blessing

yesterday was my graduation open house, which was a wonderful encouragement. The amount of people who came and their generous gifts was an overwhelming surprise. We shared a little bit about what I will be doing in this season to come, and though I am a terrible speaker, was glad of the opportunity we had to talk of our vision. There were some there hostile to our ideas, but they were gracious, and there were also those who gave needed encouragement, reminders, and exhortation.

We are so thankful for this varied and colourful community.

[above, my new favourite rose pink blouse]

Move Through the Fair

Here is my table from last Saturday! I must run, sadly, as we are busily preparing for the graduation open house tomorrow! Tonight my voice teacher is singing in a big concert and I'm extremely excited.
Love you all!

(This is a felt sleeve for my laptop so I can carry it in a larger bag this summer instead of its case being my second carry-on.)

Clove

I don't like Clove as much as Nutmeg, but she came first (and didn't get good photos taken!)
Today I finished the history textbook I've been reading for the past four years, and took the exam for my worldview course. The end is fast approaching!
when do you finish school?

Nutmeg

Thankfully, the craft show went very well yesterday. I was thrilled that Nutmeg and her friend Clove went to a little girl's room - it was sad to part with them but that's who I hoped would have them.
I am planning on saving everything for the summer, since there is so much going on (and so many crafts stores - oh dear!).

I am by no means a fan of Confucius, but I think this quote speaks volumes about society today: "When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom."

love,
Cait
p.s. watch my sister and friends dance!

This is all about the carpets! I love these - they bring the whole room alive.

What is your favourite element of a room?

love,
Cait

Revealing

Finally you get to see what I was working on for so long! Over a year ago I found an old, Indian rod puppet (decorated very grotesquely - no, I should say traditionally, in a dark sense) at the thrift store for one dirham. For ages it lay in the closet, and I decided a few months ago to begin painting it. That took awhile, and then the making and embroidering of her clothes, but here is the finished madame in all her regale.

There is a butterfly lower down on her skirt but that can't be seen in the pictures. I love this kind of puppet, with the rod-controlled head and hands. It reminds me of an old, Mikhail Baryshnikov version of The Nutcracker we have.

Love, Cait

Dahlia hasn't made an appearance here for quite some time!
She recently got another little touch up - some new eyelashes and pinker lips.
I was considering cutting and curling her hair but can't decide. Maybe I will if I get another Blythe! I'd like to save enough to buy one in Japan this September but there are other things that take priority right now.

My art fair is next Saturday, and I haven't been as madly preparing as you'd think.
I've been finishing one big painting, but apart from that focusing on other things (like my flower embroidery obsession). Maybe this week will change that.

How are you all?

love, Cait

Vespers

Sunny bunny has many sleeping habits, and none of them are very normal.

Tomorrow is Vespers, a little concert of sacred music at a friend's house. I am singing, and as of right now am not nervous but we'll see how long that lasts.
What does your coming week hold?
love, cait

Creating Beauty

'As image-bearer of God, man possesses the possibility both
to create something beautiful, and to delight in it.
The world of poetic ideas can have no source other than God;
and it is our privilege as bearers of His image to have a perception of this beautiful world, artistically to reproduce, and humanly to enjoy it.'
- Abraham Kuyper


I love this quote. I read it when I was thinking about my art, and how it's not always realistic and sometimes is very weird, and yet I hate modern art - and think in some senses it's wrong. When I make something, even if it's not imitating life, it has to be beautiful. There are some things that are just beautiful, even if it is only colors. I could contest that beauty doesn't always equal art though, perhaps. But if beauty is good in itself, things don't always have to have great form or meaning or technique. And that's a wonderful thought. You can make so many different kinds of art or pretty things, even ragged, embroidered flowers, but it's ok for not all beauty and not all art to be 'fine art.' Still, I have the highest respect only for that - and art is not subjective.


love, cait

All my life I've been in school. There was a period of looking at the bookshelf as a toddler in Jordan and wishing I could read, and pretty soon I'd read them all. There was Little Stars in Amman, and the peaceful cliff-side kindergarten, and first grade in Arabic...and all the while homeschooling each evening (which consisted of falling asleep while coloring for my tow-headed little sister).
And now, in four weeks I'll be a homeschool graduate, going into something I've never been in before. Not in school. How strange! What makes it surreal is that I've never woken up and not been doing school at home unless it was summer, and then autumn is always fast approaching.

This time, I will be done. One Thursday I'll close my book and not need to open it again. And I'm excited! Who wouldn't be? But by no means is this the end of education. The end of schooling is not the end of education (and often schooling doesn't mean education...which thankfully is not the case in the Fox Family Academy). Rather, in my case it will be the beginning of a more specified education, facilitated by my mother in budgeting, meal planning, and homeschooling on the other end. There is wisdom to glean from older women, and little children to help with and love and learn to enjoy. My siblings to spend time with. An autistic boy down the road to take for walks. Skills to be a steward of, an art business to get off the ground.

So no, I'm not going back to America for university. This time will be used as preparation for what I want my life to be about - being a helpmeet and raising children of multi-generational vision for God's glory in my own beautiful home someday! That's why I'm not studying for a career, as I want even my in-between years to work to that end, and to serve and learn from others. So it's really just a new chapter in preparation, as well as the beginning of a different aspect of being a young woman in my father's house.

Next year will bring many stories to tell you - but believe me, it will be very busy!

Yay! More houses.

[norhjem]

the above is probably my favourite ever. [the city sage]

[bed of roses]

Sage

Sage is Coriander's friend, though they couldn't be more different in character. Think of a quickfooted lass on the moors in an old book - but one to whom 'hearth and home' are more important than wild spiritedness.

I miss my black hair ;)

love you all;
Cait