Etsy, here I come....

So, I'm looking through a catalog that recently arrived in the mail.

[I need to address this: we still get too many unwanted catalogs]

This particular catalog has, in the past, been a source of inspiration--really cute and unique gifts for children.

Tender books--the kind that you want to keep in your collection forever.

Neat stuff--things you mostly can't find anywhere else.

We have a moratorium on spending this year, so I decide I'm just going to flip through to see what kinds of ideas might inspire me for making gifts....

and I'm flabbergasted at some of the stuff for sale.

Like a fiber egg carton with seeds for $11.95!!!!

Don't people have egg cartons? Like after their all done eating their eggs??

For free?

And a packet of seeds costs a buck or two depending on what you get.

Seriously?? $11.95?!?!?!

Along the same theme I also saw a small terra cotta pot, dirt from Ireland and a packet of shamrock seeds.

For $12.95.

Twelve dollars and ninety-five cents.

For dirt.

"Chidren's" cloth napkins for $19.95.....

$19.95!!!

Holy smokes. You can buy a lot of fabric for that price and make a whole mess of napkins for the family--and matching outfits to boot!!

Or the botanical paint kit.

That comes with powdered paints.

????????

Some mixing pots, six packs of paint powder, two brushes and some ideas

....for $14.95

Isn't the whole point of botanical paint that you make them with plants from your yard for free?

Hence the name botanical.

But my all time favorite was this:

A "firefly"-lit jar.

It's a mason jar with a handy little carrying handle, opaque glass and LED lights inside.

For $34.95!!!!!!

Now we just happened to be looking at LED lighting online for a project of my son's.

We discovered that you can buy about 250 small LED lights for $25.

I have a bazillion mason jars around this place.

Now, all I need to do is throw about 6 lights in each jar and I'm RICH!!!

Mwaaahaaahaaahaaahaaa!!!!!

Etsy here I come.....

I still appreciate some of the unique products in the catalog, but it never ceases to amaze me how we as a culture have to commercialize EVERYTHING.

What ever happened to digging an old pickle jar out of the garage and using a nail to poke some holes in the lid?

Running around in your bare feet in the dew-wet grass to catch fireflies?

Where is the awe and wonder in a jar full of LED lights?

As humans, we have an uncanny ability to suck the awe and wonder 

out of life.

At least now I know what to get my friends for Christmas this year.

Egg cartons and Dirt.

Gotta run, I need to place my order for the "twisty story-starter" thingie.

It's only $12.95.

Delicious

Breakfast of champions

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

Fruit Salad

Yogurt

Sitting with a Cup of Tea

We all know that the way you start your day can have a powerful impact on the tone for the rest of the day.

For awhile the first thing I did when I woke up was turn on the computer, check emails, read the news, etc.

Well, really the first thing I do is get the teakettle going.

Then I opened the computer.

But I realized that most of my email was junk. The news is almost always depressing and if I really want to know what the weather is, I should just look out the darn window!

What I also realized is that I seldom sit and do nothing-- just enjoying a moment of being.

So I thought of something to try:

Just sitting with a cup of tea in the morning.

or the beverage of your choosing: coffee, water  juice or wine ....

[Just making sure you were paying attention.]

Or no beverage at all.

Just sit. Don't feel the pressure of any task that needs to be accomplished. No list of chores or errands that have to be run. Don't read a book or the newspaper.

It's challenging. But good for the soul.

Pretend you're a friend who popped over for a minute or two in the morning to say hello.

Just be with yourself for a moment or two,

sitting with a cup of tea.

 

Oh, and you can drink it, too.

The Gift of Homeschooling

The night, seven years ago, when we drove to a neighboring town, our two kiddos safely buckled in the backseat I was excited but harboring a twinge of guilt. I felt as though I was cheating on Erica's kindergarten teacher. We were on our way to a dinner, but more specifically it was a monthly gathering of homeschoolers.

Since before Erica was born, we had talked about parenting and about our children's futures, dreaming and scheming. We talked about homeschooling and at that time had decided on it, but when your child is not even born yet, the prospect of school seems so very far away.

Five years later, as Erica's fifth birthday loomed, we were living in a new community, dealing with a county-ordered lead abatement project in our new home (a post for another day), myriad health issues and I was feeling incredibly alone. I had no one nearby with whom I felt I could share the mothering journey. With a toddler and soon to be school-aged child at home I was suddenly overwhelmed at the prospect of undertaking her (and his) education.

Erica never attended preschool and the open registration for kindergarten had come and gone.

I can't even remember the defining moment when I decided that she should attend public school, but I do remember a mild sense of relief.

Which lasted about a week.

But we followed through. After I had toured the two options for her elementary education in our town, I enrolled her in one and we were on our way.

I fell in love with the school--it was an older building with lots of character.

I respected and admired the principal--a no nonsense woman, who knew each of "her" students by name.

And I found her teacher to be a warm, kind, intelligent woman.

I was a volunteer mom in the classroom. Erica for the most part enjoyed her friends and the activities. She did not like recess (too much noise) and did not like lunch (too fast).

There was no defining moment when we decided to withdraw her from school. It was more like a series of events and an enduring belief that homeschooling was the ideal path for our family.

I wrote a letter to the principal and her teacher and quietly withdrew her.

I felt a huge surge of relief and freedom.

So, then what did we do?

We played games, created art projects, cooked and did kitchen science experiments. We tracked the weather and the phases of the moon. We dug in the dirt and planted seeds. We filled plastic storage bins with water and splashed around in them on the living room floor. We did naked toe painting. We watched Winnie-the-Pooh. We built forts and played dress-up. We made puppet shows and danced to music. We made a map of our neighborhood. We blew bubbles and created art with sidewalk chalk. We met more people. And we read and read and read.

I suspect neither of my children will be a NASA astronaut or a brain surgeon.

Will they each be a success?

Well, that depends upon your definition of success.

The answer for me is yes.

They succeed every day.

They succeed in being exemplary human beings: 

Loving and kind. 

Inquisitive and thoughtful.

Curious and adventurous.

Respectful and confident.

Helpful and supportive.

And I get to be there, every moment, watching them, as beautiful flowers, unfold.

That is the gift of homeschooling.

 

Invasion

We walked down to get yesterday's mail and came upon this at the bottom of our driveway.

We live at the top of a gentle hill and the melting snows had run down to this low point bringing this "sludge" with it.

What could it be?

Snow fleas.

Yes, there is such a thing.

And I believe we have an infestation!

On warmer winter days (like the many we've been having this year) you can see them in action, especially against the white snow. One of our nature books suggests looking for them at the base of trees, as does this site.

Head on out and see if you can find some. Of course, if you're squeamish about such things as bugs, you can pretend you didn't read this.




I did also read that they are beneficial to agriculture. Maybe I should go down there and scoop them up in a bucket and spread them on my garden.

Have a beautiful day!

Fresh Winter Air and Sunshine!

Food

There are plenty of issues with our conventional industrial food system. Sometimes it's difficult to hear about their practices and even more difficult to view those practices. If any of you have watched Food Inc, you know what I mean. I think by our very nature, humans are compassionate and fair-minded. We don't like the idea that our food is being "mistreated"--from the living, breathing cow right on down to the genetically-modified seed. But when confronted with that reality, any solution seems mind-bogglingly difficult. How can I change that system? And do I have the energy or time to deal with something that should be easy in my life? [I'm not going to argue here about whether or not food--from growing, to processing, to cooking--should be "easy". Our culture demands it.]

But there is something we can all do. It starts with awareness and education. Watch the movie Fresh (streaming online for free until Wednesday). It's a wonderful documentary featuring just some of the folks who are challenging "conventional wisdom".

We are talking about the food that we are eating. 

If we think of food as medicine, or at the very least, 

as fuel for our bodies, then we should put the best inside of us. 

Here are some of the other things we can do:

#1 We can vote with our dollars. 

Shop local!! Shop local!! Shop local!!

Buy fresh foods, not processed. 

Shop the perimeter of your grocery store.

Buy organic, if you can.

Grow some of your own veggies.

Start a neighborhood garden.

Share the labor and rewards of your garden with friends and family.

Shop the farmer's market.

Buy direct. Many farmers sell directly from their farms. 

"Nature is not a place to visit, it is home."   
-  Gary Snyder