Earth : Wind : Fire : Water

The elements are upon us in my neck of the woods.  Water and wind particularly, have been presenting themselves in abundance today.  Call me crazy, but I love stormy weather since we don't get much of this in southern California.  All this rain gives me the perfect reason to light the fireplace, pour a glass of wine and settle in for some cozy comfy hooky time.
 
But first, a post about the baby blanket I finished for my friend, the lovely Ms. M.  She delivered a precious baby girl two days ago.  I absolutely cannot wait to meet this sweet little bundle of joy!!!

It's not a traditional baby blanket in pinks or blues.  However, let me first say that Ms. M is definitely not a traditional sort of gal.

She's an amazing yoga teacher, mother, wife and free-spirit.  But you want to know what's really amazing?! She decided to have a second child in her mid-forties.  Isn't that amazing?!

Being well into my forties myself, all I could think is...O : M : G

Ms. M is a brave one alright. 

She also decided, against doctor's advice, to deliver the baby at home with the help of a midwife.

I mentioned she wasn't the traditional sort, but as I think of it, giving birth at home is still a mainstream occurence in many parts of the world. 

After all, isn't this what women have been doing since the beginning of time?!

 

If you ask me, 'traditional' means giving me that epidural the minute I arrive at the hospital

parking lot...

Thankfully and blessedly, all told, Baby and Mom are doing very well.

 So here's the completed blanket, which I've named

Earth : Wind : Fire : Water

Apologies for the blurriness (wine...hee hee), but hopefully you get the idea.  Initially, I randomly chose the colors from my existing stash and didn't give it much thought.  I usually obsess over color selections and play around with color combos until I'm happy.  This time I kept it simple because I had a short time frame in which to complete my gift.  Little did I know how these particular colors would come to symbolize the elements which Ms. M holds dear.

Earth = Green, Beige

Wind = Cream

Fire = Red Coral

Water = Aqua

It turns out I did good on the colors!  This becomes clearer if I tell a bit about her baby shower. 

It was a unique one, to say the least. 

Did I mention she's a free spirited kind of gal? 

This whole thing was her idea, so what do friends do but comply and oblige her. 

One doesn't mess with a lady who's 38 weeks pregnant.

It was an incredibly gorgeous day at the end of January.  We gather on the beach to express our gratitude to Nature:  Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.  Flower wreaths adorn our heads representing colors of the elements.  That's me on the left, reading a short passage about Mother Earth, feeling the sand at our feet.

Ms. M is in the middle along with her daughter and we walk toward the water...

  

Moving forward until the water rushes to our feet, reflecting on Water's life-giving qualities.

Lighting candles to symbolize Fire's energy and touching feathers to represent Wind's power. 

At the end, we join hands to send all our positive energy and support to Ms. M for a smooth birth.

I realize how weird and possibly crazy you may think we are...like Ya Ya Sisterhood crazy.  And for those who absolutely think so, count me in!

Three words...Only In California.

Let me leave you then with this little photo to prove that we haven't entirely lost our minds.  We topped off the day with a lovely dinner, opened gifts, and left Ms. M with lots of love and good wishes.

Have a silly, crazy, wacky weekend, all :-)