Holiday Greetings... and Light

We had a wonderful Solstice celebration and we are preparing for Christmas at the farm. I have been busy with some last minute making. There is much to share...

For now I will share the little bits of light that have been peeking through the stormy weather...

And wishes for a peaceful holiday....

Driftwood Crafting

This summer and fall on our many visits to the beach we never failed to bring home a bit of driftwood. I have been collecting it in a little bag waiting until the right little crafty project came along.

Well... Back in September Sarah over at Imagine Childhood reviewed the book Green Crafts for Children.

One of the projects she shared was a driftwood tic tac toe (she did not have any driftwood available, as she lives in Colorado, but sticks from the front yard worked great too.) I thought it was the perfect project for our collection.
We decided to use rocks for "0" and shells for our "x". Great fun!

I am going to sew up a little muslin bag for the rock and shells... and maybe a big one for the whole game. Time it ticking away for the holidays...

The plan it to gift this little game to some friends of ours but I have a feeling that we might just need to make another one!

Of course the kids had their own ideas about what we should do with the rest of the wood. They both made up wonderful painted snakes and other colorful creatures. Dylan also made some flyers with a bit of my help.
He designed this little plane first... all I did way wrap it up. He later painted this blue, green, red and brown... for each of our favorite colors.

He decided that Wes need a plane too and he was going to make it as a gift. Once again he designed and I did the wrapping where he asked.
He even added a point on the front so it would have landing gear. A touch of brown paint and it was all done. After it dried we wrapped it together.

He was too excited and gave it to Wes when he got home from work. So cute.

Dylan has already given away most of the gifts he has made. We just keep on making...

Any making going on at your house these days?

Egyptian History & Art

For some time now Fionna has been very interested in Ancient Egypt. I can trace it all the way back to when she was about three-years-old and a family friend gave her a book about mummies. Since then the interest has waxed and waned but the past six months or so it has been pretty intense. She has checked out just about every book about Ancient Egypt the library has available. We have even ventured over into the adult section of the library in search of documentaries about Egypt.

It has been fun to see how research into one topic leads to another subject, then down another path and so on. Starting with Mummies we have learned about Egypt as a whole including culture, art and religious beliefs. A documentary about Hatshepsut lead to an interest in female leaders and on to Cleopatra. This took us to Cesar and Rome. Then on to Roman warfare, culture, gods and beyond.

It is such an amazing way to learn about history. Learning it for what it is... a story. An exciting story with real people and places, real love and war, real connections and meaning... not just names and dates to remember until they are no longer needed.

As part of this most recent historical journey into Ancient Egypt there has been a lot of Egyptian inspired art being created. Fionna is not typically a fan of "themed art" but she found a book at the library that she could not put down. She was determined to do every project in the book. While we did not do every project we did quite a few and she was very happy to have her very own Egyptian art display in her room... for a little while. She eventually took it all down to put in her backpack so she could show it off to friends and neighbors.

I managed to convince her that the clay pieces needed to stay on display. Above is her version of a cartouche. She made it with hieroglyph stamps she got with a book. We made one for each member of the family. They were eventually painted.

Finally she asked if we could make a set of nesting coffins. She wanted to make them out of cardboard or clay. I figured clay would be easier.

Since Fionna can just pinch out a little pot at this point I took over most of the shaping and she helped with the smoothing out and painting.
She has her mind on making lids for this little set but I am thinking that is going to have to wait until after the holidays. Holidays crafting has definitely taken over around here.

Once of the things I love most about this way of learning is that the whole family learns together. As a result of one individuals interest we have all learned a bit more about Egyptian history and the many ways it ties into other cultures. We have all grown from the experience.

Along with the books above here are a few of her favorite history books from the library:

~Adventures in Ancient Egypt - this one and any other adventure book involving the Binkerton's and the Good Times Travel Agency.

~ Eyewitness Mummies

~ Cleopatra

~ The Curse of King Tut's Tomb

Peaceful

Sending some peace...

to a few loved ones who need it right now....

And anyone else who feels they need a little bit of peace today...

Quiet

It has been quiet in this space lately. I have much to share but have been spending my evenings reading, writing, knitting, watching movies with Wes... not on the computer so much. It is a nice time for quiet time. Maybe the cold. Maybe the just the time of year is reason for quiet moments away from the hum of the computer.

Today we marveled at our dusting. I am amazed that we have not had more snow this December. Although Wes is not complaining. The longer the snow stays at bay the more work they have... that is a good thing!

The kids were excited to get out and explore the ice on the bay.






They love testing the thickness... Some rocks slid across the snow covered ice out there. Our neighbors say that most years the ice gets thick enough to skate. Dylan is very excited about that.

I love how ice is left behind in the shape of the rocks when the tide goes out. So neat.
Most days before we head in I split some wood while the kids play in the forest behind the house. Our shed of full of half and quarter pieces that need to be split a bit more before heading into the fire... and of course there is always the need for kindling. My fall and winter workout!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Winter Fairies...

They are back....

The kids are so excited to wake each morning to see what little bits of nature have been left behind...

The sea glass goes right into Dylan sea glass collection... Fionna usually takes the shells, acorns and other bits.... The rocks go into the bowls...

Grandma and Papa brought us a wonderful tree from the farm this weekend. It was decorated right away. Perfect!

Then Grandma and Papa watched the kids while we headed off to the office Christmas party.

Wes and Dylan put up the outside lights.

We wrote a Solstice poem to read on Winter Solstice.

A few more gifts to be make and some fudge to whip up.

We are having our usual low key holiday season.

Nature Exchange

Over at The Magnifying Glass I blogged about having a nature exchange for the holidays.

A neat and easy way the share nature with family or friends from places around the country or even the world...
There are lots of great ideas for the holidays over there...

Happy Weekend!

Going Nutty...

We eat lots of nuts year round but for as long as I can remember nuts in the shell have been a part of our holidays. I loved them as a kid. My mom would put them in our stockings.

Dylan and Fionna love them too. I see Dylan running his hands through the basket. They both love the walnuts, my favorite too. He also goes for the almonds and she likes the pecans.

But did you know that they are not just for eating?

They are for math...
And games...
Find the sea glass occupied them for some time yesterday...

We have some plans for those empty walnut shells. I will be sure to share if we get to that project.

We would love to hear if you go nutty at your house. What are some of your favorite things to do with with these yummy morsels?

Wishing you a happy weekend...

Mittens

It takes about six hours to drive to Maine...

Just enough time to teach myself to knit a mitten...

Then tweak the pattern a bit and knit four more while we were there...

And of course on the way home.

They are much easier than I thought they would be. Knitting for Peace has such great simple patterns.

Dylan picked the yarn at the Farmer's Market this summer. Local wool. Love the colors together.

Have you been doing any winter making lately?

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful time in Maine for Thanksgiving. It was great to go down and see all the work Wes' parents have been doing on the houses they are renovating. So exciting!

They had the upstairs bedrooms all set up for us and the kids were thrilled to have their own room with their very own beds, books, super cute little desk and even a train. They were so excited that they could not keep their hands off the train, which was cause for more than a few derailments.

It was fun to see all the great antiques they have found and little accents that lend so much character to a space. Fionna especially loved the flag that hung just inside the front door. She came running, "Mom, there is a flag that says Eastport me!" So cute.

The guys cut wood. Dylan made friends with a neighborhood kitty. There were a few great games of scrabble and cards. Even some Christmas movies. We enjoyed walks to town and a hike in the rain. We also got to experience their first snow in Eastport. And of course had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks for a great Thanksgiving Grandma and Papa!