The Story of My Header

This is the story of the stone soup header…

For 2 1/2 years, I didn’t really care what my blog looked like. It’s sort of like our house. I like it neat and clean, but I don’t need it decorated. Our furniture doesn’t exactly match. And by “exactly” I mean not at all. The best we have going is an overall theme of the same fake wood colour from Ikea (it’s birch! Except it’s not!). But suddenly, one day, I CARED. I cared so much that I wanted to tear down the whole blog until I could figure out how to make a header and clean everything up. Luckily, I didn’t because I seem to be frightfully bad with understanding how to make a header.

Calliope created it for me (and she’ll create one for you too if you wish). We emailed ideas back and forth for a few days and tossed out several tries before we fell in love with this one. The thing is that I have been reading Calliope for years, from her old blog to her current one, and our lives have crossed so many times. I had no idea when I first started reading her blog that she would one day redesign mine.

The picture comes from Vee. I first saw it on her illustration site. Vee and her husband, Max, are both artists and I started reading their blogs at the same time back in the summer of 2006. Again, back in 2006, I had no idea how things would unfold, but I am touched beyond belief and honoured beyond words that she let me use this image on the blog. Not just because of how perfect it is to me but because it comes from her–one of the longest read blogs in my Reader.

This picture is how I imagine the Land of If–the world of infertility. There is a quiet honesty that comes out at night. It is a time when people are still and reflective. When people pause from movement to listen. I love the thin houses, the mountains in the background. Doesn’t the space look insurmountable, but cozy? A space unto itself, but part of something larger? I have loved that picture for so long and I was so grateful when she told me I could use it.

Two extremely creative and talented women, one grateful blog owner, and a header.