Prayers, please ...

Dear friends, my grandmother, Millie, has just suffered a stroke. It appears to be mild, but they are running all kinds of tests to determine what has happened. If you can, would you please say a small prayer for her tonight? She is distressed at having to be away from home.

And if I may also ask, on behalf of my dear friend Alice, that you say a prayer for her mother who suffered a massive stroke yesterday? It goes without saying that both these dear women mean the world to their families.

Thank you so much, and a peaceful night to you all.

An apple by any other name ...

... would it taste as sweet?

Well that's what we aimed to find out! A recent thread at 4Real about favorite apples really got my wheels spinning (and my mouth watering!). The Macintosh has always been my hands-down favorite (the apple of my childhood, after all) but I was eager to try this new Honeycrisp I kept hearing about. I thought an apple taste test would be a fun project for the boys, so this weekend, between the farm and the organic market, we bought one of every kind of apple we could find. (There were actually more available but we kept it at 10.)

And yesterday, we washed them, polished them, labeled them and got down to work:

Back row, left to right: Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Red Delicious. Front row left to right: Fuji, Cortland, Macintosh, Macoun and Gala.

Our afternoon apple lab, quite scientific you know. :)

I found a neat apple graph worksheet here; it had exactly 10 columns. Once we were all set up, I began by slicing the first apple and each of us commenced testing.

We observed coloring inside and out, and checked for a good "apple-y" smell. (See, I told you this was scientific, lol.)

We then checked for texture (mushy or crisp), ascertained flavor (sweet or tart), and appraised outer skin characteristics (I was the only one who ate the skin, of course).

I scribbled down everything that the boys said (and I thought) about the apples, and we gave each variety a score between 1 and 5. It was quickly apparent we needed to give individual scores rather than a concensus however, so we averaged the scores for each apple at the end.

And guess which apple won? Well, please see our results below ...

Our taste test gave us much food for thought and much material for the compost pile!

Oh yes, and then later there was this ... Apple-Cranberry Crisp!

Farm fresh apples, local cranberries and lots of cinnamon-oaty goodness on top! This, by the way, is a recipe from Susan Branch's Autumn Book. Very easy to make and scrumptious with my new favorite ice cream. :)

Oh, yes, the results!

*Our Apple Taste Test Results (Varietal/Score/Remarks)*

Golden Delicious: 3 ~ "Kinda sour." "Firm and crunchy." "Sweet smell."

Honeycrisp: 2.6 ~ "Different." "Cereal-taste." "Juicy."

Granny Smith: 3 ~ "Hey, no smell!" "Green inside and out." "A little sour!"

Jonagold: 3.75 ~ "Meadowy." "Perfumey." "Bitter skin."

Red Delicious: 3 ~ "Mushy." "Bland." "Chewy skin." "Quite good!"

Gala: 4 ~ "No smell." "Kinda sour." "One of the best apples ever!"

Macoun: 4.83 ~ "Yummy." "Crisp." "Perfect!"

Macintosh: 4.6 ~ "Tastes like Fall!" "A bit tart." "Hard in a good way."

Cortland: 4.6 ~ "Nice smell." "Sparkly and white inside!" "Soft."

Fuji: 4.33 ~ "Golden flesh." "Very sweet!" "Very bland!" "Lovable!"

So there you have it folks: the Macoun took top honors! If you have a moment, let us know what your favorite apple is ... and if you're not sure, then a taste-test of your own is in order! 

Pretty Autumn Things

I found this tiny pink feather in the yard today. Isn't it sweet? I've never seen a pink feather before! I think it may have come from a purple finch. Birds are very much on our minds these days - as the weather cools, we are noticing more activity at the feeders. And this week our Nature Study Group is meeting at a local Audubon sanctuary. We'll walk the grounds together looking, and listening, for birds of all kinds. (Fingers crossed for no rain!)

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New England is having a spectacular autumn - very vibrant this year! My favorite foliage belongs to the sugar maples and that's just what this tree is. We were leaving the farm Saturday morning - our car laden with apples and donuts - when we just had to pull over and gather some of these magnificent leaves. It was hard to stop filling our bag! And what am I going to do with all these leaves, you might wonder? Well, some will be pressed for future craft projects, while some will be sent to a dear friend down south. :)

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A few days ago Bill took the boys out on a short hike through the woods, when they came upon a familiar autumn scene ~ a whole field-full of milkweed, just bursting open with seed ...

I adore milkweed, and not just because it attracts and sustains the beautiful monarch butterfly, but because it brings back such nice childhood memories. It grew all along a small brook that ran through my parent's backyard when I was small. The milky smell and feel of those soft bumpy pods and the downy threads inside ... talk about nature's toybox! Bill brought home just a few pods for our nature shelf, and there they wait for the first windy day. I have the sweetest fingerplay to say with Earlybird as we set our "seed fairies" free to the wind.

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Well, I hope you all had a nice weekend! Ours was quite busy with all the usual things ~ library, supermarket, soccer, church ~ as well as a few not so usual things ~ Earlybird came down with a nasty cold and a cat had to be whisked to the vet (he's ok). Oh yes, and Bill re-built the basement stairs! Now it's getting late and I am realizing I didn't get to even a tenth of what I proposed Saturday morning. (Seriously. I had 20 tasks on my list; I only crossed off one.) I still have several emails to send, laundry to fold and lessons to plan, but all that will have to wait for the morning. I'm plum tuckered so it's off to bed for me ... Good Night!

At Long, Long Last ...

Victoria is back! 

Ladies, if you haven't yet taken out a subscription, consider putting it at the top of your wish list! The November/December issue, which arrived in my mailbox just today, looks divine. I am waiting for just the right quiet moment to savor it page-by-scrumptious page ...

And, best of all, they haven't changed a thing! The "new" Victoria sports the same cover style and page layout as well as a familiar font. I don't know about you, but as thrilled as I was that Victoria was coming back, I was nervous they might have retooled it somehow. But no, it is just as lovely as I remember. There's even an article about Tasha Tudor in this issue, and another one written by that Victoria favorite, Tovah Martin!

Oh, just like old times. :) Now, who would care to join me in a cup of celebratory tea?

Poetry Friday: October's Bright Blue Weather

O SUNS and skies and clouds of June,
        And flowers of June together,
    Ye cannot rival for one hour
        October's bright blue weather …

  O suns and skies and flowers of June,
        Count all your boasts together,
    Love loveth best of all the year
        October's bright blue weather.

The stanzas above represent the opening and closing of October's Bright Blue Weather, a lovely poem by Helen Hunt Jackson, one you can read in full here. It's perfect for this mid-autumn Friday, despite the rain lashing the windows ...

As I considered this verse bright dark and early this morning, I remembered a craft I had in mind to do with the boys sometime this fall: an autumn leaf suncatcher. It was the first thing we did this morning, even before math!

I set out just a few materials:

A few shades of blue tissue paper, double-sided tape and several clean Pringles can lids.

You might be wondering why I have a homekeeping book here. Well, it came in very handy ...

... it's been pressing tiny fall leaves for over a week! I collected these way back on our woodland adventure day, specifically with this craft in mind.

By the way, I got the idea for this craft from a charming little book called The Harvest Craft Book by Thomas Berger. Here it is open to the Transparencies page where a more complex (yet very beautiful) craft was described:

Our craft may be considerably more humble, but it required just the right amount of effort from the boys. Actually, I ended up doing most of the finish work as the bits of double-sided tape did prove a tad fussy. (Remember we did this craft early - I'd already had my coffee, but the boys were still waking up, lol!)

Quick directions: Cut a piece of tissue paper to fit inside the lid. Lay tiny leaves against the paper in a pattern you like; adhere them with a bit of double-sided tape. Stick slivers of d.s. tape along the inner edge of the lid and press down the paper with leaves facing down. Hole punch the top and tie a string through; hang where the sunlight will catch it:

Next time we do this craft we will choose brighter leaves - say vivid orange and fiery red - which will stand out more, I think.

There was a promise of blue skies 'round middmorning, but by lunchtime it was pouring again (thunder and all!).

It was time for a warm and hearty afternoon snack:

Grilled cheese sandwiches cut into oak leaf shapes, maple creme cookies, and mugs of mulled cider. It all hit the spot.

Let it rain all it wants today ... October's bright blue weather will return in all its glory tomorrow. :)

Six Weeks till Thanksgiving!

Do you know where your roasting pan is? :)

It will be here before we know it ~ the big family dinner, the handprint turkeys, the pies in the oven, and maybe a parade or a game. All good stuff, and it's just around the corner!

When we host a holiday at our house, I like to plan and prepare ahead as much as possible. It makes the big day - the whole week leading up to it! - that much more enjoyable for us all. But Thanksgiving has a way of sneaking up on me, in a whirl of extraneous trips to the grocer's, wrinkled linens and overcooked peas. So my plan for this year? A better plan, of  course! ;)

Over the next few days I'll be organizing my holiday plans, but for now I'm just setting the scene ...

The first thing I did, was to gather my materials and set up a little workspace for myself. I'll do most of my sit-down planning this weekend when I can carve out a few hours of relative peace and quiet.

My materials (as seen in the picture above) include past November issues of Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Food and MS Kids. These are all keepers I store at my desk. I also have a stack of assorted Thanksgiving magazines from last year which can be cut apart. Last year's Autumn journal is here too, along with a few favorite books, my planner, a cup for all that orange-spice tea I'm sure to drink, and of course, my little wooden turkey mascot. You've got to keep it fun, after all. ;)

I did get the first few pages of my planner set up. The scrapbooking paper I used as a cover page is called Grateful Trees - isn't that nice? (The Thanksgiving planner will be kept inside my general planner - still a work in progress, but there will be a post coming soon.)

Just inside the cover, I have a six-week calendar, which I made by photocopying a blank month-at-a-glance page twice, then cutting and pasting it together to make six weeks.

I added some stickers just for fun:

This calendar will be exclusively for Thanksgiving related activities, such as order turkey, press linens, make pie crust. Those kinds of things.

A first step is to brainstorm, to look through resources and jot down ideas. What I'm trying to get first is just a feel for the day. How do I envision our Thankgiving unfolding ~ what kinds of things do I want to happen that day? In the days just before? I write it all down, even the little things like homemade pie crust, thankful trees and local cranberries ...

Oh, and I mustn't forget a bit of background entertainment - I'll have Martha's Classic Thanksgiving playing on the laptop as I work:

Pinecone-pipecleaner place cards - how neat!

I will post more soon but for now, I feel this is a good start. I'm ready to plan, and if I plan it just right then this year's holiday will be creative, cozy and calm. :)

We just needed cupcakes today ...

 

So I baked some. :)

In the background is all my Thanksgiving parpaphernalia. More on that tomorrow ...

Have a good night!

October's a Peach

Our day's off to a super-early start here, so while several posts* rattle around in my head, I thought I'd share a few pictures we took recently. I love the autumnal shades here ~ so very October.

A lone little rose hip.

Pretty woodland berries.

A quiet trail.

The Harvest Sun.

The last few raspberries clinging to the vine.

The sunset last evening ... rain's on the way.

*Before I go, I thought I'd let you know about some of the posts I am working on. :)

• Our home routines
• A 6-week Thanksgiving countdown
• A mini-unit on milkweed and monarchs
• My (wip) planner
• A Mittenstrings for God book study

Allrighty, I must be off! Have a great day, everyone!

It's All Good ..

1. The Red Sox are going to the ALCS!

2. The Patriots are 5-0! Dallas here we come!

3. The juncos have returned for the winter - we spotted a pair under the feeders Sunday morning! These little snowbirds are almost always closely followed by Jack Frost himself. (What great story material.) Here's a neat little online bird quiz I found this morning.

4. Barnes & Noble's Educator Appreciation Week begins this Saturday. Let the Christmas shopping begin!

5. Susan Branch is going to be signing books in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and I am so there!!

So, what's got you smiling this morning? :)

Happy Columbus Day!

Are you on holiday today? Off to leaf-peep or watch a parade, perhaps?

Well, it's a dark, rainy morning here and I am on my third - no, make that fourth - cup of coffee. That might sound like a lot to you, but believe me, it's sorely needed today. For some inexplicable reason, Earlybird was up really, really early this morning. I'm not going to tell you how early, it's just too crazy to say. No fever, no nightmares, no apparent discomfort of any kind. He was just up. Up, and ready to go.

So, here I am nursing my hot cup of caffeine and I've just remembered the schools have the day off. Hmmm. I don't usually follow their calendar, but today I am sorely tempted ...

Well, maybe a slower day is a good idea. Lots of sitting and reading and maybe some dramatic play. We could read Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, and we might make these just for fun. Perhaps we'll tear apart the sectional and make a ship from the cushions. (It needs to be vacuumed out anyway.) Or better yet, the boys can pretend their bunk bed is a ship (the top bunk being the crows nest of course) while I tidy their room and fold laundry ...

Over lunch I'll read aloud that timeless poem, the one that begins "In fourteen hundred ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue ..." and I just requested Encounter by Jane Yolen at my local library. I've never read it before, but I understand it tells the Columbus day tale from a native boy's view. It should make for some interesting discussion.

Oh! And how about this: a delicious spice cake? What a wonderfully fitting Columbus Day treat! And just the thing for such a damp, dark afternoon.

All right, one more sip and I'm off. However you're spending your holiday, I hope you enjoy it.

Toys of Wood and Wonder

I've posted before about my little love affair with wooden toys. I think (no, I am sure) I love them more than the boys do! They are so lovely and warm; they inspire such wonder and creativity. Now, don't get me wrong - we have our fair share of plastic toys - and then some! (Just last night the Toys 'R Us flyer was dissected and discussed at great length.) But I so treasure our earthy, open-ended toys. They seem to go hand-in-hand with our nature study and stories, and best of all, they have yet to appear on any recall lists. :)

Well, this post is for Katherine and Laura, who asked about our wooden nesting elements (shown above). ... at long last I found them! They can be found right here at the beautiful Three Sisters Toys.

And for Lori who asked about our tree fort (shown below), it's there too! And at a good price, if my memory serves. (And by the way, Lori, most of our soft nature toys are Audubon birds (this site has a GREAT selection) and Folkmanis finger puppets. (Many can be found here. Do request their catalog - it's amazing!)

Admittedly these toys can be expensive - but they are very well made, and they really last. In our family, they have mostly been delivered over the years by Santa ... and his generous assistants, the grandparents. :)

Of course the trick with any toys (plastic, wooden or otherwise) is finding a balance: keeping track of how many we own, and limiting how many are kept out at one time. It's hard to take care of "too many toys," and yet all too easy to take them for granted ...

Ah, but that's a post for another time! The coffee just beeped and it's time to start my day. :)

Hope yours is a good one!

Friday Night Lights

The Topsfield Fair is an annual tradition in these parts - Fall just would not be the same without a trip to the Fair! I've been going since I was a little girl, and those memories are woven right into the fabric of my childhood. It's been years since I was at the Fair after dark, though, as we are usually of the mindset - early in, early out. But there really is a different feel to the Fair once the lights come on and the big rides start moving. It was fun for the boys to be in the midst of all the bright, noisy bustle.

We headed over just before sunset, and our first stop was The Great Pumpkin himself:

And he really was GREAT, all 1,689 pounds of him! This Rhode Island native now holds a new world record!

Here are few other contenders:

I love The Vegetable Barn and all the decorated pumpkins. This beehive was my favorite:

We were also excited to see some specimens made by friends of ours:

Our next stop was under a tent where we found the Birds of Prey exhibit. Very cool.

This I believe was an American Kestrel. (My crack bird identifier is still asleep at this early posting hour. I'll consult with him later today. ETA: Yep, says Bookworm, it's the Kestrel.)

Other birds on display were falcons, hawks, eagles and owls like this one:

The light was so beautiful as dusk unfolded. The day had been unusually warm, but as the sun set, casting its soft glow over the fairgrounds, the air cooled considerably. Not so much that you'd need a jacket, but enough to breathe some comfort into the crowds.

After a stop into the Beekeeping House (where my mum got a few bars of her favorite honey soap and some beeswax candle kits for the boys) we made the first food stop: Fudge.

There were so many different kinds to choose from! Papa bought his penuche and treated the boys to pumpkin (Bookworm) and Raspberry Swirl (Crackerjack). Here they are negotiating a partial trade, lol.

And here they are a few moments later, sufficiently sugared up, and posing with their mum (me!):

Every year the sand sculpture is amazing to see. (I wonder what they do if it rains?)

I love all the little autumn decorative touches, like this crow-adorned corn stalk at the root beer stand:

Here are the boys with my mum and dad, aka Nana and Papa:

(By the way, in case you were wondering, Bill stayed at home with Earlybird who does not handle the noise and crowds of fairs all that well. When we take EB to the fair we go bright and early, when the sounds and stimulations are at a lower level.) 

This was a neat sugar shack that sold local maple syrup and maple products like maple cotton candy!

Next food stop: cold apple cider and hot cider donuts!

(I love the setting sun behind Crackerjack in this picture.)

Bellies full, the boys were ready to ride! First up, their favorite, The Orient Express:

Next it was on to the Ferris Wheel:

My dad took the boys up and they all enjoyed the views of the fairgrounds from that great height. Bookworm took pictures:

BW had his eye on a purple dragon prize at this game. Unfortunately he didn't get the ball in the basket!

We drowned our sorrows in fried dough:

Those Friday night lights really made quite an impression ...

And, I think, quite the memories!

Well, thanks for joining us at the Fair! I hope you enjoyed our pictures, and I wish you all a wonderful weekend! :)

We're off to see ...

The Great Pumpkin!

It's a sunny, sparkling day here, and we're off to The Fair! We have a busy day ahead of us ~ there will be fudge to sample, sheep to pet, cider to drink and honey to buy ... I'll be back soon to share all the fun details!

Happy Weekend!

As Far as I Got ...

... at my handcraft circle the other night:

I'm working with a soft green shade of wool felt right now, as well as some basic embroidery thread. Can you see all the tiny orange leaf-stars I made? (I call them "leaf-stars" because I meant to make leaves, but could only manage little star shapes. ;) I kind of like the storytelling possibilities actually - whatever this project becomes, it will probably be something for the children.)

My stitches may not be so fine, but I find the colors and texture soothing:

At one point, I attempted to make this into a maple leaf, as the outline seemed to suggest that shape. I abandoned that idea after it became too complicated, though. I may try to make some brown tree branches instead.

As you can probably guess, I talked far more than I crafted! But it was so much fun. My gracious hostess had music playing, brownies baking and candles burning throughout her lovely home. She even put out an array of her knitting books for her guests to peruse. I may not have come home with a lot of work done, but I certainly came home inspired and refreshed.

In my quest to find a crafting niche, I find I am gravitating towards hand embroidery. (I say hand embroidery, because I don't own a machine yet. Baby steps, right?) I'm not very good at it yet - notice I'm not showing you the back of my hoop, lol - but I do love the look and feel of it. I think I will concentrate my attention in this area.

To that end, I just ordered this kit (top set) from here. I am so excited! I have NO idea what I will do with these little designs, once (or, dare I say, if!) I make them, but I'm sure I'll think of something. Maybe I'll make a drawstring bag for our nature puppets? Those be-hatted squirrels would look right at home on such a thing! Hmmm ... this would be a nice birthday gift for my Earlybird who turns six in December. Two months should be enough time right? ;)

A Fall Meme

I made this up myself, so consider yourself tagged if you'd like! :)

When does fall begin for you? It starts stirring in my heart roundabouts midsummer, but I feel it is officially fall, come Labor Day.

What is your favorite aspect of fall? I love so many things about my favorite season: the changing leaves, the crisp air, the shorter days. And I really love the return to routine after the summer.

What is your favorite fall memory? My wedding day, fourteen years ago this month! We had cornstalks, pumpkins, bittersweet, candles and even a scarecrow bride and groom!

What do you like to drink in the fall? I loooove hot cider. Especially when I'm drinking it in Vermont on a cold crisp morning! I also enjoy pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. They're pretty much the only flavored coffee I will drink.

What's your favorite fall food? I love all the fall produce at the farm like squash and apples and late season corn. I especially love fall desserts like apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Ooh, and then there are hot cider donuts from the farm, and sugar cookies decorated like acorns and leaves ...

What is fall weather like where you live? I think fall is New England's best season. We have lots of warm days, but generally the air is crisp and clear. It's not until November that it starts to get cold, and damp.

What color is fall? September is chrysanthemum purple, October is pumpkin orange of course, and November is acorn brown. :)

What does fall smell like? Woodsmoke, apples and cinnamon.

Holiday shopping in fall: yes or no? Yes! Though mostly online. But no decorating or anything. Not until after Thanksgiving at least!

If you could go anywhere in the fall, where would you go? VERMONT!

What is your favorite fall sport? I love football Sundays - GO PATS!

Do you have a favorite fall chore? Changing the bedding from cotton to flannel. I also like it when we take down the screens and put up the storm windows. It's like we're "battening down the hatches" before the winter sets in. :)

What is your least favorite thing about fall? It's too fast! I want it to linger longer, before the holiday rush begins. Also, late fall when it gets cold and rainy - IF I have to go out. (If I can stay in with a cup of tea then that's actually pretty nice and cozy.)

What is your favorite fall holiday? Thanksgiving Day.

What's your favorite kind of pie? Pumpkin with whipped cream.

What was your favorite Halloween costume? I was a gypsy for many years in a row. I loved wearing the heavy eye makeup, the gold hoop earrings and the flouncy skirt. :)

What was your favorite Halloween candy? Three Musketeers.

What was your least favorite Halloween candy? Bit-O-Honey or Mounds. Ick. (And just for the record, I'm no fan of candy corn, either.)

Which do you prefer, the Farm or the Fair? Since we go to the farm all year long, I guess I'd have to say the Fair.

Do you have a favorite fall book? The Smartest Bear and His Brother Oliver (from when I was a little girl), Fletcher and the Falling Leaves and Hurry, Hurry, Mary Dear.

How about a favorite fall poem?

Listen! the wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves. We have had our summer evenings, Now for October eves! (Humbert Wolfe)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this meme, and if you do it at your blog, pease leave me a comment so I can start a list of links! :)

Happy Fall!

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Fall Friends...

Maryan

Barbara

Jenna

Rachel

Lisa

Dana

Stephanie

Linda

Mrs. Pea

Thanks for participating, ladies! Anyone else care to join us? :)

Painting Day!

Do you have a regular painting day at your house? A day when you break out the brushes and watercolors, tie smocks on the kids and let them have at it?

Well, in theory, we do - though in practice, not so much. I mean, I am completely sold on the idea that a regular painting day (just like a regular nature study day or a regular tidy-up day) has an important place in our home learning rhythm. So what keeps us from doing it more often? (I am asking myself as much as anyone!) I think the answer (as with most things) lies within the issue of organization.

Basically I am looking for a way to make kid-crafting more do-able: easy and spontaneous, yet with a manageable mess quotient. I would love - love - a corner all set up for this kind of crafting; in fact, I have one "on order." ;) Bill is working on making over our basement into a playroom for the boys. I have requested a craft corner - with enough space to work, to store supplies neatly, and with perhaps a clothesline hung above for finished or drying projects. It also has to be set up in a way that Earlybird can manage - i.e. enough materials to be creative, not so many as to be overwhelming.

But all that will be fodder for a future post (when I get some pictures of downstairs), for now, let me return to our "Harvest Moon" painting day last week. It was so nice out, we decided to work out-of-doors ....

Here are the boys at their workspace (the picnic table covered in newspapers):

Due to Earlybird's sensitivities, I hesitate to use traditional watercolors when working with him. Instead, I mixed up some natural food dye with a bit of water, and hoped for the best.

He pretty much liked the mixing part the best:

Working with a Harvest theme, we stuck to yellow and red (and thereby, orange).

I was a little fuzzy on the whole paper thing - it had been a while since we last painted - soak, don't soak, soak a little? I didn't have the OM manual at my side, so I hedged my bets and ended up wiping the paper with a damp sponge. It seemed to work well.

I loved watching all the boys get into it in their own way. EB was all about the water, Crackerjack wanted to get back to his baseball, lol (though he did finish his painting), and Bookworm took things nice and slow:

The only instruction I had given them was to fill their papers with "harvest color." Bookworm decided to make an autumn sunset, and he worked on it for quite some time.

You can see the paintings hanging to dry on our clothesline at the top of this post. They dried very quickly in the breeze and were ready to craft with before long.

I made an orange moon out of my paper and hung it against peach tissue in the windows:

It reminded me of the sky in the opening scene of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, when Lucy and Linus head out to the neighborhood pumpkin patch ... do you know the one I mean? The sky is always perfect in those CB specials.

Crackerjack made a pumpkin face with his (photo forthcoming) while Earlybird used his painting as drawing paper (photo not available). :)

Bookworm used some of my orange painted paper to cut out a smaller Harvest Moon. He rigged up a pulley system and suspended it over his sunset (adding a piece of starry blue scrapbook paper above) ...

He then had a neat little nature story to tell - the rising and setting of the Harvest Moon! You could do this with any full moon, changing the color to white or even blue or green. (Or even the shape could change as the moon waxes and wanes!)

I expect our next painting day will be held indoors, unless we get another touch of Indian Summer - but hopefully we'll have our craft corner soon ready downstairs! You know, I would love to see how other folks set up their crafting corners ~ now, wouldn't that be a fun carnival?

Well, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great Wednesday!

Crafters Night!

I have no time to blog tonight, because I am on my way out to my very first Knitting Circle! Actually, luckily for me, all kinds of handcrafters are invited, not just knitters. Sure I've knitted before, but I'm sort of a random crafter - I dabble and dream more than I actually finish things. ;)

So, I have my bag all packed ...

.. with autumn-hued yarn, felt, embroidery thread and oatmeal-colored linen. Hopefully I'll feel inspired to start something!

But just in case I draw a blank, I am also packing a bunch of craft magazines and idea books, as well as my two most recent journals, in which I have taped loads of clippings and pictures from all kinds of places. I would like to at least maybe write out a handmade gifts list for Christmas. (Oh, and speaking of handmade gifts, ahem, the Loveliness Fair on this very subject will be right here on November 5th! Stay tuned for more details soon!)

Well, so much for no time to blog, lol. You know I can always eke out a paragraph or two, even on my way out the door.

Have a great night, everyone. I'm off to craft!

A Big Day for Bookworm!

This morning he got braces!

I can hardly believe this is my Bookworm - his braces make him look like such a big kid!

Sigh.

This will take some getting used to. For me it's the whole my-baby's-growing-up-thing, while for Bookworm it's the whole metal-bands-are-lashed-to-my-teeth-thing. He'll adjust more quickly I bet.

On our way home, we stopped at a favorite market and I let Bookworm pick out all the soft foods he wanted - we came home with rainbow parfait, butternut ravioli and three kinds of ice cream! (Btw, today is World Vegetarian Day; I plan to make this soup sometime this week.)

We also stopped in at the bakery and picked up some delicious mini eclairs, which (I once read) were a favorite treat of Saint Therese's. (Today is also her feast day!) We're enjoying them just now, sitting here on the deck, listening to the birds and watching the sun dip behind the trees. The light is just so golden and soft! Does it get like this at any other time of the year? I don't think so. It's always prettiest, it seems, just before dark. There's a metaphor in there somewhere, I'm sure.

Truth be told, I'm the one who's sitting on the deck, listening to birds and watching the sun - the boys, well, they're tearing all over the yard with an odd assortment of balls, bats and brooms. They've got some kind of game under way, something that only makes sense to them. And you should see the dirt on their faces, lol!

You know, Bookworm may be a tween - and with the braces to prove it - but out here with his brothers, running barefoot through the leaf-littered grass, he's just one of the boys ...

On days like these - when I feel the hands of time intruding upon my family - I am so very grateful we homeschool. It may just be a trick of the light, but it seems, for right now, we're just beyond that inevitable grasp.

And Speaking of the Lovely Fall ...

This should keep us busy for for a while! :)

Below is the schedule for the upcoming Autumn Loveliness Fairs. Thanks to Elizabeth for putting it all together!

Please help us celebrate The Loveliness of ...

*September 24: Family Games (Marianne at Learning2Love)

*October 1: Comfort Drinks (Nutmeg at Life in a Nutshell)

*October 8: Natural Fibers (Katherine at The Onion Dome)

*October 15: All Things Apple (Kristie at A Walk in the Woods)

*October 22: Comfort Food (Brenda at Coffee, Tea, Books and Me)

*October 29: Leaves (Colleen at Footprints on the Fridge)

*November 5: Handmade Gifts (Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight)

*Novemer 12: Fall Sports (Mary Chris at Our Little Pocket)

*November 19: Pie (Cindy at Kelly's Klassroom Korner)

*November 26: Preparing to Prepare (Susan at To Order All Things)

*December 3: Gifts that Can't be Put in a Box (Kim at Starry Sky Ranch)

And don't forget, Alice Cantrell is hosting a series of Toymaking Fairs all the way through to Christmas!

You can always find a link to the current Loveliness Fair on my righthand sidebar (updated every Monday). Just look for the pink Loveliness logo and give it a click! :)