Thanks!

In honor of my grandmother, the 94-year-old wonder woman for whom I am named, Justin and I picked up an old sewing table at Circle Thrift, found the drawers on eBay, and some knobs at Anthropologie. Justin peeled off the veneer and refinished our find.

And to practice using a pattern, I made a stuffed cat and a bunny. I made a ton of mistakes with these projects, usually involving holes on the seams, but I learned a lot. I loved the magic of turning the animals inside out and filling them with stuffing; the magic of seeing flat pieces of cloth transformed into two small toys for our future kids.

A bunch of us went up for a women’s weekend in New Hampshire. Our friend Caren hosted us at their beautiful little farm. We sat in front of the fire and talked about many things including children, Mother God, atonement, blogging, photography, sustainability, bread making…you get the idea. We also were able to take walks in the snow. Our trip confirmed how much I love New England and snowy little farms.

We were only about half an hour away from Concord, NH where Gene Robinson is the bishop. I’ve listened to him a couple times on NPR and, after being so close to his bishop-dom, I decided to pick up his book, In the Eye of the Storm. I’m only a little bit into it, but I love this man’s theology. I might even have a slight crush on him

The next weekend, Justin threw me the most perfect birthday party ever. The living room was cleared out and most of the dining room so that our friend’s band and our other friends Zach and Levi could set up for a night of great music. Controlled Storms played first – I’ve only heard them play once before and was so glad to have them at our house. Zach’s songs were the perfect nightcap to a great party. The best part: all of my friends in one place, including ones I don’t see that often.

Justin and I went to see A Streetcar Named Desire this past weekend. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I’m still not sure what I think about it. I loved seeing it, but it’s not exactly upbeat. It’s the first Tennessee Williams play I’ve seen and it surpassed my expectations. After the play, we went to Naked Chocolate Cafe for dessert. They make amazing chocolates and serve their hot chocolate European style. Theater and chocolate = a pretty good date.

This weekend, our friend Chelsea moved into our teeny tiny sewing room. She built a loft and was able to fit her great shelving staircase into a room that’s smaller than our dining room rug. And while I’ll miss the space that would have eventually become my personal sanctuary, I’m so glad that she’s living in our house now. That makes four adults, one small orange cat and one small hunting dog living under our roof. And sometimes Linnia, the small one I take care of.

Four years later, about 879 Palestinians have been killed in 16 days.  More than a million need emergency services.   So while I was reading some Amichai this morning (the Israeli poet), I came across a poem that I wanted to post as a remembrance to those in Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and all the other innocents suffering at the hands of war.

Wildpeace

Yehuda Amichai

Not the peace of a cease-fire

not even the vision of the wolf and the lamb,

but rather

as in the heart when the excitement is over

and you can talk only about a great weariness.

I know that I know how to kill, that makes me an adult.

And my son plays with a toy gun that knows

how to open and close its eyes and say Mama.

A peace

without the big noise of beating swords into ploughshares,

without words, without

the thud of the heavy rubber stamp: let it be

light, floating, like lazy white foam.

A little rest for the wounds – who speaks of healing?

(And the howl of the orphans is passed from one generation

to the next, as in a relay race:

the baton never falls.)

Let it come

like wildflowers,

suddenly, because the field

must have it: wildpeace.

*this is by Banksy. he’s done amazing artwork on the wall in the West Bank (and in other places). check him out.

FOUR A.M.

The hour between night and day.

The hour between toss and turn.

The hour of thirty-year olds.

The hour swept clean for roosters’ crowing.

The hour when the earth takes back its warm embrace.

The hour of cool drafts from extinguished stars.

The hour of do-we-vanish-too-without-a-trace.

Empty hour.

Hollow. Vain.

Rock bottom of all the other hours.

No one feels fine at four a.m.

If ants feel fine at four a.m.,

we’re happy for the ants. And let five a.m. come

if we’ve got to go on living.

By: Wislawa Szymborska, possibly my favorite poet

Sweet Dreams!

This is one of my favorite beach poems:

You’re like a little wild thing

that was never sent to school.

Sit, I say, and you jump up.

Come, I say, and you go galloping down the sand

to the nearest dead fish

with which you perfume your sweet neck.

It is summer.

How many summers does a little dog have?

Run, run, Percy.

This is our school.

- “Percy (6)” by Mary Oliver, from Thirst

Next Thursday I leave for Amman, Jordan. I can’t wait! It will be great to be back in the Middle East and visit a new country. I’m excited about meeting new people and learning more about conflict resolution through the workshop. I have a friend Sarah who lives in Amman so hopefully I’ll get to hang out with her. After the workshop, I’m going to Petra with the other two people from Philly. I’m glad that I’ll know a couple people on the trip.

Last weekend, I assisted in my first birth as a doula. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. J. and T. were both amazing through J.’s long labor. J. went into labor friday night/ sat. morning and went into active labor Sun. night. Once we got to the birth center, J. progressed quickly. She did great breathing and concentrating on bringing her baby into the world. Her husband was a rock star the whole time – very encouraging and supportive. Seeing H. born was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen.

Here are some pictures from July:

leggy stems struggle

thirsty for light,

drowning in water,

longing for red, plump juiciness

to weigh down their vines -

somewhere out there

past the curtains,

the pane of glass,

finally rooted in dirt

deeper than my arm.

On Monday, my regular summer began. I took Bandit to the dog park, went to the coffee shop, and topped the day off swimming. All around the city there are community pools. The two closest to us both have adult swim from 5-7. It’s nice to be able to go swim some laps with just a few other people in the water. Aside from occasional beach trips, I haven’t been swimming in a couple years. This means that I’m really out of shape.

I’ve also changed jobs. I’ve started nannying for a little girl in Mt. Airy a couple days a week. She is an adorable guatemalan baby. I like her. And I am working on getting 2-3 births a month as a Doula. I have my first birth coming up at the end of July and I am so excited about it. Tonight I get to meet with the family.

The loves of my life: Bandit and Justin