Hello again

Well I guess we've seen the last of our sandy, summer days this year. Though I'm not the least bit ready for it, September is here. Midday stills beams warm and golden, but the air has turned decidedly cooler at night. The change in the light and temperature is urging me forward to gather and organize. Time to bring in the last of summer's berries. Time to sharpen our pencils and line up our fall activities. From the brimming list of amazing things to do, how to pick and choose? This year has me just a bit more anxious than the past as this year is our first to officially report Rowan as a homeschooler. As things are shaping up I have a feeling that it will be a good and very busy year ahead. But as I ponder and plan how we'll be spending our days, I'm trying to ensure there will be plenty of time to just be. To be in nature's playground: learning, exploring and holding on to wonder.

A little trip and back

Oh there I go again letting my blog slip for weeks without an update. Well, for all three of you waiting on the edge of your seats, I've have some pictures from our little adventure up to Lake Ontario. What a treat to be back here once again. I am very thankful that my brother in law's family are such gracious hosts. And it's almost like going to the ocean but just two hours away instead of the usual seven. Even the intense wind could not keep us from enjoying the full playground of sand and water before us, the company of friends and family and the gorgeous sunset finales.

The city and the woods

After a few days in Kingston, we traveled on to our next destination: Montreal. With map in hand, we went seeking the old city and its lovely European style architecture. We browsed store after store, fueling up with coffee and hot chocolate in between. Then the rain came and we found cover in an endless maze of interconnecting shops.

Next followed a trip to the Adirondacks....never been there before. all of it was a lovely adventure, but I'm very glad to be back home again.

Kingston

By boat to Cananda (and some island hopping)

Making our way northwards we crossed the Saint Lawrence river by way of ferry, with a quick stop at Wolfe Island in the middle and finally landing at the charming little city of Kingston. While the ferry transports us to our destination, I feel my mind slip into memories of my youth and summertime on Cape Cod. Standing on the bow of the boat with the cool breeze off the water licking our legs and tickling our faces, I feel the excitement brewing. Here we are at the beginning of our week long adventure.

Shoe horse

Oh Lilla just loves shoes- especially fancy shoes that make a delightful clip clopping sound. While I am getting ready for the day, she fishes around the closet looking for a pair to slip into. I have a few fun ones to choose from, but nothing compared to some other members of my -ahem- family. Can you imagine Lilla's glee when she spied these shiny, high heeled numbers belonging to my sister?
She was instantly smitten and trotted off like she'd been wearing shoes like this for years.They look smashing with the little homespun Easter dress, don't you think?
The pinafore dress pattern came from The Children's Year book. I love, love, love the simple ideas in that book. I thought I would make her a matching bonnet, but somehow time ran out before it was time to pack up and hit the road for Cape Cod. Time has been short for blogging too...maybe I'll manage to catch up one of these days.

Home again

Oh, I've been a bad, bad blogger. Hardly posting at all for weeks (months?) and then dashing off last time with one big run on sentence, no pictures and a serious shortage of details. Well we're back again from another trip. We've been traveling a bunch lately, or it could be that the intervals of time between trips just seem nonexistent.

In contrast here we are back home to the icy cold.  Bundled up and gliding along on a friend's pond.  As the days grow longer, the light is beginning its return and with it the promise of an (eventual!) Spring. For that we are grateful.

Hello January

Christmas on Cape Cod, New Year's in Virginia. We've been a busy band of gypsies going from here to there, unpacking and repacking four times over. All this shuffling of belongings, people and a dog combined with the bustle of holiday crafting, shopping, wrapping and the like leave me a bit frayed. We're home now and I think I'm ready to bring this blog out of hibernation mode.
A few of the things that managed to make it out of my craft space in time for Christmas:

A new stocking for Rowan- every bit of it made from reclaimed fabrics and trims. It's a little sick how much joy I get from re-purposing old things.
Leg warmers for my littlest (hurray for that bit of mohair left over from my cowl)
When she's not wearing these on her legs, she puts them on her arms. This girl has become increasing interested in her clothing and has a fashion sense all her own. On Christmas Lilla received a new Hawaiian shirt from my sis and immediately Lilla stripped out of her dress (with help) to get that new shirt on.

A hooded cape for Row. Well, I wish I could say this was a hit, but I'm afraid it turned out a little heavy. I'm please to say the fabric was recycled from things I had around the house. Scraps of brown velvet and a few old velvet garments.  Even the clasp came from a Nordic sweater in my woolens bin. But the double thickness of velvet makes it second in line for dress up capes. And the expression on Rowan's face here might better illustrate his point that "it's embarrassing to get dressed up in front of grown-ups." This is an unfortunate recent development. A bag for Ava. She noticed one I had made for my niece and then said she wanted one for herself. I love this fun fabric from a cozy little shop down the street.
This bag has become Ava's school satchel, so she requested a coordinating pencil bag.

And our travels to the coast gave us plenty of time for admiring the winter sky and sea and for enjoying the company of family and friends.

Happy 2009!! And thanks to all who make the trip to my little corner here and for the kind words you share.

Going south

Like the geese steadily making their way southward- their classic v and clamoring honks overhead- we too journeyed south last weekend. And we settled in for a few nice days milking the last of summer.

A very hot day at the zoo in DC:

An afternoon on Papa's new sailboat. Strong winds kept us zooming along, the boat heeling and me a little anxious aboard with a wiggly one year old. On our last day, a quick jaunt out on the motor boat kept the thrill seekers happy:
We took hundreds of photos...and of course more than half of them went to the trash already. I'm still getting used to the digital SLR and trying to figure out all the new features and settings. It had been years since I last used a SLR, so I feel way out of practice. Thankfully, there's an auto button. And a trash button. Also, a funny thing happened after getting the new camera. Now we find ourselves with lens envy.