A bit of this, a bit of that, and a house flood

K's knit doll shawl


It's been quite a week here (and it's only Wednesday!) Our washing machine flooded our house earlier in the week. Well, not the whole house. Thanks to K's attentiveness and the quick response of all my children, the water only flooded our laundry room, kitchen and that dark room between the kitchen and living room that I mentioned before. My heroes! Despite the inconvenience of it all, I was so happy to see all of us work together so well in a stressful situation like that.

We have had the washer about ten years and have been having issues with it ripping our clothes (yes, even the handmades) for a long time now so I think it's time to replace it. Of course my vacuum also decided to break but I think having clean clothes is slightly more important. Then again dirty carpet is not something I particularly enjoy either, but our budget can only afford one or the other at the moment. I have been asking my friends for their advice on front loading washers. I don't want to risk it with another top loader, even if that means I won't be able to felt wool projects, (granted I could just go to the Laundromat for that.) So far, the general consensus seems to be to avoid GE and Whirlpool might be a good choice. Do any of you have a front loader you love? We had one in the hotel we lived in when we first moved here and loved it. I need to contact them to see what one it was.

K has been in quite the creative mood as of late. She keeps telling me she wants to learn more and more new things. She found my Rose Windows book and asked if it was something she could try. I haven't made them in years, not since my Waldorf kindergarten teacher friend taught me back in Virginia. K must have been around one at the time. I looked over the book and found a simple design for her to make, and once she got started, she couldn't stop. The first one she made was a gift for C and then she made one for Little L and myself. I have a feeling that isn't the last of them. She even made flowers with the leftover bits of tissue paper.

We somehow ended up with half the neighborhood kids in our house yesterday (what can I say? They love our toys! ) and as I was cooking dinner one of them asked what I was making. I told her that it felt like a breakfast for dinner kind of a night so I was making tofu scrambler and strawberry pancakes. She asked if she could try the pancake batter. I told her yes and when she did she obviously didn't like it, which I expected because we don't use any sweeteners in the batter and they are whole wheat. I explained to her that the maple syrup we pour on top makes them so sweet, that it's like you're eating a dessert. She then gave me a very puzzled look and said, "Maple syrup??? Does that taste like trees? Ick!" Oh how she made me laugh with that comment. Her mama called her back to her house before I could offer her any, but I think I need to share the maple goodness with her in the very near future.

p.s - K found the verse you see hanging above our kitchen sink (in the picture of Little L) and thought it was a good thing to see when she didn't feel like doing dishes. It reads:

Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a take to tell.
While other folks go hungry,
We're eating very well.
With home, and health, and happiness,
We have no need to fuss.
For, by this stack of evidence,
God's been good to us!

A bit of this, a bit of that, and a house flood

On these last days of winter

Before I know it our little world will no longer be dormant but very busy and alive filled with lush, green landscapes and the songs of spring. I thought about this many times over the past couple of months while keeping warm by the wood stove. I may have even dreamed about it. But as much as I have been (and still am) looking forward to spring, I want to just pause and savor these last few quiet moments of winter. It has such a unique allure that can not be denied.

I know a little pussy,
her coat is pearly grey.
She lives out in the meadow,
not very far away.

She'll always be a pussy,
She'll never be a cat.
For she is a pussy willow,
Now, what do you think of that?

Meow, meow.
Meow, meow, meow.

                                    -Traditional Waldorf Kindergarten verse
                            (C and I have been enjoying this song at circle time)

On these last days of winter

Harvesting a feast for our friends (& grocery plans)

K has her doll tucked in to her coat (in case you were wondering what that orange ball was)







Do I smell a squirrel!?! (Paw Paw has an insane prey drive)









"Daddy, can we please climb a bit longer?"



Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail

Wrinkle up your little nose
Place a nut between your toes

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel
Swish your bushy tail

Yes, we are still on the topic of squirrels here. C now requests our 'grey squirrel' verse every circle time. I think she just loves the swish your bushy tail part.

We have been enjoying our visits from Jacques and friends - they are highly entertaining. We especially appreciate their lunch time antics (C, Little L and I eat lunch at our child size table and it is in front of the window the bird squirrel feeder is at). C wanted to offer our friends an even bigger feast on our porch so along with our trusty sidekick Paw Paw and the rest of the family, we headed out to some of the oak trees on the outskirts of our woods to gather acorns. (Our woods are much too dense for oak trees to thrive in)
Of course, it was really too late in the season to do so, most of the acorns have rotted, been buried by leaves or picked over by other squirrels, but it was more about the experience than anything.





The girls were as busy as squirrels filling up C's backpack with acorns. There were other treasures gathered as well, (K is thinking about Advent) and lots of stops to pause and take in the stunning surroundings.We ended up staying out until it became dark outside.



We placed the acorns out on our porch the next day for the feasting to commence.



As I snapped a picture of the girls' harvest I heard a sweet little song being sung above my head. I looked up and saw this nuthatch munching on some suet. My camera wasn't set up for the shot but I am glad I was able to snap this moment. It's not every day that I am serenaded. I so enjoy watching nuthatches eat, they remind me of little round bats. Do any of you have them in your area?

I truly hope our animal friends enjoy visiting us as much as we enjoy seeing them. Now I should be off to get food for my own family. I try to enjoy grocery shopping, really I do, but even with meal plans and everything else planned in advance - it's at least a 3 hour event. Of course, having to drive to three different grocery stores and tallying everything as I add it to the cart  (to make sure I stay within our small and hard to work with budget) probably doesn't help.  At least I have good company as I shop.

p.s - Tomorrow is the last day to cast your votes for the Homeschooling awards. Thank you to all of you that have been voting for me. Just one more day!
Feast away, little friends, feast away!

Harvesting a feast for our friends (& grocery plans)

(Homeschooling) Lessons with Wool

Back in September, C and I started our own wool lessons on our craft days. On our very first craft day she dyed yarn herself using our own kool-aid tutorial.  We used burly spun yarn  that we picked up from our school store for this project, as it was the perfect weight for what I had in store for C after we dyed it. This was to be her very own yarn so I wanted to her to dye it however she wanted to. She chose 5 different colors (I regret that I did not write down their names) and had a blast using the baster to squirt dye everywhere (hence, the outdoor dyeing pictures!).

You might appreciate that in true Portlandia style,  it was impossible to find  kool-aid anywhere here in Portland. Believe me, we searched! I am happy it's not a normal thing here but since we (only) use it as dye - I am also a bit disappointed. Thankfully I remembered I bought a bunch back in Virginia (it was quite plentiful, I am sad to say) and kept it in a folder in my filing cabinet for future dyeing projects.





We broke out the sheep toys that have been put away for years to keep Little L happy while we worked

On the following craft day (I purposely look for projects that can stretch out over many days to help nurture patience.) C wound her yarn into many little balls. These balls were to be used for finger knitting. (That's why I wanted the thick yarn) Does that seem a bit odd to do many little balls instead of just one big one? Well, it did to me until  a few years back when I gave K one large ball for a special project and she refused to knit with it. I later learned from her teachers that seeing such a large amount was just too overwhelming for a child her age (4 at the time). So using one small ball at a time is much more manageable for small children. They can finger knit the whole ball with their shorter attention span or put it down for later. Either way, it won't seem endless to them and that is what matters.











I first taught C how to make a slip knot  (I use that for starting both finger knitting and knitting with needles).Then I said this verse while finger knitting on my own ball of yarn:

"Into the lake,
pull out the snake"

When we say "Into the lake"we put our hand into the large loop (the slip knot)coming in from the top
and  then for "pull out the snake" we grab on to the yarn tail (that is still attached to the ball) below and pull it through until it forms a new lake. Then we just repeat the process over and over again. Repetition is key. And since children learn by imitation it is best if you sit with them with your own ball of yarn finger knitting as well.(Side by side is best. If you sit in front of them then they are watching the process backwards which can be a bit confusing!)

She did quite a few stitches and then decided the toys Little L was playing with looked like too much fun to pass by.



She has since gone through half of her finger knitting balls, picking up her knitting on her own throughout our days. I think it's safe to say she likes it!

p.s - Don't forget the Belambolo giveaway is still going on here.

(Homeschooling) Lessons with Wool