A little house for a little one

I was asked for "a house made of sticks" while I was playing with the small ones. This is what he was left to work with as I ran out of time. I used to build these almost daily; I had an adorable little village until the mowers came out. That was a miniature scale tragedy.
They don't believe in vättar.


It is beginning to approach true spring (one more week before the calender believes me!) and time outside is simply becoming more and more delightful.  Today we shed coats and played and walked unimpeded; everything is earnest this way.  Only a few lonely clouds dotted the sky and they inspired sympathy instead of urgency.

A question and an answer

From my love and from me.
(Forest walks are the best walks.)

Homemade pizza is even better

This is a wonderful lunch for catching up on reading because you only want to eat a little bit at a time. Nibbling food is good reading food. I am allergic to nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and so on) so when I make my own pizza I tend to skip the sauce. I topped this fresh crust with mozzarella, mushrooms, a little ham, cheddar, basil and oregano. Some people are shocked that you can make pizza without sauce because they think that the crust will be too dry. This is not actually an issue because all a lot of the oil from the cheese sinks into the crust and keeps it just soft enough.

Reading The Tempest for class and it has been surprisingly enjoyable; it is refreshing after the heavier tragedies.

Bright open windows

I came across these photos in a copy of Hemmets. The lightness of the space, though the colours are much more vibrant than I would them, is just this side of enchanting.

Old and wonderful things

Frequently over the years, but particularly the over the last few months, I kept finding myself thinking about a particular book I had as a young child. Of course, my story and picture books hold a special place in my heart and I started reading novels quite early, but one of my favourite books was Linnea's Windowsill Garden by Christina Björk and Lena Anderson. My grandmother found me an English translation and I am grateful to this day as my Swedish reading abilities leave much to be desired are dismal (I am practicing though, since it is quite embarrassing when you are talking with someone who then hands you an magazine article written in the same language you have been speaking and you are unable to read it properly).  To come to the point, as I thought about this book I was regretting that it had likely disappeared into the abyss of the many children who came after me but yesterday afternoon I stumbled upon it next to The Wind in the Willows. 

 Thumbing through the pages I was a bit surprised; while I had remembered much of the content very clearly I was amazed by how much it was either suited to or influenced me, that is, how much I loved it. Everything about it really still seems perfect to me, from the sketch illustrations with green added alone, to the hand-written page titles with printed notes and amendments (just like a little journal), right down to Linnea’s outfit.

Her neighbor, Mr. Bloom (a wonderful name for a retired gardener she notes) likes to draw her pictures to explain how the seeds germinate and grow, how the water cycle works and how people, plants, the sun and air all interact.  Mr. Bloom is apparently a very patient and friendly retiree because he usually follows these explanations with a "why don't we try..." that results in making garden cress cheese or a terrarium.

In many ways, this book is a scrapbook, a project journal where she records her experiences and saves Mr. Bloom's pictures. With this curiousity and particular interest, Linnea brings the mori girl very much to mind. She loves plants and that she is named after a flower but she summarizes her relationship with nature like this:

"I'm no woodland flower (even if my name is Linnea). I'm an asphalt flower. I live in the city where there are no forests or fields, but I am surrounded with green things anyway. All over my apartment- in flowerpots and boxes and cans, things are growing!"

She is very fond of her plants, naming many of them, and also of information. She is lucky to have a friend like Mr. Bloom with the time and knowledge to encourage her curiousity.  She also  has a propensity for growing kitchen foods, like garlic and cress to make cheese, and creating and growing things. She likes to incorporate her plants into miniature scenes with animal figurines and pieces of mirror (to make a lake) too! I like to do this with my figurines too.  

It is sunny today and spring is coming and I am looking forward to cleaning winter out of my garden.  Reading this book again brought me home in a way. I had not realized how unsettled I had been feeling until I was where I belonged again.

There was a fair bit of nostalgia. I also found my garden girl paper dolls, but those will be for another day.

I've missed you.

Perhaps the oddest thing about winter is that it never seems so cold until the sun sets on that first spring-like day. Canadian winters have a way of teasing like this; there is a sudden break in the clouds and several days of warmth and light and then the temperature falls back down. There comes such a deep and unwarranted chill over everything that the night before would have thought the evening warm.

 Fortunately, February is (for me at least) also full of fun things inside. Check out the cupcakes I made for my cousin's sixth birthday! He is all about pirates right now.

The look on his face when I told him he should grab some of his "pirate guys" to put on the cupcakes was amazing. He was thrilled about the idea once I had reassured him that no one would eat his toys.

I think you would like her.

She sits in the park with her back to a tree and reads things that do not match. Beneath the spreading canopy she reads about robots and space ships and genetic modification where she should read classics or about settlers or about cats that talk and smile. Maybe she reads those books too. Perhaps she reads those books sitting in an apartment or a science lab that is too cold and modern and glaring to read of dimly lit trysts and whispered allegiances. You'd like her.

Planters and Pretty Things

These last winter months have been rather unpoetically hectic and poetically grey. Taking my time to enjoy its little moments though has been very pleasurable. Pausing in my walk home yesterday, I heard the steady dripping of a melting icicle hanging from the eaves and I waited until the dripping climaxed in the icicle slipping down and crashing into the shrubs below. Staying rewarded me with a second crescendo to the plodding sound of the drops in the snow.
In between midterms and studying- reading Chaucer and Shakespeare, which has likely been the most wonderful kind of studying I have experienced- the new IKEA catalogue has been catching my eye. I am utterly enamored with this sweet little greenhouse which is destined to find its way to my house and windowsill on my next trip to the coast.
Also, my fox has gained two new friends. My boyfriend so kindly surprised me with the adorable hedgehog the other day and the antelope was a rather impulsive purchase from the clearance table from the local toy store. He reminded me, however vaguely, of the forest spirit of Princess Mononoke.

God Jul

Best holiday wishes to anyone stumbling this way. May your day be as warm and fuzzy as Orion playing with the string of a Tim Horton's tea bag.

Essay Proposal

So, Essay, I think we should talk.

We’ve spent a lot of time together over the last three years. That’s not to discount the times we had flirting, passing glances, speed-writing during lunch breaks back in high school, but since then, we’ve gotten serious.

As I look back over nights spent in silence- you, me, a couple of tea cups in the dim light- I start to think about how else I could have spent those hours. Really, anything could have filled that time; nothing could fill it like you. The emotional highs and lows as we went, the euphoria of completion, it is all completely without like.  And you so flighty, so beyond my comprehension.  As the morning drew, it would seem only moments from our slipping out of the house to the nausea that would wash over me as you walked off with my professor. Truly, you are not kind to me.  I fret for weeks, wondering if you are doing well, if you are clear in your thinking, and then I receive a note, hardly more than an acknowledgement of that night, five digits short of a phone number. You’re gone. For months, you’re gone. You slip away while the seasons change and then, you appear again, peeking coyly out from behind the class syllabus.

               Essay, these ups and downs are killing me.  I can’t stop thinking about you. Sometimes I see us in the kitchen, looking down at little abstracts and I wonder if, maybe, this is meant to be. Maybe, we could make this work.

               I know that the semester is at an end.  You won’t look for me at finals and, when the break is done, you’ll only tease me, how far away you will seem! But, Essay, while you are away from me, I wonder if you would consider this, my proposal,

               Essay, will you marry me?

^This is the only way I can respond to yet another essay proposal  requirement. Creative steam must be blown off through writing things that are not required things.

Winter Reading

We have reached winter. The snow has yet to stay, but the cold is and slowly the more so. It seems like only a week or so ago that I saw the leaf in the picture below. While probably the best ward against winter I have seen yet, the snow came the very next morning.

In any case, it is a lovely reason to be inside with tea and a book. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say school work and a tea, given the schedule of the university. I am taking a class focusing on the gothic novel, the result of which has been a great deal of classic horror reading. I had not read much out that genre prior to this, but coupled with the weather and the coziness inside, it has been very enjoyable. "The Innocents" is on the agenda for tonight. It is based on the book "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, one of my favourites from this course.

Lovecraft

If you have not yet read this book you need to. It is a collection of H.P. Lovecraft's short stories so, even if school is consuming your time like unattended Halloween candy, you can still enjoy it in those few narrow moments. The bus stop has been seeing more reading than my room of late. I was introduced to Lovecraft through 'The Color Out of Space', which has remained a favourite and has gained a fair share of company from this collection.

I. The Valley

It was in greatest need that we came upon that land; we were far from our homes and far from our knowledge. We had crested an exceptionally large hill which was completely unexceptional in all other respects and, looking down the western slope, saw for the first time the valley, glittering with dew and morning.

It was first decided that we would seek the dwellers of the valley out where they might be and ask that we may take refuge for a time therein. Two days of such searching, looking down from the hill tops for we dared not descend into the valley unannounced, for signs of habitation yielded nothing; we rejoiced, and thanked the heavens for our fortune in finding a good, bright land unoccupied. It seemed thus, but apparently they were amazed by our failing to perceive them.

            Our people spread out, leaving space for the future planting of crops, and began to build homes. I drifted about, not quite haphazardly, through the thick woods with my family until my father stopped us before a meadow. I could hear a stream nearby, but I have never been sure he did. I have often suspected that his quiet proclamation “here” was almost solely born of the image of the meadow simply striking him in his path.  For myself, I thought it a lovely meadow, much like the pictures in the story books I had left behind, sunlit and entirely without shadow somehow. It felt as a blessed place and, saying as much, my father immediately began pacing a layout for a sod house upon the ground.

            The air felt alive, and I took my liberty without a word or notice and slipped off in the direction of the stream. Meandering without any sense of urgency but in a peaceful wakefulness of mind I came upon the creek.

            Before now, it has been said that we were far from home; we had left your place and now had gone a year and a day west. I cannot speak of why we left, for that weighs heavy on all our hearts, though perhaps not so heavy as these memories now. It stands, however, that you can imagine the pleasure in stepping out of my boots and into the biting cold of the flowing water. 

            The cold aside, this was vaguely daring, for the light was so strong that I could not see past the reflections on the surface of the water, crouch as I may, and had need to feel my way along with my toes. Once or twice I felt an anonymous something brushing against me feet and ankles but at that time I still held those thrills of the unknown as pleasures. It was purely for joy that I splashed in the water before tiptoeing back to the meadow with a wet coat and high spirits.

            The sky had grown remarkably dim without my noticing, or perhaps unremarkably so considering that the forest did not seem much the darker for it.  While this bothered my mind, my mother, in the midst of denouncing my disappearance, assured me that that was simply the way of light in valleys. To come and go slowly, the peeking over the tops of the mountains like children a small table is the sun’s habit, she told me. This was our first night in the valley and contentment and possibility warmed us as much as the small fire built against the cold. I remained bothered, but only in that small way of the unfamiliar but not unknown. I fell asleep quickly; I did not observe that the light of the fire under the moon did not match the shadows, nor the illumination within the trees outside the clearing.

Five Minute Sketch

Lulu is playing pirates! This was a quick sketch playing with the idea of a pirate Lulu skin in League of Legends. Instead of a single sash, she's tied the sashes of all she has defeated with her wooden sword on to it, making a skirt which strikes fear into the hearts of those she will soon send skipping off the plank. Yar! Be greatly afeared!
Pix has a captain hat.

Writing

I often write for my own pleasure, or simply make up stories to share verbally but over the next little while I'll be posting sections of short stories I've been writing. The first of these will be up tomorrow and I dearly hope that you will enjoy them.
The unrelated picture of the day is of the creek and some lovely thinking space.

Also a duck.

Midterms

And thus I am torn from the last visitations of sun!
It's not that dramatic, but I'd much rather be outside than indoors studying. Three tests down and one more in this set. I'm looking forward to wrapping these up and getting into paper writing. I always enjoy that a great deal more, but tea and lunch makes it as pleasant as may be. Also, my studying-fox friend to keep me company. He's surprisingly loyal for one so coy.
Drinking sweet chai.
Listening to Eluveitie's Isara.

Last Weekend (sometimes called "Thanksgiving")

I hope yours was so lovely as mine!
After a delightfully busy weekend of apple picking, apple crisp making and autumn walk taking I am physically tired and mentally refreshed. The beauty of the fall has brought a sense of calm with it that I sometimes struggle to find in the summer. The coming months of school are busy, and I have a number of events in the near days, but I feel quite at peace with this. I hope you enjoyed some quiet and some apple crisp or pie.

Return to Ravnica

The hardcore be warned: I will be discussing feelings over mechanics. As Magic the Gathering players will know, yesterday was the final day of the pre-release weekend for Return to Ravnica. I attended the Sunday tournament and played Selesnya. I was surprised by how balanced the guilds were and what a great time everyone had (MTG tournaments are always a good time, but this one especially so).  This set is incredibly polished, unlike Innistrad which felt like an afterthought. The pre-existing lore is intricate and the marketing for the set has been excellently done. The pre-release boasted guild specific packages for players including a guild coloured spin down die, sticker, acceptance letter and one pack of cards suited to the guild. There was also an achievement list which went far to achieving a sense of guild spirit. Frankly, I think the only thing Wizards could have done to better this would have been to recommend to the organizers that they have people stand with their guild while the match lists were put up. It would have been simple, but I think the mere act of standing surrounded by guild members  facing your collective opponents would have  sealed the sense of camaraderie. As it was, the set is so (from a Selesnyan angle) elegant. The the green and white cards just dovetail beautifully and discreetly- nearly all my wins were cases where my opponent believed he had already won. I didn't win any matches due to some serious mana issues in my construction, but it was a delightful day. Also, I am entirely pleased with the design of the box. As someone sitting near me put it, "I have my deck, my dice and my sideboard." I think it will be better suited to a grab box when Magic is possible but not certain and you just want a pair of decks and some dice, but judge for yourself. Release date is Friday and you will not want to miss this one.

Strawberry Hide and Seek

We have had a late summer this year (it did not start to get warm until very nearly July) and my household garden has been abundantly productive all through September. A short while back we concluded it could not last much longer and began bringing the last things in. The cucumbers and tomatoes are still producing as is the spice garden, but the strawberries are in their last for the year. If you've played strawberry hide and seek before, you know exactly how this goes.

Strawberries hide...

 

... and seek!

They are terribly sneaky.

And terribly tasty.

An introductory hello.

And welcome to the Warden Tree. Here you will find essentially whatever has crossed my mind (yes, exactly like every other blog on the internets). This will frequently be related to entertaining education, not because it is the focus of the blog but because that is frequently on my mind as I'm looking for ways to keep the munchkins I babysit busy. Beyond that, you'll likely find thoughts on... You know, we'll see as we go I suppose.