a little crafty nest

moments from the week

Thank you to all of you for your well wishes with the flu that some of my family battled this past week.  It was intense, but relatively short-lived and we enjoyed taking care of Papa.  He received lots of teas, hankies, cuddles and kisses over the four days he was in bed, and this Mama had a few moments here and there to share some quiet time with one child at a time ~ so special!

Between intense sweats and dozing sessions on the couch, Papa read to whoever would listen.  I love that!  He is back at work today, not nearly 100% but good enough.

As always, Forrest has been drawing and drawing and drawing.  He particularly likes to draw knights and castles and dinosaurs and skiers.  For a change of pace, I saw him quietly setting up a desk by the south-facing wood door.  He told me he wanted to "capture the sunset". 

Unfortunately the sun was behind the mountains before he even began, but I reminded him to try and take a photo with his mind and draw from that.  He set to work and drew a lovely picture of the sun setting...beautiful.

Sunshine, Forrest and I are each beginning to sew a doll.  Sunshine really loves handwork ~ oh, this just brings such happiness to my heart! 

I really love sitting beside her and hearing her chitchat away while she works.

I was so eager yesterday to plant our greenhouse full of greens, yet I seem to have not thought this out thoroughly.  Our creek is still frozen over and the soaker hoses are unhooked and the garden standpipe is buried in snow...oops!  So I'm hauling water to our greenhouse for our wee little seeds ~ garden dedication at its best!

And my oldest boy found a Viking battle-axe from a party we had six years ago...he is in heaven (that would be Valhalla)!

And one last photo...here is my toothless boy.  Honestly, it is so sweet listening to him talk right now!  He lisps slightly and I can see he is a bit self-conscious about it.  Oh, if he only knew that I would love to just bottle up this fleeting moment of his boyhood, so I might savour it in the years to come. 

It is almost like he is at the threshold of innocence and losing his baby milk teeth is symbolic of him entering into a whole new realm of childhood.  The tooth fairy has let me keep his teeth in a little container, though I'm not sure what I'll do with them yet.  I just know that I find myself looking at this boy an awful lot right now, quietly lingering a little longer with admiration and awe.  He is one fine six year old, that is for certain.  I love him so!

Enjoy your weekend, friends!  May you have one filled with sunshine, family, and perhaps a little garden planning! 

my special happy place

There are some up sides to this horrible flu bug hitting our household.  Papa was still home yesterday, and was able to watch the younger children so Forrest and I could have a little date.  The best kind of date...a gardening date.  Despite heavy, wet Spring snow, we sowed a few seeds out in the greenhouse.  It was a bit of an adventure getting there...

After shovelling our way in, we saw that the tremendous snow load from off the roof had insulated the interior and the ground was thawed to more than a foot ~ wonderful!

Our little rickety greenhouse has certainly gone the distance.  This is our sixth season in here, and it still stands, despite wobbly supports and duct tape holding the plastic together.

I love being inside the greenhouse, especially while a winter rain is falling on the roof.  I feel cocooned in a gardener's world where soil and seeds bring me right down into the present moment.  With my son by my side.  This is my special happy place.

To be honest, it was a spontaneous date out there.  Using up the remnant seeds of last year's lettuce and greens was brilliant.  And now, we get to venture out to my specail happy place more often to peek in on our little seedlings-to-be.

Yes, this is indeed a good place to visit on stormy, wintery days.  The pulse of Life in the soil is just a short venture away...it's coming!

a summer raspberry

Joining Ginny and all the other knitters for a little yarn-along today.

I meant to share my shawl today as I finished it!!!  Oh, such a tremendous feeling of accomplishment to finish that shawl and I'll share more details soon.  When I decided to knit this shawl, I bought a beautiful carved wooden clasp for it, and wouldn't you know, I can't find it anywhere now.  Of course.  So, while I keep searching I will hold off on photographing it...but I can say that my shoulders are nice and draught-free right now.

I cast on for a spring sweater for my three and a half year old daughter, Sunshine.  Last year's spring sweater is long outgrown, so I cast on big...hopefully this will fit next winter, too.  I'm sort of winging the whole thing, basing the pattern on several patterns.  I'm crossing my needles it will work out ok.

I'm using the same tonal Berroco wool I used here and I really really love it.  The colour reminds me of summer raspberries, don't you think?  It does not pill up at all, and my son even wears his sweater against his bare skin.  I am also using size 5 needles and I wish I could link up to my ravelry notes (a little crafty nest) from here but I still have yet to figure that out without taking you to my edit page (any suggestions?)!

And as far as reading goes, in addition to all my gardening books (oh, it's that Green Eager time of year, do you feel it?) I have a little book I'd like to share.  Rudolf Steiner's Calendar of the Soul is a gem, I think, and this edition has beautiful illustrations by Anne Stockton.

I like to read the weekly verse once or more each week, particularly if I'm needing to feel a little soul uplifting.  This is the verse for the week of February 16 - 22:

The world is threatening to benumb

The innate powers of the soul;

Now, memory, from spirit depths

Appear in shining light

To strengthen my beholding

Which only through the power of will

Can be sustained.

 

Enjoy your week, friends!  Thanks, once again, to dear Ginny for hosting such a lovely yarn-along.

wisdom of the elder

Well, what would winter be like without the flu visiting for (hopefully just) a few days?  I've noticed that when the weather swings from cold to mild back to cold again, the flu seizes its chance to descend upon us with the intent purpose of making us feel miserable.

It seems that Papa and Forrest are the worst off, so far, with Huckley closing in.  Sunshine has sympathy symptoms ~ she's compassionate like that.

Our weekend was spent with lots of tissues, hot water bottles, quilts and liquids.  I always turn to some old stand-by remedies that seem to help ease the symptoms, and at the very least, just to provide some comfort.  Miso soup with generous helpings of garlic, ginger, and seaweeds in a turkey broth base.  Also, each September, I freeze bags and bags of elderberries just for times like this.  Elder trees are abundant around here, and in addition to the berries, I also make a tincture out of the flowers which promotes sweating and helps with flu symptoms. 

A good friend of mine is a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor and she happened to call us this morning.  Her advice was to steep the white parts of green onions with ginger until it was good and thick, then to drink it down, put on a ton of layers and blankets, sit beside the woodstove and sweat!  Josh let me know the concotion was not that pleasant, but sweat he did.  (While I'm not exactly certain about the treatment details, she did mention this only works if one's phlegm is still clear and runny, not yet thick or yellow).

Having sickness move in and take over for a few days, we had the opportunity to just slow right down.  Everything seemed calmer and quieter, with lots of books, puzzles, and card games.  I remember being sick as a little girl, and I was set in bed in a darkened room all by myself to rest.  I appreciate that it was meant to provide calm and quiet, but I remember missing out on family life.  When my children are sick, we make beds for them on the couch with a tower of books beside them and liquids at the ready. 

Even if they are dazed with feverish stares, they are still part of the family life...as long as it remains quiet and calm and peaceful.  Occasionally, they may choose to rest in their own rooms by themselves.  But I like them near, as well.  It's easier to see how they are doing, to give a special kiss blown from across the room, to sit beside them and stroke their backs for a few moments.

Yes, it seems we didn't escape the flu this winter and it's a doozer!  My husband gets really slammed with the symptoms, or so he thinks (ahem)!  One thing's for sure, though, the faster it moves on through, the sooner we can get on with the business of playing and crafting and living!

Elderberry Juice

Simmer 3 Cups elderberries in 9 Cups water (ratio is 1:3) for about an hour.

Strain well.  Add 1/2 Cup sweetener (we use honey) and mix thoroughly.  You may want to warm it up a bit to ensure the sweetener is dissolved.

Drink lots.  And then more.

You can store in the fridge for about 5 days, but I usually freeze any leftovers after 3 days.

It also makes a great birthday drink for little ones!

 

Hoping you all stay strong and healthy during flu season!

 

moments from the week

Lots of outdoor time this week, though our best day went unrecorded.  In fact, it was our best day in weeks!  We visited another homeschooling family who live directly across the river from us and so we naturally call them, The Boys From Across The River.  We visited their homestead and it was such a perfectly wonderful afternoon, none of us wanted it to end!  The sun shone in a cloudless blue sky, the snow was so strong and icy, we walked on and on over hill and dale without breaking through.  The six children and us two mamas saw an eagle, ducks, and six swans!  The littlest two boys played alongside each other at the river's edge, content in their own worlds, shoulders nearly touching.  My daughter tried to keep up to the three older boys who ran and hollered and investigated and spied...it was sheer delight!  And, sadly, not one single photo.  This wonderful afternoon will be embedded in our hearts for weeks to come!

However, there were some photos from outdoor play around here...

A visit to our neighbour's horses.  Danny-boy is so beautiful, and becoming so friendly with my children.  Forrest is teaching me how to feed him properly so your fingertips don't get nipped.

This is how we travel for a winter's walk.  I pull littlest (or two) in the sled, though I'm trying to encourage Sunshine to walk more.  This day, she walked the whole way, although we had to turn around far too soon as I didn't prepare for all her activity and she had a diabetic low.  Usually, I have a juicebox, crackers, and a banana with me, even to just cross our creek into the meadow on our own property.  I don't know what I was thinking to venture so far from home with just a juice!  Here she is doing what she does rather frequently lately, sipping a juicebox to bring her back into range.  I never would have thought I would feed my children juice boxes, let alone several in one week!!! 

We ended up turning around at this point, a 15 minute walk home.  It was a beautiful day, clear skies and crunchy snow.  Little signs of the seasons changing are becoming apparent...birdsong, creeks murmuring, and even pussy willows peeking out!
With all this spring anticipation, Huckley heads straight to the sandbox while I look for snowdrops beneath our beloved oak tree.  We will have to wait a bit longer, which is just fine, as usually the snowdrops don't arrive for another few weeks yet. 

I used our shovel to clear an area for Sunshine to get back on her swing.  Oh, does she soar when she is in her happy place!

And finally, the tooth fairy has made not one, but two appearances here in the span of three days!  Forrest's top tooth was dangling about for weeks, and the night before Valentine's Day, it popped out.  I still have to take a photo of him with both top teeth out, which is so darn cute!!!  I'm having a hard time not smiling when he speaks right now...it is simply adorable!

And yet another wondrous thing...Forrest found his mama-made hat from the fall!  He wore it for two weeks or so in October and then it disappeared.  I usually don't worry too much about this, knowing it will eventually show up, but this time, after one month, then another passed, I sadly dismissed it as truly lost.  I really liked this hat ~ my favourite on Forrest so far.  Well, we were in town at the toy store, of all places, and Forrest came running over to me telling me he spied his hat...it was behind the cash register and had been for four whole months!!!  Oh, lucky day!!!  However, in four months my son's head sure did grow and so now, this hat has been handed down to Huckley.  But what matters is that it's all in the family, right?

Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends!

love, sweet love

Thanks to my little ones, today was an eagerly anticipated event.  There has been such a flurry of card making, we literally have a mountain of Valentine's sitting by the door to hand out to anyone who drops by!  But don't think that means they were made with any less love...oh my, no!  Each card  was made with such care and intention...a good reminder that one can truly delight in the gift of making!

They inspire me, these three lovelies.  So, I jumped on board and stitched up a Valentine banner and made some heart-shaped pancakes, topped with our own raspberries and yogurt.  We brought out some treasures from Valentine's past...

...and some new treasures this year...

My sweet heart gave me the most beautiful flower bouquet this year...he knows my true heart's delight!

This day never held too much significance for me before I became a mama.  And now, thanks to my children, I see how wonderful and meaningful it really is.  For certainly, shouldn't everyday be a reminder that we are surrounded by the ones we love?  And isn't it everyday that we have the chance to show them how much we love them? 

Yes, I'm a very very wealthy woman...they remind me of this everyday.

May today be a reminder for you and your sweet little ones as to how much we are surrounded by Love!

moments from the week

This whole mama trip really demands a lot!  More than I ever imagined, I have had to dig deeper inside myself, and on a regular basis, find the strength within.  And just as I seem to find a groove and feel like I'm really sailing along rather than puttering, I hit a rock and get beached all over again.  Last week was a hard one on so many levels...mothering, step-mothering, managing diabetes, having my husband mostly away...but at some point during this week, a shift happened.  I felt a huge weight lift that I had thought was just a minor load.  And oh, life feels so much better now.

A few nights ago, when Josh got home from work, I told him that I wasn't being the kind of mama I wanted to be.  I felt like I wasn't giving my children my best.  He listened and let me know he supported the decisions I was making.  And I realized that my children will continue to bicker over seemingly mindless things, they will shout and leave muddy footprints throughout the house just after I've washed the floor.  My children will not always ask me for things nicely and they will not always behave as I want them to.  They are children, afterall.  But the difference is me.  I can choose to get wound up and freak out about it ~ I can pick my so-called battles.  I really am the one who determines the atmosphere of the home and if I get uptight and cross and unhappy, it is felt on such a deep, heart level with these three little ones.  I am their emotional barometer.  I am showing them how to deal with Life, in all its chaos and imperfections.  A heavy load, to be sure.  But, it is what I make of it.

And when I understood this, again (for how many times have we all visited and re-visited these ponderings?), I felt better.  I am choosing to be here with them and so I need to choose what is important to guide them through, and what is best left with a simple shrug.

This week...A puzzle queen was born, as any puzzle of any description or difficulty was attempted.  Most were a success, some needed help.  And a little boy became the puzzle queen's apprentice.

My goodness, Sunshine is persistent and determined.  At one point, we had four floor puzzles lined up in a row to be admired.  One proud girl, and mama, to be sure.

~Quiet time with the brothers.  Looking through photo albums, before our digital camera arrived.  I must get back to printing more photos for each of their photo albums.
Also, Forrest is finally back in his bedroom after four months of a stalled and started and stalled reno.  A few more details and I will share...

~Huckley is continally trucking our kindling and logs around the house.  He loves to move them to various locations, and "build" a fire, sometimes with a silk.  It makes a mess, but it is so darn sweet.  He has such a serious look about his "work", I dare not stop him!

~ Most of the outdoor play this week has been re-constructing Snowflake Village.  It has gotten colder again, with a few sprinklings of snow, so the children were excited to be back in the Village.

This is our little kitchen garden under a few feet of snow.  While they played, I dreamed of the fruit, vegetables and flowers I wanted to grow, right below where they are each standing.  I have always tried, ever since my oldest was born, to really be present in the moment and not ever wish for a stage to hurry up and be over, as I know it will be all too soon.  I don't want to ever hear myself say, "Oh, I really want him to be done with that!" or "It will be so much better when she isn't doing that anymore."  So I am trying to enjoy this winter, this coldness, this grey spell for all it is worth.

Though, it seems Forrest is thinking about playing in the dirt, too.

Huckley won't be brought inside, if he can help it.  Within two weeks he has gone from disliking outdoor play, to reveling in it.  Perhaps it is because he found a favourite sand shovel and is moving snow, little bits at a time, in an unhurried, purposeful way.  He refuses his mitts as they won't allow him to grasp the shovel that way, and the other two children followed his lead ~ I'm not sure how they stand the cold for so long!  Funny, there hasn't been a single complaint, though.  Picking your battles, remember?

And inside, there is a little Valentine magic emerging on the Nature Table, which the littlest has discovered.

And once mama remembered to be a positive barometer, the whole household was feeling the love...

Yesterday, I helped my three year old daughter with one of her puzzles and she looked at me and smiled and said, "Mama, you are a really good teacher."  Oh, if she only knew...it is such a difficult path some days.  Thank goodness the rewards are looking up at me and whispering such loving kindness.

pantry goodness

The seed orders have been placed and now we await the lovely little packages to arrive in the mail.  Oh, just the kind of excitement needed right about now!  The days are lengthening, but it really feels like we are in the thick of it, still.

I find at this time, just before placing my orders, I survey the freezers and the pantry shelves.  Doing a little mid-winter inventory on our harvest season last fall, and wondering what we need more of in this year's garden, and what we could let go of to make way for something else.  It's rather exciting for me ~ perhaps that is rather telling of just how quiet and simple our life really is.

Every month, I bring up a box full of pantry goodness from the cellar.  It might seem like a rather, ahem, *careful* way of putting food by, but it works rather well for us.  Last fall, I stored all the canned goods by the month, ensuring that even in May before the garden is producing anything other than greens, we still are eating lots of canned fruit and chutneys and jams and relishes.  I often do way more applesauce and there weren't even any canned pears this year...that will have to change!

And then there's the monthly large shopping bag full of fruit and veggies from the freezer...

This is our February stash and these two couldn't be more excited.  They have grand ideas for Valentine's cherry tarts and chili with corn  in it, and frozen peaches to munch on before bed.  It is like a little holiday on the first of the month when I bring up the harvest from the cellar.  It is also a huge affirmation of all the hard work that went into preparing this harvest.  Good thing every year this gets easier with more helping hands itching to work!

And at this time of year, I love any feeling of holiday at all!