Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Mud May...
...rarely do I just post photos, but I couldn't resist these pictures taken last weekend at the most awesome birthday party/mudslide that I have seen in years. I want to have a party like this for the grownups...
Monday, May 16, 2011
Creed's big plans...
...so, yesterday I spoke with my mother-in-law who wanted to talk about where the kids would go to high school and college! Not exactly on the top of our list for worries or projections at the moment, since we still need to start kindergarten in the fall.
And then I really wanted to open the can of worms and tell her what Creed's plans are for his own future.
Creed has a girlfriend AKA his "wife" named Millie. Sometimes it's Sophia or Kate, but 99% of the time it's Millie. They have been at Ecole for 3 years together now. His plans all seem to include her.
"Mom, I need money to go to Mexico so Millie and I can have a big party for our friends. We're going to ride whales."
"Dad, let's go to Home Depot and buy paint and wood for the house Millie and I are building in Mexico."
"Mom, I am needing to go to the airport at midnight. Millie and I are moving to New York to start a band"
"Dad, my band is going to be called 'Creed and the Firemen.' Do you think Alejandro will join? Millie's band is called 'Millie and the Ambulance.'"
"Mom, can you meet us in New York and bring Millie the wedding dress if she forgets it?"
This has been going on for months now...so finally yesterday, I asked him why he wants to get married to Millie at such a young age.
His response: She's nice. I like her a lot and we're friends.
Me: Okay - good reasons. What will you do when you get married?
Creed: Oh, we'll be parents. I'll make signs and Millie will make dresses, go to meetings and have breast cancer.
Wow.
And then I really wanted to open the can of worms and tell her what Creed's plans are for his own future.
Creed has a girlfriend AKA his "wife" named Millie. Sometimes it's Sophia or Kate, but 99% of the time it's Millie. They have been at Ecole for 3 years together now. His plans all seem to include her.
"Mom, I need money to go to Mexico so Millie and I can have a big party for our friends. We're going to ride whales."
"Dad, let's go to Home Depot and buy paint and wood for the house Millie and I are building in Mexico."
"Mom, I am needing to go to the airport at midnight. Millie and I are moving to New York to start a band"
"Dad, my band is going to be called 'Creed and the Firemen.' Do you think Alejandro will join? Millie's band is called 'Millie and the Ambulance.'"
"Mom, can you meet us in New York and bring Millie the wedding dress if she forgets it?"
This has been going on for months now...so finally yesterday, I asked him why he wants to get married to Millie at such a young age.
His response: She's nice. I like her a lot and we're friends.
Me: Okay - good reasons. What will you do when you get married?
Creed: Oh, we'll be parents. I'll make signs and Millie will make dresses, go to meetings and have breast cancer.
Wow.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Yee haw! Kindergarten Round up...
...I guess it's a Texas thing, as that's what they call the Orientation when they invite the future fall Kindergarteners to see their school. Creed, Zelda, Evan and I showed up early yesterday morning to the cafeteria where we were handed 2 huge packets of forms to fill out, and tons of info on the PTA, I am not sure I can even go there yet with volunteering - as I am still serving as the Board President for Ecole...sigh.
Next, the K teachers arrived and the kids were divided up to spend an hour in a real classroom with other equally suspicious, terrified or clueless 5 year olds. I'd have to say that Creed was suspicious and Zelda: clueless, but it all went quite flawlessly.
Now, it's back to solidifying our summer plans for Paris. Ecole graduation is June 1st when they toss their little Montessori seedlings out into the big world.
We leave for Telluride, CO., the very next day for our guncle Seth's retirement party. Back to Austin for a few weeks of camp, then off to France on June 30th. Still to do: passports, arranging apartment stay, writing my curriculum for my course that I am teaching on Fashion & Design, moving Ecole to its new location and last but not least: getting everything ready to finish the book in Paris!
La Petite Zelda goes to Paris...is becoming a reality. )ur kickstarter site is up - please help fund our cause! We will get our wonderful illustrator on site to photograph, film, and sketch Zelda as she discovers the city and start working on our final draft for publishing. Merci to all who have pledged thus far...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1445129892/la-petite-zelda-goes-to-paris
Next, the K teachers arrived and the kids were divided up to spend an hour in a real classroom with other equally suspicious, terrified or clueless 5 year olds. I'd have to say that Creed was suspicious and Zelda: clueless, but it all went quite flawlessly.
Now, it's back to solidifying our summer plans for Paris. Ecole graduation is June 1st when they toss their little Montessori seedlings out into the big world.
We leave for Telluride, CO., the very next day for our guncle Seth's retirement party. Back to Austin for a few weeks of camp, then off to France on June 30th. Still to do: passports, arranging apartment stay, writing my curriculum for my course that I am teaching on Fashion & Design, moving Ecole to its new location and last but not least: getting everything ready to finish the book in Paris!
La Petite Zelda goes to Paris...is becoming a reality. )ur kickstarter site is up - please help fund our cause! We will get our wonderful illustrator on site to photograph, film, and sketch Zelda as she discovers the city and start working on our final draft for publishing. Merci to all who have pledged thus far...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1445129892/la-petite-zelda-goes-to-paris
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
La Petite Zelda is going to Paris...
...come and help us write our book about discovering the City of Light through touch, smell, taste and sound.
"La Petite Zelda goes to Paris"...is the story of Zelda and her brother Creed who helps his sister "see" Paris through discovery using all of her senses except sight. We'll visit Le Jarden de Tuileries, La Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, the flea markets, the boulangeries, and so many other places. Close your eyes and imagine it...The book will be illustrated by Aaron Flynn - see an example of his work above! - and will be published in English, French and Braille.
I have just launched my kickstarter project so please click on the above link and see the story that we'll be writing while in Paris this summer - we need your support to make this dream a reality. For those of you unfamiliar with the Kickstarter program, it is a funding project to help artists bring their projects to realization. Each funding level will receive a gift from us, so please take a look...and merci, mille fois...
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Cancer makes you do crazy things...
...so I got a summer job in Paris. I'll be teaching Fashion & Design to exchange students and the twins will come over there with me for 6 weeks or so.
Cancer is a funny beast. I have known it intimately. And for those who know me well, they are accustomed to my flights of folly. I have, since I was a teenager, or my parents could probably argue earlier than that, have figured out something I've wanted and gone about getting it. There was drawing a picture and getting it published on the cover of a book for the United Nations when I was 12, going to France for the first time when I was 15, spending every summer of my life in the mountains in a canoe, on a trail or hanging off cliffs until I was 24, deciding to become a teacher, going to grad school on a full scholarship, selling everything to move back to Paris for design school, making TV shows & movies, writing, public speaking, riding motorcycles, getting married to a not so good "was-bund" and marrying a much better one, having twins at 47, raising little kids in my 50's (one who is blind), returning to full-time designing...the list goes on and there are oh, so many things I CAN'T or won't mention (for now)...
But it's that doggone cancer that pricks you like a pin and says "Wake the fuck up and do more!" "What haven't you done in your life that you've wanted to do?" I have heard people say that they wake up after fighting cancer - they smell the flowers, they love harder, they acknowledge life and are more patient with others. I have even heard people thank cancer for opening their eyes and giving them a new lease on life. One woman once said something like she wished everyone she knew could have the mental and emotional effect of having cancer to experience how it changes you. Personally, I think that's a crock of shit and wouldn't wish cancer - even for its life-changing values - on anyone!
But I must admit, cancer - even in the tiniest ways - makes me do some things differently. Ever since I lived for all of those years in France, I've always said I would like to go back and spend a month there every year - especially now that Creed & Zelda are around. But, did I ever attempt a plan? Look into it? Do any research? Well, no - I would visit, attend shows, visit museums, have parties and delight in old friends... And then the other day I saw the post and with my "life's too short, eat dessert first attitude", I applied for the job: each day imagining a summer where I could teach what I love and spend time with my dear friends, introducing my kids to the city that is such a part of me, soaking up "ma dose" of inspiration, work on my book (oh! you didn't know that I was writing one?), and make new connections for my one-of-a-kind slow fashion movement.
So, here we go...do I have the money for the plane tickets yet? Well, no. Have I secured us an apartment yet? Well, no. What will happen at my shop while we're there? Haven't decided yet. And there's Evan...my husband: watching, wondering, silently shaking his head, waiting for the plan to unfold...and it will.
Less then 90 days and counting...on arrive!
Cancer is a funny beast. I have known it intimately. And for those who know me well, they are accustomed to my flights of folly. I have, since I was a teenager, or my parents could probably argue earlier than that, have figured out something I've wanted and gone about getting it. There was drawing a picture and getting it published on the cover of a book for the United Nations when I was 12, going to France for the first time when I was 15, spending every summer of my life in the mountains in a canoe, on a trail or hanging off cliffs until I was 24, deciding to become a teacher, going to grad school on a full scholarship, selling everything to move back to Paris for design school, making TV shows & movies, writing, public speaking, riding motorcycles, getting married to a not so good "was-bund" and marrying a much better one, having twins at 47, raising little kids in my 50's (one who is blind), returning to full-time designing...the list goes on and there are oh, so many things I CAN'T or won't mention (for now)...
But it's that doggone cancer that pricks you like a pin and says "Wake the fuck up and do more!" "What haven't you done in your life that you've wanted to do?" I have heard people say that they wake up after fighting cancer - they smell the flowers, they love harder, they acknowledge life and are more patient with others. I have even heard people thank cancer for opening their eyes and giving them a new lease on life. One woman once said something like she wished everyone she knew could have the mental and emotional effect of having cancer to experience how it changes you. Personally, I think that's a crock of shit and wouldn't wish cancer - even for its life-changing values - on anyone!
But I must admit, cancer - even in the tiniest ways - makes me do some things differently. Ever since I lived for all of those years in France, I've always said I would like to go back and spend a month there every year - especially now that Creed & Zelda are around. But, did I ever attempt a plan? Look into it? Do any research? Well, no - I would visit, attend shows, visit museums, have parties and delight in old friends... And then the other day I saw the post and with my "life's too short, eat dessert first attitude", I applied for the job: each day imagining a summer where I could teach what I love and spend time with my dear friends, introducing my kids to the city that is such a part of me, soaking up "ma dose" of inspiration, work on my book (oh! you didn't know that I was writing one?), and make new connections for my one-of-a-kind slow fashion movement.
So, here we go...do I have the money for the plane tickets yet? Well, no. Have I secured us an apartment yet? Well, no. What will happen at my shop while we're there? Haven't decided yet. And there's Evan...my husband: watching, wondering, silently shaking his head, waiting for the plan to unfold...and it will.
Less then 90 days and counting...on arrive!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Yoko, hello...
...yes, it was me...the crazy woman that had to thank Yoko Ono for her support of the Braille Institute free books for blind kids. When I heard that she would be here for SXSW, I only barely imagined just running into her with Zelda and introducing the two of them. But SXSW had come and gone, and there I was on a quiet Monday in my shop, chatting with Jerry, my neighbor. And then I saw her - crossing the street, coming towards the sidewalk in front of my atelier. She was so petite, in black and white, with her face obscured by a fedora & sunglasses - but I knew it was her. She didn't stop but kept walking on with her 2 assistants.
In a split second, non-thinking moment, I went after her, leaving my shop unattended. I caught up to them and passed them, and when her assistant spoke, I turned around as if to be surprised. "Oh, my...Yoko Ono." As I spoke - who knows exactly what I said except for "my 5 1/2 yr old daughter is blind and thank you so much for supporting Braille literacy" among other things. I saw her shoulders drop and relax as she listened and realized that I wasn't such a crazy stalker - only a mildly crazy one...she offered her hand to grasp mine, smiled and said to send Zelda her best wishes.
And then I moved on - but to where? I kept on walking to Jo's, met my friend Aaron at the front of the line and said - still reeling from my Yoko encounter - "I have no money with me, can you buy me a tea?, and here comes Yoko Ono." And then as we waited, there was a tap on my shoulder, and all of Jo's was staring, as Yoko wanted to talk to me again! She wanted to thank me this time, for stopping and explaining my situation and talking about la petite Zelda. She told me it "made her feel so much better." So, I wasn't such the crazy stalker, but the grateful mom that so appreciates every few months when we receive that Braille catalogue in the mail for a choice of free books, and on the front of the catalogue reads: with grateful support from Yoko Ono Lennon...
In a split second, non-thinking moment, I went after her, leaving my shop unattended. I caught up to them and passed them, and when her assistant spoke, I turned around as if to be surprised. "Oh, my...Yoko Ono." As I spoke - who knows exactly what I said except for "my 5 1/2 yr old daughter is blind and thank you so much for supporting Braille literacy" among other things. I saw her shoulders drop and relax as she listened and realized that I wasn't such a crazy stalker - only a mildly crazy one...she offered her hand to grasp mine, smiled and said to send Zelda her best wishes.
And then I moved on - but to where? I kept on walking to Jo's, met my friend Aaron at the front of the line and said - still reeling from my Yoko encounter - "I have no money with me, can you buy me a tea?, and here comes Yoko Ono." And then as we waited, there was a tap on my shoulder, and all of Jo's was staring, as Yoko wanted to talk to me again! She wanted to thank me this time, for stopping and explaining my situation and talking about la petite Zelda. She told me it "made her feel so much better." So, I wasn't such the crazy stalker, but the grateful mom that so appreciates every few months when we receive that Braille catalogue in the mail for a choice of free books, and on the front of the catalogue reads: with grateful support from Yoko Ono Lennon...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
I have been away...
...physically, mentally and spiritually... life gets in the way. But so much is happening - especially in the lives and development of the Toxotwins. So, here it is, their recent photo taken during SXSW:
They are healthy but not without their interesting behavioral quirks. Their tenure at Ecole is nearing the end. Three years in a French immersion pre-school with Zelda splitting her time at a local elementary school for her various therapies: Braille, speech, OT, and O & M.
Creed is growing like a weed and imagineering stories beyond belief which usually include a girlfriend or two, parties in Mexico, building a house, his fireman friends and Clifford, the big red dog.
Today is my 53 birthday as we head out to the flea market fields of Warrenton/Round Top to see friends and pick through treasures.
more later...
They are healthy but not without their interesting behavioral quirks. Their tenure at Ecole is nearing the end. Three years in a French immersion pre-school with Zelda splitting her time at a local elementary school for her various therapies: Braille, speech, OT, and O & M.
Creed is growing like a weed and imagineering stories beyond belief which usually include a girlfriend or two, parties in Mexico, building a house, his fireman friends and Clifford, the big red dog.
Today is my 53 birthday as we head out to the flea market fields of Warrenton/Round Top to see friends and pick through treasures.
more later...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)