what would it be like to be a tree with
roots sunk deeply into the earth - to watch the
seasons passing around you the same way the
wind passes through our branches?

and a happy mother's day to me (and every other fabulous mama out there) - happy with a new book in hand. migrant by maxine trottier is the somber story of anna and her canadian mennonite family traveling to mexico to work. the ghosts of past workers haunt anna's mother in the empty farm houses that shelter her family. anna and her sisters curl up like kittens to sleep under one blanket, while her brothers whimper like puppies, trying to steal a corner of warmth under a too-small-for-growing-boys quilt.

not only do i find the story incredibly inspiring - my paternal grandmother's family is canadian mennonite - the illustrations are equally fascinating. bits of cut paper, pen and ink, pencil, and watercolor all combine in beautiful shapes and colors that would be perfect for, you guessed it, a quilt! flying geese - both the quilt pattern and the actual thing - open the book while patchwork fields scatter the pages. now i know what to do with my scrap pack from hawthorne threads - flying geese, here i come!