Summer has been freedom. Late nights, spontaneous hikes and camping, planning, collecting, observing, day dreaming, praying, cooking, brainstorming, deciding, thrifting, swimming in lakes and a hot spring, boat rides and tubing, and making things. Also lots and lots of journaling (I hate how most of the words I use when writing about journals aren't technically words!), I've never journaled this much before in the summer. It's been wonderful though, full of good things. I'm allowing my summer list to carry over into fall, so that way I can still accomplish a few of the many things that never happened. Thank you so so much for all of the birthday wishes! You all are to wonderful for words. Life is still hectic, but I'm going to make myself post at least once a week regardless, so I won't disappear!

So until I'm back (which is hopefully sooner than a week),

Clara

A long time wish has come true! For my birthday my dad and mom got me a typewriter! Oh yes, and this was the big 18, which is (in America) the step into "adulthood" (kind of, you don't really get to do anything exciting though, can just vote and get drafted into the army). Anyway, about my typewriter, it's an old one. Solid metal, with a fabric ribbon which still has ink in it, none of the keys stick (shockingly), and the only problems it has is that the ribbon doesn't move on it's own and the caps lock doesn't work. Both of those are fine with me though, I just love that I can type little notes and letters on it!

Not to mention how nice it is to see it sitting on my desk when ever I'm in my room. There will be more on what I've aquired lately later, I just thought this deserved a post of it's own, and you all deserved a post sooner as well. I just can't get over how wonderful you all are.
The end of summer is going wonderfully, I've been getting out alot, and making sure I enjoy every minute of it. Life is good.

Love, Clara

hot spell

Summer should be coming to a close here, but the weather seems to be having other ideas these past few days. I step out of the doors from work and feel like I'm hitting a wall of heat.
I apologize again for being so absent, but most of all for not responding to your comments. However, I must tell you that the rest of this month will probably stay the same way. It's crazy beyond crazy right, what with turning 18, work, the fair, getting my shop going, three other birthdays, an anniversary, and quite possibly getting an apartment with one of my friends.

I hope things will become steady eventually though, I'll keep posting, but everything else might end up going out the window. We'll see.

Thank you all so much for being so wonderful and sweet, you all mean so much to me even though I'm so bad at showing it. I hope you're all enjoying your summers (or winter I suppose) to their fullest!

with love from my dizzy little world,

Clara

PS: all images from here

Naturalist

Things have been so busy here, I apologize for my absence. It's been much too long I know. I've been frantically working on the goods for my shop along with the fact that I finally got a job (Yay!). So the only time I usually get a chance to use the computer is at night when I rarely have the energy to blog. But I'm working on a solution to that. However, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the pieces of magic I've collected over the summer. This butterfly I found blowing down the sidewalk outside the library.

I save the small, soft, feathers I find in our yard.

My dad found this little egg shell outside and brought it in for me.

Rocks from Clam Gulch and Homer.

My sister found me this bird's nest, it had fallen out of the tree during a storm.

It's not much, but I do find comfort and inspiration in surrounding myself with little these little pieces of wonder. Feeling like Julian from Elizabeth Enright's Gone Away Lake, one of the best children's books to read in the summer I think, and the sequel is just as good. They're full of that wonderful summery nostalgic feel, where you just want to sit on a porch drink ice cold lemonade and watch the fire flies.

I hope you're all enjoying the summer (or winter, which ever you're in) I can hardly believe it's already August! July just went by so fast. And thank you all for you're votes on the skirt, it's tied right now, so if you haven't voted please do, I'm going to close it on Saturday, so hurry!

I won't make any false promises about posting. I will try to post again soon, but you never know how things will go, especially when they just seem to get busier and busier. So we'll just have to see how things go.

with feathers and butterfly dust,

Clara

help me!

1.

So, here's a bit of what I've been sewing. A skirt, and it's my first one hundred percent, people sized, handsewn project. Also, it will most likely be in my shop that should be opening in about a month if all goes as planned. It isn't quite done though, because I'm having trouble choosing which buttons to use. They are all vintage buttons and full of character. I just need help knowing what kind of character this skirt wants! So if you could just vote that would be great.

2.

3.
4.

5.

6.

7.

Thank you very much for your votes! All are needed and all count!

With tiny stiches and wrinkled cotton,

Clara

Awards!

Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing good! I'm a little bit sick over here, which means lots of tea and hours to just read, sew, knit, and that I will actually post. Anyway, I have to awards (woohoo!) that I've been hanging on to for much to long. So here we go!

Thank you Clare for this wonderful award! Sorry it's taken me this long to post it.

I'm going to pass this award on to the dear Melee who always leaves wonderful, fun, comments!

Now, for this fantastic award from Tywo (thank you so much!) is a bit more involved. I have to state seven things I love. So number one is:

1. Life

What I mean by life is not my life (though my life is good), what I mean is what life is. The life that starts the moment a child is conceived. I love how we breathe and move and can make our own choices. Life is so precious, it's one of the only things, when you think about it, that we really have, that's only ours.
I also love the life that is in animals and growing things.
That too is something to marvel over.

2. My Family
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring family. And while I often feel like I just need out, I love them. So, so, much.

3. Reading
Just about anything! However, this summer I've mostly stuck with fantasy and poetry. Both of those are the kind of writing I can always fall back to and be at home. Where I understand and feel understood.
Do you know what I mean by that? What kind of writing makes you feel that way?
However, I did just read Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood and that was wonderful. It left me in this great summer in the south sort of mood. Lots of fun.


4. God
If this list were in order he would be first. It's not religion. It's a relationship, a dance, a poem, a song. And I owe him everything.


5. The Earth
Oh, the wonder of it! I just LOVE the earth, it's so vast and beautiful, so raw and perfect and imperfect all that the same time.

6. Making things

Now of course you already know this. But I couldn't very well leave it out either, for I'm happiest when making something.

7.Romance

I am such a hopeless romantic, though you already know that too!

So I pass this award on to the wonderful Sarah, Francesca, Ellie Grace, and Sara. Hope everyone has a wonderful afternoon, night or whatever your at right now!

with ice tea and tissues,

Clara

PS: all the photos can be found here

Update! So sorry, some how my settings got switched around so now you can comment! Thank you so much for letting me know Melee! Love, Clara

alaska

maggie and milly and molly and may

went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,andmilly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lost(like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea

-e. e. cummings

(photos by me)