change/brave

My posts are getting fewer and further between! (I see that I never posted about our learning year this fall. I might come back and remedy that at some point.) 

 

Every year since 2010, I have chosen a word for the year. Each year, mentally coming back to the word has been a helpful anchor. Except 2021. My word for 2021 was Thrive, but it was a Survive year. It has been a rough year with much growth and yet much to keep us stuck.

As always, a dictionary of words were options for 2022 - there are so many good words in multiple languages - but I think I have to choose the word Change. And this year, in choosing Change, I have to pair it with Brave, because change is really hard for me, hard for others in my family, but I feel deeply that we need to embrace it, currently, and that takes bravery.

What words, thoughts, goals, etc. are you striving for in 2022?

light - an autumn check-in

 

I hesitated using this photo. It represents so much for me; nature, seasonal change, hope, and light. But it was one beautiful day, tucked into weeks of unprecedented wildfire smoke and poor air, trapping us inside. It feels misrepresentative.

 

I have been missing from this space for quite some time. The general changes of life in the past year or so, coupled with the pandemic, have me moving further inward. But I have been thinking a lot about my word for 2020, Light, and today, as I folded some laundry, I had a sudden urge to come and post. I don't really have collected thoughts to share, but perhaps I am not alone, as my mind wanders through a chain reaction of emotions and awareness of a need for time to process. Time that is difficult to carve out these days, despite seemingly having lots of time. (We, as parents, have taken on every role, all at once. Even those of us who homeschooled before are not experiencing life in the same way. Our spaces are small and so compactly shared right now. Those of us with high needs children are left without supports we once had. Our children don't have time with mentors they adore. And more. It is hard.)

When I chose the word Light, it was almost a transitional word for me, because the other word I considered was Change. I didn't feel ready to do the inner work involved, yet, with the word Change, but I guess Mother Earth is having a laugh on me, because this year has been all about Change. But it has also been about Light. When I chose Light, the other word that paired with it in my mind was Namaste, which I have always known to mean "the good and the light in me, sees and honors the good and the light in you." 

Isn't this a year during which we have needed to continue to see the good in others and continue to have to reach toward, lean into, walk toward light, positivity, and hope?

There has been so much darkness this year. A pandemic, many deaths as a result, chronic after-effects for many who have survived, economic pain and instability, and climate disasters. Here where I live, 4 million acres of beautiful land, burned in wildfires, many killed, homes lost, and many more displaced. It keeps coming. It is the sensation of being knocked down, bruised up, and dragging ourselves up again to keep going. It is a year of grieving so much. I am not willing to give up on 2020 yet. There are too many holidays, birthdays, achievements, and goals to be celebrated and met.

With light and hope,

N

living light and DIY

During this pandemic (our family is now entering week 9), it has been nearly impossible to get any alone time, but observing each of us, I am learning so much. Speaking about myself only, I have noticed that I flow in and out of a mix of emotions, even in the course of a day. We have been fortunate, so far, and I feel guilt, privilege, and gratitude all rolled into one untidy bundle. I, like many, have found this whole event to be stressful, but there are some things we are doing that keep us busy, ease some of the stress, and feel productive.

Growing an edible garden. With a small yard, we are growing in scattered little plots.

We are in a part of Northern California where our shelter-in-place orders have been extended through May 31, with uncertainty beyond that. These weeks at home have had difficult and joyful spots, growth and regression. Among the positives, however, have been the space and necessity that we lean into our more resourceful, DIY tendencies. As I said in my previous post, I am choosing light; seeing the brightness of this time and living more lightly on the planet. (It is one way I manage my anxiety.) Living lightly is something M and I have always aligned on, but I had been feeling like we had drifted in the past 5 years or so. (We spent an entire year buying nothing new when the kids were younger, but that would be so much harder now!)

 Homemade sauerkraut and homemade yogurt.

Sheltering in place has shown us a few things.

It quickly became clear to us that our tendency to be prepared was helpful. Preparation has been a tool I have used for years, initially because being prepared saves us money, more recently because it saves us time and addresses environmental risks (earthquakes and wildfires) and food allergies and sensitivities, and in shelter-in-place, it has saved us from additional worry.

As more and more people have jumped into urban homesteading, it gave me an awareness of how much our family already does ourselves, and if there is an urban homestead wagon, we were already on it.

Muffins and granola. We make granola weekly and the recipe is my gluten free version of a recipe I brought home from summer camp when I was 12.

I have enjoyed the challenge of making things work during this time when zipping out to buy and telephoning to hire haven't been options. Within the first 3 weeks of shelter-in-place, we had multiple things break. Between us, we had the skills and resources to repair or work out an alternative. This time has had me reflecting on lessons my grandparents and parents shared, and the phrase 'use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.' We are not lacking for anything, but I certainly don't want anything to go to waste and I am extra eager for us to take care of what we do have. These desires are emphasized by the desire to avoid contact with others.

The reasoning is bizarre and unprecedented, but the resulting resourcefulness and simplicity are welcomed, and the decreased environmental impact is so very good.

Line dried laundry and plastic bags (washed and reused, yes). Do you see rags hanging there? We use a lot of cloth; rags, napkins, towels, feminine, and when we had babies, diapers. We have used cloth wipes, too, but we do use toilet paper when it can be purchased.

The photos in this post are a sampling of simple actions and recipes we were already using long before this pandemic. In addition, we have a chest freezer to stock on on sale foods and bulk cooked meals. We are crafty and make things we need through woodworking, sewing, other fiber arts, and more. (Yup, we have made masks right along with everyone else!)

While we had chickens for years, we don't currently. We talked about getting chicks last year, but didn't have the bandwidth. We do now, and so chicks are on their way to us. We have cleaned out the coop and are excited for the coming additions to our little homestead. We keep trying new things, too. I just made a batch of rice milk and while I bake a lot from scratch, I want to try making my own gluten-free sourdough starter for gluten-free sourdough bread.

I hope to look back on this time and see the creativity, the light, and the need for less that resulted from it.

What roots have you returned to during this time?

June and July 2019

 

June brings solstice summer sun

Warmth and light for everyone.

 

We spend July in mountains high.

Canoe, hike, and swim; The days fly by. 

~Nicola 

 

Dates of Interest:

June 16: Father's Day

June 21: Summer Solstice

July 4: United States' Independence Day


Homeschooling:

We wrapped up the year well. We didn't get to all at hoped to and planned for. Not even close. But we also had some important health care appointments series that interrupted our flow substantially.

We usually take the summertime off. This year, our summer break is shorter and we will be enjoying some space and time, but we will also be doing some intentional learning. Our summer is actually far more scheduled (not necessarily full, just mapped out) than usual.

Intentional learning includes some language arts and some math for both kids. In addition, Lala Bug has asked to learn some coding. This isn't something she is normally interested in, but she has idea in mind that this would help with. I love this for so very many reasons! Also, Shakespeare is much loved in this house and there are opportunities around to see local performances, which we plan to take advantage of.

And, of course, I need to spend some time planning. This coming year will look very different, but I don't quite know yet how it will be different. We continue to try and be mindful of where our kids are socially, emotionally, developmentally, and academically, regardless of their chronological age. We are trying to respect their desires, limits, and interests, while keeping the broader view of what they might need for college and beyond. All that feels a bit fuzzy for my planning right now.

Self-care:


Self-care this summer will mean me getting some time alone, clearing some of our spaces (this gives me greater inner calm), and reading some books. We will be adventuring and exploring this summer, which is something I deeply need. I need to "get away," even if we don't travel and this just means exploring new and much-loved places nearby.

Parenting:


Our kids need some down time, nature time, and one-on-one this summer! There are plans for them to get all of that. I continue to work on boundary setting and holding and we are being mindful to pour on more positive compliments and observations when appropriate. We have one kiddo who has a hard time accepting supportive criticism, corrections, and also compliments. All of these help us grow when when they are intended in a caring way.

Home life:

We have some major work to do this summer...decluttering, room shuffling, and we need a new roof (and ceiling repairs from where the roof leaked)!



I am combining June and July, because one way in which I am caring for myself this summer is not setting myself up to feel obliged to be online! Have a joyful summer.

March 2019

March brings our 'coastal snow,'

as flowers bloom and white petals blow. 

~Nicola

Dates of Interest:

March is the month dedicated to celebration of women. We will be reading extra stories of strong and unique women during read-aloud.

March 8: International Women's Day

March 17: St. Patrick's Day

March 20: Shakespeare performances day in our world

March 21: Holi

Homeschooling:

Homeschooling in a little smoother as we begin this month. We are through the application process with our oldest for high schools and are now waiting, talking, and making decisions. I had not anticipated how much stress and anxiety my girl would experience from participating in this process. Change is inevitable and hard.

For both kids we are going to shifting back into using Brave Writer Arrow or Boomerang guides paired with literature. We had taken a break while steeped in Shakespeare.

Fifth Grader: Not much has changed since last month's post! He is working on weekly homework for his Exercise Physiology class, as well as his Globe Theatre project for his Shakespeare class. He is using Teaching Textbooks and Key To workbooks for math and we are using games to review. We are continuing to use REWARDS to support his progress with language arts differences.

Eight Grader: She just completed her Shakespeare project and is working on memorizing lines so she can be an understudy for a couple of other characters, if necessary. She has been working through Khan Academy and Key To workbooks for math and she is getting a small amount of outside support for language arts and math.

Self-care:

I have been tired. My priority has been climbing into bed at a reasonable time and reading a little before sleep. There are so many other self-care things I want to be doing, and if I am honest, I feel like I deserve. If I stop and consider, there are little things I am doing...a hot shower (alone for 5 minutes of thinking and meditation), light exercise, listening to podcasts, and nature time, among others, but it is the time I have alone that is most meaningful to me. Recently, my brother came for an overnight and took the kids mountain biking for the afternoon, so M and I had a little conversation time alone together before he went for a hike and left me alone in the house. I did some clean-up, but it still felt restorative because I was by myself. I really haven't been getting this kind of time much. It is so important to know these things about oneself!

Parenting:

Parenting, as always, is about connection, empathy, play, limits, listening, and love. I am working on talking less and listening more. Brown Mouse just went away for a couple of days for special adventure time with Grandma and Nonno, leaving Lala Bug to get some special time with us. It was what everyone needed.

Home life:

We are making very slow progress on clearing, cleaning, organizing, and re-arranging, but progress in baby steps is still progress. We have had a lot of rain and we can see where we may need to pause until it is dry enough for us to haul some things outside, but also that items like roof patching and fence securing are getting bumped up on the list. M and I are working to carve out time to really connect and communicate with each other about all. the. things; kids, schooling, home, work, future, finances. We are definitely at a point where we are both feeling worn and changes are needed. I feel the winds shifting.

Crafting:
Lala Bug's itch to knit has been rekindled. I am pleased to see her creativity re-blossom. M has been making some tools for his shop that haven't required power, since his finger is still recovering from the table saw. Brown Mouse has been working on a model Globe Theatre for his Shakespeare project. Me? I have been mending things and decluttering my crafting area, readying it to be packed up for a room rearrangement.

And just like that we slide toward spring! What is happening in your world?

learning period 2 of 2018-2019

I really haven't been blogging much and when I have, it has been more of a documentation and sharing of our homeschooling than anything else creative or economical. I shared learning period 1 and "our 168" (hours per week) in October and didn't post in November at all!

I am back to share a little about learning period 2, which was October and November. Here we are in December and time is zipping by always more quickly than I would like.

October and November were filled with numerous atypical appointments. December, in addition to all the celebrations, will have its fair share of appointments too.  I love the winter holidays, but I am slow to get into them right now, because I am dragging a bit and worn from our inconsistent rhythm. I need to create something to look forward to in January, when appointments are done, new rhythm can be made, and that helps ease the bleakness I tend to feel after the holidays.

Can you tell we did a block on chocolate? I had intended for this to be more of a math block and began with Marsha Johnson's History of Chocolate guide, but one book lead to another, which lead to maps (we love Map of the Month) and history and science. So we did a little math, but we learned more about the history of the Americas, how chocolate was made originally, how it is made now, how it spread in popularity, and we taste tested various chocolates. We even made chocolate. This was a wonderful block!

Social studies: We studied the history and geography of chocolate. We studied early U.S. history a little more through various avenues...our American Girl 4-H project, reading Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, and through the Constitution class Lala Bug took through our charter school. The class had them exploring different parts of the Constitution, choosing a topic, writing a paper, and giving a speech, as well as multiple quizzes. Between her love of history and 4-H speaking experiences, Lala rocked the class.

Math: Teaching Textbooks for Brown Mouse, Khan Academy for Lala Bug, games, and Key To... series workbooks for both kids. We are more consistent with math right now and all I can hope is that it is enough. Brown Mouse took a math class through our charter, where they covered a lot about ratios and fractions and Lala Bug, of course, knit a lot and continued writing knitting patterns.

Language arts and Writing: We are loving Brave Writer for language arts and writing. This second learning period we read and worked through the Arrow guide for Frindle by Andrew Clements (just a fun book) and we are working through Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes right now. The Constitution class Lala Bug was in gave her the extra writing work she needed and for Brown Mouse, we are working through a reading and spelling support program called REWARDS, which he is having success with.

 

Science: Lala Bug took a personal interest, deep dive into the history of the U.S. exploration of space, particularly the moon, which, of course, covered a lot of science, as well. The interested began with the book Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon by Suzanne Slade, which was excellent. We also explored science during our chocolate block and Brown Mouse took a Nature Detectives class through our charter. He really enjoyed that and because of our weekly nature studies, he really got a chance to shine, sharing some of his knowledge with his friends and teachers.

Nature plays a big role in our homeschool, with time spent weekly exploring and monthly at the farm with 4-H. This past month, our state was heavily hit with devastating wildfires. The smoke from the fires blew our way and settled to stay for a couple of weeks. It affected our ability to be outside and made for some interested observations, recordings, and conversations.

Moving into December and the new year, I need to take some time to re-evaluate where we are and where we need to shift. We have toured several schools now and I have also attended more discussion groups about homeschooling high school. It is time for us to begin putting in applications for high schools and our family to sit down and discuss wants, needs, goals, and plans. Lots ahead of us!

natural dyes: a which name? re-post

My kiddos might be big, but, oh, they do love our traditions. So egg dyeing is happening as I type. They are dyeing some hard boiled eggs and have already dyed some shells that I carefully cracked near the top. The pictures immediately below are a sampling of today's creativity.

Below is a blog post that originally appeared on my blog Which Name? on March 18, 2010. A version of it also appeared in the online magazine, Rhythm of the Home, in April 2010. Unfortunately, not only is the magazine no longer being e-published, but the magazine URL now belongs to someone else, so all my article links are dead-ends.




recently, when my mom brought over the children's books on fiber arts, she also brought over several books on using natural dyes for fabrics and yarns, knowing that my interest in natural dyes had been rekindled. i skimmed the books, learning things i had not known, wishing for more detail on fabric (rather than yarn) dyeing, knowing i am not ready to purchase chemicals to use as setting agents, and finally settling in on the natural food dyes i know and love.

but this time, i am not using them for fabric. i am using them for food.

with easter just around the corner and mike's mom over for a visit, we put some of my food dyes to the test.


using foods for natural dyes (of eggs, non-synthetic cloth, and non-synthetic yarn) is incredibly easy. some foods are natural dyes (or as we know them, staining agents!), such as coffee, tea, turmeric, mustard, grapes (wine), berries, beets, etc.

here is how to make your own egg dyes:
your food for color + 1 tablespoon vinegar + 2 cups water = egg dye
(the vinegar is the setting agent.) bring all of the ingredients to a boil, them simmer for 10 or more minutes
pouring your mixture through a sieve will give a liquid that leaves you with a solid color. leaving the food material in the mix will give your egg a mottled color.

to obtain various colors:
red: beets, cabbage, red raspberries, strawberries
yellow: onion skins, turmeric, mustard
blue: blueberries, blackberries
green: mix your yellow and blue dyes
orange: mix your red and yellow dyes (today's updated note: sour grass makes the most incredible orange)

i used red raspberries for red, blue and blackberries for blue/purple, and a combination of turmeric, mustard, and onion skins for yellow.

at the suggestion of my crafty friend liz, we made leaf imprints on some of our eggs. to do this, simply press the leaf against the egg, wrap the egg tightly inside an old nylon stocking, twist to keep taut, and dye for as long as you can bear to leave it sitting.



the egg below was dyed in blueberries and was left soaking for well over an hour. i left it tightly wrapped when i removed it from the color and let it dry slightly before removing the stocking and peeling off the leaf.


and because i could not bear to let all those simmered berries go to waste, i used them to make berry cobbler!

52: 41

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of October 8, 2017

52: 40

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of October 1, 2017

52: 39

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of September 24, 2017

52: 19

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of May 7, 2017

Chicken and garden care for a neighbor.

52: 16

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of April 16, 2017

52: 11

52 weeks of photos. A special moment during the week of March 12, 2017

seeing

Around me right now...

danaus plexippus

This is the story of 3 Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillars; Dum Dum, Michael Phelps, and Bubbles.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Lala Bug. With a shriek of glee, she cried "Look! Look at what is on this plant!" Her little brother and her Mama, came running. There, on one of the small milkweed plants that they had grown from seed, was the little caterpillar. They watched this little creature on and off all day and then, the next day, when Mama went to water another milkweed plant, she found two more caterpillars.

Lala Bug, Little Brown Mouse, and Mama were very excited. They all loved Monarch butterflies very much, but had never found any in their own garden before. They gave the three caterpillars names. Little Brown Mouse named the first and biggest caterpillar Dum Dum. Mama named the second biggest caterpillar Michael Phelps (who does a beautiful butterfly stroke and in honor of the Olympics, which was happening when this story began).  Lala Bug named the tiniest little caterpillar Bubbles.

When Dum Dum crawled over the edge of the potted milkweed plant, the three amateur naturalists began to worry. They wanted to watch the entire life cycle of these lovely visitors. Mama suddenly remembered she had scored a butterfly habitat at a thrift sale months ago, so she brought that out and the three naturalists put the caterpillars, potted milkweed and all, into the butterfly habitat.

And then they began to watch. For days they watched, they watered milkweed, they rotated potted plants in and out of the butterfly habitat, and they took photographs.

One day, they noticed that Dum Dum was looking a little darker and was very still. They worried that he was dying! Instead, after several hours, Dum Dum made a little pad and attached himself to the side of the netting. Mama was concerned about his choice of location.

The next morning, when they went to check on the caterpillars, they found that Dum Dum had made a chrysalis. It was fully formed and hardened, with a beautiful golden rim at the top.

Not long after, Michael Phelps showed the same signs of darkening and slowing down. He climbed to the top of the butterfly habitat and attached himself to the lid. (Mama thought this was a much safer location for a chrysalis.) The amateur naturalists now knew, from observation and research, that Michael Phelps would curl up into a J shape before splitting his final caterpillar skin.

While the three humans kept checking, they missed the transformation Michael Phelps made from caterpillar to chrysalis, his third stage in his four stage life cycle.

A few days later, Bubbles made the same transition. This time, the three amateur naturalists caught Bubbles' transformation on video! It was a very exciting moment. (And it was a moment. The change happened very quickly.)

Now the naturalists had to wait. And wait. And wait.

 

More than 2 weeks passed. Mama began to worry again. Had they not survived this stage? In the meantime, the family of naturalists took lots of photographs. The chrysalis of the Monarch caterpillar is small, about an inch long, a lovely shade of pea green, with the most beautiful shimmering gold band.

They had not died! Suddenly, one morning, there was a beautiful Monarch butterfly. While the naturalists did not see the first, Dum Dum, emerge, they did catch the Michael Phelps emerging on video and watched her(!!) pump up her wings.

Each one of the amateur naturalists got a chance to hold and release a butterfly. In doing so, they discovered all three butterflies they had been calling "he" were all actually "she."

These butterflies were the third generation, so as they flew off, the amateur naturalists could envision their winged friends, flying south to Mexico or Monterey Bay (since they began west of the Rockies. East of the Rockies, Monarchs migrate to Mexico.)

Magic.