Brandi Graves

Giving Thanks.

I was Oooooh so happy to get those skeletons and rotting pumpkin out of my house, oh. yes.  

Isn't that the way it goes, - lots of fun in planning, in winding - up.... but the day after?  I am over. it. ... And I know I can't be the only one.

Well, - then what?  Yes, of course,... Thanksgiving... One very important season of gratitude.  

Frankly, though, I'm not a 'Pilgrims and Indians' kind of gal, - and since we head out of town to my dear Auntie's every year, poor Thanksgiving has been nothing but a little stop-over, with a few left-over pumpkins piled up by my front door.

So I had this idea, this season, for a gratitude banner.  My boys love the Birthday/ Celebration ones I've made.... they seem to indicate something special on the horizon, - a little reason for anticipation, celebration, and warmth.  And they are SOOO simple ... just fabric scraps, a little bias tape... and NO pattern-reading needed - (ooh thank goodness.)

 Just one short evening, and ... 

... "Wha-la", - my little Thanksgiving banner - possibly not entirely straightforward in holiday specifics, but 'autumnal-esque' just might be all we need.  It did, however, lead to a little confusion this morning, as the boys noticed it immediately and started dancing around and asking whose party it was, and "WHERE DID YOU PUT THE CAKE????!!!?"

Aah, OK, - let's have a party... and cake? - Well, I say:  WHY NOT~!

(now if I could only get rid of those ridiculous white switch plates on my green wall - ohh, anyway.)

Apples, Apples, Apples...

For the last couple years, Ol' Fall has rushed through and passed me right on by, with hardly an exhale.  I know this happens largely because I hold on - so desperately - to Summer... and, probably, of course, because this season seems to becomes a big, stumbling trip, of back-to-school, and prepare-for-rain, and pumpkin-patches, and can't-find-the-galoshes, and Halloween-costumes, and hurry-up-and-do-something-with-those-tomatoes-!

But NO, not this year.  I mean, yes, of course... all those dear-Autumn-I'm-dizzy things are still part of the push... but THIS YEAR, I promised my boys we'd go apple-picking.  Doesn't that sound... so... Aautumnal?

Well... OH. MY. GOSH..., was it worth it... full of lots of praise for my "Great Idea, MOM!!!" from Henry, and the adoption of a new Joe-inspired family mantra, "It's-another-golden-delicious!!... It's-ANOTHER-golden-delicious!!!... IT'S ANOTHER GOLDEN DELICIOUS!!!!!" - The surprise, and thrill, and pure 2-year-old-GLEE flooding out of each. and. every. word. (ok, - just so we're clear, - that's not a golden delicious!).

So we visited Apple-a-Day Ratzlaff Ranch in Sebastopol, on a warm Friday morning, while my good ol' pal from Colorado was visiting (thanks for coming, - Fatima).  It was really just a spur-of-the-moment choice, as we googled 'Sonoma County Apple Picking' first thing in the morning, but it turned out to be just the right place.

The orchard's 3rd generation farmer, Ken Ratzlaff (yes, - that's him... getting the scale ready to weigh our 38 lbs (!!!) of apples) was incredibly generous with his time, giving us a private tour of his family's cider-making equipment ("Like Pure Sugar!!!!" - noted Henry, upon cider taste-testing.) .... We'll definitely have Farmer Ken's cider on our grocery list from now on (It's available at Whole Foods throughout California and Washington in the refrigerated section... just in case... you're interested - and, oooooh, - you SHOULD be.)

So for now, our fridge, and our pantry are FULL, - albeit only with apples.  Fortunately, apples can wait - so I'll have a little time to start sewing the boy's halloween costumes before we begin the "Big Applesauce Making Marathon of 2009".

Living through Memories... El Dia de los Muertos.

Once Again we join together to celebrate the Day of the Dead in Petaluma, as do many others, in many other towns and villages... El Dia de los Muertos.

My alter has been installed in the front window of Summer Cottage Antiques, and is part of a collection of alters in the street - an inspiring show of community, and reflection. This year I dedicated my Ofrenda to my grandparents, Olin Ozzie and Leona Annie Graves. 

 

My grandfather, Olin, passed away before I was born, but my grandmother ("Grandma-Mom") lived just across our back field, - the same property that was once Olin and Leona's cattle ranch, - the "Diamond G"... this ranch's old street sign now hangs proudly on my own living room wall, one very precious gift from my Daddy.

Olin and Leona were my Dad's parents, and though I only knew Olin Ozzie through my family's stories... I can feel him in my own memories, - a testament to the strength of theirs.  I felt that a dedication to these two, this year, was so perfectly appropriate because of just this... and a true example of what I take to be the most beautiful element of the Day of the Dead... the legend of our three deaths...

... The first, when our body dies, when we cease to take another breath.  The second, when we are lowered into the ground.  And the third, when we no longer live in the memory of our ancestors.  

I am so very grateful to my Aunt, and to my Daddy, my Grandma-Mom too... for instilling such memories of this one man in me.  I hope only to do my part in passing this world of my dear ancestors on... to my own babies, and to theirs, and to theirs...

 

Super-easy, springy...

With my children, has come a renewed love of the seasons - not only for the excitement and wonder each one brings, but for their unsurpassed ability to document life, bookmark moments, and instigate glorious amounts of anticipation and memory.  However, as each one of my little family rushes to leap and roll and tumble outwards, I realized recently I have no real elements of this season inside the house (other than the full-swung open windows, and the curtains flapping in the breeze, of course).  

So, always looking for a way to include the wee-ones, we recently dreamed up a simple little Easter egg-tree... which, start to finish (including clean up) - took us less than an hour, and didn't cost a penny.

I started with a manzanita branch I had found sometime over the winter - and wedged it into a foam block which I had placed inside a little tin bowl.  Henry arranged pieces of green moss around the base to cover the foam, - and the tree was successfully 'planted'.  I do love the manzanita branch, but really - I think you could use any well-cut branch from your yard, depending on how big or small the base bowl is.  

Next, we planned to decorate some little eggs to hang off the tree, and paper mache seemed to be the quickest, most family-friendly bridge.  Paper mache is so easy, and so fun, - and of course - anything involving wet and drippy 'wads', is a sure-fire hit when involving the tiny hands and big imaginations of little boys.

The recipe is simple, - just 1 part flour to 2 parts water, - you can get trickier with the recipe if you want, but this worked just fine for what we were doing.

Next, I threaded a small strand of twine through the tiny hole located at the top of these little plastic eggs, clipped the eggs shut, and the boys were good-to-go, dipping and wrapping different color strips of tissue paper around each egg.  

Their individual techniques - good, bad, or otherwise - were irrelevant to the finished product, as I was able to just pat down each goopy mess with a light touch after the boys handed me their masterpieces.

... and really, some techniques were better than others.

But within minutes, our little spring infusion was finished (the eggs dry perfectly just hanging from the branches).  

A little bit of spring, even when the curtains are closed.