little corners

Little by little the corners of our home are coming together. We've been here for two years now. Sometimes it seems like an excruciating process - making our house into the home we want it to be. But I mostly like that it comes along slowly, that we have time to figure out what really works best.

Alas, our bedroom is one of the last things, but if all goes right, we will have new furniture in a few weeks! 

newly painted pale gray walls and new(ish) couches from Craig's List.

the view down the street from our front porch

I know it has been the trendy thing to post photos of blossoming paperwhites, but I couldn't resist. They're simply too lovely...

nothing glorious, but we finally finished painting the trim and doors in the upstairs hallway.

I smile at this every time I walk into my bedroom

the bathroom is one of my favorite rooms in the house - bright, cozy, with a little greenery

Feeling very grateful to have a sanctuary like this with hot showers, hot radiators, bread in the oven, and a little space for snuggling, creating, playing...

{this moment}

A Friday ritual (inspired by Soulemama).
A single photo--no words--capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your "moment" in the comments for all to find and see.
Have a wonderful weekend!

a poetic day

There was something brilliant and rather poetic about our outing the other day. It was unplanned. We had finished some chores in the house and I realized Mayumi could really use some focused Mama time. Some time where she could be in control and make the decisions. So I asked her what she wanted to do and she announced that she wanted to go to the Museum of Natural History.

So we did.

We took our time - for once we didn't have to rush in order to meet friends. It was just the two of us and we had no real agenda...

Everything is so much more beautiful when you take the time to really see it. We noticed things we'd never noticed before, despite having been here so many times.

And since it was a Monday afternoon, it wasn't very busy. We practically had the place to ourselves. Maya led the way through the great halls and exhibits. 

And when she had asked all her questions and had her fill, we headed back. And when she requested that we stop and ride the carousel, we did.

Her smile was the most beautiful and poetic part of the day.

That Rascally Rabbit

Because I don't have enough stuff to clean up around my house...

But like another little mess-maker who shall remain un-named, it is hard to stay exasperated because she is so darn cute and loving.

Mourning...

It hurts the morning after...

Pinterest Comes Through!

It seems like everyone I know is addicted to Pinterest these days (okay, I don't know that many people - my world is small!). I include myself among the addicted. Definitely too much time has been spent browsing through other people's boards and justifying it by saying that I'm organizing bits of inspiration for future projects...

But occasionally there is follow-through. I actually make something that I found on Pinterest. 

Like brussels sprouts with bacon, avocado and lime. And it was DELICIOUS. We were devouring it at dinner. I like brussels sprouts, but this was beyond my normal powers of simply roasting them with a little coconut oil (another yummy way to serve them, though!). If you'd like to try the recipe, visit The Little Red House.

Now I feel a bit more justified by my obsession. 

Out Demons, Out!

Onimanju (devil's cake) is a Japanese pastry made with sweet potato, which creates a bumpy texture that makes the cakes resemble devil's horns (at least according to the Japanese)! I've never had it before, so it was a leap of faith to make them myself to celebrate Setsubun today.

The recipe I used (sorry, I don't know the source - it was sent to me ages ago and I'm only now trying it!):

Onimanju (Devil's Cake)
Ingredients
3/4 lb satsumaimo (sweet potato, preferably the Japanese variety), cut into about 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour (I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose)
1 Tbsp shiratamako flour (I used sweet or glutinous rice flour [mochiko])
2 Tbsp milk

Preparation
Soak satsumaimo cubes in water for about 15 minutes and drain (to draw out the starchiness, perhaps?).

Place satsumaimo cubes in a large bowl and sprinkle sugar over them. Set aside for about 30 minutes so that some liquid gather at the bottom of the bowl. Drain the satsumaimo cubes and keep the liquid in another bowl. Add mixture of flour and shiratamako in the liquid and mix. Add milk to the dough. If the dough is too thick to stir, add a little bit of water. Mix in satsumaimo cubes.

Scoop a spoonful of the dough on parchment paper (I used cheese cloth) and place them in a preheated steamer. Steam for about 10 minutes.

*makes 8-10 cakes

The consensus? We all loved them! They weren't especially pretty to look at (but they're supposed to be devilish, right?) but they were mildly sweet and chewy and yummy. And so easy to make. A keeper all around.

Afterwards we went out onto the back deck and threw our beans over the rails yelling, "Demons out, good fortune in!"

I Can't imagine what the neighbors must think...

{this moment}

A Friday ritual (inspired by Soulemama).
A single photo--no words--capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your "moment" in the comments for all to find and see.
Have a wonderful weekend!

February Second

Last year we added a new tradition to our calendar: Candlemas! At the time, I didn't realize it was a holiday of Christian significance, but since learning more about it, I'm drawn to this old-fashioned holy-day even more. Marking the midpoint of winter, it is a celebration of light. Half the winter is over and spring is right around the corner, right?! During the Victorian age it was the day when households would take stock of their candles and determine whether or not they had enough to carry them through the rest of the winter. If more were needed, this is the day you would make them.

Candlemas is also observed in the Waldorf community and at Maya's little co-op they celebrated by rolling beeswax candles.

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will have another fight.

If Candlemas Day brings clouds and rain

Winter won't come again.

If Candlemas Day be dry and fair

The half o the winter's to come and mair;

If Candlemas Day be wet and foul

The half o the winter's gane at Yule.

Sound familiar? Today is also Groundhog Day. Not sure what ol' Punxsutawney Phil was thinking when he decided there would be 6 more weeks of winter... if the weather round these parts is any indicator, spring has already sprung. 

Daffodils and tulips peeping through in the front yard!

But that little groundhog is a cute thing. We enjoyed reading about him in A Garden for Groundhog by Lorna Balian.

Hope your Candlemas/Groundhog Day was warm and bright too!

Homeschool Lesson: Peter and the Wolf

One of the fun things about homeschooling is being able to really delve in-depth into a particular subject and find fun ways of exploring it. The challenging part is finding a suitable subject and putting together a lesson plan! But since we are part of a small co-op of families in the area who take turns teaching a "lesson" once a week, it is certainly incentive to be on top of my game. The three other moms involved all come from different backgrounds and it is fascinating and inspiring to see the unique strengths and creative approaches each one brings to their lessons.

For my turn this week I put together a little exploration and intro to music using Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Here is a rough outline of what my lesson plan looked like:

Peter and the Wolf

Music

Listen to examples of various instruments and discuss qualities of musical instrument groups and how each character is represented by a different instrument. What kind of personality traits come to mind when you hear a character’s leitmotif?

Listen to each character’s leitmotif. Explore dancing and moving to the music in order to convey the character’s personality.

Bring out instrument box. If you could choose one instrument from the box to represent yourself which would it be? How could you use that instrument to communicate with other people? How do you say hello? How do you let someone know you’re angry? Tired? Sad? Happy?

Language Arts

Puppet Show, using Sarah Jane Studio puppet theater

Reading from Books

Comparing the different book versions of the story.

Science

Review characteristics of animals.

Math

Grouping of instruments by type

Resources

Lesson plan: http://www.oebs.org/page/peter1.html

Lapbook: http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?products_id=47908&it=1

Excellent Study Guide with various activities: http://www.cantonballet.com/documents/PWStudyGuide-1.pdf

Amazingly all of the kids were interested in engaged in every step of the lesson. They were riveted by the puppet show story, they loved playing their own instruments, and they enjoyed putting together different elements of their scrapbooks. Success! Now I don't have to worry about putting together another lesson for another four weeks. Phew!