a little break

I'm taking a little blog break for the rest of the week. Hopefully I'll be back next week with lots of Easter-y goodness.

better, no?

My big project today was rearranging the boys' little play area. I dream of having an inspiring play area for them, but for now I just wanted to "use what I have" to open up the space a bit. Later, hopefully, I can add more art and color. We are lucky to have good light and nice floors--I am ever mindful of that. I just wanted to make the space a little less cluttered--specifically I was waiting for some inspiration so I could move their white Target dressers to somewhere else in the house. This morning I figured out they could change places with a bookcase that has children's books anyway, and voila:
I think it's much more open and visually appealing. I also set up a little art area on the table. I'd tried that once before and the boys were completely uninterested.

But today, presto! A drawing boy! I was delighted. He drew several pages worth. He balked at first because these Ikea pencils are so hard to draw with, but when I explained that you have to press hard to get the color to show up, something clicked and he went to town.
The weekend flew by. March is fast and furious with no breaks or holidays. I'll be glad to slow down a bit in April. Saturday we were in the hospital briefly with Rainer--he needed some platelets--but he is doing so well, and is very very close now to the end of this course of chemo. Hooray!

knitting outdoors and other randomness

Is everyone loving the longer days as much as I am? It's such a bummer in winter to get home from work and it's almost dark. I can't take a photo and I don't feel like exercising. Now it's the opposite. Plus, I've had the opportunity to just mellowly sit outside with the boys and do a little tiny bit of knitting. So far, it really does seem to encourage their happy and independent play. Last night Dieter was gathering fruit from the yard (kumquats and green blueberries) for the fairies and Rainer dug in the sandbox and played with the Tonka trucks.

So, about the knitting, I decided to frog the scarf I was making and instead started the "Wiggly Worm" scarf from Knitting Pretty. I am so excited about it. It will be for the boys and I am learning how to do increases. I think I may have figured out how to knit in the front and the back of a stitch through trial and error. When I finally take the knitting lesson I'll find out for sure if I'm doing it right. It's very fun to see the snake's tail form.

For those of you visiting for the first time from Crafty Crow (my bean soup was featured over there yesterday) welcome! Take a look around, feel free to hang out if you like what you see.

About the magazine conversation, good comments still coming in there. More of my thoughts: I do like to buy Mothering off the newstand from time to time. I loved the issue a few months ago with articles on "urban hiking", the dad who came to accept his son playing with dolls, and outdoor kindergarten in Germany--excellent issue! But their "stuff we love" column really bugs me and seems so anti-Mothering. I used to love Brain,Child but gave it up a few years ago when I thought the quality of writing went down (compared to its early years). Cookie somehow, oddly, doesn't make me feel bad about my situation . . . don't know why.

And some good internet type inspiration from real people:

• this flickr "home" set with many many thrifted and "real" items
• "My Life is Beautiful As Is" flickr group
• "Interiors Inspired by Nature" flickr group

It's Friday already. Enjoy these longer, lighter days.

playing

I've been thinking a lot about the boys' play lately "(as I am prone to overthink things) and about how I want them to be able to play by themselves. In looking around and trying to "catch" them playing these last few weeks, I've realized that they do play alone, or with each other, pretty well. In the book I'm reading the author talks about the adult being close by, maybe working in the kitchen or sitting doing some handwork, but not direcly playing "with" the children. The children are in their own dreamy childhood world and the adult brings something different to their play that is not needed or even desireable. That really resonated with me, as do so many of the Waldorfy concepts. I've also been reading some very good blog posts about play as well. One is here. Angelina of "The Little Travelers" often writes about the importance of letting children play freely. A recent post is here. I have definitely noticed that I tend to want to step in and direct them, "help," and not let them problem solve on their own. That is so wrong (and my boys do let me know when my "help" is unwelcome). So I am learning to step back and not interfere, on the one hand, and to encourage them to play by themselves, on the other. One thing I don't know how to handle yet is the "look at me" syndrome. You know, the child wants the adult to "look at me" every two seconds or so. I did notice the other day when we were outdoors, and I took my knitting out with me and the children could see I was knitting but also aware of them, the "look at me's" died down. Hmm.

I so loved your comments about magazines yesterday! How fun to learn what everyone loves and what everyone is giving up. It seems like many of us are in the same boat with getting more and more from our blogs and flickr groups. Carry on.

what magazines are you letting expire?

I'm trying to give up some of my magazine subscriptions--partly to reduce clutter around the house (they do pile up, don't they?) and partly because I just don't depend on them they way I used to for beauty and inspiration. These days I prefer the internet for beauty and inspiration--it's a constant supply and, unlike with magazines, I never feel bad about not being able to achieve what I see on its pages. Magazines, on the other hand, often make me feel discouraged in that way (and so many of them are really about selling things, aren't they? Even Wondertime came to have a "stuff we love" column every month, which annoyed me). So, Wondertime is gone--I do still like it, but they are ceasing publication. And now my Everyday Food subscription is expiring with this issue. I actually love Everyday Food, but I have dozens of back issues I would love to delve into more. And I've just about run out of space on my shelf! My Cookie subscription also recently expired, and I'm not sure if I'm going to renew. Today I'm leaning toward yes--there's something about it that I like--it has a certain edge to it, despite being very materially oriented. I love the photography.
I told Ken it's weird how the last issue of a subscription is often a particularly inspiring one--like they planned it or something. This Everyday Food had an article about dried beans, of all things, plus a lovely article on eggs for dinner, and very cute cookies that are inspired by "store bought" favorites.
Here is my interpretation of the recipe above. I've been eating this for lunches this week. I loved learning how to cook black beans and beets! We're out of pineapple now, and this picture is making me really want another.

So, anyone else having similar thoughts about magazines? And what magazines are you definitely keeping?

the littlest one

He said, "I made a rose flower . . ."
He said, "I made some rainbows . . ."
Now let me bonk myself with the bib.
Bonk.
Happy.

PS--look at all those orange slices he ate!

happy spring equinox!

The Vernal Equinox happened on Friday, and on Sunday we had our little tea. Just the same as always, but we love the tradition of it. Hopefully these little teas are making memories for the children. The nature table needed a little update, so this was the perfect push for that. It's much better now. Next up--changing over the winter book basket to spring. The book I'm reading right now really encourages getting the children more involved in festival preparations and starting early. I want to achieve that (especially the starting early part!). As it was, I did do a little watercolor painting with Rainer and Dieter for "decorations" and Rainer helped some in the kitchen.

Little meat pies, deviled eggs, vegan zucchini bread. We had the tea at 6pm, but it was still beautifully light outside.

The vegan zucchini bread turned out surprisingly well. I sweetened it with agave nectar. I'm still using up frozen zucchini from last summer.

Faith made this cake, decorated it and took the photo.

Contemplating this spring:

• being frugal
• encouraging independent play for the little boys
• learning to knit more, taking lessons (Faith might join me!)
• continued healthy eating, even after "vegan til 6" ends
• getting back into running. Ken is helping me by "enforcing" 3 runs a week!

What's up for you this spring?

knitting again

Finally, I am knitting again. After I finished my little slipper project in the fall, I bought this lovely soft cotton yarn from Fabric Town, then set it aside and never got started on anything. Sunday I got it out and just started knitting. I decided to make a scarf--no pattern, just alternating a row of knit with a row a purl. It is so fun to watch it knit up! And this yarn is a dream to work with. It's "Tara" yarn, and I love how soft it is. It's a dream to work with too, especially after that nasty nasty Vanna White yarn (never again!)
Here is how it looked on Sunday. I was confused about how to do the purling, so I looked it up in both Knitting Pretty and Kids Knitting. I was surprised and how the different explanations worked so differently for me. The explanation in Kids Knitting confused me, but the directions in Knitting Pretty worked like a charm. I was surprised mostly because usually I prefer the Kids Knitting instructions. It's a good thing I have both, I suppose.

And now I have all this. I'm having so much fun with it. I think maybe this isn't going to be the flattest scarf--it's all curled in along the sides, but it's very good practice, and the boys are excited because I'm also going to share it with them--for them it will be a snake, I'm sure, or something deliciously open-ended.

More exciting news on the knitting front: I discovered a beautiful yarn shop locally, and I'm going to be taking knitting lessons. Very exciting! I may have to wait until May to fit it into my schedule, but it's definitely happening. Also, I'm determined to make the Garter Yoke Cardi that Soulemama posted. Can anyone help me find the pattern? I contacted the Knit.1 website and they said they are all sold out of the winter issues. I also looked at Barnes and Noble, Fabric Town, Michael's, our health food store, and our local knitting shop, to no avail. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it. And happy weekend to all!

big chemo day

It was a long day, but Rainer got his last big round of chemo started on Monday. It's wonderful (and a little bit scary too) to be at this point. I'm thrilled that he's almost done with the big chemo but worried about how he'll do--he's gotten so sick from it in the past.


Ken's whiteboard art.

It's amazing how well Rainer ate his dinner tray--even after chemo. He ended up eating almost all of these berries and a lot of the noodles too.

He's home with us now--we got home late Monday night--and getting chemo at home for the next few days, then another round next week. Hang in there, little man!

the owls

So I got a little time in my studio this weekend, and I was able to finish up these owl softies that I've been working on. They're for Ben and Faith in their Easter baskets. Do teens need a stuffed owl in their baskets? I don't know, but I agonize these days over not getting them useless junk but still wanting to do a basket (or Christmas stocking, or trail of hearts goodies . . . you get the idea). I think handmade is a good middle ground. They'll get some candy too, of course. I'm not anti-candy in the least. I would feel even better about these if they were totally natural fiber. But they're not--they're stuffed with poly-fil, which I love because it's cheap and widely available, but then we can't really say these "go back to the earth" can we. Ditto with the interfacing. I have a big bag of wool stuffing but always think it's "too good" to use. Silly, I know. I need to find some cotton stuffing.
Now about the owls. I made these up on my own, based on some others I had seen. This is basically how I draw an owl--the pattern was drawn freehand, as were the individual feet. I like that they're are kind of quirky. I love the Ikea fabric I used for the boy owl.
And since I do have one daughter, it was fun to go all pink for the girl.
I like that the boy's back is totally different from his front, since the Ikea print is so large.
And here are the feet. I'd like to do more owls, maybe on shirts for the little boys. Up next, felt bunnies for the little boys' baskets.

at the demonstration garden

For our Saturday afternoon outing the with the little boys, we walked to the local demonstration garden. It was all new to me, and it was wonderful! What a treat to be there on a cloudy afternoon with pizza dough rising at home and the four of us all together. March has been so good to us with cool weather and more clouds than usual (I get so burnt out on sunshine, really, it makes me a little grumpy when we get no variation).
The demonstration garden is really big with lots of areas. Here is the shrub "maze" (not really a maze, but Dieter thinks it is. He's the perfect size for it. It just goes around in a rectangle). I love the sort of "magical" play and pretend that is inspired by being outdoors.


On Sunday I was inspired to go right back. This time Ken stayed behind to work in our own yard, and I packed a vegan snack. Dieter was fascinated by the "vegan" aspect and asked lots of questions about which foods come from animals and which foods come from plants. The kids aren't doing "vegan 'til 6" of course, but it's just easier (for me) to pack a snack we can all eat. And it's certainly healthy for them too.
Golden raisins from farmer's market. He thinks they are "gummies." I told him they're better than gummies, which, of course, they are.
(Cute knitted hat here from Tava. Thank you, Tava! If you have a blog, please let me know and I'll link to you.)
Tomorrow we are off to the hospital with Rainer. I took the day off work. He's starting the second part of his "DI-2", so finally an end is in sight. He's been sick, so it's been delayed again and again. I'm so relieved to be finally starting. Now I can worry about how he does instead of worrying about when he'll start. It will be a big party when he's done.