Galway Playground

Since we arrived here in Ireland we have been searching for playgrounds. My friend who lives here gave me directions to a few. Playgrounds in Ireland are not located in every town or at every elementary school like w are used to in the states. Yesterday we finally made it to a playground - the girls were in HEAVEN!
We started the day by meeting Nicholas - my Dublin cousin at the Galway train station. We wandered down shop street and around the canal to the main cathedral and came upon this truly magical place.
There was a play yard for little ones my kids' age, a climbing gym for older kids where Lucy took a try adn a skate park for teenagers who were out in droves. Even the public outside bathroom was memorable. It cost 20 cents and was fully automated. The money went in a slot the door opened with an automated voice notifying the user of this happening. The door then closed. The lock button was like an elevator button on the inside. Everything about the washroom was spotless, clean, and automatic. After
each use there is a cleaning cycle - sounded like a dishwasher!
We spent a couple of hours playing in the sunny weather with a herd of shorties. Everyone had a lot of fun. The girls slept all the way back to Kinvara.

Green, Family, and Fairy Portals

Today's Aside:
I got a really helpful tip on arranging images on my blog page to correlate with the text. I have not allowed myself the time to use the tip tonight. Please bear with the haphazard flow of this post and know that tomorrow will be a learning day on my computer - in the blogosphere - as long as it is raining.


Yesterday was spent at the cottage - the place that the girls now call Ireland. When they get tired when we are out roaming around they say they want to go home to Ireland.

We did go to see Auntie Ellie who is not feeling so well. I foolishly did not get a picture but promise to capture her beauty before our stay is up. She is beautiful, fit, tiny, agile, smiley, full of life with truly the most amazing garden I have ever seen. She is 90. Lives by herself (I am sure she shares her home with an extended family of
fairies.) Her not feeling so well has to do with her heart beating too fast leaving her short of breath - a lot. She is not used to asking for help or even wanting it that much. It is frightening her. Damn thing seems to be wearing out - she says. These pictures were taken enroute to her magical abode. We didn't stay too long as we arrived unexpectedly and Lucy was sleeping in the car. We will go back as much as we can while we are here.



Note to readers:
We do spend time each day seeking a decent
cup of coffee. We have been spoiled by our neighborhood haunt back in Shire City, and so far have not found anything that compares!

The sailboat at low tide in Kinvara harbor was the view from yesterday's coffee stop. The coffee was decent but not great.

The cement gate post is at the entryway to a house built like the newer barns here with lots of glass and a visible staircase - making me think that it is a residence - and the veiw was notable too. Part of what seemed to me to be an organic farm not far from where we are staying on the edge of Co. Clare

Third from the top is the road to Cregmore, Ellie's home.

Next is the road I walked down to see friends nearby - a two way road on a blustery moist afternoon. Got acupuncture for my sore hand and a hot cuppa tea.

A purple bloom among lush green roadside texture.

Family, Flowers, Food - Ireland

Who needs a welcome mat when this is the entry of your home? At the cottage where we stay in Nogra, one first has to travel through a notable low walled flower garden full of blooming poppies, daisies, fuchsia bushes, calendula, asters, clematis and countless other unusual colorful, odd shaped gloriousness.

Intermittent rain is keeping the lush greens soft and everywhere. Sun warms the ground and the wind has been keeping us in layers, wool socks and all.

We went to Galway in search of a healthy food grocery shop today. We got turned around (and around) in traffic due to the Volvo World Sea Race that happened to be in town today too. We just parked the car and walked around the waterfront to check it all out.
Chris was in his glory when we found the big diggers and trucks!
I was really happy to find descent cup of black coffee to put an end to the throbbing headache I was toting around this morning!
Healthy food was available there too - a booth called Good Food Ireland - which is sort of like our Berkshire Grown back home. We had lunch there - really yummy organic meat sausages served like hot dogs. Veggies were not offered but I did sample the smoked salmon - Yummmm. The woman who waited on us gave me lots of info on the organization including a touring map with their members locations all over the country. No word of a whole, healthy food grocery market though.

We ended up shopping for basics back in Kinvara at the new, giant, not very good Londis. They did have organic milk and some organic fruit and vegetables. The potatoes we had for dinner were very tastey (rightly so!)

On the way home from a walk to the beach Lucy fell asleep in the stroller with a handful of wildflowers for 'Daddy'. A red clover, buttercup, purple vetch, and a couple others, he put them in water, short stems and all - a reminder of the love I have for my family!

Then there was the tea party. Violet and Lucy seem so easily entertained. Mostly it is the fact that they have each other but they are pretty creative thinkers. Every piece of silverware was searched out and on display for their festivities. They must have been expecting quite a crowd!

this is an aside:
I wish I could figure out how to format and post pictures better with this software. It would be great if the text that pertained to the pictures on my posts could correlate a little better~ Maybe someone out there can help me? I have tried to get help through blogger but that is quite a maze and requires patience

Ireland, Playgrounds, Thrift Shops, Organic Farms, and Family

Chris, Lucy, Violet and myself, just arrived here in Nogra, near Kinvara this morning. We flew from JFK to Shannon without a hitch. The girls were so excited about the thought of flying on a plane I was worried about the amount of sleep any of us would get on our overnight flight. I was also worried about Violet having one of her unexplained night time coughing attacks that sounds like everything is coming up, on the plane or in the airport and being summoned off the plane in the latest media panic for Swine Flu. Yikes!
We all slept as well as undrugged people can sleep on planes, and there was not so much as a throat clearing from the youngest of our possee. I would like to plan our two week stay around Playgrounds, Thrift Shops, Organic Farms and Family - not necessarily in that order. Delving into a little research has been pretty friutless so far. Am I going to have to write a book mapping out and reviewing these things? I have thought about the Thrift Shop Guide before. Not sure how playgrounds partner for the average reader - there maybe the beginnings of two volumes here. For now, stay tuned here and I will let you know what I learn.

Easter Sunday

Not sure where this bunny image came from but I found it online somewhere and have been saving it to post commem-orating the best part of the Easter Holiday in my memory.

The hunt was held at my sister's house this year. She always manages to pull off the magic of whatever season or holiday is about. Easter, this past Sunday was no acception! The kids all had a great time dashing around the yard on a chilly afternoon filling baskets with wonder and brightly colored eggs. What fun! It was Violet's first year of on her own hunting. She was not in such a hurry - genuinely awestruck by the idea that the bunny had left all these eggs for her! Wow!

Three jelly beans this morning sent her into a rare sugar induced tantrum before we got out the door. Short lived for both she and her sister - Oh Thank Goodness!~

Potholder Rugs

This week is going to be busy. Getting ready for my three day Potholder Rug making workshop and Alchemy Initiative's introduction to the community.
Workshop preparations are familiar and clear. I am excited to meet a nice group of women, some traveling from far away places to join in the learning and making scheduled to begin at 10am, Sunday April 19.
Every time I have a workshop I try to add something to the experience, my learning process. Looms to sell are the addition to this Potholder Rug making workshop. My friend Eric has made a couple of lovely samples for students to try and order if they are excited enough about the process to want to continue at home. Looms that make 2.5x3.5 ft rugs are available for $275 and smaller looms - that make rugs that measure 1.75x2.5ft are priced at $175. You can buy them at the studio or from my online shop, www.crispinaffrench.etsy.com

Alchemy Initiative is unfamiliar as it is so new and really exciting. We, the founding members are a group of 4 women all committed to urban farming, art making, urban center, community housing development and community in general. Our first event is planned for Wednesday April 22 - Earthday. There suddenly seems like there is so much to do! Yikes! Gotta get to bed so I can get up early and work before the girls are up.

Yard Work

It has been hard to find time for creative work these last weeks. The kids were sick sick sick. Fevers, coughs, respiratory congestion. Then Chris got it and finally after thinking I survived the bout I ended up with a ear infection that resulted in a ruptured eardrum. It is really a bummer. My hearing is still muffled.

Got a line full of diapers done today in the cool sunshine. The yard got raked and the girls each scored mini rakes from the hardware store.

Tonight I am deep in the throes of second pages editing for The Sweater Chop Shop. It is fun but tedious.

Primm Turner ffrench

This is my Mom. She celebrated her 80th birthday on March 9,2009. Born in Richmond VA to Doris Bryant Turner and Albert Turner. She moved 16 times growing up, graduated high school at the age of 16 and began teaching art in public school at the age of 20.
Last May a delightful grandmotherly woman named Abby Cutter, showed up at the house in Stockbridge. I was there and answered the door. She asked if she could just come in and say hello to Primm. Mom had been her art teacher the first year she was teaching. Abby made the trip from Virginia, in part to tell Primm how much she had influenced her life. There ought to be more teachers like her out there!

She and my dad still share the house we all grew up in on Main Street in Stockbridge, MA. While they are both blessed with relative good health, there are things that mom needs help doing. For the last year we have been working on filing a claim and actually receiving financial help from TransAmerica Long Term Care Insurance Co. No luck yet. What a debacle! Just wanted to shout out to Mom and say thanks for being a strong female role model and for trying your best to leave your kids without the financial burden of aging parents. Too bad the insurance industry is such a farce!

Plague-Like Flu

Really since the first week of February someone in our house has had a fever. Actually the fevers all seem to have broken for the last 24 hours. Maybe this time we are on the mend. I never got it but all three kids and Chris did. I am really tired of playing nurse and being in the house. Haven't gotten much done in the studio either. Toward the end of today the Lucy and Violet were playing Ring Around The Rosie. Sure beats the excessive neediness, hair-pulling, pushing, grabbing and general naughtiness that seeped in prior!
Maybe we will all be back in our routine by the end of the week!

Pittsfield, West Stockbridge, Hudson NY

Today was spent traveling near and wide to collect things needed for finishing touches of our nearly complete second floor unit in the rectory. First stop was The Floor Store in West Stockbridge where we ordered Marmoleum for both bathroom floors, subway tile for the bath and amazing ceramic tile to be used for the kitchen counters.
Then on to Reggie's magical wonderland of all things funky old and totally useful right in the heart of Hudson NY. Now that little city sparkles with it's fairly tale architecture and diversity.
By the time we got there the rascals were having high jinx! We had a late lunch enroute of pretzels, orange juice, clementines and strawberry Brown Cow yogurt! Both girls were in a great mood all day and really dug Reggie and his place. It was fun to have the weather to be warm enough to do some harmless puddle splashing which is Lucy's first choice activity! Here they are in all their glory: Lucy on the left and Violet. Violet will be two on the 10th. We are having a hot chocolate sliding party tomorrow in her honor!

Did I hear a GLOBAL Sigh?

I thought I was the only one with tears filling my eyes and then shamelessly streaming down my cheeks as our new president took office. Seems like that state was W I D E spread. Tears carrying away feeling responsible for the torture, hate, fear, and deceit promoted by our outgoing administration.
Maybe Love is the operative word now - as suggested by the poet at the podium just after Obama's eloquent speech. Let's help and hope and spread the love.

I am working on a batch of New Flag blankets - patchwork, of course, like our country. One of the batch is heading right down there to the first Family and the rest will fill orders and be available on my etsy shop. Stay tuned!

Memorable Weekend!

Ben was with us this weekend. I met him in Stockbridge, at The Dolphin Studio, late Friday afternoon. We had a great chatty ride home. Nice to have one on one time with him.

Before Ben’s arrival, I had spoken to Deborah from Storey Publishing - the first sample pages of the book, I am finishing up with them, are ready for my review! We arranged to have them dropped off for me to have for the weekend. The book is called Chop Shop - due out in August - all how to make things using the process I have developed over the last 21 years. It was a TON of work. I did the writing and illustrations and loved the process!



Oh MAN! The sample pages are great! The people at Storey sure know what they are doing! They look better than I could have imagined. It is astonishing to see all that rough work come together in smooth, professional, book-like form! My next task is to read through it and make finishing touches making the illustrations match the copy.

I had to wait til I got home from chaperoning a high school dance sponsored by Youth Alive here in downtown Pittsfield to take a look. I had the pages in my hands for about 47 seconds before I had to dash out the door.

There were a whole lotta kids at the dance held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Every different walk of life and all three high schools in Pittsfield were represented without a hitch. I had a blast meeting some community minded fellow chaperones, getting educated to youth culture, and seeing all those beautiful kids. The chaperones were invited into the ballroom for the Youth Alive performance. The crowd was mighty enthusiastic and exuberant! Youth Alive performers were A M A Z I N G – AND they organized the whole event, selling tickets, keeping lines moving, and being generally responsible.
One kid from Dalton was puking in the bathroom less than an hour into it. He was pretty green. We called 911.



At 8:30 Saturday morning I was in Brattleboro VT for a workshop on being an educated, proficient and productive Food Coop Board Member. CBL101 was the title of the day-long seminar. It was super fun! The presenters were engaging, fun and very informative. I met 19 mostly new, board members from neighboring coops. The day got me jazzed about my recent commitment with the Berkshire Coop Market Board of Directors. I have to add here that Policy Governance is an idea that seems to fit well with the changes we are experiencing in many aspects of culture today.

By 7:30 Saturday night, my sweet hubby and I, were at his company “Christmas Party”. It was held at The Old Forge in Lanesboro where they have over 100 choices in the beer department and great food to go with. We had fun. My brother-in-law works for Chris so my sister Sofie was there and she is always up for some fun. We laughed a lot while maintaining as much composure as expected. Chris employs over thirty people at CESCO plumbing and heating so there was a nice crowd there. We were home in bed shortly after midnight. All the kids were sound asleep and peaceful.

Ben, our dear friend Jayme Hummer, and I went skiing at Jiminy Peak Sunday afternoon. It was a BEAUTIFUL day - a truly fabulous way to end a pretty special weekend. The conditions were superb after a late Saturday night snow of musta been 7 or 8 inches. It was cold and sunny with big puffy clouds streaking across the bright blue sky. Jiminy Peak generates about a third of the power they use with a huge beautiful wind turbine that seems to float above the trees near the summit gracefully gliding through time in silence. Just gorgeous. Made my lungs fill with clear cold mountain air with a sense of comfort sometimes consumed with environmental guilt when alpine skiing. Season passes next year?

Tea Party

Wait staff at my Tea House on Melville Street

Fresh

It has been entirely too long since I have posted. Many cool and exciting things are happening that seem to rocket into the past at breakneck velocity. Today is Christmas and we had a great chill and enjoyable family day.
I will be posting on a daily basis for the next week so please do check back and see what's up.

Calendar Time

The ffrench family business, called The Dolphin Studio started 38 years ago by John and Primm, (my Mom and Dad) is in the throes of another busy calendar shipping season. We produce a hand silkscreened calendar every year and have since the beginning. When I was a kid printing was one of the daily chores that each kid was required to carry out. It was our task to register the paper on the table and then carry the fresh, wet prints from the print table to a clothesline to hang to dry. Since then things have gotten a lot more organized and fluid.
Primm cuts all the stencils, John did do all the printing single handedly for many years. This year he had help from his friend and master screen printer John Ahlen.
Sofie, my sister, and I have been heading up the mailing and shipping departments. It has been really great to have time to add this to my day.
Just last year Primm hand wrote each mailing label and 'thank-you for your order' enclosure. She swore off it after literally doubling sales due to features in the NY Times Magazine and DailyCandy.com. Sofie and I hold onto her personal touch as much as we can while adding computer printed labels and UPS pick-up to the mix.

We normally sell out by mid December and they are going fast so if you want to get one, don't wait. They cost $50 and can be ordered right from here: The Dolphin Studio.

Laundry at My House

Finally got Chris to put up a clothesline for me. Sure beats burning fossil fuel on a dryer! Saves the three storey trip to the clothes yard too.

Workshop Coming Up!

Violet says, the mornings are chilly, heating fuel is expensive. Come to my mom's sweater making workshop on October 19 in her studio in Pittsfield and learn how to stay warm this winter!

Details:
Sunday Oct 19, 2008 10-4pm, $150 everything included, sign up now before it is too late!
To sign up, call the studio at 413-236-9600 and leave a message. I'll call you back to cofirm.

Tech Help and Tidbits - GO OBAMA

Hi There,

Sorry for the long silence. I have been in edit mode DEEP. Working on the teaching book I have in the works. This week I am illustrating which is fun and time consuming so not alot of time to catch up here. I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out how to put my google account on my blogger account? It is sometimes very hard to update my blog because I set it up ages ago using a different email address than the gmail address I now have. Every time I go into blogger it tells me that I need to update my account with a google account. When I try to do that, it tells me that it is not possible to use a gmail account as the primary email address for the blog. - I thought that is what blogger was asking me for - my google account - which I think - is my gmail account. Blogger help is a bit of misnomer in this situation. Does anyone have advice for me? Sorry to be so needy in the tech dept but this has me confused.
I would love to stay in better touch and I think help in this area would be a great first step.

Tidbits for the last 2 weeks:
We went to Sarah Humphrey and Gary Rowe's wedding on a super RAINY day at the end of September. It was in Norwell, MA in a LOVELY spot! We stayed with my dear friend Filis Warren in Stoneham. The girls were all dressed up in their best dresses and new shoes. We all had a BLAST dancing and playing and giving all our best love vibes to the newly weds.

Sweater Making workshop coming up on October 19. Need to fill a few more spots for the all day 10-4 event. All materials and tools are included for $150 - which includes lunch too. Join in the fun and spread the word!

I postponed my fall Studio Sale and Giant Studio Tag Sale until November - still need to pick a date so stay tuned on that.

If you live in Massachusetts, the deadline to register to vote is October 15. Please vote for change and fair representation. GO OBAMA!


Thanks!

Just back from the beach - stay tuned for timely updates

Settling In

My life has been a magical whirlwind of crazy activities for the last three and a half years. I got married after being a single mom for 11 years. My husband is a kind and wonderful friend, mentor, dancer, joker, lover, and plumber. We have had two girls and bought a church and rectory since our wedding day in October of 2004. Our household also includes my son, Ben, age 15, and our dog Okemo, a lab/pitbull cross. We live on the third floor of the rectory we are renovating into 6 separate living spaces that we intend to sell as condos but would rent in the meantime, or even do a rent to own deal to the right people.
I am an avid recycler and have run a business manufacturing soft home goods from recycled wool sweaters for more than 20 years.
We moved into our new home on May 15 after more than two years of floating from one squatting quarters to another. Unpacking boxes, moving in furniture, landscaping our grounds, and generally organizing our family and life is where I have focused my energy since the beginning of a summer long hiatus taken from my job.
Here I plan to share in depth stories of my everyday, my family, friends, business thoughts, lifestyle goals and challenges.
Check back often to learn of the community we are working to build, full of our amazing supportive friends, neighbors, and yet to be known mysteries waiting to unfold. Let me know what you are doing and thinking about and how your days are filled.