Moments of joy

For those of you who read my little birthday adventure at the butterfly pavilion, here was its intended audience. This picture was taken by my sister-in-law during our nephew Harrison's thank-you call to M. and I. After thanking us very kindly for "the story", he informed us in no uncertain terms that he is going to go to the "ant place" with us on his next visit, and that next times he comes to see us he will stay for "one million one hundred and forty-one days!"
At the moment this photo was snapped, he and his little sister were in the process of chorusing "I love you!!" to us through the phone.
Worth every minute, I tell you!

And on a totally different subject, this is my best "happy place" right now: our bed with its new sheets. It's difficult to see the pattern in this picture but to me it looks like the Mehndi henna painting that is traditionally used to decorate brides in India and other South Asian countries. I love the henna color and the pattern, and what it does to the light in our bedroom (the walls are twilight blue and I like the play of warm and cool together). My bedtime reading at the moment is
Organic Baby: Simple Steps for Healthy Living by Kimberly Rider and Thayer Allyson Gowdy. I'm not a fanatic when it comes to the greening of our household, but it's something I like to think about on a regular basis. I want to make my choices thoughtfully, and this is the perfect book to assist in that process. It gives you the appropriate information without either preaching, advertising or overwhelming (yes, I'm easily overwhelmed). It allows you to create your own balance. It won't, for instance, scare you so badly that you're afraid of the plastic in your (regulation) car seat, but it will give you the tools you need to make your nursery a healthier, less toxic place, and some good design ideas in the bargain.
The other thing that is making our bedroom a happy place right now is our recently-acquired Chumby alarm clock...the single most amazing invention since the astrolabe. If you don't know what a Chumby is, I highly recommend you check it out (I say alarm clock, and it is...but it is so, oh so much more!). Maybe we're easily entertained (or maybe it's that we don't have TV), but it has changed our world for the better!