Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 13th, 2011
Yesterday was a bit of a rough day (flat tire, grouchy kids, nothing major), and I’m recovering from yet another round of mastitis (feeling better, but trying to take it easy), so we’re trying to have a low-key morning. It seems like the perfect time to finish a few Christmas gift projects while we listen [...]
Posted in Crafting, Learning, Playing/ Free Exploration, Uncategorized on Dec 9th, 2011
Grandma Jan and Cousin Ruby got the children Perler Beads last week. I have fond memories of making Perler Bead crafts with friends as a child, and was pleased to see how much the children enjoyed them, too.
Hal spent the first few minutes just running his fingers through the beads in the pie tin. As [...]
Posted in Books and Reading, Learning, Mothering tool kit, Playing/ Free Exploration, Uncategorized on Dec 8th, 2011
The children are really enjoying this book. It’s those days where we have “nothing to do” that the kids engage in deep, meaningful learning on their own terms.
This week we’ve been playing a lot of card games (Bea’s favorite), which reinforce cooperation, strategy, addition, subtraction, memory recall for the girls, and help Hal ( age [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 25th, 2011
George Peregrine Baker
was born on June 27 at 7:05 am
weighing 8 lb 5 oz.
Little George is now 4 weeks old, and life is starting to feel a bit more stable. (I managed to bake chocolate-chip banana bread, work in the garden, do a few loads of laundry, and even make a simple dinner tonight without [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 4th, 2011
Last year, we discovered a long line cutting through our entire yard (back door all the way to the far fenceline), where plants did not grow well. A little digging turned up a concrete pathway about 3 inches under the sod (9-12 inches under the sheet-mulched beds). We assume it was a path going back [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Mar 7th, 2011
I often get asked why we have chosen to live the life of an urban homesteader. Why put in all those hours picking slugs, shoveling manure, sewing clothes from thrifted fabric, mucking out the chicken coop, or canning peaches when we could buy a tin of them at the store?
Yes, it is hard work, and [...]
Posted in Homemaking, Moderation and Economy, Uncategorized on Nov 19th, 2010
My sister and I have talked about making homemade laundry soap for years – it’s so much more economical, and environmentally friendly, plus it’s so easy to make. I’d shied away from it because, frankly, the laundry soap my friends were making looked like snot, and I wasn’t up for it.
Then, a friend told me [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 16th, 2010
My apologies on not being in this space in more than a month. I am in my 10th week of pregnancy with our fourth child, and I am pretty incapacitated by bad, bad morning sickness. The house is a disaster, laundry is piling up, dishes undone, my kids are eating Ramen noodles and PBJ sandwiches. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 13th, 2010
A few things picked one morning this week in the BCS Teaching Garden! Lots of Blue Lake pole beans, summer squash, kale, French Tarragon, chives, Italian flatleaf parsley, spearmint, nasturtium flowers, and a little bit of rhubarb.
We currently have volunteers coming three days a week to help with the harvest, and they [...]
Posted in Crafting, Moderation and Economy, Sewing, Uncategorized on Aug 4th, 2010
A few more twirly skirts for the girls (yes, I’m addicted to sewing these!)
This one, which is a bit shorter (hits just below the knee on Little Hen) is a mix of thrift store fabric and 1/2 yd of clearance fabric, and thrifted ribbon (at the bottom). Total cost = $2.10!
This is my favorite – [...]