Centi-post!

Wow, post number 100! Thought I'd reach this sooner, but since I took the whole summer off I guess I shouldn't be too surprised!

For some reason, I have been thinking a lot lately about school. My time in school. College, to be specific. It always happens around this time of year. Maybe it's because of the start of the school year, or maybe it's because I am anxiously awaiting girls weekend, I don't know. I just look around me and I see campus in September, with the leaves changing and the bells playing. That is my absolute favorite memory of WPI. I had an 8:00 Calc 1 class for my very first class freshman year. It was a beautiful day, and as I walked to class across the quad I took it all in-the students, the scenery, the sounds of the bells. It was so great-I knew I had so much ahead of me. So much to learn, both in the classroom and out.

I really feel that those 4 years defined me. Not that they necessarily reflect my best times, but they molded me to who I am. College is where you learn to be you. All on your own. As you can tell from my title-I am a bit of a geek. OK, maybe a big geek. Numbers have always fascinated me, but I digress. The choices I made while in school have led me down the path I am on now. Sometimes I wonder where I would be if I had made different decisions, but I always arrive at the same conclusion-I am exactly where I should be.

I learned how to organize myself and multi-task. Pretty important when you only have 7 weeks to complete a class. I learned how to work in groups. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. Sometimes your group hates you because you went to a concert instead of lab. I learned how to be a part of an organization. Sorority meetings. Protocol. Roberts Rules. I learned how to earn your place and to be proud of your accomplishments. Only the top 20% make Tau Beta Pi. How to lead a team. Volleyball captain, although not sure how much leadership I showed. I learned how to cook without burning the house down. But boy was that a close one! Where the best parties were on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights. And how to accurately toss a ping pong ball into a plastic cup. Came in handy about 2 years ago when I played again with Karen-was it 7 games in a row we won?

Most importantly, I learned how to make real friends. The kind that will stay sober so they can walk you home and hold your hair. And they don't mind because they know you will do it for them next weekend. The kind that will call any girl fat and ugly, just because she looked cross eyed at your boyfriend. The kind you still go away with on girls weekend every year! The kind you just can't get through life without. Maybe because we have too much dirt on each other....

I guess I am just feeling thankful for the course my life has taken. It all centered on that one decision to go to Worcester for school. Because of WPI, I have the most wonderful friends. I have a great job. I have a husband and family I adore. Oh yeah, and an education that will last me a lifetime.

Kristin

Fairy Fun!

About 2 years ago, I took the kids to see the Fairy House Ballet with some dance friends. It was a local performance inspired by the Fairy House book series authored by Tracey Kane. The girls enjoyed it, and the author was there doing book signings, so we bought a copy.

It is a great book, filled with all the things that I love. I almost felt it was written just for our family. And in subsequent editions, the main character's name is Kristin (but she spells it wrong with an e!).

The premise of the book is centered around a little girl who goes on vacation with her family to an island in Maine. During her vacation, she finds a secluded spot in the woods where visitors have built small, almost hidden houses for fairies to come visit. The houses must be out of the way, where few people roam and made of all natural materials. No materials from living things may be used either, they must all be gathered from the ground. If artificial materials or living pieces are used, the fairies won't come.

So this little girl builds a house, and visits it everyday, gradually adding on to it. And each night the house is visited by fairies. The illustrations show the animals visiting each night-their spirit is the fairy magic. One afternoon the girl falls asleep and the "fairies" come to visit her in her dreams.

Since seeing the ballet and reading the books, building fairy houses has become a favorite activity for the family. The girls build them at home. They build them at camp. We even shared the book with the girls' school and they build them at summer camp now too.

So why do I love it so much? The ideals it brings out in children are perfect. Imaginative play. Respect for nature. Unstructured fun. Fresh air. The Maine Coast. Just something magical to believe in that you can touch and feel. What a gift to children everywhere this book is.

So imagine how excited I was when thumbing through a book I have about things to do with kids in Portland, and I see a section on fairy houses! Turns out only a half hour from our camp is Mackworth Island. A tiny island off the coast of Falmouth that houses the Maine school for the deaf and boasts a 1.25 mile hiking trail around the perimeter. There are numerous scenic spots to stop and sit on a bench to enjoy the view, or take the steps down to the rocky shore to look for snails and hermit crabs.

But the highlight of the island is the community village. A spot along the trail where hundreds of fairy houses have been built by believing little boys and girls. And maybe some grown up believers too! We wandered the village for quite some time then picked the perfect spot-way in the back snug against a tree-for our house.

The lead engineer on the project decided on the main structure, and the rest of us built it up, stick by stick. We added bark, and acorn tops for cups in case they get thirsty. There are pieces of bark that make beds and couches inside. Even a tiny bar in front for the faires to belly-up to! That was also added by the lead engineer....

Here are some shots of our contribution to the village. We strictly followed the rules and hope many a fairy enjoy a stay at our 5-star fairy house!

If you have a chance to visit-stop by. It's a great place. Especially if you have little fairy house engineers in your family!

So, do you believe in fairies?

I do.

Kristin

And another to add....

I'll probably re-edit this one...not happy with the tones.....but getting one more off my plate!
Such a great model.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Kristin

time to share....

Just wanted to take a few minutes to share some of my latest body of work....Katie as a Classic. We had fun shooting these downtown and she was great. She really didn't want to be there, but the lure of donuts was enough to keep her going for an hour or so. She did almost everything I asked her to. I had a lot of fun and think she did too!

All of these will be in black and white, my favorite way to create art. There will be more to come and shared on my smugmug site when they are ready, but here is a sneak peek of Katie....as a classic.

Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Kristin

Catching up....again

Time is passing me by....look how the kids have changed!

I love this image of Katie. She has matured so much over the summer. What a beautiful smile this big girl has. She brightens every room she enters. And she is becoming a big help at home too. She always want to help, no matter what we are doing. And she is getting herself dressed these days in the morning.

Paige is really truely a young lady now. She too is helpful and displays good manners, most of the time! But you can really sit and have an intelligent conversation with her. She is forming her own opinions and is not afraid to share. Or to listen to yours and modify her opinion if necessary. She is loving her ballet class this year, I think she is appreciating the gracefulness and slow nature of this dance form. Such growth.

Proud mama. That's me.