((Yarn Along)) and Giveaway Winner!

It's Wednesday, Yarn Along Day and we are SNOWED IN big time. Another school cancellation and more snow to come this weekend!! A great day to try to finish up some projects around the house if I can keep the girls busy enough.  

The never-ending baby sweater is coming along and really all I have to do now is block it and add the buttons. It took me so much longer than I expected (most of my projects do) as I just have very little time to sit and crochet so I sneak it in when I can.

As far as reading goes, I'm still not doing much heavy reading. I am, however, skimming through a lot of my favorite gardening books and looking ahead to Spring. Speaking of which, we just LOVE my friend Sharon Lovejoy's book Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots. Have you read it? I was lucky enough to do a wonderful interview with Sharon if you'd like to read it in 2010. She is such an inspiration to me. The girls and I took out our seeds to see what we have remaining from last year as we try to plan our garden. We will start many of our seeds inside this week too.

We have a bunch of fun things going on at Little Acorn Learning this week.  First off, let me announce our Waldorf Homeschool Handbook Giveaway Winner.......

And the winner is.....

**Emily Keniston**  

Emily said:

"The toughest part for me is learning all the specific approaches and methods Waldorf advocates, especially since I have four kids at four different levels. I need a resource that can break it down simply!"

Congratulations to you, Emily! I hope you enjoy your free copy of The Waldorf Homeschool Handbook. Please contact us at info (at) littleacornlearning.com with your mailing address.

In addition to all that FUN, we also have a beautiful photo contest going on over at the Little Acorn Learning Facebook Page! Our theme this month is Friendship and my goodness it really sparked a wonderful response. The entries are just breathtaking.

It's not too late to enter to win a free e-book of your choice from Little Acorn Learning. Just send no more than three photos to us at info (at) littleacornlearning.com with your name and written permission for Little Acorn Learning to use your photos in any current or future publications both online and in print.

We will put your photos into our February Photo Contest Album on our Facebook page and then ask your family and friends to vote for you by LIKING your photos. The winners will be announced on February 8th!!

Best of luck to all of you!
xoxo

Oh, P.S. - If you have a like-minded business or blog that you would like to advertise in our February Newsletter, it is due to be released this Friday.  We reach over 6000 Waldorf educators and parents and work hard to only place ads that are of value to the natural minded community we serve.  Speaking of which, I hope you GET our newsletter!  It's free and full of lessons, recipes, crafts, songs, festival dates, caregiver meditations and much more.  Sign up here:

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Interview and Giveaway with Author, Teacher and Childbirth Activist, Rahima Baldwin Dancy

UPDATE!~! 4/9/10 - Congratulations to Mama Ruck for winning this amazing giveaway! Her comment was randomly chosen this evening. An email has been sent to you with details on how to claim your 'prize'!!!



I am so very excited to introduce Rahima Baldwin Dancy in this one-on-one interview with Little Acorn Learning. Rahima is a pioneer in the Waldorf Educational movement in the United States and such an inspiration to me as well as many other mothers, fathers and teachers.



Rahima has graciously offered $50 Off her upcoming Conference or a DVD of your choice from www.waldorfinthehome.com - the winner will be randomly selected from our comment section by next Friday, April 9th. Be sure to check back on our blog often to see results!



Rahima is one of the leading interpreters of principles of Waldorf Early Childhood Education through her book, You Are Your Child's First Teacher. She trained at the Waldorf Institute before teaching Kindergarten at the Rudolf Steiner School of Ann Arbor and leading a Waldorf home preschool there. She currently is Rocky Mountain regional training Director of LifeWays North America and is a co-teacher at Rainbow Bridge LifeWays Program, along with her two daughters. Together, they care for up to twelve children each day in a mixed-age program for 1-5 year olds.

Rahima is the Founder and President of Informed Family Life and has been a childbirth activist since writing Special Delivery and Pregnant Feelings in the 1980s. Before moving back to Boulder, she was a primary midwife and co-director of The Birth Center in Dearborn, Michigan for nine years. Then she lived in Sacramento and took care of her mother and mother-in-law for six years and completed a Masters in Gerontology.

In addition to LifeWays, Rahima continues to be active in parent education through the annual “Waldorf in the Home” conferences she does in California, the sale of recordings from the conferences, and writing on her blog, www.waldorfinthehome.com. Together with her husband, Agaf Dancy, she has raised four children who are now 30-40 years old.

Eileen: Your life work speaks to me on such a deep level and I am so grateful to have you here so we can learn more about who you are. Can you tell me a little bit about your childhood and how you came to midwifery, Waldorf Education and the parenting services that you offer through Waldorf in the Home?



Rahima: The question that has guided all of my work is, “How can we live so we don’t stifle the spirituality inherent in life?” This has progressed through work with birth, early childhood, parenting, the elder years, dying—and back to work with young children again. I feel that by holding that question—and by being willing to say “yes”—I became open to certain inspirations and connections. To me, all of these callings are part of the same fabric of lifespan work. I joke that God said, “There is this information that needs to get out on the planet. Rahima has a big mouth. We’ll tell her!”



Eileen: Looking back on your own experience as a mother, what would you say were some of your biggest challenges that you faced? What advice can you offer women who are either just beginning their journey through motherhood or are hoping to regroup and approach motherhood now as a spiritual journey?



Rahima: I tell mothers that “I made every mistake in the book. That’s why I wrote the book” [First Teacher]. I was really lost as a young mother, and yet I carried the question, “Somebody must know more about children than I do!” That wouldn’t have been hard, but I was looking for someone who was spiritually realized, who turned his or her attention to raising children and to education. This led me first to look into Montessori’s work, and then to Waldorf education, which resonated so much more strongly with my whole being.



The principles I learned in the Waldorf teacher training completely transformed my home life! The most important and transformational ideas for me were coming to understand child development (children are not little adults), that young children learn through movement and imitation, and that the temperaments are such valuable keys. I think there’s much more support now for mothering as a spiritual path. Mothering Magazine and my book paved the way, but look now at the number of other books and websites such as Little Acorn Learning!



Eileen: I understand that you do work with the Lifeways trainings as well as help your daughters with an in-home Lifeways program. This is of particular interest to me as I also run a nature-based childcare program in my home and we are a Self-Affiliate of LifeWays. Can you tell us more about Rainbow Bridge, your daily rhythm and how you (and your daughters) manage running a business and caring for your own daily responsibilities and other work? When do you find the time for your home care, your self care and others in your life?



Rahima: The LifeWays training puts a lot of emphasis on balance and self-care for the mother or childcare provider. The LifeWays work with children also has the advantage that you take life as the curriculum and develop a daily, weekly and seasonal schedule that breathes. My daughter, who is 35 and who has the program in her home, says, “This is how I would want to live my life, if I had a brood of children: gardening, cooking, playing, eating, napping in the afternoons. And to think people pay me for doing this!”



Which brings up a couple of major differences from mothering—I think being paid (i.e. valued) is a major difference that keeps away a certain discouragement. It also encourages one to focus and be present with the children, instead of thinking of and trying to do a dozen different things at once. And not being 24/7 is another a huge difference from mothering—as “Oma” (German for “Grandma”), I’m able to have a “rest of my life” that doesn’t involve children. When you’` 1re a mother, it’s not easy to carve out time for yourself and your other interests! I think the isolation of the nuclear family is crazy making in that regard and that women need to band together—and to adopt grandparents and aunties if they’re away from their own families.

Eileen: Your book - You Are Your Child’s First Teacher - is often one of the first ways that mothers and fathers are given a glimpse into Waldorf Education. What inspired you to write the book? How did its publication change your life?



Rahima: I had already written two books on birth and had two children and two stepchildren when my husband and I took the Waldorf teacher training. At one of the lectures, the Director talked about the need to reach out and make a bridge to the parents who were looking for alternatives. I inwardly said, “Oh, I’ll do that!” and something like a bubble around us went “Pop!” My husband and I looked at each other and were quite startled. It took me seven years to learn enough about Waldorf education and to write the book.



At that time (1980), the Waldorf early childhood work was much more developed in Germany and the rest of Europe. In America, the only books were translations of German pediatricians from the 1930s, who were far too dogmatic for American audiences. So it was interesting that, although I hadn’t spoken a word of German in 15 years since being a German major in college, I was able to go to Hannover and attend the conferences on Waldorf early childhood education each year and be nourished by what was going on there.



Writing First Teacher was a lot harder than the books on birth I had written, because I had to balance not being too esoteric with not turning Steiner’s ideas into pablum. It was excruciating, and I finally had to lock myself in a friend’s basement every day until I finished. Then I held my breath when giving copies of the galleys to both Steiner and mainstream readers. When they both liked it, I knew I had accomplished the task I had been given.



It’s interesting that when the book was published, I was finished with that cycle of studying, teaching and writing about Waldorf early childhood. I returned to midwifing, which I had put aside for nearly ten years—although I did continue putting on one to three parenting conferences a year under the titles of “The Magical Years” and then “Waldorf in the Home.”



Eileen: You have an amazing conference coming up at the end of this month entitled - Mothering and Spirituality, Resourcing Feminine Wisdom. Can you tell me more about your vision for this conference and what you hope mothers will take with them when they leave?



Rahima: This theme has grown out my realization several years ago that I was somehow not in touch with the deep sources of feminine wisdom and renewal, despite having devoted my life to the caring professions: midwifing, mothering, caring for young children, eldercare and hospice. I saw that my pattern was to be of service and to take on more and more until I didn’t have a postage stamp to stand on and dissolved in a puddle. What I wanted was a real experience of permeability and breathing, an answer to the question, “Where does our strength and our renewal come from?” (While self-care and boundaries can be good intermediate steps, they’re not what got Mother Theresa through the day.) So I’ve been on a mission to explore the feminine aspect of the divine, to get into my body, to explore what feminine wisdom in spiritual life might look like….and it’s been a great ride!



This conference is designed to share some of the people and approaches that have inspired me—and to provide mothers with a weekend of inspiration and renewal. My hope is that the inner transformation and practical suggestions that can come out of such a gathering will enrich and enliven their lives and their mothering or care giving.



Eileen: Like other working mothers, finding the time for myself is often a challenge. I often squeeze in a few moments of writing, yoga, prayer or art as I can throughout my week…. How can parents and caregivers stay connected to their spiritual side when there is so little time for silence or meditative work throughout their day working with young children? What are some ways in which YOU regroup and connect to your source and/or spiritual side?



Rahima: I think one key to staying connected comes out of knowing yourself. If you are reminded of Spirit through the mind, then read inspiring books and short meditations. If you are a devotional person, then set up an altar—even a little nook by your dishwashing sink. And pray. If you are someone who remembers through dance or movement, take up “kitchen yoga” to supplement your other yoga practice or do a short wave in the “Five Rhythms” tradition to shake out the cobwebs.



I have to confess that I am terrible at regular practices, but I’m pretty good at irregular ones. Right now I’m focusing on “releasing.” It’s like releasing tension after each contraction in labor—tension is not going to not sneak in! So you get the opportunity again and again. Similarly, I am releasing bodily tension whenever I find it, releasing anger or judgment every time I can, releasing into the arms of the Divine Mother whenever I’m tired or harried or impatient. Having spent years doing very masculine practices of “struggling” with characteristics that “weren’t spiritual,” I’m finding it quite refreshing.



Eileen: One of the themes that really stands out for me with this particular conference is the focus on “resourcing” feminine wisdom. How do you feel as women we can seek out feminine mentors, heroes and inspiration as we move along this parenting journey? How can we ensure that our tween and teen daughters find positive role models in our culture nowadays? Can you tell me more about some of your own feminine heroes or guides and how they influenced your life and work?



Rahima: I have found that when you carry those questions, you’ll be guided to your own answers. I didn’t start carrying those questions until a few years ago—and then I was lead to people that I’m bringing in to present at this conference. For example, Nancy Poer has long been one of my “older sisters.” Her youngest (of six) was about the same age as my oldest, and she has been another pioneer in the Waldorf movement from way back. So we have always been able to share and laugh along the way, calling ourselves, “The Erma Bombecks of the Waldorf movement.” When my father died, she came down the mountain and taught me how to do natural after-death care, sharing the Threshold Circle work she had carried for so long in the Sacramento area.



While Nancy and I go way back, I’m just getting to know Regina Sara Ryan and her work, described in The Woman Awake. Feminine Wisdom for Spiritual Life. When I was given this book, I was so excited to “meet” a sister who was on the same path that I am and who spoke the same language! But she has been carrying on this conscious exploration of the feminine 20 years longer than I have and has much to share! So I put together monthly conference calls with her and invited her to keynote at the conference so I’d have more time to talk with her. It’s been inspiring!



Carol Flinder’s book, At the Root of This Longing. Reconciling a Spiritual Hunger and a Feminist Thirst, inspired me to try to weave together the strands of mothering, spirituality and feminism—something I’ve been working on since I was pregnant 38 years ago and got laughed out of the first feminist bookstore in the Bay Area for asking about books on pregnancy and birth. To me, what could be more of a women’s issue than birth and mothering??? Carol has also agreed to present at the conference.



And then I had to include the LifeWays work and founder Cynthia Aldinger, because LifeWays is all about bringing mindfulness to the daily tasks of being with young children and to creating a home or home-like environment in which they can flourish.

Eileen: What do you feel are the true needs of young children and their parents in this time we live in? As a society - as mothers, as fathers, as childcare providers and teachers - what can WE do to make a difference and ensure we are serving the spiritual needs of humanity in this day and age?

Rahima: I feel that children really need to be recognized in their individuality and allowed to bring in something new. While leaving them in freedom to follow their own star when they are young adults, we need to provide a solid foundation that includes good habits, manners, academic skills, and unstructured time in which to be children, all of which will help leave their inborn creativity, spiritual knowing and yearning intact.



For us as adults, the task is remembering who we really are and releasing any illusion of separation or “otherness.” Again and again and again…..

__________



The monthly conference calls with Rahima and Regina Sara Ryan, author of The Woman Awake, will be going on throughout 2010. You can join at any time. For more information, click HERE



The conference “Spirituality and Mothering—Resourcing Feminine Wisdom” will take place April 24-25 at Sacramento Waldorf School in Fair Oaks, CA. It is sponsored by Rahima and Informed Family Life. See http://www.waldorfinthehome.com/

Interview and Giveaway with Author and Illustrator, Sharon Lovejoy

UPDATE 3/25/10:

Congratulations to Viola for winning a copy of Sharon's newest publication Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars!

(Names were drawn utilizing a random online number generator)



Recently I received a blog comment from author and book illustrator, Sharon Lovejoy. I was so honored that Sharon reads my blog as I am a big fan of her books. A friend turned me on to her book Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots and it is just filled with such creative and inspiring ways to garden with children. Sharon agreed to do an interview with us here at Little Acorn Learning and offered to GIVE AWAY a copy of her new book, Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars



For the first seven years of her life, Sharon Lovejoy was introduced to the wonders of nature by her Quaker Grandmother Lovejoy, a botanist and an educator. As an adult, Sharon's passion for the natural world guided her to become a naturalist, a watercolor illustrator, and an award winning garden and nature writer. Sharon's home, business, and display gardens first captured national attention on the cover of the August 1990 issue of Country Living magazine. Since then, her home and garden creations have appeared in numerous books and magazines, and Sharon has been a guest on countless radio and television shows from coast to coast. In 1991, Interweave Press published her first book Sunflower Houses: Garden Discoveries for Children of All Ages­ a recollection of the influence from her Grandmother Lovejoy and the inspiration that has introduced tens of thousands of children to the wonders of nature through gardening. Since the first issue in 1993, Sharon has written and illustrated the regular feature column "Heart's Ease" for Country Living GARDENER magazine. Her column has won four international awards from Garden Writers Association in 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2004, and a First Place Award from Maine Media Women in 2002. Her other books include: The Little Green Island with a Little Red House (Down East Books, 2005), Country Living Gardener: A Blessing of Toads-A Gardener's Guide to Living with Nature (Hearst Books, 2004); Trowel & Error: Over 700 Shortcuts, Tips & Remedies for the Gardener (Workman, 2003); A Day in the Garden (Galison, 2003), an illustrated journal; Sunflower Houses: Inspiration from the Garden (Workman, 2001), a reissue of the original Sunflower Houses; Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children (Workman, 1999); and Hollyhock Days: Garden Discoveries for the Young at Heart (Interweave Press, 1994).

Eileen: Your books are filled with so many beautiful ideas and projects that help instill a love of nature and gardening in our children at an early age. What was your own childhood like and how were you drawn to such purposeful work later in life?



Sharon: For the first 7 years of my life, I lived in what a child would think of as PARADISE. My parent’s home was built in the middle of my Grandmother Lovejoy’s bountiful cottage garden. Every day of my life was spent with her. I would run out the back door, jump off the porch, and skip through the hollyhock pathway to her back door. Heaven. She read to me (and I began reading aloud at about 3 1/2, taught me how to bake and make various foods, canned with me, taught me to garden, which to me was PLAY, and she filled my life with joy. Without her input I do not know where I would be today. I certainly see her reflected in everything I write and love.

Eileen: Can you tell us more about your day to day life and how you balance your writing, family and other responsibilities?



Sharon: Every morning my husband and I share a peaceful breakfast. In Maine, we sit out on our lovely porch and revel in the sea, the sky, and the nature in our garden. In California, the routine is the same minus the porch by the sea. Right after breakfast, I roam through my gardens (in my nightgown), tend my container plants (I have over a hundred), weed, etc. Then I run through my home chores, cut bouquets, answer e-mails, and make sure the house is smiling at me before I go out to my studio, which is a big blessing for me. It is in my studio that I sit down and lose myself in my writing or painting. I don’t answer the phone (unless it is a family emergency like my granddaughter’s school calling) because it breaks into what I need, which is about 5 to 6 hours of concentration and focus.



I receive many, many e-mails of a personal nature most days. I’ve tried to answer the questions about my life by starting a blog. In the blog, I share life with readers and actually seem to become emotionally involved with many of them. I love the intimacy of people who blog. I feel very connected to them, and I am amazed by their creativity.



I found that computer time was beginning to interfere with personal time. So, I do a blog entry only once a week. That helps.



My husband and I share work. He manages my speaking, travel, contracts, etc. He accompanies me on trips and knows how to set up my television interviews, lay out props, and keep everything running smoothly. He also reads my manuscripts, edits a bit, and runs interference. I couldn’t do what I do without him.



We share wonderful times with our grandchildren. They have their own spaces in our home and space in the studio for arts and crafts. They also have a vast selection of books here (even in the bathroom) and a basket full of musical instruments. I think my new book Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars really shares all of our ideas with readers, and luckily, they featured my grandchildren in the photographs.



We take our children to local parks, events for children, child appropriate movies, concerts, and to grown-up art openings and events to broaden their base of art knowledge.

Mockingbird Studio

Sharon's Studio in Maine



Eileen: What are some of the biggest challenges you face with regard to your work in both writing and gardening? How do you overcome those obstacles?



Sharon: TIME. I don’t think there is ever enough time. Sometimes I find myself racing through the garden to the studio and that is not good. Some nights, very late, I realize that I have been working for hours and hours and not looking up to enjoy the beauty. Now my husband and I try to always take a “star walk” to enjoy the majesty of the night.



Honestly, I haven’t figured out how to overcome not having enough time. I just try to take small bites at certain projects, like gardening. Right now I spend about an hour or two a day in the garden. I always feel I need to do more, but I just can’t.

Eileen: I understand you also illustrate your book titles. Have you always been drawn to art and how did this come about in your life? Do you take time to create art separate from your book illustrations?



Sharon: My Grandmother Lovejoy and I did art projects together (she was a retired elementary teacher, and they are the jewels of the educational system laying the foundation for our children). In middle school, I drew quite a bit and actually started a school newspaper, which I wrote and illustrated. It was mimeographed, there, now that ages me doesn’t it?



In college, I was an art major. I graduated with distinction in the field of art, although it was tough. Many of my professors felt my art was too small, too old fashioned, too corny, but hey, I’m making a living with my art now. So I say, follow your heart ALWAYS and create what feels right to YOU.



In my spare time, I do art in my journals, but I think of myself as an illustrator of books. Many pieces of journal art have been published.



I do LOVE to write and do that for the sheer joy of it. I am currently writing a historic middle grade novel about an escaped slave girl and her unlikely friend. I’m also developing a series of board books.



I also believe that I create art in whatever I do–whether it is making a lovely floral salad, canning, planting a spiral of lettuce and chard, making a bouquet for the table, etc. All the daily activities should be infused with art and creativity. Do simple things that give you joy and make the world more beautiful.

Eileen: One of the activities I include in my monthly guides is creating a simple family compost with children. What are some easy ways that busy parents and caregivers can incorporate composting into their daily life? Can you talk more about why composting is so important to our environment?



Sharon: I’ve never had a garbage disposal in my home. They are so wasteful and why pour great future compost and clean water down the drain?



I keep an adorable mini-compost bucket under our kitchen sink. My grands know that we don’t waste anything. Everything goes into it except meat, corn cobs, and avocado pits. Meat attracts flies, and the corn cobs and avo pits just don’t break down.



I keep compost in big barrels, but you can just as easily keep it in big squares made with hay bales or big boxes made out of pallets. I don’t do anything fancy; if it’s organic, it WILL break down. Another fun thing to do with compost is to put it into a barrel that has holes drilled all over it. Wet the contents a bit, secure the lid with a bungee cord, and let the kids roll it around daily. Heck, why use electricity when the kids can roll the garbage can instead of a fancy drum?



What I love to do most is to use worms. I vermicompost and have done so for about 26 years. Our wonderful worms break down garbage quickly during spring, summer, and fall, and we return the lovely dark soil and castings to our gardens. Children LOVE the worms and love the process of the worms eating their garbage.



Eileen: Do you have any advice for parents who want to garden with their children but live in urban environments or do not have much outdoor space to work with?



Sharon: Yes, use containers or do hay bale gardens as I’ve illustrated in Toad Cottages. Also, see my chapter on “Garbage Gardens,” which can be grown indoors and teach children about the spark of life in often overlooked produce. Start seeds indoors in paper cups and fill window boxes with mini vegetables or brilliant flowers. Where there’s a will...you know the drill.



Eileen: One thing I find challenging is finding the time to care for my garden when there are so many other household and work-related tasks and responsibilities I have to tend to each day. Do you have any advice on how busy parents and caregivers can balance gardening with their busy lives and schedules?



Sharon: I try to set aside one area in the garden that needs attention and devote only 10 minutes each morning to that area, which adds up to 70 minutes a week. Small steps, slowly done work miracles. I wanted a pond at my old house and couldn’t afford help, so EVERY morning I went outdoors and dug for 10 minutes. It took almost two months, but I ended up with a hole 4 feet deep and 15 feet long. It became a wonderful pond. Luckily, I got a great assignment from my old magazine, Country Living GARDENER, and I was able to hire someone to finish the pond with lovely (heavy) boulders. So you see, I believe that if you just plod on you’ll accomplish something.



Eileen: What books, magazines and other publications do you turn to for your own inspiration?



Sharon: I love Farming Magazine and write for it. Talk about no frills and no obscene advertisements. I write a little column called “Small Blessings,” which is geared for people with children in their lives. Some months it is about gardening; other months, like this one, it is about cooking with children.



I have subscribed to the British Country Living magazine since the 1980s. They get it. They emphasize the environment, cooking, history, handcrafts, farming, small holdings, all the things that make this world unique and mindful. It is an expensive subscription, but to afford it, I’ve cut down on other magazines.



I subscribe to several cooking magazines (I miss Gourmet), and a few publications on writing, but I find myself reading blogs more and enjoying it so much. People’s lives are fascinating.



Eileen: As a mother and a childcare provider, I am already looking forward to sharing my life with my grandchildren one day. Can you tell me more about your experience with becoming a grandmother and the ways in which you spend your time with your own family and the children in your life?



Sharon: Nothing I’ve ever experienced has been as profound as grandmothering. Children always open our eyes to small things we may overlook, but I’ve never been as sensitive to life as I am now. And, that is thanks to Sara May, Moses, Ilyahna, and Asher. I think I show in Toad Cottages how we interact and how much fun we have. We’re crazy about each other, and I enjoy every moment with them.



Eileen: What can we expect to see from you in the future? Can you share with us any upcoming projects, workshops or other ideas you have in the works?



Sharon: I did answer a portion of this in one of the above questions, but I didn’t give some specifics, which are all listed on my web site under “Upcoming Appearances.” I will be all over the country, so there is a good chance I may meet some of your readers. In the past month, I did 23 live and recorded radio interviews for major stations, Sirius, and NPR. Many of these shows will be aired in the upcoming months, but I don’t know the schedule. I usually find out about the broadcast when I start receiving e-mails.



I’ve just been hired by one of my favorite companies, Land’s End, to go on a four city tour to inspire children and families to create art, write, and garden. I’ll be working in schools, and on Saturdays, I’ll be in-store doing gardening demonstrations. This will be fun, and luckily, my husband will be one of my assistants.



I have been considering doing some sort of creativity workshop, but I need to get through my book tour, my work for Land’s End, and the work on the new Lowe’s “Garden Grow Along” blog. A group of dedicated gardeners have joined forces and now write a weekly posting about the goings on in their gardens. It is fun and personal and covers the entire U.S.



I am also leaving on a book and lecture tour, which will cover about 15 cities and many states. Jeff will be right beside me all the way. Thank goodness.



Jeff and I are redoing the top floor of an 1800’s apothecary building in Damariscotta, Maine, just a few steps from the back bay and the Damariscotta River. We are turning it into a “Literary Lodging,” and it is going to be stuffed with books and outfitted with antiques and comfortable furniture. I think it is going to be wonderful for visitors traveling the coast of Maine. It is something we’ve always wanted to do, and now we’re doing it!

The old apothecary building in Damariscotta, Maine. The top floor is going to be the "literary lodging" mini hotel.

I am so very grateful to Sharon for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to give my readers a glimpse into her inspiring life. My hope is that we can look to people like Sharon as inspiration to follow our own dreams in life. I know I will. I encourage you to visit Sharon's blog and also take a look at some of her wonderful publications.





For a chance to win a copy of Sharon's book Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars please leave a comment below and a winner will be drawn randomly on or before Friday, March 26th. Be sure to check back for results.