connections

I am high on life thanks to the many children who touch me in my life and maybe where I am in my moment right now. As Wain, the best third-grade teacher and former Chester resident said, "I think Chester is in a renaissance." So am I. It is like 1974 again when we moved to Chester, VT from Westfield, NJ with two little ones. A third was born a year to the day later - August 29, 1975. If you don't think my children are inspiration, you would be way out there. Where am I?

How long should one allow to plan a wedding? What if the prospective bride and groom are a doll and a bear? Can you do it without breaking the bank? Will you know when it is not work but really fun?  Fifteen days away and this sweet idea has a life of its own. Spare the details? Absolutely not.

Lew and I did many productive things earlier this month when it was raining in
Chester, VT.  We prepared our porch, now rescreened and ready for solar, thanks to our son-in-law Andy's fine carpentry work. Silvio was thrilled to see the "Eddie wicker furniture" that he remembered so well. He has several favored stations to manage comings and goings.

But more important that day, we put into practice what we learned from our friend Cindy who urged us to read "Clutter Busting," a book which reinforces the notation that if your creative space is "a mess," your creativity is at a standstill.  I was in that place. So I listened. And I acted.

And the result was phenomenal. Doing what I had to do worked.

The first dolls I made were from patterns and sewing books. I was not confident enough to design. There was Samantha, an old fashioned quilted doll, calico animals in frames, stuffed animals, Christmas tree ornaments and the standard, Raggedy Ann and Andy. I made one for each of my three daughters. William, our oldest grandson celebrating ten today still treasures his Andy. His boy has been washed and dried several times and still loves William back. Here we are at the first outdoor fair. My father is in the photo, proudly watching his first granddaughter, Kate, pick and choose her favorite mommy product. Very discriminating, she chose dolls! That bench still displays our girls and goes to fairs.

I have always loved that my work is all around me; not only the messes I make, but my inspirations, my work in progress, and my finished products. There are dolls everywhere since our Gallery is in our home, but display is kept to three rooms. That's usually about 100 "people."  Some are here longer than I'd like. Maybe they just don't want to go away. Sooner or later each Bundle finds a home; some just take longer to be chosen. Why is that?

Joyfully, the week began with a Valentine's Day party with our special SCA families - calzones, pizzas, two salads and a heart shaped white chocolate cake with strawberry icing. Yumm. Both the food and the company. Don't forget the pretty handmade valentines.

In mid-January Vermont had a big snow.  Five years ago in a similar snowstorm, our Beatrice was born.  The midwife did not quite make it in time, so daughter Kara delivered Beatrice herself.  The first girl after three boys - a wonderful treat--for all of us. 

Lew and I thoroughly enjoyed "The Musical of Musicals" at the Weston Playhouse this summer. The finale was a parody of "One" from Bennett's A Chorus Line.  The audience is still sitting there and the cast sings "Go home. Done."  As an aside, for the first time in a year, we have put musical tapes in our entertainment center and are singing. (I normally work in quiet.) But I should be dancing, because those last commissions are done. I won't even go into the details of the Matt doll for Myra's giving to her fiancé, but I will tell you Lew took out his wood blocks to help make this a sensational gift. Commissions, you say, how does that happen?

I think it was Grace K., a realtor in N.J. who was trying to sell us a house in Bergen County back in 1971. "Remember, Mr. Watters, the house priced right will sell!" On Norman Rockwell's print the saying goes, "You can't sell from an empty wagon." Both true. Remember then that a spool of thread was 25 cents; today it is nearly $5. Fabric was 50 cents to $1 a yard, now it's $8 to $10! But what can we offer you now?  

Heavens, when I was a kid I loved them even if I had to clean my toy box and play with my little brother, John. As a adult, I loved the cancellation of school to spend quality time with my three daughters who all benefited from my individual bonus attention to their creative paths. When they said to me, "I'm bored." I replied, "No, think, are you boring? Make something." God bless them. They did. So what did Lew and I do on our first snow day?
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