No Blogging? Did I Leave the Country Again?

No, no one left the country, I just left home, as in to work outside of it, for the first time in years and years. Oh sure, I've given the occasional conference, done volunteer work, I even escape weekly for some writing time, but this was a week of working every single day, including Sunday, somewhere else. There was also the little matter of injuries to both adults in the house, three doctor visits for ill children (I never go to the doctor, they were really not well!), and the holidays with all the joy, chaos and fabulous family visits that they entail.

I began the job with my arm in a sling, which explains why I had not written for a week or so before the job. Too much yoga on top of lots of snow shoveling on an old injury, and voila...no more functioning right elbow. (No, I did not shovel the snow onto my elbow, for those of you who do not own a snow shovel in Florida or southern France. One uses ones elbows and shoulders and back to remove the snow from the driveway in order to go to work.) The third day I had to drive through a snow-storm and eight inches of fallen snow to get to work. Then my children kindly passed on the awful cold they've been fighting.  I can appreciate just how bad it was, first-hand. My poor husband outdid himself on snow removal and helping Santa set up a trampoline in the dark on Christmas Eve, and hurt his neck. He still took care of us all while I was working, but he was in lots of pain, poor guy.

The job? My favorite, outside of parenting and homeschooling; interpreting. I have been hired to translate English to French and back again for different reasons, as needed around the community, and I am enjoying every minute of it.  I get to be the go-between to facilitate understanding when two people cannot connect in a common language. This is what I did before children, mostly for industry, relocation and the scientific community. This time it has taken me to places I have never been and shown me some sides of life I had not known. Not everyone has had the fortune most of us take for granted; parents who care about you, a safe home, sane siblings and step-parents.

How will this all work out with homeschooling? We will take it one day at a time, and make lots of plans for either type of day. It promises excitement and a chance for learning the skills of adaptation. Learning can happen in more than one situation.

Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza and a Jolly New Year!

I have been so impatient to send out my warmest holiday wishes to you, dear friends, family and readers. I am happy to do so today, late for all but one. I hope you have been enjoying the season with family and loved ones. If you have not had this chance, may it come to you soon. It has been a most blessed and busy holiday in our house, and we are grateful for the love, friendship and joy we live in each day.

We celebrated the Solstice both out at a special musical and poetry service and at home, with a spiral, candles, good friends and good food.

Our Christmas found a few of us a little under the weather and the weather a little over the top, but it turned out to be white and warm anyway.

May the coming new year be filled with good health, happiness and peace for you and yours.

Angela, Pierre, Lily, Aragorn, Alienor, Arthur and Puck

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree; in "Santa's Boots"

Blogs Awarded the Stylish Blog Award

I would like to say a short word about the blogs I elected for this award last week. Each of them has spoken to me in some special way over the months or years I have been reading it.

Invitation to the Butterfly Ball; this is the story of a second-generation homeschooling family. Interesting to those of us who wonder; how will this all turn out? Well, if Rachel's family is any indication, it looks like full of love, great ideas and beautiful, talented children with caring parents may be how it turns out, wonderful!
http://invitationtothebutterflyball.blogspot.com/

The Itchy Homeschooler is the blog of a witty, feisty homeschooling mother of two. Marlis is full of ideas for learning and growing, and not afraid to ask the BIG QUESTIONS about parenting, children in today's world, education; methods and reasons, and open up discussions on her blog.
http://itchyhomeschooler.blogspot.com/ 

Three Little Pixies is a blog by a loving, experienced mother of four. One of Tammy's children has gone on to graduate from homeschooling, two more are constantly busy with projects, adventures and recipes that are shared in photos and words on this gorgeous blog. When I need an idea for a Waldorf study unit, this is where I head for the older children.
http://threelittlepixies.blogspot.com

Ancient Hearth is by Jen, mother of twins, who has posted photos and tutorials and links to so many ideas and projects and books you may stay lost in her blog for days. It is a sure bet for Waldorf parents of younger children, the twins are in second grade, but I have used many of her ideas with my older children, including the tepee we made for third grade Native American block.
http://ancienthearth2.blogspot.com


Soft Earth Art is a marvelous place to repose, resource and  bask in beautiful needle-felted art and poetry. Marie celebrates the natural and maternal world through photography and her needle-felting. Her work is just lovely, a must-see.
http://softearthart.blogspot.com

Untrodden Paths is a bilingual blog in German and English. This mother of five, Eva, is an inspiration in her gentle, creative lessons and uncompromising academics. I greatly enjoy walking down these paths each time I check out this blog.
http://untroddenpaths.blogspot.com/

The Parenting Passageway is where I go for inspired writing on Waldorf. Carrie deals with everything from being the queen of one's castle and going forth in a confident manner among your own family, to ages and stages in child development. This is a thoughtful, intelligent, simply amazing collection of essays and discussions.
http://theparentingpassageway.com

Syrendell is a celebration of all that is Waldorf artwork, music, handwork and lifestyle. This talented couple of artists, Jennifer and Rick, has work that will lead you to be more inspired in your own knitting, painting, felting and aromatherapy, to name a few.
 http://syrendell.blogspot.com

Birthdays!

December 13th is a big day. This year is particularly special, as we had a 14 and a 41, respectively born in 96 and 69, both on 12/13. When a child turns thirteen, it is the first year of having your own teenager, one you can sort of take as a training year, getting used to the whole idea of adolescence. Fourteen is different, it is official, she is not getting any smaller, any shorter, things can only go one direction from here on out.

I am so grateful for my lovely daughter, she is special in every way, Happy Birthday ma cherie!

I was very excited, when after sixteen hours of induced labor, Lily was born at midnight; which day was it? The doctor and the anesthesiologist consulted each other; one's watch said one minute to midnight, the other one minute after. "Can I have a say in this?" I vaguely remember croaking, my throat completely parched from drinking nothing since the morning before. "Sure, do you have a preference?" joked the anesthesiologist. My doctor, by then, knew I had an opinion on everything concerning birth, but neither of us expected it to extend to the very date. "Oui! The 13th! That's her papa's birthday!"

So it was that my first born and my husband share the same birthday. Happy Birthday, dear Pierre! Thank you for the marvelous gift of our children, our family.

Happy Birthday, my Darlings!

Yarn for Workshop

Thank You!

Thank you to The Firefly Files, for passing on to me the Stylish Blogger Award. I am so pleased to accept! The rules of the award state that I must write seven things about myself, so here I go.
1) My grandfather was a writer and poet.
2) Favorite thing to cook and eat: mousse au chocolat.
3) I once took Esperanto classes and mean to get back to it one day.
4) I've also studied a little bit of Spanish, German, Italian, Basque, Chinese and Polish.
5) Of those, I speak only Spanish, a little bit, pitiful.
6) I wish I could visit Narnia, before and after the Snow Queen (White Witch?)
7) I like hats (cloche) and shoes (Mary Janes and boots), could care less about jewelry, unless someone made or bought it just for me.

I am, in turn, awarding this honor to a few favorite blogs:
http://ancienthearth2.blogspot.com/ 
http://invitationtothebutterflyball.blogspot.com/
http://threelittlepixies.blogspot.com/
http://itchyhomeschooler.blogspot.com/ 
 http://syrendell.blogspot.com/
http://theparentingpassageway.com
http://softearthart.blogspot.com/
http://untroddenpaths.blogspot.com/

I could go on...thank you to all of you bloggers that share your thoughts, ideas and smiles with us each day.

(Small) Boy and Dog

Jasper, who fell in the creek and had to be warmed up, Alienor donated the ear-muffs and scarf

Jasper (still working on obedience training)

Life with a Dog

I don't think you have truly experienced all that life has to offer until you have had your own dog. Every moment in a dog's life spent with humans who love him is a joy. (Other than the moments when you are cleaning up the messes, trying to wrestle a stick of butter, a mitten or a favorite toy out of his mouth.) The children have fallen head over heels in love with him, of course, and do all they can to make Jasper's life nicer.

Our darling dog has brought out empathy, care and concern for the feelings of another being the way no one else ever has. I think this is especially true of a rescued dog, since we know he was found on the street, abandoned and sad before he came to live with us. The children watched the shelter's volunteer groomer trim him as he stood shaking on the table, they heard that he had been full of burrs and had to be shaved when he was found. They saw how he barked and barked when he was penned up in a cage, but perfectly quiet and playful as soon as he was let out.

Then they heard from the trainer we are working with, how he could tell Jasper had been abused since he flinched when a hand came near his face, and the reason for his aggressiveness where food was concerned; he had been on the streets and starving. This broke everyone's heart and made us all even more gentle and kind towards him. If you haven't tried a dog for loyal, unconditional companionship in your family, you might want to give it some thought. If you need a project for educational purposes, you should consider a dog, if you are ready for one. There are so many wonderful dogs filling the cold metal cages of shelters all over the world. The kids have listened for years about the pros and cons of owning a dog (me pros, my husband cons), researched every breed you can imagine, settled on a non-allergenic dog that would work for us, and visited almost every shelter in the area searching for the right furry friend for us. Now they are learning the hows and whys of pet training and care and how to dog-proof a home and be careful with their favorite possessions.

We have watched him grow from a nervous, slightly hyper creature into a calm, stable loving one, happy with playing fetch, happy being brushed and fed, and happy just to lie at your feet and be with you.That's the nicest part about a dog, they ask nothing more in life than to be yours, and they give so much in return.

Tree of Life Painted on a Tepee

Boys, Dogs and Tepees

Alienor's Tepee

I did not post the photos from the final results of Alienor's Native American project. It was a lovely group effort. It began when I was in line at a craft store carrying the extra bamboo poles we needed to complete the tepee. A girl looked at me curiously and slowly asked; "How much are they asking for bamboo poles?" When she heard that it was for a homeschool project, she offered a pile of them she happened to have in her basement and did not need any more. I followed her home, we loaded up the car and I left. THANK YOU, Chris, for the tepee supplies. It was such a kind gesture and I am grateful.

Alienor, alone for a day, then aided by Lily, spent hours painting the fabric. The next day she and Aragorn spent the day in the garage building the actual tepee. I had plans I wanted to follow, based on the ones I found here, at the blog of Ancient Hearth:

http://ancienthearth2.blogspot.com/2009/05/tepee-fun.html
but the kids took over the project. Since that is the whole beauty of having siblings and a perfect learning opportunity, I gave up coaching them to do it "my way" and let them go. They did a great job, love their tepee and the whole thing was a huge success.