Matroyoshkas, Masks, and One Proud Mama

Please meet my first set of Matroyoshka dolls.

Aren't these ladies sweet?

A month or two ago, I was browsing in a little junk/antique shop downtown called Really Bad Antiques (!). I spotted this set of nesting dolls in the glass case. After playing around with them for a bit, I decided to put them back. It was around the same time that I had developed an interest in the matroyoshka and had created a couple of items based on them (this, this, and this). But, I decided I could live without them. 

On a stroll downtown this week, I happened to be in the shop again doing some browsing. Lo and behold, my girls were still in their glass case. I had thought about them often, and decided I'd give them another look. They are certainly not the flashiest matryoshkas I've ever seen. Far from it, in fact. They're a little faded. But those faces. So sweet! And I love their swirly spirals of hair, too. At any rate, you guessed it! They are now enjoying their new home on my kitchen windowsill above the sink. They seem quite content, and their serene faces silently encourage me when I'm doing some of my least favorite chores. When it comes to cleaning the kitchen, I need all the encouragement I can get!

 Today being Wednesday, Kieran and I followed our usual routine of heading over to the Peavy Library for Story Time. Our lovely librarian (and one of my bestest buds), Dana, reads a story then conducts some sort of art project. Today the story was Dandelion by Don Freeman. The kids then made lion masks. Well, they made masks, but they sort of listened to their own artistic muses when it came to the mask making. Fortunately, our Dana, a brilliant artist in her own rite, never adheres to any hard and fast rules when it comes to art making with our kids. Unfortunately, I think Kieran's artistic muse was Jason from the Friday the 13th movies! Eek!

See what I mean?  

 Last night, Heron has the opportunity to play at a Music on the Green series in Calais. Each Tuesday a different band performs at the lovely gazebo right in the middle of town. There's always an enthusiastic crowd gathered on the large green lawn, and the kids are generally running wild and having a ball.

Last night, Kieran and I decided we'd tag along and see Heron play with his band, High Tide (yeah, yeah, I know...). Usually when we attend an event like this we have plenty of friends floating around. But not last night. As we settled down to listen to the music, I could tell Kieran was a little disappointed. He quickly decided he would scope the place out to see if in fact any of his friends were there. I watched him wander the perimeter, scanning for familiar faces. Unsuccessful in his search, he sat back down and listened to the music for a bit. By this time, kids has started to form their usual gang and were running around playing tag. It wasn't long before Kieran said to me, "I'm going to go ask them if I can play." And off he went. There was no hesitation. He didn't discuss it with me, or agonize over whether or not he should or shouldn't join those kids. He simply did it. Within a minute, he was one of those kids running and having a great time, a huge smile on his face.

I must tell you that I may never have been so proud of Kieran as at that moment. As much as it hurts to let him go (as I lamented in this post) this is the kind of behavior that a parent dreams about. Or at least, I do. He showed a confidence and bravery I'm not sure I possessed at his age. And I love the fact that when he saw other kids having fun, he didn't just sit there. He took action. It was just me and Patrick for the rest of the night. Luckily, having a dog is a great ice breaker, so I made some friends, too!

In other news, I ordered a new camera yesterday! I'm so excited! The one I'm using was purchased for me by my sweet dad way back in 2003. It has served me well, but it's time for an upgrade. I'm looking forward to learning how to use this new gizmo. I'm getting a little less techno-phobic with age, I think. I must be developing that thing called "patience" I've heard so much about. Go figure! Maybe I'm actually growing up, too!