Island In The Grove

2012-01-25T16:17:00.000-05:00

I think I managed the cute yarn along button and started a new project!

Can I tell you a secret? I have long harbored this fear of both knitting instructions and circular needles. I would open a book of knitting patterns, look at all those seemingly strange nonsensical symbols, shudder a bit, and close the book. If still wanted to knit I would go back to knitting some variation of a square.

Circular needles hearken back to memories of my grandmother knitting. My mind could grasp the idea of two needles but a circle? Huh? That is until I found this -

Can you imagine how silly I feel now that I know how easy it is to get started? I ventured up into the attic to retrieve a very old red paisley zippered bag that my mother had given me several years ago. She was cleaning out my grandmother's closet and thought I might find something in there of use. Honestly, I did open it, but when one look at those strange contents brought on a shudder I zipped it back up and put the whole bag in the attic. Because that is what I do - I put things I might need in the attic, you know, for later...when I need them. My attic is scary. It is instances like these that reinforce my habit of squirreling things away.....after all....look what I found when by some miracle I actually located the red paisley bag....

Metal needles are not my preference, eventually I may start to update these needles with bamboo - but I was so happy to have all I needed to get started.

I found Men in Knits at the library and was pleasantly surprised to find each of patterns sized for boys too. Here I have in the works what will be a Hyland Argyle Vest. I am very excited, I will accomplish 3 knitting goals if I manage this - a boys vest, something with a pattern, and knitting with circular needles! Added bonus - I am getting over my fear of knitting instructions.

As far as reading goes, I'll share an impulse buy for my amazon kindle - Living with Contradiction by Esther de Waal, I've only just started it but can I share this little bit....

"When a novice enters the monastic community and lays the vows on the altar, the prayer is always
Susicpe me, accept me, O Lord. These are wonderful words that I too can come back to, time and again, as a prayer for myself: accept me, O Lord, just as I am, in my frailty, my inadequacy, my contradictions, my confusion. Accept me in my complexity, with all those discordant currents that pull me in so many directions. Accept all of this, and help me so to live with what I am that what I am may become my way to God."

2012-01-24T18:44:00.000-05:00

Drinking a lot of tea!

I finally succumbed to the bug that has visited all the children. They bounce back from these more quickly than I do. I have felt like a wet dish rag pretty much for a week now. Drinking a lot of tea because one does not feel well is not quite the same as "taking tea" in the afternoon, but certainly a comfort nonetheless. Today's tea was Stash's White Christmas, a gift from my mother-in-law. This tea has become one of my favorites - along with Stash's Ginger Breakfast Black tea.

Now I am in recovery mode and the list of things-to-do has grown exponentially each day I was not up and around. I did finally pack up my "Advent Box". One year I finally realized that there were certain things I needed even before the start of Advent. I put together a box that I can take down with essentials to get a good start on the Advent season. Interestingly, the Advent things always seem to get packed away well after most of the Christmas decorations are put away. I had a lot of help from Gandolf, our fluffy addition from last Christmas. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to have Santa deliver a cat? But he did and we have loved having him for the past year.

My packing session went something like this....put out box....remove cat from box...pack a few things......remove cat from box....pack a few things....remove cat from box...you get the picture.

Anyway, the Advent box has a few books that help me plan for Advent and Christmas and any books that are specifically for Advent or the feast days that fall in Advent - such as St. Nicholas Day and St. Lucy's Day. Before I closed the box all up I took a few pictures of my "new" Christmas book. I am in love with the illustrations and colors. It is an ex -library copy of The Christmas Anna Angel by Ruth Sawyer and Kate Seredy (a wonderful combination of talents!). I had never heard of this book before but I was looking for more titles by Ruth Sawyer and took a chance on this one. I am so glad I did!

The story is perfect for Advent with a visit from St. Nicholas...

And a description of their rousting of the chickens on St. Lucy day to ensure a supply of eggs through the winter.

The book focuses on Anna and her desire for Christmas cakes at time when any surplus wheat has gone to the soldiers and the war effort. A wonderful addition to my Christmas book collection. Also in the box are the candle holders for our Advent wreath and all the things I need to set up our Advent Garden (minus the greens of course). Mother Mary and the Infant are wrapped in tissue paper along with some very pretty geodes that I bought so long ago at a Christmas fair at the Fellowship Community in Chestnut Ridge.

What else is in there - our Advent calendar, many more books, ornaments for the years I do a Jesse tree and this little guy who acts as our family version of the Elf on a Shelf.

Until next year.....

And now my cup of tea is empty. A simple Beet Soup is on the stove for dinner this evening...the boys will be thrilled, well Aidan does really like beets, Christian not so much. But there hasn't been much shopping happening and I have an ever growing supply winter beets from our CSG....beet soup it is. It is a recipe that is found in Nourishing Traditions - I usually make this at least once for our soup suppers during Lent at Church - it always gets rave reviews. I don't usually have chives, so I just skip it, but I do season with salt and sometimes a bit of ground ginger.

6 medium beets

4 tbl. butter

1 quart water

sea salt

Peel beets, chop coarsely and saute very gently in butter for about 1/2 hour until tender. Add water, bring a boil and skim. Simmer about 15 minutes. Puree with a handheld blender and season to taste.

That's it. Just the thing for a mom on the mend.

And I won't forget to visit Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight. Her delightful kitties haven't been feeling well, I hope they are on the mend.

2012-01-18T19:19:00.000-05:00

Yarn along

I did it! I finished something - I have a winter hat just in time for more cold temperatures.

Not the greatest picture. But it does have a little something new to me - there are decorative rows of seed stitches in the blue. A new stitch! And it wasn't even on my list of knitting goals. It does have a seam since I used straight needles but I just put it on with the seam to the back. Perhaps by the time I do my next hat I will have braved those circular needles.

Oh - and about that list of knitting goals - I shared it with my 15 year-old daughter and she said "What? You mean you want to make all these things before you die?" Sheesh - so maybe a year is unrealistic but goodness I hope I have enough years in me to get my list done and more!

Now I have to decide what I will do next.....hmmm. I did buy a small set of cable needles - anyone know of any good videos that show the cable stitch? My grandmother knitted cables; it is times like these that I miss her. I remember when I asked her who taught her how to knit she said to me, "What do you mean who taught me? I got a book out of the library and followed the directions." Easy, right?

Somehow after the Christmas break, the boys and I got out of our habit of a read-aloud together. We had started Coot Club by Arthur Ransome quite a while ago but for whatever reason it got put aside. We've found where we left off and are happy to join Dorthea and Dick as they learn how to sail!

Now I'll go check all the other goodies at the Yarn Along with Ginny. She has a new button. Which will take me longer, installing the button or learning the cable stitch?

2012-01-11T20:46:00.000-05:00

Yarn Along

So nice to put yarn on a new pair of needles. This year I am determined to set some knitting goals for 2012!

I am starting with a hat for myself but this year but I would like to break new ground - so in no particular order -

Knitting goals 2012!

Some kind of patterned something - I am eyeing the mittens in the book, Folk Mittens, you see above that I just borrowed from the library - might be a little too scary for my next project though, we'll see.

Knit a vest - a simple boy's vest (maybe two, I do have two boys).

Learn to use circular needles.

Knit a shrug for my teen girls (there are two of them too!)

Some kind of shawl for me.

Attempt to learn a cable stitch.

And if I really get brave - a sweater for hubby.

Ambitious? Doable? At this point I have no idea but it's always good to have a plan, right?

As far as reading goes, I am enjoying my new Kindle Fire, I feel so *current*, you know up-to-date. I NEVER feel like that. It's weird. But on my Kindle I am reading "The Man Who Was Thursday, a nightmare" by G.K. Chesterton. So far so good. I am still learning the ins and outs of downloading things but I really like it so far. I can also sit, all warm and cozy with a cup of tea and read my favorite blogs - like the Yarn Along at Small Things with Ginny!

2012-01-10T17:26:00.000-05:00

Taking Tea

Today, my afternoon "tea" was a cup of Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Cocoa and a "clementine" orange. It was nice to come in and have some cocoa after being outdoors and working hard. I am trying again - my outdoor hour. I think it would help my mood, my vitamin D levels, and certainly our yard if I could get myself to spend an hour outdoors each day. Our backyard has so much potential but right now is a complete disaster. Especially while there is no snow on the ground, I want to try to get out there and do some sprucing up.

I started with raking the remaining leaves in our driveway. Beside leaves I found feathers.

The feathers must have been from a blue jay; there were quite a few. There was no body (thank goodness) which I suppose means one of two things - the blue jay got away or it was consumed by some other animal - hopefully not by one of our cats.

Speaking of "cats", my mug today is a temporary visitor. My sweet husband brings home dishes - he thinks they are ours - this mug definitely is not. This one must have come home from the counseling center where Ed works part time on a couple of evenings each week. It says "What people really need is a good listening to." - Mary Lou Casey. So true. I will send it back - maybe with a package of cocoa inside?

While I was sipping away, Aidan was next to me reading Volume 2 of the TinTin series. Both my boys love these books. My mom started with two of the volumes for Christian's birthday back in November. She began with Volumes III and IV after finding out those had the most content that related to the movie. Between Aunt Laura and Nana we now have the first six volumes. Spontaneous boy giggles are just the best!

The funniest thing about this series was that I had never heard of it until it was mentioned on one of homeschooling groups I check in with (I can't remember which one) - I thought I had found this great new thing. Both Christian and my oldest daughter exclaimed with delight when they saw the first books - both had seen parts of the series at two *different* friends' homes.

Now I'll go see if Dawn has a Tuesday Tea time post up at By Sun and Candlelight.

2012-01-09T20:36:00.001-05:00

The Outgoing.

The signs of the Christmas are not quite completely gone, but mostly. In our home the Christmas tree is taken down on January 6th - and it can be quite the challenge to start back to some semblance of school work with the Christmas tree still a guest in our home but I am so in love with the idea of *Twelve* Days of Christmas.

The process of taking down the tree is same each year - first the candles and candle holders are removed. They get packed in a small box that lives in the laundry room - I am not sure how beeswax candles would fare in the attic during the summer months - better safe and cool then pulling out strangely misshapen candles next year. Then the ornaments that are more fragile live in another box that resides at the top the girls closet. Again - that concern over temperature changes in the attic.

The the rest of the ornaments are packed away in one of the three Christmas bins. The last ornament to be taken down is always the same - the Blue Angel.

One year she came with a book and every year since, that is the book we read when the tree is taken down on the day our little domestic church celebrates the Epiphany. Now, in the story, the little blue angel ornament hides herself in the tree so it will not be alone when taken outside and then later burned at the annual neighborhood Christmas tree burning. We have always wanted to keep our Blue angel for the next year but the thought of our very loved Christmas tree sitting alone in the yard is rather sad - don't you think? So each year we take one of our Christmas cards and cut out the picture of an angel to nestle in the branches of the tree.

I cannot help but wonder how many more Christmas' I will have where I will read the story of the Blue Angel - but I think I will always perform this small gesture of giving the Christmas tree a small angel to watch over him. It is part of the care I try to give to the season from start to finish.

All the lights have also been brought in. The Tree for the Birds and other outdoor Christmas greenery will stay up until February 2nd. I do love having these days where I know exactly what I will be doing! And before I pack up the all the Advent and Christmas books until next year I do think I will write out this quote to look upon on my more trying days.

"Yet this outgoing begins gently: it has something of the quality of Advent. Before the Divine Child leaves us, we are allowed to experience the loveliness of his indwelling presence. Therefore, when he has gone, the longing to find him again will be stronger than anything we may meet in the seeking; stronger than the fear which makes us want to remain locked up in our own limitations. No matter how hard the way, it will be in some measure sweet to us, and we shall take it, not as a path along which we are driven but as one whose attraction we cannot resist, because we know that on it we shall discover him.
Where must we seek?
Everywhere - in everyone.
How must we seek?
With faith and courage and limitless love.
First of all, by faith."

(A quote from Caryll Houselander's "Reed of God" as it appears in Thomas Hoffman's "A Child in Winter" - I recommend both).

2012-01-03T18:24:00.001-05:00

Taking Tea

I am joining Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight in taking time to have a cup of tea each afternoon. I have been inspired by Dawn's blog for years now. I have several new habits I am trying to cultivate and having a cup of tea instead of coffee in the afternoon is one of them. My sister gave me a lovely little tea box and a collection of Bigelow teas for Christmas. I still need a bit of caffeine in the afternoon so today's cup was "Constant Comment" which is a black tea with a bit of orange and spice - very nice. My mug was from my daughter, a little gift brought back from her trip to England and France. The mug is from the Normandy area and I thought I would pull a few pictures from her time in France. We'll first go to The Cathedral of Rouen -

Katie especially liked the story about the Butter tower which you see in this picture on the left. During Lent, butter was one of the foods one would fast from but you could choose to pay a "butter tax" if you really wanted your butter during Lent. The proceeds from that "tax" went to build this tower. Katie referred to this Cathedral as the "small one" when compared to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris - but, oh my, look how large....

Next stop the American Cemetery at Normandy

This was the site of one of the five concerts they did while on Tour. And finally we'll stop off in Paris!

One of these days, I will have to pull out all of our old Madeline books that we have from my childhood and see how many places Katie might have seen. Here she is at top of the Eiffel Tower!

Gosh now I am in the mood for Sabrina, hmmm.....but which one, Humphrey Bogart or Harrison Ford - happy decisions.

2012-01-02T16:06:00.000-05:00

2012

On the first morning of the first day of the new year, I cried. It was ridiculous really. Ed and I were planning to go to Mass at an 11:30am service in town rather than the 9:30am Mass at our local church. We had to pick up Katie from a sleep over - the family wasn't together for New Year's Eve and we wouldn't all be together for Mass that morning. So why did I get so upset when my seventeen year old daughter walked out of her room ready to go to the 9:30am Mass? Shouldn't I have been happy that she went to her first New Year's Party with her very sweet boyfriend, came home safe and sound by 12:30 am, and still got up to take herself to morning Mass?

Ridiculous. Absurd. But the tears flowed anyway. And this being the Feast Day of Mary, the Mother of God - the priests homily was all about - motherhood. I could feel more tears welling up but I willed myself not to cry in the middle of Mass - I was mostly successful. My dear sweet husband thinks I am too hard on myself, he thinks I am a good mother.

But it is not that I think I am a bad mother, I have just reached a point where I just don't know how to do this anymore. At home with babies, toddlers, and young children - that I could do. Not that I always felt I it did well all the time but I had some kind of compass in my heart that generally showed me the way. Now I am in some kind of magnetic storm of teens and older children and my compass is just not working like it used to.

How do I keep doing this? It seems to me only a question I will be able to answer for myself - I think there is a reason we don't hear anything about the Holy Family from the time Jesus is the age of 12 until he is what? Thirty?! Heaven help me. And Heaven will help me - I only have to keep asking and ask I will. From today's Midday prayer (Psalm 40).

I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.

He drew me from the deadly pit,
from the miry clay.
He set my feet upon a rock
and made my footsteps firm.

My resolution this year - firm footsteps.

2011-12-31T17:48:00.001-05:00

New Year's Eve

It was an amazingly warm day today. Aidan and I went out to gather moss for our New Year's Eve water garden. There is so much green - it hardly seems like winter.

There is something so magical about a walk just before sunset along a stream.

We collected a couple of different kinds of moss near the stream but there was another variety that we wanted, so off toward our little lake we went. Aidan was ready to do battle with one of the latest additions to an ever growing arsenal.

It has been such a blessing that my children have grown up next to little lake that has something to offer the whole year through. On one of it's banks there is a huge patch of reindeer moss. See all the light green?

I think we found at least four different varieties of moss, so pretty.....

Once back home, we chose a couple of large rocks from the yard. These were places in a large metal bowl and filled with other shells and stones. The moss was placed on top and then the bowl was filled with water. Aidan added a bark bridge and a new little world was created -

Aidan tested out a few leftover boats from last year to make sure they would clear the bridge - they did. In the meantime Christian helped make some new walnut shell boats. I start by removing the wick from a tea light candle - you just remove the candle from aluminum base and the wick will come right out. I place the wick in a walnut half and then carefully fill with wax.

This year we used our candles from Advent and the whole bowl nestles nicely on top of the Advent wreath.

We have four new boats ready. The two big sisters are out for the evening - so maybe we'll let them set sail a boat tomorrow. I have done different things with our boats. Most years I attached small scrolls to the outside the bowl. Whatever scroll your boat lands nearest to is yours to take into the New Year. Some years it has been a little saying or just a word. But this year we'll light our boats and send them off with own private hopes and dreams.

2011-06-22T20:03:00.000-05:00

She's off!

Katie, our 14 year old, will be taking off at 9:05pm this evening (or at least that's what the ticket says) on a ten day trip with the local Youth Orchestra to England and then France. This will be her first plane ride - ever. She is the first in our family to get a passport and travel outside the United States.

And the funny thing is...people keep asking me....How are YOU?

I'm fine. Really. I'm thrilled. As I watched Katie board the bus that would take her to the airport my thoughts traveled back to when she was 9 years old and had the opportunity to go to sleep away camp - the same wonderful camp her sister went to. But she didn't want to....she wasn't ready. And yet when the family all went to drop off her big sister....Katie cried and cried. So many questions went through my mind...why is she crying? Should I have encouraged her more? Maybe she was ready? But I didn't think she was really ready either.

She is ready now.

2011-05-05T17:00:00.003-05:00

A Novena for a First Holy Communion

Aidan will make his First Holy Communion this Saturday. One of the things I did for his older brother was to create a special Novena leading up to the big day. Aidan's Novena follows the same pattern but has different stories to also coincide with the Easter season.

Amidst the last minute arrangements and preparations this has been a special way to take some time to share a story and pray together.

The prayers are based on some of the prayers that I found in My Mass Book published by Neumann press. I was going to rewrite them a bit but it turns out that Aidan prefers the "Thees" and "Thous" in the prayers. I have a soft cover version, I think the one I linked to is the same one.

The stories are found mostly in "Easter Chimes - Stories for the Easter and Spring Season" selected by Wilhelmina Harper. Even if you do not have a child getting ready for First Holy Communion these are wonderful stories for the Easter season. The stories marked with an * are from this collection (and there are many more - we love this book!)

Each morning we begin with a story, then the special prayer for that day followed by an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

Day 1 An Act of Faith

Story - A Lesson of Faith
Sign of the Cross
Prayer - Act of Faith
O my God, I believe that this gift of Holy Communion is our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe this because Thou, my Jesus, hast said, "This is my Body. This is my Blood." I believe, O Lord, and I will praise Thy name.
Our Father, Haily Mary, Glory be...

Day 2 An Act of Hope

Story - Easter Eggs (from the Good Master by Kate Seredy - this story is also found in another wonderful collection "The Easter Book of Legends and Stories" ed. Hazeltine and Smith)
Sign of the Cross
Prayer - Act of Hope
O my Jesus, Thou art coming from heaven to be the food of my soul. I hope for many favors from Thee, dear Jesus. I hope to know Thee, my God, better. I hope to love Thee more. I hope for the grace to serve Thee all my life. I give Thee all my thoughts, words, and actions. I hope to be happy with Thee in heaven.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.....

Day 3 An Act of Love

Story - The Loveliest Rose in the World by Hans Christian Andersen*
Sign of the Cross
Prayer - Act of Love
O Jesus, my God, I love Thee. Thou art beautiful, dear Jesus, and so kind. The children loved and trusted Thee when Thou didst live on earth. They wanted to, because of Thy goodness. I want to love Thee as they did. Come into my heart and teach me, Jesus. My heart is ready to receive Thee, sweet Jesus. My Heart is ready.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be....

Day 4 An Act of Desire

Story - The Apple Tree by Margery Williams Bianco*
Sign of the Cross
Prayer - Act of Desire
O Lord of hosts! O Son of God! O Jesus, my Love! My soul longs to receive Thee. My heart is happy because Thou, my loving Jesus, art coming to visit me. O Jesus, my own sweet Lord, come to me. O my Jesus, do not delay.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be....

Day 5 An Act of Contrition

Story - The Beauty of the Lily by Frances Jenkins Olcott*
Sign of the Cross
Prayer - Act of Contrition
O my Father, I am Thy little child, and I need Thee. Have mercy upon me, my God.
Make my soul clean and beautiful for Jesus. I am sorry for all the faults I have committed. I am sorry because they have offended Thee, my loving God and my Father. The love of my Jesus will make me strong and keep me from all sin.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be....

Day 6 An Act of Humility

Story - The Easter Eggs by Katharine Dunlap Cather*
Sign of the Cross
Prayer - Act of Humility
Jesus, Thou art my God. I am a creature Thou hast made. I am Thy child. I do not know how to love Thee. I do not know how to serve Thee. Jesus, teach me!
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Day 7 An Act of Adoration

Story - The Little Brown Lizard by Mabel Leigh Hunt*

Sign of the Cross

Prayer - Act of Adoration

I adore Thee, Jesus my God. I know Thou art the God of heaven and earth. I know Thou art the King of Glory.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Day 8 An Act of Petition

Story - The Golden Egg by Ivy Bolten*

Sign of the Cross

Prayer - Act of Petition

Give me, O loving Jesus, all that I need for myself and for others. Bless my father and my mother. Bless those I love. Keep us from sin this day, dear Lord. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Day 9 Consecration to Our Immaculate Mother

Tomorrow we will have a blueberry pancake breakfast and bring some flowers to plant around Mary Statue at our Parish Church. Then Saturday is the big day!

(Thank you, Hannah, for the pictures)

2011-05-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

{pretty}

A Mary garden blooming!

{happy}

The first dozen eggs from our hens!

{funny}

Ahh.... just one of the many the reasons why I never seem to have time to blog....first we had a Confirmation, then Easter, now Aidan's First Holy Communion is coming up Saturday. Now the funny thing about this suit is that Aidan even wanted it...actually insisted on it. This is the boy who does not like pants to fall below his ankle bones...this is the boy who writhes in pain when you put a collared shirt on him....this is the boy who needs to have each shoe tied to the same pressure. I just washed the shirt...let's hope I am still smiling when we put the whole ensemble on him later today!

{real}

The basket of winter woolens that I WILL pack away today!

Really!

I'm adding a quick addendum - I did go to finally pack away the winter things and look what I found....

2011-04-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

pretty

A Mary garden waking

happy

A warm spring day with Calvin, Hobbes, and Ted

funny

What is this? It's in my garden, why can't I remember what this is?

real

Still quite a bit of clean up waiting to be done from this year's maple syrup production.

2011-04-12T07:40:00.001-05:00

Come Holy Spirit!

Please join us with joy and thanksgiving for Hannah's reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation!

I will admit, Hannah and I were not thrilled about the celebration of this sacrament taking place in the ~~gym~~ Community Room of the local Catholic Elementary school rather than our own parish or even an actual Church. Our two sister parishes along with two other parishes joined together for a larger celebration. I will say though that everything went smoothly. We did have a little bit of a wait time before the start of Mass but the boys did great (mostly).

It was a moving experience to have Mass concelebrated by the Bishop, four Priests, a number of Deacons, and many Altar Servers. Coming together with other parishes gave a real picture of the larger Body of Christ to which these young people were fully committing themselves.

Hannah with her Sponser and Father Wayne

While the preparation for this Sacrament has been a two year journey we did have some more immediate preparations. We celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation at our parish as a family. We attended one of the Monday evening celebrations that are offered especially during Lent. At our parish these evenings are accompanied by our choir singing Taize chant which helps create a quiet and reflective atmosphere. This was also Aidan's *second* time receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, he received his First Reconciliation on February 26th in preparation for his First Holy Communion later this May.

There was also the Confirmation Retreat and the interview with Father Wayne. Then the day before the Confirmation, Hannah decided to sit a Holy Hour of Adoration. Friday morning I went out early to get some lab work done and then a bit of last minute shopping....It was 9 o'clock am, I was at the grocery store when I realized I couldn't remember what time Hannah had signed up for...was it 10:00am or 11:00am? After a few frantic calls, Hannah decided to jog to Adoration because I was not sure if I would make it back in time - good thing our parish is only a little over 2 miles away!

That afternoon I went to my mother's house to decorate for a little dinner we were having afterward - have you noticed there is not a whole lot out there as far as Confirmation themed decorations go? I purchased several tissue paper flowers in two sizes. I found some images of the Holy Spirit to tape onto the center of the small ones seen in the picture below. For the larger ones I found a stained glass image that I used to make a template for the design for you see above. Some red and white candles, red and white paper streamers, red and white napkins...you get the idea.

Then I was on my way to the CSG to pick up our garden share, I was praying all the way that we would be getting some fresh spinach. Prayers answered! Hannah helped choose the menu for her special Confirmation Dinner.....

Spinach and Feta Cheese stuffed Chicken Breasts

Fragrant Rice with Currants

Lentil Walnut Salad

Green Peas

Homemade Buttermilk Bread

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Katie was kind enough to make the cake for me. As we were deciding what to make for dessert Christian came in and said "What? Hannah doesn't get to eat this cake does she?" What delight when I informed two younger brothers that our usual Lenten sugar fast would be suspended for the whole weekend. If nothing else spoke to the solemnity of the occasion to these boys....cake during Lent certainly did!

Before the cake was cut we lit seven candles in the shape of a cross and had Hannah name the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit before blowing out the candles...Christian was ready and eager to help with the program which listed them all (I chased him out of the room - no cheating!)

Other gifts and cards were also enjoyed. I found a lovely pendant with the image of St. Cecilia. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, was Hannah's chosen Confirmation name.

Oh and one little tip for any young ladies who will also receive this Sacrament - go easy on any foundation makeup. Hannah doesn't wear foundation and for this occasion it turned out to be a very good thing as the Bishop was quite liberal with the application of the Holy Chrism as you can see in the picture below - she was dripping - really.

Hannah Faith Cecilia

2011-02-10T10:07:00.000-05:00

Summer will come again.

For the past seven years our family has gone camping on Cape Cod. Reservations must be made 6 months in advance and it is quite an accomplishment when you get the site you have you eye on. But how pleasant to think of trips past and have something to look forward to when temperatures outside are cold and icy.

Back to our regularly scheduled season.

2011-02-02T16:09:00.001-05:00

Candlemas Day

It has been an icy grey day here today. According to weather lore the local groundhog would not have seen his shadow which brings the promise of an early spring. Hard to imagine right now - we have a lot of snow out there.

I always associate Candlemas Day with snowdrop flowers - in many gardens dedicated to Mary the snowdrop is hoped to give an appearance on February 2nd in rememberance of the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. Here's a bit more about Mary's Flowers.

But there is another legend of the snowdrop that is asscoiated with Eve - one such version can be found in the tale Fair Maids of February. I found this legend yesterday and with everyone snug in our warm little house I spent the afternoon with piles of fleece and a single felting needle. I do have a tool that holds several needles for bigger pieces like the one I worked but all the tips had snapped off! Not wanting to waste my sudden inspiration I made do with one slightly crooked needle - time to up date my needle felting supplies. I may try to create pictures for each month of the year.....

2011-01-27T18:05:00.001-05:00

Dear Jack Frost,

Thank you for the lovely pictures you made for us.

They are beautiful. An enchanted forest of icy trees grace our windows.

But do you think you could keep your future canvases on the *outside* of the windows? The children are more than happy to come out and play. You must know that those beautiful delicate paintings in ice will not last long once the stove is rekindled and the sun shines bright.

Or perhaps they are all the more beautiful for their rare, fleeting presence. Never mind, come anytime you like.

2011-01-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

Small Steps Together

The entry in Small Steps for January 13 asked me to make a list of the things that bring me joy. For whatever reason, my mind went completely blank. I was stumped. I was alarmed. There must be something! I read over Danielle Bean's essay in the Companion Journal. Yes, I was quite sure that I that I knew the experience of Joy. But nothing came to mind. Needless to say I wasn't going to be able to make the list that day - instead I set out to watch for those moments of Joy.

At some point during the day I glanced out the window and saw a bird alight on the tree - an immediate lightness and delight filled me. Yes - this was a moment of joy! I began to think what a salve God's creation is to my soul - from the vastness of the ocean or the view from a mountain top to all the little love notes He leaves me to find in the most surprising places.

I remembered how loved I felt when I realized that in every walnut you can find a love note fashioned by the Creator!

Then I remembered the giggles that escaped from me as I finished each little mouse for a friend during Advent. All it took was a walnut shell, a bit of wool, some soap and water, a few beads, needle and thread. With these small things and the work of my hands I crafted a little token that would be a gift to a child. The work of my hands, the giving...Joy.

How our Lord must have delighted in His creation! How he must delight in each one of us.

I remembered the simple smile of a child brings Joy. Their sweet mischievousness. A chess game won. A new tune on the Bagpipe mastered. The sound of young womens' voices in song.

So much Joy. I only had to stop, look, and listen. And give thanks. I think I will never struggle again to recognize the Joy in my life. At least I hope not. Lord, forgive me if I do. My work now is to take those moments and stretch them out until they meet one another, until our days are covered by Joy. What a happy vocation.

CCC 2094

--acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness.

2011-01-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

On Snowy Days.....

We usually get to have Papa home with us and that almost always means something good will be happening in the kitchen.

On our first snowy day, Papa made donuts....you simply must try to make fresh donuts sometime in your life preferably when you have children home to enjoy their lip smacking goodness. And please if you can manage to get some good quality lard, do use it, that is our preferred fat for frying. This time around, Ed and the children got adventurous with some new shapes....

Crullers

Donut Men

The donut recipe we use is from the Wooden Spoon Bread Book. We like to make some with a lemon glaze and others with a chocolate glaze. You must have at least one of both. And although we didn't make them this time, my favorite are filled with orange marmalade and glazed with chocolate - so good.

Today we had Papa home for another snow day and we even got the call last night; so before he went to bed he put up a starter for homemade bagels.

Starter after sitting overnight

Risen dough

Shaping the bagels

Bagels are boiled in water

After boiling they are glazed with egg whites and toppings are added.

Finally they are baked in oven and ready to eat.

We use the bagel recipe from The Bread Bible which is probably our most used bread reference book. It even goes camping with us!

2010-12-24T11:21:00.000-05:00

A Christmas Tree Tour

When we first moved into our little house over 14 years ago we didn't have much. In fact, we brought the large green outdoor picnic table inside to serve as a dining room table. Hey...it worked. There wasn't a lot of money for extra things, many times even a box of ornaments seemed outside the budget, especially when I could certainly make some of my own.

I had a box scrap fabric including a a rather large collection of old fabric samples from my grandmother. I remember as a child being fascinated by the little swatches that came in the mail - I enjoyed the feel of the different textures and picked out my favorite colors and patterns.

That first Christmas in our little house - remember sitting up in bed after our toddler, Hannah, was asleep and cutting and stitching a few ornaments each night. I so enjoyed making them - and I was pleased that I wouldn't have to worry about them breaking or having sharp edges for little fingers. That was when I had the idea to create a completely baby proof Christmas tree - there was not a thing on our tree that could break or would be harmful to a young child. I have no more worries about little tiny fingers, but I still use those simple handmade ornaments every year...

Each year I would try add a new handmade ornament to the tree...one of my favorites are these woolly angels that I have also had for years - the wool sticks very easily to the needles - no hooks or hangers required. Each year these angels are among the last touches to our tree.

Very soon, I had children who wanted to make ornaments too. We made a bunch of these Angels last year for a Christmas Bizarre at our sister parish. We kept a couple for our own tree.

This year we have some of the things leftover from our own attempt at a craft sale. In total we made about $200 towards Katie's trip to Europe. And we have some new ornaments for our tree!

Here is the tree this year...final touches complete with new beeswax candles waiting to be lit after Mass this evening!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T18:31:00.000-05:00

A Happy Distraction

There is one warning I would give to anyone who takes up the tradition of giving a Tree to the Birds - it is so very hard to pull yourself away from marveling at these lovely winged wonders.

You wait and watch, wondering who will land next...a chickadee, a titmouse...oh my goodness the goldfinches have found the tree!

You watch the comings and goings of the birds; the hopping from branch to branch. You see the delighted faces of your children watching too. The next item on the to-do list can wait a few moments longer - but trust me - it is time well spent. If you don't believe me, just ask our cats!

2010-12-22T07:43:00.000-05:00

yarn along

I am very pleased with how the little striped booties are turning out except that they will be totally too big for the intended baby! Oh well. I may try to downsize the pattern. We are just about to finish The Silver Donkey. A wonderful story, I don't know that I would recommend it for young children, but I would for ages over nine as a read aloud, maybe over age twelve for independent reading. But do read it aloud - big ponderings come hand in hand with this one on courage, heroism, loyalty, and faithfulness.

Merry Christmas to Ginny at Small Things and all the participants of the yarn along!

2010-12-21T20:51:00.000-05:00

The Nativity Scene

Aidan and I went to the thrift store together so I could drop off a donation. And there they were. Four figures from a Nativity set. There was a kneeling Shepherd, a Wiseman seated on a camel, another kneeling Wiseman, and what was probably the St. Joseph figure. I knew what was coming next.

"Mama, aren't they beautiful? But oh look how expensive they are - this one is $50."

"Hmmm, Aidan, I think that says $.50, see the cents sign?"

"Wow, that's a bargain, can I get them Mama"?

I only wish you could have heard the inflection in his voice and seen the sincere thrill in his eyes upon finding this find of all finds. I knew they were slightly larger than our set - but the coloring was similar.

"OK, Aidan, Do you have $2"?

"Yes!"

They were placed on the counter, carefully wrapped and brought home. Now of course we needed to get our own set down from the attic.

The "stable" and empty manger are set up with only the cow.

The Shepherds tend their sheep in a grassy field.

Mary, Joseph, and the donkey rest by the Advent wreath until they begin to visit each room in the house before coming to the stable on Christmas Eve.

And now we have five Wisemen. They have started to make their way over the sands and sea from far off places. Now of course there is the story about the "Other Wise Man", also known as the fourth Wise Man. Aidan and I are writing the tale of the Fifth Wise man.

And the Baby? Well he is hidden away. Every year, before the children open Christmas presents they look for Baby Jesus hidden somewhere on the Christmas tree. All these years I have precariously placed him on a branch. This year I made a sun burst felt pocket that can hold him and be hung more easily on the tree.

Now, before Papa came home that evening the children and I made a friendly bet. Would Papa notice two extra Wisemen, especially one sitting on an extra large camel? Or that instead of only one Shepherd, now there were three? All of us, except Katie, were sure Papa wouldn't notice.

When Papa came home that night Katie pointed out, "We set up the Creche today, Daddy". He looked around and commented on how nice everything looked.

"The Shepherds are over here," encouraged Katie.

"Mmhmm, very nice" smiled Papa. By now suppressed giggles were beginning to escape.

"Look at the Wisemen over here, Papa," hinted Katie.

"Yes, I see," said Papa. More and more giggles.

"What?" asked a very puzzled Papa.

"You didn't notice that there were FIVE Wisemen???"

And a family story is born...one that I am sure will be recounted each year!

2010-12-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

yarn along

I am still knitting! But I am currently without a camera - guess what's on my Christmas list?

After knitting well over a dozen of those cute little kittens, I started a pair of mittens for Aidan from a pattern in the same book. Katie and I are also using a baby bootie pattern (also from the same book!) to make some baby booties to give away in honor of the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe - which is coming up but not actually observed on December 12 because December 12th is the 3rd Sunday of Advent...BUT...there is a note that the feast may be celebrated the Saturday before or the Monday after...

you get the idea. Our Lady of Guadalupe always gets me thinking about babies! Speaking of babies...or THE Baby..I am reading an incredible book for Advent...a read very slowly because I don't want to miss a single thing kind-of-book...a will read again and again kind-of- book..

.Redeemer in the Womb by John Saward.

A simply amazing look at Jesus' time spent in Mary's womb. I found a used a copy online - it is worth hunting for good price but $50??? Um no, don't spend that - if you have $50 for this book take at least half to donate to your local Crisis Pregnancy Center and find the book for $25 or less including shipping.

I also wanted to share that I took my knitting bag and a little library book I had picked up, The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon to keep myself busy while my daughter was piping with her Pipe and Drum band last night. I have to say - I will never leave the house with any kind of Christmas story without a wad of tissues - ever again. Do you know how hard it was for me not to start bawling in public while reading this book? Hard. I didn't quite bawl but let's just say the tears did gently and quietly roll down my cheek and I was slightly more snuffly than even my current cold would explain.

I hope I can beg, borrow, or steal a camera by next Wednesday!

But I will be sure to enjoy everyone else's pictures at Small Things and this weeks yarn along.

2010-11-22T15:52:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Week Daybook

Outside my back door window.....I can just see our young chickens who are big enough to be out and about now. Aidan helped Papa fix up the old chicken run for them. He turned to Ed and said "Papa, I want our chickens to be happy."

I am thinking about the wonder of these words that were said as part of the The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens this past Sunday -

Receive the sign of the cross on your forehead.
It is Christ himself who now strengthens you with this sign of his love. Learn to know and follow him.
Receive the sign of the cross on your ears, that you may hear the voice of the Lord.
Receive the sign of the cross on your eyes,that you may see the glory of God.
Receive the sign of the cross on your lips, that you may respond to the word of God.
Receive the sign of the cross over your heart, that Christ may dwell there by faith.
Receive the sign of the cross on your shoulders, that you may bear the gentle yoke of Christ.
Receive the sign of the cross on your hands, that Christ may be known in the work which you do.
Receive the sign of the cross on your feet, that you may walk in the way of Christ.

I am thankful for....so many things but I have been thinking lately of all the things I do appreciate about our parish - it is all too easy to see the things one doesn't like or would like to see change...but what a gift to count the blessings.

From the learning rooms....Thanksgiving fun this week...and we'll be happy to have Papa home with us for a few extra days.

I am wearing...a black corduroy skirt that is now covered with every bit of fuzz from the house.

I am creating....order out of last week's crafting chaos. Was it worth it? Hmmm...no comment. Here's a few pics of my table -

My table

Felted mice and knitted kittens

Rose hip elf

Wax and Beeswax Ornaments

Current read aloud....still reading "Princess and the Goblin" but I wanted to share this from Chapter 12

"Mrs. Peterson was such a nice good mother! All mothers are nice and good more or less, but Mrs. Peterson was nice and good all more and no less. She made and kept a little heaven in that poor cottage on the high hillside - for her husband and son to go home to out of the low and rather deary earth in which they worked. I doubt if the princess was very much happier even in the arms of her huge great-grandmother than Peter and Curdie were in the arms of Mrs. Peterson. True, her hands were hard and chapped and large, but it was with work for them; and therefore, in the sight of the angels, her hands were so much the more beautiful."

I am hoping...the little maple leaf butter pats we made for Thanksgiving will come out of their molds easily.

I am listening to.....a froggy, throaty sounding voice coming from older son. Oh dear.

One of my favorite things....The Splendid Table

Around the house.... fixing up the Festival Table for Thanksgiving.

Living the liturgical year....Viva Christos Rey!

One more picture to share....

It's a big world out there!

Add your Daybook at The Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-11-19T09:21:00.001-05:00

Hannah and Katie both sing in the Children's Choir of Sussex County. Here is a video of one of the songs they performed as part of the Lord & Taylor "Share the Joy" event. It was actually really amazing - Lord & Taylor commisioned a piece by Fransico Nunez and Jim Papoulis especially for this event, the song "Share the Joy" was sung by at least 40 choirs at their stores this past Monday evening.

You can see more choirs at the Lord & Taylor website.

Above the girls' Concert Choir is singing "Living in a Holy City". On the Lord & Taylor website they have this video labeled with a different choir but that's our choir!

2010-11-19T09:01:00.001-05:00

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all at SouleMama.

2010-11-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

A Thanksgiving Tea

Last year at about this time our very loosely formed "Keeper's At Home" group had a Thanksgiving Tea. I made up a song booklet and everyone brought a dessert to share. The brothers of the girls were also invited and we had one very talented friend who could accompany us on the piano. I found a copy of the song booklet and thought I would share some of the songs we sang together last year. Our group hasn't been meeting this year - and I do miss this gathering of friends.

Simple Gifts (this video is amazing!)

Servant Song

All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly

All who hunger, gather gladly, holy manna is our bread.
Come from wilderness and wandering.
Here in truth, we will be fed.
You that yearn for days of fullness, all around us is our food.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see the God is good.

All who hunger, never strangers; seeker, be a welcome guest.
Come from restlessness and roaming.
Here in joy we keep the feast.
We that once were lost and scattered, in communion as love have stood.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.

All who hunger, sing together, Jesus Christ is living bread.
Come from loneliness and longing.
Here, in peace, we have been led.
Blest are those who from this table live their lives in gratitude.
Taste and see the grace eternal. Taste and see that God is good.

Over the River and Through the Woods

For the Beauty of the Earth

We Gather Together

When I First Came to this Land

Let All Things Now Living

America the Beautiful

More Thanksgiving hymns here.

2010-11-15T07:23:00.001-05:00

A November Daybook

Outside my window...it is a grey Monday morning.

I am thinking....about tuning up our daily schedule to better fit the fall/winter chores in - raking leaves, gathering kindling, bringing in wood, etc..

I am thankful for....a parish community that sings..even when there is no one to play the music.

From the learning rooms....back to some form drawing this week to help my 11 year old son with his allergy to writing. We're using "The Write Appoach" - Book 1, form drawing for better handwriting by Joen Gladich and Paula A. Sassi.

From the seasonal kitchen....Ed found a farm in New York that may be our new source for meat products. The farm is not organic but they had all the right anwsers to Ed's questions. He brought home some samples for us to try - a little bacon, some sausage.

I am wearing...my jammies, still...we are all a little slow on Monday mornings.

I am creating...chaos in our house by being too much in handwork mode.....over the weekend we made beeswax ornaments - angels and hearts. The craft fair is this Saturday, I hope we have enough little items by then to make a good showing.

Current read aloud with the boys...we continue with "The Princess and the Goblin". Princess Irene and Curdie the miner's son have met. Curdie has also stumbled across a possible plot that could threaten the Princess! And....Curdie has also discovered that goblins have no toes and very tender feet....

I am hoping....the girls sing well this afternoon with their choir. From their website:

•Concert Choir has been invited to perform a newly commissioned piece by New York composer, Jim Papoulis at the Lord & Taylor store in the Rockaway Mall. As part of the store’s celebration, The Gift of Sharing, selected children’s choirs will be performing this piece on November 15 at Lord & Taylor stores throughout the United States. The concert is at 5 pm.

I am hearing...very strange noises... from the pipes? from the refrigerator? Ed and I are not quite sure...

One of my favorite things...a full wood hoop.

Around the house...well, right now as I mentioned above...a bit too much chaos.

Living the liturgical year....we are still enjoying the stories from one of my favorite books on the saints..."Saints....Adventures in Courage" by Mary O'Neill, illustrated by Alex Ross. This volume includes both St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Elizabeth of Hungary whose memorials are this week.

A picture to share....one of the illustrations from the book above. Why are all my favorite books out of print? This is St. Colman from Ireland, he has the most serene look on his face - just beautiful.

2010-11-10T18:21:00.001-05:00

Quick tabletop luminaries for Martinmas

These photos won't be the greatest quality, hubby took the last functioning camera in the house so I took some quick shots from my phone.

We had pressed some leaves for an going botany study with the two boys.

First the boys took our collected leaves and sorted them by shape. Above is some of the leftovers we had after the boys picked the leaves they wanted for the luminaries. We had two varieties of oak, beech, three varieties of maple, aspen, tulip leaves and a few others that remain a mystery. Christian matched the leaves using Trees Fandex Family Field Guide.

I took some old flannel fabric to protect my ironing board and set out a sheet of wax paper. The boys arranged their chosen leaves on the wax paper.

Another sheet of wax paper of the same length is placed on top of the leaves. I placed another cloth over the wax paper and then ironed. Aidan enjoyed helping with this task although he was disappointed that we didn't use the steam. I used the highest setting with the steam option shut off. I love the little wrinkles in the wax paper after ironing the layers together. Don't worry about getting a totally smooth surface - the wrinkles add a nice texture.

Trim the edges, bend the wax paper into a cylinder shape and glue the seam by overlapping the ends by about an inch. I gathered a few things to put a small tealight candle on and fitted each luminary to the plate - we had two terra cotta pot saucers and then I used a couple of old teacup saucers. I like the luminary that fits on the inside of the terra cotta saucer best - next time I would trim and glue the luminaries to fit that size.

With the recent time change...it is so dark...so early....these bring a bit of cheer and beauty.

2010-11-10T08:54:00.002-05:00

yarn along

Hosted by Ginny at Small Things

One of the items Katie and I are stitching for an upcoming craft fair is kittens! But this mama cat and her babies are destined for California as a present for my niece. I am just deciding whether to put faces on them or not. I think they are sweet just as they are.

The pattern I am using is from The Children's Year. I was given this book by neighbor when my oldest was just about 15 months old. It has inspired me to create many things for my children over the years. The link shows a book that looks a little different than mine but hopefully the content is similar.

The book I am reading in my sparse spare moments is Aurlia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet. I actually think it has turned out to be the perfect book for this time of year when the splendor of October colors has faded to the browns and greys of November. I am not too far along but it is an enjoyable read.

2010-11-07T15:00:00.002-05:00

My first daybook!

Outside my window...it is a clear crisp November afternoon. I think the days have past when a small fire in the woodstove in the morning will suffice. Time to keep the wood hoop filled and have plenty of kindling on hand.

I am thinking...about our nation's Veterans. Our Columbiette group had a small ceremony to place flags for the Veterans from the families of our parish. So beautiful seeing all those flags lining the drive to the church.

I am thankful for...our parish priest, Fr. Wayne. He enters the hospital this Tuesday and will have a heart valve replacement on Wednesday. Please pray for him and his recovery. It would be wonderful if he were back with us by Christmas.

From the learning rooms..we'll be picking up vinegar to start a biology lab this week.

From the seasonal kitchen...a rediscovered favorite. I used to make vegetable pancakes quite often years ago. Not sure why I ever stopped. While holding a head of red cabbage last week - I remembered them. I have used our Sunday's at the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook so much it is in pieces and tatters. The page that feature the pancake recipe was of course, missing. Thankfully, I found the recipe online.

I am wearing...comfy knit shirt and brown pants.

I am creating...lots of little items for a craft fair coming up on November 20th. It will be my first time selling my handwork. This is my small effort to both declutter the craft supplies and help my daughter earn some spending money for a trip to England and France with her youth orchestra this summer.

Current read aloud with the boys...a favorite....The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. We have a beautiful copy of this book illustrated by Nick Walton.

I am hoping...for some sunshine this week.

I am hearing...my 14 year old daughter sing along with Pandora.

Around the house...clothes sorting...this is the latest in the year that I have taken on the task of getting the warm winter things down from the attic.

One of my favorite things...homemade hot cocoa

Living the liturgical year.....still working on prayer angels for the month of All Souls. We'll be making leaf lanterns for Martinmas later this week.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing....

Our gracious host....The Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-11-05T08:34:00.001-05:00

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama for more moments.

2010-11-01T08:42:00.000-05:00

All Saint's Day

I always think of this song on All Saint's Day.....

Enjoy!

2010-10-31T21:00:00.009-05:00

Halloween Fun!

Who needs haunted houses when you have a dad who calls his 14 year old daughter to the door and scares the life out her with this beast...

This is a beautiful 15lb striped bass that Ed brought home for dinner. It is not so beautiful when you don't expect to find its gaping mouth greeting you at the door.

Here is as about as gruesome as we get on Halloween -

The stomach contents of the bass.

We were all pretty amazed at how many little sand eels this fish ate!

Blech.

We are usually much more into cute on Halloween.....

I really hated to admit it but Aidan was a very cute Wizard and he will not be happy that I said so!

Our handsome Robin Hood.

The ever adventurous Pipi Longstocking.

A mischievous cat.

There was a great debate over who was cuter - Hannah or Mewster. Mewster is the perfect looking Halloween cat who needs no costume.

The original mischievous cat!

Thanks to a well stocked dress up box and bits and pieces from Halloween's past - the only thing we bought new this year was a black shirt for Hannah's cat. We were also grateful for the loan of the Wizard hat.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-20T19:34:00.002-05:00

New baby chicks!

We've been pretty busy. Life is full of comings and goings so it seems a little crazy to bring keeping chickens back into the mix of daily life. But when the girls were younger they had the experience of marveling at wee baby chicks and I wanted that experience for Christian and Aidan too.

Isn't she sweet?

It was just wonderful to get the call from Ed that the post office had called his cell phone to let us know that the chicks had arrived. The boys and I eagerly jumped in the car and took the drive to the post office. We were all smiles as we asked about the "peeping package" that was waiting for us.

The boys are so gentle with the chicks and the older girls are of course delighted with them too. We initially had them set up in the house with a heat lamp where we could keep an eye on them. Out of the 25 chicks only one did not do well and had died within a day or two. But happily all the others look well and are already feathering out nicely.

What began as the sweet trilling sound of baby birds soon became much louder - especially at night - with the flapping of wings and very loud chirping! They have now been moved to a bigger bin with hay in the outdoor shed. They still have their heat lamp and seem quite cozy. It won't be too long before they are moved to the coop.

The boys will be responsible for the bulk of their care - Aidan and I go up together in the morning to add or change the hay, change their water and give them fresh food. Christian goes up in the evening to give them fresh food and water. The boys are excited and willing to do their tasks right now - we'll see what happens when the temperatures start dropping!

We are looking forward to our own fresh eggs again this Spring!

2010-09-24T09:37:00.001-05:00

2010-09-23T16:48:00.001-05:00

First Fire - not quite yet.

For many, many years now we have heralded the first day of Autumn by kindling the first fire of the season in our wood stove. We have done this for about the past 12 years now and believe me there were years when it was tough to hold out until that first day of Autumn came round on the calendar. Early September mornings can have quite a nip in the air to them, as memory serves. But that has not been the case for years...more often the weather is still very warm and only the smallest ceremonial type fire is lit to make sure all is well.

Despite the calendar, this year our annual "Blessing of the Hearth" will have to wait. Not only is it really warm...too warm to think of lighting even a small fire....80 something degree hot... there is this other small matter....

See the problem? This past summer the big project was sprucing up the woodstove area......

Before

After

Isn't that looking so much better? There is still the trim to do and of course we need an adapter to make up for the gap between the pipe and the chimney. If we can swing it we might even be purchasing a new wood stove to take advantage of the tax credit that runs out after this year. We love our little Jotul wood stove but it is a bit too small for our home. A little tip - when shopping for a wood stove make sure you ask whether the heating space per square foot is based on *open* space or *partitioned* space. Our stove would be just the right size if we had no interior walls!

I just hope that everything will be place before it does get really cold!

2010-09-19T18:22:00.000-05:00

September is here again.

For the past 5 years or so we have gone camping the last two weeks of August. It is always a wonderful trip but I am invariably shocked by that first glance of the calendar when we get back and I see it will be September...ummm......in two days??? My fuzzy beach brain starts to turn its wheels amid the leftover grit of sand that pours from every person and article of clothing that comes into the house. September...September....Oh....September!! SCHOOL days...right...we've got to start something that at least resembles something school-like, right?   Well...it's not Labor Day yet. So we wait until after Labor Day weekend which gives me time to begin the mountains of laundry and the unpacking and deal with all the other ramifications of an extended camping trip.

Ok we'll start Tuesday, Sept 7th...but that is Katie's Birthday!!  Start school on Katie's Birthday? No I couldn't do it; especially since there won't be any real presents to open as every penny Ed and I can scrape together is going to pay for Katie's trip to England with the Youth Orchestra this summer. Her birthday request - a ride to daily Mass - that I can do.

Wednesday? Well sure but we have a scheduled violin lesson in the morning and Choir starts in the afternoon.....Thursday? YES....we start Thursday! Well...sort of... I mean we are trying to clean up the house so Katie can have a friend over for a sleepover this weekend...I have an appointment Friday....I at least clean and arrange the Festival Table which displays new treasures from Cape Cod as well as some old favorites in honor of The Nativity of Blessed Virgin under one of my favorite Marion titles - Star of the Ocean.

This is our homeschool life in September....the activities that have been left off for the summer creep back into the schedule. We are still outside everyday basking in the waning days of summer. We are reading our latest read aloud, Swallowdale - a great fit for this last month of summer.  The calendar is already filling up and by the next Monday the math books are out once again....

2010-08-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

A Seaweed Sunday

Can you tell we've had a bit of trouble with weeds in the lake this year? Generally the weeds are kept down by lowering the lake in the winter to allow cold temperatures to kill off some of the weeds. We have all kinds of theories as to why the weed growth is so bad this year -

Very warm temperatures?
Too little rain?
Muskrats nibbling the weeds so more float to the top?
Some combination?

Or maybe it is some kind of cycle - when my husband and I first drove back and saw the little lake - which was very near the little house we were about to buy - we thought eeww - no one could possibly swim in THAT! The little body of water was choked with large mats of weeds. But we quickly found out that the lake is generally very clear and great to swim in.

We use the lake a lot and don't mind giving it a little extra TLC this year. You wouldn't believe the amount of weeds being taken out of that lake right now - and not just by us - other neighbors are taking turns on weed patrol as well.

The photos are from a Sunday a few weeks ago when we were all actually home - together - for the whole day! Late in the afternoon the whole family launched kayaks and armed themselves with rakes. I took charge of the wheelbarrow and transported barrels-full of weeds to a near by spot where we dump leaves. Everyone helped - willingly even - and had fun! Strange way to spend a Sunday afternoon but somehow it worked.

2010-04-14T19:26:00.000-05:00

We are home now and getting back into the swing of things but I hope to continue to journal the rest of our Florida trip. We have one camera that is currently missing - and Hannah took her camera with her to a friend's house this evening...so I'll be adding pictures as I find them!

Island on the road....Day 4

Easter Sunday!

Yes, the tell tale red egg that signifies a visit from the Easter hare was spotted quickly as two boys emerged from the camper -

The red egg!

Hmmm...I think all that's missing is the Wolf suit

We had a nice breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, citrus fruit, bacon, and toasted crossiants. This camping toaster is actually one of our favorite pieces of camping equipment. It was a gift from my sister-in-law and family and I have to admit that we were skeptical at first but it works great! One of the great things about camping is that you can bring special little items that can make a meal feel homey - like my sicilian orange spread. Yum!

I was a little worried about Easter clothes being presentable for Mass. I had ironed everything, placed the clothes on hangers and then carefully spread them out on the beds of the pop-up under the bedding. Once we arrived I could hang them up and I think we all managed to look pretty well for campers.

Easter 2010

Mass was beautiful at the Cathedral Basilica of St.Augustine. After Mass the children all enjoyed their first ice-cream cone after our traditional lenten sugar fast. And later that afternoon....we were on the beach! The only thing that didn't get planned out so well was Easter dinner - hot dogs over the campfire. Oh well, there were no complaints.

2010-04-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

Island on the road....Day 3

Saturday was the last stretch of driving through North Carolina, South Carolina, and a bit of Georgia before we reached sunny Florida! We were very grateful that the weather was pleasant and the children all traveled very well. I passed the time getting ready for Easter morning in a pop-up camper. I wasn't sure your typical Easter baskets would travel very well so instead I printed out some paper baskets from The Toymaker

I printed a bunny basket for each child. For the girls I chose the pretty little egg basket from the same page and for the boys I picked put the Chocolate truck. I printed them before we left, along with tape, scissors, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, and thread. When I had all the baskets cut out I started making butterflies.

We rolled into the campground around 7:00pm. We are pretty good at setting camp up quickly and we were all settled by bedtime. The children were tired from traveling and went to sleep quickly. I set up a little corner of the camper for Easter morning.

A surprise waiting for the children

But I know the big question on Aidan's mind as he difted off to sleep...would the Easter Hare find us in Florida?? We'll see!

2010-04-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

Island on the road.....Day 2

Most of Friday was spent driving through Virginia. As we got closer to the mountains we appreciated the scenary as we've been watching the Waltons on DVD's from Netflix. Hmm....we all wondered where Walton's mountain might have been. We expected to get to Grandpa's house around 2:00pm. But the GPS seems to calculate the arrival time based on the posted speed limits of the roads being traveled. We all wondered how on earth these twisty curvy roads could be traveled at 55 mph by any vehicle let alone one pulling a pop-up camper.

As we watched the GPS add more and more minutes to our destination time we did enjoy the land of Christmas trees! The boys were busy imagining which hills would be best to sleigh ride on.

Finally we get to Grandpa's! We haven't seen Grandpa in over five years. In honor of Good Friday we had a fish and chips dinner with hush puppies. The beautiful smokey mountains were in the backdrop.

We went to sleep to the sounds of peeping frogs and a babbling brook. We were up the next morning and on the road again but we were all very happy that we got at least a brief visit with Grandpa.

2010-04-05T19:16:00.000-05:00

Island on the road........destination St. Augustine, FL

We're ready!

All packed and ready to go!

Crossing Dingman's Bridge takes us out of New Jersey and into Pennslyvania.

Dingman's Bridge

The plan was to make it through Pennslyvania, Maryland, and West Virginia before stopping at a Virginia campground for the night. But....before we made it out of PA we got the news that the campground in Virginia did not accept campers after 10:00pm. We were not going to make it. Ok plan "B" except that we did not have a plan "B". That was the first insance that we were all glad Ed brought along his netbook. We stopped at some point in West Virginia to find a hotel.

A family seeking shelter for the night - will there be room at the inn?

YES! We found a hotel in West Virginia that included breakfast in the morning. Next stop - North Carolina to see Grandpa.

2010-04-01T12:11:00.001-05:00

We're almost ready.....

Well...sort of...there's still the actual business of getting everything into the pop-up camper but we are getting there. I am trying not to dwell on what we will be missing here at home as we attempt to take our road trip in these last days of Holy Week. I did recently purchase Lingua Angelica which has selections that are appropriate for Holy Thursday through Easter. I also have The Beloved Son to play as well. Of course I'll try to sneak in some of these selections between listening to stories on CD. We are well armed to battle the many hours of driving with -

The Lightening Thief

Book 2 of this series we started on a different trip

and Book 3

These should be good for about 25 hours of driving time and just in case..we've got one more The Hobbit.

And speaking of being armed and ready, apparently Aidan has big plans for our trip to Florida, here are the items on his very own packing list -

Wallet

Tiger

Panther

(I think it is a leopard, I suspect Aidan thinks of him as his own personal Hobbes)

Wind up LED lanterns

Circle-a-word book

sketch pad

Glow-in-the-dark book

And last but not least.....

his turtle back pack

Upon examing the contents of the backpack this is what I found:

Aidan's alligator catching kit

Yes, Aidan plans to catch himself an alligator, hence the need for a large carabineer and old clothesline. The screwdriver is in case he loses the key to the alligator's cage. The caution tape is in case the alligator escapes. And of course the small tape measure is to measure his alligator.

The other items are simply what any boy might need to enjoy any trip - a harmonica, cars, flashlights, pencil, and a phone. After negotiations (as in Mama saying "No, you can not bring that") we decided that the broken flashlight and old hand held house phone would stay home.

Back to packing....

2010-03-25T10:22:00.000-05:00

It is really feeling like Spring. The temperatures have been so mild that we haven't had anything but a small fire in the woodstove for days. The turtle has been spotted on his favorite log, the Spring peepers have been heard peeping, the coltsfoot has been spotted, and the robins are quarreling in the yard!

We are in full swing cleaning and getting ready for a big trip over Easter to Anastasia State Park. But I will be back for the opening of a new forum that will help us Encourage One Another in this endeavor to parent and educate our children.

2010-03-17T19:49:00.000-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Although...when you have a bagpiper in the family it is more like Happy St. Patrick's Week! The weekend before and the weekend after St. Patrick's Day are big parade days. This year the first parade Hannah was scheduled for didn't go too well - after standing in the rain for 45 minutes the parade was cancelled due to the threat of wind. But since everyone was there and assembled why not play a set or two?

Here's a nice shot of Hannah at the that appeared in a local paper.

But apparently - the police officers who were trying to reopen the road to traffic were...less than pleased...with the band taking matters into their own hands. There are even rumors that when the parade is rescheduled the band may not be invited back. Good grief - where has the world's sense of humor gone? Or how about a sense of adventure! Or spontaneity!

A happy but soggy Piper!

Back at home we've been enjoying selections from A Pot O' Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, and (of Course) Blarney. We especially liked the story of "St. Patrick and the Salmon" - I bet you didn't know it was St. Patrick who blessed the salmon with the ability to jump. The story is that much more vivid to us having seen the salmon run this past fall on the Oswego river in NY.

I bought a corned beef at the supermarket - even after I read the label - I am now pretending I just didn't see the "ingredients" at all - in fact I guess I might as well pretend it was completely home cured from a cut of grass fed organic beef - I figure everyone's entitled to their own bit of blarney on St. Patrick's Day - right?

And we thought we made Irish Soda Bread but actually what Hannah made was two loaves of what might be called "Spotted Dog Cake" according to the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread. I am scandalized that this lover of all things *authentic* did not catch onto this sooner. Well now I know how not to embarrass myself at an Irish Feis if I ever dare enter a "Soda Bread"!

And I have been feeling a little blue lately, a little overwhelmed, a little well...lost. I have three things that help ease my more melancholic episodes....a visit to the ocean....cleaning...and crafting. No visit to the ocean but my husband's Explorer is "mostly" clean now and this little fellow has joined our St. Patrick's Day Festival Table :

A wee Leprechaun

I see that he is missing his hat band - I'll have to fix that - and he needs a bit more curve to his hat - but overall I like him. I was first inspired by this post at Wee Folk Art but lacking the wooden body piece I improvised with different colored roving I had on hand.

And of course a post about St. Patrick's Day would not be complete without an Irish Blessing -

May those who love us love us.
And those who that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping!
--From A Pot O' Gold (the treasury mentioned above).

2010-03-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

Maple Sugaring 2010

The torch has passed from older sister Hannah to younger sister Katie. We put in our first taps around February 20th. The ground was covered with quite a bit of snow leftover from our only impressive snowstorm of the winter season. The first gathers of sap were not fun as the buckets of sap had to be lifted and carried above the snow. But very soon the snow began to melt - when the trees are tapped you know spring is just around the corner.

Snow covered ground a few days ago.

Katie carrying heavy buckets.

But now the snow has disappeared and the rising tempatures at night mean that our sap flow may disappear as well. The sap flow depends on the contrasting temperatures of below freezing at night to above freezing during the day.

Today

With the ten day forecast showing temps above freezing both day and night, Katie's first season of syruping may be rather short. But she will have another try next year. Katie is using any money she raises from syruping to help fund a trip to England with her orchestra in the summer of 2011.

I never thought I'd be hoping for those colder temperatures to stick around for a little while but....we have a lot of people who are asking for our syrup!

2010-03-07T14:43:00.001-05:00

The big 7th and 8th grade Winter project in our homeschool has become Maple Sugaring - this activity has tied into so many great topics in science, literature, business, art, marketing and more... My oldest daughter in now a homeschool freshman, the project has been passed to her younger sister, but we found one more opportunity for Hannah.

A friend of mine teaches kindergarten in a local charter school and she invited Hannah to tell the children about her Maple Sugaring experience. Hannah put together her presentation completely on her own - complete with props and drawings to help the younger children understand.

Here is Hannah setting up for her presentation complete with a maple tree stump, and jars of sap and finished syrup.

She used the stump and a section of branch to explain how you can identify a maple in winter when you don't have their leaves for identification.

Here is the picture she used to help illustrate how the sap comes up from the roots to the higher branches.

She did a great job presenting the material in an age appropriate way. She has had several years of experience with younger children - not only her younger siblings - but helping her Dad at a science and technology based summer camp as well.

2010-03-03T21:10:00.000-05:00

Aidan and I had a weekend to ourselves and boy did he keep me busy!

We went to the library to stock up on books and pick out a movie.

We made lots of paper airplanes.
Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes

We made Carrot Cake to bring to the pot luck supper -

We went to Mass and the pot luck supper where we had a very nice chat with Fr. who joined us for dinner.

We made pancakes - well Aidan made the pancakes - all by himself. "I can do it, Mom." "Umm... Mom can you get me..." "Mom...I need..." but really he did a great job.

We played many, many games of Pictureka! He beat me every time!

We played Marbles. Our kitty Curry wanted to play too but that didn't work out so well.

And so much more! Whew -

2010-02-20T20:55:00.000-05:00

"Today, the Mysterious Benedict Society's third full day of classes, S.Q.'s lesson had been called "Personal Hygiene: Unavoidable Dangers and What Must Be Done to Avoid Them." Like all the lessons at the Institute, this one was a barrage of details - pages and pages worth - but the gist was that sickness, like a hungry predator, lurked in every nook and cranny. Every touchable surface was a disease waiting to happen, every speck of dust an allergen poised to swell your nose and clog your ducts, every toothbrush bristle a bacterial playground. On and on it went, and all of it greatly exaggerated, Reynie thought, though not entirely untrue. What made the lesson so confusing was the "logical confusion" S.Q. said must be drawn: Because it was impossible, in the end, to protect yourself from anything - no matter how hard you tried - it was important to try as hard as you could to protect youself from everything."

- The Mysterious Benedict Society

2010-01-01T21:01:00.000-05:00

New Year's Day Outdoor Hour

A place of wonder!

Van Campen's Glen

2010-01-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

Mary Mother of God

"Mary had borne only one Son, the tiny Child she held in her arms, but he held in his love all that was, heaven and earth, angels and archangels, men and women and children, because he had made them and was their God, and so she, holding him, held them too.

-from "Saint Nicolas" a story for the Christmas season from The Lost Angel by Elizabeth Goudge.

2009-12-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

All Things New

A new cousin!

A new calf!

A Happy New Year to fill with.....

New adventures, hopes, dreams....

Prayer and wonder!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

Dolls and Boys

In any Waldorf Kindergarten there are generally plenty of soft bodied dolls to go around. Even into first grade there is usaully a small corner in the classroom set aside for play including dolls. My husband recalls how he always longed for a doll when he was a child - but a baby doll for a boy? Not happening in his house but he did have a soft bodied Spiderman doll that he loved dearly.

I am glad that we have no problem allowing our boys access to doll play. The boys don't often take an interest in the dolls - they are much too busy building, sword fighting, and generally rolling around and getting into trouble. But every once in a while some little bit of inspiration strikes them and I find dolls in some curious places. Like stuffed in the shark shaped back- pack.

"Uh Christian - did this shark eat the doll?"

"No Mama - the doll lives inside the shark and eats the meat."

Hmmm - we'll just put that in the *sorry I asked category*.

But other times you come across such scenes of sincere gentleness that I wonder if someone had snatched my son and left some other child in his place. As was the case recently with youngest seven year old Aidan a couple of weeks ago. It must have started with an offhand remark I made while "helping" the boys to clean up their room. I happened to say "Oh we'll have to get all the dollies dressed for Christmas". A couple of days later Aidan asked for the dolls clothes box and soon everyone was dressed and in their own beds. We don't have a bed for every doll but Aidan remembered that Katie had made hammocks for the dolls one day with a couple of our silks.

And then later that night all the dollies needed to be changed into jammies and tucked in for the night.

2009-12-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

Christmastide Outdoor Hour

Our snow is almost all gone now.

With our recent rain the Little Flatbrook (or is this the Big Flatbrook?) is rushing along.

No fish - but still fun trying.

2009-12-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

Do you have a favorite tasty something that would make food editors the world over shudder with horror?

This is my favorite extra special holiday treat -

You take a bagel - a wonderful fresh bagel from your favorite bagel spot - lightly toasted - spread each side with a thin layer of cream cheese - adorn with wild caught smoked salmon - and add a baked potato patty - sheer culinary bliss!

2009-12-25T18:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Day Outdoor Hour

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago.

-Christina Rossetti

2009-12-24T18:28:00.001-05:00

Tree for the birds

One of our favorite traditions this time of year is putting up a tree on our deck for the birds. We make simple birdseed ornaments to adorn the tree and the birds that come for the feast make the tree so much more beautiful - nature's own lovely winged ornaments.

We have a big alumimun pan filled with birdseed. We have several heart and star shaped ornaments cut out of cardbooard and then threaded with yarn for a hanger. Make sure you have your hangers on before adding the paste and birdseed - I made that mistake once - only once.

To make the paste mix equal parts of confectioner's sugar and flour in a bowl and then add enough water to make a not too thick - not too thin consistency. Use a brush to paint the paste onto the cardboard ornaments and then bury the ornamants in the seed. You can let them set a for a couple of minutes - but they are pretty much ready for the tree once they are covered in birdseed.

All ready for the birds!

The tree is enjoyed by all members of the family!

We usually get our tree for birds ready on the winter solstice but we're running a bit late this year!

2009-12-23T18:33:00.001-05:00

Oh Christmas Tree!

This is probably the latest we have ever decorated our "inside" tree. I made a bit of a blunder - I had forgotten that last year I had purged nearly all of our Christmas lights. The strands that were left would not light - I tried - I switched countless bulbs and little fuses to no avail. Ed was out last night to take Hannah to bagpipe practice - yes - three days before Christmas and they still had practice - and offered to get me new lights (among all the other things he had on his list).

And he tried - he could tell which of the wide open empty shelves once displayed Christmas lights. There was evidence of a stray little bulb here and there but aside from neon green and blue rope lights there was nothing.

I am glad that we do have our candles for the tree and without the electric lights I might just summon up a bit more will to light the candles. Usually we unplug the tree and try to light the candles on the Christmas tree each night of the 12 days of Christmas. Some years this actually happens more times than others - this year I hope it will happen more often than not.

Maybe, just maybe, the children won't even miss the electric lights and I will never again lose an entire day plugging and unplugging wee little bulbs and rethreading burnt out ones. One can only hope.

Even without lights the tree still looks pretty.

2009-12-21T19:12:00.001-05:00

Hannah's Advent Outdoor Hour

Hannah often goes for walks on her own in the woods. Living in a small house with two very boisterous brothers makes a few moments of solitude precious. These are some pics taken of fox prints she followed back to its den - how great is that!

2009-12-19T18:00:00.001-05:00

Advent Outdoor Hour

Cleaning up the driveway before the next snow. We did it! We cleared the rest of the firewood and actually fit both cars in the driveway.

2009-12-18T19:00:00.000-05:00

A New Tradition?

I wanted to do something a little special for my very tired husband, so this morning I resolved to get to the recycling center - a major chore. And the boys wanted to pick out some things for their sisters for Christmas. We packed up the car with bagged garbage, cardboard, cans, bottles, paper recycling, a bag of old clothes. Of course, all this took way longer than planned and I knew I would have two hungry boys on my hands soon after the trip to the recycling center with many more errands to go. But I also didn't want to delay getting out to pack lunch.

I really, really, really try to avoid fast food places at all costs...even on our many road trips we pack food to go...hard boiled eggs, cold sausages, sandwhiches, chunks of cheese, hummus and chips, little yogurts...etc..

But like I said I didn't really have any of those things around to pack quick so we decided on our favorite pizza place in town. It was not "fast" but well worth taking a little time. First it was *warm* - both in easing the chill in little toes and the heart of a mother mentally tallying all the tasks yet to be accomplished before Christmas. There was a Christmas tree, poinsettias, and even a *Nativity* set up in the main dining area. What a pleasure to go out somewhere where it really felt like Christmas. And what a pleasure to know that my boys are getting old enough at 7 and 10 to able to take them out to a restaurant with relative ease.

They took turns going over to look at the Nativity scene and reporting back their impressions. Christian was impressed by the extra stall provided for the animals. Aidan came back to report that - it was not "proper" because baby Jesus was already there and the three wise men too!! He was a bit taken aback at these obvious errors but I convinced him that no, we would not be troubling the owner over it - we do our creche at home our way - they can do theirs, their way.

The pizza came and soon we were stuffed full of yummy pizza and ready to face the rest of the day.

2009-12-14T20:33:00.001-05:00

Advent Outdoor Hour

The children have been getting out much more than I have. I have discovered that I am a complete wimp when it comes cold yucky weather. I'm working on it. But when the weather does give me a bit of incentive, I have been enjoying getting outside.

Hannah discovered some old rock walls way up on a piece of property that is not far from us. The land was purchased by the state and now adjoins a larger state park. It is a hike up a very large hill - mental note to self to get further definition of "well it's a little ways up there" from dear daugther before venturing on a hike with her. But we found the walls - remains of some castle for sure according to the boys.

I do love where we live.

And I do love my beautiful young naturalist daughter (even if she does nearly kill me on a "short" hike).

2009-12-14T20:13:00.001-05:00

Things you never knew until you became a parent of boys.

I was ~~escavating~~ cleaning the boys room when I found three little gnomes with acorns taped to them. Hmmm...maybe the gnomes are collecting food for the winter. I found the boys and asked -

Me - "Um... boys, what's with the acorns taped to these gnomes?"

Aidan - "Jet packs."

Me - "Jet packs?"

Aidan - "Yeah, doesn't every gnome have a jet pack?"

2009-12-13T20:04:00.002-05:00

Making Room for Sorrow

I was all set for Gaudete Sunday this year - a new pink shirt - I was ready for Joy!  But I was not at all feeling pink this year. This year we've had to make room for an unexpected guest this Advent - sorrow. Ed lost a much loved aunt. The St. Nicholas bag accompanied us to viewings and other services for those down times that can be particularly hard on rambunctious boys.

And then we had news that Ed lost a student. A hunting accident - so unexpected.   He was also a member of the fishing club Ed mentors. He was 17.

This year our Mary path has taken on a new focus - instead of the path leading us to Christmas day we've been asking Mary to help our loved ones find their way to the Child in heaven.

2009-12-12T17:14:00.002-05:00

St. Nicholas Feast on the go.

St. Nicholas Eve was a late night - the girls had a late Holiday Concert with their choir (which was wonderful - more about that in another post). It was well past the boys' bedtime when we arrived home that night. The boys were up - it was a scramble to find the Santa letters that were worked on during the week. But we found them and quick found Papa's dress shoes and then off to bed. Usually St. Nicholas morning means a leisurely breakfast and extra time snuggled in bed reading stories of St. Nicholas. Not this year - the girls and I had to rush out to get to the 8:00am Mass, then home for a quick breakfast. Hannah and her dad were out the door the annual Senior Citizen Prom and Katie and I were making sure everything was set for her violin concert.

Since we missed our usual snuggle time - I packed up everything we needed for the boys - two clipboards with coloring pages and plenty of tales of St. Nicholas.

Here is one with St. Nicholas on his horse. St Nicholas on a horse is mentioned in the story found in this little volume it can also be found here. This is the story we tell every year - we may include other stories as well but this one is a must! I also found a coloring page of a ship.

Here is a nice one that shows St. Nicholas carrying a bag of gold which went very nicely with "The Story of Bella, Sophia, and the Little Bonita" from The Seven-Year-Old Wonder Book . *I do edit this story slightly but it is lovely and also went so well with our sweets tht St. Nichoals left in the childrens' shoes this year along with the usual nuts and grapefruit. Don't they look like gold coins? Close enough and they are so good!! I think more will find their way into Christmas stockings this year!

For coloring on the go I like to sharpen a bunch of colored pencils and we like these crayons.

Since Katie had to be at the concert 45 minutes early, the boys and I had plenty of time for stories, coloring, multiple trips to the drinking fountain (mental note to self - do not leave house without WATER) and the bathroom before the concert began. The boys made it through the Suzuki strings, Rocking Strings and the Prepatory Orchestra - all of which Katie played and which was about all the sitting the boys could take.

Katie - 2nd child in the middle row - she did geat!

The music was beautiful, I hope St. Nicholas was listening.

2009-12-04T17:30:00.001-05:00

Advent Outdoor Hour

After watching this movie the boys were very much in need of a little outdoor time. Shortly after the movie this was just one of Aidan's battle scenes being played out on the dining room floor (note the possession of illicit stick snatched from the kindling for the woodstove - sigh).

So I quickly moved the battle outside:

2009-12-04T17:20:00.000-05:00

All ready for the Christmas Bazaar!

We used ideas from two little Klutz books, here and here , to make Christmas Angel Ornaments - we plan to make another bunch for home. Tip: when picking out flowers look for ones that have not used a lot of glue on the petals - I had picked out some pretty red and green roses in the craft section only to find that almost all the petals were unusable because a lot of hot glue was used to keep the rose shape. If you carefully look through the layers you should be able to tell which flowers will be easier to separate. The flowers that worked best were those that used little plastic pieces to make more layers.

Here's one of Katie's:

We hope they will find good homes in this year's Christmas trees.

2009-12-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

Advent Outdoor Hour

If you have boys - you know about sticks - you probably know more ways to use and misuse a stick than you ever thought possible - until you had boys.

2009-12-03T19:54:00.000-05:00

A scene from the season

Time for poinsettas! My daughters participate in their Choir's Poinsetta and Weath sale every winter - I generally don't enjoy fundraising activities but this one is my favorite - when I walk into that room filled with flowers I can't help but smile. And I am thankful for the opportunites to help offset the cost of larger trips that the Choir takes - the next big one is set for Paris in the summer of 2011.

My boys were very patient and helpful while we loaded and delivered the first batch. We also heard a bit of the dress rehearsal for the concert this Saturday - such beautiful voices. As always - I am sure the concert will be a great treat.

And we enjoyed a new find from the library The Miracle of the First Poinsettia .

2009-12-02T16:29:00.000-05:00

Advent Outdoor Hour

Today, I found these intact circles of bark - most likely they are from a Black Birch tree - wouldn't a couple of pillar candles look great in these?

Still pretty warm here these days - although I think his feet must have been getting cold.

2009-12-01T20:44:00.000-05:00

Our Outdoor Hour

I know one thing that makes me feel better in general and helps me cope with stress is regular time out of doors. So to help dust away those layers of stress I going to *try*...really...really try to commit to one hour outside every day of Advent. Can I do it? I hope so - I think we all be the better for more fresh air - even if a bit nippy- to put a little color in our cheeks. I had so much fun doing the April Shower of Photos that I hope to post a picture a day of our Advent adventures outdoors!

2009-12-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

Soup so hot!

A song that we've been singing since a Thanksgiving Tea with friends is "When I First Came to this Land" - it's one of those fun songs that lends itself to creating your own verses. Aidan and I made up several new verses inluding

When I first came to this land

I was not a weathy man, so I got myself a pot

I did what I could

And I called my pot, soup so hot

But the land was sweet and good...

Believe me - there is nothing quite so comforting on a chilly day like a warm bowl of homemade soup. The above is my oldest daughter's speciality. She made it for us today while the rest of us were running errands this morning. Post office, dry cleaners, department store. Have you been shopping for bras lately? Very scary. Shopping for bras with two rascally boys in tow - even scarier. Then off to violin lesson. By the time we got back for lunch we were all in need of a little comfort.

Our favorite soup

Take a quantity of homemade stock (turkey stock this time - gotta love Thanksgiving - it's the holiday that keeps giving us great meals!)

Peel and thinly slice 3-4 carrots

Peel and dice a couple of potatoes (optional - there is a great debate in our house now whether this is a worthy addition to the soup )

Noodles - sometimes we use ABC's or little stars or broken up angel hair - something pretty quick cooking.

Cooked , cubed turkey ( or chicken)

About 1/2 lb of a leafy greens such as spinach, swiss chard, kale etc... rinsed and cut into thin strips. We do not recomend boc choy though - it gave the soup a very strong almost lemony flavor - but not quite - blech.

Begin to heat stock while you take care of carrots - add carrots first and then potatoe and simmer until just about tender, add noodles when noodles are just about done add tthe turkey and lastly the greens which need just a couple of minutes(until wilted). Ladle in bowls - serve with crackers. Yum. This is our go to soup for comfort or a cure when feeling under the weather.

2009-11-30T15:00:00.001-05:00

St. Andrew's Day

For once this day did not catch me by surprise - I really wanted to say a complete Christmas Novena this year and I knew it started on St. Andrew's feast day - Nov.30th. What I did not realize before was that St. Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen - everyone here except me enjoys fishing - anywhere - anytime. Whether it's a trip to Island Beach State park or an excursion to Oswego, NY or a quick trip to more local spot, a fishing pole is likely to be brought along.

And St. Andrew is the patron of Scotland - my daughter plays the bagpipes - enough said.

Besides a great start to our Christmas Novena we will have a fish and chips dinner and oldest dear daughter has a bagpipe lesson in the evening.

The Christmas Novena prayer can be found here . I remember just a couple of years ago I could not imagine getting my boys to participate but this year it seems not only doable but enjoyable. I printed out several copies of the prayer and backed it with pretty paper (as in the picture above). These I placed in obvious places to remind us to say a set of three at convenient times - with morning prayer, before we go out, before meals etc.. . Five sets brings us to 15 and helps us cover our days until Christmas in prayer. I also used some small pictures of the nativity scene I had on hand to make small individual cards for everyone in the family - the prayer is written on the back

Some of my favorite posts about the Christmas Novena can be found at

Under Her Starry Mantle

Pondered in My Heart

In the Heart of my Home

2009-11-29T11:41:00.000-05:00

Prepare Him Room!

As I have already posted in a previous year - "Joy to the World" continues to be my carol for the feast of Christ the King - although this carol is widely known as a Christmas carol the verses never actually mention Christmas or the the Nativity.

This year for Advent the phrase "Let every heart prepare him room" seems to be especially ringing in my ears. Prepare Him Room. For me, this Advent, this phrase will be my focus - Christmas in a small home does take preparation - I spent today clearing the top of our school cupboard to make room for the Advent wreath. I had to clear another surface to make room for the math basket and globe that usually live on top the school cupboard and so it goes....

The clearing of one place draws attention to the needs of another - slowly surface by surface - room by room -we find the room we never knew we had that makes a place for the gingerbread houses, the Christmas tree, the Nativity scene etc.. I am always a bit in awe of the dust I find and the cobwebs to sweep away.

But more striking this year are layers that I find in need of a good sweeping in my own heart. That was the message I heard during the Gospel reading which you can find here. It was not surprising that we are warned about "carousing" and "drunkenness". Carousing? Hmm...homeschooling mothers are not generally known for carousing. Drunkenness? Not a problem. But there is a third waring against *anxiety*. That's the one that lurks in nearly every mother's heart. And I have given it too much room in mine - between fretting over our first year homeschooling high school to troubles with neighbors my faith and joy in all that is GOOD in my life has become - well - drowsy.

2009-02-03T14:32:00.012-05:00

Candlemas Day

Last Thursday our "group" met for beeswax candle dipping. I haven't done this with a group in many years now - it is a wonderful experience. I plan a pathway for everyone to follow after their dip - out of the kitchen and around the dining room table, for instance. This helps keep everyone organized. I also started the youngest first and let the older group model some homemade modeling beewax - they were quite content while the younger group got a start on their candles. Then I called over for more candle dippers once the younger ones got started. We had an age span of 3 to 14 and a good time was had by all. The warm kitchen and the small wonderful smell of the beewax does good for one's soul when the weather has been cold and icy.

On February 2nd - my children took their candles and began to decorate them using the thin sheets of decorating wax. A little goes a long way. Without any prompting they chose many symbols of our faith to put on their candles. Aidan wanted help with a figure of Jesus holding the cup - which I was happy to help with - but then he says to me "Now how about some people around Jesus - you could make them small..." I knew what he was getting at. "Aidan," I said, "We are not going to fit the entire Last Supper on this small candle!" Katie also made some lovely candles with wax flowers using some basic beeswax punches. When our candles were ready - we set up our festival table for a little table top play. Decorating wax and punches can be found here.

I adapted a play that was written by W.M. von Heider that was intended more for Christmas time - I rewrote the verses but had to thank the original author who sparked my imagination so with out further ado we present...

On Candlemas Day

We are the gnomes
Who tend the good brown earth
Where there are rocks and stones
And cracks filled with soil;
The good brown earth

Snowdrops
We are the flowers
The first of many to follow
That root deep in the soil
Twixt the cracks in the rocks
In the good brown earth

Bees
We are the bees
That make wax and honey
From summer flowers
That root deep in the soil
Twixt the cracks in the rocks
In the good brown earth

Sorry I don't have a picture of the children - my children took the part of the children!

Children
We are the children
Who have melted the wax
To make the candles
A gift from the bees
That gather the wax and honey
From summer flowers
That root deep in the soil
Twixt the cracks in the rocks
In the good brown earth.

Angels
We are the angels
From heaven above;
Both day and night
We watch over the children
Who have melted the wax
To make the candles
A gift from the bees
That gather wax and honey
From summer flowers
That root deep in the soil
Twixt the cracks in the rocks
In the good brown earth

Mary
I am Mary, the mother meek and mild,
Mary, the mother of the Holy Child;
Now kindle your candles
And remember this day
When at the Temple, I presented
Two turtles doves and my sweet Babe.
Light your candles and remember
The Light of World
whose birth was beheld
By angels from heaven above
Who both day and night
Watch over the children,
Who have melted the wax
To make the candles
A gift from the bees
That gather wax and honey
From summer flowers
That root deep in the soil
Twixt the cracks in the rocks
In the good brown earth.

After the little "play" we took the Candle Blessing from the Rural Life Prayerbook

Blessing of Candles

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who has made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, bless these candles at our request. By virtue of the holy cross, Lord, pour upon them the virtue of Your heavenly blessing. You have given them to mankind to drive away the dark. May they, at this sign of the cross, receive such blessing that wherever they may be lit or placed, the princes of darkness may depart and be afraid and fly in fear from those houses with all their helpers. Nor may they dare again to trouble or bother those who serve You, almighty God, who live and are King for ever and ever
R. Amen.

(And they are sprinkled with holy water.)

Ordinarily I would have taken them to Mass in the morning and asked our priest to bless the candles but it just was not happening! But we enjoyed our own little candle blessing and will keep the candles for meal times and prayer.

2009-01-01T21:02:00.006-05:00

Happy New Year!
Water, boats, and fire - what more could a boy ask for? Nothing! My six-year old is so enamored of this tradition that I have adapted from All Year Round that he asks on nearly every holiday - "Is this the day we make the pool and light the boats?"

Every year since before he was even born I have gone out on December 31st in search of clumps of moss - a vital component to the construction of our pool that we sail our New Year's Eve boats on. This year was actually easy - the girls and I had constructed a moss garden for a botany session this past year and I was able to get it from beneath the snow right out on our deck. I thawed it for a bit in a bin in the bathtub and came out with two respectable clumps of moss. Moss might be a primitive plant but I am impressed! The moss becomes the islands for boats to sail around - I create a base layer with stones and assorted sea shells and then put the moss on top.

I used to have a beautiful blue enamel bowl which has fallen victim to the charms of childhood - in other words I haven't seen it in years and it will probably be unearthed in the backyard in another hundred years from now - so I have made do with one of my large shallow mixing bowls. The bowl is set on what was our Advent wreath.
The making of the boats is a tradition in itself as all the children try to crack their walnuts exactly in half. I took the wick out of several tea light candles - set them in the shells and then poured melted wax back around the wick - this worked even better than the small birthday candles I usually use.
The shells placed around the bowl are all inscribed with a little message - when your boat floats closest to a shell - that's yours to keep and maybe inspire for the New Year. In past years I've made little scrolls attached with gold thread.

Of course the tradition would not be complete without a fair amount of shoving, sinking of boats, disappointment when wet candles will not relight and even a burnt finger or two (just one this year). New to the festivities is the 14 year-old in the background asking "Do I have to do this?" This question coming on the tales of being asked whether said 14 year-old could have a cup of coffee at 9:00 pm. "Yes" to the first, a resounding "no" to the second.

But there is something just a little bit magical when the boats are burning with their little light shining on the shells and stones beneath - I think it reminds us that our year is filled possibility - uncharted waters and new islands to explore!

2008-12-11T09:22:00.007-05:00

The Holy House

I first heard about the Holy House of Loreto at a the CHAPLET homeschool conference years ago. Fr. Ronan Murphy spoke about "The Family" - the Holy Family being the example of Holiness for all families. He also told of one of his greatest gifts as a priest was when he offered Holy Mass at the Holy House of Loreto. This year I put together a little Holy House for our House - I hope it's little light will help remind us to make our home more like that little home where our Lord grew up.

I found this Christmas tea light lantern pattern - a little glitter - some tissue paper for the windows - and a small cut out of Our Lady and Child from an old Christmas card and I had our the little house
Then I took some very simple wool angels and a bit of silver ribbon and hung everything from a wooden arch that I saved from an old mobile. You could also use a small wreath on the horizontal and add two more angels (one for each corner) - which I might do for a future house.
I used a hot glue gun to attach the ribbon to the house and to the arch to make sure it was secure.

I would enlarge the lantern pattern next time - I managed to make it a little bigger on the computer but I really needed to get to a copy machine.

Here are a couple of posts I've enjoyed related to the day from....

Cottage Blessings

and...

Under Her Starry Mantle

Anyone else? Please leave a link in the comments section!

2008-12-09T08:29:00.006-05:00

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Getting the boys to Mass on a Monday after Sunday was a feat. "What!!?? Mass again?" But we made it and Aidan enjoyed showing our DRE and Fr Wayne his Sunday Sticker Book.
After Mass we zipped up to our favorite florist shop and bought a single white rose for our Advent Garden.

Later in the evening we gathered for the lighting of the garden. We began with this verse by Christiana Rossetti:

Herself a rose, who bore the Rose,
She bore the Rose and felt its thorn.
All Loveliness new-born
Took on her bosom its repose,
And slept and woke there night and morn.

When the candles were lit we sang....

Immaculate Mary
Maria Walks Amid The Thorn
(the tune to this song is in on our Christmas Star cd under the title "Maria Wandered Through A Wood")
Joseph and Mary (selection 13)
A Virgin Most Pure (selection 14)

2008-12-07T11:59:00.005-05:00

Dressing up....

......a dress. I was very thankful when a friend passed on a lovely black merino wool dress to my daughter. She will be helping Dad with the annual Senior Citizen Prom at the high school where he works. Plain black didn't quite seem in the holiday spirit so I took some thin red and silver ribbon and careful woven it through the knit of the dress.

Dressing up....

......cookies. Katie made chocolate chip cookies with something a little extra for the reception today after the Youth Orchestra's holiday concert. She added a cup of chopped dried cranberries. They are so good!

2008-12-06T07:18:00.006-05:00

Kind Old Man St. Nicholas Dear....

...Come to my house this year! Aidan was anxious to get started shining Papa's shoes last evening. The rest of the children joined in later.

For years now this first full weekend in December has been a very busy one - this year is no exception. It is always the date of our youth orchestra's winter concert and Ed facilitates a student group at the local high school that puts on a prom for the senior citizens. Today there are rehearsals and auditions for state honor choir, oh, and a garden pickup too... and Mass! Whew!

Today will be busy but once again St. Nicholas has brought us something special that will certainly help keep a smile on our faces. To get us through we'll have dried cranberries, figs, and cherries. We'll be sure to take a few pieces of the candied ginger with us too. And to start us off Papa awoke in the wee hours to get some St. Nicholas boots ready for us to go with the usual citrus fruit and mixed nuts the good Saint brings for breakfast.

To help keep Mama sane today as we drive around from here to there and all around I will enjoy this CD I purchased with some other music for the Advent season. It is beautiful! And finally when all is done we will snuggle up with the book with which I first fell in love with St. Nicholas - St. Nicholas' Travels by Hertha Pauli. I first found this book in our local library but I finally bought a used copy of my own. After all is said and done today we'll snuggle in bed and hear the story of when St. Nicholas met Constantine the Great, and of their attendance at the Council of Nicaea.

In this story we hear how this good Saint, who is so associated with the Feast of Christmas never had a Christmas - the bishops at the council were in doubt as to when the observance of the Nativity should take place - it had happened "in the days of Herod" - but could it have been a spring day? the shortest day of the year? the day when the Magi visited Bethlehem?

"The Bishop Nicholas of Myra did not live to see the question settled. He never saw a Christmas. He died as he lived, a faithful servant of God. He prayed on his deathbed as he had prayed in the cell at Nicaea, and here, too, the light of Heaven was suddenly round him and the three angels descended again, to receive his soul."

Is it any wonder then that the good Bishop comes each year to teach us something about keeping Christmas!

2008-11-28T12:42:00.010-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

The gathering of tasty morsels begins well before the Thanksgiving Holiday - this year we purchased our turkey from Country Ark Farm - a nice 29 lb. bird - not our biggest but we will certainly have lots of leftovers.

The last pick up for our summer share at our CSA always comes right before Thanksgiving and we look forward to the brussel sprouts and cheese pumpkins especially.
I still remember the first year we joined the CSA (13 years ago!) and how amazed I was at the huge stalks of brussel sprouts - I realized my children have never known brussel sprouts in any other way! By the way, this year the boys discovered that the stalks make excellent swords after the sprouts are removed.
We had our pick of an assortment of root vegetables - these we will continue to see throughout the winter but Thanksgiving just wouldn't be the same without sweet potatoes from the garden.
We serve them baked - simply baked - it would be a high crime in this house to let anything even resembling a marchmellow anywhere near these lovelies!

The menu this year featured favorite simple foods in all their goodness

Roast turkey
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Brussel Sprouts
Cranberry-apple conserve
Stuffing
Small rosemary sourdough loaves
Corn pudding (made by Grandma!)
Sparkling cider

There were actually two kinds of stuffing - a big batch of apple-celery- onion stuffing and a smaller batch of oyster stuffing that my dear hubby made just for me!

The table was set and ready, we like the napkin holders from the Toymaker.
And new on our festival table this year were two Native American dolls that joined our pilgrims that I made years ago. These really aren't hard to make - the directions for basic heads can be found in The Nature Corner. A little wool for hair, some embroidery floss braided for the headband and there you go -

And last but not least, dessert!

We always have Pumpkin Whoopie pies - they are so good - another great recipe from the International Cookie Cookbook. I also tried a new, untried recipe but I figured how could anything with chocolate and pumpkin turn out bad? A little daring turned into a hit -
Pumpkin Chocolate Tart .

2008-11-23T09:20:00.005-05:00

Christ the King

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King which marks the end of the liturgical year. Last year at this time, I remember I was at a concert that my girls were in ...I remember tsk, tsking the singing of Christmas carols before Advent had even begun!

But then they started to sing Joy to the World and as I listened to the lyrics I realized how wonderful this carol is for this day -

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders of His love.

I found this wonderful image from this blog - what a wonderful collection of Holy cards! This image will have a special place during our evening meal. As this Church year comes to an end we can reflect on how we have made room for Christ in our family life and in our own lives. As we look forward to a new season of advent and another joy-filled Christmas we can decide in what ways we will let our hearts prepare Him room! I will tuck this image and this carol away for advent to reappear Christmas morning when we will again sing...

JOY TO THE WORLD........

2008-11-13T19:35:00.006-05:00

Leaf Fort

2008-11-11T20:00:00.001-05:00

Our newest addition!

2008-11-09T13:29:00.012-05:00

Lanterns for St. Martin's Day

We haven't painted as a family in quite a while and I knew I wanted t0 make some lanterns for St. Martin's Day so we combined the two activities.

We started out by laying red and yellow paint down next to each other and then placing red on some of the yellow and yellow on some of the red - this brings out different shades and showed me what the children could do with their colors (we have some work to do). The tree is made by bringing blue in with a smaller brush and then going over the blue tree with more red and yellow. The tree would probably be a bit much for a younger child - Aidan wanted a tree so I put one down for him and then he went over it with his brush.
After the painting had dried (the next day) we drew in little lanterns that would decorate our tree. The girls and I carefully cut out the shapes with an exacto knife as below
Another option is to enhance the picture with coloring - Aidan wanted a St. Martin figure which I do admit to "massaging" into a more recognizable figure - I always ask permission before I "help" with a drawing.
When the cutting and coloring is finished, the edges and glued together - our smaller lanterns were made with one painting - the larger ones are two paintings glued together. We used good old Elmer's glue and just held it in place for a bit to dry. The smaller lanterns were fit around a metal lid from a ball mason jar. A handle can be added to the smaller lanterns by threading some florist wire through the top. The bigger lanterns we will keep on a table top and just enjoy the glow.

2008-11-03T20:51:00.007-05:00

Happy Halloween

We stopped off to visit Nana before our fun evening with friends.
I actually really cheated this year and simply raided the costume box we keep in the attic. We already had the Robin Hood costume and Little Red Riding Hood's cloak - my oldest daughter took an old bridesmaid dress of mine and printed out a butterfly Mardi Gras mask we found online. The only thing I had to do was take the large mouse years off the 3T sweatsuit and stitch them onto to Despereaux's 5T sweatshirt. What! You don't know who Despereaux is?? Well if you don't recognize him now maybe you will this December - we are all very excited to see the movie - a rare treat in our house. (But read the book first!)

After a hearty healthy dinner of chili, cornbread, and butternut squash soup everyone was ready for some serious trick or treating.
Among the girls we had Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ann of Green Gables, Little Red Riding Hood, a Masquerade Butterfly, Mother Theresa, and a princess. The boys? As you can see they were all boy - Robin Hood, a Ninja (who managed to jump out at members of our group a time or two much to his delight!) and our very unusual mouse.

2008-05-14T14:02:00.009-05:00

A First Holy Communion

We have been busy but I wanted to share a bit of a very special day. Our son Christian, age 8, received his First Holy Communion on Saturday morning, May 4th. We had another commitment later that afternoon so his party was held the next day. All that week I fretted over impending weather reports - we have a small house and we were counting on an outdoor barbecue. Saturday was a bit drizzly and cool but the by the next afternoon the clouds opened and the sun was shining!

We covered the picnic table with a light blue table covering and added a beautiful bouquet of flowers in blue and white and our Mary statue - we had completed a Novena of our own to Mary under her title "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament" to help Christian prepare for his First Holy Communion. (I really think she had something to do with our beautiful day!) I also put out some of the books and resources we used for our First Holy Communion preparation.

I had spied a lovely cross shape cake in a bakery that we like but the price was a bit more than what we felt would be appropriate. So we made our own. We didn't have a cross shaped pan or time to order one so we simply took our cake recipe and baked it in a 9x13 Pyrex baking dish - it was a little tricky to remove but - that's what frosting is for after all! To make the cross we simply cut off a section lengthwise and cut that into two pieces to add onto each side of the larger center piece - there was a little extra left over for snacking. Alternately, you could also make a template out of wax paper. we trimmed all the edges square. Then we just covered the whole pieced together cake with frosting.

Christian helped big sister Katie bake the cake the night before which is from one of my favorite books for old fashioned desserts, The Country Mothers Cookbook

Daisy's Nutmeg Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease and lightly flour two round 9" layer cake pans (we used a 9"x13" Pyrex baking dish)

2 cups sifted cake flour (we used unbleached white)
2 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (we used ground)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Sift these ingredients together into a medium sized bowl, set aside

1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup buttermilk

In a large bowl cream butter and vanilla together until light. Add sugar gradually, creaming until fluffy after each addition. Add beaten eggs, one-third at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Then alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk by thirds to the creamed mixture - beating only til smooth after each addition - don't overdo.

Turn batter into prepared pans (or dish) - bake until cake is light brown and tests done when pressed lightly with fingertips - about 30 minutes. Turn out on a wire pan to cool. If using the Pyrex baking dish - loosen the sides with a knife and use an offset spatula to loosen the bottom.

Ice when cool - this recipe makes plenty -

6 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
4 cups sifted powered sugar

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, lemon juice, and peel. Gradually blend in powered sugar. If frosting is too stiff, blend in 1 tsp cold water at a time until desired consistency.
Katie collected and rinsed the fresh violets that adorned the cake - they are edible. The pan was dusted with powered sugar.

My mom found a little something for the center of the cake -
The rest of the menu included-
grilled hamburgers and hot dogs
fresh green salad with grated beet and carrot
walnut lentil salad
potato salad

Really very easy - we had some family and a few of Christian's friends - a bunch of boys running around the lake catching newts. fish, frogs - they loved it! Christian had a very special weekend - can you tell?

2008-04-22T13:46:00.007-05:00

Our Morning Walk

What are little boys made of? Today they are made of pond water and muck,

Squirmy tadpoles....
Slippery newts and
Frog eggs!

2008-04-18T09:33:00.003-05:00

Our Morning Walk
The mystery daffodil patch. Our walk was cut a little short today due to bugs! Everything is waking up and we were swarmed! Time to stock up on our natural bug repellents.

2008-04-17T13:22:00.004-05:00

Our Morning Walk
This flower is a bit of a mystery - Hannah found a whole a patch of daffodils and jonquils off in the woods near another section of stream. They are not anywhere near a house - how did they get there?

The weather has warmed up quite a bit this week - buds and greenery are peeking through all over - finally! We made our way to The Court again for a couple of rounds of "Mother may I" - Hannah opted to continue adding some plants to her flower press for an ongoing Botany project.

2008-04-16T20:30:00.006-05:00

Maple Sugaring - Evaporating

If you remember those old Dunkin' Donuts commercials where the very tired donut maker wearily keeps repeating to himself...."Gotta make the donuts" then you have a bit of an idea what this phase of maple sugaring is all about - except the ongoing phrase in your head is more like "Gotta feed the fire".

Once you have your sap then you've got to bring it to a boil..and then you let boil..and boil...and boil some more. You have to keep the fire going hot if you want to make progress and when you still have 50 gallons of sap waiting plus another gather looming in the afternoon - you want to make progress.

We started with large pots last year but we knew we were going to have improve on that for this year. At the beginning of the season we started with two stainless steel steam tables - like the ones you might see at a hot buffet.
This worked so much better than the pots...but we could do better. Ed was able to find a piece of stainless steel metal and a coworker was able to fashion a larger pan for us - he will be getting free syrup and other maple goodies for life! The best part about having a custom made pan is that we know it is absolutly lead free. Isn't it beautiful?

But believe me - this same pan looks a little different now at the end of the season. The larger shallower pan means more sap fits in the pan and more of pan being in contact with the flames makes for a more efficient boil. The picture below shows one of the smaller pans now acting as a warmer for the sap.

The basic routine Hannah followed was to strain the sap through cheesecloth and add that to the warming pan on top. Whenever the big pan started getting low - the sap from the warming pan was added to the large pan. We kept the large pan going until it was getting close to syrup - the sap obviously starts to slightly thicken and gets a more golden color, oh...and it smells wonderful! Once the syrup was getting close to finish, that is, when the temperature got to about 216 F degrees,the syrup would be moved to a large pot to finish inside on the stove.

Inside the syrup was finished at 219 degrees F. Once we had syrup we would let the "sugar sand" settle - next step - bottling!

2008-04-16T19:48:00.004-05:00

An Unexpected Guest

I was in the kitchen when I heard something knock over our recycling can. We had a visitor alright - this must be a cub from last year. I looked over into the woods behind our neighbors house and saw 0ne...two...three...wait a minute...yes...four more young bears following one behind the other up through the woods. Five bears in a single sighting that is a record for us! This one just sort of sat there looking at us as we scrambled to get the camera and our bear measures ready - whistles and an assortment of pots and pans.
I took another pic and then we started our banging, our whooping, and our hollering...uh oh...no don't go up that tree just go join your brothers and sisters! He scrambled about 4ft up and then came back down and ran off up the hill.

2008-04-15T16:21:00.005-05:00

Our Morning Walk

If nothing else - this little project with the goal of posting a picture a day has shown me how busy and blessed our life is on a daily basis.

This past Thursday our morning walk was to the car to go see the Golden Dragon Acrobats- what an amazing show.

Friday our walk didn't happen - we were catching up from being out Thursday - besides the camera was already packed away in Papa's car ready for his trip to Raritan Bay where it was busy taking pictures like this one below on Saturday. He enjoyed his first Nantucket Sleigh Ride! What! You don't know what a Nantucket Sleigh Ride is? Well neither did I until my husband took up fishing. Just picture a kayak (small craft, no anchor), a very large fish, a fishing pole, and a grown man grinning from ear to ear.
Papa was back Saturday night and up on Sunday to get ready for the Senior Citizens' Prom that one of his student groups at the high school where he works puts together each year. The girls went to help out dressed in their Easter best and afterward I joined them to see the high school's production of Damn Yankees - they did a great job!

Which brings us to Monday - whew!
Sketch books in hand, the girls and I checked on the plants we have chosen to sketch through Spring. The day was beautiful - so our walk ended at "The Court" - it's an old cement basketball court where we jump rope, play hopscotch, sing, play recorders...you get the idea. Aidan, above, is playing a favorite variation of jump rope where you try to hop over the slithering snake and not get bit!

And here it is Tuesday - violin lesson day - in my vision of a perfect Tuesday morning we are all up and out to take our morning walk - the boys stay presentable and do not get covered in mud - and we all calmly and happily get in the car and on our way! Hmm...we'll just call it a work in progress and leave it at that.

2008-04-09T09:40:00.003-05:00

Our Morning Walk

Today we took turn down towards the stream. We crossed the area that the children have named "The Treacherous Bog". I thought the name just a bit dramatic...until I missed a bog and came away with a boot covered in muck. We crossed the stream and walked along the other side. I can't say I have ever seen a fairy but if I ever do, surely it will be somewhere along this stream. Doesn't the above look like prime fairy territory to you?

2008-04-08T19:19:00.003-05:00

Our Morning Walk

Another picture from yesterday - this morning it was enough to get to violin lesson on time. I love all those little birches that are surrounding Katie - they hold their old leaves until the new ones come out. This year I am watching to see just when those old leaves fall off.

2008-04-07T10:15:00.006-05:00

Maple Sugaring - The Gathering

The most strenuous part of Maple Sugaring is gathering the sap. A nearly full 5 gallon bucket weighs about 40 pounds. There were days when many of the buckets were nearly full. In fact, some trees, which we called our "Gold Star Trees" would be full to overflowing within a twenty four hour period. It is truly an amazing sight. We gathered, with a few exceptions, everyday.

Katie who tried her best to keep a log of incoming sap, reports at least 5 days where we brought home around 100 gallons of sap. Any sap that could not be boiled off in day was collected in 55 gallon food grade barrels and kept very cold with sapsicles. It is mind boggling to think of bigger producers who collect thousands of gallons of sap!

I'd like to say that we always had smiling faces while we joyfully toted and poured buckets but there are times when it just wasn't fun - like in the pouring rain. I think some lessons in perseverance were learned through all this as well as many others. I don't think a day went by where we didn't ask God to bless those who do this kind of work to sustain their family!

2008-04-07T09:40:00.004-05:00

Our Morning Walk

Mondays...ahhh....Mondays. There always seems to be a bit of an adjustment after the weekend. We did not manage to get out the door until 10:00am! But on our walk we did find some new discoveries for our Botany study and the girls and I each "adopted" a branch to sketch through spring. I also started Christian's Mass Book for his First Holy Communion this morning and read a couple of chapters from our current read aloud before we left the house - so we've accomplished quite a bit already!

We had started down our usual route along the dam of our small neighborhood lake when Katie said to me "Oh Mama - look you can see our Fort". Wow - this is just one of many "forts" that have been built over the years. This one, it turns out, has been an on again off again joint project with some friends since January! I had no idea. I know of other "forts" but this one took me by surprise!

I can only laugh now at how I used to longingly gaze at catalogs that included everything from petite playhouses to large cedar swing sets. But over the years I have come to see the hidden blessings in not having too many outdoor play structures..especially in an area such as ours where there are so many opportunities for the children to find or build their own "houses". Excuse me - forts - there is a big difference you know!

2008-04-06T17:40:00.000-05:00

Maple Sugaring - The Beginning

It all began on Sunday February 3 - I remember because it was Superbowl Sunday. While many were enjoying the game, we were out enjoying Super Sap Sunday! After a trial run last year we decided that Maple Sugaring would be Hannah's (13) big project this year.
All those buckets were washed and the tubing was cut into sections. The only other equipment needed were the taps, Dad's electric drill, and a mallet.

It is a thrill to see that first trickle come out of the tree!

The tap is inserted into the hole and we wait for...The first drip! Now keep in mind that it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup - that's a lot of drips!