Eating our dragons

Lately the air has turned chill, and the last few days the wind has been blowing a bit wild.  There is a definite bite to it.

The cats picked up on the seasonal change immediately.  They've been running wildly through the garden and bushes, up and down the trees, and throughout the house in the middle of the night.  They've been climbing up the bookshelves, knocking things off, and chasing each other across our beds while we sleep.  When they woke me that first night, I wondered what had gotten into them.  But the next day it was obvious to everyone.

The wind has gotten inside them.

This same wind, the one that takes gentle cats and turns them into demons possessed, seems to have also gotten into my children.  Not one of them could sit still the last few days.  They were looking for reasons to argue with each other, with me, even with themselves.  I was bewildered by their change in behavior until I looked at the calendar and realized that it was the end of September already.

The wind, the sudden bite in the air, Michaelmas... it all adds up.


After much dragon-like ado this week, Friday we settled back down to our normal routines.  Then in the afternoon I told them a story, and we made dragon bread.  Everyone worked with such care and creativity on their breads, shaping their dragons just so.  I think these are the loveliest dragons yet-- so different from each other.

And that's how it should be.  We each have our own dragons, our own short-comings, our own temperaments.  And when they get the best of us, we have to slay them.  Only then can our true selves, our golden goodness shine through.

The first picture below shows all five dragons, while the second picture shows just the kids' dragons.  The last picture is after baking.

The main lesson work this week was perfect for Michaelmas.  I wish I could say I planned it that way, but it was all sheer coincidence.  Sunburst learned about the reformation and how Martin Luther stood up to the wicked pope Leo X.  Moonshine finished the tale of the Ramayana and Rama's fight against Ravana and his league of demon warriors-- very much like dragons themselves.  Kitty Bill's story was much more mild.  He heard the story of Mother Holle, a perfect example of two types of behavior.  I love that the second sister started out with good intentions-- I will work hard!  But even by the second day those intentions were overcome by her own laziness.  Who can't relate to that?!

Kitty Bill helped me make the golden rice, a regular tradition for Michaelmas-- rice cooked with turmeric. With Einstein's help in the kitchen, Moonshine treated us to a mesmerizing Indian-themed meal of Chana Masala and a variation of Korma that she called Hanuman's Delight.  One taste and we could all see that it was aptly named; it was so delicious!

Now that the weather has had a few days to work within our spirits, the cats seem to be quieting down.  I hope the children aren't too far behind.

Snails

Moonshine and I have been working on some human and animal studies this month.  Right now we're having fun with snails... it took us quite a bit of poking around to find some that the birds hadn't already eaten in our garden.  Every morning there is a scattering of broken shells all over the place.  The birds must be having quite an early morning feast.  If I were a snail, I would be hiding, too!

One thing I could thank the birds for was that they made it quite easy to examine the inner spiral of the shells.  So perfect!  They reminded us of a spiral ceiling we saw in Barcelona this past summer.

After digging around a bit in the garden, we unearthed a couple of live snails to investigate.  Then we made good with some empty shells and modeling beeswax to make some snails for the nature table.  Moonshine was so pleased with how they came out -- a mama and a baby!  So precious together!

Moonshine was hungering for some lovely stories this week, so we read the snail stories included in Jacob Streit's Animal Stories.  I've been looking for a copy of this in English for years, and I finally found one a couple of months ago.  It would have been perfect for Grade 2, but we're happy to have it at all.  I think it's just as applicable to the Grade 4 study anyway.  Perhaps I chanced upon our copy at the right time after all.

Just by luck I came across an interesting BBC video about the sounds tiny insects make, including snails.  Fascinating stuff!

Moonshine and I have also been talking about crafting some animals for our study.  I found the cutest pattern for crocheted snails here.  At first glance it looks to be a bit complex for my mediocre crocheting skills, so we may just end up making it up.  I'm thinking it will be fun to try.

But not this week.  This week I have undertaken a HUGE project which is eating up all of my extra bits of time.  Not that I have many extra bits, but you know what I mean.  Hopefully, I'll be able to show you that huge undertaking tomorrow.

Spring on my doorstep

 

I found a little bit of love on our doorstep yesterday, just in time for the first day of spring!

This sweet bunny traveled all the way from Canada to grace our nature table.  From one mama's hands to another's.  Just the idea of that warms my heart.  He brought some lovely pictures, a rose quartz, and shell fossil along with him.

The kids were very surprised and delighted.  They made space on the nature table right away.  He looks right at home, don't you think?

Happy first day of spring!

Spring crafting

One of my goals for the year is to craft more, so earlier this year I joined a seasonal swap group.  I struggle to find enough time in the day as it is, but crafting brings me such joy, I knew I had to make time for it somehow.  A swap was the perfect answer.  There is nothing that motivates like a deadline.

For Candlemas I made a little child candle-bearer inspired by a Sulamith Wülfing image.  I even whittled a stick from the garden to make the candle.  My kids were so taken with it that they couldn't bear the thought of me sending it out into the world.  They hounded me until I made a second one to grace our own nature table.

With the candle-bearer, I sent a little postcard of the Wülfing print, some walnut candles, and a knit snowdrop to help urge spring along.  They arrived safely in Germany, and the following day I discovered the most delightful package on my doorstep:

It's a willow catkin child!  The kids and I were a bit breathless that someone would send us something so incredibly lovely.  And I love that she sent us a poem in German to go along with it.

For our Spring Swap I crafted this little gnome-- sort of a guardian of the birds.  He has already arrived at his new home in Canada.  He brought a spring painting, herbal tea, and a song along with him.

 

 Any day now there will be a package on my doorstep... and I can't even begin to imagine what will be inside.  The anticipation is almost as exciting as the crafting.

Summer table

I almost never remember to post these before the season is over, but this is what things look like over here. There's actually not a lot of nature on this table. The little yellow flowers are from our mustard greens in the garden. The rocks are ones we collected when we went swimming in the river with friends. We carried them back through the forest to their old farmhouse and spent hours polishing them by hand. And the tiny blue eggshells the kids discovered somewhere around here.



The kids helped me pick this lovely bouquet from the little Blumen field down the street. We have many self-serve flower gardens here. They come equipped with knives and/or scissors, a price list, and a metal box for paying. It warms my heart that people here still rely (and CAN rely) on the honor system. We often buy our produce from local farmers by the honor system as well.

Of course this would never go down well in the States. First of all, and sadly, someone would take advantage. Second, knives and scissors... just sitting out there on a table in the middle of a field? Our laws wouldn't permit it. Such a liability!! I wonder if Switzerland is able to do it this way because of the mandated health insurance? They have forest kindergartens, and in grade school kids often have field trips to the forest where they are allowed to bring pocket knives for cutting branches. Imagine the uproar in the states if we had that!?!

Why are things so different here? And does the honor system still exist in the States? The only time I ever encountered it was at a tiny pottery and salve shop in Utah-- they had the loveliest wood-fired pottery. I remember hearing that they also sold hand salve to the Dalai Lama. :) I bet they have some interesting karmic tales to tell.

A bit of Spring cheer!

Just a little brightness inside to help us truly feel Spring. Despite the chilly air outside, the daffodils are gloriously blooming! They really are fearless in the face of the icy wind and rain we've been getting this past week.

We received our new European nature table stand a few days ago, and I'm completely smitten with it. After so many years creating our nature table on a flat surface, this was just what we needed to change things up. On a whim, I took one of our white playsilks and dyed it pink with food coloring and vinegar. It worked very nicely. I heated up a pot of water with about a cup of vinegar and several (maybe 10-12) drops of red food coloring. I just submerged the damp silk into this and let it simmer in the color for about 15-20 minutes. Then I rinsed it out until the water ran clear. -- The cheery color makes me happy!

Knitted eggs, from last year's egg pattern, also made it onto the table to help celebrate Easter. The root children are waiting just a day or two longer to change over though... these little guys are several years old. I have no idea what happened to our flower children, so I'm making new ones this year... fun!! Hopefully they will show their shining little faces in the next few days.

I'm hoping the same for Mr. Sun, the big tease.

Wishing you an Easter morning that's clear and bright!!

Seasonal Lovelies

I recently ventured into the world of Waldorf voodoo books in German. There are so many fantastic Waldorfy craft books that haven't been translated into English yet. Yet? Surely, they'll come eventually. This one needs little translation anyway. It's simple enough to understand by looking at the pictures.



Mit farbegin Transparenten durch das Jahr

And the pictures are Lovely. I can't wait to make these for every season! Each one has an accompanying pattern for cutting out all the pieces. I suppose you would xerox the pattern page, but I just eyeballed it with a pencil, scissors and a paring knife. It's supposed to be made with transparency paper -- I don't know if they even carry this in the States, but as you can see, I made mine with colored tissue paper-- the kind you would use to make Rose Windows. It also calls for colored card-stock. I have looked high and low for card-stock in Switzerland to no avail. I finally found a small package (in white) at a Staples in England. We treat it like it's on the brink of extinction... this is sort of true. Anyway, I colored mine purple with oil pastels.

Here's what the pattern original looks like, plus a couple more samples from the book. I'm planning to bring at least one of the plant ones into Sunburst's botany lessons this spring.

Remembering Autumn

Harvesting walnuts in France.



Watching everything turn to gold.



Loading up on winter squash.



Jelly making-- with wine grapes.



Enjoying the organ grinders at the Autumn fair.



Nature table in Autumn.



Moonlit walks along the Rhine.

A blessed end of the year

Our first Christmas season in Europe looked a little like this:



Or rather a LOT like that. We couldn't turn a corner without running into some kind of festival of lights. That's downtown Basel, Switzerland-- home to what has been called the best Christmas market in Switzerland. That's actually NOT the market, just one of the shopping streets.



Christmas market in Colmar, France --after the ice skating excursion. Very pretty and Very cold. And the lights reflecting off Colmar's "Little Venice" canal.








At home we did our usual Advent celebration-- lighting the candles, reading a story every night from The Light in the Lantern, and singing.





Several years ago we made a string of tiny felt stockings for Advent. Rather than put trinkets in them, each one holds a different holiday song printed on a tiny scroll of gold parchment paper. So each night of Advent we sing a new song together-- which if truth be told, is one of my favorite parts of the holiday. The kids love it almost as much as I do.



And the lovely Advent calendar I picked up at the Goetheanum.


And making....
In all our haste we forgot to bring our Christmas ornaments, so we had to start from scratch. the girls and I made some pinecone gnomes and cornhusk wreaths:






We also managed to forget our stockings... and funny, they don't seem to sell stockings here like they do in the States, presumably because all their "Santa" business happens on Dec. 6th for Samichlaus/St. Nikolaus Day where he leaves the goodies in children's shoes.

So we all got busy making stockings out of my linen stash that I brought from the states, a white Ikea pillowcase (seriously), some red wool yarn, and embroidery floss. the stockings are each lined with a different cotton print fabric-- though of course you can't tell in the picture. The elf pattern came from Wee wonderfuls, the girl is from a Japanese embroidery book, and the odd one is from a Klee painting. Everyone helped in different ways, including Kitty Bill who kept insisting on a robot stocking which led me to the lovely pattern.






And the holiday baking....
Bohemian Braided bread, an old family tradition, as well as strange cut-out cookies (including a robot), and the star tree cookie. I always wanted to buy the star tree cookie cutters from one of those magazines, but never got around to it. I picked up these at the grocery store here... where they sell all kinds of amazing cookie cutters.




And our nature table...
Which of course had a make-over for the holiday. From the barren first light of stones, which left the kids in a state of great expectation:




to the culmination of Advent:




On Christmas Eve all the church bells around the city started ringing at 11pm. They went off for 5-10 minutes and then sounded again at midnight. With all the noise, the girls didn't fall asleep until 1am, and Einstein and I were up until 2:30 wrapping the very last gifts and embroidering the very last stocking.

Then the strangest, loveliest thing happened. We were awakened an hour before dawn by the sound of voices rising up in song. So like the story goes, I ran to the window and threw up the sash, and there in the street below me were carolers. In the cold, dark of Christmas morning. Holding candles. And singing. It was magical and beautiful and surreal.

A bit of nature

I've had the worst luck with nature tables over the years. If I have them down low they manage to get destroyed by the babies, toddlers, and cats in my life. If I have them up high, well, they get sorely neglected.

With the onset of Autumn, and tying in with our "new beginnings" theme, I'm trying it out again. Old table, new location. So far it has survived 10 days. I think that's a record in this house.

I still can't believe the leaves are starting to change already!