"Where's the Mommy?"

     We recently hosted a young guest for a few hours.  He had fallen asleep on the way to our house, and woke as his mother was gently placing him on a bed.  He was understandably upset, and reluctant at first to come to my arms instead.  But he was soon soothed as he watched me fix what turned out to be the same kind of dinner he had just eaten, and calmly took his place at our table.

     Some squabbling among the boys during dinner disturbed his equilibrium, however.  After the meal, he tearfully asked to follow the boys outside to play.  I found him a jacket and tried to deliver him to Dandelionslayer's side, but the child would not allow me to retreat to the dishwasher.  He wanted me to stay near him.  Eventually he became involved in the Frisbee tossing, and I managed to slip away.  But when everyone came inside again, he began to ask a question fretfully.  Something about Mommy.  "She's not here; she'll be back soon," the boys assured him.  But that was not quite what he was asking.

     "Where's the mommy?" the toddler repeated.

     He needed to see me again.  He knew his own mother was not available, but that there was another mommy who could comfort him for the time being.

     Children can recognize someone with a "mother heart," as Julie B. Beck put it.  Someone who can comfort and nurture.  Someone who will wipe their tears, or other spills.  Someone they can trust. 

     Our Father in Heaven has sent us to this earth in various situations.  My mother was the best for me, of course, and I'm trying to be the best mother for my children.  But caring is not restricted to literal mothers.  I am grateful for the grandmothers, aunts, teachers, and friends who help my boys feel safe and loved, and who guide me along, too.

     Today I salute all the mommies!  Thank you for your loving service.

Rollo is Eight!

And it has been great. 

He was so excited about his birthday that he was the first to wake up that morning, bright and early.

Consequently, he fell fast asleep in the car on the way to his first Wolf den meeting.  But he bravely woke up and joined the party.

And he was still awake enough to open gifts, after everyone else was home from baseball and Scouts.

He enjoyed the lemon-flavored figure-8 race track cake that he requested.

Since Rollo has an almost-Easter birthday, Grandma and Grandpa G came for some egg-dying,

story-reading,

and project-building.

Ahoy!

Best of all, Rollo chose to be baptized

into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We couldn't be more pleased. 

He is a wonderful boy, and we're so happy that he is in our family!

Stash to Treasure: Ballgame Baby Blanket

'Tis springtime, and my thoughts turn to...

...baby showers!  Well, I haven't been invited to any yet, but some local friends are having babies this year, so it's a possibility.  Anyway, I enjoyed making this little blanket with heart-warming pajama flannel from my stash.  I consulted these instructions from Cluck Cluck Sew for constructing the blocks.  Connecting unfaded red flannel with white was risky, of course.  But I countered the risk with Shout Color Catcher sheets.  I washed the blanket four times, with a new sheet each time.  The sheets turned progressively less pink, until the last was not pink at all.  The bleeding was contained to a few small pink spots on the back near some of the ties.  That's nearly miraculous, in my book.

I hope this will keep a future baseball player (or popcorn eater, at least) cozy and warm!

Our Fabulous Island Getaway!

When spring break arrived last week, we desperately needed a change of scenery.  So we took a cruise to a foreign island, full of lush foliage and breathtaking views.  We stayed in an all-inclusive cottage in a waterfront resort with exhilarating recreational opportunities.  We sampled local cuisine, served by smiling island girls.

Does this sound too good to be true?

Perhaps I should clarify.

On Wednesday we arrived on the good ship MV Coho. 

It is a spacious vessel, with room for many passengers,

and their vehicles. 

De plane!  De plane!

The cottage was all-inclusive because it had beds for all six of us, in one unit, for a decent price.  Such can be difficult to find, you know.  And it was comfortable.

The Riverside Resort (Motel and Campground) perches on the banks of the Little Qualicum River.

It boasts a water slide and a miniature golf course, which looked pretty fun.  Naturally, they were closed for the season.  But the boys had a surprisingly good time on this playground.

The foliage was lush, but not exactly tropical.

And the island girls who served us pizza and fish and chips were blond.

That's right.  In our search for spring, we traveled to
Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
We did need our passports!

Our first stop was the town museum in Sidney-by-the-Sea.  It was no Legoland, but the special Lego displays inspired awe and covetousness.  The local history was also interesting.  D2 paid special attention to the model train that was being repaired, and there was a great Buster Keaton movie playing continuously.

Then we drove further north.  Here we look over the Saanich Inlet toward Sidney and the eastern Gulf Islands, from the beautiful Malahat Drive.

We stayed in a town called Qualicum Beach, which seems to be mostly populated by seagulls at this time of year.  Brant geese were supposed to be passing through, but we didn't see any.  Which is just as well.

Scoot would have considered them to be good targets. 

The boys spent a happy hour or two on the beach, throwing rocks. 

(Yes, this is the real beach.  The paradisiacal scene at the top of this post was a picture hanging on the wall of our luxury cottage.)

On Thursday, the sun came out, and we set off to explore.  We found our way to Petroglyph Park, encircled by the suburbs of Nanaimo.  The park preserves carvings left by First Nation artists, or shamans, or bored teenagers--it's hard to tell what they intended.  First, well, after you climb some rocks, you find some concrete casts, copies of the petroglyphs for those who like to touch things.  I think they have been touched, a lot, since I really couldn't see much shape in them.  I began to doubt that the actual petroglyphs would be much to look at.

I was wrong.  Enhanced by the native moss, the collection was easy to see, and quite impressive.  The signs identified many of these figures as mystic sea-wolves.

But even I can tell this is a flounder. 

Something for the sea-wolves to eat, I guess.

We went into Nanaimo for a picnic (and more running around)

in this harbor park.

Just up the hill was the Bastion, the oldest surviving building from Nanaimo's coal-mining days.  It is not large, but apparently provided refuge for up to fifty people from time to time.

The Bastion never participated in a pitched battle,

but it is important to be prepared.

We headed inland, where we found that the Little Qualicum River, which flows so placidly next to our resort, is a bit more turbulent upstream.

The water falls in a minty-fresh froth of white and green,

tumbles around a bend,

pauses for reflection, then tumbles down again.

The easy trail follows the fenced cliff closely, crosses a bridge, and heads up the other side for another view.

My treasure at the end of the rainbow.

The river was just gorgeous.

Friday dawned rainily, and it was time to head home again. 

On the way we stopped at Milner Gardens to enjoy more springlike foliage,

and review our identification of native plants.

We also visited the farmyard and sampled the dairy delights of the Little Qualicum Cheeseworks.

And then we hurried back to Victoria to catch the ferry home.

So, the island was neither very distant nor very exotic, but it was beautiful.  And our brief spring break there was refreshing.

Tsukimi

Calligraphy from KanjiStyle.com

     Did you see the supermoon last night?  Yesterday morning I read that the moon would rise in perigee-syzygy, or a full moon, closer than usual.  The morning was clear, but you can't depend on good weather to hold around here.  "Clear sky at morning, pack your umbrella," the natives ought to say, except that no one uses umbrellas.  Anyway, after a busy day I was driving Scoot home from a party, and saw a large copper disk rising over the trees.  At home I bustled everyone into the van and we headed for Waterfront Park. 

     By the time we arrived, of course, the moon had disappeared behind some clouds.  Another family, there to see the moon, was tossing glow-sticks around the playground.  We went down to the narrow strip of beach that the ebbing tide had uncovered, and watched the bright spot in the clouds.  Soon our patience was rewarded.  The moon emerged again, full and still somewhat yellow.

     It cast a strangely curved reflection in the fairly still inlet.  I know, in the photo the moon looks wobbly, too.  I neglected to take a tripod.  But the reflection really was long and curved, appropriate for the Full Worm Moon.  Such is a name for the last full moon of winter.  Rise and shout, the worms are out!  (Cougars, too!)
     In the grand tradition of moon-viewing in Japan, I invited everyone to write a poem.  Three boys declined the invitation.  Dandelionslayer didn't really mean to participate, I think, but he could not resist the muse:

yellow eye rising

it holds the world in its gaze

what the heck is it?

     The Caterpillar started small, but could not resist composing an epic:

See the white orb rise

watch the reflection curving

largest I have seen

Giant glowing satellite

hanging like a sky-borne lamp

Seeing brothers play

moving 'round in Luna's light

running 'cross the beach

Hear the crunching of the shells

enticing children to run

Now I sadly leave

going back to our dwelling

packed into the van

Sadly now I must go home

saying farewell to our Moon.

     It's more of a solo renga, actually.  It contains the three moon references required for kasen, but he didn't know he was supposed to include two references to flowers.  So I have supplied them pictorially. 

     Speaking of the brothers, they had a great time running around and picking up beach souvenirs.  I caught Rollo once and made him hold still long enough to hear the frogs singing near the creek.  With that much nature calling on one night, it was no surprise that another urge hit him before we packed up.  Dandelionslayer was inspired, once again, with the success of Rollo's quest for relief:

gazing at stars

the restroom is found unlocked

miracles are real

Amigurumi for Africa

     My friend, Lisa, is on the board of directors of the Eternal Hope Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Her love for these children is awe-inspiring. Recently she requested donations of small stuffed animals. It seemed like a great opportunity to use some of the amigurumi patterns I have been collecting, so I sat down and started to crochet. By the time I had finished a few, Lisa's suitcase was already full of other contributions. I would still like to use the toys to benefit the orphans, so I will auction them off.  All proceeds will be used to improve the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the orphans.  Please see my Amigurumi for Africa posts on my other blog!

Maybe Spring will come

I've been waiting so long for winter to really arrive that I've forgotten to anticipate spring.  The gray, rainy days flow on . . . will it really snow this time?  (It did, twice I think, twice more than last winter, but still . . .)

Last Monday, though, the sun came out, and I came out, too.  I found that the garden has not forgotten.  It is time to make my plans for it, almost time to set up my seed nursery again.  Maybe spring will really come.  Maybe even summer, but it's too soon to think about that.

In the meantime, can you name these sprouts?

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

What is coming up for you?

Answers: A. Iris   B. The pink ones are peonies 

C. I didn't think I'd see the rhubarb again 

D. Garlic   E. Weeds, the true sign of spring!