this week :: through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

 :: 1. tying before hiking

:: 2. lemon bars, i have not made them for a long time, and they went before i could blink

:: 3. clean out the fridge veggie soup

:: 4. my monday afternoon at cafe mélange

:: 5. the ear ache put her down and the cherry pit pillow warmed and healed

spring in winter

it seems like we write march on the calendar, though it's still january. the weather plays crazy, slough and mud on the paths from the melted ice of last week. i do still hope for more cold and snowy weather.

as thea was sick at the beginning of the week, we were cuddled up in the house, on the sofa surrounded by books and cozy blankets, we both felt, we needed to go out and enjoy the warmth of the sun directly. the light and brightness it offered in the afternoon. we both bundled up, especially thea's ears needed to be covered and that we did. it felt so refreshing and energetic to be out and just be. especially as i have not gone running for the a couple days, i realized that i absolutely needed to be out in nature.

thea is ok again and yesterday joel even came along for a run with me. this is rare but fun. i'm just now heading out again, taking advantage of the mild weather. the song birds seem to be out and singing too, the morning holds it's bright orange-pink silk screen on the horizon to the east, it's calling...

make time for "making"

there was lots of making lately. naomi loves any kinds of crafts and as i got the soap and bath-salt mixing and making out from super crafti's beauty box
there was really no holding back, for her. collecting different additional ingredients and preparing, mixing and filling up in little glass jars to give to friends. the whole process was lovely, standing by and lending a helping hand, enjoying to see her adding and changing the recipe having the freedom to come up with this or that twist, making it her own.
it felt a bit like me looking at recipes and at the end i serve something like it, but definitely not exactly what it was supposed to be or called for i the book.

and on it went, soap making with lavender, saffron, cinnamon and essential oils. melting and mixing, pouring and the soap "crystals" turned out stunningly. there were some quick moments of "mama help" but over all, i was standing by and took photos...
there is lots of joy to watch kids work with recipes and ingredients they are not familiar with. exploring and learning is taking place, it really seemed like big leaps are being made. wonderful and once more i kind of miss doing this not more frequently. miss the homeschool days, as they have been until 6 years ago. i guess one more list item for this year: make time for "making"!

weekend :: for what's worth it

taking a bit of a brake from the everyday is a good thing. the girls came along with me to stay at my parents over the weekend. of course i would have had lots of projects and ideas and work right in front of my sight. but i ran away and it was good to be away.
wonderful weather, extended walks, knitting and cooking together with naomi. just be and be still, be content.
and yes there was fussing and yelling and regular sibling head budding with the girls. though it seems as it was a bit easier for me to take and sometimes just let them figure it out among themselves.
as at home i have a rather hard time to let the kids be loud with each other. though they are like that anyway. not all the time, not even a lot, but there is regular loud and harsh words being exchanged and heads budded and tears shed about it all.
and then again, there is peace coming back, by talking, by forgiving each other and really forgiving and forgetting about it. by putting the other one first. it's painful, it's not a process i enjoy but at the end, there is beauty and character being built.

well again and again i learn to be a parent and help the kids to find their way in the jungle of wanting to be and wanting to have and not having what the sister or brother has, is or just looks like.
and in all of this, i as their mother as their parent, i'm being shaped and changed too.
relying on the love and forgiveness i have experienced through christ.

this week :: through the lens

it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

:: 1. more snow

:: 2. soup season in full swing, spinach for tuesday night's dinner

:: 3. stamping it all, the activity board at a cafe near by

:: 4. my dear ranuncula

:: 5. overexposed! on the way to maag recycling...

citrus and other snacks

as soon as the kids come home after school, snack is on the schedule. what ever it may be, first there is fruit. the kids are all different, one prefers plain yoghurt, the other loves any kind of fruit as the third one would eat bananas every day...
thea is a citrus fruit lover and of course, she must peal the fruit herself. this is perfect, especially during the winter months. in early december we got a big load of clementines, directly imported from greece, via gebana (now one can order oranges from the peleponnes region. we really liked the fruit a lot, they got harvested as they should, shortly before the peak and shipped within a few days. so the taste was absolutely exceptional, and we will order again next year.
i love to order through gebana, knowing that they take care of their producers and pay fair wages as well as help them market their products through cooperatives. nothing is big scale, which puts me at ease and this way i can even feel good when eating those delicious citrus fruit, and adding those needed vitamins to my meals in the fruitless winter of northern europe...

an other snack, everyone likes, and at any time is welcomed. home baked goodies. yesterday it was the poppy-lemon-almond cake, today its a oat-sesame-seed-coconut bar. and i'm sure tomorrow will make me think of something else, like tripple chocolate brownie or so...
baking at this time of year is perfect, it makes me comfortably warm in the house while baking and when everyone comes home in the afternoon, there are smiles and laughter as the smell of baking is waving through the house, welcoming and excitingly.

dotted scheme

there must be something like a scrap quilt....
of course there are lots and lots of ideas to destash once scrap bags. it's more a matter of what one stumbles upon and gets inspired about. the "scrap republic" helped me settle on a lap quilt. just what i was hoping to make as there is a little niece or nephew going to join our big family within the next month.

and so i started out digging through my scrap bag and sorting the bits and pieces in the color wheel. it worked out fine, not quite enough yellow. for that part i reached into the closet and pulled out two or three yellow fabrics in different shades. it was fun to mix and match and ended up with lots of little squares each one, just a bit over 3.5".
the next step was super easy find every bit of white, off white, ecru, and pale pink scrap i could and sew them together, random. the end measurements were just about right, a little throw.

and how much fun was it to cut the dots! lots and lots of fun to twirl the circle cutter and get those wonderful looking dots. as i wanted a quick project, i went with the applique method. easy enough, just placing the dots and sewing them down. for a little moment i contemplated to do it all by hand, but quickly went back to the machine.
i loved it, and thinking of that little person joining the family was making me smile. how wonderful and miraculous it all is and me as the sewing aunt, i add this little contribution to the welcome package.

love it all. and wish my sister and brother in law a few wonderful pregnant weeks. have fun and make a nest in that new world of yours!

out :: in the snow

 

snow arrived and even plentiful. this was making for a wonderful afternoon yesterday. we could just not stay indoors, but take our sleds out and quickly hop on the train to visit cousins a bit further back in the valley. perfect was the time in the snow and not even cold.
it was a bit of a taste of winter as we hope it will still come. and definitely a good test of the snow gear in regards to the ski- and snowboard vacation we are going to have mid february. o am i looking forward to spend a week in the mountains, lots of snow, lots of sunshine, and the kids on the slope, while i'm planning a good time knitting and running and maybe even some cross country skiing.

it is a packed week that i'm looking at this coming days. i'm gone 3 evenings and joel too....
the laundry machine is already running and water boiling for tea (as this keeps me warm now)
i wish you too, a wonderful time with and in the snow!

this week :: through the lens

 it has been on the back burner, i have not been taking a lot of photos for a while now, and that should change. so i put the "hand made" lens back on the camera body and got started this week. it touched me in a special way, as i wander and have the camera ready be it in the kitchen, or living room table... this enables me to see with new eyes and i like it. we will see if it sticks, it is a start to a new friday review of what caught my eye. there is to be said, that i was inspired by erin boyle and her blog "reading my tea leaves". she does a wonderful job and it is so inspirational to have a look at her photos...

 :: 1. the last of it all

 :: 2. the girl loves her glittery letters

:: 3. not just pleasant for my hands, but for the eye too

:: 4. birthday lunch, lets lets enjoy the mexican flavors

:: 5. the treasured white arrived last night and it is wonderouse

in the living room

the big guys got some hardware.

and finally after days of waiting, every package has arrived and didn't have to wait too long, before the big two men found time to put it all together. not that i would understand anything about it, but it kind a looked like they had fun and this made me jump to my camera too.
the motherboard, the ventilator and what ever intriguing names those components all have, it all sounds like a big puzzle, which i'm glad, i do not have to solve. as for tonight, joel is crawling under the desks in our office and vacuuming in remote corners, it's a bit of a challenge to get the old pc and all it's cables removed and replaced by the new and up graded hard wear. but still, he seems to enjoy all the excitement of it all.

i stand by, work on my things and glance over my shoulders once in a while. of course i have to smile and keep on doing what i do anyway.

on the station

we went for a late evening visit and took the train.

it was a bit of magic, especially as snow has been just a wish for the season, so far. not much snow, but enough to kneel down and enjoy the view, the feel and now the picture. not too cold to fidget a bit with the camera, having the manual lens on the body and catching the lit station, the still so white snow.

love the moment

12th

it is again january and naomi has been with us for over 12 years, this is definitely exciting to celebrate! and so we did, starting out at breakfast, she loved reading all our love notes to her.
and to her credit, she got up early to bake chocolate chip cookies for her class... yes she loves to spread joy and happiness and is giving freely.
as it is the tradition for the jubilee to wish what's for lunch, we had tortilla, mexican food and it was tasty, it even made big brother come home for lunch. he had to ride the bike for 3 miles one way in pouring rain, yes all our kids love mexican food, and there were some of naomi's baked sweets still available for dessert, yumm.

the birthday day is over and life goes on, may God bless you and keep you close to his heart, dear girl.

my list 2016

it is list writing time. i love this, i have been awaiting the day, when i'm sitting down again and write on my list for 2016. i don't even mind looking back at my list of 2015 as i realize, that there are many list items not reached, not taken serious enough, or happily noting the date, when i could cross them off.
for today, i decide not to look too closely at the list, just a glance and then go on, look forward and into the face of the new year. it's still very young and i can write list items as i want. even wanting to attempt to realize all of them, including them into my daily life.
it's wonderful to dream about being a more even keeled person, a very agreeing mother to our four children, a more loving wife to joel. it makes me smile and almost chuckle. this sounds silly even a bit ridiculous. never the less, i know that it is healthy and helpful to be able to smile or even laugh about my self!

and then, here is my list in random order...

1.  in general say more yes, and in particular to my kids
2.  be less controling
3. grow mushrooms behind the house on wooden logs
4. sing in a choir
5. read good books
6. take thursday afternoons off for crafts or reading or visit a friend
7. run 30k a week
8. this week :: through the lense, start my friday blog post series
9. go out for dinner with joel as well as with good friends
10. take a class what ever interests me
11. stick with the rule of not buying new clothes, yup it helped to have that one for last year
12. take each child for special outings on their own
13. i want to give the cross country skiing a try while on ski vacation in february
14. practice gratitude “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” -- Cicero
15. sew a quilt for my sister in law
16. knit or crochet or sew at least one item a month go give away
17. sort through my books and give away what i not read or need anymore
18. keep buying fabric :) and stay at the machine more often
19. take a longish family vacation (outdoor adventure) this summer
20. practice twice a week on the ukulele

this is plenty for today, for this year, the list will certainly be up dated mid year and as in past years, i feel free to add important lines to my list as i see need for it.