Fireflies

The first fireflies of the season were spotted lighting up our garlic and rhubarb bed last night. A barefooted Huxley (he says 'It's nearly summer, I need to get used to bare feet!') wandered off after them, yogurt popsicle in hand.

I can certainly understand why so many adventurers from past myths were spirited away by these sorts of mysterious lights - who can possibly resist their magic?!

 

...and sweet-smelling, eye-catching roses from a walk earlier in the week. Because there was no way I could have caught a firefly with my camera!

April round-up

April brought some kite flying with homemade kites in the park.

The beginning of Gardening 2015! Plants moved and rearranged. And elderberries to add as well!

 And with any improved garden space, must be added more loam/compost... But first it must be deemed jump worthy.

  

The first bbq pizza of the season. We'll be having this for MANY more meals in the coming months.

Out and in again

A snowy day, but not one of those severely cold days that are a dime a dozen this winter. So, to the outdoors to ski and enjoy the new snowfall!

And back indoors again, to a cozy and sweet home. Where lollipops and soft blankets are waiting after much hill descending and climbing up again. After snacking on snow and winking at the winter sunshine.

October days

A single squirrel took out power last night for 5000 in Northampton. We rallied together for all the flashlights and candles we could find. Hux went on a reconnaisance mission to find out from our neighbors if their power was out and if their cell phones told them more info (je suis sans cell phone).

Our one plan that evening was to watch the second Harry Potter movie, so we had to start it on the laptop, but with 35% power, I knew we wouldn't get through all 2 1/2 hours of it. Luckily the chocolate chip muffins were mostly out of the oven.  Hux reminded me of the emergeny hand crank radio/flash light Nanny and Grandad got me last Christmas and we cranked it to hear the dj tell us it'd be all right.

This week has been something of a tough one, being solo parent, with work being hideously busy and so many changes there that make it feel like a whole new job, learning new parenting techniques from the therapist, trying to use those tools as quickly as if it were a reflex and slowing things down before they get heated.

So thankful for...

1. The forest. The return of the forest from Old Man Winter. The last of the ice is receding and the greenery is pushing forth.
2. Listening to the tufted titmouse couple singing back and forth to one another. They might have been protecting their nest from me. I might have been oblivious as I watched them for a good five minutes, then stopped stalking them.
3. Hearing the loudest woodpecker ever, it sounded like it was dinosaur sized! But as it swooped from one tree to another, I found the type of tree (and how hollow it is) can create a visual impression of a collosal bird, when in fact it's just a regular sized woodpecker.
4. Sitting in the sun, on a bench, alone. Quietly a smile crept over my close-eyed face.
5. Making two dozen chocolate and yellow cupcakes for a birthday celebration.

2014: 11 of 52 Boys

Huxley! ~ You scored your first goal with your new indoor soccer team! Hoorah! I was even there to see it! You got High Fives from your team mates as you lightly jogged back down the field and the smile on your face showed such satisfaction and accomplishment. That will be burned in my memory forever. ~ You couldn’t stand seeing the can of pineapple chunks in the front of the pantry, so you took it upon yourself to rearrange the three shelves of food. ~ “Did you know, when I’m older, I’m going to be President? But not of Tokyo.” You informed Dashiell matter-of-factly, as if you saw a glimpse into the future. Let me just say, you’d be an awesome, relaxed and very fair President. ~ Your last ski lesson at Notchview, your group was the last to return for the afternoon and you nearly missed out on the potluck! But what an amazing few hours you had, managing the hills, staying warm, always moving! (And you took to skate skiing like a duck to water.

Dashiell! ~ You scored two goals in your soccer game that Cameron and Bekka were watching! Cameron had requested you score three goals, but dang if two isn't really impressive anyway! ~ Cameron gifted you with his remaining Five Inch Guys and accompanying siege tower, prison, etc. Many battles have since been fought! ~ Your last ski lesson at Notchview, you’ve really taken to skate skiing and looks like you’ll be doing that exclusively next winter. ~ We all took a day off (work and school) to go into Boston for the day. A squished trip in the truck with (Timber!) too plenty of Top 40 music. We went to the New England Aquarium and over to the North End for pastries and lunch (you tried an amazing salad with feta and cold cuts. ~ Maple breakfast on Saturday, you went back for seconds and then thirds for those breakfast sausages!

2014: 5 of 52 Boys

~ Family breakfast out to Green Bean. We got the cherry table, in the back, by the window, plenty of room. ~ You brought out the jokingly hated book at the breakfast joint and made Daddy read it, that joke never gets old.

2014: 4 of 52 Boys

Huxley!
~ Magic show, complete with a curtain (blanket) that your brother operated for dramatic effect.
~ A play date you've been waiting for, you were thrilled that we finally got our act together enough to have your friend over.

~ We made homemade playdough. It was tough to stir as it thickened, but so fun.

~ You used the playdough to re-enact the beach scene from ‘Gullivers Travels’ (the 1940’s animated version) and you tied down Gulliver with dental floss and surrounded him with soldiers.

~ Swinging inside in your pajamas, pushing yourself around on the ottoman while hanging upside down.

Dashiell!

~ A lazy MLK day of reading Huxley’s newly acquired Donald Duck book, while sitting in your pajamas. You ate something chocolate.

~ A morning of goofy faces, so I could practice using my new camera lens. Thank you, love!

2014: 3 of 52 Boys

Dashiell! ~ Really? Rooting for the 49er's when you could be rooting for the Seattle Seahawks to make it to their first ever Super Bowl?! Child, we need to have a talk.< ~ "It's an outrage!" is now your catch phrase. When you discovered the orange cheddar had a whisp of white cheddar on your nachos, what we thought would be one seriously upset kid, turned into a moment that had us all laughing. Your comic timing is really coming into its own. ~ A friend showed you how the 'record' function works on the keyboard and your interest is piqued! ~ Halloween idea: Harpo. Need: curly blond wig, trenchcoat with belt - we already have the horn. You need to keep working on your comic miming abilities. We'll get there!

Huxley! ~ Halloween costume idea: Groucho for Huxley! Must keep my eyes open for: suit/trench coat, toy cigar, glasses, other Marx Brothers paraphernalia. ~ We made playdough together, so glad you thought of it, out of the blue! After all that hard work stirring, you had the vision to re-create the Lilliputian beach scene from Gulliver's Travels with your five inch guy, plastic animals (and dinos), using dental floss in place of rope, to hold down Gulliver. Brilliant! ~ Lack of snow, sent us far into the Berkshires to cross country ski at Canterbury Farm in Becket. And MAN did you just take off like a crazed snow otter zipping hither and thither, not caring at all about how darned cold it was. ~ Another trip to the pediatrician, when you twisted your knee cross country skiing. (Luckily you stopped limping after only a couple of days and the pain didn't last long!)

Glimpse January 15 2014

A glimpse into today:

At home: Michael is staying home with Dashiell, who had a fever last night and was talking in a delirious fashion around midnight: "I'm not going to play with money. No, because I might get hurt." So, having some sort of strange dream!

At work: A lovely mild winter day. Maybe an afternoon bike ride at lunch time with a thermos of tea and a bit of chocolate.

Wishing for: My new 50mm lens to arrive! I want to start playing with that the light today would be wonderful to try it out... Patience... And SNOW so we can cross country ski, already!

Reading: The Two Towers, The Name of This Book is Secret, The Explosive Child, Your Money or Your Life.

Listening to: The Bryan Ferry Orchestra's Cocktail Party Music cd, James Blake cd, KEXP at work, (But I dreamed about a Playskool record player last night that I almost acquired!)

Making: Delicious chili (the secret's in the adobo sauce and sprinkling of roasted corn), strawberry and oat scones, hot chocolate sweetened with a few pitted dates (so creamy and thick).

2014: 2 of 52 Boys

Dashiell!
~ Yeah, you've been having to do more chores to make up for lost privileges. Mostly it's cleaning dishes. But I have learned that you hate sweeping and thought it was fun to clean the toilet.
~ You started a Wednesday afternoon soccer clinic that you really enjoy.
~ Turns out your night of fever and chills must have been related to your Strep Throat. I took you in to the pediatrician only after Huxley was diagnosed with it. At least it didn't turn into Scarlet Fever this time!

Huxley!
~ You slipped in the melting ice field in front of your school. Despite being drenched you happily accompanied your friend for a playdate.
~ We gave Carcasonne a try. The last of the Christmas presents to be tried out. It was fun, but we didn't get to finish it as we slowly cracked open the rules.
~ You remembered not to slam the door when you were frustrated with something. Yeah!

2014: 1 of 52 Boys

 Dashiell!
~ On the first Friday of the New Year (and a snow day from school) you gladly helped Daddy with his Friday morning chores: helping take trash and recycling to the dump and shoveling more snow. Of course that was after our snowstorm chocolate chip pancakes.
~ You brought home an amazing selection of books from your school library on Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Civilizations. Huxley can't keep his nose out of the latter!
~ Homemade sushi for dinner? You pretty much demanded it, having never had my homemade sushi before. And despite my protests, it wasn't as difficult as I remembered. Not only that, with your first bite, you were smitten by it. Note to self: avocado roll goes down much better for you than carrot!
~ Our family is now in full swing of trying to help you ease out of your quick temper. It's not easy for anybody, but we're all determined to work together to make our home as peaceful as possible. We can do it: two steps forward, but we also have to remember that can also mean the occasional one step backwards.

Huxley!
~ You scored your first soccer goal since you started playing and the smile on your face spoke volumes on your skyrocketing happiness!
~ It has been a struggle to get you to read chapter books at your level. I started reading Harry Potter books to you and Dashiell back in October and I got through two of them. But this week, you chose the third Harry Potter book to read by yourself at school and I couldn't have been more proud of you! You also checked the book out so we could continue our 'out loud' reading together.
~ Photomontage! You made Jess a photomontage birthday card: a dinosaur eating a guy's head. And a cyclops for your own notebook. Such focus!
~ And you were the first person out there to shovel snow during our last snow storm. What a helper!

Goals to establish in 2014

General goals for 2014. Thought out though, seeing where I would like to be, how I would like myself, our home and our family shift to a better place.

1. Community:  Enhance friendships, more meals with others (including last minute invites when our home might not look 'perfectly' clean). Go camping with other families. Start a badminton group. Go to more live (music, theater) events. Get more involved with Biocitizen.

2. Creativity: Take a photography course and practice, practice, practice! Blog posts, especially 'Thankful For' that provide an outlet for my appreciations. More hand sewing and patching. Organizing photos (for once!). More family portraits. Get craft room in order.

3. Food/Nutrition: Trying new recipes (well that's never difficult) and new ingredients! Giving in to the kids' food choice, making more compromises and teaching them some basic cooking techniques. More greens and fruit. Get a small separate freezer for CSA extras.

4. Home: Spring lawn re-do and raised beds. Shelves throughout house. Basement Amazement! (Once and for all, clear out the basement and be rid of mold and mice.) Keep a monthly calendar of things we need to take care of (signing up for summer camps, birthdays, etc.). Put up better laundry lines outside and in the basement (for winter). Use MassSave to determine how our home can be more energy efficient: Signed up, waiting for a call to schedule an appointment. Taxes done by March 1!

5. Family: Put up a phone list so the kids can call family and friends when they want to: DONE! Keep working with Dash on temper flares. Work out the kids' extracurricular activities (try karate, in-home piano?) Work out if a Fulbright is possible in our future. Meet with orthodontist for boys' braces. Keep everyone reading: have a quiet time for all to sit together and read their own books.

6. Me: Keep away from old habits that I want to shift away from and develop new ones. Make and keep appointments: yoga, doctor, dds, chiropractor, physical therapist (find chiro & p.t.). Keep up meditation and reflection studies (read books, blog posts, journal writing). My last full year at my job! Keep being creative and don't lose hope!

So thankful for

1. The chirriping kingfisher! Ah, my bird and the only one left this season.
2. The first layers of ice growing where the water lies along the pond's edges.
3. Taking the most difficult time with family, the 7 year-old anger and intense (but sometimes misunderstood) sadness/strong emotions, the (seemingly) impossible scenario and just deal with it head on: slowly and patiently!
4. My hot thermos of steamy hot tea while my seat remains ice cold. Somewhere in the middle is plenty of warmth.
5. Remembering that we create our reality. By ignoring the negative media around us, raising our voice when we can offer up clarity, and focusing on the amazing all around us!

Family goals, as we approach 2014

Goals for the NOW!
1. FREEDOM from 'stuff' and giving 'stuff' a home when we don't even use or need it. Pass it on to others who might use or need it.
2. Keep working on making parts of our home an open environment for LEARNING and CREATING.
3. Remember to CELEBRATE the season and the goodness of our family.  Make sure to add it into the schedule and be ready to deviate from the schedule when something unexpected but delightful pops up.
4. Get outside and stay active as the cold winter creeps in (or suddenly descends), for the HEALTH and WELLBEING of our family.

So thankful for... (The 'Reaping What You Sow' Edition)

Slow, lazy, wonderful Sunday morning.. A grey November morning, but relatively mild and quiet. Polka music playing on the radio...

1. Making the time to dry the CSA herbs in August: rosemary, thyme, parsley, tarragon. All of it dried, separated and put in their respective jars to be used the whole year through. (The rabbit is, no doubt, thankful for the dried herb stems she had with breakfast this morning.)

2. Asking the kids to plant those cilantro seeds back in September. Now we have a section of garden dedicated to late season cilantro that is so delicious. I love still having the fresh flavor of cilantro in our weekly batch of salsa.

3. Remembering to order the seed garlic! It'll be here this week, just in the nick of time, before the ground freezes over. Last summer we were so disappointed in ourselves for not planting it in fall 2012. You know spring is about to hit when the small line of green soldiers sprouts out of the mulch!

4. A Sunday family breakfast together. It sows the harmony and spontaniety of sharing the love and warmth we all feel. After he was done with his brekky, Dash walked around the table and gave us each a shoulder massage with a smile. You can't plan for that or put it on the agenda. He felt the urge to share his happiness with each of us in turn, even his 9 year old brother. We're definitely doing something right here, folks!

So thankful for

1. Transient weather days of November golden sun, 10 minutes of snow flurries, the gentle forest wind.
2. Hot tea on my lunchtime forest walk.
3. Sounds: a kingfisher being chased and the echoing, melancholy bursts of train whistles.
4. Creating a vision: adding touches of comfort to our home.
5. Reading more Tolkein (or rather, reading it over again): from ethereal Bombadil to scary wights. Those feelings of delight and fright from a book completely capture me and pull me in.
6. A tired and dozy husband falling asleep while rubbing my feet - now that's dedication what a lovely man *sigh*...

A day off

It is very rare that I get a full day off from my desk job to be home, by myself, to chose what I do with my day.

My destiny for today has already been shaped by the actions of the last two days: today I have to finish painting the hallway and today I need to finish re-upholstering the dining chairs. My big project for the day is to make a serious dent in the basement, though. The basement, my lion that needs to be tamed. By making some organizational decisions about it (what goes to the Goodwill and what stays) I can make my creative space and share it with the lads. We will give ourselves more space (our home is under 1000 square feet for the 4 of us and our rabbit) to open our minds and make! Make! Make!

But first, a quiet egg & coffee breakfast and putting the chicken carcass on to boil for stock, making the house smell delicious!

Book: Vegan Before 6 by Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman has created a journey for himself when it comes to food. And he's been lucky enough to have been blessed with a friendly (although sometimes stern, when necessary) writing voice and several platforms with which to talk to us all, sharing his discoveries.

Vegan Before 6 was his adventure into losing weight and becoming a more healthy American. Yes, there are the politics of food and food production that play a role in this, but initially it was about regaining his health. I am one of those lucky so-and-so's who had never had an issue with my weight: I don't have a chart on my weight going up or down and I've never owned a scale. Now, I also don't eat too much junk food or pre-packaged food (potato chips are my downfall, any potato products really... maybe good quality ice cream too) and I don't have any food allergy issues that make my weight a concern. But most of my life I have not eaten as much fruit and veg as I 'should' have. Not that I ascribe to the food pyramid of 6-8 servings per day, or whatever it is these days (is it even a pyramid anymore?!), but I know better that I should be enjoying more of our fruit and vegetable sisters.

I also have had this habit of storing and hording items in case I absolutely need them later and I'm more desperate for them later. I used to be that way with Midol, even when my cramps were making me blackout, I wouldn't take them because tomorrow I might need them even MORE. In my adult life,

I horde the CSA veges. But you know what?  They go bad after awhile, although the skunks that frequent our compost pile don't have a problem with it, I feel I could be doing myself a LOT more good by just eating these delicious, in-season pickings. Whether I eat those peppers with hummus today or Wednesday, I'm still getting the nutrition from them. And, quite frankly, I'm rather enjoying them too. Bonus: I can get more next week as well!

But back to Vegan Before 6. I'm reading this book as an educational tool. I'm learning about nutrition and body chemistry, I'm learning more about the politics of food (and I already consider myself a cynic of food corporations and marketing) and there are some delicious recipes in the back that give me and my family some marvelous options for a better myriad menu choices.

This book is helping me examine my own and my family's trends and habits, to figure out why we choose what we choose to eat. Because, it really is a choice. Our choice. So I'm taking the lessons from this book and applying them to our future food choices and make them beneficial for our health, community and happiness. Yeah, good food.

So thankful for

1. Listening to the lads reading Shel Silverstein poetry out loud to one another before school on Friday. So much giggling.
2. Maple walnut ice cream. Oh that first bite was delicious.
3. Making Huxley so happy with the Lego Idea book from the library and delivering a sweet note to Dashiell in the heart pillow.
4. Watching our first 'live' soccer match: Smith College vs. U.S. Coast Guard. We only caught the last 7 minutes, but the 3 goals scored happened while we were there. Followed by a nonchalant picnic.
5. Our trip to the Shelburne Fals Trolley Museum. Always so lovely! And the lads got to pump the pump car with only the volunteer.
6.A very pleasant talk with a neighbor about relationships. Such wise words.
6. Comforting hugs and telling jokes to lighten an otherwise rough night.

A very rich day that could never be bought. Twas pure fun.