tulip bulbs

Originally uploaded by bbmarie.

We planted our first batch of tulip bulbs this fall at our new house. The girls seemed to really enjoy the process. I have been reading alot lately about sustainable living and urban homesteading. I’ve been thinking about the general dissconnection we have with the earth and natural environments. We move from one controlled environment to another—the office–the car–the house. I am so wanting to help my children enter into a relationship with nature. I want to have them like to be outside. I want them to get dirty and have cockle burs stuck in their sweaters and socks. We have begun a compost pile and our drawing up plans for our garden next summer. Fridays are from now on going to be with out computer and game boys as a way to redirect their attention to the out side. We shall see.

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Christmas Tree Close-up

Originally uploaded by bbmarie.

Blessings to all from the Beerhorst Family!

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writting letters in the morning

Originally uploaded by bbmarie.

I wrote a letter this morning to my friend Danny Gregory while Grace worked her way through a bowl of cereal. This is an early morning ritual for me. I love to recieve personal letters. So much of what comes in the mail to our house is not even opened and goes directly to the recycle bin. With so much junk coming through the mail, personal letter really stands out as a bright spot in the day. Making letters and decorating the envelopes helps me get the day off to a creative start. It sort of sets the precident for the whole day. Besides, letter writting in the digital erea becomes almost a revolutionary act of personal touch and intimacy. I want to send some love through the mail system. I want to sew some good seed in order to reap a good harvest. I want to invest a little each day in heaven where nothing rusts and goes out of style. What are you thinking and where are your envelopes?

“Cherish your vision and your dreams as they are children of your soul: the blueprints of your ultimate acheivments.” Napoleon Hill

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load of wood

Originally uploaded by bbmarie.

This was the day Shep and I went out together to cut wood with the bike trailer to bring it back in. You can see the little pruning saw we use to cut with. Just got a new saw in the mail which made in Japan called a Silky. It cuts on the pull stroke rather than the push like most all other hand saws. We go into the wild patches along side of the parks iin our neighborhood and cut wood from trees that have fallen. We still do not have a car so the bike and trailer is the way to get the wood back to the carriage house. Shep is a big help (his middle name is Ezra which means helper). When I get tired of sawing he steps in and takes over for a while.

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reclining girl with cat

Originally uploaded by bbmarie.

Both Brenda and Rose were nice enough to pose for this painting of the girl reclining on the bed. Dove posed for the girl looking out of the window. This piece was made while we were living in Brooklyn on the 5th floor of a building on the corner of Westminster Ave and Newkirk. We spent a lot of time all together as a family in that two bedroom apartment. Hard as it was we have many fond memories. It seems asl though something was formed in us as a family through the experience of being alone together in a very foriegn place. This painting is getting at the idea of dreams and imagination as a deep part of who we are ,and how it is dove-tailed into our life full of every day things to do ,like washing dishes and making toast. There is a sense of longing and mystery here in this bedroom with the girls and a sleeping cat. If you have never heard of the painter Balthus,
http://www.sover.net/~roselake/Balthus/index.html

We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things…..[but] there are times when we stop.
we sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper.
James Carrol

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painting by candle light

Originally uploaded by bbmarie.

We are in the midst of our Family Christmas Art Show. It is an amazing amount of work to get ready for these shows but woth it. I for a long time had this notion about seeing art in it’s natural setting instead of a gallery. I really think that the art has more potency when it is in the context of where it was made. The picture here is from the carriage house that is also available for people to explore this weekend. It is without electricity so at night that means candles and oil lamps. A painting seen in candle light seems to quiver with a different kind of life. We also have a wood stove going which adds warmth and atmosphere. We have had a good steady stream of people coming through and look forward to two more days of the same.

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