"Some Deeply Coloured Jewel"

". . . in fact the few pieces of old furniture gleamed like satin, and the red carpet was well brushed. The panelled walls were painted a strange bluish-green, and instead of pictures, there were vases of white Italian pottery hanging at internals, filled with bouquets of violets and white hyacinths which deliciously scented the warm. A low fire burnt in the basket-grate, but Margaret thought that the house was centrally heated. The one tall window, at which hung curtains of yellow Chinese brocade, looked over a gravel yard with a fountain in the middle and some bushes of Portugal laurel in blue tubs, but beyond this, as is often the case in Hampstead, there was a dismal view of blank walls and ugly roofs. The red carpet, on which toys were scattered, fitted closely to the wainscoting, and there were no draughts; the children, the many books on their white shelves, and the luxurious flowers silently breathing forth their perfume seemed enclosed in a hushed ,warm cavern hollowed from some deeply coloured jewel, while the chilly world of autumn sunlight outside seemed unreal."

Westwood by Stella Gibbons

I've been reading my slow, delicious way through a stack of Stella Gibbons' novels that Rebecca loaned me.  Gibbons has written lots more than Cold Comfort Farm, which is what most American readers are familiar with.

Genevieve is currently gulping down Nancy Drews, Ben is tearing through the Boxcar Children and The Great Brain books, and our read-aloud is Hitty by Rachel Field.  We've been going to the library at least once a week - we love to read!

Happy City

"If you woke up this morning and decided to try a completely different method of getting to work, could you do it?  Could you walk there?  Ride a bicycle? Or catch a bus or a train that would get you there in the time it took to read the paper?  Could you mix and match your modes?  Now take it further.  Does getting to a grocery store or a doctor's office or a restaurant without a car seem like a pretty big chore?  Can your children walk or cycle to school safely on their own?  If you think these are unreasonable questions, then chances are, real choice has been designed out of your city.  You may still benefit from the tremendous utility of your automobile, but the system is impoverishing you and your family and friends in ways you have never imagined.  How do we build systems that truly make us free in cities?"  Charles Montgomery, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design

These are photos of Ben from last summer.  

And the quote is relevant to discussions my husband and I have been having recently, especially in light of a pecha-kucha on walkability he took part in and some work he did with Jeff Speck.  Living downtown, we walk to our destinations quite often.  Also, our city church has recently launched a challenge to the congregation to try a more earth-friendly way of getting to church every fourth Sunday. 

Thursday Life

Some random photos of our life recently, organized by pretty/happy/funny/real, the blog round-up that Leila and Rosie do.

Pretty:

These might be my favorite hotpads to date.  I did list them in the shop, although I'm still thinking of yanking them out and keeping them.

I just love the colors together.  I'm on a hunt for duck-egg blue, which is very hard to find - a kind of calm blue-green, a kind of muted aqua?  It's hard to describe and find, but if I squint at these hotpads, I see it.

Also, I love the handmade wonkiness in these.

Happy:

Ben is 7 now and he thinks he had the best birthday ever.  Granny and Grandpa took him up to the cabin to meet some cousins for a weekend of fishing and endless (junk) food and paddle-boating and no chores.  Then, at home, he had a birthday meal of his choosing that ended with his favorite Banoffee Pie.  He was so disgruntled at having to go to school on his actual birthday that he put on his pajamas when he got home, even though I reminded him that Grandpa and Grandma were coming for his birthday dinner.  So much for the dignity of dress that I referred to yesterday!

photos by my husband 

Funny:

The boy and his daddy read books in a cozy pile on the sofa in the evening.  Ben is devouring chapter books at a crazy speed, several a week, sometimes re-reading old favorites until I can get a new batch.  Thank goodness we live a block from the big library because I would be loathe to purchase all the books his appetite needs!

Real:

This is the vintage bassinet given to us by former neighbors of my parents.  My handy mother-in-law made a new flannel lining for it  just before Ben was born, and I put together the plain white skirt.

 Genevieve and I both agree the bassinet gives us the urge to play dollies.  Well, we are waiting for our real little dolly to be born any day now.  I thought I was in labor yesterday, but I feel quite normal today.  Such is the end of pregnancy sometimes!

Book Review: The Little Oratory

I read The Little Oratory while we were camping, cozied up in my flannel shirt next to the fire while the birds sang and the flies buzzed.  Finally, I'm getting around to posting my review, illustrated with random summer photos.

I was asked to review the book by Sophia Press, even after I told them I am a Protestant, a Mennonite to be exact.  They sent me the book in exchange for my review, so although I received the book for free, my opinions are my own.

I didn't know what a "little oratory" was before I read this book.  It is a home altar, an icon corner, a little spot of prayer at home.  I like that, although the more I read The Little Oratory, the more Mennonite I became.  From the recent fascination of Mennonites with high church practices, I know a little bit:  vespers, Lent, Advent, lectio divina, etc.  My mother and some of her sisters love to go to a Jesuit monastery for retreats and spiritual direction.  I come across this Catholic vocabulary in Leila's book and see its place in the larger setting.  But the larger setting is quite overwhelming and complex to this Mennonite.

My family doesn't have a prayer corner.  We sometimes read a Bible story book and sing together after supper. We usually pray before meals. Every night, I lay my hands on my children and bless them at bedtime.  And that's it.  We could benefit from some more spiritual practices, for sure.

The Little Oratory is quite encouraging for Catholics.  There is Leila's friendly, commonsense tone speaking directly to the reader (it's written in second person, "you").  I love the details of beeswax polish on page 33 and the actual order of the objects in the prayer corner on page 27.  I think I need to start a prayer intention journal, such as the one described on page 44.

I'm impressed with the clear (to this Mennonite) explanations of theology and the underpinnings for the little oratory.  Leila and her co-author, David Clayton, do not take the easy way of assuming that all their readers understand the need and genesis for a little oratory.  They go back to the essentials of a relationship with God and start from there.

An editorial quibble: I am not fond of the generic examples using "he" and "mankind" as I think this kind of language forms our ideas about who we are.  If a singular pronoun must be used, I would prefer to switch back and forth between genders and use "people" instead of "mankind."

I am a major fan of Leila's blog, Like Mother, Like Daughter.  I love the natural warmth and frank talk over there.  It's so hopeful to be cheered on by someone who admits she doesn't know what to do with a weedy yard or a dark kitchen or a house to clean.  There's the same cheering-on in The Little Oratory.  I'm sure Catholic readers will find it quite a blessing.

Brown Snow

Genevieve is reading the Little House books (to herself: a milestone), and she begged to make snow candy like Laura and Mary did.

I did a little research and heated up maple syrup with butter to 220 F and let the children pour it over clean snow in pans.  I expected the snow to harden it into caramels, but instead, we got sweet watery stuff. I was disgusted, but the children enjoyed it with spoons.

 

 

An informal survey of some other moms revealed the same results. I'm not tempted to try snow candy again! And Genevieve is already braiding strips of cloth to make a rug. . .

Christmas Bookmarks

I made scads of these bookmarks and gave them away to almost everyone on my list.  I only photographed a few, however, due to the lassitude of my December. (I also sewed a red-and-white striped infinity scarf for my sister-in-law and hotpads for my mother-in-law, but alas, no photos)

 

I adore making these bookmarks because each one is a chance to play with color and texture and takes maybe 15 minutes to make.  You can see the possibilities here, right?  Some sort of fabric medallion attached to an elastic loop.  I used felt and a pinking shears, but it could easily be patchwork, a quilted scrap, lace, or leather.  A useful way to use up tiny, pretty scraps!

Genevieve has yet to use hers in a book. 

I saw her reading Barbie in space (ugh) tonight.  As a treat for Christmas vacation, I took the children to the library and let them check out as many books as they wanted to carry home.  And I didn't say no like I usually do to trashy books, baby books, or books that we already own.  They were jubilant and I was grinning as they struggled their bags of books home.

Sunday Afternoon Frozen Yogurt

My husband went for a bike ride, the children were deposited at a birthday party.  I sat down with my new old book, bought at a dreamy used-book store on vacation, and a treat.  This is Baked Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt from yes, Jeni Britton Bauer.  I made it a few weeks ago when rhubarb was plentiful.

 

my mother got me this bookmark in Portugal when I was in middle school - just found it again recently

 

 

It's a very pretty frozen yogurt, with flecks of mauve and chartreuse. Honestly, the children don't like it and that really irritates me, but my husband and I think it's wonderful. 

Jeni says it pairs well with "champagne, a sprinkling of cinnamon, cardamom, or black pepper."  Instead, yesterday, I paired mine with black coffee and a fudgy brownie that my sister made on vacation.  Glorious. 

Summer Goals 2013

This is the structure that we established this summer:

Monday - library with Dad
Tuesday - market with Mom, vacuum, clean kids' room
Wednesday - G cooking lesson with Mom, Mom pay bills/desk/inbox
Thursday - sketching with Dad
Friday - vacuum/dust house, day of reckoning for stuff, G piano lesson with Mom
Saturday - change sheets, clean bathroom

Daily: G feed rabbit, fold laundry, quiet time, help Mom and Dad with other chores, set table, clear table, clean up toys

(Last summer's schedule and some more explanation is here)

 

The notable changes:
1.  Genevieve and I are doing cooking lessons together.  More on that tomorrow.
2.  I separated cleaning the kids' room from the rest of the house cleaning.  I was getting too frustrated and it was getting short shrift.  I would really like to be more patient and detailed in teaching the children how to sort and organize their desks this summer.
3. My husband wants to teach the children some drawing principles. 
4.  We've always gone to the library randomly, usually when the adults needed something.  But now, we are experimenting with a regular library day because Genevieve has turned into a voracious reader.  It's exciting!  And way more economical to keep her in books by checking them out from the library.

Other than cooking lessons, I didn't make a list of specific tasks I want to teach the children this summer.  It might come to that, but for now, they are both handling the tasks we give them pretty well.  They are also both very grateful for quiet time after the obligatory kick-and-fuss-for-a-few-minutes.

This schedule will probably wiggle around some to accomodate lots of swimming at the pool this summer, but for now, we are really enjoying our relaxed, yet purposeful, days.

Kefir is Easy to Love

I have a lot of food changes going on in my life and I feel like I'm barely keeping up with it, let alone blogging about it!  But I did snap a photo of kefir, so let's start there.

I lived in Russia for 8 months after high school with a church missions team.  I was introduced to kefir there and thought it okay, drinkable yogurt.  The Russians pronounce the word "keh-FEAR."  Now, years later, it is this micro-craze with the healthy foodies and people say "KEE-fur."  Have you heard of it?

I started making kefir this spring when Rebecca handed me a nugget of kefir grains and said, make this, it's like having a constant supply of buttermilk and it's easier to make than yogurt. 

Here's how I do make kefir:
1.  Plunk the kefir grains in a jar of milk in the evening.  Cover.
2.  Let the milk ferment overnight on the counter. 
3.  Put the jar in the fridge in the morning.  It will continue to ferment and thicken a bit in the fridge. 

What I do with kefir:
1.  Drink it straight for the probiotic deliciousness.  It's perfect when I return home from grueling errands all hot and bothered.  It's perfect for acid reflux (more on that elephant in another post).
2.  Use it as buttermilk or sour milk in baking.  Best pancakes ever.
3.  Pour it over granola for breakfast.

I could give you way way way more information about this and other fermentation, but I'm keeping it simple here.  I have been reading and, yes, studying Sandor Ellix Katz's excellent book since I received it as a Christmas present.  I am learning so much!

Thoughts?  Questions?  I always love to discuss food.

Mend It Better: Book Review

You asked me to tell you what I thought when I was done reading Mend It Better by Kristin Roach. 

Here are the ideas from the book I want to remember:
1.  turning holes in a sweater into flowers by beading around them.
2.  covering up stains on children's shirts with appliques and decorative stitching.
3.  fix holes in socks with crochet instead of darning - the directions for starting crochet on any piece of fabric look very good.  I have a friend who raves about the usefulness of crochet for this reason.  I want to get serious about learning to crochet soon.
4.  patching holes in coat linings instead of relining the coat, especially using blanket stitch to decorate the edges. This can be a hobo look that is not really my thing, though.

The book covers all aspects of mending and does pull in contributions from other people.  However, there are three intriguing garments photographed with no attribution or explanation.  That annoyed me.  I post the photos here.  Aren't the clothes neat?  I want to know more about them!

 

 

The price on the back of the book is $18.95.  I'm sticking with my Sewing Stitch and Textile Bible for individual stitches, my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing for techniques, and the library for whizzy new books.

A New Stack of Library Books

There is a librarian who watches out for me because she knows I like to make things.  I am so warmed by her kindness and interest.  She will catch a book going through the system and put it aside for me.  When I went to the library to pick up some other books I had reserved (The Homemade Pantry, Vintage Cakes), there was a surprise from her rubber-banded to the others:  a mending book.  My heart jumped.  Mending!  Codified!  Explained! Photographed!

 

I didn't get to have a Sunday afternoon on the couch with the books because I was at the last Christmas gathering with my dad's side of the family.  I truly didn't mind.  They are lovely, polite people who know how to make conversation, so it's truly enjoyable to spend the day with them catching up.

 

So these books will be my bus reading this week and next. Have you read any of them?

A New Journal on the First Day of the New Year

I read this yesterday:

"'Unless a person has a lot of psychological tools at her disposal, the mind is not a pleasant place to inhabit,' says Germer.  'We have evolved for survival, not happiness, and thus we have a natural tendency to focus on the negative.'  When the brain is at rest, he adds, it tends to get busy revealing problems from the past and anticipating problems to come.  Once we scanned for predators and poisons, now we fret over the unemployment stats and what our mother-in-law had the nerve to say at dinner."  (quoted from Real Simple, January 2013, page 92; Christopher Germer is a clinical psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School and the author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion)

To counteract our negative fretting, the article goes on to recommend paying attention to what's around us with our senses.  Touch the flower.  Sniff the baby's hair.  Taste the bread.  Look at the sky.  Listen to the violin.  It's also called mindfulness, or living in the moment. 

For the first time in my life, I get it. 

And for the first time in my life, I am starting a new journal on the first day of the new year.  My old journal is actually filled up; it's got ranting, crying, poetry, prayers, and touchstones.  But my intent for this new journal is to fill it with gratitude, to make lists of where I notice God's mercy in my life.  I noticed Christian and Beth doing this - I finally caught on! 

The old journal on the left; I made the collage on the cover.

These last few years have been difficult years for me - this blog was born out of some of that difficulty as a way to take note of the good things in my life, to gently discipline myself to focus on the good.  The flip side of that discipline is that, unless you know me in real life, you may not know of my difficulties and bad days.  Please know that my life is not perfect because nothing damages our sisterhood more than pretend perfection; however, the public forum is not the place for me to tell every negative thing that passes through my heart and mind.  Face-to-face, oh yes, I'll tell you!

So, my gratitude journal is what amounts to a New Year's resolution for me.  I'm pondering some more resolutions, too, but although I am a goal-oriented person, I do not take them on lightly.  I'll report back if I add some more goals. 

The new journal had no spiral to put a pen, so I made a little sleeve to hold one.

Happy New Year, my friends!  I'm so grateful you're on this strange, joyful journey with me.

"Let your senses and bodies stretch out", Beach Girls 2012

I was away with the beach girls, minus one, recently.  I learned many things, and somehow the days were filled with poetry.  How have I never read the anciet poet Hafiz before? 

Of course the four of us were rather thrifty which is more to the point of this blog, but that will have to wait.  The poetry comes first.

All the Hemispheres - Hafiz

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadow and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.
Make a new watermark on your excitement
And love.

Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.

Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting

While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of

You.