Harvest Rainbow

I suppose it's an understatement to say it has been awhile since I've posted something in this space. We have been busy, or occupied anyway. Occupied with the basics of living...eating, sleeping, maintaining. These things have posed rather large challenges for one or more of our family members in the last few months, and I just don't have much time or energy left over to do any "extras." The one extra we have managed to (barely) keep up with, and always the priority around here, after the basics are cared for, is the garden. So today when the baby was sleeping (yay baby!) and my daughter and I were out in the garden harvesting, I reveled in the vivid and varied colors filling our baskets. A complete rainbow. And I wanted to share it with you--a bit of beauty to finish off your week.

I have been reading little bits here and there of Richard Rohr's Everything Belongs. Today the few pages I read spoke about the importance of not rushing through pain, difficulty, or darkness, because they have important things to teach us, and it is through these that we discover our true selves and find transformation. It is a good reminder, and one we don't hear often enough in our culture of quick fixes and immediate gratification (that only leaves us feeling empty). It's a refreshing perspective to think about settling down into difficulties, to learn what they have to teach, and to trust that in good time they will give way to lighter and more joyful times.

a lovely morning

The baby took a nice long nap this morning. So while dad headed out on a bike ride, mama and big made the most of some quality girl time. We used up the last of the frozen winter squash to make our favorite pumpkin pecan muffins from our favorite cookbook Feeding the Whole Family. While they were baking, we went outside to rescue a few ripe strawberries from the slugs, and to pick some pretty leaves for a lovely art project.

It turned out just lovely, didn't it? So beautiful with the morning light shining through. Thank you to Jean of the Artful Parent for the idea. We used a previously painted watercolor paper as the crown base, and attached ribbon so that it would fit all the way around a little head. All of our flowers were wet from rain, but we found some dry columbine leaves that worked well.

 Such a yummy snack....

makes for a happy little flower princess.

Spring

Bright cheery tulips

A major act of courage for one who only weeks ago wouldn't go outside for fear of seeing a squirmy worm!

 

lush spring garden

radishes, cilantro, dill

 

fava beans and vetch--cover crop growing so vigorously--as tall as the 4 year old!

baby plants warming in the makeshift greenhouse

a preschooler's "collections"

first greens

Now this is why we garden (well, there are at least one million other reasons why we garden, if I'm honest). But this, this first spring harvest of tiny tender sweet succulent salad greens, this little colander of perfect, nourishing, beautiful food, this does the soul (and body) so much good after a long, cold, dark winter. We ate these little lovelies for dinner, utterly unadulterated, with gratitude.

arms outstretched to the sun, in gratitude for life springing up anew...happy Easter!

tender heart

Sometimes it's hard for sensitive little ones to leave the comfortable environment of home. Hard to let go of mama's hand, say good-bye, and join the group at preschool. We've had an especially hard time working back into our "normal" routine after an extended illness. I've spent so much of my mental energy lately thinking about how to make these transitions less stressful. This little heart was one idea that came to me, and was well received by my little one. It's filled with lavender and wool, and covered with really soft flannel and a sweet little print. Soothing lavender to smell, soothing flannel and wool to feel, soothing pink bunnies and lambs to look at. And of course, filled with love from mama. I think making this was as therapeutic for my heart as it is comforting to my daughter's.

a little knitting for a little tomte, and a hobbit house

This little fella has kept us busy lately. So much growing to do! He grew out of his first pebble vest, so I knit him up another one, and used some of the same yarn (along with a lovely soft silk alpaca blend) to make the super cute Alfalfa hat for him. He grew out of the hat the next day, but it was fun while it lasted. I used the notes for knitting the pebble in the round from my previous vest--love this pattern so much--he really does wear it every day (unless it is recovering in the wash basin from an especially messy mess). The yarn is Cascade 220 on size 8 circular needles.

 And my daughter has been doing some creating of her own. This is a hobbit house (she did have the help of dad on this one). We visited a local plant nursery recently and were inspired by some very charming fairy gardens on display. We all wanted to come home to make our own miniature homes for traveling tomtens, fairies, gnomes, etc in need of shelter. This one was scattered the next morning by an unknown creature. My daughter was disappointed, but applied what she learned from the three little pigs and build the the next house with bricks. It is still standing!

Hearts (and lungs)

This little one caught herself a cold that developed into quite a case of pneumonia. (She likes to sit and look out the window, watching the chickens scratch and peck around the garden. Not quite as entertaining as Dinosaur Train, but almost...)

Even with a fever and oxygen dipping down to near-hosptilization level, though, she is a tough one to keep down. She has a lot of spunk. So we've been taking breaks from reading books and watching chickens to make valentines.

Both ideas here came from The Chocolate Muffin Tree, and they were both so fun.

 These are the shaving cream marbled valentines.

And these are the blotto hearts. Each time my daughter opened up the folded heart to discover the design she exclaimed "Mom, this is BEAUTIFUL!" Yes my dear, they are!

this moment

morning has broken...

Joining in with  Soulemama today...

In her words: "{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."

new

 New Every Morning

~Susan Coolidge

Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.
And, spite of old sorrows
And older sinning,
Troubles forecasted
And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again. 

yarn along

I've been away from this space for so long! An awful cold ran through our house, followed by a nasty stomach bug, topped off by a beautiful babe who doesn't like to sleep anymore. So time for knitting and blogging has diminished. Today I finally finished these sweet little mitts, realized yarn-along is tomorrow and thought maybe I could just slap a photo up here real quick. After knitting one in the smallest size and realizing it would be too big for the 6 year old they'll be gifted to, I sized it down by subtracting 4 stitches from the whole pattern. I think they'll work out well now. The yarn is Wisdom Yarns--Poems. I used a twisted 1x1 rib for the cuff rather than regular 2x2.

I've been reading a great book recommended by a librarian (happy to have it around for that run in with the stomach bug!) called Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks. It's a historical fiction novel set in the early American colonies, about the first Native American graduate from Harvard college.

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along...

this moment

Joining in with  Soulemama today...

In her words: "{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."

yarn along: halloween edition

Happy Halloween!

Knitting: I made a couple of these sweet little pumpkins for some young friends with October birthdays--they're the perfect size for a little hand to hold onto. And I finally finished a hat for the babe. I'm not entirely happy with it, and I think he will outgrow it soon, which is ok, because I really want to make one of these now.

Reading: Still working on Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, and various kid craft and activity books, trying to come up with things to keep the little ones occupied on these rainy days. Our rain is just the normal run-of-the-mill fall weather, and we're keeping all of you on the opposite coast in our thoughts, sending continued wishes for safety.

Joining with Ginny for yarn along...

rainy day fun: build a rocketship...

Or a robot costume...

Or an abstract cardboard sculpture...

The final product really doesn't matter, it's all about raiding the recycling bin, getting messy with paint, busy with scissors, sticky with tape, and using one's imagination. When Dan saw the sculpture, he asked, "Oh, is that a robot?" and my daughter replied, "It can be anything you want it to be, Dad!"
Now that's the spirit. 

For more inspiration, MaryAnn F. Kohl has a series of wonderful books on doing art with kids.
And we like Little Nye's Rocket to the Moon.

I thought it would be fun to turn this post from last week into a little series on creative indoor activities for the rainy season. Keep an eye out for more ideas ahead!
What inspires your rainy days?

Wishing safety to all of you on the opposite side of the country affected by Hurricane Sandy.

this moment

Joining in with  Soulemama today...

In her words: "{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."

rainy day fun: fall sensory bin

The rain has come. It is fall in the Pacific Northwest, and with a new baby in our family, the time we can spend out in the cold and wet, stomping in puddles, is rather limited. So we've been brainstorming creative activities to keep us all (especially the curious preschooler) engaged and content indoors. I've been inspired lately by this post (and the whole No Time for Flashcards blog) and also by all the great projects shared by Jean at the Artful Parent.

The photo above shows an improvised sensory bin I threw together with things we had around the house. I'm new to the concept of sensory tables/bins, so it was a lot of fun to go hunting around for supplies. I used some rice, cracked wheat, and kidney beans that had been forgotten at the back of the pantry, and added acorns, chestnuts, dried leaves, a piece of driftwood, some smooth stones, and a little ceramic cat for good measure. My three and a half year old loved using the tongs and scoops to explore the contents of the bin, and to feel the various textures. She really liked discovering the "buried treasure" kitty.

Tonight I removed the nuts and leaves and added several large wooden beads for her to find, sort and then thread onto a lace. I've found that a little prep in the evening after the kiddos are sleeping makes the mornings more peaceful. That way I have something up my sleeve for those "mommy, PLAY with me" moments, while my hands are filled with a baby, or I'm tied to a couch nursing, etc.

What's inspiring your rainy days this fall?

just a little bit of knitting

 

It's amazing how my knitting time has shrunk to nearly nothing in the last few months. I suppose that's not unusual with a new baby in the house. But this new baby needs a warm hat ASAP, so I've been trying to work a few stitches here and there over the last few days. I'm using a strand of luxurious Debbie Bliss Andes (silk/alpaca) for softness, and a strand of Brown Sheep Lanaloft for sturdiness, held together in a simple improvised pattern that I hope will roughly match his head circumference. In the mean time he gets to wear his big sister's hand-me-down pink striped hat, which I suppose isn't so bad--I don't think he minds too much!

Reading time hasn't disappeared as completely as the knitting--still able to read a few pages after the preschooler has gone to bed, while the little one is nursing, or while walking him to sleep. I recently finished Kristin Lavransdatter with a combination of relief and grief over it's ending. Normally I would have been intimidated by its 1000+ pages, but the mountainous Norwegian setting, the quality of the writing, and the meaty drama (melodrama even?) kept me engrossed. It really is a beautiful and expansive book, if a bit dark and distressing at times. The author gets at the heart of universal human experience, or maybe more specifically the experience of women--birthing a child, nursing an infant, loving a father, a husband, a son, keeping vigil over a dying person.

I'm now on to a very different kind of book, (though interestingly, also written in the 1920's)--To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. My husband gave me this book several years ago and I gave up on it after the first few pages. This time around I am still struggling, but determined to finish it. The subtlety, the sentences that last a whole page, the stream of consciousness writing are all rather difficult for my sleep-deprived, oft distracted brain. It's good mental exercise, though, right?

p.s.--

That pebble vest is working out just right for our little fella. He wears it nearly every day to keep warm in our drafty house. It fits over his head without any fuss, and the lack of buttons eases my anxiety over choking hazards, so I think I'll stick with this "in the round" version if I knit it again (and I'm sure I will!).

Joining Ginny for yarn along

calming autumn tea

As the darkness and rain sets in this fall, it has been comforting to have a little bit of warmth and light preserved in the form of early summer herbs. I've found that this tea, enjoyed so well fresh, also makes a nice dried blend for the colder months.  The herbs are all rather profuse and easy to grow in our area--lavender, chamomile, lemon balm and calendula. They are all traditionally thought to be calming to the nervous and digestive systems, and they taste and smell lovely. To make, I steep 1-2 tablespoons dried herbs per pot (or about a teaspoon for a cup) for 5 minutes or so. I like it plain, but it would also be delicious with a little honey.