wardrobe ramblings and more...

 autumn colors all over. it's not just the "big knit" shawl which is totally naomi's, though she picked the color, i knit it and fun doing so. i really like her style and am glad she finds clothes and accessories, mostly second hand or hand me down items to mix and match. thanks to all the people passing on clothes and "stuff" to us. there are times i think the girls have too many pieces in their wardrobe, but then again, i have to let go of my own ideas and admit them some freedom.
yes it's not all under control and often after arguing over wardrobe issues, i quickly realize that i really have to step down and let go. each child is picking what they like and it should be that way. we go through their wardrobes once or twice a year to pass on outgrown and not liked items. so far so good. never the less, i can't not knit or sew a few things for them. there is just a bit more to clothes made by mama, i think....
funny, me rambling on about wardrobe issues, the photos show naomi mounting her newly bought bike bell. maybe a fashion statement too...

that wonderful chrysanthemum is a huge potted plant at our front steps. i got it a couple weeks ago and am certain the flowers are going to last until winter is arriving. such a joy, every time i leave the house or come back home there is a little smile on my face, it's such a pleasure to be greeted by flowers.

big scarf II

this one is not a yak merino, but a baby alpaka from lanartus, a wonderful soft bulky wool in 70% fine merino and 30% baby-alpaka. i even take it double and knit it with a #15 (US 19) loop needle. it's fun, naomi's loop is done and this one will be amos.
naomis is a long loop, she can wear it double around the neck. amos' will be wide (22 stitches) and just once around the neck, but sewn together with a twist. i'm so happy knitting those shawls for my kids. elias also "ordered" one, we will stop by the wool store midweek. a fun project and quick and lots of stop and go and so relaxing to sit in the garden this afternoon, for almost an hour, listening to gordon's sermon of last sunday.
i'm very happy, to be able to listen to those sermons, we have been away from boston for just about 6 years, but still it is very meaningful and a kind of feeling at home, when listening to gordon. ist very edifying to me. and having my hands occupied keeps me focused.

autumn in the air

a beautiful morning, and i had planned to go and visit my friend in the neighboring little town. we planned to to just hang out and talk and enjoy a good cup of tea. we did all that, but the talking was mostly done by walking. both of us didn't want to stay indoors with such weather. what a wonderful morning.
when i usually run a few mornings a week, i never take the camera along, but while walking, this was possible. though the far away mountains (eiger, mönch and jungfrau) you can't see on the photo, but believe me, it was perfect!

and then there is the beauty in a harvested corn field, such perfect rows of stubbles. something also not possibly transferable is autumns scent. the moist soil, warm sunshine and wilting leafs on the ground. the bittersweet is already in bloom so this is added into the air. i have so many memories, autumn has been the main harvesting season, growing up on a farm with apple orchards. and farming was not quiet as mechanized as today. we still picked all the apples and pears up from the ground by hand. pulled the big fodder beets (mangel beet) by hand, cut the greens and cleaned the beet with a dull knife. the beets were put in smaller piles and each evening the tractor pulled a low bed trailer and everyone helped to throw those cleaned beets up on it, to carry it home into the barn.
it was a lot of work. not my favorite one, but the good part was, that our cousins and friends came by to help with the work. especially the loading was almost a festival, it was mostly done at dusk and pranks were played...
well, good memories and a childhood well enjoyed. thank you ma and pa for giving me the opportunity to help and work and all that came with it.

yak merino...

my kids call for super bulky shawls, and so we went to the yarn store in the city.
i love to go there and we came home with wonderful yak merino, which i use in triple fold and knit with #15. yes it is a huge needle to use and just 15 stitches to cast on. a funky project and i get to use muscles in my hands, which are not usually used.
the knitting is in the patent pattern, so it looks even bulkier...

i'm happy to knit for my kids, i love knitting and making for the family is special to me, there is a special vibe in doing so and some love transfer from me to them. as well as the other way, as i'm honored by my teenage kids wearing made by mama....

things round

today, it occurred to me is a funny round day. all started with thea putting up some playmobil figures on the breakfast table, i was looking at it again and again, very cute and inspiring.

for a week now, the very round and symetrical pumpkin sits on the display in the kitchen. just orange and round and telling me all about how plentiful autumn is, with all the fruit and veggies to take in and put away, be it as jam or puree, pickled or frozen.

 

and this was dinner. we had falafel, pita and all other kinds of turkish lebanese/mediteranean foods. very delicious, p was even making hummus. i love eating in community, eating with my friends and house mates, having our family together. those moments of love being showered on me on us feeds me as much as the food does.

dessert was not missing either, a big round italian plum tart, rich and sweet. no there is no recipe being followed, just the way i felt and know that my people love to eat!

ii'm sure, if i would ponder and think more, there would be more things round to turn up. but i'm tired at a days end. not every moment was the way i planned and imagined, there were moments of testing my patients. moments of just sitting with a child and listen, pray silently, hug, and send her off again. even a shouting match was held in our kitchen within these past few hours...
and at the end of this day, as i do at the end of every day, i give back this day to the Lord. thankful for it's joys and thankful to dump the heavy burdens.

the granite bolder place

we enjoyed a wonderful sunny late summer sunday. wow, the sky was blue and together with our extended family, we went geo caching. we have not been on a hunt for a long while, but joel's brother is going frequently and has asked us on sunday morning, if we would join them.
after a quick lunch, consisting of emptying the fridge and adding some couscous into the mix, some of us hopped onto the bikes and rode to wila, and the others took the train. it was perfect bike weather and i absolutely enjoyed the ride, so did joel pulling thea on the trail a bike.

in wila, we really just followed p's lead to find the caches which he has already once attempted to find and did not... which led us to some kind of granite block holding area near saaland. it was great, just pure exciting, even more then finding the cache. we did look for it, we found it and then back up onto the big block. doing parcour, hiding, and all kinds of games were invented.

a wonderful afternoon, some more caches, some more hide and seek in the woods and lots of laughter. thank you my family for the hours were able to spend with you.

my days doing...

that's what i'm doing today...
at the festival "filme für die Erde"

in and out of the city to make sure our little table at the exhibit is being taken care of.

the 10 block quilt

it has been in the making for a while now. not really knowing what i was going to do with those scrap blocks, it was lot's of fun to sew them together, one after an other, not exactly the same sizes, no clear color scheme or anything. using up scrap is very rewarding and i used a lot with those 10 blocks, of course there are more and the pile is already growing again. more fancy funny blocks? i don't know.

after the top as well as the back were done and the batting ordered (i found a new place to order from... it's a wonderful lady, living in geneva, so postage is not exorbitant and the price for the batting is a good one for european standards). i used a wool batting, as it will be thea's winter blanket.
sandwiching was fun and for the first ever, i used an adhesive spray, which worked out ok. the next time, i will add a bit more spray, as i tended to use it very frugally.
and then the sewing could start, even for that one i got a new gadget, machingers cloves to be able to get a good grip on the sandwiched quilt.
for the reason of having to get that quilt on theas bed i was sewing lines, nothing fancy or tricky at all. as i do not own a long-arm machine, it worked out fine. i was not very keen on getting the lines all straight, but rather liked the organic flow of the lines. some horizontal and then again vertical, and around the blocks i felt like there was a bit of a framing needed. sewing all those "circles" was fun and i got the hang of sewing circles, and i'm sure i will sew more circles.

sewing the binding on was easy and i realized, that i like hand sewing a lot.
the quilt is very girlish with those blocks featuring the girls and i like how their hair is blowing in a summers wind. it's on thea's bed, she has not seen it after i added her name to it. i'm pleased and so happy, that i was able to incorporate her old linens (the fabric with the many hearts). those linens were a present of her godmother.
sewing for my kids is most likely one of the best loved things to do, i discovered a few years back (or may it be knitting too).

and now, there is an other quilt, the granny-square one waiting to be quilted.

the garanoir harvest

waiting for just the right time...
and of course, it has been as every year before, the garanoir grapes ripened this year too. and they look great, perfect for picking today. not that we have a vineyard or winery, but my parents help with their local garanoir vineyard, at hosenruck,  and as my parents are traveling right now, they asked me and my brother to help with the harvest.
i was very much looking forward to it and as the weather was looking good and we got the word that picking would be today, i happily went. it was a perfect day for the harvest and with a big group of helpers, the grapes were picked quickly. followed by a vine tasting of last years 2014 and the 2013 vine, we finished up the afternoon. all of it was wonderful, even the view was breath taking and a little sheep herd was taking an afternoon nap near by.

i know, my parents were looking forward all summer long, to be part of this harvesting. so i feel a bit sorry for them not having been here. and i will be very happily telling them all about our harvest day.

laundry and coffee

it's laundry and coffee time...
still warm and sunny, windy and the laundry dries quickly in the early afternoon hours. and then it's also not hot anymore, as that would call for an iced coffee. but it's espresso and sugar cookie season. as in spring, we are now at the end of summer, rather already into autumn season. the wind is picking up and the the clouds are moving quick across the sky. catching the sunny early afternoon for drying is getting essential.

and i do love to sit, watch the laundry dry and sip on my espresso, read or knit, stitch or talk with some one. lovely time, when the work is half way done and resting is what one needs to do. slowing down, after a speedy morning, after sending the kids back to school after lunch.
we are back to a routine, it feels like a good routine, steady and grounded. even so, that i can be flexible and creative, fit something unplanned into my day or even better go for a quick surprise outing with the girls. i have to say, though, we had our up and downs until we are now on this new routine. especially nice is, but also challenging, the fact, that elias is home for all the lunches and dinners. after three years of very intense ballet practice. i do embrace it, to have a bigger lunch table again and the girls like it too, to have him around for a quick 40 minutes.
new school year, new routine, new fitting it all in and slowing down again, arriving and enjoying.

adding to the sage and more

a little addition to yesterdays sage bouquet, i was at the little florist shop across the street and got a bunch small roses to add to the sage. lovely isn't it, this totally counts as an anniversary bouquet doesn't it! i know, i got it for myself, very likely no one in the house even notices it. doesn't matter, i enjoy the sight every time i walk into the kitchen and also up stairs in our bedroom. yes, i made two vases full of sage twigs and added roses to both vases. it's a bit of a splurge, but i figured our anniversary is totally worth a splurge...

and then this morning, i went to see how our apple trees were doing. they are fine, not a lot of fruit, it was just to dry this summer. fine with me, it will be about 2 hours work of shaking and picking them up, bringing them to the press and that's it. the result, i guess just 60-80 liters or sweet cider.
and then i discovered this wonderful little birds nest. for a moment, no rather two or three moments, i just stood there and looked at it, admiring the wonderful work this bird has done. so pretty so sturdy and well placed on this little branch. my imagination was going wild, with the idea of a couple little birdies peeping for food and the mama bird feeding them. well it's so perfect, they are now all grown and have flown away, on their own and happily so.
that is rhythm, the rhythm of time, and i am thankful to have seen this nest. thankful for the reminder, that the nest was needed to raise those little birds, and now it's empty, and that is ok, it's even good, very good this way.

just a few hundred meters away from our trees, there was this corn field. it has been a few years, since i have looked at such a field more closely. of course i grew up with corn fields, picking the corn and feeding the harvest to the cows and pigs on the farm.
it was a lovely reminder to think back and be reminded, of the harvest nature has in store. be reminded that every plant has it's own patterns and structures to it. i love the stalks, the roots and just about every detail has it's intrinsic pattern.
i feel like i have to start working with those patterns, drawing, stitching, sewing, painting and cutting, well maybe i will take the time and dwell on those ideas a bit more.... we will see.

cutting the herbs and more

 the cutting of herbs was on my list for over a month, and i know i'm well over peak season to cut my herbs. but i did it today and it they are now on the sill to dry. the thyme and oregano at least. sage i still have enough from last year so i just made two bouquets out of the cuttings. it smells lovely and feels just right to have this wonderful sage bouquet in our bed room. right for today, as it is our 21st wedding anniversary. twenty years has it been, that we entered this covenant.
a good time, a wonderful celebration with all our friends and family. good memories and so many years of togetherness. thank you God, for giving all this to me, to us as a couple a family.

it kind a feels like a house of all different kinds of herbal scents. i love it and life does feel full and rich with all it's up and downs. and i'm looking forward to many more of those years together. living in awareness of each other and the grace of God.

though the mountain be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace says the Lord, who has compassion on you
isaia 54:10
such a wonderful word to hold onto.