A Mindful Life

I’m feeling quieter and quieter on the blog these days. It’s probably evident to anyone who regularly reads it. My hands are busy with knitting, my days are full with activity. We went to the zoo on Sunday; each time we go Claire is more entranced. My mother-in-law is visiting in early September, and my [...]

I’ve been knitting and felting and knitting and… I had one small ball of yarn (71 yards) that turned out a cute little scarf for Claire, and I am working through remnants of past knitting projects making felted bowls. Claire enjoys using them to hold her play food. Here are some photos of my industriousness.

We take walks less frequently these days, because the novelty has worn off for Claire, but today was a lovely day for a trek around the block. On the way home my eye spotted this perfect tiny bird egg lying on the ground. I gently pocketed it with a hope to get home without crushing [...]

I woke feeling lazy, lazy, lazy. However, it is not yet noon and I have managed to vacuum and clean the entire house, get a pork roast started in the crock pot (for pulled pork), and finish knitting and felt two bowls from old stash yarn. I guess the bowls might become gifts… or maybe [...]

Claire and I were walking the other day, and I spotted this small nest upside down on a bush. There were no eggs nearby, so I think it was abandoned and had fallen. I scooped it up, marveling at the industry evident in the construction. It’s a small nest, no larger than 3 inches in [...]

Claire turned 22 months old on the 8th. Each day there is more expression, more knowledge. Watching consciousness bloom is a marvelous thing. Lately she is attracted to the sounds of certain phrases in her story books: “Roo drooped.” “Everyone gasped.” “The bees are suspicious.” “The snow’s so deep.” She loves to make “mouth noises” [...]

I wish I knew where my equanimity wandered off to. I am restless tonight! I went out to be social at the yarn store, but I forgot my essentials, so I had nothing to knit, and I felt out of sync with the conversations there. I was welcomed, to be sure, but it’s been so [...]

When this was finished, I thought it surely was too big for Claire (I’d tried to make it a bit bigger than her last one so it has room for growth). Well, it does fit (i.e., it’s not too big)! And it still has a little room. I’m pleased with the outcome, and now maybe [...]

A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, Do it again; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not [...]

Happy 4th! I live near Santa Clara Central Park, so instead of wading through crowds, we watched the fireworks from our home.