new adventures

February may be the shortest month, but damn if it isn't already full to the brim with the best sorts of activities including travel and visits, long conversations, quick city jaunts, and a move to a new office (<--!  that last one?  totally out of the blue.  February is also my birthday month so I know I am getting old, but it seems I haven't lost my penchant for wild impromptu decisions).

It's got me feeling a bit breathless, so let's see if I can catch us up with a bit of more leisurely pace.

To start, I did sneak away for a bit of a break the weekend before last.  The plan wasn't for me to go AWOL, but it's funny what happens when you take a few days off.  If I were the kind of person who could translate daily life into a mathematical equation (and we all know nothing could be further from the truth) I might suggest a kind of inverse proportion, or perhaps a exponential growth chart-- or something to show the relationship between days away and the work that can pile up on your desk.

However, seeing as I failed algebra (twice) I think it best I simply say -- I don't know what happened to last week. 
I think I lost it.

What I do remember is Amanda came down for a visit and Christine and I wanted to show her some of why we love Providence.  Above is the RISD Nature Lab which is one of Christine's most cherished haunts. 

Not sure how baby Vic feels about his mama's love for snapping photos of shells, bones and skeletons, but I'm thinking he is used to it by now.

We also walked through my favorite neighborhoods and marveled at the turrets-- seriously, if you are in need of a turret fix, head to Providence-- these people were a bit nuts with the turrets back in the day.

But before I wander off any further-- I want to be sure you'd heard our news:  this September we will be having a Taproot Gathering at Squam!  Because we are still busy behind the scenes loading up the website with all the goodes-- I can't tell you much more than what is on the 'save the date' page-- but I can tell you that I am deeply thrilled with the goodness of what this gathering will be all about.

If I had to sum it up in a word, I would say it is grounded in mindfulness. 

All of the meals (every single one from Wednesday dinner through Sunday breakfast) will be catered by a most amazing team of chefs dedicated to using organic produce with a focus on locally sourcing the goods.  For me, this is the centerpiece and everything will be growing out from that. 

Our classes are rich with natural elements and will allow you to explore a wide range of skills that you can then bring right back into your daily life.  Some of them include making your own butter and cheese, dyeing yarn with natural elements (think lichen, mushrooms, carrot tops!), soulful apothecary, wild flower arranging, sewing fabulous new clothes with repurposed fabrics, creating beautiful kitchen cannisters from birchbark, 2D and 3D art classes, poetry, photography-- and oh!  so. much. more. 

Stay tuned--- we'll have everything for you to see before the end of the month.

Of course if all that weren't enough, we had a big announcement before I jumped on the train to NYC (or, ahem, we were supposed to have a big announcement here that I somehow forgot to make) that for the first time EVER (<--!!) you can join us for the weekend in June.

A Taste of Squam is an overnight package where you can come up to RDC on Saturday -- jump into the wild rumpus of Ravelry's Revelry, join us for dinner, spend the night being dazzled by the goodies on offer at the Squam Art Fair and then sink into your cozy cottage-- no long drive home for you!  You get to wake up on the lake and savor a morning with breakfast in the dining hall and time to swim, hike, laze about-- whatever calls to you most.  (*fyi, as of this writing, there are about 12 spots left)

Sheesh.  Did I mention I was feeling a bit breathless?  And then?  Then!  I go and decide to move the Squam HQ down the street so that for the first time in five years, I will not be working from home.  Wow.  Gotta wrap my head around that one.  But no time-- because the movers arrive tomorrow and I have to start loading boxes.

So, that is the quick update.  With any luck, things will get a bit more calm soon and I can return to my posts about the delicate flutter of butterfly wings and other scintillating observations.

Hope your week is rolling out in the best way possible!

bisous, e