Gardening Hands

At a recent Waldorf school fair, we bought a book for Narina called Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown.  It is an amazing book for young children that takes you through a whole life cycle of sunflower seeds.  Starting with the planting of ten seeds, a slug eats one, an ant eats one, a mole upturns one, etc until one is left and turns into a flower.  When its wilts, ten seeds come out and it starts all over.   We have been reading this book to Narina for the past month to the point where we will say one line and she will yell the other.  She loves it and we love it because when it came time to do our planting, she was eager to put the seeds in the ground.  I highly recommend the book to anyone who gardens and has young children.

POV: Breastfeeding baby

Narina's first photograph:

Baking bread tip

I don't know how many sponges and dish brushes I have gone through trying to wipe counters, bowls etc after a baking bread.  It feels like it is the antithesis of the whole sacred ritual.  The smell of a soured sponge always makes me wretch.  Well Dan found a great little nugget of wisdom that we have been using ever since and it works like a charm.  You save the mesh sacs that oranges or lemons come in and use those.  They are abrasive enough to get dough off counters and bowls, and they are disposable.  Or perhaps not disposable in a great save the earth way, but they were going to be thrown out anyhow and now they have another purpose prior to doing so.

If anyone else has good tips for bread baking dough removal, please do share.

Love in the warmth of the sun

The weather here has been so nice for the Easter break.  As the farmers said that work the land around our house, it is not good for the crops.  It has been a long time since we have seen rain.  I am not complaining, but can feel the energy of the land.  Even our hardiest weeds are drooping.  It is the first time since 1946, or so I am told, that all three orchard crops bloomed at the same time.  Pear, plum and apple.  I am really enjoying the heat.

Over the past few years, this kind of heat has put me off.  Two years ago I was late in my pregnancy when it was this warm and would have been happy sitting in a cool freeze storage facility. Last year I had a young lass who could hardly move and I spent the whole summer trying to keep her from getting sun burnt.  To have her dropping seeds into holes, bring the weeds over the the wheelbarrow, and putting stones from one pot to the next is nothing short of a dream.  I love watching her explore the outside world.  Dan is being an amazing father.  He has been spending so much time with her so that I can get extra sleep in the morning.  It has been a kind week for us here.

It is going to be quiet around here this week.  Yesterday was the start of the long weekend which stretches until Tuesday.  Thursday is the Royal Wedding.  So most people have taken off the week.  Having two days in a row without the sound of idling tractors and Land Rovers has made my heart so happy.  All day today there have been no people sounds at all, other than those coming from my own family.  Sublime.   

So as the smell of freshly baked bread wafts outside, and clothing gently waves in the wind on the line, I am once again reminded of the beauty of nature, the blessings with each change of season, and the power of family.

 PP (post post): This was Narina's first popsicle.  She really isn't sure if she likes it.  She ate two of them and was still unsure. It wass made from mango, orange and banana juice with a little "green drink" mix thrown in.  We are having a bit of a struggle with vegetables at the moment so thought this might be a good way to squeeze them in there.

Mary Oliver: Why I Wake Early

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who made the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories, 
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and the crotchety – 
best preacher that ever was, 
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness, 
to ease us with warm touching, 
to hold us in the great hands of light –
good morning, good morning, good morning.
Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

Blowing Dandelions

A few years ago, on a special day this photo was taken:

       
Today this video was taken:

I love the synchronicity.  I love the love.

Being Thankful 2

I was recently contacted by a friend of mine who is buying a new house.  Owning a house is something I barely can wrap my head around.  Part of me likes the freedom of renting.  I don't worry about owning something so big and then losing it.  I find unattachment easier when the risks are lower... don't we all? I also like renting because I am able to live in places I would never be able to afford, or are circumstantially rare.  When I first moved to the UK I lived in a wonderful historic flat on the seafront of Hove/ Brighton.  These one and a half bedroom homes sell for £250 000-£375 000.  We were able to rent one for a very reasonable price.  The place we live now is in the middle of a working farm, that we don't have to work.  I would be hard pressed to own a house in a similar situation.  Surrounded by orchards, livestock, tractors, and the hustle and bustle of hard working people.  It is my ideal, in many ways.  I am so thankful to be able to live here, to not have to worry about the damp that is working its way up the wall in our kitchen, for example.  I get a lot of perks out of renting.  Yet, there is something powerful about buying.  About having that kind of root structure under yourself.  There is something peaceful about thinking you are creating history in a home you can stay in as long as you can cover the cost.  In my little family's recent struggles with money, my security has been questioned and this has made me question where my heart is centered regarding money.  It is such a funny relationship and one I thought I had come to respect but not obsess over.  At the end of the day I just try to remind myself of what I am thankful for.  Here is some of what I am thankful for today:

Waldorf Wednesday: Learning from conversation

This past weekend I was showing at another Steiner school fair.  This time the focus for me, circumstantially, was centered around talking about the lifestyle that goes hand in hand with having children at a Waldorf school.  I talked to students, parents, grandparents and teachers.  I listened to a the class teacher, whose class I was in selling, explain the student's artwork on the walls to a group of people who had no knowledge of Steiner education at all.  It was a pretty powerful learning day for me.  In the past, these sales have brought in enough income to make them worth while.  This sale was different.  I was a bit hidden in a back room that didn't get much traffic.  The traffic it did get, though, made for a powerful day.  I am still quite tired from it, to be honest.  Even when it is positive conversations, the level at which we were all communicating was soul touching and that radiates for days.  Here are some photos:

The last of the root children

My little light running in and out of the pale colored rooms with such confidence.

A little one the same age as Narina who is being loved by a new cashmere baby bunting doll.

Sunny days in Kent....

Happy Birthday Honey!

I'm behind in posting.  I have some pretty major stuff happening here.  Personally, with my family back in Canada and with my dolls.  All of which I am not at liberty to talk about on such a public space, yet all are consuming.  I keep trying to talk about the other things happening in my day and get half way through a post then can't continue without talking about these forbidden topics.  So in this post I am going to dump a whole lotta photos and talk about the special day we had today. Today was Dan's birthday.  Our little family is quite restricted financially right now and we haven't been out on a date since my dear friend Rachel was here and we all went to see Harry Potter.  I have sold a few dolls this past week and used the money to take my man out for lunch and then go to a movie.  It was simple, and to be honest, overstimulating, but so nice to have the day together and celebrate the man I love so much. 

Misty morning on the farm

Daffodils and the beautiful wool art of Marie

Have I posted this already?  Its so damn cute I am going to do so again!

Daddy, Narina, Babydoll, Mummy

Super pink tent full of musical instruments celebrating spring here on the farm!

Reading Mummy's book while she played in the tent.

Long skirts without petticoats anyone?

Daddy's birthday ring

Eating the homemade yogurt Daddy made yesterday!