my new blog home

Dear Friends,
I’ve found a new home.
Feel free to drop in anytime.
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Warmly,
Gina

a new season – a new space

When I wrote my last post, I had no intention of it being the last one for such a very long season. I honestly can not even explain my lengthy absence from this space other than to say that life got the best of me (in a very good way) and I’ve spent the past months living more and blogging less. I know many of you can relate. Seasons – especially with little ones underfoot – change without warning and one day I just woke up and found myself doing other things that needed doing and there you have it. But I do apologize for disappearing altogether. Week after week I meant to pop in and never did. I beg your pardon.

Much has changed since our last chat. Mainly, she has changed. My brown-eyed little wren is quickly blossoming from a roly-poly toddler into a lanky preschooler with more questions than I’ve got answers. Our days are taking on a more structured form, necessarily, and it’s been a fairly smooth transition into her own active exploration of this great wide world. I spend a great deal of time searching out our next adventure among your pages, pictures, and words. Thankfully there is a wealth of help for a bumbling mother who has forgotten how to play in the dirt and catch crickets and I need fresh eyes to see all that lies just beyond the front step. And while I don’t have time for meandering words on this wide open white space, I am finding it helpful to catalog my findings by making little lists between catching critters and snuggling with good books…ever so small collections of ideas for exploration. The new space is a bit minimalistic. Clean and simplistic. Just the bare necessities. Most of the lists will contain only three items for consideration, although there will be many lists filed under each heading. Gathered bits of goodness, sized for little people. If you find it to be a helpful resource, I’ll hope you’ll visit and submit your own suggestions. Tapping the collective wisdom of so many is a gift. Thank you for your inspiration.

matching merry men

MATERIALS
colored markers
wooden clothes pin pegs
bowl (be sure the pins will fit on the width of the rim)
white stickers

We’ve had so much fun with this little game and it has gotten us through more than one wait at a restaurant. Match the numbers/colors of the men to the numbers/colors of the stickers on the bowl. This requires some coordination as well since the pegs have to be turned “just so” to slide them onto the rim. I have seen this done with regular clothes pins (the sort with metal springs) but this kind is much more of a challenge for her.