henri mattisse

we did some studying of henri mattisse and started to cut out and glue and create. it was very inspiring to look at mattisse cut out pieces and start to work on our own.
elias really got into cutting and gluing, his tree house is looking great and even the letters are cut out and glued on.
i enjoyed cutting out "seaweed" and just for a moment wanted to keep on cutting on end.
but the kids had enough and wanted to go ahead with the evenings program, which was dessert....
i could not blame them, and so we enjoyed a yummy end of the day.

today

it's pretty bleak in greenhaus, there is too much stuff going on. i have a hard time processing even some of the events and feel like a winter blizzard is hovering. but never the less, it's almost spring time and just as if God wanted to remind me this morning, the sun was up on the sky, bright and her rays are warm and comforting.

a few weeks back we cut a coconut open, it was a fun evening. since then i looked at the pieces in a corner of the kitchen counter. yesterday night i got the sandpaper and drill from the basement and worked the pieces into a mobile. thea enjoyed it already this morning.

woeschwiib

diese karte hab ich meiner freundin erhalten....
ja das erwartet uns nun in neun monaten! die zeit vergeht so schnell, kann mir noch nicht wirklich vorstellen wieder total umgeben zu sein von schwezerdeutsch sprechenden leuten. alltag in der schweiz als familie ist nach wie vor nicht real fuer mich, doch das wird sich schon noch geben.
zuerste werden joel, thea und ich nun mal fuer ein langes wochenende einen besuch in der schweiz machen. wir werden die leute und luft einer lebensgemeinschaft schnuppern.
nach diesem besuch wird sich bestimmt vieles konkreter. drum also noch etwas geduld in zwei wochen berichte ich dann vom erlebten.

dress up

our dress up box got a work out...
the lady of the house got all kinds of scarfs out, knit hair bands, silky leg ties and then of course the hat! the bamboo stick was from the front of the house, where it has been a support for plants during the summer time. it has become a fishing rod or what ever else.
it was a sunny day, cold but great for a walk to the library and grocery store to get books, milk and bananas. getting home just in time for lunch, scrambled eggs, cheese and a fresh baked piece of bread, yummie.

the give away...

The Conservatory Overcoat GIVEAWAY!!!!

i could not help but this coat is just mind blowing! i would love to own it, but i guess that will be in my dreams only, as it is a give away and just one of the many people putting their names into the drawing jar will get it...

a new quilt

i started working on a new baby quilt. i put 20 different squares in log cabin fashion together. mostly new fabric and some old fabric from an inherited pillowcase. the top is now done the backing and batting just arrived today from purlsoho.com. the back is a kokka waffle, cotton/linen, i was so happy to get it from the sale section, a great "park" theme in tan colours.
i'm thrilled with the feel of it and would love to take a nap on in myself...
but there is some more sewing to be done before i can nap.

and of course on the side thea napping, she loves her hammock. she is getting big and kicks her foot out now and then, isn't it sweet!

unfinished

one more unfinished project got taken out of the closet and i just yesterday got the bias tape on. the kids apron was started about 5 years ago or so. the moment has come to finish it up, not anymore for one of my own kids but for my neighbors boy who is going to turn 3 in april. it's not a lot which still has to be done, but it has to be done!!!
an incentive to work on it was the "toronto craft alert giveaway", what a wonderful goody bag is being given to a random participant who is posting their project on this flickr site. i could not, not give it a chance. check it out and take an unfinished project out of the closet.

yellow day 5

it's all about my kitchen....
yes i love the yellow in my kitchen, it's not a dominant colour but it's definitely there! this big spatula is a wonderful tool, strong and so handy.
joel was recording an other tune last night, it has been fun to watch him doing it, here is his recording...

yellow day 4

i like the little tupperware key chain. it has been with me for many years and is still my favorite... it's very small, just as small to hold a few pennies!
thank you r for the treasure, you might not even remember giving it to me about 10 years ago or so...

yellow day 3

this wheel is one of four on my desk chair i use most in the kitchen. i never thought i would like to sit on a desk chair to eat my meals, this changed. i found the chair at boomerangs a thrift store in town.
but i grew to love it, especially with the baby in my lap. a quick push and i'm at the drawer with the silver wear or the bread box. there is little to say, i would not want to miss this chair!

yellow day 2

(c) 2007, Akademische Verlagsanstalt

studying the trade triangle of colonial amerika...
the trading of slaves, cod, cloth, gold, iron, rum, sugar cane. it's a fascinating time with it's down sides as any other time in history. we love the peters world map, which represents the countries accurately in respect to their surface area. what a wonderful yellow they chose for the african continent!

yellow day 1

playing along for yellow week at erin's house on hill road.
i have been cutting fabric for a new quilt, so the rotary cutter has been my tool for the past days. it's bright and cheerful as well as very handy and such a perfect tool for the cutting in the process of piecing fabric together! i'm sure, i will soon post some more of this project in the works...

Caching

On this sunny, crisp afternoon we went on our first Geocaching trek in a long while. Someone had placed a new cache in Franklin Park and we were determined to check it out.

Each of us brought an indispensable tool: Elias the GPS, Amos the binoculars, Naomi a big magnifying glass (and daddy a camera):

The coordinates turned out to be off by some 100ft or so, but we eventually stumbled over the box.


(guest post by mr. dailydoings)

more atc's

here they are, elias's atc's and they are now all done and packaged. and in the mail to his pals. it was great fun and it was a lot of work, but we all enjoyed it and would do it again. elias chose to theme his cards on ballet performances, nutcracker-swan lake-a midsummer nights dream-sleeping beauty-ben's trumpet (the last one is a performance he will be dancing in in may....)
now there is the expectation of atc's arriving in the mail. each child should get 5 letters containing each one atc! there will be lot's of excitment we are looking forward to. and of course there is somewhere, someone who is working on an atc for me too! yeah!

atc's

we were all working on our atc's
naomi chose for set, to call them "the green series". it was so much fun to watch her using the sharpies on the acryl background. she will be doing more atc's i'm certain, as she is the passionate painter and crafter in our family.

this is amos' "the copper series". how much fun it was to develop all the different brush strokes and add the cut out's from chocolate paper. it was such a good feel, finally something of my stashed up little scraps got chosen for the perfect spot's to serve as highlights!

my february cpm atc is calling for "red" and here i did!
working with all red healthy fruit and veggies. knowing of the vitamins and folic acid in them i felt so good in just composing and glueing them on my little red card.
elias is done with his, i just have not taken a photo of them, yet. but i promise it will happen and i will post them. they look great.

sword and shield

it has been so warm today! 10 Celsius! after the long cold period we had it's such a pleasure to go outside without hat and mittens...
amos took the opportunity to get his pocket knife out and work with found cardboard from our neighbor. do you see the smile on his shield? this was redeeming to me... seeing the smile and laughter in once shield, who would not start smiling at the opponent...

a full monday

elias's friends came over and we made eclair. a great success and lots of fun. it's an easy baking project for kids and everyone loves them!

these are card's are atc's for a kids atc swap. the foundation for some more fun filled moments are laid. naomi loves to paint and mix paints! paint on paper, paint on skin paint all over herself and her surroundings is usually the result...

elias has some very specific ideas about his atc's. he is covering his cards with canvas to work on... we will see what creative doings will happen to those cards in the coming days.

it was a good day and a full day, yesterday's monday.
i fell into bed tired and fulfilled, but the baby was not as happy as i..... so the last moments of the day were a bit loud and tiresome, but never the less a good day.

last night out

joel thea and were out last night. we went to matt and shannon heaton's concert at club passim.
just wonderful, leaving the older three at home with our friends and taking thea along in the moby was perfect. we had dinner at veggie planet in harvard square and enjoyed the music following.
it was matt and shannons cd release "lovers well".
it turnes out thea loves life music very much and enjoyed the night out. it was also fun for me, being served a meal without one minute in the kitchen! without hearding the kids to the table... just sitting down and savoring the food and the time with joel, listening to great music.
we will do it again!!!

it was a great moment to just quickly sit down, enjoy the orange cake which naomi an i made a couple of days ago and a cup of "hudelwetter tee" (a gift from a friend, bought for me from sonnentor).
after violin lessons we hurried home very quickly running around the block, as the wind was cold and sharp. the water boiled in no time and the cake was on the table, served by big brother.
i enjoy the morning when we sit down for a moment. a cup of tea can warm up my hands and spirits. the rest of the morning went by quickly and smoothly. we all got lots of things done without feeling worn out and without telling the kids 15 times what they were supposed to work. they were able to stay focused on their subjects with the knowledge that fun time is ahead. the hours of playing lego, reading ask magazines, looking at the very interesting book "a port through time", drawing on her own hands and other body parts etc.

kneippen im neuschnee

auch dieses jahr sind wir am kneippen....
einmal mehr liegt frischer schnee ums haus und alles sieht so schoen weiss ueberzogen aus. diese pracht laedt einem geradezu ein barfuss rum zu rennen. unsere kuechentuere fuehrt direkt raus auf's deck hinter dem haus und eignet sich ideal um ein solches unterfangen zu wagen.
schon vor 5 jahren haben die buben das gemacht, doch damals war der schnee so tief, dass amos stecken blieb und joel ihn aus dem tiefschnee retten musste. diesmal waren amos und naomi bereits am nachmittag am kneippen und so blieben noch elias und joel, die diese jaehrliche erfahrung nicht missen wollten. ich selber konnte mich nicht ueberwinden.

gnomy hat

i quickly knit a gnomy hat for thea, as she is outgrowing the hat she has been wearing the past few weeks. it's fun to knit little things like that. a couple of hours, some good wool and it's done.
we already paraded it around town today. it was snowy and we walked as usual to the library. thea seemed to like the hat and the snow. she kept peeking out from under the coat, having snow falling onto her face, which made her wonder and smile!
it was the perfect walk in snowy weather, as it was warm and pleasant, with big snowflakes dancing around us.

green spots

i can't help but think of spring when i see green in the midst of the white landscape.
as soon as i'm stepping behind the house elias on his board is jumping into my sight. it's cool to see the green board being used all afternoon. the boys built a "slope", packing snow on the three steps of our back porch. it's not a long steep hill, but it's great for a first experience to use the big find of saturday!
elias found the "snow board" (honestly, it's just a plastic board), at the side of the street just around the corner from home. what a gold nugget! it is already being used and loved by someone else and will get a lot of attention from our boys now.

indoors, i had to get a few bulps going. in the cold midwinter night, they are now springing up and brighten the still cold and wintery days!