Giving the Gift of Beauty

Maxwell Mays - artist, illustrator, and very nice man, lived in the same town as me.
He owned almost three hundred acres of woodland with some streams and a beautiful pond, Carr's Pond, named after the family who farmed the land over a hundred and fifty years ago. Mr. Mays was always generous with his talent, his time, and his extra-ordinary backyard, letting people walk through, or fish. Several years before his death in 2009 he deeded his property to the Audubon Society of RI. This month it opened. This day I went walking there with my two youngest. We hiked, drew pictures in our nature journal, got our feet wet, and went home tired. Lucky me, this is only about two miles from my house.

One of our hiking games is this
the kids give me a list of words or phrases
then I have ten minutes to write a poem,
So here it is

Barefeet in October



I like the kitchen in the little green house.
It's a cool place
with a fireplace and a dock
so we can hang our barefeet in the water.



the leaves are magic
color changing
reflecting in the pond
a wonderful warm Indian Summer
October Day



ssshhh! the wind in the trees
the motorcycles miles away
the splash of barefeet
how can the water be so warm
so late
fall forgot the clouds and the cold



there's even an outhouse at the edge of the wood
like the one in New Hampshire when I was a kid
splashing my feet in the water
on a different dock
on a different day
just like this one.



What a gift to have lived a life making art, sharing beauty,
then finding a way to continue that after death.



They'll grow up mindful of the beauty around them.
Thank You Maxwell Mays

A boy, an Anniversary, and a Poem to Remember September by.

On September 11, 2001, I was at my mom's house cleaning out mine and my brothers old rooms, fixing them up for my son Gabe and I. We had been living with my mom for over a year by then, it just took me that long to accept my relationship with his dad was truly over and this was home. I was tiptoeing around the detritus of childhood that my brothers and I had left in the basement of mom and dad's. The day before I had stepped on a fishing hook, which embedded itself in my big toe, one stitch, one afternoon at the ER, and one Tetanus shot later I was back to cleaning. Gabe was helping in the way that a three year old helps, looking forward to a new room painted the apple green he had picked out - and looking forward most of all to the big boy bed we had put on lay-away the week before.

My mom yelled, "come here, you have to see this." in the sort of tone that conveys urgency and disbelief. She was watching the Today show, like we always did, and a plane had just flown into the World Trade Center. Seemingly by accident, but no, minutes later we all knew it was no accident. I sat like so many other people that day in fear and worry, wondering if anyone I knew had been hurt or killed. Fortunately not. To this day I wonder about a NYC fireman I had met on the way home from vacation a few weeks earlier, he was behind me in line at a Dunkin' Donuts in Massachusetts, a long line, the poor girl at the counter was having one of those days where everything that can go wrong does. He had the whole store in stitches, funny, outgoing guy, he diffused the grumpiness with a couple of one liners that I've long since forgotten. I never knew his name, I hope he is alive and well somerwhere making someone else smile on their bad day.

In the weeks that followed I watched my little boy build towers out of whatever toys he had at hand and knock them down. He learned the words to God Bless America and would sing it everywhere we went. He remembered the victims in his prayers and I struggled to answer the far too grown up questions about why people would do such a thing. Questions that segued into questions about war as he watched his cousin get ready to go to Iraq the following year. Ten years later he still has a lot of questions.

I hadn't thought he was paying attention to the anniversary, my teenager, who's just taller than me. I assumed his thoughts were occupied by more boyish pursuits, like eighth grade, girls, and video games. I was wrong, and once again I'm surprised and pleased by the compassion and depth of feeling he possesses for the world around him.

These are his words, his remembrance, and I send it out to world. A few days late on my part, but no less heartfelt for that:


To those who were lost this mourning day;
I'll take a moment to stand and say,
Your lives were certainly not lost in vain,
... Not even leaving eternal pain,
The towers fell across New York's face,
... Smoke and rubble all over the place,
but the lives that were lost, remember me,
We'll never forget the lives of thee.
9/11/11.

Gabe 9/11/11

Big waves

oooohsplash, originally uploaded by marcydebbie.

Big waves are a treat, well as long as they are only so big. I spent today at the beach with my mom, listening to the unusually big surf pound the shore, eating seafood for lunch, and enjoying the rare opportunity of going out for a few hours without any kids. Relaxing until the end, when I realized that no one would be home to open the door for the kids when they got off the bus (when my sister Steph was alive she was always home with a caregiver, she was too fragile to go out) We still haven't gotten used to an occasionally empty house. Luckily the kids were able to take a bus to my friends house, the day was saved. I have the best friends, and the best mom. It was a treat to be able to spend a day together.

big surf

rockersplash, originally uploaded by marcydebbie.

this rock is about twelve feet tall and this is low tide!
Last night my son and I were standing about ten feet higher than this rock on the edge of the bluff watching the tide come in. We don't get surf like this very often in Rhode Island, rarely enough that it's an event worth making time for. We spent about an hour sitting enjoying the sight and sound. A long, low rumble that you could feel in your chest and had to yell over to carry on any kind of conversation. A few minutes after this picture the park ranger came by to tell us the park was closing, just after we got into our car a wave came up and splashed the spot were we where standing. An evening well spent.

Point Judith Light

Point Judith Light, originally uploaded by marcydebbie.

Big surf last night and today thanks to Katia, a beautiful day at the beach with my mom. And time to play with the new flikr photo toys

the new school bag

the new school bag, originally uploaded by marcydebbie.

the new school bag made from her big brothers old shirt....and some ribbon. couldn't be easier, I just traced a shopping tote with soap (great for marking darks) cut out the front and back of the shirt, sewed them along the sides and bottom, took a strip from the bottom of the shirt and sewed it around the top on the inside to reinforce (folding it over would have cut off the design).
used screaming bright pink rock n roll gross grain ribbon around the top and for handles....added buttons for decoration and to give a bit more staying power to the handles.

New school bag

New school bag, originally uploaded by marcydebbie.

Irene, rainboots, Harry Potter. What happens when the lights go out.

Luckily we didn't have any real storm damage from Irene. We are at the end of day three without electricity, but the internet is back. All in all being unplugged hasn't been so bad. We have a small generator to take care of our well and fridge.
Cooking in an electric tea kettle for seven is getting a bit old, as are sandwiches, but given what our neighbors in Vermont are dealing with it's not even much of an inconvenience.
Plus the puddles are great.



Sadly the sunflowers at the farm down the road didn't make it.



We've had plenty of time for reading and crafting, it's all about Harry Potter at the moment, and bracelets inspired by...
Here's Severus Snape, because it is a love story after all.



Go Go Gryffindor...



and of course, Dumbledore.



And Slytherin too.



Wrist sized tributes to Harry, Hermione, and Ron are in the works.
At least until the lights come on.

I've been knitting as well, in semi-darkness. A very Mrs. Weasly type bag.
It's been a good way to end the summer.
The kids really think so, what better way to start off the school year than to have the first few days cancelled.
Especially since that leaves time for naps...

What goes around goes around....and goes around again

This summer has had few bright spots.
This place has become our retreat from everything worrisome,




Because for seventy-five cents you get anticipation like this...



and determination like this, the girl who finally caught a ring!!!



not to mention birthday joy for a birthday boy



and his sister too



There's time for one more trip before the first day of school, whatever else they remember about this summer with all of it's sadness and worry, they'll remember our weekly trip to the park, our picnics and walks on the beach, and most of all the carousel.

The Girl Who Waited

The Girl Who Waited, originally uploaded by marcydebbie.

Amelia Pond and the TARDIS waiting to travel through space and time with Nellie