I think its kind of bittersweet that the first of the women on this list was an involuntary captive. Not all discovery or exploration came out of a desire to find it, but for those who survived it and shared their journeys, much gratitude is owed.
Lady Wen-Chi was taken from her Chinese family at around the age of twelve by a band of Mongol warriors. She than traveled with them to Inner Mongolia and its steppes. She was wed to one of the senior commanders and thus had to adapt to the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle and customs. Life was lonely and hard. She did bore two children to the Mongolian chief, and although she was disgusted with being pregant with a “barbarian’s” child, she loved her children once they were born. Fifteen or so years after her capture she was given the heart-wrenching choice of returning to China or staying with her children. She choose China. (Which can only be insight into how truely hard life must have been.)
On her return to China she imortalized her journey in The Eighteen Songs of a Nomadic Flute. These works opened a window into a world previously little was known about.
Women of Discovery
Its been hard not to have some wanderlust in these days of quarantine. Although to be truthful, I am the pickest of white sheet, clean toilet travelers. I still dream of far off places, tropical trees and warm water. It was a LONG cold winter followed by an even colder and lonelier spring.
Last fall I ran across this book, Women of Discovery: A Celebration of Intrepid Women Who Explored The World: by Milbry Polk & Mary Tigreen. I looked through it a few times but than of course had to return ot to the Library before I ever really got to go through it. But its been in my brain perculating. In fact it encouraged me to think about one of my first introductions to females as explorers: Laura Ingalls Wilder. How she unwittingly became an explorer through her families journey out West. Her stories of hardship, adventure and undisturbed nature traveled with me my whole life. She was my companion growing up on the same Midwest plains as she did, but than she followed me all the way to the remote mountains of Nigeria where her stories of homelife and disease took on whole new realizations as I experienced it.
Woman have been explorers as long as men have, sometimes by choice, sometimes against their will, but showing the same grit and determination that we laud on our male idols.
So in these times of staying home, I am diving into this world of women. Reading their stories, exploring their worlds and letting them take me to the far off places I can not currently go to.
“Exploration is a process from within and without. ”
Keeping the Littles Warm While Winter Hiking.
It’s been two years ago but still seems relevant, as I hear doom and gloom of snow this weekend. So I am posting! We traveled to Grand Marais MN for our spring break ( which was amazing!) but one of our hardest think arounds, was keeping the boys warm while Hiking. Yes, we could have gone out and gotten thermal underwear for everyone, but we where there for over a week, with no laundry/dry and we were AirBnB-ing it so I wasn’t quite sure what the drying things out around the house would be like. So, we came on this simple solution and I just want to pass it on.. Kid’s Pajamas. That’s it! You know how you have bemoaned about the skin tight fit, as you have tried to wrangle them on slippery kiddos after bath. Its gonna pay off now. they work perfect as a layer for winter hiking, ultimate plus, just keep the ones that they have on from the night before ( unless of course there was a wet night, which happens we all know it!) they are pre- warmed and ready to go. The other big lesson we learned, don,t make your kids hike in snowpants. For real, it sucks. Keep them in the car as an after hike extra warm or if they want to roll around in the snow afterwards. We found that just layering active wear pants worked way better, the kids could move more freely and we could keep our pace up and stay warm! Okay thats it, just some tips.
Winter Holiday Ornaments
I am so SOO SOOO excited to share these! I made these design back in April of this year, and yes, I think there was still snow on the ground here in MN. I think these would make a great gift or maybe gift yourself and add them to your tree this year!
If you would like to get your hands on them, check them out over in my Etsy Shop! . And if you want coordinating items, check out my Spoonflower shop for anything fabric and all the coordinates!
Merry Everything!
Soon the kiddos will be out for school break and I was looking for crafts for them to do, and found this printable I made a few year ago. Please click to download, for best results print on cardstock, and let the kiddos decorate, cut around and than hang!
Free Holiday Gift Tag Downloads
I have SOOOOOO many presents to wrap, I don’t even know why I am putting it off, I actually love wrapping. Maybe its the thought that I am not done shopping, that I keep putting it off? Anyways, till I manage to pull out the tower of boxes that is over taking my bedroom, I made up these cute tags to put on all those wrapped goodies! Please for personal use only!
Just click image to download.
Print on full sticker sheet, cut out and use.
Holiday Giveaway!
I have had a amazing year exploring illustration and figuring out what my next step forward is. From taking classes, to freeing up time to work on my dreams, to just living the dream!
Just wanted to put out a small thank you for all the support and love you all have shown me over the past year! I have been blessed with friends with listening ears, kind clients and a ridiculously patient family.
I will be doing a drawing for my 12 Days of Christmas Tea Towel (sewn by me) and my Sand and Sea Sun Catcher (as a nod to warmer days!)
So here’s how it goes!
Please head over to my Etsy shop and pick out your favorite item in my shop, and give it some love on Etsy than, head back here and leave a comment and I will draw a winner on December 17th by 3 pm Central!
See, Easy Peasy!. Once again thanks for all the love, and can’t wait to see what the New Year brings!!
Sun & Sand Sun Catcher
How to Ground Yourself ( well at least my version of it.)
I am sure everyone has been paying attention right now to the news, whether fake or not, or red or blue, or just watching the weather channel. Its all unsettling. I have felt off kilter and an little disconnected, being at home, just making sure that the kids school stuff is all ready for the year. But now they are at school, and I have time for thinking and worrying, and I know that's not going to get me anywhere. Better to be productive and busy. My cure-all every single time: Spicy Carrot Soup. There is something to the simplicity but richness of it that always calls me back to really circle around the things that are important to me.
So here is my current cure-all to the anxiety in this world:
Get a bunch of dirty carrots, like a big bunch and REALLY dirty bunch, whether from your garden or the farmers market.
Just start scrubbing, and washing. Honestly, simple meditation. ( Okay, you can totally buy the clean grocery store one, its not gonna hurt the taste :) and I have a million times but today, my hands needed to stay busy!! )
All those pretty clean carrots!!
Than cook up a batch of Spicy Carrot Soup, doesn't matter if you are feeding 1-6 because this soup freezes beautifully! You should have almost everything in the house, and if you don't have the garnish don't sweat it, because in our family, I am not even sure if the kids know what a garnish is!!
Eat up, and reassure yourself, you are a decent person, and you know what matters in this life.
Untamed and Unafraid
I have been needing to remind myself of this. After nine years of being at home with the kiddos, things often go unnoticed, unrewarded, and I need to tell myself, just because I pick up after a wild trio every day, doesn't diminish my wildness.
The simple fact of raising the boys with the goal of making sure they are intelligent, kind and resourceful is a task of no small undertaking. They haven't tamed the girl that loves to swim, and dig holes. They have only challenged me to be more than wild. To be unafraid of the mundane, to know it can not tame me.
So for today, a quote to print and remind me ( and all you other brave, extraordinary people who are reading this.) we are on a journey.
A start...
Here it is, a start. After 9 years of working in the quiet hours, and the 2 hours while one of the kids is in preschool, I finally get to take a much more serious look at my work. Its been hard, it keep the backfire burning while making sure that my #1 priority ( the family) was getting the attention it deserve. Hopefully not many more of these sappy introspective posts, but for now, there is atleast content on this blog!