St.Pat's Day Towel for Mom's Birthday

Aragorn's Skull Hat

Knitting and Cleansing

This is what the last three months have been about. I've been on elimination diets, cleanses and gone gluten and dairy-free, trying to eliminate an itchy skin condition. Much of my energy has gone into this and it has been an excellent learning experience. We have all discovered a much healthier path in life, and that while gluten-free bread, pumpkin scones and pizza crust are all delicious (thank you, Glutenfreegoddess.com!), chocolate chip cookies are just better with wheat flour! Our fruit and vegetable consumption has increased greatly, sugar consumption is way down and we are all feeling better.

On to the knitting; here are pics of the latest projects. Having busy needles makes everything better!

Aragorn Playing his First Coffee House

Music and Kids

Music and Kids

So my son and husband have become guitar-playing, music-making nuts. It is so much fun to have rock and roll or folk or metal music around the house at all hours. This is Aragorn's first public performance, and he was such a natural! He just sat down next to his wonderful teacher and played everything that was put in front of him. There was a roomful of guitar players, poets, audience members and he played "like he was in Madison Square Garden," according to his teacher, lol!

Life's Lessons

Life Lessons

Sometimes we philosophize too much, seek out hidden messages in random events. Sometimes the signs are there, staring us right in the face and we refuse to open our eyes. I am not sure how I feel about the wake-up call I had last night driving home with three children in the back seat.

I was looking for the right exit, being perpetually without a sense of direction, I usually am. I did not see the large, white object until my wheel was about to DANG, roll over it. I was driving fast, keeping up with traffic, so it took a moment to slow down, pull over, all the while dragging the darn thing as it screeeeeeched along under my car, wheel, who knew. I got out, smelled smoke, found the thing and stared. It could only be described as a...chamber pot? White enamel-coated metal pot, now thoroughly squashed in it's middle, where did that thing come from? What could it possibly want to tell me?

I have a few ideas, but I think I shall keep them to myself. In the mean time, no injuries, no flat tires, the smoking stopped, but my new red shoes have a scrape from where I kicked the thing right into next week and off the road. Potty indeed.

First Piano Recital

Lily, at thirteen, just played in her first two piano recitals, as did Alienor, eight. The nerves were worse for Lily, of course, as she practiced a great deal more and worried a great deal more, but Alienor had her moments too! She sat up straight and played her little heart out. Lily was intense and focused and professional. The first recital was open to family and friends, the grandparents came and we made a day out of it with ice cream after wards.

Last week was the formal recital in front of university professors. They both did beautifully and we just heard that Alienor and Lily each received a "Superior" rating from the judges on Saturday. Bravo sweeties!

Lily and Alienor; waiting to play piano

First Recital; Alienor

From Sad and Cuddled...

To Emerging Hope...

To...All Better!

Dad-Daughter Night Out; my little Girl Scout

Seekers of Wisdom/Keepers of the Faith

Seekers of Wisdom/ Keepers of the Faith

Does there have to be a conflict? Has there always been one between the two? Is this what the difference between unschooling, or child-led education and a method such as Waldorf comes down to? There is an element of respect in a Steiner (or Waldorf) education for the stage of development a particular child finds himself in. Steiner himself wrote much of not feeding information to a child but bringing out what is within him or her. Is this the same though, as allowing him to freely search out what moves him and inspires him to explore a topic, thus discovering the world?

I strive for a balance between the two. The children read books they choose at the library, they play games they invent themselves. I read aloud books of my choosing and form a "curriculum" of subjects I think might be of benefit in their understanding of the world; math, history, botany, French grammar, proper writing skills, geography. This passing on of wisdom of ages past and present is my gift of experience and knowledge, the freedom to explore their world is a gift each one deserves from the universe.

How do others interpret this age-old conflict in the realm of education?

Mammitoe By Lily

Mammitoe was our rat. He died on Saturday, March 6Th. He was, in rat years, about eighty years old, and in human years, just over two. Our first rat died struggling and sick, our second rat was put to sleep after having a large tumor, and our bird died of an overly large hart. Mammitoe died of old age, and had the best life that a rat could have had. His kind of rat was bred for snake food, so he would have died when he was just a few weeks old. When he knew that it was time, he went into his small rat bed, curled up, and died. He was always calm, and accepted life the way it was. I was the one who found him, cold and stiff, just before pizza night. Everyone came around to see him. There was a lot of sobbing and crying, but the two year old puck did not understand. Mammitoe was buried the next day in the back yard, in a place near a bush where, in May, there are yellow flowers on the the bush, and white flowers on the ground. Mammitoe died as he did everything, calm, and accepting.