Quotable Sunday

Well then what's to be the reason for becoming man and wife?
Is it Love that brings you here or Love that brings you life?
Or if loving is the answer, then who's the giving for?
Do you believe in something that you've never seen before?
Oh there's Love, there is Love.

The Wedding Song Lyrics

10 Simple Things I Love

Annie tagged me so here it goes...
{lollipops}
{reading}
just got this one and this one for the kids
and still reading this one

{this music}
{lemongrass essential oil}
{painting}
took some time to do this by myself the other day, I wasn't sure what was going to come of it, just me, my emotion, and some watercolors

{this tea}
{my koala bear)

{this blog}
{my husband at home}
{this color for my son's room}

Shades of White

all around us these days
porcelain baby skin
warmly cream lambskin
rough edged finger nail tips--
broken, cracked
reddish whites of tired eyes
crisp, crinkly snow
crumpled sheets that have been washed
over and over again
swimming in white this winter

Sick Again?!?

Can it really be?

It hit my oldest two in the middle of the night last Thursday and it nearly hit me (in a projectile-like fashion) and it has remained with us (changing forms) since then. So here we have sat/ laid/ slumped for days.

It did give me the chance to make some chicken soup for the whole fam though. I don't particularly like chicken soup, and when I do eat it, I would actually prefer it out of a can, but there is something about making it for a sick bunch of loved ones that feels so good. They slurp the stuff up and ask for more.

With all of this sitting, I have gotten a chance to revisit a sweater that has been in the works for the man featured in the last post for over a year now. It was Grossly Misshapen Christmas Sweater 2009 and it is now in danger of becoming that same sweater of 2010. I don't know why I can't seem to get this thing right. Onward I go though. Will post a farewell shot of it if I have rip it out again.

Quotable Sunday

I want to have fun, I want to shine like the sun
I want to be the one that you want to see
I want to knit you a sweater
Want to write you a love letter
I want to make you feel better
I want to make you feel free
Hmm, Hmm, Hmm, Hmm,
Want to make you feel free
I want to make you feel free

{Joni Mitchell}

Wednesday Reviews: Making a Family Home

For those of you who don't know, I have a problem. This bookshelf of mine is continuing to grow at break-neck speeds. I can't stop. Amazon is just so good at making recommendations and the choice are nearly limitless. What about the library, you say? Yes, I know but it just isn't nearly as much fun. I am at least reading them now. Throughout our year in Portland, I simply acquired them but never had the stamina to even make it through one.

Making a Family Home by Shannon Honeybloom is the latest to move on and off my nightstand. I could not wait for this one to arrive and immediately picked up up after finishing Simple Home. I really wanted to love it. I am always looking for ideas on how to make my home feel a little cozier than it is and or ways to put it together more cohesively. I have grand ideas but have no idea how to make them work in a space. I was hoping that this book would be the answer to all of my Waldorfy decorating woes and it just was not. The book contains some stunning photography of Honeybloom's home and family and for a reader who is not familiar with Waldorf notions about play spaces, toys, natural materials, etc... this would definitely be a worthwhile read. Unfortunately for me, very little of the material was new. I do appreciate what the author has to offer--gentle advise on why to turn the t.v. off, the importance of eating together as a family, etc... It is pretty easy to come off the wrong way and, for me, she does a great job of not being preachy, of being a human with ideas on how she wants to raise her family. I like than and I think I would like her; I just didn't love the book.

The Dailiness of it All

Since the birth of Little C, our third, and our return to New Jersey, our lives have taken on a pretty regular rhythym again. We make bread on Mondays after the naps, I do laundry on Wednesdays and Sundays, paperwork on Thursdays, we eat soup on Sundays (and have recently returned to the church, we paint or craft on Tuesdays, etc... Most of the time I relish in the regularity. I love knowing what each day is going to bring and, too, love the flexibility it affords us as a family.
Recently, though, I am weary of the tasks that comprise our days. Maybe it is the winter (February is such a tough month), or the sickness (we seem to be through it now), or the fact that our 6 month old has decided not to sleep, or knowing that we are moving into a house in less than four weeks that currently has no kitchen, or a toxic combination of all of the above...
Today as I was kneading bread (which is usually such a calming task for me), I found myself almost fighting with it. Grabbing in, holding on--not the easy folding and flowing of weeks past. We need a change of scenery. Tomorrow night we will spend with my husband's parents. Hopefully we will return on Thursday with slightly fresher eyes.

Dress Up and Snow

Our collection of dress up clothes has been slowly growing over the past few months. My daughter discovered some old Halloween costumes of mine and we have acquired some from my mother. There is something very post-modern, disjointed and all together fantastic about the outfits that the kids put together on any given day. Recently, my middle child insists on wearing our green flowered mini-skirt (mine from a mystery dinner night long ago) over his fireman costume on any trip outside in the snow.

Oh to be three again...

Oh the Weather Outside it Frightful

but this fire is so delightful

and since we've no place to go,


Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Wednesday Reviews: Simple Home

My reading lately has been limited to interior design books--subject matter that has never intrigued me before our house renovation project. I occasionally picked up design magazines and then felt mildly embarrassed about reading them. As of the past few years, I have become less of a "fake" adult and more interested in the color, texture, and overall feel of my home.

The Simple Home is divided into sections mostly devoted to certain spaces in the home--the entryway, kitchen, workspaces, etc... Throughout the book are examples of how to repurpose materials and revalue pieces that are old and forgotten. The authors also make some color, floor covering and tile suggestions for their "simple home." For me, some of the rooms they showcase are a little too austere, too sterile for my taste. I am not a fan of concrete floors, for example, and walls of exclusively cool colors are just a little too cool for me. But there are some lovely suggestions as well. I love their suggestions for sheer window coverings and how to add texture to a room with homemade/ handknit items.

Overall, the book has helped me form my own opinions/ ideas about how to proceed in our new house.

Drawings

Do you ever have those moments with your kids (if you have kids) where life seems to be plodding along normally and then suddenly, triggered by any ol' ordinary event, you really notice how they have changed? I had one of these the other day with my oldest. We hadn't done much drawing together over the past few months--some painting and some craft work and even some coloring but not free form drawing. She got it into her head that she wanted to draw her whole family the other day. While I was ironing, she did just that. Each member of her family was drawn on a separate sheet of paper. I knew what she was doing and I was peacefully ironing like 500 yards of fabric and not thinking much of it (my mother-law-law introduced me to the idea that ironing could be calming--peacefulness and ironing never went together for me before her). Then she came in bearing her drawing. Each family member was uniquely depicted. I had her youngest brother in my arms, her father had a hysterical moustache, and her other brother had ears that stuck out of his head with straight lines. What was most astounding for me is that she drew human-like forms. Some of us had bodies, others had arms and legs coming from our heads, and we had expressions too. And I was nearly struck dumb by how my child could depict her world in this way--how her interpretations are uniquely hers--how little (and how much) I have to do with it all.

Wednesday Review: The Birthday Book

January and February are big months for us--one turned four and one is about to turn three (although his behavior indicates that he has been three for some weeks now--I thought I knew what was coming with this one, and I was.very.wrong). Some birthday planning is underway. There are going to be rocket ships (or lions? or princesses? I think I am going to have to take over the decision-making here) , cupcakes (or a cake?), friends (or wait, yes I did hear yesterday a resounding "NO, I DON'T like my FRIENDS" accompanied by some jolting body movements and lips sticking an inch or two out from his face), Grandmas, and revelry (we hope).

I bought The Birthday Book a few months ago, started reading it and then lost focus. Despite my best efforts to prepare ahead of time, I am best under pressure. This book is written and organized quite well. Although many of the ideas have been described before, they laid out well which makes it a great go-to resource for party-planners who are looking for specific ideas for a 9 year old's birthday, for example. While I will likely never read the book from cover to cover, I betcha I will open it up every year at this time of year.

Project Home: Installment One {Duvet Cover}

Because I am completely overwhelmed by all of the craft projects I want to take on at the moment (like this, and this, and this), I have decided that I need to focus (focus?! what's that? not my strong point). For the year 2010, I am going to be crafting for home. Given that we are moving into a new to us, but very very old and in need of love, home, this seems like a good place to start. So aside from a sweater that I need to complete for the hubby, I am going to be knee deep in sewing, knitting, refinishing, and refurbishing (I am not ever quite sure what that means, but I will probably be doing it) crafty things for our new abode.

Installment one was a much-needed duvet cover for a little one out of Alexander Henry's fabric, Natura. I used a tutorial online and some common sense to put it together. It still needs buttons and a pillowcase, but its a start.

Monday Cooking Challenge

Curried Cauliflower Soup: A Success!

The kids love cauliflower, especially my girl. She will eat the stuff raw which she generally will not do with other veggies. So, I am constantly trying to come up with dishes that involve this white, brainy vegimatter to serve up for the whole family. I came across one in The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper yesterday and cooked it up for our challenge this week. I was a little nervous about the curry--I have used it in other dishes and the kiddos refused to eat it. But I persisted and they gobbled it up.
This is actually the first successful meal I have made from this cookbook. I love the show and saw the cookbook on many of my favorite blogs so it seemed a natural fit. For some reason, though, I don't love the book. The soup, though, has renewed my interest--going to try the meatballs next.
AND I have to say that the hand-held blender that my mother in law got for me last Christmas-just about the best present ever. No pouring, no blender clean-up, no batches. Beautiful. I hereby declare Sunday as Soup Day.

This concludes the Monday Meal Challenge series, dreamed up by Once Upon A Parent. Thanks for putting this together Annie. It has been so much fun.