Way Down the Valley

Snow!

2012-01-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

A light dusting of snow and I am feeling downright giddy because of it.

Mid-January, and it's finally feeling like winter.

Paper Flight

2012-01-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

For the last two weeks or so these paper planes have been whizzing through the air all around us. Some time after they make their final descent, they can usually be found under tables, stuck in lighting fixtures, behind furniture, and often on top of most high horizontal surfaces-shelves, refrigerator, kitchen cabinets and other hard to reach places. I have been watching these planes fly around just above my head (often way too close to my head and even in to my head) thinking they had really summed up my feeling about the holiday season for me- in flight. I finally feel like we are a bit more grounded around here and it is feeling very very good.

I was also feeling quite content with my little guy running low on his supply of special airplane making paper. The making/folding of these planes is just really darn cute. I love watching him study the pictures in these books so closely and watching his little hands, that are growing more and more capable everyday, fold up his little flying wonders. That is all really fantastic. It's the "test flights" that I find challenging, "Hey mama, watch this one!", and suddenly before there's any time to react an extremely fast moving plane with a rather pointy end is flying towards my eyeballs. So, it's only for these "test flights" that I have had my eye set quite happily on that dwindling supply of paper. It was all looking so good for this mama.

Then, that clever little boy of mine found a way to recycle the junk mail.

2012-01-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

My apologies...

2011-12-23T08:48:00.000-08:00

I have been a very absent mommy blogger lately and for this I must say, "I'm sorry". This season is so very full. It is full of things to do, places to go, people to see, things to read, projects to work on, and things to cook, make and bake. This is one of those times of the year where I find myself pulling in and bringing my awareness to my family in a way that just doesn't allow me to be "plugged in."

I will say that I do think about this space everyday, and quite often, many many times a day. I find in this space not only peace but also a community of like-minded people (mothers, mostly) who value and hold dear the very same things that are so close to my heart. To see all of these wonderful mothers sharing what they do with their children as well as the things they teach and how they teach them--peace, community, creativity, valuing our land, our food and our bodies, conserving, preserving, recycling, up-cycling, reducing, reusing, repurposing...and more--it is so inspiring! This space stretches my mothering in a way that I have never felt before. I am so thankful for each day I have been able to be present in this space and be apart of a community of mothers who both inspire and challenge me to give more of myself to my children and to my family. To these incredible mothers I say, "thank you! Thank you for being here and thank you for so generously sharing."

I will be back in this space more regularly as our days begin to move a bit more slowly and everyone feels a little more secure in the rhythm of home. I hope everyone has a very joyful holiday season filled with kindness and love.

peace,
Jaime

From the weekend...

2011-12-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

The Christmas tree expedition.

2011-12-11T16:19:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite things to do at the end of our very full days, is make my way to a small little desk situated inside of one of our closets. Hidden away; this is the space where we keep our computer. It's here each day that I love to come and reflect on the time that seems to be so quickly passing by us. Last week I wasn't able to make it into this space to write or reflect at all. As a result, I was feeling uneasy and unbalanced. A few more days without finding myself in this space passed and I noticed I was starting to get a little hard on myself and a bit cranky. It occurred to me to shift my awareness. If I hadn't been taking time to write and reflect on our days then what had I been doing?

When I stepped back with a deep breath to look around our kitchen, I could see so clearly what had been taking place. Through a mound of pots stacked up next to the sink and flour sprinkled liberally all around, I was reminded that my family is on a journey towards planting ourselves more solidly in line with the things we believe are good and right for us.

Scanning around this messy kitchen of ours, I saw:

:: Bread rising near the fire.

:: Three little people happily playing together and apart, weaving in and out of each others play and space learning how to get along and, equally as important, learning the right way to not get along.

:: A chicken. Our very own chicken that we lovingly raised and "harvested," being thoroughly picked clean of meat and all the bones carefully laid aside for a nice bone broth.

:: Beautiful green onions just pulled from the greenhouse that morning nearly ready to join a handsome piece of chuck roast that found it's way into our freezer after being separated from its happy grass fed owner.

:: Some homemade yogurt trying to stay warm while doing its thing under some towels in the corner.

:: Kombucha, doing whatever it is that kombucha does in that lonely week or so it has before its ready.

:: And, our sourdough starter. The beautiful new addition to our family happily bubbling away on the counter and smelling quite wonderful.

This, all going on in just that one small space in front of me. These few things were enough to make me smile and allow me to gain a new perspective on what I should be doing. Each one of these things for me requires time, patience and usually research! There is no one to call up for a quick, "hey this dough isn't rising right, what's the deal?" or "This kombucha mother keeps sinking to the bottom should I.....?" Instead, it's almost always getting out 5 books to figure out what's going on and then trying to find a second to sneak into our closet to Google something.

And so, this is where I've been. Sometimes muddling my way through the things I'm not sure of and other times taking confident strides.

Either way, this is where I've been.

And it's here where I will happily be tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

The first snow

2011-12-05T19:41:00.001-08:00

Last week we had our first snowfall.

And so now it's official. The season is here.

Advent has already begun. Beautiful lights are strung up on houses and along streets.

Everyday I see cars driving by with Christmas trees strapped on top.

This weekend, in disbelief or denial, I even stopped to gawk at some Christmas carolers.

Each year I find myself surprised by how forcefully this season begins and how swiftly and steadily it moves by. I often feel like I am being swept along in its quick moving current. I find I am continually having to remind myself to put my feet down and stay grounded. I remind myself that I do not have to move at the same speed. I have the option of stopping, looking around, enjoying this moment and especially enjoying the people who are present in this moment with me. I remind myself that this is what the season is really about in the first place. It's the people. Our people. It's not what we have for our people and certainly not what our people have for us, but rather, do we have our people? Are they near? Am I giving them my attention? Am I showing them love? Am I really listening? Or, am I thinking about what name I drew for the gift exchange and HOW ON EARTH am I supposed to know what kind of stuff a boy that age likes....? Oh my yes, it is so easy for me to get caught up in it all. And so I remind myself over and over again to keep these feet of mine firmly planted and to...

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Needle felting.

2011-12-02T18:36:00.001-08:00

Needle felting has quickly become our favorite craft to do lately.

It all started the day I let go of, what I believed to be, a reasonable fear of my children gouging their tiny body parts with nasty-sharp serrated needles. I decided to get over it. It happened. They cried. I cried. Then they cried more because they thought I wasn't going to let them do it again and then I realized, "hey, what's the fuss all about then? Let's get back to felting here." So, we did.

It is such a peaceful and personal craft. Each person has their own felting pad and needle and there is plenty of "community" wool to share. We can each just hang out, chat and work on our own creations separately, but still very much together.

The best method we have found so far for sparing little fingers from those vicious needles is using wool cutouts from felted sweaters or 100% wool felt used a bit like a canvas so they can "paint" pictures with the wool. At first I insisted on cutting out nice little rectangles so they would have these perfect backgrounds to use for their work. Then, after much pleading from my people, they convinced me to relinquish control of the scissors. They started cutting out their own backgrounds which were, and usually are, much more organic then the somewhat sterile rectangles I had insisted on.
Once they have their backgrounds ready we pin them down to the felting pad with straight pins to hold them in place. This way they can add wool over the background, create whatever image they have unfolding behind their wide and focused eyes without really having to hold their hands near the sharp end of the needle.

So far this has yielded many enjoyable afternoons of needle felting

and oh my, ever so many works of felted art.

Our new pet

2011-11-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

A Sweet Gum tree fruit wrapped in wool.

A day of Thanks

2011-11-24T12:10:00.001-08:00

Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy your people.

Enjoy your food.

I will be back in this space on Monday.

Have a great weekend.

She leaps.

2011-11-20T13:42:00.001-08:00

For today

2011-11-19T14:32:00.001-08:00

We are...

~watching a very happy mama cast on.

~moving our apple picker indoors and giving her a view.

~enjoying the evolution of the nature table and wondering.....

...does everyone need a designated space on their nature tables for bones and teeth?
Because it seems that we might.

Smocks

2011-11-18T13:00:00.001-08:00

I've been attempting to design and sew the perfect (for us) smock. Now I realize that most smocks are reserved for painting and all other sorts of get-dirty-and-have-fun types of crafts, but for us eating also falls into this category. There are at least two members of our small tribe around the table at each meal that really like to experience food. They want to know how it smells and tastes just like the rest of us of course, but they also want to know how it feels. I'm not talking about just touching the food. Think sculpting. Or better yet, massage. Sort of like- what does this food feel like when I work it into my knees and elbows and while I'm at it, my hair.

So what I'm looking for here is really more of a, dining smock. Bibs don't cover enough. Neither do aprons. No, we need more coverage. Painter's suit? Mechanics coveralls?

Maybe.

I think I'm getting close with these, but if anyone has any suggestions I would gladly hear them.

unplugging

2011-11-15T19:25:00.001-08:00

I am popping in this evening to say that I will be popping out, but only for a couple of days. Mainly I'm interested in doing a laundry test. It's a simple test to determine if there is a correlation between computer running time and the size of our dirty laundry pile. Said laundry pile is so incredibly large that I swear it's beginning to develop its own gravitational pull. Now I realize you may think I am being facetious but really I'm quite serious. I've noticed that the larger this pile gets the more other dirty clothes are attracted to it and long to be a part of it. And they do. So this pile of clothes just gets bigger and bigger and this is why I think I'm right about the whole gravity thing.

But anyway, here's the deal. When this test is over I'm not going to be commenting on the outcome or anything. And the reason is, of course, because either outcome would be incriminating in one way or another so I think I should just keep it to myself.

The Forest Protectors

2011-11-14T20:17:00.001-08:00

My little people and I went out into a field of trees in search of some treasures today. As we looked around under leaves and behind rocks, I noticed Owen inspecting the base of several trees. Just as I was about to ask what he was looking for he said, "Look at that. You think a forest protector could live there?"

A forest protector? Now, we have read our share of Elsa Beskow around here. We know about forest people, root children, and all sorts of other fairies, elves and gnomes from various tales, but forest protectors? This one just left me there scratching my head. Seeing me so thoroughly confused he explained, "You know they speak for the trees."

Oh! Yes!

"Mister!", he said with a sawdusty sneeze,
"I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees.
I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues,
And I'm asking you, sir, at the top of my lungs" –
He was very upset as he shouted and puffed –
"What's that THING you've made out of my Truffula tuft?"

So today we built a place for a forest protector to stop and rest while he was traveling about doing the very busy work of speaking for the trees.

Our swinging little apple picker

2011-11-11T13:35:00.001-08:00

What sorts of things drive a person dressed in their jammies from the comfort and warmth of home out into the bitter chill of the morning air to collect saws, drills and small logs?

~The thought of making something fun to play with can always do that.

~Knowing there is warmth and comfort in the greenhouse to settle into.

~Simply enjoying a few precious rays of sunshine and the company of each other.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

The Buttercup Bag revisited

2011-11-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

One more little sewing project, or in this case two, saved from that place of darkness in my sewing room. I should mention that I cut these bags out at about the same time as the autumn banner (from the link above) which was sometime last October/Novemberish. And, the fact that I am approximately one year and a few weeks behind schedule for delivering these bags to their intended recipients has in no way diminished my excitement for having finished them.
Now the question remains, why two bags exactly the same? I wish I knew the answer. The only thing I can think of is that I was quite pregnant at the time and when a person is really pregnant they do crazy things that cannot be explained. They might decide to cut off all their hair with embroidery scissors or even cut out two matching purses for friends who may not enjoy having matching purses. But... guess what? They have matching purses.
The bag. The Buttercup Bag (free pattern here) I have written about before and I continue to be quite fond of this pattern. I don't find it overly fussy. It doesn't require a lot of fabric. It's super cute and it doesn't require a lot of time either--unless your me and then you'll need to set aside approximately one year and 2 hours, give or take a week. However, I don't recommend going that route.

The last minute voters

2011-11-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

At home-

Me: Okay everyone to the car. Quick. Owen you grab the bowls. Carmel you take the spoons. Andy do you have the pack for Addie? Shoot. I can't find the keys.
Andy: We have 11 minutes.
Me: Do you have the keys? Ohp. Nevermind. I've got 'em. Shoes? Carmel, forget the shoes you don't need 'em. Well, if you want to put them on then put them on, but you really need to get in the car. Do you have the spoons? Don't forget the spoons. Okay. In? Everyone in? I've got the oatmeal. Are you all buckled? No? Well, get buckled. You got it? Did it click? Okay. Let's drive.

At the polls-

Andy: I've got Addie. I need the backpack. Jaime, can you hand me the backpack? Jaime! I need the backpack. I've got Addie.
Me: Oh, the backpack. Yeah. Hey, are you taking Addie? What?  No, I didn't hear you. Okay, so you've got her then. Great. Hey Carmel, Carmel, Carm look at mama please. Leave the spoons in the car.
Carmel: I WANNA TAKE THE SPOOOOOOOONS!
Me: Take your spoon and leave all the other spoons in the car. Okay? Okay. Great. Let's head in. Hey good call on the shoe thing it looks like you did need those. I'm sorry, what'd you say honey? Dinner? Oh yeah, you're going to eat dinner we're just gonna run in here and vote quickly before they close.
Owen: What's vote exactly?
Andy:    It's like...who wants ice cream? And the people that want ice cream say, I want ice cream!
Owen: I want ice cream!
Andy:   Well, we don't have ice cream. I was just...saying that.......if people were......

Jaime: What's that? Am I finished? Yes. You? Wow, that was quick. Let's go. Everyone get back in. Wait. Don't get buckled yet we're just going to eat right here. Yeeees, in the parking lot. Owen do you have the bowls? Great. Hey Carm, we need those spoons now. Okay grab your bowl and have a seat. Yes, it's oatmeal. Those? Those are raisins. Yes, this is your dinner. Here take it. Got it? Got it? Okay. Is it warm? Good.
Enjoy..........enjoy....
[exchange frantic look with partner.]

"Well, we made it," says Andy.

"Yup, we made it," says me.

Wood Stacker

2011-11-07T15:12:00.001-08:00

Big work for tiny hands.

I love...

2011-11-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

...her skip,

...her blue skirt (that apparently goes with everything),

...her sweet little grin,

...and those muddy all-switched-up kicks.

Collecting ourselves

2011-11-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

We spent the early evening yesterday walking along a nearby creek taking in all the little bits of nature along the way. There was leaf collecting, acorn collecting and leaf boat construction followed by leaf boat racing, but mostly there was peace and togetherness. Lately I have come to realize that these are the times when my family is the happiest and the most at peace. It's never when the laundry is finally folded and put away, which is almost never. It's not when the dishes are done and the house is clean, also almost never. No, it's when we are outside with wind in our hair and dirt on our hands. It's when we are appreciating the splendor and magnificence of this beautiful land we have all around us. It's when we come together as a family in the presence of this wonderful thing we call Mother Nature and allow ourselves to receive the calm and tranquility being offered to us. It's when we have accepted this remarkable gift She has laid at our feet that I can see who the members of our little tribe truly are. It's here that I see them at peace. It's here where I see our whole family at peace. And it's here, where I see ourselves being collected more than anything else.

Autumn Fairy

2011-11-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

Falling leaves, cooler temperatures and Marie of Softearth's World have been leading me again and again to my fiber stash. Last week Marie posted a tutorial on making a circle wool picture and I couldn't resist giving it a try.

Now I just need to look around here and find something to do with that yarn.

Have a great weekend everyone.

One year.

2011-11-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to

Miss Adeline Jane.

Exactly one year ago today my thoughts were totally consumed with a new and precious being about to join our family. In the time leading up to her birth I would think, sometimes to myself and sometimes aloud, "Oh how I can't wait to meet you. What will your little hand be like to hold? How will you smile? What will your sweet laughing sound like when it travels through our home? How will your chin be? How will your eyes be? Will you know how much we adore you?"

One year later. So many wonderful surprises have been revealed to us about our little girl in this first year. We know that when she smiles she smiles with her whole face. One big ear to ear infectious smile. Her little laughs can fill a room, not to mention our hearts. She is crazy about her brother and sister and watches them with the wide-eyed wonderment that only a younger sibling can know. She is pure motion. She's on the go and she's fast. She is good for 1000 hugs a day (1 second each). She prefers to be up early. She climbs. High. Really high. She is part mountain goat.

We adore her.

She knows it.

Preparing

2011-11-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

(Fabric for a small banner; Andy and Owen working with a saw Andy made for the kids; very special blocks for a very special person; Carmel honing her sawing skills)

Tomorrow is a very special day.

Thrifted

2011-11-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

I found my marbles!

They're beautiful. I love them. The kids are going to love them too.

Advent treasures? Hmm, I'm thinking yes.

Smashing, Saving and Sewing

2011-10-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

Smashing: Eggshells.

I thrifted this mortar and pestal a little while back thinking it would be something Carmel would really enjoy working with. I had seen one not long ago in a Montessori classroom laid out so beautifully on a small wooden tray with one bright white eggshell inside. I was struck by what a simple, satisfying and meditative activity it was. An egg. Something we are normally so careful not to break, but here we can throw this on a tray with a mortar and pestal and essentially say," Don't be careful with this; pulverize it!" That is fun.

Owen thought so too. He worked on it with one hand and then two. He stood above it and worked and then laid down next to it and worked. He held it down with his hands and then held it with his feet. He worked that egg over until it finally turned to dust.

It's such a pleasure to watch these little hands and minds at work. I have been finding so much inspiration online lately for creating new learning opportunities for my little people. Right now I am really enjoying what's on One Hook Wonder and Living Montessori Now. They do a Montessori Monday post and I love going through it to see what sorts of things my babes might like to do.

Montessori? Waldorf? Oh my, lots to think about there.

Saving: Luffa Seeds

We aren't too sure how our seed saving is going to turn out here for our Luffa sponge. Andy and the kids pulled the seeds before our first big frost but the seeds don't seem to be mature. Apparently they need a really long growing season (140-200 days), which we didn't give them. I would like to say that had we known they needed a long season we would have planted them earlier, but we wouldn't have. We do, however, have at least one really great luffa sponge to play with in the bathtub.

Sewing: Cape for an Aspiring Dentist Superhero

Cut, sewn and given away. I feel a little bit sad that it's gone because I had really grown to like this cape. Now I realize that aprons are historically the acceptable attire for the workin'-around-the-house-mama, but I think I would like to go with a cape from here on out. I believe little would do more to wake me up in the morning, get me moving, and really signify the importance of the work that lays ahead of me than throwing on a nice cape. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that parents need capes.

From the Weekend

2011-10-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

When fairies fall...

2011-10-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

...asleep, the whole house is quiet.

So very very quiet.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Ba Ba Black Sheep

2011-10-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is a little story set I put together for Carmel the other day. The two of us sat down and set up a special place to put everything. She was so excited to sing the song and play with it, but she had this odd sort of questioning look on her face the whole time. When we were finished I asked her if she wanted to play with it alone for a bit. After a lengthy pause she finally asked me why we were singing Ba Ba Black Sheep when the little black animal she was holding in her hand was clearly, a goat.

This, I could not argue with. Maybe it would be useful to look at a picture of the animal one is attempting to make instead of guessing, but that's not what I did. For now, we will just be exercising our imagination. That's always good to do anyway.

I did end up searching Google images for "black sheep" and found a couple of strange looking sheep that bore a strong resemblance to our goat, pointed at the pictures and said, "Nope, it's a sheep. See."

"Oohhhhh", she said.

Our bean sheller

2011-10-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Put 'em to work early people! That's what I say.

We figure she's nearly a year old now and she's had this whole year to play around and do whatever she wants, but that's O-ver. This is the real world kid, now get in the kitchen and shell some beans. We have dinner to cook!

Collecting and Making

2011-10-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Collecting...

Zinnias. Some for planting and some for playing.

Making...

small wreaths from the Virginia Creeper that grows all over our barn.

The addition of a few flowers and some of our finest weeds has made for such a nice little thing to look upon today.

By the river

2011-10-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

It seems as if these beautiful warm autumn days are going to end so soon. Today we took a little time to enjoy this passing season by the river. There were boats to paddle. There were leaves and rocks to eat (for Adeline). There were funny dogs to watch. There was a perfect popcorn dinner.

Our new neighbors

2011-10-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

They are cute and perfect and tiny and

I LOVE THEM!

The Letter Satchel

2011-10-23T15:42:00.000-07:00

A place for special things.

I have saved nearly all of the letters Owen has received over the years knowing that one day he would enjoy reading them for himself. Though I have saved them, they have been scattered in various paper stacks throughout our house and have been in need of a special place to come together. A few days ago I needed a quick sewing project to get my mind right (and I know there are some craft junkies out there who understand that so don't pretend not to!) and so, this became my sewing fix of choice.

There are a few websites and books that have patterns for letter cases, letter satchels, and/or document duvets that are worth checking out (like the ones here, here, here, here and my favorite, here). Most of them are quite similar but it's still nice to see what other people are doing and what they have done historically to create special places for these small handwritten treasures that have become so rare. The pattern I used for Owen's came from the Handmade Home book, which is such a great go to book for quick sewing projects. Owen chose the fabric for both his and his grandma's, from whom most of his letters come. So naturally she will need her own letter case in order to house all of those wonderful hand written notes from her grandson that are certainly long overdue but soon on their way.

I guess it's time to start writing.

Nature's Art Box

2011-10-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

Owen has recently discovered this book sitting on our bookshelf. He has been carrying it around and leafing through it. Every now and then he looks up to casually remind me that "everyday we should be going out into nature" (I love that wording) to collect things. Well, this has been the first sunshine we have seen in the last few days so there was nothing anyone would have rather done today than to "go out into nature" and do our collecting....

...and so we did.

We collected. We played.

We made funny people.

Have a great weekend everyone.

The balance beam

2011-10-20T03:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a dark rainy day. No one was interested in going outside once the rain had set in but there was still so much energy in our tiny house there was no question that it needed to be channeled. I have been pouring over Montessori catalogs lately as I try to wrap my head around homeschooling for real, which is different than the homeschooling for pretend that I have been doing up until now. One of the things I came across in the Michael Olaf catalog (link above) that I really liked was the balance beam. I have always loved that type of focused attention on the body and where it is in space. With children, it is especially amazing to be able to watch that skill set unfold and develop right in front of you.

Carmel was working on a nice beat for Owen here.

Owen and Carmel both gave it a try but it really wasn't well suited for Carmel. I think she may prefer that the plank be a bit wider and for the whole thing to be more stable, which it wasn't at all. Eventually she just gave up on the whole thing and retreated to the familiar comfort of reviewing her favorite bird book while intermittently instructing Addie on the ends and outs of birdsong playback. Maybe next time we can try something like this or this. At least for Owen though it was just right. He spent a surprising amount of time with it trying to balance walking forwards, walking backwards, eyes closed, holding something steady, and blind folded (same as eyes closed but cooler and more pirate-like apparently).

Then after all of that, there is the added challenge of trying to stay balanced while your papa is picking up the other end.

Pumpkin Eater

2011-10-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Someone keeps eating our pumpkin.

I just wish I could figure out who it is.

The right kind of school

2011-10-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

I want to go to Pioneer School every single day.

Pumpkin Seeds

2011-10-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

After several attempts I have finally found a pumpkin seed recipe that I really like. I have tried to make these so many times and I have never really liked how they've turned out. Sometimes they have too little flavor, or sometimes they have too much or sometimes they are a bit too soggy, but these are just right.

And now that I've found the flavor and texture I like, I need to figure out how to get my unwilling pumpkin seed extractors (Owen and Carmel) to harvest more seeds. Both of them looked at that large soupy mass of orange pumpkin entrails and politely backed away when I said, "Yay! Look! This is the fun part. Let's pull out all the seeds." This is the fun part, right? Am I not remembering this correctly, letting that cold orange goo squish between your fingers, that's FUN! At least that's how I remember it.

I might have to get a little more creative to see if I can bring 'em around to mama's way of thinkin.'

The Maxi Top

2011-10-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, the Maxi Top. It's really called that and if you can get over the name (I personally had a little trouble there) then you're in business because it is such a fun, simple and FAST! pattern. I first tried to make this one for Addie but it ended up being way too big because I didn't make a gauge swatch, as usual. Silly? Yes, but I do it all the time. Do you think I could learn? Nope. I can't. So now this one belongs to Carmel . It's cute. It fits her. She loves it. What more could I ask for?

And you see, Addie still got hers and now they can match which I always love. I hate admitting that I'm one of those moms that like making their children wear matching clothes, but I do it. I'm one of those. The only thing I didn't like about these tops was the yarn choice. I used some sort of organic Lion Brand somethin' somethin' that I found on sale somewhere and it pills so badly that it makes me want to yank out my hair. Addie's has gotten quite a bit more wear than Carmel's but I have hand washed it and laid it out to dry each time I've cleaned it and it still pills and looks way more ragged than it should. Annoying.

Luckily I didn't spend lots of time laboring over them with my poor quality yarn because then I would be really sad, but like I said it was a really fast pattern-which is available for free here on Ravelry or here, if you aren't on Ravelry--so I can't complain. And I suppose as long as they're wearing them we will always have the fun game of playing, who-can-pick-the-most-tiny-little-yellow-and-white-balls-off-their-sweater?

Something to look forward to.

The nature table

2011-10-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

How long does it take to make a tiny little seasonal banner?

About one year and 20 minutes if you're me.

I have this thing I do where I start a project and then just sort of let it hang there in project purgatory until it whispers up enough prayers that I hear it, take pity upon it, and then decide to finish it. If a person could see what the project purgatory looks like in my little sewing room I would be so incredibly embarrassed.

Ahh but today, today there is one tiny project soul that has been freed from that dark place of uncertainty (which would be one of the many boxes I have mentally marked unfinished-projects) and is now hanging happily in our living room.

So Pretty

2011-10-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful time in such a special place.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

We picked up a pumpkin carving set at a rummage sale a few years ago and it has been the greatest thing to have around during pumpkin carving time. The one we have is a bit like this one with the scrapper and saw and I love that they can hold the saw in their hands and actually make it cut something (just pumpkins! - hopefully). It's always so gratifying to work with tools that do what they're supposed to do. And certainly, to feel that gratification is especially important for these little people of ours who want so badly to do things on their own. I just love watching their pursed lips and scrunched foreheads as they move that saw through the pumpkin with such determination. And joy. I should add here that I strongly believe the joy is coming directly from a thought I can so clearly hear them singing slowly to themselves over and over..."I can't believe she's letting us use these shaaaarp cutty-things..."

Up to this point only the pumpkins have sustained any serious injuries from the pumpkin saw.

So, that's good.

The Reluctant Farmgirl

2011-10-07T15:55:00.000-07:00

Overalls. Piggytails. Tutu. She may be more of a Farmgirl Princess.

Sights I'm enjoying right now

2011-10-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

Right now...

2011-10-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

I am:

feeling the after effects of The Cove (which I stayed up entirely too late last night watching);

predicting that I will be spending far too much time here and here now as a result;

agonizing over how to cook some new-to-me cuts of meat in our freezer (sorry that is a poorly positioned sentence because the cuts of meat have nothing to do with dolphins...just in case you thought so);

adjusting to the new flow this season is bringing to our home right now;

making all sorts of plans to paint the things that are begging to be painted;

pouring over this site I recently found that carries no VOC paint (and honestly I think I just like the name of the company and also that they have a color palette called The Land of Nod. I know. I'm like that).

aching to have some free time in my sewing room so I can run my hands over some fabric and dream.

puzzling over why our cat keeps eating the dog's food and why our dog keeps eating the cat's food.

wondering how long these two little people will be able to occupy this perfect seat and

loving that right now...they can.

Changing Seasons

2011-10-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

The leaves begin to change colors and slowly float to the ground. All of the winter clothes, hats, sweaters, and scarves are dredged out of the back of a storage closet and given priority in drawers, baskets and on hooks. Knitting takes the lead as my craft of choice. Patterns begin to multiply littering every available flat surface around all my favorite seating areas in our home. Skein by skein the yarn creeps out from a variety of different hiding places so I can feel it, smell it, and imagine what it might become.

These are the things that tell me the season is changing. These are the things that remind me a new rhythm will begin in our home. A new rhythm where soon we will all pull in, stay inside a little more often, and stay just a little bit closer together. These are and have historically been, for me, the indicators of a changing season, but one that has recently emerged around our home is this one...

...the greenhouse cover.

Our new and definitive mark of the changing seasons.

Autumn! I'm so happy you're here.

I love...

2011-09-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

how they love her.

Have a great weekend everyone.

5 1/2

2011-09-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

a good reason to celebrate.

AX-MAN

2011-09-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

AX-MAN. This is quite possibly the craziest most incredibly wonderful store you could ever have the chance to visit. It is seriously strange and filled with all sorts of useless things you never even knew you didn't need. Unless you're like me and you find all sorts of things you never knew you didn't need on a fully stocked shelf right in front of you and suddenly you find that, "YES! I do need all of these tiny little bottles with itty bitty lids. I need them for....for...for something, certainly I need them for something."

Hmm, yes. I better come up with something.

Soon.

Andy and I used to walk through this park together often when we were in Minnesota. I always looked forward to the deep peace I felt when we were there and how it seemed to linger long after we left. I enjoyed winding around the trails there with no real sense of time, holding hands, brushing along the tall grasses and talking about our dreams. They are beautiful memories that are always with me.

When we walked in to the park this year everything felt so different. I could see stretching out along the trail in front of me how much things have changed and oh how we've multiplied. I could never have imagined how much my heart would grow as we moved along the path of our dreams from a couple to a family. I could never have imagined that a place where I once felt so much peace could change so much with the addition of just a few small people.

Now of course it is not quite as peaceful as you can imagine, but it does feel exciting and magical. These kids notice everything! They don't want to just walk around and chat. They want to run and see what's behind the next bend. They want to examine every spider web, taste all the wild grapes they can and then run fast, so fast to break open a milkweed pod and scatter the seeds. And, they want us to do it with them. I felt pulled to experience this place in such a new and different way. It was wonderful.

It's a privilege to visit a place that offers such a clear reflection of the path Andy and I have traveled together and are still traveling. To be able to see so clearly along a dirt path the richness and growth these people have brought into our lives is such a treasure. It's such a good reminder...

You Are Here.

Home

2011-09-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

We are home and getting settled in (or at least some version of settled in) after a very long drive home.

There is such a large pile of stuff to put away. Where does it all fit?

I want to know who travels light with kids and how they do it.

Away

2011-09-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Just popping in quickly to say hello. We are still up north visiting friends and family and having a wonderful time. I hope to be back in this space some time after this coming weekend. Monday? Tuesday maybe.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

~Jaime

Enlisting help

2011-09-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing these several years ago here (and more recently here) and thinking what a clever idea this was. At the time, we were no where near ready to have anyone packing their own bag but Owen is five now and I think...it's time.

Some of the other pages have downloadable packing lists, but I really couldn't skip out on the fun of making one for ourselves. Owen was so excited to watch this list being created, he kept running back..."What's that?...Now what do you have? Should I get that ready now? Are those jeans or pants? Is that a stack of books?" It went just like that until I was finished. We went over the list while we colored and then he zipped up the steps to pack.

And now the scary part... I did not check that bag. I have not checked his drawers to see what could be in that bag. I have absolutely no idea what is in that bag. All I know is that he packed it completely by himself, loaded it in the van, and now I'm laughing every time I think about what might be in there.

Should be interesting.

A pause...

2011-09-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

...at the end of a very busy day.

We are getting ready for what is certain to be a glorious fall trip. The people are excited. The lists have been made. The sleeping bags are packed...and...and then, it sort of goes down hill from there. The clothing to be packed is only sort of clean. The flashlights have been found...but found to not quite light. The camping stove has been located but without a fuel cylinder. And then, of course, there is that one small camping detail about the tent...yes, the two person tent. Two person. Well yes there is that, but what the heck right. When they say two person they certainly mean two big-sized man-people, right? We are only 1biggish, 1 slightly smaller than biggish, 2 smallish, 1 really small-people. Oh and tack on 1 furry (that would naturally be the dog, you know because she can't be separated from her pack). So yeah, it looks like we should fit then.

Humph!

Well, luckily the tenting part will only be a small portion of this particular trip.

There is so much more to look forward to.

So on to packing it is.

A painting day.

2011-09-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

A painting day? It's really more like a painting moment because that's just about how long it lasts. But, I still love getting out all their painting supplies and arranging the table for them to paint. I love how excited they get when they walk in the room and see all of those beautiful colors in front of them. I love watching them examine all of those blank pages ready to be filled with whatever ideas they have floating around behind those wide bright eyes. And then, as quickly as it begins, it's over and they are off running towards the next thing with similar enthusiasm. And then again, it's on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. I am usually trailing behind somewhere picking up all the debris that's left on the floor, floating through the air and sticking curiously to the walls. I spend far more time putting it all away than I ever did setting it up. That's the way it is with most things. Painting is different.

The paints come out of their special place in our cabinets. Some blank pieces of paper make their appearance and take their spot just at the feet of the water colors. A water cup is carefully chosen(because I like to use a pretty one), filled (with warm water, I don't know why.), and then gently laid down right in the middle, center stage. Setting up to paint so deliberately carries with it such an excitement for the experience to come. Of course I could just throw out all the supplies on the table and say "There. Now paint." and I have certainly chosen that method on some of my more frustrating days as a parent, but mostly I prefer not to. With intentionality (and if that's not a word it should be), painting starts to look and feel more like a ritual, something honored, rather than just another activity to rush through. Of course they still rush through it, but it's nice that in some special and meaningful way it just feels different.

I remember reading something about that when Owen was just a baby, but it didn't matter enough to me then to really give it much thought. Now though, I think of it each time we set up to paint. I remind myself that any activity we are preparing has the potential to be a special, thoughtful and meaningful process (bedtime and mealtime immediately come to mind here) it's just simply deciding which activities we will choose to make special in our lives.

Drawing with flower petals

2011-09-13T07:33:00.001-07:00

A few days ago Owen, Carmel and I went through the yard collecting zinnias so we could save the seeds. I had no idea how enjoyable it would be for all of us to sit down together and gently, and sometimes not so gently, pull apart these lovely petals to expose the seeds. We did several flower heads and with each one we finished we found our hands disappearing into this soft bed of colored petals, scooping them up and letting them fall between our fingers back into the box. It was such a wonderful experience that we thought once we had collected our seeds we should do it again. So a few days later, and now with more seeds than we actually need already put aside, we collected our flower heads again but this time with a project in mind.

Good fun for all of us!

I did a quick search around on the Internet to see if we could find other projects to do but I wasn't able to come up with much. So, if anyone knows of other projects to do with flower petals please let me know.

A good day for gratitude

2011-09-12T04:24:00.000-07:00

I am feeling so grateful for this space right now. We just moved in this new (to us) table from from my mama's house (thank you mama!) and whoa man, what a difference it has made having that bit of extra room at the table. Space at mealtime has been an issue for quite some time. Our old table was preparenting and since we have added now, three additional members to our dining club, elbowroom was getting tight. Though I am still very attached to the small circle table that used to sit here (this should be no surprise to anyone, right?, because I am sentimental about every. little. thing.), I am ready to move on. And I have. Also, this has been an excellent lesson in the geometry of family mealtime. For five people, rectangles make very functional dinner tables. Small circles, less so. It has been very nice during these last few meals together lighting our mealtime candle and not smelling singed arm hair-usually Andy's-when someone makes a pass for the butter dish-again, Andy. And this all brings me back to gratitude. Yes, gratitude.

It occurred to me only when I posted these pictures that I have two reminders hanging in a very prominent location to remind me, and yes it is usually me that needs to be reminded, to stop for just a moment and be thankful for how much good there is. It is so easy for me to get caught up in the little annoyances that will inevitably occur that I can sometimes miss the big picture. Yes, just to the right of the "big picture" our kitchen is a complete disaster (which Andy loves to point out). The dishes are piled up and there is certain to be spilled coffee running down the fronts of the cabinets and all sorts of unidentifiable food items on the floor. Annoying. But right there in front, right at the focal point of that image is where a space has been cleared and all the people that I love the most in the world will sit down and eat together. We have food. We have family. We have such abundance and now, we have a bigger table to hold it all.

I am so very thankful.

Today...

2011-09-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

...there are a few less of these in our yard and a few more in the freezer.

Happy Day!

Action Pack: Origami Boats

2011-09-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

We just found a seriously fun magazine yesterday. It's called Action Pack and although it says it's for kids 7 and older I'm seeing all sorts of things that will be fun for my people (Ahem, cough cough and me). The origami boat project can be found here (for free!) if you scroll down near the bottom.

Origami boats covered in beeswax.

Check out our stowaway.

We just ordered Issue 6 Zap + Zest which has some electronics experiments that I know the papa is going to be more excited to do than anyone. And if I'm tellin' the truth (and I am), I find that just as cute as watching the kids.

Little foil things

2011-09-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Today this mama is not feeling so hot. This morning my main thought has been what sort of fabric I can make a handkerchief out of that won't leave my nose in agony. It should be soft yet absorbent. Jersey? No too rough, I think. Silk? Hmm, soft but not absorbent. And though I can keep myself occupied with thoughts like these for hours (seriously), my children can not. So far this morning my tiny sweet faced little people have looked upon their red nosed droopy eyed mother and asked pleadingly only one singular question..."Can we pleeeeease do something fun?" And although the answer in my head is, "noooo, I don't wanna.", the answer that actually came out of my mouth was, "Let's draw pictures with foil." And there it is, I have now set the course of the day, which is certain to involve chasing Addie around to endlessly pull small bits of foil from clenched jaws.

*Please note the special appearance today. We do love the unicorn.

And it's on to decorating little foil figures now I suppose, but still I can't stop thinking....terry cloth? Absorbent, but maybe a little too rough. Microfiber? No, too weird feeling. Interlock? Maybe.

~apologies for my wacky picture placement, but blogger just changed their whole layout and I have no idea how to get anything to stay where I put it.

Walk in the park

2011-09-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

We took a nice walk around the park this morning after breakfast. I can't believe how much fall is in the air. I have been saying sometime since May that summer is over, but now it really is. These seasons go by so fast and these little people of ours just keep getting bigger. I feel like I need a pause button or at least slow motion setting. Something. Anything to just make it last a little bit longer.

Today

2011-09-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

Bowls

2011-09-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Okay so here it is. My own freaky little obsession.

Wooden bowls.

I love them, a lot. Do I have plenty of them. Why yes, I do. Do you think for one minute that having a good healthy supply of small wooden bowls stops me in any way from stalking them at yard sales and thrift shops? No. No it does not. And so today, with my three little babes by my side (because it's good for them to bear witness to this strange obsessive nature of their mother.) I tacked off through the thrift shop in search of MORE BOWLS!

Found some.

Have a great weekend everyone...

...and, if you see any small wooden bowls or or or oh my, even better, small wooden cups...yes, the elusive wooden cup...well well my friends, you know where to find me.

Addie's new suit

2011-08-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

I think she likes it.

Lazy days skirt pattern.

Soft sole baby shoes.

Fold Over Elastic

2011-08-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

Pretty.

I can't wait to use it on some variation of this.

To the Zoo

2011-08-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

This summer we have spent more time like this than any of us would have cared to.

One branch to the eye (Possibly, still not quite sure about that.).

One trip to the emergency room.

One corneal abrasion.

One nasty cut to the foot, by glass? (Again, not sure there.)

One more trip to the emergency room.

All of this equals one summer filled with a whole lot of follow-up care.

And so...

One trip to the zoo with a good buddy.

That can sure fix a lot of things, especially when you get to ride a white tiger.

Party day

2011-08-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday to our dear friend Miss Ella!

What fun!

Happiness is...

2011-08-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

A good tree rope.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Meet Howie

2011-08-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

Also known as Howard, she is the newest member of our family.

Dust Bath

2011-08-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

Why? Who knows.

I'm just glad they have on their protective eye wear.

The Tortilla Press

2011-08-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, I do so love the tortilla press. Just look at the thing. It's wondrous I tell ya! It's all metal-ly and big with some sort of crazy certain-to-be-toxic paint coating on it.

Andy and I acquired this lovely piece of kitchen equipment after spending half a year in Guatemala trying to make our own tortillas by hand. (Not at all easy, even if it looks like it.) We tried many times to make them without a press. Very nice patient people showed us how to do it many many times truly believing we would get it...some...day. And each time we thought we were showing great improvement and could possibly be on our way to having our own tortilleria, we would show one of our Guatemalan friends. Each time our friend would laugh, violently thrash around, summon an impressive gag reflex with a lovely vocal accompaniment, and tell us to just go buy our tortillas from someone who knew how to make them. And usually, after such an impressive performance, that's just what we did.

But at some point during the start of our very long trip home from guatemala, (because it often takes quite a long time to go from the mountains of Guatemala to Cincinnati, Ohio by bus! Yes, that's right. By BUS! How might you travel back from Central America?) we began to realize just how much we were going to miss having those fresh delicious tortillas everyday for every meal. Seriously! We never got tired of having them. So we did what any other sane couple taking a bus home from Guatemala might do. We began our frantic search for a tortilla press. Oh, oh and find one we did! So along with our six months worth of belongings that we would be intermittently carrying on our backs between bus rides we decided to add a twenty pound tortilla press because anytime you can add extra weight to your pack you should, right? Okay, so it doesn't really weigh twenty pounds, but it is big and heavy and if I didn't love it and all the memories I have wrapped up in it, well, it just wouldn't have made it all the way here. To our home.

Now, many things have been leaving our kitchen. I have utensils fearfully hiding out in cabinets, shaking uncontrollably in the wake of my last great kitchen purge, but not the tortilla press. Nope. It sort of hangs out in the back of the cabinet like The Godfather talking to all the other kitchen gadgets, "You talk about vengeance. Is vengeance going to bring your waffle iron back to you...." That thing is not going anywhere and It knows.

What I never imagined about this tortilla press that I so completely enjoy is how many good memories it would continue to bring me. I have watched these little hands so many times shape a little sphere of dough, place it in the press, pat it down just so and then watch that sweet happy face as his little fingers pull off a perfectly round soon-to-be-delicious tortilla.

Yum!

*and just a little side note here. These are not the corn tortillas we would normally make with this. No, this was 3 weeks and 2 days (but who's keeping track) of no grocery shopping and all of us seriously craving some sort of gluten filled wheat bread. And fast!

Ta-dah!

pink and purples

2011-08-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Just a quick look around at some of the pretties in our front beds that we've been enjoying this summer (and by we, of course, I mean me).

Lavendar, Something I don't know the name of but really like, butterfly bush, alyssum, and Buggleweed (scary name, with the whole -weed ending and all).

I love the Lavender. It smells so fresh. Carmel and I have been walking around with a sprig each, holding it to our faces and drinking in that sweet scent. We've been trying to encourage Adeline to take a little sniff but so far she only wants to eat it. I can't blame her. It really does smell good enough to eat. So good in fact that I'm willing to give this a try.

Costuming

2011-08-16T03:35:00.000-07:00

This is our favorite unicorn sipping her morning beverage.

We're not certain what unicorns prefer to drink but this one has settled for water and sunlight.

It is such a pleasure to find this little unicorn around our house. We never know when she is going to show up but we sure love it when she does.

Happy Tuesday.

Right now...

2011-05-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

We are:

enjoying this book;

getting ready for a very busy weekend;

loving that the sun is out even if it is just for awhile;

watching hundreds of tiny worms crawl around our living room;

anticipating with some trepidation just how many leaves that many worms can eat;

hoping everyone has a really wonderful Friday.

Good good morning

2011-05-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

We awoke this morning to the most beautiful sight. The sun. It has been many days since we have been greeted in the early morning by this stranger. What a pleasant surprise.

And with the light streaming in, we crouched down with our noses to the floor and tiny chickens cheeping in the background (yes, there are still baby chickens in our house.) to marvel at the first "birth" of our nearly 2000! silkworm eggs (idea here).

We will be off marching in the sunshine today to collect some tiny little mulberry leaves for our new tiny little friends. So many mouths to feed and so little time you know.

So many worms. So so many worms.

2011-05-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

On a particularly rainy afternoon, and we have had many of them lately ( over 13 inches of rain in the last month), the kids and I were trying to come up with some lunch and dinner ideas. I love Cynthia Lair's book, Feeding the Whole Family, so I turned on the computer and put her name and book title into the search bar to see what we could find. What we found was us sitting in front of the computer for the next hour watching videos from her website called Cookus Interruptus. Yes, my children sat on my lap and watched cooking videos. And loved it! Then after we watched all we could watch inspiration overtook us. We went out to the greenhouse to pull some vegetables and spices and immediately began our lunch preparation, Rosemary Red Soup.

Addie pretested some of the carrots for us to make sure they were okay for the soup. They were. We threw it all in a pot, let it cook for awhile, and then sat down to a nice lunch that we had all helped make. And I really believe it's those sweet helping hands that make it taste so much better and not just to me either. Owen and Carmel sat down to eat knowing that they had made a considerable contribution to our lunch and so, lunch seemed to pass more peacefully. Carmel did have one critique though, she thought we should have made the soup more red or in her own words, " I want dat soup mo RED!". So next time, more beets. Until then, amidst all this rain, I am thinking on this recipe a bit. I'll let you know if I make it.

Breakfast Surprise

2011-04-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

A few Morels.

A wonderful treat found under the pines in our front yard. Just the thing for a special Saturday morning breakfast. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

We have babies

2011-04-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

lots and lots of babies.

Waiting

2011-04-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Candied Violets

2011-04-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Recently we were checking on all the tiny blooms in our yard while sitting outside with a friend. Owen and Carmel asked if they could eat some of the violets and suddenly I remembered something about having them candied. We ended up collecting about two cups or so which, after starting the candying process, I quickly realized was a little over ambitious. One recipe describes them as being "unbelievably tedious to make" and although I read this before I started I ignored the warning. I do that. But I will say, tedious or not, it is such a wonderful way to welcome and appreciate the early bounty that Spring offers us. Lately, I am finding myself searching our yard for more...

dandelion greens? Maybe.

Getting rid of junk mail

2011-04-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had read somewhere (actually it was here, in the comments section I believe) this really great idea about getting rid of junk mail for good. Simply take all offending junk mail in hand, write this short clear instruction on each piece and send it back to the sender. So very simple.

I printed out the labels and Owen dutifully put a sticker, sometimes three, on each piece of mail. We then went to the post office. The post office, because we didn't want to offend or trouble our very kind mail carrier lady whom we all love dearly. And why shouldn't we love her she's wonderful, she even gave us our very first chickens from her own batch. Well, the eggs from her own chickens that we incubated but still, you get the point. So yes, to the post office to send off these nasty little demons that are cluttering up all horizontal surfaces of our home. We put them in the box and said, " Ha! Good riddance! Yes take that, all ye senders of offensive mail! And we drove off with our chins pointing up and feeling quite victorious. At least I did, Owen and Carmel were just gazing longingly at the playground that sits next to the post office and wondering why mama might be laughing strangely with her fist in the air again. Anyway, it felt good. It felt as if we did our part in saving maybe a few trees that were to be used uselessly. And it isn't even just the trees, but the fuel and all the other resources used to deliver something that will only be tossed in the recycling bin, which will only use more resources in an attempt to turn it in to something else. Ah yes, the good we did that day. Saving the world, one piece of junk mail at a time. That's us....

Can you guess what we found in our mail box the next day?

Oh yes, only every last piece we had just sent off.

And wow, delivered with such speed.

oh sigh!

I'm taking suggestions...anyone?

Gone Fishin'

2011-04-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

Blue Skies

2011-03-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's you mama!

2011-03-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

I have continued feverishly tossing things into bags all week in my great attempt to simplify our lives here at the ranch. "The ranch," our pet name for this modest one acre parcel here in southern Ohio that we have laid claim to. My apologies for going on and on about this whole simplifying bit, but it is about all I can think right now as I look with slanted eyes around each room of our house, "what else can go?" Clearly the image I have of myself during this whole process has not been missed by our sweet Carmel Adele. This is the picture she drew of me.

"It's you mama!"

Indeed it is my little darling, but hopefully it will all be over before too long.

For the next several days I will be sharing some pictures of what has been going on here at the ranch in between crazy mama's weed it out -get it out madness.

Until then.

Weekend Work

2011-03-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

Owen has allowed me to post his picture illustrating all the things he is thankful for on this fine day. Have a Happy St. Patty's Day friends!

Right now...

2011-03-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

...I am knee deep in this book and this quote is being applied to everything under our roof.

Do not keep anything in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. —WILLIAM MORRIS

Everything in our house is currently being questioned for its usefulness.

I always seem to be involved in some state of "purge" around our house . I usually start strong, ruthlessly pulling things from shelves and out of drawers and manically cramming it all into any bag that will hold up to the rigors of my bag-closing methods. This typically involves jumping on the bag to squish all of the air out and then quickly tying off the bag so the air I just squished out does not try to regain entry. In the end it looks a bit like I just wrestled down a pot bellied pig and wrapped it in spandex. Why would anyone do this? One of the many questions I might ask myself. I do not know.

But no matter how strong I start with this [she puts her fist in the air and yells] "get rid of it all" idea, I never end in quite the same way. I get to a certain point and then one of two things happen. One, the feeling of waste not want not begins to swell inside and suddenly I begin to feel as though I need everything. The old work shirt should be cut up into rags. That little shirt should be repurposed into a dress for Addie or Carmel. The emblem on that t-shirt would really work well for a pirate costume for Owen. I begin to say things like, "Certainly I'll get around to reading that book sometime soon." Or, "waffles sound good. Maybe I will use that waffle maker." And on and on it goes until I have managed to pull everything back out of my spandexed pig.

The other thing that happens is this incredibly unreasonable feeling of sentiment and by unreasonable I mean, outrageous. Really! I want to know who is more sentimental than me. I have saved everything that holds meaning to me and everything holds meaning when you're me. There's the usual, ticket stubs from the family trip to the museum center or zoo. Reasonable. Then there are things like Owen's first bandaid or, wait for it...his first tick...I know [she holds her head in shame] . So tell me, who else in the entire world saves their child's first blood sucking insect? Mosquitoes? Anyone? Anyone? No, I thought not.

And so the question is, what am I learning from all of this and my new book? Well I am slowly, but often reluctantly, coming to believe that my life holds no more meaning with or without these things. These things are taking up space and creating clutter all around us. Our lives will be no richer if we continue to keep the waffle maker, the extra end table, the books we aren't reading, the clothes we aren't wearing or the three additional soup ladles littering the kitchen. If I can push past all the feelings that keep me holding onto things then I believe it will bring more peace to our lives as we move through our days together in this tiny little house of ours.

But if you think for a minute that I'm getting rid of those ticks, you are wrong. Did I say ticks? Ah yes, I have Carmel's first tick too [she laughs a scary spooky laugh]...I know. Useful? Beautiful? Well beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. The spandexed hog can go but the ticks are stayin' people!

A Tepee

2011-03-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

The very important work from the weekend.

The Front Porch

2011-03-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Right now the front porch is the place to be.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Happiness is...

2011-03-02T07:44:00.000-08:00

...listening to our four (almost five!) year old as he examines his breakfast of French toast. "So, the bread didn't come from the store. The eggs didn't come from the store. And now, the maple syrup didn't come from the store!"

Something Pretty

2011-02-27T12:42:00.000-08:00

A felted knitting queen.

When there is nothing left to eat, eat cookies.

2011-02-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

It has been three weeks since I have been to a grocery store. Yes, you read that correctly. Three weeks! There is something simply wonderful about that last stretch of time between the moment the cupboards seem bare to when they are actually bare. It has always been my impulse to schedule a shopping trip on the front end, when it first seems like there is nothing around to eat. Lately however, lately as in the last year, I have enjoyed really stretching that time. I continue to be amazed at what a person can come up with to eat for so many days after the point in which it was thought, "we have nothing here to eat". Suddenly rice makes an appearance at nearly every meal, along with carrots or other root crop-y types of vegetables. Dried beans begin to come out for an overnight soak and the barley sitting at the back of the cupboard is moved directly to the front for review. Recipes that were looked at briefly but seemed to "exotic" and were put aside are now searched for feverishly as the lunch hour rapidly descends. I find myself perusing various cookbooks saying things like, "African Millet Porridge, ah yes, that's just the thing. I believe there must be a bit of millet around here yet." And then when it is really truly nearing the end, the very end, how nice it is to scrape together the last little bit of butter, a few bits of dried fruit of all varieties, whatever little flakes of nuts that are left at the bottom of the jars along with some flour, sweetener, and some good happy love to produce just the finest of all desserts. The cookie.

The Sugaring Tour

2011-02-24T06:30:00.000-08:00

As sweet sap began to drip into buckets hanging from the trees in our yard, there was great excitement about what to expect. It was hard to patiently wait until we had enough sap to boil down ourselves. We were all wondering, how will this work? How long will it boil? What will it look like? What will it taste like from our trees? Will it be the same? All of these questions led us on a neighborhood sugaring tour where we got to see at least a couple of different operations.

There was bigger. Small pipes were running in all directions. Bright pieces of stainless steel sparkled against a backdrop of old barn wood. Fires were glowing as they pushed up steam out and over an old barn roof. Gallons and gallons of sap lay waiting in buckets, barrels and tanks for their chance to hit the fire in what seemed like syrup purgatory. Attendants lovingly poured over fogged up gauges to determine just the right temperature for the most deliciously sweet maple syrup I have ever tasted. Glorious.

And then there was smaller. A short walk out to the woods with old fall leaves crunching underfoot. A gentle breeze blowing up the hillside bringing with it the faint scent of fire that was beckoning the gallons of sap it had been waiting for . No gauges. No pipes. Just sweet maple sap, good conversation and a glowing fire. It was beautiful.

There are certainly sugaring operations going on all over right now producing maple syrup on a scale I'm certain I can't imagine and what we saw certainly couldn't compare to that. But there is something so incredibly beautiful about small. Small feels reasonable. Attainable. When I see our neighbors producing enough to cover their own consumption I think, Yes! This we can do.

And how sweet it will be.

Sugaring

2011-02-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Sugaring. It just sounds exciting, doesn't it? It's been talked about around here many times before, but we talk about doing all sorts of things you know. It never really means were going to do any of it. Unless of course a friend stops in and gets tired of hearing talk talk talk and then decides to go out and tap your maple trees.

Forced sugaring! Sometimes a little push is just the thing.

Just four taps. It's a perfectly sweet introduction to something that seems as though it will be a part of our winters for many years to come.

Happiness is...

2011-02-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

...a letter from grandma and grandpa.

E-mail is great but nothing beats a real letter.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T07:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

May we all have a day filled with lots of love.

Play dough love

2011-02-13T07:40:00.000-08:00

Sushi!

2011-02-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

It's not the real kind with fancy fish but it's the real-deal-wrapped-in-seaweed sushi, rolled up right here in my kitchen! I realize that these photos make it look absolutely terrifying but the rice really wasn't at all yellow and the nori was truly green, not black. Really, I did not feed my people rotten food. My people, however, did have a difficult time eating it even though they were all so sweet and didn't mention it. But, you know, it takes about 15 tries of something before a person can get accustomed to a new taste. Fourteen more attempts and were going to be serious sushi eaters way down in this valley.

Wigs

2011-02-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

Wigs.

Every home should have many of them. I'm certain of it. There is nothing like your two year old walking into the room with a big black wig on her head to really brighten the day. And really, it doesn't have to be a two year old because Andy did it just recently with similar results. So simple. So silly. So funny. I have to find more wigs because there are certain times in the week that a person needs to see some wig wearin'. How about Monday morning at the breakfast table.

Monday morning mandatory wig wearing.

"Excuse me, did you just come to breakfast without your wig on young lady? Uh, I don't think so. You better march right back in the play room, find your wig and don't come back to this table until you have it on. Do you understand me? Andy. Owen. Adeline. You too. Now march!"

Oh, sorry I just got lost in my own little dreamland there. Ah but yes, I need more wigs because I'm serious about the breakfast thing.