Florence Griswold Museum Wee Faerie Village (the month of October)
7. Make faerie houses
8. School Open House
9. Gommie and Pop visit
10. Vermont vacation
11. Make a leaf pile
12. Make leaf roses
13. historic house fall tours
14. Go to Fantastic Beasts movie (November)
15. Trick or treat
16. Backyard fire with foil dinners and s'mores
17. Tent in the backyard
18. Prepare Halloween costumes
19. Boo gifts for friends
20. Amish Friendship bread
21. Brandied fruit--it's fermenting on the counter
22. Nature walk or bike ride
23. Kiddos go to Nature's Classroom
24. Mama goes to Celestial Navigation course
25. Girl Scout "mountain" hike and tree study
26. Kellogg's Olympic Gymnasts' tour
27. Installation of the new minister
28. Paint pinecones
29. Yarn!
30. Explore sourdough bread recipes
31. Vote
32. Make pies
33. Church Harvest festival--lovely time yesterday!
34. Get out mittens, hats, scarves, sweaters, etc.
35. Pull out quilts and blankets
36. Change fire alarm batteries

The Girls on Block Island

Mama and I just got back from a long weekend in Block Island, Rhode Island, our first visit to the summer resort.  Yes, we went on a very wintry weekend when most of the island was closed--and it was wonderful!  In fact, I'm not sure I'd like it in summer with 10-15,000 extra people at all.

Instead of strictly chronologically, I'll break it down by topics.

The Ferry
I've been on ferries before, but never had to back onto one where they squeeze the cars in so tightly that you have trouble getting out of the car!  It was a good thing Mama had that rearview camera!  We grabbed all of our winter gear, plus our sandwiches, and headed upstairs to the top deck.  The ferry from Port Judith to Block Island is much smaller than the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson ferry and rocked much more in the open water.  Good thing neither of us are prone to seasickness!  And luckily we had our heavy coats, hats, mittens, and scarves, with that wind chill.  But we loved the ride.  Especially because I spotted a seal in the harbor on the way over!  (We saw two on the way back!)  I've never seen seals in the wild.

The Inn
Most of the places to stay on the island are closed this time of year.  We stayed at the 1661 House (which dates, instead, to the late 19th-century), which overlooks the marshes and the ocean.  And our room had a wraparound porch taking it all in!  It was a great room and we spent a lot of time watching the light and sea changes.

The marsh from our room

Same view, different light

Sunrise from our room

View from breakfast

And another, on a different day

The Food
One of the challenges of a mostly-closed island was procuring meals.  Our hotel had hot breakfast every morning, with eggs to order, and a delicious grainy bread.  We stopped at the only grocery store when we arrived and picked up various snacks, including a tasty French lime-coconut soda, some cheese sticks, and those yummy Tate's chipless cookies.  We came back a time or two to pick up bread, cheeses, and chips for lunch.    But there were a few restaurants open.  We had an amazing dinner at Eli's the first night.  Warm goat cheese and arugula salad, tuna nachos, bread with sundried tomato-garlic pesto, a homemade gnocchi with fontina cheese sauce and broccoli, stuffed duck breast on mushroom bread pudding, incredible warm bittersweet chocolate bread pudding and milk chocolate custard, and a maple sugar cheesecake with plum compote and pecan streusel.    One day for lunch we ate at the little municipal airport--clam chowder, crabcakes (shockingly made with those fake crab sticks!!  But still good, Mama said.), and homemade wild blueberry pie--all with pilots landing and taking off and coming in for food.  We also got food from Channel Marker--another cheesy pasta with broccoli and also chicken, a stuffed flounder, a great harvest salad with apples, cranberries, and provolone in a lemony poppyseed dressing. More bread and butter.  Can't imagine we could have eaten better if all of the restaurants had been open!

The Birds
There were so many birds!   Once, from the porch, we saw Mr. and Mrs. Mallard fly right past us at eye level.  And they quacked--just like all those duck calls my dad has practiced all my life (even playing 45s . . . and duck calls first thing in the morning!)  Lots of sparrows and seagulls and something called a junco.  There were many birds we couldn't recognize.  Once, driving past the dunes, we slowed to watch a raptor in flight.  It wasn't one we knew, though--not a red-tail hawk--brown with a single white stripe across its tail feathers.  I looked it up online--perhaps a young Blackhawk who hasn't changed colors yet or a Northern Harrier??  Who knows.

Our best bird experience was Saturday night's owl banding expedition with the locals of the Nature Conservancy.  We met in the pitch black--at 7 pm!--under a dense blanket of stars, more than I've ever seen.  I even saw two shooting stars!  Several of us on the walk saw them, someone yelling out, "Super shooter!"  Scott, the master bird bander with 100,000 bands and tens of thousands of net hours, was focusing on Saw Whet owls, for Project Owlnet.  He'd put up nets and had been banding owls for 3 weeks, drawn by a recording of the Saw Whet call.  (I should say it was also because of Pop that I knew about banding birds, though he was on the retrieving end of duck and goose bands when I was a child.)  In just an hour, he had two when we arrived and caught a third while he banded the first two.  The owls themselves are tiny, about 6" long and just around 100 grams (one child thought he said pounds!), with huge eyes and even bigger ears completely hidden by their feathers.  They have special wing feathers and feathers on their legs so that they are silent--we could see them as they were released but couldn't hear them fly away at all.  I guess the mice can't hear them either.  The owls were very quiet and subdued, not visibly upset--we even got to stroke them.

We were one of about 40 people, probably the only off-islanders.  In fact, people kept recognizing us as not being from around there.  There was also some island humor--with repeated, "I didn't know there were this many people still here" and "The island is going to tilt with all of us standing here."  Everyone knew everyone, but us--such a small community (and we though our CT town was small!  This one is smaller than our elementary school community!)

The Wildlife
We saw other wildlife, mainly deer.  Big huge deer.  Not our skinny, probably starving CT deer.  We were driving island-slow and so saw several of them before they bounded off.

And then there were the alpacas!  At the farm across the street, there were alpacas, llamas, a zedonk (zebra-donkey hybrid), small horses, furry cows, an emu, and a yak.  The hair of many of these were used for yarn sold at the lovely North Light Fibers.  More on that in a bit.  We also got a tour from our innkeeper to see the animals who had been put away for the winter--three kangaroos, three lemurs, some kind of crane, and three rabbits including a Flemish giant.  The kangaroos were smaller that I expected and so soft.  I must admit to some ambivalence about wild animals in a small New England barn.  It's perhaps one thing to keep domesticated animals for shearing their fleece, but kangaroos and lemurs aren't domesticated and serve no other purpose besides entertaining visitors for profit.

The Landscape
Block Island has no natural harbor, but two were created by settlers after decimating the native Naragansetts (who went from 3,000 in number in 1700 to only 51 people 70 years later.)  There are cliffs (where the Naragansetts threw their enemy Mohegans after a battle) and also marshes.  Originally it was all forested, according to Verrazano's 16th-century diary,  but the settlers deforested it.  Now there are scrubby plants and trees.  And so many rock walls, demarcations of the farms that once covered the island.  I loved those rock walls, outlining those bumpy hills, and the scrubby hedges.  In fact, in a few ways, it reminded me of the English countryside.






I imagine the island is bright green and blue during the summer, with flowers and such, but in fall it was all steely blues, grays, and white, both from the typical Rhode Island gray-shingled houses and the leafless brush, watery skies, and wintry seas beyond.   And when I bought some alpaca super soft chunky yarn from the North Lights fiber people, I got it in those Block Island colors.

Block Island crochet project

I liked the cliffs less, not being so fond of heights.  At first, I crocheted in the car while Mama went to the outlook, but I eventually got up my courage to join her.  And it was amazing, in its way, even if it was the murder site of the Mohegans.  I particularly liked the view of the lighthouse in the distance.

The walk to the cliffs

The cliffs with the Southeast Light in the distance.

Cliffs again

Despite it being a beach place, we only really went to the beach once, for Mama to fly her kite.  There certainly was no shortage of wind.  While she flew her kite, I searched for sea glass and did find a few "mermaid's tears," as I've also heard them called.


The Lighthouses
Before even getting on the ferry, we visited the Point Judith Light, with its black and white daymark.  See, we love lighthouses.  We've visited them around the Great Lakes and in parts of Florida.  And now, after a brief interval for babies, we're starting to take in those of New England.    So the two lighthouses of Block Island were a definite attraction.  In fact, we watched sunset at each of them.  First, the double-gabled, brick Southeast Light near those cliffs, where we watched a glorious pink and mauve sunset on our first night.  Secondly, from further away across a pond, the North Light (for which we didn't traverse the sand to see up close.)  Both lights are lit at night, which is a marvelous sight.  We especially liked seeing the green glow of the first order Fresnel of the Southeast light at night so up close (it's not far from the main road.)  Architecture, maritime history, sometimes even women's studies (there were women lighthouse keepers, though not on Block Island as far as I know.)   We love lighthouses.

Southeast light at sunset

Watching the sunset from the lighthouse

North Light

North Light at sunset

The Labyrinth

Probably my favorite spot on Block Island was the labyrinth.  It was on a hill overlooking the North Light, accessible by climbing a stile over one of those great rock walls.  Mama and I walked the labyrinth on Saturday morning.  And it was a very special affair.  I've read about and walked a temporary labyrinth before (see here and here) but this was my first turf labyrinth.  I tried to clear my mind of preconceived notions of labyrinths:  all the metaphors for life--every walker walks it alone, even if there are others there; how you can't see where you are going necessarily, or how long it will take; it's a circle, a cycle, of life, not a straight line; everyone walks the path differently--some start in the middle, some walk in and walk out in reverse, there are slow and fast walkers, some even dance.  But all of those ideas, and more, came quite naturally.  And because it was a turf labyrinth--cut into the sod--some parts were wider, some narrower, some deeper, some flatter, some easier to walk than others, all with a sense of having been walked before.  There was a Buddha placed outside one edge, where previous walkers left trinkets such as notes, bracelets, and even, oddly, a toothbrush; I passed him several times back and forth.

As I walked, I repeated my metta meditation, "May all beings be safe, be happy, be healthy, live with ease," as I heard the nearby windchimes on a house, wind, birds, and some animal in the hedge.  My thoughts drifted  . . .and it came to me as I walked:  the point of the labyrinth isn't getting to the end, it's the walk itself.  And for me, the same could be said for a spiritual path in life--it doesn't so much matter what the answer at the end is, meaning the afterlife, but the fact that I consider such big questions and try to live according to my answers.  And for me, compassion, such as metta or hospice, is the key, even if I don't always manage to walk the walk, so to speak.

In the center was a pile of stones, with some water, and a few tokens.  I didn't have anything to leave and so just stood.  Mama had passed me earlier--we touched hands on a few passes--and was waiting for me there; she started back before I did.  Thinking on it, I imagined that motherhood was the center of my own labyrinth--I didn't know I was walking towards it, but now everything centers around it.

I took a few photos as I walked, people have been recording spiritual experiences for time out of mind so I didn't think of it as interrupting it.  You can see my shadow in a few of them.


I departed the labyrinth with a thank you in my heart, filled with big thoughts and emotions, which seem smaller and perhaps cliche typed in a post, but I felt them all quite sincerely; it was beautiful.  I sat in a comfortable chair, perused the notebook in the mailbox with other people's musings, and left my own simple one. Mama even left a trinket in the Geocache box there.

Final Thoughts
The island is small. Everyone knows everyone.  By name.  They even know each other's pets--we said we saw a yellow dog wandering at sunrise and the innkeeper said, "Oh, that's so-and-so's dog."  The hotel people own the yarn mill.  The waitress works with the Nature Conservancy guy, too.  And everyone seemed to be at the owl walk! Though we were only there three days, we ran into the same people several times.  And they remembered us.  One waitress greeted us at the grocery store, "Hi Girls!  Hope you're having a good morning."  I can see if we lived on an island, we would be "the girls," just as lesbian couples in small towns often seem to be in books.

Small can be good--no traffic lights, no traffic (at least not the other three seasons), no commutes.  No chains, little commercialism.  Lots of nature, a very direct connection to nature.  We wouldn't need to send sixth graders to "Nature's classroom" camp for a week if we lived there.  But, as one staff member told us, many families with high schoolers leave the island or ship them to boarding school for a more academic education.

Things are expensive (and I'm not even talking about the average $1.5 mil houses)--there's even a sign in the grocery store that costs have to reflect freight prices on the ferry.  And apparently electricity is very pricey.  Everything comes over on the ferry--constructions supplies, gasoline, even those kangaroos and lemurs.  Going back and forth across the ferry requires lots of advanced planning, since there are only about 25+ spots.  Unless there is a secret residents'-only number of spaces.  There is an urgent care clinic on the island, but no doctors or dentists that we saw.  I imagine locals must plan days on the mainland.  But Peapod does deliver via ferry!

Despite being very small and quite isolated, it was very urban and urbane  You can tell that the islanders are not isolated, are quite sophisticated, quite the opposite of a stereotypical small-town--even the opposite of our own CT town in many ways.

I loved being there--we had a wonderful restorative weekend--but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live there, though I can't completely pin down why (though I think lack of diversity--in class, race, sexual orientation, etc--might be a real factor.  Oh, and summer and tourists.)  But we can't wait to take the kids back.  And Gommie and Pop, who would love it.