On this gray misty morning I have found myself alone for a few minutes. Alone! as in all by myself... with no one else around!  It's just me and a hot cup of tea over the smell of cooking blueberry pancakes and ham.  Heaven! I am so grateful for these moments! To breath in the peace before the kids wake and the energy level rises.  Wishing everyone a peaceful Friday and a merry weekend.

Forest, Field and Sea part 3

 And here we are at part three; the sea.  It had been two years since our last visit to the ocean!  The girls were apprehensive at first.  That water is big and powerful.  But after a bit they were building sand castles and playing tag with the waves.  Eoghan for his part was thrilled as sand is his new favorite thing.  He's happy to run his fingers through it, squeeze it in his little fist, army crawl through it and oh yes taste it. 

Forest, Field and Sea part 2

Without fail the farmers market is always one of the first things we locate in a new town.  It has become a comfortable part of our weekly rhythm no matter where we live.  Every farmers market has it's own feel.  The vendors are different, the produce is different but the freshness of the food is always the same.  In Washtington we went for the carrots. You've never had carrots this good in your life.  There was something in the soil!  In New York  we went for the eggs, the lamb and the conversation.  The vendors there were so personable.  In fact I still keep in touch with a couple of them.  In Colorado we went for the bacon.  Goodness, gracious the bacon!  Waffles on Sunday morning will not be the same with out you dear bacon.  And here...well I'm not exactly sure yet.  But initial impressions say it might just about be everything.  This week we bought avocados, artichokes, peaches, plums, grapes, green beans, lettuce, spinach, figs...  I could go on but your mouth is watering already right?!  Yes my friends almost everything grows here and it's all fresh and delicious.  I'm looking forward to our weekly adventures to the farmers market.

Forest, Field and Sea part 1

 We spent the weekend going from forest to sea and in between.  The top photo is of water bugs on a still pool in a forest stream.  We spent a couple hours scampering around this stream.  It was quiet and cool and the air was damp.  It was a perfect spot to be.

Our foray into home schooling

We've attended Waldorf schools since Lillian was 18 months old.  When we found we would be moving to California one of the first things I did was scout out the local Waldorf schools.  We found a great one, applied and got accepted.  They even gave us a great tuition break.  But for several logistical reasons we decided it just wasn't going to work for us this year.  We checked out the local public schools which got rave reviews but decided they just weren't for us.  Which pretty much left home schooling.

I've toyed with the idea of home schooling since Lil was 6 months old but we've always gone another route.  Now seemed like the ideal time to give it a try.  I have spent the last week and a half diving into all the information I could find.  I'm not going to lie it's totally overwhelming.  There are so many curriculum choices and ways to go about home schooling.
 
But I'm excited too!  I'm dreaming of all the interesting things we'll learn this year.  I imagine Lil will learn to read and improve her math skills.  Those things are exciting but she'll also get to learn to play soccer and paint and draw and maybe dance.  I am dreaming of all the interesting ways we'll learn together this year.  I want to have a day each week where we find half an hour to write letters to all our friends all over the country.  I want to spend time in the woods and learn the local plants and trees and bugs.  I want to spend time at the ocean tide pooling and learning the names of all the creatures we find.  Yes my friends the possibilities are endless.  I am excited to see what the year will bring.

The birthday quilt

 Here's a bit more catching up from way back.  Two years ago I pieced this quilt for Lillian's 5th birthday (her birthday is in January by the way).    It took me an entire year to get it quilted and edged.  This year on her 6th birthday she woke up to find it on her bed.  (If it took me two years to finish it then I'm ahead of schedule in getting it posted right?!) I made the pattern myself but it was inspired by one of the quilts in The Quiltmaker's Gift.  The fabrics are voile from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks line.  I love ordering fat quarter bundles from her site and then sitting (not literally of corse) on them until inspiration hits.  

Do you see how busy the tooth fairy has been lately?!

16th Annual Cajun - Zydeco Music Festival

Got to go to Ardenwood Historic Farm on Saturday for the 16th annual Cajun - Zydeco Music Festival. I must admit Zydeco music is one of my favorites.  I just can't help but dance when the music gets going. We danced and danced and went a little deaf and danced some more.  In between dancing we played around the farmyard which was just a stones throw from the music festival.  

        

 The girls dancing with Grandpa Steve

Nonie taking a turn with the camera

'Old Fashioned' games at the farm.  

Traveling, Traveling

It took us five days to travel from Colorado to California.  We were traveling with a baby who is not fond of the car, a cat, a 26 foot truck with all our stuff and well the rest of us too.  Phil drove the truck with his trucker buddy Rupert (the cat) and I drove the kids.  I tried to stop each day in the middle of our travel time to give us a bit of nature and a bit of lunch.  The girls have shown an interest in the camera lately.  Its been fun to see what they see.  Nonie took the top shot and Lillian the third.

Saying goodbye

Ain't it true: Saying goodbye is hard to do?!  I consider myself so very blessed with beautiful friends and neighbors.  It is a gross understatement to say we couldn't have done this move without our Colorado 'tribe'.  We had folks to feed us and help us pack, carry, load, clean and kid wrangle.  I have never lived in a place where community was so instant and so solid.  We made so many friendships in Colorado that I do believe we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.  To say I am blessed to have them is an understatement.  How very grateful I am to all of you Colorado folks!  

Thanks to Matt for the last photo.  We have a tradition that started a few houses back.  Once we're out of the house and the keys are turned over we have a last shot on the front porch.  In Washington it was Phil, myself and Lillian.  In New York we added Nonie and now in Colorado there were five of us.  Someday I hope to have our forever spot but for now our homes are marked by porch shots. 

Gosh, it's been a while!  So much has happened in the last year and I've done such a poor job keeping up.  We've just turned to a new page in the big old book of life.  I'm going to use this change up to make some time for this here little blog again.  We've just relocated to California and left another amazing tribe of friends.  Keeping up here seems like the best way to keep all our loved ones up to date.

I guess the biggest news from this year has been the arrival of Eoghan (pronounced Yowen).  He was born in January.  His smiling little face and giggles have been delighting us all.  The other big news is Phil's acceptance of a job in San Francisco, prompting our move here.  We're blessed to have a set of grandparents (Phil's folks) here that we get to live with while we learn the lay of the land.  I'll play a little catch up over the next week or so and then post regular updates.  Check back to see what we are up to.