About

S'mae!  That's Welsh for hello.  c:

My name is Laura Christine Ricardo; in formal publications, L.C. Ricardo; but here in my internet living room call me Christie!

Meet the family:

There's John, half Irish, half English, native Welsh speaker:

Afon Joseph, our oldest:

And Roan Reuel, the latest model:

I'm a born Southerner but am half Puerto Rican.  Currently, we live between central Florida and Wales, UK, while immigration is sorted out.  We are loyally Catholic and Celtic-obsessed--with my children named in Welsh and Irish, respectively.  My husband John and I met over in the Wales at the University of Bangor where he was studying psychology and I was pursing an MA in Arthurian Literature.  Before getting married in February of 2010, I wrote a thesis titled Doing God's Making: the Arthurian Visions of David Jones and Charles Williams.

The mythical and literary are deep in our blood; my grandmother-in-law was personally taught by J.R.R. Tolkien.  She went on to teach at Oxford during the war and was friendly with the Inklings, though she excused herself from meeting with them because, according to our aunt, she didn't like pubs! We gave my son the middle name Reuel after him.

I aim to raise my children on mystery and liturgy like milk and honey.  We practice liturgical living, which at this time and place is truly an alternative lifestyle.  It is a natural cooperation between the Church and the rhythm of the seasons, and it made up the fabric of everyday life in the west before the Reformation; which is why you might sometimes get a "medieval flavor" when reading this blog.

#icons

I am also, for better or worse, fascinated with fashion.  My tastes aim from hipster to bohemian to {Japanese lolita}; my someday hobby would be medieval reenactment, with all the costuming that entails; and my favorite period of dress was {late 17th century Dutch}.  Along with all that comes a natural fascination with head covering in all its forms; and I do wear a veil or scarf to Mass, if I can remember it.  So if you're new here, prepare thyself for the occasional out-of-left-field fashion post!

I'm a writer and a photographer, in that order.  I had toy cameras and disposables growing up, but got my first big girl film camera in 2005 for studying abroad in Rome.  What an amazing experience!  When that camera was stolen, I converted to digital (I have a Rebel T3i) and  am adding lenses and upgrades as I can afford them (hint: rarely).

Follow along with {the 52 project}, a series of portraits taken of my children once a week every week, or see more professional photography at my little business start-up, {Crown & Bough}.  For my photography tips and tricks, {see here}.

I sell a bit of my photography as greeting cards and handmade art at my Etsy store, {The Fine Print Shoppe}.

My first love, however, always was and will be writing.  I'm a storyteller.  I love stories.  I live stories every day.  I started this blog because I was told that to become a published author, one had to have a platform.  Now as a mother of two small children, the novel, which will be twenty more years in the making, has taken a backseat to the instant gratification of blogging.  I do still manage to {publish a few small pieces here and there}, and received an honorable mention for the first edition of the {Tuscany Prize in Catholic Fiction} for 2012.

In the fall of 2014, we finally got a diagnosis for our older son's autism.  I write about that journey and the challenges of raising a special needs child here.

I like to crochet and want to learn how to sew and embroider.  I started to pick up hand spinning before Afon got too dangerous to do it around.  I'm mysteriously drawn to spinning wheels.  I occasionally write about {lazy, made-up recipes} and, since I can't satisfy my wanderlust, I browse the dubious archives of Wikipedia for information on obscure cultures and languages like those of the Faroe Islands and the Sami people.  (I'm a little bit obsessed with Scandinavia.  And folk art.  And Scandinavian folk art.)

Not one of the made up ones.

You can find me under the pseudonym GreenInkling in various places but most notably {Instagram}.  I hang out around {Facebook} and my at my other blog, {Spinning Straw into Gold}, a blog about this strangeness and wonder of this life as made manifest in fairy tales.  You can also contact me via GreenInkling@gmail.com.

Oh, and one more thing!

Just your typical weekday morning music video.  You're welcome.  ;)

Family photos courtesy of {Christina Maldonado Photography}.