one day without shoes

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.

and so here we go, participate with a photo. this is just one easy step and i'm sure you will start walking in your shoes more mind fully. TOMS blog and the One Day without Shoes site.




and this is our contribution...

working a pomelo

it's a very fun and special undertaking to peel a pomelo and then eat the delicious fruit...

there is really nothing i feel like i have to tell, amos loved the process and we all enjoyed the eating

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

what i love now

there are some thing's closely related to springtime, which i love and treasure right now. and other things don't depend so much on seasons, but i still love and enjoy them. also am i trying to focus a bit more on the bright side of life... and spring is a good season to get started with this undertaking.
i realized a while ago, that i often don't do justice to the kids request of wanting to talk or explain something to me. i often peck on the folks around me, if they don't do their chores on time or to my liking, what ever it is, i really want to change this attitude and be more encouraging and supporting of others. lets see, here is a start:


::the first blossoms in and around the house
::the strong spring sun


::started a new knitting project, "three sisters scarfs"
::sewing one more table runner
::watching thea ride her like a bike around the house


::listening to amos playing boogie on the piano
::enjoying a cup of tea with feet up
::having a good evening with joel practicing on the bass


::working on some forest contributions to "forest, for the trees"
:: tutoring my neighbors daughter with her english

table runner quilt

i have been doing a little bit of sewing in the past few weeks. it all started when i stopped by at thelongthread.com i really liked those crossed quilt blocks and quickly got started with one block. it all happened in a jiffy, one block two three, a thrifted bed sheet and the runner for my sis' birthday was sewn. now it's a few other fabrics from my stack and it will turn into a present for a friend...
meanwhile i really enjoy the moments with the sewing machine and playing with the fabric. it's not stressful at all, as i can put it a side when ever i'm called by the kids.

in bloom

the girls have been bringing me little bouquets lately, and i love it and treasure them. it's such a wonderful moment, when the little chubby hands of thea clutch that dandelion and in many ways don't want to let go... but her big sis is notching her to hand me the flower with a big smile...




and then the cherrie branches i got a the market last friday. the buds are so full and some of them burst already, such a sight. the blossoms are white as can be and every day now there are more on those branches on our fire place mantle. spring is in the air, not just indoors but also outside. the temperatures rose up to 57 today, o yes it's time for short sleeves and sun glasses! and the forecast looks very good, even warmer for the rest of the week!

winding wool

it has been a while, since i started to look for a wool winder. i remembered exactly how that wooden wonder looked, as my mom used to have and use one. i still see it in front of me and us kids playing with it, o well my mom's winder is no longer alive and i got told in a couple yarn stores, that they do not have any to sell or know of a manufacturer...
and then i remembered the special glass cabinet, which is a wonderful treasure chest in the guest room of my mother in law. and yes she is a generous woman and she let me lend the winder. we had fun and it worked so perfectly well to get the yarn ready for knitting.


i will be "hunting" for such a wool winder this coming flea market season


and yes the yarn is just so wonderful a 90% superwash merino (+10%nylon), perfect for socks. it's by main based enchanted knoll, a little homestead which is off the grid and farm by solar electricity. i think i found them via etsy a few years ago, so here we go, finally i got going. i loved the yarn to just look at and enjoy the strand the way it was...

>>this morning elias had to discover that one of his hens died over night, we all are said and puzzled by this event<<

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

a sunny spring day

there is lots going on indoors as well as out of doors...


i'm working on a second table runner. it's fun sewing and i'm so excited, the one i made last week is already in the mail to my sisters house, she has a birthday coming up soon.


i love the flowers on my living room table, they are bright yellow and in my mind the ultimate sign of spring being in the air.


out of doors it's busy too, the chickens run wild and love to peck around the garden. there must be tons of fresh things to be found for our "gourmessas"


the primroses are now all over the place in our garden. one more sign of coloure in spring.


yup a sick boy, he has a bad headache and we are not quite sure why...
a cooling ice pack and closing the eyes is helping a bit for the moment.

my hard working people

living in a household of 14 people is fun and enriching. yes and sometimes i even get to sit back and relax, and as the kids would recite from wallace and gromit: "let the machine do the work"
that's what the few photos show i post today,

a vacuuming very thoroughly in our living room


m cooking lunch with the help of thea, the both of them are excellent cooks


naomi gleaning up after an hour of painting green...


joel working on his marble track...
(i'll try to get you a photo of the finished track, when it finally worked all out!)

chopping alongside

of course, if mama is chopping away in the kitchen, thea has chop too. at any given time i'm taking a knife out of the drawer, she gets her stepping stool and very hastily finds a pairing knife in the drawer too. she has learned by now, that she is not allowed to use my vegetable knife...

after i have cut the patatoes for lunch, she was more than happy to use the board and "her" knife to cut an apple into bite size pieces for her morning snack.




i have fallen in love with the black and white photos over the past few days. don't know yet when i will get back to colour, maybe when some more flowers are in bloom. i guess spring will force me back to it and that's fine with me.

the string performance

it has been very long since the kids performed in one way or another with their violins. they both were super enthusiastic about the string project over the past 6 weeks. it was just wonderful to see all the kids with their instruments and giving their very best. a big thank you to all the teachers involved in this project. and yes naomi and elias are already looking forward to a next orchestra project, i'm so glad for this.

{this moment}

A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

today was indoors

after a week of sunshine and warmth, we are now hitting a few days of rainshowers and cooler temperatures. this is perfect, the planted bulbs will enjoy some fresh water and grow stronger.
i also have been focusing on morning prayers in this season of lent. not every morning it is an early prayer, but it does take place in the mornings. frequently with thea on my lap, she has almost gotten used to sit still. it has been good for me to keep this act of settling down for a moment in my daily routine.
baking and cooking have also been done lately, it feels so good to be able to prepare warm meals when the days are cooler, tonight is cheese quiche.
the girl has been busy with organizing her play dates and going to friends, she is such a happy person and loves to be around people.

mehl direkt aus der muehle

eine freundin hat mich heute morgen angerufen und gefragt, ob ich mitkommen moechte in die muehle. natuerlich wollte ich, war schon lange auf meiner liste. so holte sie mich ab und gemeinsam mit den kindern fuhren wir zur heitertal muehle bei kollbrunn.
im kleinen "laden" fanden wir dann all das gewuenschte...


vom ur-dinkel ruchmehl, ueber chnoepflimehl, zopfmehl


zu allen arten von flocken, soya, ur-dinkel, weizen, haber und auch hirsen waren da von der wespi muehle zu haben. Die wespi muehle gibts ja so direkt nicht mehr, doch gequaetscht wird noch und ich bin so gluecklich lokale flocken in meinem voratsschrank zu haben


ein guter ausflug, ein schwatz mit meiner freundin, nach hause kommen mit frischem mehl und lokalen flocken.

the baker

a quick peak into the life of our baker amos...


of course feeling the beat, snipping, skipping and wearing the bowl, when he goes down to the basement for flour.


getting the yeast unpacked and letting it dissolved in the warm milk, no moment to be missed.

i know this was not the end of the baking, but i put my camera aside...
there is the kneading of the dough, letting it rise and braiding the challah. it's one of amos saturday activities and he mostly loves this work. naomi is lately getting into it too. and that's a good thing too. i would be excited if this activity would be solely in the kids hands and we would eat fresh challah made by the two of them every sunday morning.