Learning about the structure of web design, the basics of html and css, the strategies behind SEO…that was easy compared to actually sitting down and composing an entire page about my own sweet self.  How do I provide all the information without sounding like an egotistical ass?  How do I keep it interesting?

What do you actually want to know about me?

There is a lot that has shaped my life:  where I’ve lived, my family, poverty, Montana, the principles of Buddhism, lots of therapy…not to mention art and craft and math and science.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be using the blog here to figure out what to put on my final Bio page for the website.  I’ve got a good grasp on the code, the colors have been chosen, the fonts and styles and links and puzzle bits are all hammered out.

Now it’s time for the hard part.

What’s your approach on the dreaded “About Me” page?  Any words of wisdom?

The globe lamp.  This hung at my grandparents house, suspended from a wooden wall attachment that my grandfather made decades ago.  When we would spend summers in Butte with them, the glowing orb served as a night light as we slept.

We lived in Idaho then.  Challis.  A mining town that is now inhabited by ghosts and a stubborn few.

My grandfather worked for Westinghouse, an electrical parts supplier to the Anaconda mine.  (You may have heard of their refrigerators and dishwashers.)  Since he was in sales, he often received bonuses or incentives and according to my mom, this lamp was one of those incentives.

It’s been around for awhile.  My mother was small when he brought it home and Germany was still one country.  And then it split.  And now it’s one again.

It has always hung right above my bed, connecting me to my grandparents even when we lived far away from each other.

Antarctica has become very familiar over the years.  I’ve watched our world evolve and shift, changing names and faces but retaining the same basic structure.

This simple glow of blue mesmerizes anyone who sees it.  Instantly.

…lessons in geography and history and letting things change.

And I’m pretty sure I should move it up a little higher for awhile.

This reminded me that I have not shared any of the pictures of our trip to Arizona (which was, um three months ago), but the good news is that I have since learned how to make really cool collages.  So this is a tiny shotgun view of how we travel and it”s pretty much a microcosm of how I view my business as well:

Happy business planning!

Last night as I was finalizing the recipe for the no-name tea, I tried a couple more combinations and just let loose.  In a flurry of flowers and herbs, I created five ~ yes, FIVE ~ new blends of signature teas.

I was moving from inspiration, thinking of friends and family from all walks of life.  With my hand on the warm and vibrant pulse of the creative muse, I let go of expectation and simply opened the jars.

My mind’s eye gravitated to my gypsy tribe ~ firedancers, hoopers, designers, witches, bellydancers, seamstresses, djs, painters, masters of clay…I hold them all with me daily thanks to the wonders of modern technology.  Before the kids, we used to actually see these friends at shows and festivals and gatherings.  Though everything is far away from Montana, we used to hit the road with  whatever money we could scrape together, a ticket in hand, and a long drive ahead, ready to give our work-weary bones a stretch.

Though we love to travel, our destination is generally a place where we can shake it down and get our freak on–something that we haven’t been able to do in the last few summers of baby-pregnant-baby.  Well, the hormones are shifting back onto the regular gridline and this girl’s ready to rumble.  Ready to make my mama life and my music-lovin’-free-spirit-flyin’ colorguard mesh into one complete world.  I have to give technology some pretty serious credit though–thanks to the communities I’ve been able to join and create online, my outside tribe stays close to my heart all the time.

The Grateful Dead song Terrapin Station includes the words “Inspiration, Move Me Brightly” and it’s a popular phrase among my stitching sisters online.  We use it in moments of funky exasperation, in times of creative clarity, and in those instances when we need to hear a word of support from those who understand how our shoes fit.  When this phrase pops up in a status update, a choir of cheers and encouragement usually rises up right along with it–blowing the hinges off of the creative doors and freeing up all the good energy on which our creative visions thrive.

Asking the muse to take you by the hand and lead you to a place of higher consciousness, a world within where the light resonates with love and joy.

In deepest gratitude to my muse and my tribe, here at home and out there in all of the corners of the earth and beyond, I present:

Move Me Brightly.

A highly sensual blend of fine organically grown ingredients, including:  white tea, lavender, rosebuds, catnip, and peppermint.  Just a bit of caffeine to push you through the rest of the day (15 mg), but not so much that it makes you twittery.  A smell so intoxicating, your senses will rise into a moment of mystery and gentle grace with ease.

Move Me Brightly ~ for the mamas, the sistren, the inspired.  I offer this blend of Mother Nature’s finest to you in humble gratitude for so generously and continuously sharing your visions of peace and beauty.  Thank you.

The giveaway is still open through the end of today, so if you’d like to be entered please leave a comment below!  All entries on the previous post still count, don’t worry.  And come back tomorrow to meet the rest of the evening flurry.

As cute as my little beans are, being a mama is tough work.  Each and every day is peppered with breathtakingly adorable moments like this one, but there are indeed times when the work of mothering becomes an endurance test that could take down any Iron Man competitor.  Easily.

A friend once told me that “raising children is like being pecked to death by chickens”.

Exercises in deep breathing are essential, hiding in the bathroom at times with a stash of chocolate also helps.

In honor of myself and mothers everywhere, I have composed a new tea blend this week that is sure to inspire strength, a sense of calm, and a tiny moment of bliss when you really, really need it.  This is a light blend, made with organically grown white tea, lavender, and rose.

It smells like heaven and almost involuntarily prompts those deep breaths.  Kind of a mama time out.

The tea will be hitting the pages of my etsy shop very soon, but first it needs a name.  Something elegant and representative of the honor and beauty of motherhood.  Something that sounds relaxing.  Something this mother of a teether is too tired to come up with at the moment, so I think it’s time for a good old fashioned giveaway!

Leave a comment here or on Facebook if you have an idea, or leave a comment anyway if you’d like to try it and are too tired to think of a name.  Either way.  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Tuesday, May 11 sometime before I drag my weary self into bed.  Prize includes two reusable teabags made from organic unbleached cotton, two ounces of this beautiful handcrafted tea, and a little satchel made from vintage fabric.  Oh, and a set of chopsticks of course.

Thank you and good luck!

*** void where prohibited ***

something pretty just for me.  soon.

…I’m taking pictures of my breakfast and quick-like thinking of clever descriptions for my sorely lonesome Etsy shop.

It was all very fast and unplanned, a creation of necessity and typical Virgo fussiness.  Don’t mess with the tea ritual.  It’s the only thing I have left some days, what with the children and all.

See it?  It suspends from your cup from a chopstick.  I love it.  I could go on and on and on about why I love it.  I could wax poetic about how my little filters and I are creating a lovely natural patina in Jasmine Green, I could sigh dreamily over the consistently perfect tea it creates.  I could do these things, but I hear rumor that there are some who care little about matters as trivial as tea.

As trivial as tea? Yes, fellow tea drinkers.  It’s true.  We are the long and gazing shadow beneath the monument of Coffee around these parts.

But for you and for me, I stole a few moments, stitched up a bunch of these little babies, and listed them in my Etsy shop.  Apparently it was just in time too because sweet Emily from the Etsy staff was just itching to write up this article in The Storque.

What?  Have I heard you correctly?

Yes, friends.  My humble tea bags are gracing the pages of the crafting institution known as The Storque.  If you are not familiar with the land of Etsy, it’s kind of a big deal.  I would liken it to being nominated for an Emmy or something.  There’s one solitary set holding down the fort at the moment, but more are on the way.  Stay tuned, warm your cups properly, and prepare your kettles for company.

And like any of the select few chosen to grace the red carpet, my sweet little tea bags are gussied up in dazzling new finery (which some may simply refer to as packaging).  Take a peek:

***Vintage photo of silent screen star Norma Shearer, taken by Alfred Johnson.***

So yesterday I was monkeying around with a new skein of yarn, trying various backgrounds and techniques in order to capture the spirit of the yarn in its best light.  Grey is  far outside of the scope of my jewel tone comfort zone so I’m finding it a bit difficult.  A basic white background washes it out, the rustic wooden tabletops that I love so much do it no justice…what colors go well with grey?

Another technique I tried was taking photos of the yarn on top of a mirror.  Though it didn’t quite give me the results I was looking for, I was happy with what unfolded nonetheless:

What I really like here is the spontaneous color combinations and the extra detail that the mirror shows on the yarn.   I know it’s not “the money shot” for selling the skein, but with a bit more editing I will most likely choose it for my portfolio.

The other kind is instant yeast. This is also known as rapid rise or bread machine yeast. Basically, you just toss it in with everything else and there is no need to do the sponge method. It’s convenient but I tend to dig the tradition of the sponge process. It’s science-y and cool, and it breaks the process into do-it-quick steps.  As the mama of two small trapeze artists, I appreciate that.

If, like me, you have followed a recipe without paying any attention to what kind of yeast is called for, you might have ended up with a dough that contains little balls of yeast in the finished product. It also doesn’t rise properly, resulting in a dense, heavy bread.  So if your recipe calls for instant yeast and you don’t have any, you need to do the sponge method.  The two types of yeast are generally interchangeable, provided you follow the proper method for whatever kind you have.

The Sponge Method

Maybe you know this, maybe you don’t, but yeast is a living organism. You always begin a traditional yeasted dough with the process of combining the yeast, a sugar, and warm water. These are the only three ingredients that are put together in the beginning.

• The yeast feeds on the sweetener (sugar, honey, agave, what have you) and the warm water creates a peaceful, supportive environment for the event to happen.
• Ideally, the water should be about 100-105 degrees (almost too hot on the tender part of your wrist). To ascertain the temperature, use a meat thermomtraeter to gauge the feel of the water.  Commit this feeling to memory, or use a thermometer every time if that works for you.

When the conditions are ideal, this will happen in about five minutes:

This is what is known as “the sponge”. Basically it’s a bowl of foamy goop. There are rules to yeast, but don’t be afraid of it. If the water is too hot it will kill the organisms, if the water is too cold the process will take FOREVER.

The feeding frenzy must be stopped at the foamy goop point or else the yeast will overproof (gorge itself and die) and won’t work in your dough.

How on earth do you stop the madness of this hungry yeast? Add your salt. That’s it. And technically it doesn’t stop it, it just slows the process down to the point where you can add the rest of the ingredients and give the yeast some real work to do. You don’t want to add your salt prior to this point though because your bread will turn out dense and brick-like.

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