happy thanksgiving!

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -Proust

I am so very thankful to be surrounded by family and friends that make me very very happy. we cooked, baked, played and even did a little crafting together. it was a perfect day. I feel very blessed and loved.

it fits (finally!)

the bonnet that i knit for maeve last christmas finally fits her! i knit so tight that i try to knit with larger needles but sometimes my gauge gets thrown totally off in the other (bigger) direction. but luckily her head grew in the last year, woo hoo!

i am diligently trying to finish a tunic i am knitting for her (that i started in the summer!) for this christmas.  i think i can, i think i can...

welcome autumn...

the trees in our yard were gorgeous last week. now... most leaves have fallen. we had a windy few days and it shook most of the leaves from the trees. the kids don't seem to mind though because it just means more leaves to rake, jump in and throw around.

we are beginning to settle into a more 'inside' lifestyle. calvin and i made some pumpkin muffins last week and i have been itching to do more baking. i have been knitting more too. luckily the weather change has been gradual so we get to ease into this changing rhythm, with a few hours outside today and a few inside.

sam and i put the gate up on our garden. this was the last step and now our garden is complete! we are both dreaming of what to plant in the spring...

apple picking 2010

we went apple picking a few weekends ago.  this is our fourth year in a row of apple picking so i think it is now considered a tradition.  an autumn tradition that i know i will look forward to each year.  i will especially look forward to the apple pie, apple cake, apple sauce and apple butter!

{this moment}

inspired by soulemama.

book: bless us all

since i am a teacher i thought i would start sharing some of the books that i love to read with my children and/or with my students.

the first book i am sharing is a book i love to read with my children.  it was a gift for calvin for his first christmas and it has been a favorite ever since.  maeve now loves to hear it too.  it is written by cynthia rylant, who is a prolific and eclectic children's book author.  Bless Us All is filled with blessing rhymes for each month of the year.  each month 'blesses' things that one might see in that month.  for example, january is 'bless the houses snug and tight, bless the kitties day and night, bless the trees and bless the snow, bless us all when cold winds blow.'  the illustrations are simple and colorful.

a simple story that reminds us to 'bless the ones so dear to us, keep them safe and near to us'!

busy busy busy

being a teacher, september is always a busy month full of transition for us. but as october is beginning, we are finally finding our rhythm.

i have been having fun making bento style lunches for the kids. i was getting tired of packing the same old thing and i began to search the web for some new ideas and stumbled across bento box lunch ideas that looked fun. i love the lunches by another lunch. i am finding it that it is a creative outlet for me that is very useful, something i have to do anyway (and am enjoying much more that i used to) and not too involved (at least not as much as making a quilt...).  plus the kids love them!

this was cal's lunch on the first day of autumn. see the little bear head? that is an egg! i found these egg shapers at our local japanese market. i used little cutters i have had to make the cheese into fall leaves. carrots with hummus on the right and some fall colored crackers by the bear. the sandwich is dinosaur shaped, i know not super fall, but that is the only sandwich cutter i own.  (fyi... the lunch is packed in an ecolunchbox)

we are trying to make the most of this colorful season by getting outside as much as possible. it is our family favorite and something we look forward to and talk about all year long.  we are taking a fall nature and art class through the local extended education program.  it rained for the first class so we were indoors.  i have high hopes for next week though.