{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.  Amanda Soule

Winter Unfolded

I have been living in anticipation of winter for so long that it is almost hard for me to believe that it is here.  And the best part is, I am enjoying it more this year than ever have before.  

Being from a warmer climate, the Northeast winters are something of a mystery to me.  I have lived here for almost eight years, and it is only now that I understand that whenever, I mean whenever I go outside, even if it is only to take out the trash or dump the compost, I must wear a coat if it is in January or February.  I do not know why it is has taken me so long to grasp that concept but I have finally gotten it.

As a result, I am enjoying the blustery outdoors a whole lot more--the icicles, the shots of red in seas of white, the enveloping layer of warmy white over almost everything--all of it reminds me of the wonders this world offers forth at any given moment in time.  How blessed we are, all of us.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny again today for the Yarn Along...

I have found so much solace as of late in my knitting and reading so the mere idea of this post brings me peace.  I used to save my knitting for the late night hours, leaving it untouched while the kids are rustling about.  Then I did some reading and thinking about the importance of surrounding our children with the "work" of living, of showing them how to care thoughtfully for what we have and for them to witness the particular love that goes into making a garment for them.  So the bulk of my knitting is still done at night when our home is quiet except for the clicking of my needles (and, err, thirtysomething reruns) in the background and I do pick it up for a row here and there during the rustling about hours.

Right now I am solidly in the middle of the On-the Goveralls for our youngest.  I made them in a 2T (he is a big 18 months) but it looks like these are sizing large.  He might be in them next winter rather than this one but I am keeping my fingers crossed for a couple wears this winter.

I am still reading The Skylark Sings with Me and Winter World and am planning to start Louise Bates Ames' Your Four Year Old and Your Five Year Old this week as I have a new 5 year old and a soon to be four year old.

Winter Walking

It has been cold, cold, cold (for us) around these parts this winter.  Our temperature has stayed in the mid-twenties for nearly the whole month of January.  This has meant a whole lot of indoor time for our little family of five and a whole lot of time together. 

We have started playing games, I have been knitting a lot, we have been painting, and cleaning, and sticking, and drawing.  And yesterday I think we just about ran out of things to do indoors and so we took ourselves outdoors and to the woods.

We have a middle child who is very sensitive to the cold so this meant only a little bit of time in these woods (and a whole lot more time spent getting on and taking off gear, but what can you do...). 

But the few moments that we spent out there were full of white, sparkly magic.  We saw birds' nests and animals tracks,  burrowed holes in the snow made into warm igloo-like animal homes--Bernd Heinrich's Winter World right before us, a true wonder to behold.

Nature Study Monday: Holly Tree

Our front and backyard are literally littered with holly trees.  They pop up in some of the most inopportune (and opportune) places and poked and prodded us throughout the spring, summer, and fall.  In a fervor, I pulled a couple of them out of the ground in the sweaty, angsty month of August.

In this winter season, though, I have our lovely holly trees to thank for vast numbers of winter birds that frequent our feeders.  Before we bought the house, I had a gardener friend visit to consult me on what plants, shrubs and trees should stay where they were, be relocated or removed.  She remarked that the holly trees, while not beautiful, would provide shelter for winter birds to roost in the winter.

And roost they do.  Chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, wrens, woodpeckers, doves, and so many more.  The red berries (which are a flowering white in the spring and summer months) are toxic to humans (although, it seems, not as toxic as we have been led to believe) but are loved by our winter birds.  The holly tree is obviously an evergreen so the birds do find shelter in its greenness while so many of our other trees are naked during this time of year.

So, in the end, I am grateful for these hollies of ours.  I just hope that I remember this in the heat of the summer...

{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.  Amanda Soule

Birthday Birdies

We had a very small birthday celebration for Norah this year. Last year, Mama got to invite all of her (Mama) friends over (and their children) which resulted in very little birthday fun for our little girl (and very little fun for her Mama, for that matter, as Norah spent most of the party crying).  So this year I listened a little bit better and Norah knew what she wanted-- three girls, two from her preschool class and a neighbor friend.  This is enough, she said, and we listened.  I have always adhered to the invite as many friends as you are old rule, but our five year old wanted three friends so this is exactly what she got.  

It was a rather dignified celebration--so dignified that I feared it was too dignified at moments.  The quiet was near alarming considering the chaos of our previous parties.  And the clean up? Under twenty minutes.  Oh yes, I could get used to this kind of party!

For the party favors, I knit five baby birds and we spent the first part of the party making nests for them.  I gathered small bits from around the house--acorns, leaves, pine cones, some string, etc...  The girls molded nests out of some modeling clay and then made their nests with the bits that I gathered.

All in all, a good time was had by all (I hope), but most especially by Norah, our little (big) girl.