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Update on the Marble Swap Idea- I think I have the form figured out mamas! I want to do a test to make sure- but I think it is going to work thanks to google documents! Check back tonight after 6 pm to sign up for the swap! I can't resist throwing in a couple other ideas in the swap of objects I love since we are getting close to Valentines!
Sign up tonight for the love of Vintage!
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I was hoping for some bierocks the other night for dinner from hubby to launch us into our Russian heritage learning and he said "actually I was going to cook us up some rabbit"- yikes rabbit- my tum lurched a little at the thought of eating my power animal- but be that as it may I just took it as a moment of waiting to see what my instincts would do. Hubby then breaks out this old cookbook that I have seen in the 9 years of marriage to my love- it is called "Cy Littlebee's Guide to Cooking Fish and Game compiled by the Missouri Conservation Commission for the whopping price of .75 cents! It seems that this cookbook was a standard in my hubby's home growing up as his dad is an avid hunter. I am still not thrilled about the meal but decide to look through the cookbook.
The language and candor of this old Missouri cookbook crack me up, here is just a sampling under the heading Rabbit:
"You take a state where from four to six million rabbits is eat in a year not counting tame rabbits nor any shipped in, and all you can figger is that either a lot of folks likes some rabbit, or some folks like lots of rabbit"Not to be outdone by the following passage about Uncle Ott:
"Uncle Ott had a leaning to young rabbit. You give Uncle Ott a couple of young fried rabbits with some boiled beans, cornbread and rabbit gravy and he'd set and eat from kin to kain't"Well there is was dinner time and some fresh cooked rabbit, brown rice and veges in front on me. I thanked the rabbit for her food, thanked the universe for friends and family and watched my boys dive in. You know it was tasty and I felt thankful to give it a shot though it still felt a bit odd knowing the gifts rabbit has always provided me.
I have know rabbit to be my main animal guide since I was about 23 years old am so thankful for a recent gift given to me by my sweet crafty mama friends- its is a beautiful journal with gorgeous artwork done by Sue Coccia- just gorgeous and honoring of that spirit of the hare. It rests next to my loved wood rabbit box I picked up at a garage sale a few years back- the tail opens to a secret compartment- I just love it!
So in thanks to my friends and thanks to hare I wanted to share a food blessing that my little Silas taught us this week from Montessori:
"We give thanks to blue skies above us, Green grass below us, friends all around us""We give thanks to good food in front of us and peace all over the world"
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this past week the old cobbler's bench helped us to make New Years wishes and say goodbye also! For the wishes I found the idea in one of my waldorf books of making a wishing boats. I gathered a big old metal bowl, walnuts and my wish makers!
First each of us made a single wish word and wrote that on a little paper sail. We attached these with the help of toothpicks and playdough to our little walnuts. Next we gathered a large metal bowl and filled with water and floating candles. We then each took turns writing a longer fortune on pretty little pieces of paper turning them into little scrolls that we tied with yarn and attached to the bowl via magnets. The ends of the yarn dangled into the bowl of water at different spots. As we set our wish boats afloat the fortune each one landed near was your wish for the year- none of us got our own wishes which I found pretty neat!
This was such a fun activity and it would be really neat to do a kids birthdays or even blessingways too- you could use the same yarn for you mama cord ceremony! I will have to suggest this to my mamas with babies in womb right now!
As our bench helped us make wishes it also helped us embrace the circle of life as we learned that our adopted screech owl Lucifer died this week. He has been with our local Raptor Rehab since 1995, and we adopted him in 2006. Yesterday we drew pictures, made a little wood screech for the nature table, explored owls in our book and listened to owl calls on a CD we have- we are sad but happy to have shared space with this fella- our annual picnic at the Rehab was always fun.
So we say goodbye to Lucifer the Owl and make our wishes of another owl to enter our lives again that we can adopt.
Here are some more pictures of the ebb of flow of different learning we do from the bench- a good place for the boys heritage of shoemakers! This week we are exploring my ancestor heritage of Russia- hello Bierocks and Praniks
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Look what happens when you leave out some good red wine, homemade biscotti (my first time making) and a bit of chocolate! Happy Little Christmas everyone- the decorations are packed away, the tree recycled with the exception of a bit of the log that I am keeping for our Yule Log next year hehehe!
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As the 12 Days of Christmas wind down and we are approaching the end of the holiday season I wanted to share with you some of the simple gifts that were shared this holiday that were so simple and so meaningful. First from the family: Silas has really just started drawing figures and making art. He made a whole batch or little wooden monsters that he took to our annual swap this past month at The Womb Room. He saved one back for me that sits lovingly atop my computer. He has been working through some big fun imagination play regarding some critters he calls Guants- it is fun seeing his imagination work- so this fella is my Guant!
Jasper made me a "Book Mama" bookmark as he knows how much I adore books, particularly children's books that I love to share with them and also with you. If you love kids books as much as I do or would like a good start with children's books, you might enjoy both of these titles: Reading Together by Dianne Frankenstein or also 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up by Eccleshare- both wonderful!
My hubby and I actually do not do Christmas presents to each other- we go on a lovely Christmas date each year. This year we went antiquing for a couple hours, had a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants owned by friends, then walked around downtown stopping by the microbrew for a beer before heading to see Avatar. It is always one of my favorite presents- the simple joy of just being with all my boys is really better than anything else!
I did find a couple small treasures at the antique mall- a new hankie for me, a fun old owl block to use as a prop for photography, and some lovely old vintage postcards- love these! I was looking for one of those old German New Year's mushroom cards and didn't track it down- but found this old German printed New Years girl from 1912!
I look forward to sharing more lovely presents with you tomorrow, hope you enjoy the eve of Little Christmas or Epiphany- do you know about Old Befana or maybe heard her called Babushka from the Russian tales- she is a kindly old witch that visits the homes of children on the eve of Jan 6- she travels by broom and often leaves children treats in their socks! There are many different cultural stories of her in different religious aspects, I enjoyed this essay about her also and the simplicity of what she brings and represents. We will be cooking up a little something to leave out for her tonight along with a glass of wine- she is Italian after all!In the words of an old postcard:
Long May We Live
Long May We Love
and
Long May We Be Happy
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Hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's holiday! Ours started off with the Blue Moon- enjoying family in the afternoon, celebrating a friends 50th "croning" party under a disco ball, and then making New Years wishes, bubbly, bowling, and New Years eats of pickled Herring and Black Eye Peas! Needless to mention that mama passed on the Herring- I do not eat fish, but my boys had fun blowing fishy new years breath on me for good luck!
Here are a few pictures and more are here of our New Year holiday! Welcome January- coming this week is post for On the Bench, and a new Once Upon a Table craft for the new year!
I wish you all joy and peace in the New Year and good health to all my friends who have colds right now- hope you all feel better soon!
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is Nancy- be sure to check your e-mail for the January edition- enjoy. Nancy said her favorite herb was chamomile- always makes for a good cup of tea- not to forget to mention Ginger Lemon tea- a good recipe is included in the January Herbal Roots Zine- be sure to order your copy today from Kristine. One of the best investments you can make for your health and your childrens this year!
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