joy to the world.

i'm not sure what to write.
words do not seem enough to convey the pride, hope & joy i have today.
elizabeth alexander's inaugural poem moved me to tears, so perhaps it's best that i share that with you.


Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

i'm moved. i'm proud. i'm humbled.

yes we can.
yes we did.
yes we will.

my dears, i do believe that with hope, love & a pure heart, all things are possible.
i am printing and framing our 44th president's acceptance speech. {you can too.}

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can. "

happy election day!

dears, hope you've voted! i'm interested to know what sort of wait you all had, so if you don't mind, leave me a comment about it.

i'm so excited to have voted this time...big things are happening.
all love,
k

election craft for you!

darlings. for the most part, this blog is not political. if you are a regular reader {or know me from my life outside of this blog}, however, you probably already know that i am voting for barack obama in this november's election. this weekend, i decided to make a few low-tech buttons for my family & i to wear to promote this most awesome candidate, and i thought it would be fun to share the buttons with all of my internet friends too. you can download the graphics for these buttons by clicking here, here, or here, and you can watch a super dorky video of me demonstrating how to make this craft here.

Obama craft for you! from kelly c on Vimeo.

weekend. la la.

dears, it seems as though i've been away from the blog for so long! i've missed you. we planned a big backpacking trip for the weekend into the week, but our plans for a long and winding trek through the wilderness were thwarted partially by washed out roads and trails and partially by me feeling like a pile of dog poo. we *did* take a nice 7 mile hike with all of our gear. and i got to practice a new moving meditation i've been studying. it was delightful. once back in town (i just love calling what-ever city i'm living in "town"), we watched an episode of Felicity and ate vegan take-out. also, there was a swell bike ride or two and we finally hung the big Obama poster in our front window. it's back to work.
big loves to all of you.