Harvest

Sugar Pumpkin
Originally uploaded by Piece Mama

I'm getting ready for our Thanksgiving celebration by preparing our menu plan and grocery list. I open our pantry and peer inside to see what we have and what we need. I've been tired, so I wasn't looking forward to what sometimes feels like a grab and pull attitude at the market.

So, I readied my detailed list and drove past the juniper trees, around a bend, and into the lot of my favorite, local small-town market. I fastened my littlest son into the cart and placed his special beaver friend next to him. My cloth bags went on the bottom rack of the cart. I hitched up my worn jeans and rewrapped my scarf that was slipping untied as a wisp of wind pulled at its coil. Taking a big breath, I pushed the cart inside. I so hoped my focus would be meditative; my thoughts simplified to its purist intent: to feed and nourish my family. Gliding between the produce stands, I silently give thanks to God for the land that bears these fruits (& vegetables). Sustenance. I absorb the smells and the colors of the season.

Casting my eyes away, I catch a glimpse of some of the shoppers. I see smiles. Genuine expressions. People standing side-by-side look over the market's wares with thought and appreciation. We're on the same journey. Conversations, laughter, and kind words were shared. Gazing at my list, it went from items to check off to words that told a story, one of thanksgiving and family and togetherness.

When I left this store, I didn't see gluttony or selfishness. I saw a humbleness for the things we have. Carts was not overloaded. Instead, I saw items inside that were carefully hand-chosen for loved ones. Our conscience was of harmony. Peering into our cart, I smiled. It contained life. It contained tradition. It contained thankfulness.

Changing Seasons

Peering out the window, I see bits of snowflakes tangling with the rain.  Colors in the trees are fading and going into dormancy.  Our apple tree, with its one leaf waving its sunshine-colored flag, reminds me of a sweet autumn story called, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves.  The story shows a little fox struggling to hold onto the falling leaves, not fully understanding that these breezes that blow are also the ones that are whispering the winds of winter.  I stare at my almost bare tree.  Her branches are a deep rust-colored brown.  There's one lone leaf left shivering, trying to hold on.  I find myself wanting to be like Fletcher and rush out to rescue it.  But I know soon this leaf, too, will fall, gently and quietly, unto the base of the tree to blanket and warm.  It's part of the seasonal change.  Winter is upon us.  It's chilly.  It's time to snuggle under a quilt and read a good book together.

Creativity's afoot...

Shoe train
Originally uploaded by Piece Mama

We've all heard of a shoe tree... well my 2 year old son created a shoe train. It's amazing when we can step back (pun intended) to see our kids problem solve or create art using everyday objects. So many times I am reminded to simply look at things simply. I look at each shoe that was placed heel to toe flowing in the same direction, through curves and bends. My son's shoes are placed before ours, following a trail to new adventures, led by a child's creativity. Shoes of rest (slippers) are mixed with shoes of work and shoes of leisure... it's a good reminder to try to keep grounded, go with the flow, and mix fun and work during the day to make sure it'll start on the right foot.

Beginning a scarf...

Skein
Originally uploaded by Piece Mama

I must have looked a little odd at the store holding up different skeins to my neck to see how soft they felt. My son has been asking me to make him a scarf like mine. He loves things that wrap around him and give him a cozy feel, but he's very sensitive to textures due to his SPD, so I searched and searched until I found just the right feel of yarn. He loves fish and the color green, so I found this happy, soft yarn with ripples of the blue ocean mixed with green seaweed and yellow castings from the sun as red fish dart from the surface to the depths of the sea... at least that's what the skein spoke to me.

Cider

Cider
Originally uploaded by Piece Mama

A chill has definitely set in the air. This is one of my favorite tea pots. I love that I can keep the tea or cider warm by lighting a candle.  I was lighting the candle underneath when my youngest daughter asked if someone was coming to visit (lol). I guess it's a good reminder that as nice as it is in having a friend over, it's also good to bring out some favorite dishes and settle in a comfy chair to read or gaze out the window in quiet reflection. Rest and renewal.

Autumn Trees

IMG_0272
Originally uploaded by Piece Mama

As I was gazing up at this tree when taking the boys to the park before we began our homeschooling for the day, I so appreciated the colors and the transparency of the leaves. I wanted to capture their essence before the leaves fell. Autumn's my favorite season, perhaps due to the brilliant colors and the cool breezes and the sounds of the leaves shivering, causing us all to cozy up with one another a bit more. In honor of starting my blog, I found a poem by Joyce Kilmer, called Trees.

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Enjoy the fleeting color whilst you have it, before the coming snow blankets. I hear the distant chimes swinging in the branches outside my window. Soon, I will warm up a pot of apple cider...