1. My beautiful sweet little girl Ida. It has been an intense, colic filled three months. I don’t even have the words for it really and to be honest I don’t wish to dwell in the past as I am completely ready to move on. Those of you who have been through it know EXACTLY what I am talking about. I know because some of you have written me. The best advice I received is, “there is no advice, you will figure out what works best for your baby”. We tried absolutely everything, and it changed on a daily basis. What saved me? The sling, the rocking chair I bought in desperation one day, the swing, my husband forcing me to go sit in the woods for an hour when I hit rock bottom, three hour sleep chunks, staying in the present moment.

2. My little girl’s huge smiles and constant cooing. Behind the colic was one happy baby!!! She is so adorable it should be illegal.

(I apologize to readers that I do not post photos of my babes online as I wish to protect the space and privacy of my family. It has become more pertinent as my work has gained popularity in the last few years. More importantly I believe we do not yet understand the repercussions of making our children’s early years public. I wonder how it would feel later in life to have so much of my world exposed? It is sometimes a hard choice for me because I so enjoy reading about and seeing photos of other families and people I care about in the online world. But I feel I need to err on the side of caution with this one. I want my children’s early years to be their own. I may write more about this at some point. Bag of worms, now open.)

3. Gypsy soup for dinner. We are celebrating the three month mark!

4. Gifts in the mail from far away places.

5. My new book. I am really not boasting, I just feel so very proud. I make things that I love and I share them with the world. Seeing others living within the pages fills me with a deep joy.

6. Wallace Stegner.

7. Danny Gregory’s new movie, which makes me want to run to my journal and watercolors!

8. River Cottage. I could watch it over and over. (oh yeah, I already do.) Hugh is a household name in our house, as in, “That’s just what Hugh would do!”

9. My family. We are still learning to be four, and there are many bumps along the way. But we are deeply happy even in the midst of the chaos.

10. Malabrigo Gruesa. I can’t get enough of it and must do something to curb my addiction.

I had to laugh when I finished my lunch yesterday. I’ve been getting a lot of owl visitations lately. In preparation for giving birth I found an old book plate with a drawing of a beautiful Great Grey Owl (Strix Nebulosa). He was hung in my bedroom to watch over me and officially named “Harold”.

The night I went into labor much to my amazement I heard an owl screeching at about 3 o’clock in the morning. I had never heard one before in all the years I have lived here. So my chosen animal guide helper was calling his friends I think. It must have worked because the birth went amazingly well and my little girl popped out with an explosion of water (my water broke right before she appeared).

I have been learning a lot about animal medicine from my dear friend Pixie. I would encourage you to be open to some animal magic in your own world! They bring you some really great messages if you open your ears and mind to them.

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If you could create your own empire what would that look like?

That question actually relates to Finish this Book, but you’ll have to buy it to find out more. It is officially out there in stores and is already getting some nice reviews. I am working on my own answer to this question currently and it involves writing a manifesto.

Some things to report:

There is a giveaway at Wired’s Geek Dad blog.

here is a sweet review.

p.s. and what does this have to do at all with fungus. absolutely nothing. i just like that photo.

p.p.s. still living in the “House of Colic”. hoping for a bit more relief soon as we hit the three month mark in three weeks. to say it has been challenging is a bit of an understatement. we persevere.