He Said, She Said

After a hiatus from writing in this blog, I have stored up ample ideas to write about.

Today I went hiking with my children and two of the neighbor's kids through the woods up the street from our house. The boys raced ahead of us pretending to be fighters and ninjas hiding in the forest. The two and four year old girls and I arrived later and kept a slower pace observing the wildlife as we quietly walked through the tall trees towering over us. The four year old, Addie, decided to be the leader for a moment in time and motioned to us,
"Come on guys! Let's go this way," she said several times.

I couldn't help but notice that as I looked at my daughter, then at myself and at her I felt drawn to say, "what guys?"

Do you ever notice that whether it is a woman, man, animal, object or insect it is always referred to "guy" or "he"? I do appreciate the male gender, and I highly respect the female gender. Gender equality is one of the UN Millennium Goals. How about starting with how we recognize each living thing and once in a while refer to the cow or the horse as a "she". Or if there are group of women as "ladies".

I think we are due for a shift in our global consciousness. Take your turn and make sure both sexes are accounted for in your words, the children will notice the difference too.

Wool, wool, wool

My greatest discovery in this Northwestern area is wool. Wool for the feet, wool on the head, wool ski pants, wool sweaters. Wool, wool, wool.

It keeps you warm and dry, body temperature feeling cozy and fingertips warm to the touch. Amara now has cozy handmade wool socks and boots with wool lining.

Bless those sheep. Some of them live down the street and there are sheep-shearing days in the spring to watch them transform. The pile left on the ground becomes golden indeed.

Winter Time in Eugene

This time of year is so beautiful here in Oregon, the frost starting to take form on the land, the candles burning more frequently at home, the warmth of a warm fire. It's a joy to feel the crisp air on my face and run along the streets getting some warmth moving through the body.

For my kids the joy they experience this time of year is of flying down the driveway as fast as they can on their feet when it is full of ice and then finding hidden places where the icicles are forming so they can lick them.

When they return inside they swirl and jump about causing a sensation of being in a ship with heavy waves about. Amara sings her aurias in a new opera style way. Ethan transforms into a superhero before my eyes and Jason brings out his Tibetan singing bowls for a test.

We weave each day with different experiences, sensations and moods. And at the end of the day I can honestly say I am happy about it all.