three hours of darkness

"And when the sixth was come, there was darkness* over the whole land until the  ninth hour..."

                                                                                                 Mark 15:33

*obscurity, literal darkness

Today, the day the Church calls Good Friday, the sun hides between clouds for the most part, a silvery shady sense of questioning is in the sky. I am trying to imagine what it would be like to be enveloped in darkness as the Scripture states- obscure, black, no shadows, groping in the dark- perhaps lighting an oil lamp, hands trembling.

 Once more  my moments prioritize being a Martha with a Mary's heart...my role is etched on this day.


Whoever is present at my house on Good Friday at 3:00 p.m. will be served tea and hot cross buns. We gather, we remember, we read the Word, and we pray.

Maundy Thursday

Reading the excellent Lent devotional, Reliving the Passion, by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

But here true to home I am pondering foot washings. Sometimes it looks like it involves serving childen and grandchildren that abound; visiting, creating joy, life colliding, messes being made.
Yet through it all I learn the humble act of foot washing...and it is glorious.

"If you know these things, happy are you if you do them." John 13:17

coffee shop waiting

Another Wednesday, another coffee shop...and this one is a keeper for sure.

And attaching the collar to same sweater, then on to the sleeves!

 

march...

... a month of wind,  soft snow falls, monogram embroidering, and knitting, of course, always knitting.

 One morning while Charlotte had her violin lesson, I sat in a coffee house while the snow swirled outside.

Outside one balmy afternoon, the wind was playing the most lovely tunes on my wind chimes, and I was embroidering boutis (another guild project). 

Louie, Charlotte was downstairs practicing her violin and he hates it!

My smocking(sewing) guild started a project several months ago that I have found extremely enjoyable, hand- monogramming onto pillowcases using the satin stitch. The satin stitch takes some practice, but I can say my stitches became more even by the time I had completed the second pillowcase. A good tutorial can be found on NeedlenThread.

tea relish

Funny how little things scurry into my mind these days. Things "au nouveau" that prick interest, the voice in the back of my mind until I absolutely must do something about it. So here I am this first week of spring, with chai tea of the brain. 
Yes, it helped that I had an wonderful day with a long-time friend this past Saturday and as we hopped into a little shop of tea on State Street, there on the wooden shelves was what my brain had been voicing...masala chai tea. At $13.00( 2.7 oz. bag) I knew my next assignment was to gather all my needed ingredients to make my own masal chai tea mix in the future. 

I am presently searching what I need. I will let do a future post on chai tea making 101. 

For now, I am happy to turn on my tea kettle, heat up my milk, and scoop my purchased loose masala chai tea into a cup to steep for 3-4 minutes. 

days of clouds

upon which we do sensible things such as turn on lights and make chicken stock.

Many days of clouds and amazing rainy skies give opportunity for Charlotte to accomplish her science experiment in predicting the weather. We have witnessed such a variety of fantastic cloud formations lately. But inside we find ourselves drooping unless we find ways to create a sense of cosiness.

Upon talking to several younger women this past weekend, I discovered many do not know the art of stock making.  I know I have spoken of how to make soup stock several years back, but it is noteworthy and timely to revisit because I know from experience that making your own stock can become as second nature, and after tasting the difference, it is worth the extra 1/2 mile you  go to make it happen.

    I always make chicken stock on home days. I take the bones I have been saving and break them up as much as possible...and I know some chicken bones can be hardy, do the best you can... and then I add  the vegetables: onions, carrots, celery, herbs.  Bring all this to a boil on the stove, then reduce the heat to simmer.
 After your simmering time is complete, and honestly I never time this process, I just go about my day at home, watching and adding more liquid (water) if necessary. The longer it simmers the richer  and thicker the broth as the marrow from the bones has time to cook into the liquid.
 Allow to cool and place the pan into the refrigerator until all the fat rises to the top, skim as much fat as you can off the top, do this while it is still cold.

See the thick congealed broth? That is exactly what you want. Heat the mixture once again, then strain off all the bones and vegetables which I toss. When  the juice cools  you have a jar of this thick, rich broth. If I plan to make soup soon I keep it in the refrigerator, but if not I freeze it.

commonplacing

"...my standards are not speed, ease, and quantity. I have already left behind too much evidence that writing with a pencil, I have written too fast, too easily, and too much. I would like to be a better writer, and for that I need help from other humans , not a machine."
 
The Art of Commonplacing: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry

I have been jotting quotes from books and other written materials for many years. Sometimes I find scribbled bits of paper tucked in a bedside drawer or a school folder, bits where I have written something that I wanted to reread and remember. I began the book in the above photo several years ago.
               

       Who knew at the time of its beginnings there was a formal name for such keeping?

In 2018 one of my purposed goals is to organize all my keeping books in order to get them completely up to date. I am still finding quotes I've written down in other places, and when I do it is immediately  transposed into this one single book.

wintry day things to do

Knitting a new project:



 This particular pattern was gifted to me by Charlotte's piano teacher just last week. I gladly offered to pay her for the pattern, but she resisted, saying she would never knit such a lengthy project. While Charlotte and friends ice skated last Friday, I hurriedly made a stop to my local yarn shop and purchased this yarn. Easy knitting for TV watching and podcast listening in the evenings.

Walking outside:

I must start off by saying that I live in what is considered the southern part of the US. Yet, I am thankful that the region I live in is still in the northern hemisphere. Therefore, we do get all four seasons and this winter has been wonderfully cold. The cold and wet collided yesterday and we welcomed the most beautiful winter wonderland imaginable. My solitary walk in the woods was nothing less than bliss. Can you see the snowflakes falling in front of my face? One is caught right in the corner of my eye! I am wearing my knitted Baa-ble hat and a grey cowl  I knitted several years back.

Excercising inside my home:
While stretching this morning I listened to this Mason Jar podcast hosted by Circe Institute with Cindy Rollins, and I was thinking how other mothers might need to hear this too, no matter where you are on your parenting and /or homeschooling journey.

So what are some wintry activities you might be doing?

november as it looks now

"After the leaves come down, the countryside has an open look. New vistas appear, hills unseen when summer's wealth of green is spread, now stand, blue and hazy, in the distance. In the cropped fields the browns and copper and smoky tan make a sober symphony, not as dramatic as the blaze of October but lovely to look at."
                                          Stillmeadow Daybook  Gladys Taber

living notebooks

 Nature Study Notebooks were first introduced to me along with Charlotte Mason and her schooling style many moons back, I immediately assumed an "I'm on board, count me in mentality." Thus, the girls and I began a Nature Study Notebook.  We thoroughly enjoyed our weekly afternoon walks, coming home, gathering our colored pencils and simple sketchbooks, to spending time around the kitchen table drawing what we had seen, heard, and delighted in.

I have always liked keeping diaries, journals, and a variety of notebooks of all sorts whether they were used for simply jotting down things such as vocabulary words, recipes, or sewing instructions. What I did not know then were the so- called names for these different kinds of notebooks.

Travel notebooks are another favorite of ours, and my last one has been helpful in the creation of my Maine scrapbook.

But lately my " I'm on board, count me in mentality" has been broadened and taken to new levels. I am fully persuaded these living notebooks have clout in these last years of Charlotte's education, even as she begins her high school years. She too has a natural propensity for keeping notebooks, journaling, and sketching.

  We are delving into Apologia's Physical Science this year, and as science is not a favorite subject of Charlotte's, I think her brain might possibly go "googly-goo" with all the hydrogen bonding and water polarity and so forth in her daily readings, yet I am instructing her to read the material aloud, find recognition in what she is reading, and then talk about what the lesson material is teaching. Then the idea of a physical science notebook took center stage as an additional learning resource. The wisdom of her drawing the figures presented, recording and drawing the experiments, and writing the facts and explanations around her drawings to help her with understanding all the material better came into focus. It is working beautifully! She might not be my scientist, yet she can learn about the wonders and functions of atoms, molecules and science in the physical realm.

I have found several extremely helpful sites to inspire and encourage us as we intentionally embrace  these living notebooks. After Christmas we will be adding a Commonplace Book, a Book of Centuries, and an Enquire Within notebook to her high school studies.

These are just a collections of our journals/notebooks, most in use, others with definite plans attached for future use.

 An after lunch Nature Notebook watercolor drawing session.

Here is very enjoyable site, including Youtube videos, of a Calendar of Firsts Notebook.

hiking Sharp Top

We heard the leaves were at the peak of their color, so we grabbed a free day, escaped the normal routine, and hiked a mountain in Virginia.

It was well worth the hour plus hike. And we were humble enough to admit we were tired when we got to the top!