After writing and deleting many a posts over the past few months, I finally feel ready to write again. Spring always has her way of surprising me. She re-awakens everything that lies dormant over the dark months of winter and tells me to start again. I am emerging from the fog of my first trimester feeling much stronger and...new. I can't deny my need to write; a deep therapeutic need to share and connect with other women, both seeking, and actively living, their authentic lives. I often feel a little secluded in my own world of ideals and beliefs while... Continue reading

I am certain that I will be closing the doors to the Apples for Poppy Anne blog shortly. I have many reasons and perhaps if Typepad were not so expensive and tricky to use I would keep it in the wings for another day, but it is not easy nor is it cheap, so instead I will save the entries I have made and then delete my account. I realize that I have become too edited and have painted myself into a corner in which I don't want to write anymore. My dear friend Rae said a beautiful thing to... Continue reading

Annette: Freezing cold outside, warm Unitarian Universalist church and fireplace inside. Good people, wise words, and fair trade coffee. Total Sunday goodness. Erin: A much needed dinner with friends, but seriously, I am starting to bore myself. Continue reading

Annette: My super-talented husband and his friend were among the artists in our locale who were awarded grants for their genius last night at a super cool ceremony! I, of course, was the beaming photographer, taking loads of photos of everyone and being thrilled for the impressive array of artists and cultural magnificence happening around these parts! When the night ended, Steven and I arrived home with convenience store goodies and a celebratory agenda of Anthony Bourdain-watching and stuffing our faces, I then realized that there were really no photos of me from the evening! It's a rare thing that... Continue reading

My heart aches for warmer days and an old house with far away neighbours. Wide plank floors and a wooden screen door off the kitchen. A big wrap around porch perfect for iced tea and late night chats. Tall trees perfect for naps in hammocks and summer picnics. A pond and an old wooden rowboat. Pregnancy takes me to such a dark and melancholy place. Instead of filling up with guilt and hating myself for feeling what I'm feeling, as I did in the first pregnancy, I am rolling with the punches and sinking into the warmth of it all.... Continue reading

annette::erin Annette: Sunday plans were thwarted by nasty weather yesterday. There were only a few intrepid commuters at a lovely class I took yesterday and a sacred dance event was cancelled. Cancelled plans meant impromtu (and generous) supper at A and J's house where I met this fantastic cat, a former stray like many of the kitties who live there. A and J see to it that strays get trapped, neutered and re-released and they can't help but keep some of them. I think all cats are fantastic and special beings. Look at that face! My heart aches for not... Continue reading

{photo taken in summer of 2007} It has been many months, if not years, since I felt beautiful, feminine, or truly special. I seem to go into a low grade sort of depression when pregnant in which I am disenchanted with the world. I have the temper of three redheads combined. The morning all-day sickness that haunted me in my last pregnancy seems to have set in already. I have a mad craving deep-fried chicken fingers. Oh and salad & fruit. Lets hope the salad and fruit cravings lasts. I cut my hair in a fit of annoyance yesterday and... Continue reading

annette::erin annette: An homage to the photo I was going to take on Sunday, but was taking an afternoon walk for exercise and didn't have the camera when the inspiration struck! I live by this Italian deli- and if you have not experienced an authentic Italian deli, you can't imagine the smells, the barbed banter, the music, the fare, yes, the oils and cheeses and the spectacle of it all. The photo above was taken at another store on a Saturday actually, but it's pretty similar to the one I would have liked to take from outside the deli window... Continue reading

We're pregnant. Yup, we waste no time here in the house Ellenberger-March and this family love is about to get bigger {though I can't imagine more love bursting from this heart, I know it will amaze me} There really is no poetic way of dropping news such as this after saying nearly nothing for weeks on end now. I am about 6 or 7 weeks along and due sometime in September. We have our first midwife appointment next week. Some big decisions have to be made about the birthing experience. For anyone who cares, here is the tale of Poppy's... Continue reading

annette::erin Annette: Quiet and a smoldering friend-grown and dried lavender wand before the altar. What is more marvelous than the potential and ripeness of a new year, another fresh plot of life to cultivate! May there be love, blessings, laughter, creativity, fullfillment, abundance, growth and crazy unfettered joy in 2010! Erin: No words, just a picture that says a thousand. Continue reading

annette::erin Annette: Dear friends invited my husband and I over for Sunday dinner, to chat, see their garden, and meet their Ukrainian Uncle who, upon hearing of my fondness for rhodiola rosea, gifted me with some fresh dried herb to take home and make tea! Rhodiola is one of my favorite herbs. It's a great mood elevator, energy tonic, adaptogen, and antioxidant among other things! There were beautiful cats afoot, hummus, chutneys, curry, and apple pie for dessert! We had a great Sunday evening among friends- good to ground us all after the intensity of the holidays. Erin: A day... Continue reading

May your days be trimmed in ribbon, wrapped in warmth filled to the brim with cider and as cozy as your favourite sweater. All of my blogging powers have been baked into pies, brownies and cookies; woven into pixie caps; sanded into oblivion; and now sits wrapped in craft paper and tied with twine beneath our most beautiful and bejeweled Christmas Tree. I promise to return after the holidays with renewed steam and new projects and heading into another year of bravery and boldness! I hope you will join me! e. Continue reading

annette::erin Annette: About a foot of snow that looks like tiny diamonds. Or bubblebath! Snowed in weekend, didn't go far. But, there was eggnog! Erin: Last minute shopping for odds and ends reassuring us that we made the right decision with a handmade and minimal Christmas. Feeling comfortable in my own skin for the first time in a long time. A good denim shirt and linen pants. Big decisions made. Topped off with Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and late night game of yahtzee. Continue reading

{Note: Please read here before judging our nickname or questioning our animal love.} Since learning the simple technique of making little felt berries on Saturday, I have done little else with my spare time. Thoughts of hot soapy water and felt berries have been dancing around my head and I sit down with gramma's huge bag of raw wool every chance I get. I am quickly learning which wools work for this process and which ones do not. I have some lovely dyed kid mohair that doesn't work, but I am hoping to add it to some needle-felted objects. I... Continue reading

annette::erin Annette: I woke up to rain and cold this Sunday and wasn't sure I was inclined to leave the cozy apartment. I am truly grateful I that I bundled up, put Muse on the iPod and jumped on the train. We are blessed to have a local Healing Arts center in the area who generously threw a Holiday party of sorts, with free treatments, raw organic chocolate, belly-dancing, singing, and free cups of tea. My dearest friends trickled in, and we connected, chatted, received reiki, massage, and acupuncture among us. I was gifted a smudge stick made of homegrown... Continue reading

It is a perfectly blustery day on this, the first snow storm of the winter. I perfect day for Mike to work from home and create a simple informational website for my dad and step-mom's organic farm. While he puttered at that, I finished Poppy's stocking made from an old wool blanket and fabric remnants for a total cost of about 50 cents! I then started knitting her pixie hat made from a most wonderful chocolate brown bamboo yarn. The cats are blissed out upon the couches and chairs while the fire warms us all to the toes. I can't... Continue reading

Mike and I were so excited to make these little wooden blocks for Poppy this Christmas. They are so much fun to construct. I purchased the blocks pre-cut, but we plan to have the next lot cut at the hardware store from untreated lumber. We mod podged various designs of scrapbook paper, stickers and letters then sanded the corners for a soft antiqued feel. We just need to find some beautiful vintage inspired animal stickers and then we can finish them with a final coat of mod podge. I hope to make personalized block sets to sell in my Etsy... Continue reading

annette::erin Annette: This picture is of my feet, at home, under the tree, after a busy Sunday of the unfamiliar but beautiful ritual of being Godparents to our little nephew. We are not Catholic, but were honored to be a part of the loved little baby's life in this way. I was going to go to Manhattan to see a Bach concert with friends later in the day, but decided to eat ziti and cake with the in-laws, hold the sweet little boy while he slept, and then be home, with feet under the tree. Life moves in cycles and... Continue reading