By Sun and Candlelight

Happy Advent!

I just love this time of year ...

 

There is something especially beautiful about winter sunrises, don't you think? It's almost as if the sky is doing it's own holiday decorating! Or maybe giving  us a bit of cheer on these bitter early mornings. Scientifically speaking, it must have something to do with the weather conditions at this time of year - cold, frosty, dry - but almost daily it seems (unless it's raining) - the sunrise is startlingly intense and varied. I think I take pictures almost every day ...

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! Ours was wonderful - bustling, happy and homey. Lots of good food, family and friends ... and lots of leftovers to indulge in this week!

Right now I am working on a December "plans" post (hoping to post mid-or-late-week), but for today I'd like to share some photos from the past month or so ...

 

One Saturday Bill was breaking down the yard toys and we found this little fella (a salamander) hiding in the folds of the bouncy house! Isn't he gorgeous? We deposited him safely under an old log by the compost pile. Hopefully he'll curl up and enjoy a long winter's nap.

 

The Blue Jays have been especially active this fall. This picture was actually a tree filled with a band of birds, but the best shot was this guy in the middle.

The following few pictures were taken on a recent Nature Club activity - we learned about a local watershed and did some percolation experiments. It was a cool, gray day ...

 

 

 

I really love the woods at this time of year - everything seems so bleak and done-for, so the tiny bits of color really stand out all the more. A flash of blue feathers, a bright ray or light, the punch of a red berry ...

 

Boston on (yet another) cloudy day ... on our way into the Science Museum.

 

Crackerjack and Bookworm making "their" pie on Thanksgiving eve - a lime jello cool whip variety. :)

 

I made the one above - a "Holiday Fruit Pie" filled with cranberries (dried and fresh), orange peel and golden raisins. I thought it came out pretty well. :)

 

And a little taste of Advent preparations underway ... more on the tags and ribbons (etc.) to come later this week!

Have a wonderful week, my friends ~ and Hurray for December tomorrow!

Be back just as soon as I can ...  

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to You!

 For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I hope you all have a lovely day with your family and friends. :)

I am grateful for every one of my readers, especially for your kind wishes and prayers of late. We are all finally back on the mend and I got the all clear from my surgeon yesterday.

I have so many things to be thankful for,  but I guess what I am most grateful for this year are the blessings of good health and the abundance of support and love that surrounds me. 

This year, for the first time in years, we are not hosting Turkey Day here. Instead we are gathering at my parents' house for our family celebration. I am making several dishes to bring over, however:

Cranberry-Apricot Relish

Artichoke Dip

Green Salad (this is Crackerjack's offering)

Thanksgiving Punch and Sparkling Pear Juice

Sweet Potato Casserole

Annie's Macaroni and Cheese (Earlybird's offering)

Lime Jello-Cool Whip pie (Bookworm's offering)

Holiday Fruit Pie

Maple Walnut Spice Cake (it's my mum's b.day today!)

***

After today's bustle, I plan to sit down and sketch out a simplified Christmas season for myself. Usually by now I have the holidays fairly well organized, but not surprisingly, I'm behind on everything! Ah well, I know I will get us all back on track ~ this has been a very good lesson in patience for me. ;)

Enjoy this day my friends, I will see you all very soon!

Timing is everything ...

Hello, everyone! :)

Sorry I've not been around much lately. The good news is, I have completely healed from my surgery and feel just about 100% again. The bad news is (or was) the boys got the flu last week. Like, hardcore FLU (possibly of the Swine variety): high fever-chills-body-aches-cough. It was "conveniently" staggered: Crackerjack got sick on All Saints Day, Bookworm fell ill by the end of the week and Earlybird crashed hard last Sunday. Each one of them was sick for several days - honestly it was the sickest they've been in years. Luckily, Bill and I did not get it, and happily, they are all back on their feet. EB still has a nagging cough but is sleeping well again and acting like his little old self. (Sleep was hard to come by last week!)

I know I don't have to tell you what it's like when the flu hits your household ... you just lay in supplies, batten down the hatches and hope (and pray) for the best. Thankfully we're on the other side again, so I will be posting again soon.

I sincerely hope all of you (and yours) are staying well this late autumn season ... thanks so much for checking in. :)

~*Happy November* ~

Small jars of candles and a garland of marigolds sit upon the mantel, along with pictures of loved ones who have passed away. Today is the Feast of All Souls, and if I were feeling up to it, we'd be visiting a local graveyard today. Well, that trip will have to wait for another day but there are some simple homey things we can do to honor this day. As it is also known as the Mexican Day of the Dead, we'll be having tacos for supper tonight and this afternoon we'll be reading a couple of favorite books from our November basket:

Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston

Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter

and

The Spirit of Tio Fernando: A Day of the Dead Story by Janice Levy

I'll make some Aztec Hot Chocolate for the boys to sip as we read. It's appropriately chilly today, on this second day of November. I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween. I can hardly believe that holiday's already come and gone, and with Daylight Savings Time in place, the days are growing ever shorter and darker. We need to fuel our inner light all the more as we journey ever closer to winter ...

Thank you again for all your kind wishes and prayers for my recovery. I am feeling so much better ~ it's mostly down to plain old tiredness now. I guess they really meant it when they said to take it easy, lol! There's really not much else you can do while waiting for your stamina to return. I can't complain though ~ my family has been wonderful stepping in to help out and making sure I do in fact take it easy.

Thanks for stopping by. I wish you a day filled with life, love and remembrance. :)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.  ~ John Muir

Home Again :)

Well this has been quite a few days for me! As most of you know, I went in for gallbladder surgery yesterday ~ and as some of you know, it was also my 16th wedding anniversary! Bill and I joked that at least we got to spend the day together and it will certainly be one of our more memorable "celebrations" lol.

Actually, sweet guy that he is, he surprised me Thursday night with a bouquet of gorgeous fall flowers:

And then Friday morning, just before we left for the hospital he surprised me with some post-surgery treats:

Godiva truffles (my favorite!) and a box of Ina's brownie mix (that he - and the boys - will bake for me). You see, I've had to restrict my diet considerably lately due to the gallbladder situation (low-fat, bland foods etc.) so I will be looking forward to a few indulgences now that things are resolved. :)

So now I'm home and everything went smoothly yesterday. Except for the tonsillectomy I had done when I was 4 (which needless to say I can barely remember) this was my first time having surgery. I was mostly nervous about the general anesthesia - only because my brother reacted poorly to it when he had his gb out a few years ago. He was so sick they kept him overnight and I was anxious that would happen to me. After sharing my concerns with the doctors, they decided to up my anti-nausea medication (inlcuding a patch I am still wearing behind my ear). So far everything feels ok - things are pretty tender to say the least but the pain medication helps. Bill has taken time off through mid-next week so I can just rest up and concentrate on getting back to 100%.  

I will say, Bill sure has his work cut out for him! He'll be shuttling the kids wherever they have to go, minding the housework, making meals, supervising their studies and taking care of me! Come to think of it, that all sounds familiar! ;) He's a good sport about it all though and I am very lucky to have him!

So I think that's all for right now, I just wanted to check in and let you all know I'm home and doing fine and I truly appreciate all the kind thoughts and prayers you have left for me here at the blog. I really do have the very nicest readers. :)

I will check back in again next week ~ for now, enjoy your weekend and keep safe and be well!

Well, hello there!

Look what I just found in - or should I say on - today's mail!

 

We see lots of grasshoppers around the house in early to mid-autumn. These are the last warm(ish) days of the year so I try to appreciate each little critter sighting when it occurs. Not too sorry to see the wasps, mosquitos and ticks pass on, but I'll miss the butterflies, bumblebees and dragonflies. And the grasshhoppers, of course. 

Thank you all, so very much, for your kind and supportive messages about my upcoming surgery. I take every message to heart and appreciate your prayers more than you know. :)

Hope you're all having a great week!

Pictures and Notes from the Past Couple of Weeks ...

So, what have we been up to lately? :)

Well, we spent a (cold, gray) morning at the Topsfield Fair:

 

Made friends with a donkey ...

 

... and a sheep.

 

Got fall gardening ideas.

 

Spied the giant pumpkin (all 1,471.6 lbs)!

 

Marveled over the giant sand sculpture.

Enjoyed fried dough with my boys.

***

We took a bike ride through the autumn woods:

 

Watched a gray heron come in from flight ...

... and make his way to his nest. 

 

Spotted a beautiful turtle by the path ...

 

But look what was on his shell (a leech)!

 

We removed the leech and sent the turtle on his way.

 

Watched milkweed float by.

Listened to noisy mallards in the lake.

***

We met Old Frost in the yard one morning:

 

 

 

 

And we added a bit of flash to the night ...

***

We spent some time learning about (and meeting!) wolves:

 

***

And we made stuffed peppers for the Feast of St. Francis:

 

 

 

 

 

Topped with cheese in the final 10 minutes, this was an absolutely delicious dinner!

This promises to be a busy week, too ... on top of all the usual goings-on, we have two field trips this week (Walden Pond and Whole Foods), Bookworm starts his volunteer "job" at the library and I go in for surgery this Friday. Yes ... surgery ... but nothing serious thankfully; I'm just having my gallbladder removed. As some of you know I've not been feeling my best for a few months now, so I'm glad to be getting this taken care of. I will probably be MIA again next week while I recover, but will try to post again this week with pics from our field trips and a few other topics I want to discuss. :)

I hope you enjoyed catching up with our family ... and I hope you and yours had a wonderful weekend. It's snowing here right now if you can believe it! This feels a little more like December than October!

Take care, everyone ~ Talk again soon!

When the frost is on the pumpkin ...

 

Nevermind frost! We had our first SNOW here this morning!

I honestly can't remember the last time we had snow this early in the year!

***

It's been a while since I posted and I have lots to tell you about, so I will carve some time out this weekend to write. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the weather ... whatever the weather ... wherever you are. :)

"Oh it sets my heart a-clickin like the tickin of a clock, when the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the shock ..." John Whitcomb Riley

An Autumn Bloom

 

The morning glory vine still has some life left in it, and it catches the early sun just right. We must remember to enjoy the beautiful blue trumpets while we can - frost is not far away ...

Autumn Thoughts ...

Listen!

The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves ...

We have had our summer evenings ...

Now for October eves!

~ Humbert Wolfe

Fraught with Frost

Look very closely and you might notice the tiny bits of ice on this beautiful little bee. This picture was taken around 6 a.m. on an unseasonably cold September morning, before the sun had risen above the treetops. As I passed the sedum blooming beside our front door, on my way down to get the morning paper, I noticed a couple of bees perched atop the blossoms, seemingly already hard at work for the day. Upon closer inspection I realized they were, in fact, frozen stiff! The poor things must have been caught out after "curfew" the night before! 

But do not fret, for this tale has a happy end ... soon after the sun rose and cast its warm glow across the front garden beds, the brittle bees miraculously came back to life and went merrily on their way! One flew off, while the other went straight back to work where it sat. 

Isn't nature amazing? :)

It's the Great Pumpkin ... Cake!

 

Just had to post this real quick - our Great Pumpkin Cake!

We had Bill's family up yesterday for a visit and Earlybird and I baked this pretty cake just for them. It's a dark chocolate cake with vanilla icing (which was supposed to be tinted orange but after multiple tries we resigned ourselves to beige), and there are chocolate jimmies and candy pumpkins for an autumn touch ...

It tasted pretty good, I must say. :)

Happy Monday, everyone!

Don't forget ~ The Harvest Moon rises this Sunday!

From SPACE.com: Traditionally, this designation goes to the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (fall) Equinox.  The Harvest Moon usually comes in September, but sometimes it will fall in early October as is the case in 2009; the next time won't come until 2017.  At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon.  Usually the full moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe.  Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice -- the chief Indian staples -- are now ready for gathering.

A few books to pick up at the library this weekend ...

Hello, Harvest Moon

Possum's Harvest Moon

By the Light of the Harvest Moon

... and because I love any and all Tomie dePaola books I plan to buy a copy of this during Educator Week at Barnes & Noble (begins 10/10):

Strega Nona's Harvest

Sunday would be the perfect night for a harvest-themed supper. A slow-cooked vegetable soup maybe? Served with homemade cornbread and a slice of orchard fruit pie?

Or make a point to stop at the local farm stand to pick up whatever catches your fancy - everything looks so good at this time of year and it won't be long before the growing season is officially over and done.

And finally, here's how the moon looked last night, roundabouts 6:30 p.m.

 

 

The weather looks to be rainy this weekend with hopefully some clearing by Sunday's moonrise - wherever you live, be sure to look for it. It's sure to be quite a sight!

Happy October!

"O suns and skies and clouds of June,

And flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour

October's bright blue weather."

~ Helen Hunt Jackson

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots 

may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on 

the feelings, as now in October."

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

A bit more on the lesson planner ...

One of my readers, Dawn V., asked about my lesson plan book and I was able to find it online when I did a quick "google" just now. (That's officially a verb now, right?)

It is made by the Elan Publishing Company out of Meredith, NH. I buy mine every year (and have done so for years) at my favorite local teacher shop. It used to cost me around $5; now it's closer to $10. It's a great price for a very efficient plan book. Here's the link (planner #208).

The lesson book is divided into a grid of five vertical blocks (days of the week) by eight horizontal blocks (subjects). All the blocks are lined which I love. 

My eight blocks are designated in this way:

General Notes (events/activities/appointments)

Earlybird's K/1 activities

Earlybird - other (extra things we did)

Math/English

Geography

American History

Science/Nature Study

Crackerjack & Bookworm - other (extra things they did)

(I should point out I do use my children's real names in my planner lol.)

I always write in pencil and I use colorful post it notes for jotting down random ideas and observations. I check items off as they are accomplished and fill the planner in over the weekend for the most part. During the day, the planner lies open on the kitchen island with the weekly file folder open beside it. 

So far it has worked fairly well. :)

I hope that helps Dawn, and whoever else was interested in knowing more about the lesson plan book! 

New & Old in the Learning Room

So clearly I'm finding it hard to fit posting into our back-to-school life. I am trying to do better, still looking for that balance - always looking for that balance it seems. How are you finding your new school year - off to a good start I hope? :)

It was such a gorgeous day here yesterday - sunny, warm, windy. Golden in the way that only early fall can be. I spent the morning at the doctor's leaving the kids with independent work to complete under their nana's watchful eye. After lunchtime we got a bit more done, but soon I called it a day (ringing the dismissal bell as it were) and turned my attention to the housework that got neglected over the weekend.

And of course you know how I get when that soft afternoon light starts filling my learning room with a cozy cheerful glow. I took some pictures of this and that - a few new things to show you, a few same old, same old. I hope you enjoy a little of both. :)

Our September nature shelf - filled with books, nests, examples of autumn seeds, faded flowers gone to seed, a few shells and bits of sea glass from summer jaunts.

These were the first turned leaves we found at the end of August. We always make a big deal of those first pretty leaves.

These are just some flowers gone to seed. I liked the way they looked here in the shade and the sunlight.

So this is kind of fun new idea! I made this up as a way to display the daily date for the kids. The beige doily is actually a large piece of scrapbooking paper. I used small clear self-adhesive pockets (found at a local paper store), and cut word-strips purchased at the teacher supply store to fit inside. We change the pockets up day by day. 

My meal planning basket - inside is a baggie of coupons and a small planbook for marketing lists and weekly dinner menus. I will post more on this new (and so far successful) system in a future post. :)

My work corner - clear plastic bins with craft and lesson supplies, tote bag with bulkier teacher manuals, my pocketbook, etc. The good old file crate in the corner, cat basket above/in-basket below. (The cat basket used to hold magazines but I gave up trying to keep Smokey out of it and instead placed a blanket in there for him.)

More work space - The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady open to a pretty autumnal verse, my current reading pile (the first in the Mistmantle series (for book group), The Gift of an Ordinary Day and the latest Spiderwick), my ridiculous stack of magazines and my lesson planning materials:

Planning Binder (I have a thing for owls if you haven't noticed).

A peek inside - it's still a work in progress.

My weekly lesson planner - in which I write down all 3 boys' lessons for each day of the week.

And of course, the file folder for this week. :)

A close-up of my pretty pencil mug - it's actually a creamer I love filled with silk flowers, writing instruments and a Halloween pop I bought at Whole Foods (just for fun).

Earlybird's bulletin board, where I display things he's working on. Below the board is a small nature shelf just for EB:

Seed examples (pinecone, helicopter, acorn) and a poem/prayer book open to a particularly lovely page.

New letters for the wall - soon to be painted dusky blue.

And finally, a new little mascot - a gift from my friend Beth. :)

Hope you enjoyed this peek at a few new things in our learning room this year! And I also  hope you are all enjoying the unfolding fall. Be back again just as soon as I can! :)

Heartfelt Thanks ...

... from my family to all of you kind readers. 

We are so grateful for your thoughtful and comforting messages about Penny's passing. It is a hard week for us here, missing our girl - we're all off-track and distracted. It will be a few days before I can sit down and blog - I have a homeschooling/learning room post in the works - but wanted to make sure to thank you all for keeping our family in your prayers. It means the world to us, truly.

Be back with you all soon ... have a wonderful week, my friends. :)

We'll Miss our Dear Little Penny ...

We've had a very difficult few days here. Last Friday morning our cat, Penny, fell ill. Tests were run, fluids and meds were given, and the weekend was spent at the emergency animal hospital. She was responding well - and we had solid hope for recovery - until midnight last night when we got a call she had taken a turn for the worse. This morning we made the difficult decision to put her down ...

We were blessed to have Penny for so long. Despite this sudden illness, she had a healthy and very happy long life (she turned 18 this past spring). She was a dear and affectionate kitty and a big part of our family - always near us, keeping us company and watching over us with those pretty golden eyes ...

We love you, and miss you already, sweet girl.

Well, our first week is underway ...

... and I can tell I won't have a chance to post til the weekend - but I wanted to pop in quick just to say hi! This week we have lots going on - dentist, soccer practice, first Book Group of the year, first (ever) French class, NFL season kickoff (go PATS!), my homeschool group's annual planning meeting (where I take the minutes) AND the first soccer game of the year! Did I mention Bill is now a coach? Yep, he and my brother volunteered to co-coach Crakerjack's team. Should be an interesting and invigorating experience! (So says the parent who gets to make snacks and watch from the sidelines, lol.)

My work corner this year ... 

And truth be told the flowers didn't last long - the cat kept trying to eat them.

The weather here is absolutely glorious - bright and cool - brisk even. Only in the 60s all week! 

Love it.

See you all again sometime soon ...

:)

Happy Labor Day, 2009!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's dawning cool and bright here in New England. Gosh, it sure feels like fall. :)

A few plans for today ...

*Decorate the front steps with mums, asters, kale and pumpkins. Tie up cornstalks and hang autumn flag.

*Start a chicken dish in the slowcooker this morning:

Savory Slowcooker Chicken

(from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook)

2 1/2 lbs. chicken pieces, skinned

1 lb. fresh tomatoes chopped or 15 oz. can stewed tomatoes

2 Tbsp. white wine

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

<<Combine all ingredients except broccoli in slowcooker. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Add broccoli 30 minutes before serving.>>

(I plan to serve it with whole wheat egg noodles and an apple crisp for dessert.)

*Contemplate and reassign family chores. Re-think my own household routines.

*Run to teacher supply store for the exact kind of lesson planner I like to use. Hope they still have them in stock.

*Have Bill turn the fireplace back on and pack away the A/C.

*Fun activity for the kids: try to think of all the labor-saving devices throughout the house and what chore(s) they replaced. See if you can remember - or find out - who invented what. What would device could you simply NOT live without?

Hope you all have a fantastic holiday! 

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." ~ Ovid