mountain hikers

mountain hikers, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Another day of staying at home! It is hard to believe how well five and one almost two can play together. At one point today during the building of a sandbox moat John overturned the water table onto himself and got a tidal wave across his whole body and up his nose. Here he is in outfit number three of the day.

Ella has been playing faeries under the pine tree, and John is generally the sandbox man. They seem happy with their small lives.

hauling some gravel

hauling some gravel, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

magnolia

magnolia, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

mister

mister, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

tree climber

tree climber, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

seven days later

My week in the country is coming to an end. I'm packing up the piles of little laundry and stacking the books. I'm dying to download some pictures...the stag beatle, the black widow spider. One would think I'd been on a National Geographic bug tour. Today I went shopping. Alone. I looked at shoes, clothes, you name it. Wow, clothes are expensive. It was absolutely strange to be in a mall by myself. When I got home the kids were listening to opera and playing dressup in a dim, incense shrouded living room.

I read a book this week. Julie and Julia, My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell. She cooks all the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of Frecnch Cooking in one year. Now I want to buy a set of Julia Child DVDs. I have the book. I doubt that my vegetarian husband could bear too many of the recipes, but perhaps we can take on the fish and vegetables.

More stories and pictures to come.

going to the zoo

I wanted to do something for Ella today. I had considered taking her to the Children's Museum in Richmond, but parts of it were closed today. This morning I offered her some choices and she picked the zoo. Then the earache came back and we headed out to the nearest Patient First. She was scared to be seeing a new doctor, but that turned out fine and she just has a fluid filled eardrum--no infection. In the meantime, the day is really heating up. We got to the zoo in the early afternoon and it was mighty hot for us mountain folk. Hand feeding the giraffes made up for the sweltering weather. Baby was quite the fusser and wanted to be carried instead of walking or riding in the jogger stroller. He liked the monkey's and can do a good imitation.

Beat.

once again

I just lost a short post about succotash and death by sore throat.

The children and are off taking the rest cure at my mothers. It is a very southern style bed and breakfast with starched white sheets, homemade biscuits, and a nightly whipoorwill.

I'm working on the mission statement for The Little School while the baby is napping on the sofa. Ella was very excited about going to work with my mother today. She is a nanny and her young charges are Ella's friends. I'm going to make Ina Garten's turkey meatloaf today and little red potatoes with viniagrette. Then John and I are going to take his trucks out to to a shady spot in the gravel driveway and move some earth and build some roads.

throat coat

Today is day six of the worst sore throat of my life. I've been to the doctor and she deemed it a virus. Two or three ibuprofen and something hot to drink every four hours are keeping me alive, but this bug has ruined a weeks worth of good things, including my forty first birthday. Last night John took me to Mountain Lake for the night. What could have been a lovely little trip was more of a sanatorium visit, a full nights sleep without children waking me up. Ella's last day of preschool was a bit of a blur, but I'm glad that John's parents were here to take the children for a few days.

We have come to the point at which we need a codeword for "I am too sick to take care of the children."

For the first time in my life that Throat Coat tea just isn't viscous and sickly sweet ENOUGH.

links for later, school website models

http://www.austinwaldorf.org/

http://www.corvalliswaldorfschool.org/

http://www.princetonwaldorf.org/

http://www.ashwoodwaldorf.org/

http://www.aurorawaldorf.org

http://schoolofthebeartooths.org/

http://www.sunrisewaldorfschool.org/

http://www.phillywaldorf.com/

http://www.portlandcm.org/opal.htm

http://orchardvalleyschool.org/

clean your basket

clean your basket, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

last day of preschool

class, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

note to self

Cait's Sangria
(hope this isn't the secret recipe)

-2 bottles cheap white wine (pinot grigio or similar, the Target box wine is perfect) 1 bottle cheap champagne or Italian Prosecco 1/2 bottle sprite or 7-up or Gingerale 1/2 bottle club soda (lemon-lime flavor)

the fruit

ladybird

Ella and her friend were talking in the back seat while I was driving to the farmer's market.

Friend: "Do you like Mary Kate and Ashley Olson?"
Ella:"I don't know."

Ella: "Do you like Ladybird Johnson?"
Friend: "I don't know."

I was proud as heck of Ella when she explained why we were driving to the Farmer's Market after her friend offered some information about how Wal-Mart was much closer. Ella very politely explained that "in our family" we don't eat food that could possibly have pesticides and chemicals on it because they might be poisonous.

This is unrelated but John Lennon's piano was at the market, and I wanted Ella to see it. It travels around the country to sites of violence and it is currently at the Squires Center at Virginia Tech. Imagine.

hitting his stride

stride, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

There are only three more days of school, so I thought I'd take some photos there each day. Jenny helped John make a caterpillar cap. He was quite happy to have a marker at the table with the big kids. He holds his writing implement well which will serve him well in future years. He was concerned that he had written on the tablecloth and had to be reassured that it was fine. He does not seem to have that concern at home. His favorite place at preschool is in housekeeping, that and the Plan City garage.

John may not have found his voice, but he has certainly found his volume button. This week he is testing out all the sounds he can make and enjoying the resulting noise.

browns

browns, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

rabbit

After dinner tonight the children and I were sitting on the porch when a little brown rabbit with white spots hopped down the driveway and paused at the top of the stairs. If John could have said the word rabbit he would have. He was pointing incredulously.... mere hours after seeing The Velveteen Rabbit.

All three children were very attentive during the play. It was sweet and well done. We talked to the rabbit after lunch. Ella never likes strangers in costumes. It is always nice to hear the sections of the story that were read at our wedding. After getting up at five thirty this morning I'm feeling pretty shabby myself tonight.

kindergarden

I went to kindergarden today to fill out some paperwork and was strangely happy with the experience. The principal was young and well spoken, and Ella's class will have fifteen students. In the office every child that came in was welcomed by name in a heartfelt way. Children were sitting in little reading nooks in the hallways reading quietly. It was shabby yet homey. Driving over there I was ready to see yet another manifestation of redneck Mayberry. I was ready to reveal that I have already signed Ella up for the private school for the first grade, but I kept that one to myself. The custodian came in so cheerfully to help a little boy get his glue open with some pliers. I remembered Mr. Wilson who used to open stuck thermoses when I was in school.

Tomorrow we are skipping school and going to Abingdon to the Barter Theatre to see The Velveteen Rabbit with Isaac.

hold on tight

hold on tight, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

A certain young lady is turning five, and she had some friends over today to play and eat frozen yogurt cake and talk about bugs. John was a tag-along, but he was much indulged and fussed over. Our hosts had put up a swing for him, and spent the afternoon pulling wagons, being pulled in wagons, sliding, climbing, eating blueberries, and being rubbed down with spf 55. The weather was phenomenal, and the view of the mountains was amazing. There was a post cake dessert called "landfill". At one point I think I referred to it as compost. The kids were giddy with the concept. There were gummy worms mixed into chocolate pudding with some sort of crushed cookies---dirt, worms, and trash.

party wagon

party wagon, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

swing

swing, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

buttercups

buttercups, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

He said "flower" on sunday.

poppy

poppy, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

hikers

hikers, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

wild flowers

wild flowers, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Here is our backyard. This gentle arc of wildflowers makes it just about perfect this time of year. We mow a path down to the creek and the compost pile, but that is about it. The birds here are amazing. This week we have had many rose breasted grossbeaks and indigo buntings. We got a new finch feeder and the little stools are lined up below the bathroom window for goldfinch viewing. The house wrens also seem to love that maple tree outside the bathroom window. I think they may have nested in the wall of our house last year, but we have been diligent with filling in all the knot holes in the cedar this year.

Farmer Marketing

Ella said that Jenny was absent today because she had to go take a class on farmer marketing. First there was farmshoring, now there is farmer marketing. (This coming from the little girl who taught me that "mice" are a "whole bunch of mouses".)

Speaking of farmer marketing, our CSA starts on tuesday and I'm so excited for the weekly vegetable horde. There was talk of baby lettuce, arugula, turnips, and radishes

I got some kale last week at the market, and I cooked it this way.

Miso Braised Kale

Big bag of kale
four cloves of garlic, minced or microplaned
knob of ginger, one inch
tablespoon of miso ( I used some dashi miso which has the smoky dried bonito in it, but any organic red or white miso would be good) blend miso paste with a 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp of olive oil
soy
sesame seeds

saute garlic and ginger in the olive oil
add washed chopped greens, stirring and flipping so that the garlic doesn't burn
when the kale is almost limp add the miso mixed with the water. Add enough water to keep the bottom of the pan covered for ten minutes. You can put the top on. In the last few minutes let the water evaporate almost completely.
Sprinkle with good soy or tamari; I use the dark mushroom soy sauce
Sprinke with freshly toasted sesame seeds

school of rock

In Defense of Dandelions and Fairies, Week One

Discovery-examination and dissection of common backyard wildflowers, fingerpainting dandelions, sponge print violets, live plant pressing ground ivy, cut and paste fleabane, sweetened condensed milk painting buttercups

Circle- history, uses and songs about backyard wildflowers

Small groups-geometry (2 D shapes), math workbooks, classmate bingo, writing in journals, cut and paste flower parts, wildflower walk with collecting bags, Mother's Day surprises

Stories- A Dandelion's Life, Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers, The Tiny Seed, Planting a Rainbow, The Reason for a Flower, Dandelions


In Defense of Dandelions and Fairies, Week Two
Discovery Time- Fairies in the Garden Painting, The Unicorn and the Lilacs cut and paste, Barney Foo Foo Fairy Puppets, Flower Fairies, Fairy Houses

Circle-Unicorn and Lilac Story, movie "Kristen's Fairy House", a study of Fairy Houses, Flower
Fairies

Small Group- geometry (3-D), math workbooks, attribute blocks, reading practice, writing in journals, Fairies and Elves Game, Alphabet Fairies

Stories-Kristen's Fairy House, A Fairy Went A-Marketing, Chipmunk Song, Rabbit Spring, Fairy Houses Everywhere

pond

pond, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We went for a walk here this afternoon. John sobbed. Isaac was tired and grumpy. Ella was bossy. I was sweaty and my t-shirt was too tight. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. We did see a snake on the trail after preaching to Ella about watching out for snakes. This place is a snake paradise. My pictures are out of focus, but here he is.

if wishes were horses

Ella jumped onto my lap last night and proclaimed that wishes do not come true. She has been wishing on eyelashes, wishing wells, and dandelions, and not one of her wishes has come true.

Apparently she always wishes for giant fruits and cakes, as in six foot bananas and cakes the size of our living room. And she never tells her wish.

yep, grit blog

Awendaw

Awendaw is one of the most delicious legacies of the native cuisine.. The following recipe is slightly enriched by a little extra butter and egg- and gussied up just a bit by beating the egg whites separately – but otherwise it is the real McCoy. A completely nontraditional variation is delicious: fold in 1 cup of chopped, blanched fresh asparagus with the egg whites. Serve as a midday dish or a separate dinner course with a green salad.

9” cake pan, greased
Preheat oven to 375*\

1 cup Plain cooked grits ( Old fashioned ones that take a long time to cook)
2 tbs. Butter
¾ cup milk
3/4 cup white cornmeal
3/4tsp. Salt
3 eggs, separated

Combine the cooked grits, butter, and milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan and slowly bring to the boiling point, stirring constantly.
Add the cornmeal all at once, remove from the heat and beat well. Reserve until lukewarm. Beat in the salt and the 3 egg yolks.

Beat the egg white until stiff and fold in to the batter. Pour into a greased 9” pan and bake in a preheated oven at 375* about 20 minutes, until puffed and just brown. Serve hot with butter.

From:
Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie by Bill Neal who also wrote Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking. Bill was born and grew up in SC and later graduated form Duke and did graduate work at UNC, Chapel Hill. He cooked at La Residence and at Crook’s Corner. He edited the work of Elizabeth Lawrence in THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE. His three children , friends, and those of us who cherish southern cookery mourn his early death.

Aunt Lola's Spoon Bread

Aunt Lola’s Spoon Bread

1 slice of bread, crust off
4 cups milk
1 cup corn meal
3 eggs
1Tbs. Butter
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking powder

Heat 2 cups of milk with the bread and cornmeal to boiling, stirring well. Remove form heat and add slowly to beaten eggs, Add butter and other 2 cups of milk. Sprinkle baking powder and salt over the top and beat into the batter quickly. Bake in a greased 2 qt. Casserole dish 55-60 min. at 350*

spider

Ella had a big spider in her room this morning, so I caught it for her in a mason jar. She brought it downstairs to show off and John took one look at it and went to the bookshelf. He brought his father two books, The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Miss Spider's Listening Walk. He likes to keep a few reference books on hand.

Yesterday afternoon I took the children to the Pond with a few playgroup friends. The cool mist was hanging at the ridgeline, but it didn't rain. The baby geese were yellow green, and the children found a lot of good insects in the damp leaves. We saw some beautiful black cup mushrooms filled with rainwater. The Portlandish weather had been easy on the eyes and good for all my plants.

The garden is looking especially lush with the rain and all the new additions. There are more perennials to come this week from Vermont. My sister in law sent me a gift certificate for plants for my impending birthday, and I ordered more than I can even recall. I'm ordering a truckload of mulch this week, and the house is being painted towards the end of May. Then we'll have a few pictures.

blue ridge mountains and fractions

blue ridge mountains and fractions, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Yesterday Ella took this piece of paper and wrote 1/2 on each side. Then she found the scissors and cut it in half. She held it up proudly and asked me if she could explain this to me. Fractions. She loves them. Thirds, fourths. Oh, Judy, I could kiss you.

I know, I haven't written much lately. It is for your own good. Living in my head hasn't been particularly fun lately. I am a bitter old hag, but I'm working on it.

big and little

big and little, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

she went that way

she went that way, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Today was Sharry's retirement party. I made my fourteen pounds of hummus and got the children simutaneously clean. The location was beautiful, but I'm just not cut out for parties. There are alway just too many people there for me, especially any party that requires fourteen pounds of hummus. Hopefully the guest of honor had a good time. There was music and dancing...and children of all sizes running amok. I'm going to say it. Some of those children were absolutely horrible...climbing in the landscaping with complete disregard for the plants and climbing in the rocky water gardens. If my children ever behave that way I hope someone brings them to me by the hand. I told one boy, a second grader, that he couldn't climb down some steep rocky landscaping and he looked at me like I had just crawled out of my spaceship.

girls

girls, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We went to a big birthday party after school today. The whole class was there. Ella loved being at the big playground with all her school mates. The seventy five percent chance of rain turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Later the kids and I went to the natural food store and the asian market for supplies. John was quite unhappy until he could ride in the little truck shopping cart. Ella was quite interested in the bucket of big squid. I got all my supplies for making appetizers for Sharry's party. Everyone seems to be making fancy food, but I'm making three kinds of hummus, traditional, roasted red pepper with smoked paprika, and a green one with spinach and cilantro. I'm going to make some homemade whole grain bread and buy some pita and baguettes.

Bone tired.

ellajohn

ellajohn, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

caitlin hammaren

She was killed at Virginia Tech last monday while Ella was in preschool. I had never met her, but she was the one familiar face among those lost in the senseless tragedy that occurred here. A few weeks ago she sat behind us in a local lebanese restaurant. She laughed so loudly. She was speaking mile a minute impeccable French. She captured my attention immediately with her joie de vivre. Then someone captured her attention. My baby. They gave each other the eye over and over. Not every young girl takes the time to connect with a young man who is only 18 months old. She took those moments. And now she is gone.

john and ella

john and ella, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

it ain't easy being green

it ain't easy being green, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I've been thinking that the only gun one should be allowed to carry is a musket.

Ella wore her little Virginia Tech shirt to school today even though she didn't know why. Some children in her class know what happened, and one even saw the photographs of the shooter with his guns. That kind of parenting verges on negligence in my book. If Ella asks us a question about the shootings, I'll certainly tell her the truth, but so far she is blissfully ignorant.

high five

high five, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

When I clean up a room I sing the clean up song. Sometimes there aren't any children in the room.

small town

The town is wavering. The streets were almost empty this morning with the university closed and the public school closed. The parking lots were filled with media vans, and last night all the news big heads were walking around campus. The university is large, but this is a small town. It is somewhat geographically isolated, and before yesterday I might have joked that the worst thing that could have happend to a student here was a bad hangover, a burn from a tanning bed, or maybe a girl was weighed down by the weight of her own sparkling lip gloss. Today, I see these people as fragile, breakable, terrified children.

We heard about a shooter from another mother on a cell phone. A friend and I were talking in the parking lot of the coffee shop and the mother on the phone said, "Get in your car; someone is shooting people on campus." We raced to Ella's school which was already locked down and spent the next few hours there. The children watched a movie in the library with no windows and the teachers found them a snack. No one seemed to notice that school wasn't ending. At this point we were incredulous that one or perhaps even two people had been killed. I would have never expected thirty two. We were maybe a mile away. We were very worried about our friends who were there, and it was hard to get through on the telephone for the rest of the day. I was happy to be near the children and know that they were safe. Their teacher was doing a nice job balancing her own concerns with the twenty four little people locked behind several doors.

When we could go I got out of town as quickly as possible. At the grocery store the power was out because of the high winds, but we shopped in the dim light. The checker had the radio blaring and I asked her to turn it down so that the children wouldn't hear. She wouldn't so I blabbed loudly about nothing for five minutes. If you want to talk about the root of the problem I'd say that people are insensitive to the violence that they expose children to, but I'm going to save that for another day.

At home I made lunch before letting Ella watch TV so that I could come downstairs and check the news on the computer.

Today Ella had school. She still doesn't know about the killings, but some of the children do know. I don't want her thinking that things like that happen at "daddy's school". Many of the children have older siblings and I expect it is impossible to keep that information from spreading. Many people live here because it seems to be such a safe, child friendly environment, and this incident has really shattered that.

We went to the park and flew a kite this afternoon. It was so bright and sunny.

I know that devastating incidents like this can happen anywhere. The stories are resonating though these hills tonight.

I'll be your kite chaser

I'll be your kite chaser, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

run

run, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

John is home

Thanks for all the calls and emails. We are all home and fine. John was in Martinsville today instead of in the office.

hoot

hoot, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We headed down to Roanoke for a rainy sunday of thai food and science museum mini golf. We got Ella signed up for Chemistry Camp for mid July. A few months ago I had to stop her from mixing the various shampoos and conditioners in the shower to make "potions". Now we just have "potion" night. It is friday. It happens in the bathtub. They both make one potion and have to use it to wash themselves. Friday is also violin lesson day, cookie day, and spaghetti and "meatballs" night. Last week we made our own recipe for tofu meatballs, and it will forever be referred to as "trickin' chicken". Oh, to be five and loving words.

Trickin' Chicken

1/3 loaf good bread made into crumbs in the cuisinart with one garlic clove, toasted

1 pound tofu

3 tbsp brewer's yeast

sage, parsley, and oregano

teaspoon salt

ground pepper

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

6 mushrooms, finely chopped and sauteed with 1 onion, two cloves of garlic, and I had a shallot so I added it.

Pulse herbs, spices, tofu and bread crumbs. Add water to make a cream cheese consistancy. Mix in sauteed mushrooms and onions and refridgerate. Saute in 1 tbsp olive oil until browned and then pour in two tablespoons of balsamic, shake until evaporated, and then add a quart of marinara. I let it all sit for twenty minutes. Serve with spaghetti.

Ella declared this delicious, and she likes all kinds of meaty meatballs. John ate these with his hands. Big John thought they were "trickin".

golf

golf, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Old School Freight Train

In case you want to know what the inside of my car sounds like.

I'm blueish and sore throatish. We were supposed to go to the zoo in Ashboro tomorrow, but there is a ninety percent chance of heavy rain, so we'll wait for a better day.

Oh, this is good. We got a new tent, a big airmattress, and another bag. We were getting a bigger cooler, but young John started going screamy in the store, so that will be another day. We are ready for some of our summer campout destinations, Floyd Fest, First Landing State Park, and the Breaks Interstate Park.

show me your new teeth

show me your new teeth, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ebb and flow

roof pattern, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella thinks that she may have outgrown her wheelbarrow. She needs a greenhouse for spring, and she is going to grow an apple tree to hang a rubber horse swing on. She is saving her coins to buy a homeless man a poncho.

On the other hand, she has learned how to tackle boys. She is fast, strong, and flies through the air like a professional football player.

Kid's Craft Weekly

Subscribe already. This week it is all about books and all the crafty goodness surrounding making books, bookmarks, and bookbags.

colonial beach

colonial beach, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

We spent the weekend in this quaint little cottage on the river. It snowed. John cooked. We walked on the beach for three minutes. We drank coffee. It was perfect. Thank you Doris.

john

john, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

"hiyah"

"hiyah", originally uploaded by ellajohn.

I don't know where I've been all week. Spring struck and we've been outside. There were Easter eggs to be dyed. There were all those baskets of laundry to put away and noses to be wiped. Last night I went to another meeting about starting a new cooperative preschool. Tomorrow morning we are driving to Charlottesville to meet John's parents for lunch and then we are going on a weekend getaway planned by John. I have no idea where we are going, and he has packed a lot of vegetables and blackstrap molasses. I'm excited about our second child free adventure. I don't even know if the internet goes where we are going. I kind of hope so.

Smokey Mountain Breakdown

If you aren't reading this then I don't know what to tell you.

pink

pink, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

Ella and I went to an egg hunt on saturday, just the two of us. She had a great time hunting for well hidden eggs. They were up in trees, down by the creek, and I even found an egg from a previous year's hunt.

It was a home improvement weekend. Hopefully our treehouse is closed to all nesting woodpeckers, chickadees, and squirrels for the moment. We live in a natural cedar house clinging to the side of a steep wooded hill, a treehouse. As a small token for the birds, John put up a birdhouse. It was claimed within 24 hours. We weeded and planned some plant purchases. I think John finally realized how hard it is to actually accomplish something real with John and Ella "helping".

Ella has been a bit distracted. A seven year old girl is moving in next door, and Ella has been stalking her non-stop. She even has Barbies and Brats dolls and drinks Kool-Aid. It is nice that she will have a friend to ride the bus with when Kindergarden starts next year. She calls me "ma'am" and compliments our house. Last night she was waiting when Ella got home from the egg hunt. She had a bug jar and was planning on becoming a scientist. They happily caught bugs until dark. Ella said, "I don't think you'll like her mama; she smokes cigarettes and then throws them on the ground". I just told her that not every family is like ours. It will work out.

Or we'll just move. Driven away by a seven year old in low rise jeans.

saturday

saturday, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

mud day

mud day, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

She has a talent for finding salamanders. After lunch she collected her hula hoops and headed out in a raincoat. At three we put all her clothes in a bag at the front door because they were so muddy, and she had an early warm bath.

three loveys

three loveys, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

This is lamby, Ethan, and green baby. Ethan isn't a regular in the crib, but John wanted him in there tonight. Usually there is a small brown beagle, and he lines them up across his chest and covers them with his blanket.

Snuck Up No Adult

Someone at Ella's school called her a "snuck up, no adult". Aren't all four and five year olds snuck up no adults. Anyway, I bet the little culprit didn't even know what it meant.

Stuck up know it all.

This burst of spring has me questioning our decision to move to this little smalltown. The neighborhood kids have come out to play, toy machine guns and all. Seven year olds who are allowed to walk on the street all alone to talk to bigger boys on bikes. This isn't Mayberry, and I'm starting to notice.

Ella and I did a drive by at a house for sale. It is about the same size as our house now, but it looks so tiny from the front. It only has one bathroom. Chicken friendly but not goat friendly. It does have a lot of character and the sweetest new tin roof. The elementary school is in sight and there is a farm across the street and a plant nursery just a few doors down. John's office is five minutes away. I'm not seriously shopping, just getting some ideas out there. It is also in a school district that would work for middle or high school.

signs of spring

watermelon, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

yardgirl

yardgirl, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

yardman

yardman, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

The Year Without Toilet Paper

The Year Without Toilet Paper is a must read from the New York Times. You can also read this family's blog at noimpactman.com

housekeeping

housekeeping, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

John loves his morning visit to the preschool.

whale

whale, originally uploaded by ellajohn. Ella has been very excited about whales and dolphins for the past two weeks. The children made this whale from heavy paper that they sewed together, stuffed, and then painted.

steiner preschool link

I know it is in Australia, but it sounds lovely. Here is another one.

sunflower whole wheat

sunflower whole wheat, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

williamsburg

John had a conference in Williamsburg on friday, so the whole family made a weekend of it. We drove down thursday night after class in the pouring rain. In the morning Granny came over to the hotel for a swim, and then she and Grampy took the kids to Newport News to the Virginia Living Museum. Science girl was all over that. The kids then spent the night with their grandparents while mama and daddy went out on a date. We had dinner at The Blue Talon Bistro, and it was very delicious, quiet and calm. Oddly enough, I had worked at the old Cheese Shop in the same space while in college. This place is that country french casual sort of swanky that is running rampant in Williamsburg today. Above the big bar Julia Child plays constantly on a flat screened television. Thursday night is cassoulet night.

Saturday we joined the family for a chilly walk in Williamsburg, lunch at Berrets, and an afternoon of playing with the kids. Granny fitted Ella for her new colonial gown, and both kids were wearing tricorns with feathers and cockades. Sunday we headed back to Appalachia via Charlottesville and Route 29. Not to continually obsess about food, but we had lunch at Sakura on NW 14th in Charlottesville, and it was fantastic. The kids were gobbling up seaweed salad, udon noodles, sushi, and rice like little starved puppies. The waitress was wearing pants that were eight inches too long and those japanese flip flops with tabis, the white socks. When she wasn't smiling at John and Ella she was doing sodoku.

Good weekend.

ella miranda draws

ella miranda draws, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

crayon

crayon, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

dog street walk

four, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

ella gets colonial

tricorn, originally uploaded by ellajohn.

March, Week One and Two, Whales and Dolphins

Discovery Time: painting whales, whale puppets, pin the tail on the whale, paper bag whales, baleen experiment, blubber experiment

Circle Time: Comparing and contrasting whales and fish, comparing and charting whale sizes, teeth versus baleen, learning about whale tails, discovering how whatles stay warm (blubber and migration)

Small Group: subtraction word problems, math workbooks, phonics workbooks ( beginning sounds -f and -g), journal writing

Story Time: As Big as a Whale, A Symphony of Whales, Baby Beluga, The Whales, Big Blue Whale, Amos and Boris, Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?


Week Two More Whales and Dolphins
Discovery Time: dolphin hand puppets, dolphin pod collages, rainbow fish, identifying and coloring whales and dolphins

Circle: Understanding whale dolphin families, communication and echolocation, identifying different types of dolphins

Small Group: recognizing and creating 2-D and 3-D patterns, math workbooks, phonics workbooks (final consonants -m.-d, -f, -g), journal writing

Story: Friendly Dolphins, The Rainbow Fish, I Can Read About Whales and Dolphins, The Magic School Bus and the Ocean Floor, dolphin/whale video excerpt

waiting for daddy

waiting for daddy, originally uploaded by ellajohn.