wooly owl

I heard someone say yesterday that February felt like twenty eight Monday mornings in a row, and I think that might be true. It feels rushed and cold and wet, and I haven't had time to enjoy it. I don't know about the groundhog, but it has gone from eight degrees to the wintry mix to simply damp. I need to hibernate a little more.

through the roof

The chimney went through the roof today, and tomorrow we should be on our own with the new woodstove.  It is a little disconcerting to have someone saw a hole through the house. It has been cold and dirty, and the guy finally made the call on the mantel today. It can stay. We hired the oddest cat to do the work, and it has been a strange month communicating with him. I think he is some sort of chimney savant. I think he may be one of the most interesting people I've ever met, and I liked talking to him about woodstoves. He has a Danish one that is chest high with an oven in it. I told him I wanted to wood fired bread oven in the backyard, and he told me about baking cornbread and sweet potatoes in his stove.

We had another snow on friday, two inches of powder, and it seemed warm today when it got up to thirty five degrees.

I can't wait to sit in front of a warm fire.

snow

Waking up to no electricity took a lot of the excitement out of this beautiful snow. We didn't have power for two nights, but I think the kitchen on made it down to 48 degrees. We should be a significantly more prepared by the weekend as the chimney man was here today working on putting in our new chimney and installing the woodstove. He can't work tomorrow as the high is going to be in the teens, but says he'll be here thursday. The chimney is on the north side of the house and doesn't ever get any sun.

Ella fluffed up the chicken's house tonight for some added warmth, and John replaced the avian netting that goes over the top of their run. The wet snow tore that down, and earlier today one of the girls was roosting on one of the corner poles about six feet off the ground.

No one likes the bitter cold, but we need some nights and days like this to kill the ticks that seemed to run rampant last summer.

In  the dancing picture we had gone for a walk on the second snow day because it was feeling warmer outside than inside our house.

slackers

bread

My mother was here for a week and I wanted to take my ability to make bread to the next level. Well, I don't know if I made it there or not, but the results were delicious. I'm going to have to try it again by myself. The levain process is simple but sort of mind boggling in that you throw away most of the flour mixture each day. It takes an extra five pound bag of flour to get the levain started. Honestly, it is well worth the results, and then you have your starter that can be used from then on out. The two darker loaves in the bowl contain a pound of bacon. We won't be doing that ll the time, but it is probably the epitome of rich bread. It will be the perfect bread for a tomato sandwich with homemade mayo, or even a fried green tomato sandwich. It might be the best bread I've ever eaten.

gingerbread houses

at home

and now, a look at the holidays

The children are sad that the Christmas tree is coming down tomorrow. Grandmarie left this morning, and school starts again on Monday. We have loved being at home in this house for the holiday season, but we have had our share of shouting and sibling rivalry around here.  In their own naive way my children are very spoiled. They are also the only grandchildren on both sides of the family, and, heck, I like to spoil them too. Maybe we all need to rethink Christmas in the age of tiny screens. We have had many very good moments though, and I'm already looking forward to next year. As always I need to start earlier with my desire to give handmade gifts. I still have a few things to finish, but hopefully it will be worth the wait for the recipients. The children want more decorations next year, so perhaps we'll have a day for bringing in more greenery, more candles, and if the littles have anything to do with it---more lights. One thing we certainly will have next year is more warmth. The woodstove comes this Wednesday. We had twenty four hours without electricity, and the kitchen went down to 49 degrees. I wouldn't let the kids go out to play in the snow because I no way to really warm them up when they came in. Our twenty five advent candles 'warmed" the house during that dark day.

We had many delicious meals and treats. My mother and I made the Pain Au Bacon from Ken Forkish's new book Flour Water Salt Yeast with perfect results. It takes a week to grow the levain. It was definitely the holiday of bacon, and it came from farms across Virginia. Granny and Grandmarie both brought delicious bacon, and we had our own share from our friends at Leaping Waters Farm. Last night I braved the high winds and fired up the grill to cook some of their Ancient White Park steaks for my mother's birthday. It was  delicious beside Julia Child's braised leeks and the Pain Au Bacon.  On Christmas we had oyster stew and fried oysters from Rappahannock via the Fredricksburg Farmer's Market. I think we need to have iced water and kale salad for the rest of the month.

merry and bright

eve eve

it's starting to feel a lot like christmas

This is from last year because I haven't had the camera out for a few days. We have had our first snows, but amazingly enough none is on the ground. We had a little Solstice gathering last night, and Granny and Grampy are arriving today. The kids are crafting up a storm and wrapping gifts. I'm wondering what time they are going to bed tonight so I can get out my sewing machine for a few last minute spur of the moments.

december 19 1997

pause

The tree is up, and Christmas lights sparkle above every bed. Littles are making presents with paper and feathers and glue, and there is much cleaning up of little messes. We cut a basket of greenery to decorate the house this afternoon. Ella plays Joy to the World on her violin, and they are all singing along to the carol station on the car radio as we drive to school.

Twenty eight candles were lit in church on Sunday, and I am thankful that they have no idea why.

earth maiden

I've been wanting a shawl or poncho for a while and have collected a few patterns, but when a friend said that she would knit it for me I was amazed. She said she has knit herself and all of her family everything they could possibly need and more. This mossy alpaca merino blend is about to become the Earth Maiden. It is a big rectangle and and i-cord that can be worn as a poncho or a shawl. To me this yarn looks like lichen on stones or seaweed. It is Cascade Yarns Lana D'Oro in Olive Oil.

winter nests

The paperwhites are in full bloom, and I've been enjoying them so much that I might just have to start another batch of them. I think my mantle is very Christmasy with the red candles and green stems, but the kids want more decorations.  These are some of the bird's nests we have collected, and I've placed many of then in my great grandmother's crystal glasses, bowls, and pedestals.

 We are getting a wood stove in here by the end of the month. The house has one chimney in our bedroom that was designed for coal and other in Ruby's room that is no longer usable. There used to be a large brick chimney on this side of the house, but it was removed when the house was renovated. We are looking for an alternate heat and cooking source when the power goes out during snowstorms, so we are putting in an old Vermont Castings stove that was in my grandparent's house. Come toast your toes next month.

we cut down a tree

Ruby did some singing and dancing for the trees. We found a tree, our tallest ever, and enjoyed a riding to the fields behind horses with jingle bells.

georgia o'keeffe {fifth grade history night}

moustache and sarcophagus

Four days into December, and I need to get the advent stockings hung ad the candleholders washed.  I think we can get a tree this weekend and dive fully into the season. My friend Donna took beautiful pictures of the children, and I've been dying to post some, but the cards are being printed for mailing. I think I can safely show a hilarious one. Ella is making a moustache, and Ruby is pretending she is in a sarcophagus. That is just what a child needs to be thinking about while being photographed, right? I do love that my littles can be inspired by anything at anytime.

Ella has been doing more homework than ever before. She has had a three hour night, many two hour nights, and last night's epic five hour attempt to finish her essay for history night. Tonight she has to finish her display board for the event and work on her props.  Just to keep things wild, John has been "star of the week" in his classroom and has needed extra help getting his presentations ready. I'm ready for Friday already.

Come friday, it is all peace and simplicity from here on. We need candles and twinkling lights, ginger cookies, and Christmas Trolls.

oranges and reds

I noticed all the orange color in the kitchen last week and wanted to take a picture. I didn't even realize until later that there was a small runner coming through the kitchen. That is kind of the way it has been lately. That little hand often grabs an apple or persimmon.

Thanksgiving came and went, quite deliciously I must say. Here is my mother out in my brother's yard. He gets up at three am and smokes the turkey for twelve hours or so. Pair that with more side dishes than will fit on the table and a spice cake with caramel icing and you have quite a delicious dinner.

We are back to school this week, and Ella is working on two or three big projects at once. Christmas looms, and I'm trying to meet it with a sense of peace. We are trying to get a chimney added to our house and a woodstove installed before the first snowstorm. This photograph is of some seed pods we found while my friend Donna was taking some gorgeous pictures of the children at the Horticulture Garden. Is it a weed or a Truffula tree?

birding

I walked to my neighbors house early in the morning a few days ago because she has a hummingbird still feeding at her feeder, and someone from the Maryland Banding Lab was coming over to identify and band it.  When I arrived he had the bird in a piece of stocking in the living room and was weighing and measuring it.  It weighed 3.3 grams. A penny is 2.5 grams. It is a female Rufous Hummingbird. She could hang around until January before she makes a dash for Mexico.

........

Last night we went out to see Lincoln, and when we pulled into our driveway a large bird flew right in front of us. We paused and it landed in the maple tree in our yard. It was a light colored owl. We watched it for a moment and then, afraid that we would scare the babysitter, pulled closer. It sat for a minute and then flew. We looked it up in the bird book, and it was a barred owl, often called a hoot owl.

eleven

She is a voracious reader and crafter, but drops everything on the floor the moment she is finished with it. Right now she is watching cartoons with her baby sister on her lap. She likes archery and chickens and just finished an eight week life skills class at the Unitarian Church. She would be a vegetarian if bacon wasn't so delicious. She wants to save the world. She is learning to make injera and wat for a school project. She is teaching herself to draw manga characters. She wonders when I will let her color her hair purple. She is going to be Georgia O'Keefe for history night.

Today she was reading two books, Bud, Not Buddy and The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis and was astounded to find the exact moment the two books intersected.

november light

kombucha

My kombucha is probably struggling with the low temperatures in my kitchen this week, but I'm excited to be trying something new. After my big success with sauerkraut, I thought I'd continue my latest obsession with fermentation. It isn't really fermenting, but a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, hence SCOBY.  I like kombucha brews, so we'll see how this one tastes in a few days.

halloween

Next year we have to make our Halloween costumes early. I was racing the Hurricane and Appalachian Power to sew up a little yoda hat for John and a werewolf costume for Ella. Luckily, this little butterfly was easy to put together and made her oh so happy. Our power was out for about twenty four hours, and the kids carved pumpkins in their snowsuits in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Om

first eggs

hatched on May 7

pumpkin gathering

The family spent the afternoon at the pumpkin patch. yesterday afternoon gathering huge pumpkins, riding the goat cart, riding horses, shooting a pumpkin slingshot, and petting animals. Many friends were there, and we spent the whole afternoon. Next year I'm bringing a picnic because the kids spent a lot of time begging for food and treats. I need a soup thermos big enough for all of us. Ruby and John both rode a horse for the first time, and I think that Ruby hugged the goat twenty times. The leaves and the landscape were gorgeous. Back in our warm house, I needed to keep Ruby occupied while the two Johns went out to mow grass. I let her stand on a wooden stool and make the gravy for dinner. She was excited by all the new things she tried in one day.

falling

homebody

I'm going to spend more time in my favorite places this year, and my own back porch is very high on my list.

shakori hills

We went on our last camping trip of the season at the Shakori Hills festival in Pittsboro North Carolina. It is my favorite festival of the year, and we bid farewell to warm weather with a veritable four day hootenanny. We feel asleep to sing-alongs and woke up to fiddle tunes in the middle of a country meadow. We came home dirty and exhausted and ready to do it all again next year.

11

Someone turned eleven this week.

Rabbit and Robot

I took all three kids to the Rabbit and Robot Book Launch Party on Sunday.  The amazing and lovely Cece Bell had come to John's class last year to read some of this book while it was a work in progress.

Getting ready for the book party required a trip out for silver spray paint, the destruction of a pair of leggings, the raiding of a box stash, much duck tape, the sewing of a coonskin cap onto a small pair of pants,  and the use of several Magic Erasers.

John covered his bike helmet in foil, old cans, a whisk, and a spatula. Then he taped a candy thermometer to the front and donned a box covered in foil. Oops. He wouldn't fit in his carseat. The costume had to come off and go in the truck.

Rabbit and Robot. Cece Bell. Pure sweetness.