Sweetness and Light

Sneak Peak...

...a little something exciting I wanted to share. Pop on over to Bliss on the Hill  and see what's new :)

I can't wait for it to come out!! Wishing you a lovely rest of Lent, we're over half-way to Easter!! Much love & blessings!

The Three O'Clock Hour

+ Reposted from 2010 +

Wishing you an enjoyable and prayerful Lent with your families, I will be away from this space for a while, but hope to pop in occasionally with some inspirational images and thoughts. God Bless you all!

"Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see, Whether there is any suffering like my suffering." ~ Lamentations 1:12

 

We are adding something new to our Lenten journey this year. It's called the Three O'Clock Hour.

Every day at three o'clock (or as close to everyday as possible) we will gather for a prayerful fifteen to thirty minutes or so and read something special, say some "little prayers" and have a small refreshment (except for Fridays).

This will not be a teatime type gathering such as we relish during feast days or other celebratory times of the liturgical year, but more of a quiet, re-collecting time at the hour of Jesus' death on the cross.

Today, I chose one of our favorite saint stories The Blackbird's Nest: St. Kevin of Ireland. This is a beautiful book to begin Lent as it is all about an Irish boy who changes himself for the better during his forty day sabbatical in a hut away from his monastery during Lent. God uses a blackbird to soften Kevin's heart as she builds her nest in his outstretched hand as he is praying. At the end of the forty days he is a much different boy. Truly this book is a gem and a must read any time during Lent :)

A sample of "little prayers" that could be used for a Three O'Clock Hour ::

~ We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

~ Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

~ Immaculate Heart of Mary, be our salvation!

~ For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (for the entire Divine Mercy Chaplet, please visit here) We really like this in song (youtube.com) as well!

~ Jesus, Mary, I love you, save souls!

~ Recitation of The Angelus

These are just a few of the many different ways you can pop a little extra prayerful quiet time into your Lenten journey with your sweeties!

May your Lent be enriched by a Three O'clock Hour. I'd love to hear if you do one and how it worked our for you!

Holy God, Holy Mighty God, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

Reading in 2012

(Gratuitous Cute Picutre from Xmas 2011, guess what his favorite present was...)

Well, I'm a little behind on my "let's read 52 book in 52 weeks" challenge. I haven't joined any particular list for this, it's just my own personal goal. I have about 4 different books going right now though, so I may need to rethink how I can officially read "a" book each week. Guess we'll see how January plays out and re-group if necessary :)

Anyhoo, popped up a sidebar to keep track of books read, and there's always my Goodreads list, which is growing, woohoo :) I really appreciate the vast number and variety of reviews put up there, it is truly helpful when selecting books, especially as a cross-review to amazon*.

A quick read for last week, actually read this book in an afternoon: Lucy Was There by Jean van Leeuwen. It was a sweet middle-grade novel. Violet liked it too, pretty sad though.

Other books in the queue (in no particular order):

The Dashwood Sisters tell all  by Beth Pattillo

Waking Rose  by Regina Doman

Milestones Memoirs 1927-1977  by Joseph Ratzinger (Our Blessed Holy Father)

An Assembly Such as This  by Pamela Aidan

Skipping a Beat  by Sarah Pekkanen

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to Nation Volume 1 The Pox Party  by M.T. Anderson

Jellicoe Road  by Melina Marchetta

I'm sure you've all got large bookstacks too, what are you reading???

*Just a note to let you know I do not receive anything from amazon by linking to them, it's just convenient :)

Many blessings in your day!

 

Favorite Nature Study Resources

Nature study is as much a part of a Charlotte Mason education as is reading living books.

I thought I would share some of our favorite Nature study resources and our usual "go-to's" when we study the natural world.

We're enjoying this recent inexpensive download at Currclick from Katie's Homeschool Cottage  Along with some great books from the library we will have a nice nature study for the Fall. I see right now it's even less expensive  during Currclicks Trunk or Treat sale, check it out!!

Of course Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study  has been a staple on our shelves for many many years. We are consulting it today, as we have a Wooly Bear that we are observing. Matthias found it last week and he's been carefully tending it with grass and dandelions (loves them) and today he's baking a little mud "hideout" for it to winter over in. We will be anxious to see it spin a cocoon next Spring and then transform into an Isabella Tiger Moth!!

For sketching and nature journalling ideas we have Jim Arnosky's Sketching Outdoors in Autumn, Drawing from Nature  and Field Trips. Also on our shelf is Claire Walker Leslie's Keeping a Nature Journal. We also like The Brook Book as it is nice to consult after our Salmon Watch field days.

Because it's autumn we are cherishing  various tree and leaf picture books  as well as Tree field guides. These take-along guides  are nice too. In the Pacific Northwest we do get a pretty good change of seasons with all of the deciduous trees turning color and watching the leaves fall. Thankfully we are still profusely stocked with evergreens however, to keep things from looking too bare in winter :)

Our days have turned rainy for the time being, but here's a peek at some nice outdoor nature work from earlier this week:

And some of their finished work:

(Seamus' creation)

(Sean-Paul's)

Looking forward to a lovely weekend with my sweeties, what are you all up to this Autumn?? Many blessings in your day :)

Reading Frenzy YA Edition **Updated**

**Updated** 10/15/11 ~

I'm on a Young Adult reading frenzy right now. I've been wanting to knock out a few YA books in the hopes that I can find some fun new reads for Violet, but alas the ones I've read thus far are in no way appropriate for her, just yet. I'm a little baffled at the YA rating and what is being published as YA, but also really enjoying some great reading and finding new authors.

Read so far ~

Stolen: a letter to my captor  by Lucy Christopher :: WOW, really good, but freaky to think about someone being kidnapped on any level as good.

 

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson :: Really, really good, but so much adult material and language.

 

And I finally got around to reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate  by Jacqueline Kelly :: I loved it so much I immediately bought our home library a copy. I think we'll start it as our first read-aloud of the new school year. It's SO, so good :)

 

I also just finished The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins, not my usual preference in fiction, but very good nevertheless and one that both Violet and Matthias can read. I've already got the second book Catching Fire  on it's way from the library...

 

On my YA stack waiting to be read are ~ (and in no particular order)

 **Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman (Violet loved this one!) :: Wow, really liked this one.

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (historical fiction)

**By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Ann Peters (okay, so don't have much hope for Violet to read this anytime soon, but it looks really good) :: And yes it was okay, but not super...

**Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler :: Meh! This one had real promise and I did enjoy the writing style, but it just kind of flopped at the end.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Sea by Heidi R. Kling (hope this one is a good as it sounds, awesome cover)

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (another sci-fi genre, we'll see...)

**Freefall by Mindi Scott (Goodreads notes here)

**Split by Swati Avashti (brief Goodreads notes here)

**The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer  by Michelle Hodkin (Another Meh. If you read the first and second review on goodreads about this book it's pretty much how I felt about it, too bad.)

I've got more coming from the library, but this should keep me busy well into September, and October and November... don't cha think?? Have you read any of these titles?? Love to hear about them and what you thought!

Monday Reading Madness

Well, it's raining here today, actually pouring!! So, we're reading, lots o' books :)

We had a hankering for Jim Arnosky, love his DVD of books read on Reading Rainbow, check your library for it if you can, there's a great "how-to-draw" a porcupine at the end by the author himself, well worth watching all the way through :) Besides the ones listed here, we've got a whole stack of his nature drawing books. Also planned are some great Jean Craighead George  books for later this week :)

 
Raccoons and Ripe Corn by Jim Arnosky

Come Out Muskrats by Jim Arnosky

Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky

 
Voyage to the Bunny Planet by Rosemary Wells :: This one is hysterical and whimsical all at the same time. Once read you will never forget the repeated lyric:

"Far beyond the moon and stars, Twenty light-years south of Mars, Spins the Bunny Planet, and the Bunny Queen is Janet."

Catchy, eh?

Bunny Mail by Rosemary Wells :: Flaps are always fun in a picture book, no matter how old you are :)

 
Max & Ruby's Bedtime Book by Rosemary Wells :: Bedtime stories with Grandma, what could be better!

 
McDuff Moves In by Rosemary Wells :: It only took one reading for us to fall in love with sweet little McDuff.

Owl Moon by Jan Yolen (Classic picture book, a must read any time, but especially in Autumn or Winter)

Violet started and finished The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper. She's also reading Lay Seige to Heaven by Louis de Wohl.

Matthias is thick into The Yearling.

Seamus finished A Lion to Guard Us  today!

I finished Anne's House of Dreams  on my Kindle over the weekend and am currently reading The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. I'm just getting ready to start Waking Rose  before it's due back from inter-library loan!!

Hope you're snuggled up tight somewhere having a lovely reading time with your sweeties this week! Happy Monday friends :)

So, What Are You Into?

Busy days began this week with Violet's ballet summer intensive courses. Adding a new dimension to our lazy summer days that have indeed been lazy, but still don't seem like summer here yet. Sheesh, you'd think we could have at least TWO days in a row of nice hot, sunny weather, but it doesn't appear to be in the cards for us Seattlites this year, argh!!! (Yes, I miss my Idaho heat and now I'll stop whining).

 
(Migrating Canada Geese from back in June)

In other news, we are in a really nice groove, here's run-down of what we are IN-TO:

Summer Reading ~

ME :: All the Rowan Jacobsen  books. Loved The Living Shore  and am in the middle of Fruitless Fall. Read about this one (and a few others) at the famous Bonny Glen . Jacobsen has sure got a knack for nature writing without being TOO politically correct, iykwim.

Oh, I also zipped through A Thomas Jefferson Education and really enjoyed it. Faith is leading a discussion at the Catholic Unschooling Yahoo list, so wanted to be able to follow, interesting and beneficial! Also quickly re-read The Well-Adjusted Child, a MUST read for anyone currently home-schooling, or considering it!!

VIOLET :: She has so many on her shelf, I'm not sure where to begin. She will most likely cover about 80% of that aforementioned reading challenge the kids all took upon themselves ;-) Anyhoo here's a few -- The Princess Bride, Surviving Hitler and a few other WWII related books, Shadow of the Bear (5+ stars on this one, we BOTH loved it), Fairest by Levine of Ella Enchanted, Road to Yesterday by L.M. Montgomery (she said she just HAD to re-read this one this summer).

MATTHIAS :: Lots of baseball oriented books going on here for him this summer. Some fun Dan Gutman's -- Banana Bats and Ding Dong Balls, Baseball's Greatest Games. Others are Baseball's Greatest Series (this is close to home as it is about our Seattle Mariners and the NY Yankees game of 1995) and also Home Run: The Definitive History of Baseball's Secret Weapon by David Vincent. 

SEAMUS :: Enjoying the first few Brian Jacques  books on his own for the first time. He loved Redwall and is listening to Mossflower on a Playaway. He also started Salamandaston, but had to return it to the library before he finished it. We've re-ordered it though and it should be on it's way soon.

Mommy note -- The deliciousness of seeing my children captivated by a new series or book, especially a book that is so special, is one of my hearts greatest desires.

Let's see, others he has recently read, Ichiro Suzuki: Best in the West, At the Plate With Ichiro (yes, he's one of our favorite players).

SEAN-PAUL :: Too many picture books to list, but we did just finish Freddy the Detective a funny story about a pig that is a barnyard detective ala Sherlock Holmes style, very 6-year oldish and funny. We just started Stuart Little, his first time through and of course he keeps remarking that "it isn't like that in the movie mommy", yeah I know ;-)

Summer Baking ~ We've enjoyed some super yummy baked goods this summer, mostly Violet-created. Of course we just had the Delish Summer Strawberry Scones, and our other favorite scone recipe is the Blueberry Drop Scones from The Big Book of Breakfast, so fast and easy. They can even be prepared the night before and baked off first thing in the morning.

 
We have been making alot of "Make-Your-Own-Pizzas" this summer as well. Everybody loves it and they get to put whatever they want on their own pizza, so alot less whining going on about what's for dinner (not that my kids EVER do that ;-) Our favorite pizza dough recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa in Paris -- recipe here.

Okay so have you checked out Google+ yet??? I am in, we'll see how it pans out. For a NON-Facebooker, I am anxious to see how this measures up as a one-stop network. I DO like Google's approach so far and have been extremely pleased with Google Reader and Gmail, so we'll see....Many good posts about it at the Bonny Glen (ooh, 2 plugs in one day for her ;-)

 (Our Allstar boy, we're so proud of him)

Goodreads ~ LOVE keeping track of my books read here. I especially love the comments and reviews features and have found many great book suggestions for myself and my kiddos over the past few years. Are you there?? I'd love to catch up with you  :)

Summer Science ~ Volcanoes :: What, you don't have a Volcano in your backyard yet???

 

 This was just after the eruption, very dramatic, however, me being an extremely LAME photographer, I totally missed it. But, you get the idea :) A couple of boys, some baking soda, food coloring and vinegar, you've got your afternoon figured out. You can thank me later :)

Would love to hear what ya'll are INTO this summer! We'll be doing the baseball tournament "thing" this weekend, enjoy yours whatever it may hold. Don't forget to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel  on Saturday, a very special feast indeed! Many blessings to you!!

Monday Morning Reading

Sean-Paul and I had a nice little reading session this morning. Here are the books we enjoyed together ~

 

The Best Nest  by P.D. Eastman :: Who can resist this one, a classic!

Monclure's Short "i" and Long "i" Play a Game :: Working on recognizing beginning and middle letter sounds and reading the words. (I see that this one is out of stock at amazon.com, maybe out of print as well??)

Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever :: Always a favorite, the pictures are always so engaging and he does alot of pointing and looking as we read this one :)

What are ya'll reading with your littles this week??? Happy Monday friends :)

 

Currently Reading ~ Summer Stack

The book stack is rather large these days. Notwithstanding my beloved Kindle, which goes most places with me, I have hit the jackpot at the library as of late on some really keen reads.

Re-reading ~

 Homeschooling With Gentleness  by Suzie Andres, 'cause I had to refresh my memory after reading the very refreshing new book by the same author, The Little Way of Homeschooling. If you haven't read this one yet, get it!!

 

Teach Your Own  by John Holt. Love to re-read this one every few years or so. 

 

 Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott. Always inspiring, and funny!

 

New Reads ~

The Herald of Divine Love by Saint Gertrude of Helfta  Translated by Margaret Winkworth. Unbelievable story of her life and work, savoring it a little each day, but very hard to put down. Her life is so inspiring, I am already seeing the beauty of her influence with Our Lord and His divine grace.

 

Steady Days  by Jamie C. Martin. Saw this on a yahoo list and checked out her blog and enjoyed a few things there. The book is a nice tidy little thing, definately worth a look.

 

How to Feed a Teenage Boy  by Georgia Orcutt. I like this one quite a bit, and great recipes and snack ideas (for the whole family). It's definately time to start pulling out the big guns with respect to the pantry and my boys, albeit only one is 12, but fast approaching eating like a teen :) Here we go...

 

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette  by Jeanne Birdsall. Cause Violet read it in 2 hours and Mags Raved about it here too, so you know, peer pressure ;-)

 

 So what are y'all reading this summer. I won't even begin to list all the children's books stacks. They have challenged themselves to read a minimum of 100 books during our 2-ish month summer break. We'll see if they meet the challenge!!! Just so you know, there are amazon gift cards waiting in the wings for the winners :)))

We're also not too shy about our book obsessions here either, so share away, maybe there's something else we need to add to the stack!!

Happy summer and Happy reading friends! Many blessings in your summer sunny days.

A List of Sorts **Updated**

**(Feel free to just scroll to the bottom for the update :)

I hesitated to create any kind of reading challenge for myself this year, like the 40 in 40 or whatever it was that I did last year, or maybe it was the year before, at any rate, I have moved into a reading phase that allows me to read more often and listen more often while doing other things, like running to and fro kids' activities and while knitting (of course). I thought maybe for the sake of having a list of books read somewhere besides on my Kindle I would start an informal list here and add to it occaisionally.

The best book I have read so far this year and perhaps for many years (aside from some classics) is The Book Thief. In a word, exceptional! I listened to this book narrated by Allan Corduner and he was an excellent narrator in my opinion, such perfect voices for all the characters and the feeling evoked by his voice for this story really brought it alive for me.

Next on the list are some classics ~ Sense and Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice (Violet and I read together, or rather, she read to me :) We also enjoyed both movie versions of these recently as well, and they are so good!

I am in the middle of The Children's Book  by A.S. Byatt. I really enjoyed the beginning third, but am not so pleased with how the middle is turning out. Too much overtly explicit detail. I'm not sure if I will finish it or not at this point which is disappointing to say the least...

I also have I Capture the Castle  by Dodie Smith on my nightstand. I started it back in January, then it had to go back to the library and now I've got it again, so I think I'll pick it back up, as it is starting out very good and I need to step away from The Children's Book for a bit.

Just downloaded Persuasion  by Jane Austen to listen whilst I knit. I have been listening to Taggerung (hysterically narrated by the late Brian Jacques). We were all very sad to hear he had passed. Such an amazing author. No doubt his stories will live on pleasurably enjoyed by so many for centuries to come.

Read aloud to Sean-Paul recently ~ The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, such a great classic fairy tale (we finished it Sunday night) and I think he loved it as much as I did.

Seamus and I are currently reading St. Dominic and the Rosary, it's part of our Vision books collection. We read St. Francis and Clare  in the fall and finished St. Anthony and the Christ Child just after the new year. What perfect books for this age, so inspiring and boyish!

Matthias is in the middle of Augustus Caesar's World  by Genevieve Foster and Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray. For lighter reading he has read through all the Mysterious Benedict Society books and the new Rick Riordan Egyptian thriller The Red Pyramid, and a few Hardy Boys tossed in for good measure. 

Violet's books this year are too numerous to mention in passing, but for fun she's been reading Emma and enjoying a fun book club with some friends.

Hope your week has started off well, many blessings in your day and I'm so glad you stopped by :)

5.8.11 :: Update ~

A Little Way of Homeschooling  by Suzie Andres (review here) which of course inspired readings of John Holt (again).

Currently enjoying Instead of Education  with a great forward by Patrick Ferenga

On the Kindle :: The Way of Perfection  by Saint Teresa of Avila

Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle  by Clement Shorter

The Professor  by Charlotte Bronte

 

Favorite Picture Books for March

Sean-Paul's favorites this month have been wide and varied and full of some favorites old and new! Here is a short list of his repeated requests ~

 
:: Adventure on Klickitat Island by Barbara Upton

    A great adventure on a stormy night with a favorite teddy bear. Be sure to read this one with a nice big blankie in tow!

 
:: A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban

    Classic Frances and perfect for pre and post birthday party days.

:: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

    Not only is this one asked for regularly, but just looking at Sendak's illustrations in this book are to the reader's delight. We also have a Scholastic Storybook DVD version that includes this and some other favorite books, fun for the wild rumpus part!

:: Midnight Teddies by Diana Kubick

    Best when read with a favorite Teddy bear or two.

:: Snuggle Piggy and the Magic Blanket by Michele Stepto

    Another good one to read with a special blanket at hand :)

 
:: The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack

    Always love to read this one.

We're also just starting The Bobbsey Twins as he loves to have a chapter book going now as well :) He also carries around a Paddington that he is "reading" to himself! Hope you're getting in some good reading and snuggle time with your sweeties!

Yarn Along {new wips}

Joining Ginny and all the knitting and reading goodness over at Small Things today...

I had very little time to concentrate on my Xander this past week, in fact I was so busy that I barely got time to look at all the loveliness at last week's yarn along, so I apologize in advance for not being able to comment on all the pretty projects started and finished out there. Because my time was mostly in snippets and in the car alot, I chose to cast on some more manageable knitting, you know the kind that will fit in a small bag with instructions that are mostly repeats :)

First up, a beautiful cowl I'm knitting for my boys' cello teacher ~ It's the January Cowl from Jumper Cable Knitting (Ravelry pattern here, my notes here.) I am loving this easy pattern and lovely Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Peruvian wool. It might look fairly orangein the photo, but it's softly heathered and actually a really muted shade that matches it's name "Persimmon".

 
(See my little dish holding the yarn ball, I use it to keep my ball from rolling off my lap while I work, it's very handy if you have a ball that is not pulled from the center.)

A little project I've been wanting to start for myself is the beautiful Shalom cardigan. It is a delightful pattern and I am so pleased with the yarn I chose for this project ~ some Knitpicks Bulky Swish in "Stormy". It's 100% Merino Superwash and so soft. (Raverly notes here, Shalom pattern here.) 

 
The color is a little brighter in this photo, should have turned off the flash I guess, anyhoo, it's a deep, rich grey that I am loving!

I am back to reading I Capture the Castle, taking a break from The Children's Book (sort of) it's getting a little weird.

Hope you're having a great week and enjoying some great reading and handiwork time with all your sweeties!

Yarn Along {finishings}

Finished a few projects and made some great headway on the Xander ~

 
This is my Kindle Cozy, (Ravelry pattern here.) It was fun to knit up and I was excited to find four matching buttons to compliment it from Violet's great-grandmother's button box :)

 
Violet's Bulky Mini Cardi is mostly finished, just need to sew the arm seams and find some fun buttons. It's pretty snug, shouldn't have sized down, but it will be fun with jeans or a cute skirt.

 
This is the back of the Xander, and am just today starting on the front shaping. (Ravelry notes here.) I wish my stockinette stitch was a little cleaner, but I keep reminding myself this a sweater for a boy to wear, not hang on his wall, LOL!

I'm still plugging away at The Children's Book.

What are ya'll knitting and reading this week?? Be sure to visit Ginny with a nice hot cup of tea :) Many blessings in your day and week ahead!

Yarn Along ~ Xander {redux}

Okay, so the first attempt at this sweater was not well received by my eye nor my hands, the gauge was off and it was clear to me that the beautiful Quince Lark was not to blend well with my stash of RYC Cashsoft Baby DK (duh!!).

Here we have the Redux ~

 

It's knitting up so beautifully and I love the color combination. Almost finished with The Children's Book and listening to The Book Thief, sorry my book offerings have been the same for the past few weeks, reading time has been slower. Sean-Paul and I are still delightfully working through Princess and the Goblin  and I'm also reading St. Dominic and the Rosary  with Seamus!

What are you all knitting and reading this week?? Head over to Ginny's and enjoy :) Many blessings to you all. 

Yarn Along {WIP}

A Yarn Along and a Giveaway at Ginny's today! Stop by and see all the yarn goodness :)

My offering is a WIP today ~ A Chunky Mini Cardi for Violet (Ravelry notes here). It's from a great book of wonderful patterns called Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel. Love this one! Hope to make many projects from it...someday :)

 

My ever faithful clipboard, for scratching my notes as I sized down a bit for Violet creating an XSmall from the Small in the pattern.

Still reading The Children's Book on my Kindle and listening to The Book Thief while I knit (they are both fairly long).

What are you all knitting and reading this week?? Thanks so much for stopping by, many blessings in your day :)

Yarn Along ~ Sweater

Yarning Along with everyone again this week. I'm so happy to report a few finished items. Numero uno: the long Pink Ruffly Scarf  is fini! Numero dos: Violet's Legwarmers, she wore them to ballet last night, yippee!

 

In other news, I'm reading The Children's Book, ooh, this is really good so far, and it's only the sample version on Kindle, think I'm going to have to buy this one, or at least check it out from the library...

Last week I cast on Seamus' "Xander" sweater and as you may have already seen on Monday, I received the second color and am just joining on now.

Here's my progress ~

 

I am truly smitten with the Lark yarn from Quince & Co. and I hope to place an order for some Osprey soon to start on an Annabel Cardigan for myself, it's a very lovely pattern.

What are you all knitting this week?? Be sure to visit Ginny and see all of the lovely creations and books to peruse! Happy Wednesday friends and God Bless :)

Yarn Along ~ C'est Fini...

...the Milo, that is!! I bound off Monday afternoon whilst listening to The Book Thief. (If you ever want to swear in German, this is the book for you, sheesh, I had no idea, but the plot is growing on me, so I'm numbing myself to the poor language).

Allrighty back to Le Milo!! I was so happy to receive the Knitter's Almanac on my library hold shelf before the weekend and found her lovely "Sewn Bind Off" method. I also watched this Youtube and found it ever so helpful: Please enjoy ~ (I'll wait for you)...

 

I know it's a little boring, but precise, nonetheless!

And for the piece de resistance ~

 

And another...

 
I think the smile says it all, and the fact that he's wearing his homemade Christmas pj's is a double bonus!

I hope you'll stop by Ginny's today and see ALL the great projects and books. Thanks so much for visiting me and many blessings :)

Yarn Along #9

It's already Wednesday and time for another one of Ginny's great Yarn Alongs :) I hope you're all having a lovely week thus far. We have sunshine today, so as you can imagine, our spirits have harkened :)

Here is the progress on my Milo ~ I am just tickled at how this is coming along (pun intended). As you can see by my stack of books, I've been busy perusing some lovely finds...some old and some new.

 

As mentioned yesterday, I am reading The Princess and the Goblin to Sean-Paul, he's really liking it so far, we love George MacDonald here. I also see that Kimberlee has picked up quite a few as of late as well, fun stuff!

I'm still whittling away at my fluffy pink scarf and have completed one of Violet's leg warmers, about a 1/3 of the way through the second leg ;-)

Have a splendid rest of the week friends, hope there is sunshine somewhere in your day.

Yarn Along #8

It's been a fruitful week of knitting as even though I had a cold prior to week's beginning, I could easily manage to knit in bed or on the couch :) I started and finished another Marian Cowl as I gifted the first one to Violet for Christmas. I really like how it knit up on the larger US size 19 (and originally called for) needles (only took me 2 hours from cast on to bind off and weaving in).  The Twinkle Soft Chunky is super soft and snuggly, perfect for around one's neck.

I also cast on a fun chunky scarf in Blossom Thick & Quick. I had planned this yarn for another project but, it's too bulky and I've always wanted a fluffy pink scarf :)

  
The most exciting knit that I just cast on however, is my first Milo vest. I am making it for Sean-Paul for Easter and I am so in love with the color "Spring Tickle" by Dream in Color Classy, it's lovely to work with and it is coming along nicely...

We scored on some thrift store books recently to add to our library, total cost $1.50. I am back to reading I Capture the Castle, had to return it before I got very far so now I have it back, it's really good. I see that there is also a movie, has anyone seen it?? 

What are you all knitting or crocheting this week??? Visit Ginny to see :)

Back in the Saddle Again

We are all well again and have hit the high trail towards a new term of learning and adventure! Thank you all for the get well wishes and prayers, they were so much apprecitated :)

We have been enjoying Epiphanytide immensely and will conclude the celebration of the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord on Thurday, January 13th.  I think we've all decided that we want to leave our beautiful tree up until Candlemas this year, I love this tradition!

Violet is venturing in to the Civil War period with some great reads ~ The Red Badge of Courage, Lincoln: A Photobiography, The Long Road to Gettysburg , Uncle Tom's Cabin, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for fun. (These should keep her busy for a while ;-)

She's also embarking on a winter Astronomy session with Matthias for her Earth Science. 

For the Arts (other than her continued ballet training) we will go through some of the works of the Hudson River School and listen to the music of Debussy. Actually everyone will join in for this on some level.

Matthias is excited to delve deeper with Seamus in to their Meteorology studies. Beginning with this new term they will focus on Studying the Weather. We have been so pleased with The Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate Change, it is a wonderful, must have resource for any weather related studies.

He is also continuing his study of the Saints of the early Christian period during the founding of Rome, giving nice weekly reports and creating some historical timeline pages to correlate. We are thus into the study of the Romans and the founding of Rome using Famous Men of Rome as a spine. He's currently reading the Ides of April.

Seamus picked back up with his Bible history timeline work with the New Testament and the birth of Jesus and subsequent stories up to the Magi's visit. He is enjoyiong learning how to type out his narrations that I have taken down for him after each short reading.

He was thrilled to receive a lovely set of Thornton Burgess stories for Christmas and is beginning with The Adventures of Prickly Porky. He is also learning "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost, one of our favorite poems for this age. If you haven't seen the picture book version of this one illustrated by Susan Jeffers, see if you can find it, it's delightful.

Sean-Paul has chosen to start his year of learning off with horses :) He's on a Billy and Blaze kick much to my delight as I enjoy reading these books by C.W. Anderson almost more than the kids ;-) We will be coloring lots of different pictures of horses, working with the Parts of a Mammal puzzle and cards which for us is a horse. He's about ready to play our Horse Sense game which everybody loves and he will most likely be recreating lego horses to replicate the little knight and castle set he purchased with some Christmas money from his Godparents (Hi J&S!)

I would say we are off to an engaging start for the new year. I pray that your new year is off to a grand beginning and that you are healthy and happy!