mamaroots

dragonmas

we had a great time last night exploring our dragon energies, fire, fears, and spirit!  As I mentioned earlier we love integrating many different traditions into our own family traditions.  Since this was our first year exploring Michaelmas we decided to integrate it as part of our seasonal celebration of fall.  We made some dragon bread, talked about any fears we have or anything we want to work on during the upcoming dark months.  I had found this great dragon poem by Jess C Scott and put that on a one of my favorite dragon wet on wet painting that Jasper had done and I used part of a birthday ring to highlight that poem by candlelight.

For us it was not as much about slaying dragons, but more exploring dragon energy.  Both of the boys had their own wood dragon mama made dragon candle holders that they blew out with a dragon roar!  Of course with my boys they had a fun time elaborating on what part of the "dragon" in the bread that they were eating!

We ended our night with a small fire and listening to the song "Dragonfire" from the Dogtrain CD (I highly recommend)  I have always loved the beauty of embracing the pure dragon fire that comes out in that song- by the end of the night we had dubbed the celebration "dragonmas" gave our load roar of goodbye to summer!

Here are a couple of my favorite dragon reads for you to enjoy that also work in well with the St. George theme if you are traditionally celebrating Michaelmas- enjoy!

Dragon in the Sock Drawer

Kenny and The Dragon

The Reluctant Dragon

giving!

here is a fun 2 ways to win post!  How did you love Elderberry this month?  Leave a comment and let me know your favorite part of Herbal Roots zine this past month and you will be entered into the giveaway here for the next issue of Herbal Roots for October-  mmmm lemon balm an herbal friend we have tonsof in the herbal beds. 

Deadline is Wednesday at Midnight and I will draw the winners name on Oct 1.  Also hop on over to Kristine's site for Herbal Roots and you can get a chance to win a mamaroots wood mouse and his favorite snack- Elderberry!

I enjoyed this month with Elderberry, especially the help with my misidentify and then finding lovely jars of Elderberry Jam at the music fest we went to- mmmm jam!

Be sure to check out the preview that Kristine put up also for October.  I bet you can guess what the next little wood critters for the October giveaway will be!

There will be several other fun ways to win mamaroots goodies this month also- both here and other fun spots- I will keep you posted but we have been talking alot about giving spirits and Jasper in particular wanted to share some monster love because we loooove this time of the year so much.  At first I thought we could do a monster a day and then reality hit I am realizing that might be a bit much for us so instead in the month of Oct we will do a monster a week!  5 fun monster collaborations between me and the boys for you!  Be on the watch!

bones and flour

Hope you don't mind another music related post . . .me and music is really hit and miss.  My hubby said it best that I really latch onto certain songs and just play the heck out of them.  I find that generally music is just not that huge in my life but certain songs, styles just latch themselves into my soul and give a good yank that gives my booty need to move! 

Coming off of one fabulous music fest in Kansas to one this past weekend right in my own village was just down right fun.  The Roots and Blues and BBQ fest was on its 3rd year this past weekend.  We headed down with the boys Friday night and saw the Wilders that we also had seen in Winfield, then hubby suggested we go see this other band he thought I would like and I fell in love with them!  They are the Carolina Chocolate Drops- wow they were amazing.  Come to find out also that the gal in the band just had a baby and mentioned her midwife as well- sold right there! 

I loved their energy, their style and in essence though they seemed to be a young they really brought forth story and roots of their genre of music- perfect for a Roots and Blues fest!  My favorite songs were Cornbread and Butterbeans that I have heard my friends sings many times, and an incredible piece called Snowden's Gig- this one yanked hard on my soul- lovely!  My friend Shannon has suggested dulcimer as an insturment for me to learn, which is very intriguing, but in a heartbeat I am ready to pick up the bones after this weekend!  I had seen these in Winfield and they caught my eye, but I did not know what they were till this weekend- hooked!

The rest of the weekend swirled in music, soccer, and bread making.  We practiced with biscuits this weekend and tonight we break out the yeast to make the dough for our dragon bread tomorrow.  I found this recipe which looks to be our speed- does anyone have a favorite?  This is our first year in integrating Michaelmas into our celebrations, though not being Christian I am finding ways to integrate in my own nature spiritual path- there goes that hybridness!

harvest time

We had a blast last night with our first official run with the mill!  Our neighbor friends came up and joined in some grinding fun and together they ground at least 2 cups!  Though I reminded them we would need a bit more than that for our bread making this weekend!  

As we were grinding up our wheat, changing out nature and story tables for the fall we are preparing for some new ideas in some learning ideas here at home and I fell in love with these Elementals Gnomes from Lizz at ZooLoo Naturals, she has a lovely blog- Red Dirt Mother.  They came while we were at our festival and we have been playing with them since!  I found this neat book on exploring the elements with your kiddos that I brought home today and we realized that making bread encompasses all the elements.  It was great to see the boys think of all the different ways the elements help to grow the wheat and then how we use the elements to make bread!  Little Red Hen would be so proud!

Can't wait to make our first official loaf of bread from our ground wheat!  Here are some other fun books to explore the idea of wheat:

The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone

The Wheat Doll by Alison Randall

The Mole Sisters and the Wavy Wheat by Roslyn Schwartz

Bread is for Eating by Davidd Gershator

I'll leave you with this pretty fitting blessing from the Baking Bread with Children book-

To Gratitude

To the sun above

And the Earth below

To the wind that blows

And the water that flows

To the patient farmer who lovingly sows

And all that graciously grows . . .

Thank you!

-Warren Lee Cohen

Welcome Fall!

Happy fall everyone!  Our resident fairy that leaves sweet little presents for the boys on each seasonal change jumped the gun a bit and left the boys a Autumn surprise on Monday morning- silly fairy, but I don't think the boys noticed!

Tangle Goblinwand is our fairy.  This fall she left the boys a wood eagle and wood owl in their treasure cones that hang from her tree.  She also left them her usual fun note, though we have to translate sometimes and she is still learning human languages.  She told the boys she acutally traveled on the backs of her winged friends to watch over us at the festival in Kansas!  She is sweet like that!  The boys ushered in the season with their customary shouts of thanks to Tangle into the woods and most of the neighborhood. 

You think after doing this tradition since Jasper was just a babe that I would not get so tickled each time!  For anyone new to reading Tangle is actually me leaving gifts for the nature table.  These beauties are Ostheimer and I love that my oldest still holds the magic and belief in his heart of our special fairy!

We also did our ceremonial changing of the nature table to fall.  I was so thrilled to participate in the Seasons Round exchange and we had some beautiful new additions to our table!  It was such a sweet exchange and I look forward to the next exchange.  I loved making a new elf for the exchange and have one more cut out to go to the shop, hopefully by tomorrow.   I believe the sign-ups for the next exchange begin Oct 1 and the theme is "Light"  Be sure to click here to see the many other wonderful pictures from the exchange.

Our cobbler's bench is all set for fall also.  Tonight we will begin our first round of grinding wheat!  Big thanks to everyone that helped us by purchasing the Little Red Hen sets that contributed to the beautiful wood grain mill.  We are planning on grinding wheat for the next few days and then making bread this weekend, including a dragon bread this year for Michaelmas- something very new for us!  I adore this new book i just got that is very timely called Baking Bread with Children- it is wonderful:  recipes, stories, songs- last night we read The Hedgehog and his Bride at bedtime- love it!

Hope your autumn equinox was lovely, for myself I like to use the seasonal changes for reflection and for the autumn it is about simplicity!  Making a few changes to ready for the beauty of autumn and the world around me!  Happy Harvest to you! 

the yellow brick

seemed to lead me once more through the fertile fields of sunflowers to Winfield this year once more.  This was my second year going to the Walnut Valley music fest with about 4 other families from our village.  It was a bit of a different experience in a good way from last year.  Last year the camp ground had actually gotten flooded and we had to camp about 10 miles away.

Usually tons of folks camp right next the fest like this year.  It was so great to just hop on our bikes and peddal on over and then come back to camp for a while.  It also lent the kids lots of freedom which was really neat to see them grow in their responsibility.  We had a lovely time, saw some great music, and relaxed with friends.  It is rapidly becoming a favorite fall activity!  

I am so impressed at the broad diversity of ages and folks that come together in the love of this old time music!  My 2 favorite bands were The Greencards and Still on the Hill.  Good times indeed.  I read, rested, and just relaxed!  I am looking forward to heading back down that yellow brick road next year with friends once more!  There are a few more pictures from the trip here.  Viva la bluegrass!

Peaceful September weekends

I am stepping away from the computer for a few days as I head to a fun bluegrass festival with some other families.  We are all packed and going to catch a little sleep till we go head out early in the morning and shake some booty.

I wanted to leave you with some pictures from last weekend as we head into the next weekend.  Last weekend was a joyous combination of Crafty mamas and henna, the joy of my husband completing the MS 150 Bike Ride for the second year (he rode 75 miles Sat and 96 miles Sun!) and then heading down to hang out at the river for an Eco Art fest and see mama friends that recently moved back, and hanging out with sweet mama friend in her new home!

Look forward to sharing our weekend pictures with you when we get back from our little trip to spread our wings and relax.  I am giving my wrists and hands a rest from woodwork and taking a bag of books to read with me- I admit it, tucked among my Waldorf books and my camera book is the new Dan Brown novel!

cheers!

September has lent us some wonderful inspiration for drinks!  We have been enjoying our exploration of Elderberry this month with Elderberry Spritzers!  I threw my no soda at home caution to the wind and got some sprite and added Elderberry concentrate- ohhhhh my said the boys! 

I think . . .we may have found some wild elderberries pokeberries on our little road trip to the Eco Art fest last weekend, though they look a bit different then what I remember- I need to check with Kristine and see what she thinks, for now I have them in the fridge to do some dyeing with.  Be on the watch for a wee little micey that Kristine will be giving away on the Herbal Roots.  Oh those little micey are so tricksy and they begged for something to snack on so this month there is a special little wooden elderberry to accompany the mice!

***-update thanks to my mama friends they helped me identify these as pokeberries definitely not the same, I had a nagging feeling that I needed some help on this one- I happened to be going out to my mama's for dinner and told her my mis-identify and she said let's take a walk and we went to the woods and found some Elderberries together, here is what I brought home, as you can see the winged friends like them too!.  The first picture is the remains of Elderberry and the rest are Pokeberry-poisonous- yikes!  Thanks all for your help.

Vintage mini teapots make for lovely nighttime teas next to the chiminea fire also.  We have gotten into the habit of spreading out the blanket, making a little spot of tea and laying down outside for a while before bed- I love September nights!

Last night we mixed it up a bit and warmed up some hot apple cider, lit a fire and told some ghost stories!  Our favorite of late is Tailypo- a creepy old Appalacian ghost story.  How can you resist a story about a little furry creature, a cottage in the woods, and 3 dogs named Uno, Ino, and Cuptico-Calico!  I could not resist making a little wood Tailypo- he is resting on my computer till someone decides they are brave enough to adopt him!  If you are not familiar, here is a version of the story or you can get the Paul (I adore) Galdone version. 

Hope your September nights are lovely- do you have any good ghost stories to share?  I am heading away from computer land tomorrow and would love to hone my storytelling skills with the youngins around the many nights of campfires- hopefully my friends won't mind their kiddos gettin a dose of scary stories! 

healing stitches

Big thanks to everyone for your sweet birth-day wishes to my Jasper and me for his "birthing" day- love the mama support that know that when you celebrate your child's birth you are also celebrating the birth.  As many of you know Jasper was my planned homebirth, then early induction and ultimate c-section due to me getting pre-eclempsia.  It was very hard giving up my homebirth but ultimately making the best decision based on my health at the time.  I often said that healing from the stitches of the c-section was alot easier than the soul healing that had to occur for me to then give birth at home 3 and half years later to Silas.

As I was thinking about his birth this year I was reminded of the process of healing.  We all process events in our lives differently.  I know that different things happen for different reasons.  With Jasper's birth I had to do pretty intense healing work in order to move forward.  I wanted to share with you what I did.  I did lots and lots of journaling, and because I am a crafter I knew I wanted to make something.  I decided to make a healing quilt.  I sent out the call for folks to send me a square of fabric in red, pink, or white.  I looked at my gathered fabrics, wrote about them, cut and pieced them together as I was piecing my whole self back together to get back to a place to think about homebirth again.  I made the pattern to mimic a simple open yoni also, to see in my next birth. 

I did this work for about 6 months leading up to Jasper's birthday in 2003 and then I had a "healing-way"- think reverse of blessingway.  I gathered my women support system and had them shares words of healing with me, brought beads that I made into a bracelet, and then they helped me finish the quilt.

Now my quilt hangs in my studio right above my sewing machine.  It is a part of my creative space, which is very much like a womb for me at home.  Good thing my hubby doesn't mind that I love dark red paint!

Many wonderful thanks again and my best wishes out to the powerful women getting ready to birth this September! 

A book on my reading list, a book recommended by my good friend Amy, it is called Broken Open by Elizabeth Lesser-  I will have some down time to get all caught up on reading as we head to bluegrass festival land with friends later this week, I can hear the banjos calling!

candlesticks

I was wanting to keep it nice and simple on Jasper's actual birthday.  Since we did the slumber party over the weekend I wanted to embrace a simple gentle birthday for him on this past Wednesday.  He was really hoping to be turning 9 on 9/9/09, but turning eight on a fun numbered day is still pretty fun. 

My mess up moment was that I waited too long and ordered some Waldorf birthday ring accessories.  I had ordered them right before the holiday weekend and hoped as I might they did not come.  I had the ring all cut out to finish on Tuesday night, but without the other accessories it would not work.  After I finished throwing my internal fit, I did what any crafty mama would do, improvised.  I took a branch and drilled 8 holes in it and put in standard candles!

We had been doing some home study on bats and the night prior we had a late cup of tea in front of the chimanea fire and watched the bats fly in the neighborhood and read some more about bats.  After bed I made 8 bat tokens customized for my boy and lined them from his bed to the dining table with the candlestick and his last present, a big wood bat and the ultra fun Pictorial Webster's Visual Dictionary of Curiousities!  He traded in one of his tokens that night and we went down to the Devil's Icebox after dinner and watched the bats come out of the caves. 

It was just a lovely birthday boy blissfully enjoying the bats!

Here is a small list of other fun bat books to enjoy!

Daft Bat

Bats at the Beach

Bats at the Library

Stellaluna

Golden Guide to Bats