Greetings, from my generator-fueled local library (I heart libraries)! Irene passed through and left us with branches down and no power...but otherwise all is well in our home and on the farm. I'm hoping you and yours are just fine, too!
I'll be back when we're once again plugged in. Take good care, friends!
~Amanda
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August 2011
SouleMama Sponsor ~ NATURALLY YOU CAN SING ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Naturally You Can Sing. In their words:
"Naturally You Can Sing is a children's song book series. An aid to helping parents, caregivers and early childhood educators by providing inspiration and ideas as to how they use song either for the first time ever or as part of their daily lives as they connect with the little ones in their care. All song books include a free accompanying CD.
We are in the process of redoing our trusted old website as it has been around as long as our business has, unheard of in the world of websites today! We would like to thank our customer for enduring and can not wait to share our new website with you in hopefully early October. We are also working on a pentatonic Lyre book! We will let you know."
SouleMama: How long have you been in business?
Christina: 12 years.
SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of your business.
Christina: Having already shipped in excess of 40,000 books worldwide, we feel that this unique, small company of ours has reached many people that both believe in and love the power of singing and the connection it fosters between adults and children. We plan on continuing this work and hopefully adding more titles in future.
SouleMama: What's your favorite part of your job?
Christina: It inspires me to hear Sven speak about the songbooks with people and the importance of music and singing for the development of the child. To then feel their enthusiasm and hear them positive comments about how singing has not only brought them closer to the child(ren) in their lives but also brought about an awaking in themselves, is wonderful.
For today's giveaway, Naturally You Can Sing is generously offering the following to THREE lucky winners:
~ One volume of the I Still Have Joy CD
(winners can choose between Volume 1 and Volume 2)
In addition, SouleMama readers are invited to enjoy free shipping on all orders placed by August 31st, 2011. Please write 'soulemama' in the remarks box.
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Thank you to Naturally You Can Sing!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winners are...
I was just telling DH yesterday how I wanted to get these CDs again. Our three year old in going through a ruff patch behaviorally and but I feel it's nothing singing wouldn't help.
Posted by: Kymberley
OH, oh, oh! I'd love to have this to work with for myself and my family/friends. Terrific!
Posted by: Cindy
SouleMama Sponsor ~ CREATIVE THURSDAY ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Creative Thursday. In Marisa's words:
"What started out as one day a week, Thursdays, set aside to be a bit more creative while working a 9 to 5 job....Creative Thursday, has become a full time business featuring the art {and soon to be fabric arriving in stores this fall!} of Marisa Anne, or as she likes to call it a dream come true."
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to do the work you do today?
Marisa: Determined. Passionate. To be creative and do work that I love. That's how it all started. And then over a period of years and various careers that included graphic design and interior design that lead to the launch of my own internet company; I decided to take Improv acting classes. It was there, of all places, that I finally learned to trust my own creative voice. This is when a new chapter began that brought me all the way back to what I loved most as a child, painting and drawing. Funny, how it sometimes takes us an entire journey to bring us back to what inspired us first.
SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of your business.
Marisa: I've given a lot of thought to this lately as over the past year my work has really expanded, from a new fabric line to an upcoming book. As an entrepreneur, and a business owner I believe that it's so important to check in often, to make sure that where you are headed is truly where you are wanting to go. Keeping creativity a priority is key. I started all of this after all, with the intent to be more creative. That intention has since grown into encouraging and inspiring others to life a life they love especially creatively. My art makes people happy and it makes me happy to create it. Honestly that combination ~ there's nothing better. I have big vision for Creative Thursday and would love to see it continue to expand with integrity in directions that not only feel right but support a sense of peace and well being in my every day life.
SouleMama: How do you come up with new designs and ideas?
Marisa: Creating inspires more creativity. It's true. The more creative I am, in different mediums too, the more ideas I get. In fact, it was my commitment to the practice of daily painting and blogging those paintings, 5 years ago now, that developed my present style and grew into the body of work that is now known as Creative Thursday. Most of the time, ideas just float in, especially in that state between sleep and wake. {Don't ever underestimate the importance of naps in one's creative schedule} Otherwise I sit down with a pencil and my sketchbook and see what comes forth. If the ideas aren't coming, I've learned {although I still do it reluctantly} that stepping away for a little while is exactly what's needed to create some space for that next new inspiration.
SouleMama: What's the product or offering in your shop that you're most excited about right now? Tell us about it.
Marisa: Since I mostly work on a small scale with my practice of daily painting, I'm very excited about a larger work I recently completed and added to the shop as a new larger limited edition print 'At the Circus'. It was pushing me slightly out of my comfort zone to work a little larger and take my time adding and embellishing the details over a period of a week instead of a day. I really love how this painting turned out and have since been inspired to explore working in a larger scale again.
For today's giveaway, Creative Thursday is generously offering the following to ONE lucky winner:
~ a $75 gift card to the Creative Thursday shop!
In addition, SouleMama readers are invited to enjoy a 15% discount in the Creative Thursday Etsy shop. Redeem with code 'soulemamafriends' at checkout. Offer ends August 30th, 2011, 11:59pm EST.
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Thank you to Marisa at Creative Thursday!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winner is...
So cute!!
Posted by: nw.islandmama
{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
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SoulePapa Blogs :: Still Morning
I woke early, before the alarm was set to sound, just as the first glow of light began pushing out the night. Laying for an extra second, to take in the sound of the two youngest babies asleep on each side of me, I had to ask my body to rise out of that soft comfort and into my day. Attempting to keep my sleepers asleep I walked my heavy steps as lightly as I could across those old boards and straight down the stairs, grabbing my clothes as I moved. A kitty sat waiting on either side of the front door so I opened it and let them pass. The outside world was just shimmering awake. The leaves rustled a bit with energy in the soft breeze and I thought about hurricanes and the quiet before a storm. I saw bits and pieces of the previous day spread out across the yard. A wagon. A bike helmet and shoes. Several scraps of wood that Adelaide nailed together. End of the Day Papa may have been less than enthusiastic to see these remnants strewn about but Morning Papa found them pleasant and perfectly placed.
The house was so still, like time had time had stopped, and I was allowed to observe everything for a few moments before it started again. The stove clicked up a flame and I put on coffee. Staring out the window I saw the Sun almost ready to climb into view and I'll admit to wanting that moment to stretch and that peace of the soft light to go on a bit longer. But this ball spins and that horizon came gently to light reminding the world to move once again. Still morning. Still breathing.
I held my warm cup and found myself staring from each window to take in the shifted light. Not quite ready to type I continued past the studio and back onto the front steps to sit and have a sip. The breeze had picked up and clouds were moving overhead. It won't be long before the first of my own start to stir and a fresh day shifts into another gear. I wonder at what today will hold for me, for us. We are seven paths of life that are moving across this continuum of time. Each on our own, all of us together. Our paths cross and come together and diverge and intersect with others and continue across this blank sheet of opportunity that is our future. That blank sheet bursts into life as each moment passes and then fades with our memories as it is left behind with the rest of history.
Our lifetime playing out all around us, complete with its joy and sadness and mystery and love. We are only human and this is only one morning, sitting still.
preserve!
With all the glorious produce coming in, the work of preserving it all begins. My freezer is beginning to fill, the pantry shelves are getting crowded, crocks are 'brewing' in various stages all over my kitchen counters, and a root cellar is in the works (yes!).
I've been getting lots of emails about preserving food these days. I learn so much more about it all every year, and am hardly an expert. But there's an abundance of resources out there, and I thought I could at least direct you to my favorites.
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Books:
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Homemade Living: Canning and Preserving
Canning for a New Generation
Putting Food By
The River Cottage Preserves Handbook
Websites & Blogs:
Canning Across America
tigress in a jam
tigress in a pickle
Doris and Jilly Cook
Food in Jars
Pick Your Own ~ All About Canning
And a few notes:
~ This year, I'm about equally dividing between the amount of food I've frozen, canned, fermented and will store in the root cellar. Deciding which method to use for what depends on a lot of factors - space, ease in canning, taste, time, and well, whim, too.
~ I have a basic granite ware canning pot with a rack that I use for boiling water bath canning. Last year, wanting to can more stocks, soups and tomatoes, I added this pressure canner to the mix (I loooove it).
~ And oh, the dreaded canning jar lid dilemna. With Bisphenol A found in the lining of the metal lids, I've been making the transition over the past two years to the Tattler reusable lids. Choosing between BPA and plastic doesn't seem ideal...but for now, that's what I'm going with. There are the gorgeous all-glass lidded Weck Jars, which I'd love to use, though the number of them I'd need makes it a bit cost prohibitive. What about the old style glass lids? I use them for storing dry goods in the pantry, and for short term refrigerator use, but not canning.
~ Avoiding plastic in the freezer? Yes, use glass! I've had one jar break in five years of doing so, and it was entirely user error (ahem). Just be certain to leave a little head room for expansion on liquidy things. Oh, and let hot foods come to room temp before placing them in the freezer.
~ I've been doing - and loving - more fermented food preserving and eating. Oh my, heavenly quick and easy pickles and kraut! To that note, I'd add the following two books: Nourishing Traditions and Wild Fermentation. (I picked up some lids for old crocks I already had, found here.)
~ Oh yes, and a root cellar is on it's way for all those beets, squash, carrots and potatoes. Using the great advice in Root Cellaring, we'll be tweaking our existing cellar to make something work. It's a 200 year old Maine farmhouse basement, for goodness sakes. Surely, this won't be the first winter potatoes are stored down there!
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I think I'll save some specific recipes on individual crop harvests in for future posts. Wouldn't that be fun? I think so. Stay tuned for that. For today, though....if you have a favorite book, blog, website or thought to share about preserving food, please do so in the comments for all to read!
Happy Preserving Days to You!
some days
Some days...
...are easier than others.
Some days...I get lost driving to the same horse stable we've been riding at once a week for two years.
Some days...the long drive home results in a toddler who falls asleep in the dreaded late afternoon "No Napping!" time zone.
Some days...I find myself cursing at a chicken - just one (aptly named Angry Lady) - as I discover she snuck under the fence and took a bite - just one - out of each tomato in her pecking range.
Some days...chasing/cursing said chicken results in a stumble into a tangle of burdock, which then leads to a tangle of burrs (still) stuck in my hair.
Some days...that cursing comes back to me through the mouth of my listening little ones. Ahem.
Some days...I'm certain the bank statement must be missing a zero.
Some days...unkind words linger far longer in my head than I'd like them to.
Some days...I read the recipe wrong, and the dinner I had hoped to be ready 7, will really be ready at 11.
Some days...I realize halfway in the making that my Plan B for dinner - basil popcorn, cucumbers and kale chips - is what we had for, um, lunch.
Some days...I fall asleep at 7pm with the baby, and have no elaborately linked blog post to show for it. Or clean diapers.
Some days...just go on and on and on like that.
Some days, at the end of it all, or even in the middle of it all, all I can do is turn up the music, dance in the kitchen, hope they all join in (they always do), and feel the love.
There's always that. Lots of it.
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I'm honored to have an interview up on Ohdeedoh today, as part of their Big Blog Family series. Check it out!
The Summer FUN List
It's August 22nd, friends. August 22nd! As present as I've tried to be, as "slowly" as we have lived this summer, I still find myself surprised by the date on the calendar.
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We've been a little slack in making sure that our sweet little Stellaluna (the duck who thinks she's a chicken) has water to swim in every single day. But last week I made a promise to her that I'd fill that little pool of hers every single day until it freezes.
Then, I turned around and walked inside to my loves eating breakfast and made the same promise to them - and myself. What's left to do that we haven't squeezed (enough of) into this summer?
Steve and I have a list (a long list) of all the house/farm things that need to be done before the season ends. Full of things like stacking more wood, adding more insulation, putting up more fence posts. But - what about the ocean? We need more ocean, and picnics, and ice cream cones and oh, another list - a family list - was in order. One where every one of us (save Annabel) got to pick ONE very important summer thing to do.
The Soule Family Summer's-Almost-Over List:
Go to camp!
picnic oceanside
have a party!
"sit in Papa's boat" (preferrably in the water)
go to the candy shop (translated as: hit the Old Port)
go camping ("not in the backyard!")
It's time to get serious about summer. Before school starts, before the leaves fall. There's still time.
What's left to do on your Summer FUN List?
(And on that note, I've got a picnic to pack for...)
SouleMama Sponsor ~ BELLA LUNA TOYS ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Bella Luna Toys. In owner Sarah Baldwin's words:
"Bella Luna Toys has been "bringing imagination into play" by providing families with a wide selection of Waldorf toys, natural fiber craft kits, and Waldorf art supplies since 2002. I strive to bring my experience as a Waldorf early childhood teacher, and my knowledge of chid development, to make Bella Luna Toys a trusted source for high quality toys with real play value for children.
Since taking ownership of Bella Luna Toys two years ago, I knew that I wanted it to be more than just a retail website. I wanted it to be a place where parents could come for support and inspiration, so I added my blog "Moon Child" on which I write about children, play and learning, and share my love of Waldorf education."
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to do the work you do today?
Sarah: I studied theatre at NYU and pursued an acting career in New York City for ten years, before becoming a mama. My life changed in an instant when my son Harper was born. I suddenly felt I had a much more important job to do, and postponed my career plans to be at home with my baby. Soon after my second son William was born in California, I discovered Waldorf education, and my life changed again.
I began my Waldorf teacher training on the west coast and finished on the east coast, after my husband Max was relocated back to NY. After completing my training and earning a master's degree in early childhood education, we packed up our belongings, two kids and our dog, and moved to a farm in rural Maine to live the life we'd long dreamed of. Max left the corporate world to work as a freelance writer, and I began teaching at the Ashwood Waldorf School in Rockport, where I taught parent/child, nursery, and kindergarten classes from 1999 to 2009.
After ten years of teaching, with my boys now teenagers, I felt ready to take my life in a new direction, and decided to become the new owner of Bella Luna Toys when I discovered it was for sale. While I had little experience in business or retail, I did know these toys, an felt excited by the prospect of promoting the benefits of Waldorf toys to a new generation of young families.
I now use my experience, as both a teacher and a mother, into choosing every item offered at Bella Luna Toys. When considering a new toy to add, I ask myself, "Would I put this in my classroom?" and then "Would I give this toy to my own children?" The answer to both questions must be yes, otherwise I won't carry it.
SouleMama: What's the product you are most excited about right now? Tell us about it.
Sarah: I am over-the-top excited to introduce our brand new Waldorf Rocker Boards! During the past few years, these rocking balance boards have become increasingly popular in Waldorf early childhood classrooms, but until now, haven't been widely available to families.
Not only are these open-ended toys that can be played with in a countless number of ways, but they also help develop a child's sense of balance and self-movement (proprioception), and help build core strength.
About three-feet long, Rocker Boards are made from many layers of strong plywood, carefully bent into an arc shape. These simple boards can be played with in so many ways -- they become bridges, slides, cradles, boats, and ramps. Your child will find even more uses for them!
If were asked to recommend the one best toy on my website for ages 2 to 7, the Rocker Board would be it.
For today's giveaway, Bella Luna Toys is generously offering the following to ONE lucky winner:
~ a large Waldorf Wooden Doll House!
("from our new Canadian partner, Twig Studio. I am thrilled that Bella Luna Toys is now the exclusive online retailer in the U.S. for these beautiful handmade wooden dollhouses!")
{*because of the oversized nature of this dollhouse, international shipping - those outside of the US or Canada- will need to be paid for by the winner.}
In addition, SouleMama readers are invited to enjoy 10% off all in-stock items through August 31. Use code SM-AUG at checkout. (Sorry, discount does not apply to heavy, oversized items that are drop shipped from the manufacturer.) In addition, sign up for our e-mail newsletter to be kept updated of sales and new products, and receive another code to save $5.00 off your next order!
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Thank you to Bella Luna Toys!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winner is...
What an incredibly generous giveaway! Thank you so much for the chance to win.
Posted by: Anne in North Carolina
SouleMama Sponsor ~ ACTION PACK ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Action-Pack. In Kathreen's words:
"Action Pack is a downloadable mini-mag for kids who want to do stuff! These action packed mini-mags for kids inspire creativity and healthy habits, as they feeds inquisitive minds, and challenge the imagination. The Action Pack has been developed with busy parents and creative energetic kids in mind. The projects in these Action Packs are aimed at children (7+) to make independently with minimal supervision. The projects are also suitable for younger children with parental supervision (and for young-at-heart creative adults too).
Action Pack is created by Kathreen of Whip Up!"
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to do the work you do today?
Kathreen: I am an artist/mother/designer/maker/writer, after studying science and languages I had a change of pace and I went art school to study photomedia. I then stayed at home for a few years to raise my children, during that time I connected with likeminded makers and creators online. I started Whipup.net which showcases on a daily basis my passion for all things handmade and creative. Whipup.net introduced me to the publishing world and Chronicle books gave me a wonderful opportunity to launch myself as as a writer (Whip Up Mini Quilts was published in 2010 and Little Bits Quilting Bee will be coming out in October this year). I also have been working with Australian publisher Hardie Grant who asked me to curate and edit a series of craft books for kids. At the same time, with the help of my husband and two super children we launched the Action Pack series of E-magazines for children.
SouleMama: How do you come up with new designs and ideas?
Kathreen: We spend hours, days, weeks, brainstorming ideas, all of us - many of the ideas depend upon what the kids are interested in at the time, what materials work together and what the seasons suggest. We like the idea of there being an edible ingredient and a crafty material - and then seeing how these two things can combine or contrast in different ways. We also want to get kids used to using and sourcing many of their own materials - things they can find fairly easily around the home. Recycled and natural materials play a big part in these projects.
SouleMama: How does the balance of family and work play out for you? How has motherhood changed the work that you do?
Kathreen: I have a couple of children - Otilija (11) and Orlando (9), a boy and girl - both very creative in different ways, both interested in making stuff, experimenting and cooking, and both very active with a lot of energy to burn. Because we don't watch TV, and the school they go to doesn't believe in homework (thank goodness), we have very creative afternoons and weekends together. That time is taken up more and more with activities that they are interested in, and because they love to experiment, many of the concepts come from them rather than from me. So I become their facilitator - and they my inspiration. The making of Action Pack really came from my children - helped along by my experience in publishing and love of crafting and cooking, my husband's love of science and the natural world, and our kids' creativity and endless thirst for knowledge, plus our family's growing interest in a back-to-basics childhood, wanting our kids to learn to love and appreciate nature and to nurture their growing independence, on top of all this our increasing dislike of the commercialisation of childhood - led us to create the Action Packs.
For today's giveaway, Action Pack is generously offering the following to ONE lucky winner:
~ TWO sets of five Action Pack magazines!
(from Issue 1-5. Each magazine is themed around a different topic the current issue is Chalk + Cheese. The winner will receive a set of 5 Action Packs for themselves and another set to be sent to a friend!)
In addition, Kathreen is offering a 10% discount coupon - valid on all the Action Packs - until the end of August. Use coupon code "WPsoulemama" at checkout.
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Thank you to Action Pack!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winner is...
Soooo much fun!
Posted by: Homebirth Mama
{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
. . . . . . . .
corners of my home :: the family chalkboard
Shortly after we moved here, I painted this entire wall a black chalkboard. It was a total hit - the kids loved it. I loved it.
But then somewhere about midwinter, I began to wonder why my kitchen felt so dark. Huh. I wonder. Perhaps it had something to do with the entire wall I painted black in an already poorly lit room? Perhaps.
And so, when I painted the rest of the room recently, the black...became yellow.
There were great cries of protest.
And I totally understood. I love having a chalkboard nearby, too.
How else was I to keep a grocery list that didn't wander off and get lost? How was I to keep the littlest ones happy when they tired of making dinner with me, or working in their own play kitchen?
Another spot was found quickly. Here it is, in this little nook, between our kitchen and living room...this work-in-progress little nook with ever changing plans (oh, wait till you see what I've cooked up for a ceiling plan in here!).
{*Lots of you email me asking for the ecological solution I've found for chalkboard paint. I didn't. I used this. Though I've since learned, that chalkboard paint can be created with any paint and tile grout using this recipe. So in theory, perhaps something greener could be made. Oh! And this is our favorite child-friendly chalk.}
What's going on in the upper right of the basement door, you ask? Why that's a hole, whose origin I can't understand really. But for this purpose (and until we decide what's happening to this door anyway), said "hole" works wonderfully as a little frame for rotating kids artwork.
So now we've got a frame, room for my grocery lists, space to draw, and a spot for Ezra's latest and greatest song quotes.
And family peace and happiness has once again been restored by one late night and a can of paint.
Yes.
notes from my garden
The August Garden is vibrant and well!
Okay, that's me trying to understate my over-the-top enthusiasm. The truth is that it's taking everything in my power to not wake up everyday and share with you a report from the garden. Everyday. Or to call my friends with an hourly report of what's going on out there. My poor mother is bored to tears hearing about it (because mothers get it all, whether they want to or not, don't they?).
Trying to spare you all, and to keep it all fresh for next year, I am keeping careful notes in my notebook. Some random excerpts today, if you will:
:: I was a little late (in my mind) on thinning all the many rows of carrots that I planted. But the bonus to that is that we've been enjoying the thinnings as tiny treats - in salads, on their own, and fresh in the garden for my little helpers. Harper likes to ask if they're covered in "dirt or pepper, mama?"
:: I am officially an overbearing mother hen with my tomatoes, it's true. Sadly, hovering over them, and willing them to do so, is not turning them from green to red. Soon, though...I am certain it will happen. And I will rejoice. And then make salsa (Soule-Sa! The recipe is in The Rhythm of Family!), sauce, passata, tomato soup (oh, that soup!) and of course...Harper's ketchup.
:: Speaking of hens and chickens. I finally discovered that those ladies of ours (just the Americaunas, actually) have been flying over their fencing (they're in a one-acre fenced -n pasture)...and wandering around in my tomatoes when I'm not looking. And they're eating them! The nerve! When the problem persisted, and they started to wander a little too far...we decided it was time for a little hair cut. (clipping a few flight feathers). I had been resisting doing so, but so far as I can tell, it really was just like trimming nails or cutting hair, and they are still flying as much as they want, just not so high. Save the tomatoes!
:: Note to my 2012 self: a little less kale would do, a lot more beets would be nice.
:: This is the first time we've ever successfully grown melons - both watermelon and honeydew are plentiful in the garden and being hovered over by Adelaide in the same way I am over by the tomatoes. Barbara Damrosch, of The Garden Primer (my favorite gardening resource) says, in determining ripeness, "thump them and listen: a "ping" is unripe, a "pong" means it's ready. A dull thud means "sorry, you're too late." Now, I have the utmost respect for Barbara and believe that everything she says is solid gold truth, but, friends....can YOU tell the difference between a ping, a pong and a thud? It sounds as though they might be different...until you find yourself crazily knocking on watermelons in your garden one rainy night by headlamp. Ahem. Regardless, we ate our first watermelon, unripe as it may have been (it was a ping not a pong), but decidely happy to be eating our very first homegrown melon.
:: We are currently in deep debate - that must end soon if we're going to get moving on things - as to whether our current resources (mostly that of time) are best spent this fall on a greenhouse or a root cellar. Hmn. I flip flop from hour to hour, which isn't helping in the planning. Because of course, I really want both. (Lots of you are emailing me about food preservation...let's talk about that next week!)
:: As we wrap up certain things - peas, bolted lettuce, beets that we've eaten, we're filling the garden up with more seeds. Beets, more brocolli, chard, and spinach are headed into the ground for a fall harvest. I read in Continuing the Good Life that the Nearings had the second round of crops planted within four hours of harvesting the first round. I laughed out loud. I'm doing my very best, and we're cranking, but I think we're a little closer to four days. Perhaps it's because I have more mouths to feed. Though, I don't know if that's true - they did have all those visitors....maybe it's that the mouths they were feeding may have been a little more, um, helpful than mine. Regardless...their efficiency both inspires and humors me.
Vibrant and well....I'm in love with this August garden of ours!
How's your garden growing these days?
outgoing & incoming
outgoing::
Fueled by late nights, chocolate, Gillian Welch, and each others company, we are making great progress in shipping out book orders! We're catching up steadily - they are all currently in one phase of making their way out of my studio, to the post office, and into your homes. I appreciate your patience and support so much. It really is so fun to be sending these books into so many corners of the world (hello Washington state and Australia! Holy moly, there sure are a lot of you. Goodness, what's going on in your necks of the woods? I think we must visit).
incoming::
We're not just dropping off at the Post Office, we're picking up boxes too. Boxes of the peeping variety. Hello, Turkeys!
:: right now ::
right now, I am...
:: saying 'thank you' to all of you who came out to celebrate The Rhythm of Family with us on Thursday night at Longfellow Books. That was fun, and you are so very nice. I left there reminded once again that the world is full of good and wonderful people trying their very best. It's absolutely true.
:: looking, still, at the most gorgeous boquet of flowers in all the world (really), created by my friend Stacy, who is nothing short of a Goddess of all things floral.
:: hoping those sweet little pigs stay put in their new spot today. Oh, this pasture is coming to life!
:: waiting for my cucumbers to finish brining. Cucumbers today!
:: feeling full of family and the love of sisters, having celebrated this weekend a big birthday, a pregnancy announcement, a new house (none of it mine!) and all the 'life' that a growing family has to celebrate.
:: loving Harper's love of scissors.
:: deciding not to clean up the resulting little pieces of paper everywhere (because there will just be more to come in ten minutes). It's just paper, after all.
:: grateful for the rain (finally) falling this morning.
:: happy that my little girl LOVES picking up tomato horn worms barehanded and feeding them to her chickens. Because her Mama is not so much a fan of said insect or the task of removing them, nor feeding them to the chickens (I was not born a farmer).
:: stuffing insulation everywhere and anywhere we can.
:: ordering myself a down comforter, to have at the ready.
:: longing, just a little bit, for some fall knitting.
:: wanting summer to slow. itself. down. already.
:: ready to embrace the day that lies ahead.
:: hoping you are too.
SouleMama Sponsor ~ STUBBY PENCIL STUDIO ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Stubby Pencil Studio. In their words:
"Stubby Pencil Studio offers eco-friendly art and school supplies that are healthy for children and the environment. We stock crayons made from soy - not petroleum; sketchbooks made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper - not virgin trees; and pencils made from sustainably harvested wood and recycled newspapers - not dying forests. You will also find a terrific selection of children's crafts, stationery, party favors, and many other creative products that kids will love."
SouleMama: Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?
Kate: "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought." ~ Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
SouleMama: What's the product you are most excited about offering right now?
Kate: We started carrying Japanese erasers a couple weeks ago. They are adorable with their tiny size, precise detailing and sweet design, but are also very fun and interactive. The erasers are assembled with separate color parts making them a mini puzzle that can be taken apart and put back together. My kids love them! I appreciate that they are responsibly made from an eco-friendly resin and are non-toxic: no lead, no paint, no phthalates, no PVC, no latex and they are recyclable. I think my favorite is the hedgehog or maybe the elephant - hard to decide.
SouleMama: How are your children incorporated into your business?
Kate: Sage and Sierra, my twins, are now 7 and going in to 2nd grade. It's amazing - 5 years have passed since I opened Stubby Pencil Studio. The girls are very interested in arts and crafts and are amazing little artists. They love to draw and we have quite a gallery - mostly cats and Pokémon. They help me fill orders, place shipping labels on boxes, and let me know when the postman is out front. They also hold supplies for product photos and give me feedback when they test out the latest arrivals. They are very involved and are curious to unpack new shipments. They have also learned to negotiate trade - helping in exchange for something new - and they are very motivated to help in exchange for the little erasers... I think I've found a new form of currency.
For today's giveaway, Stubby Pencil Studio is generously offering the following to ONE lucky winner:
~ Art Supply Caddy from Stubby Pencil Studio!
(includes Double Tip Pens 20 colors, Colored Pencils 36 colors, Ecojot Journal, Green Apple Pencils, Eco Highlighters, Blueberry Snifty Pen, Double Pencil Sharpener, Zenoa Eraser, Zenoa Mini Stapler, Scissors, Wire Caddy)
In addition, Stubby Pencil Studio is offering SouleMama readers 15% off your orders! Use code MAMASAVE15 at checkout. Offer valid through 8/31/11.
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Thank you to Stubby Pencil Studio!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winner is...
Such fun to write and draw with these lovely colors !
Posted by: gris fleur
SouleMama Sponsor ~ PLAYFUL LEARNING ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Playful Learning. In Mariah's words:
"Children are natural scientists, artists, mathematicians, authors, and scholars. From the time they are born they seek out information about the world around them in an effort to construct meaning and further their development. Playful Learning is the magic that takes place when we meld a child’s sense of joy and wonder with thoughtfully planned learning experiences. Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder was written to serve as a resource for parents and teachers who want to share in and enjoy those incredible ah-ha, sparkle in the eyes, fire in the belly moments of discovery and learning with the children in their lives."
"Enrollment is now open for the fall session of the Playful Learning Spaces E-Course, which is a six-week online course that was designed to guide parents and teachers through the process of creating spaces for children that inspire reading, writing, science, art, and more."
SouleMama: What inspired you to start your business?
Mariah: Playful Learning started in June of 2008. It was right after I had made the decision to stop working and spend more time with the girls. It was a time that I had been looking forward to since my first daughter was born. While working, I often fantasized about what life as a SAHM would be like, and, of course, in my mind it seemed like it would be heaven on earth.
However, the transition from working outside the home to working inside the home was not as easy as I had anticipated. I realized that a lot of my identity was wrapped up in my career, and without "my work" to help me define who I was for myself, I felt a bit lost. I loved working in the field of education, I loved working with children, I loved working with teachers, and I loved working with families, so, although I was thrilled to finally be with the girls, I feared that I was leaving a big part of myself behind.
Then one morning while I was unpacking all of my beloved curriculum books from my office, trying to make space for them at home, I had a moment: I realized that I could still share in all of my favorite classroom projects, lessons, and activities, yet instead of doing them with other people's children in a school environment, I could experience them with my own daughters at home. I had so many incredible and memorable experiences in the classroom with my students. Now, I would have the time to adapt and share my favorites with my own family, on our own time, in our own space. The idea seemed to blend everything that was important to me, and with a newly energized spirit, I set out to prepare for our new adventures together. Playful Learning was born out of the time we spent exploring, discovering, and growing together.
SouleMama: Is there a special place that inspires you?
Mariah: After leaving work and deciding to adapt my favorite classroom lessons into learning experiences that I could share with my girls, I set out to create a space that could provide us with both inspiration and easy access to supplies and materials. The result was our atelier. Our atelier has become one our most beloved rooms in the house. It acts as our art studio, science lab, library, writing center and playroom. My favorite part about this space is that it is ever-evolving and changes along with the interests of my daughters. I love to re-visit the atelier every six months or so to refresh and rotate materials, books,and activities. It is always inspiring to see how the girls interact in the space independently and the creative projects that emerge from their time there.
SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of your business.
Mariah: Because it is very important to me that my business allows me to do what I love and be a full-time mom, I am always tuning into the stages of development and interests of my daughters. In many ways I follow their lead as I decide what projects to take on next. The girls are at a very social age (ages seven and eight) and now many of the learning experiences we share include a larger circle of their friends. I have many ideas stirring around in my mind for a book project that explores the social development of children as they get a bit older. For many years I was under the impression that children need less guidance from us as they grow older—but I am finding that just the opposite is true. As their social worlds grow, so does the complexity of the situations they face and I think it would be helpful to explore activities and projects that will help them gain confidence and have the tools they need to successfully maneuver any circumstances that they may encounter.
I also feel that finding a way to channel children's love of technology into a positive direction is something I would like to focus on. This summer I ran my first e-course for children called Through the Lens: Explorations in Photo Journaling. We had 60 children from all over the world connecting with and learning from each other in a safe and protected online environment. They would engage in meaningful projects with a parent at home and then share their work online. The children of this generation have a natural attraction towards technology and it is important to find outlets for them to channel it in positive ways. I feel strongly that technology has enormous potential when utilized as a way to demonstrate their understanding and as a medium for self-expression rather than an end activity in and of itself. When used as a tool for self-expression the potential is unlimited. I see Playful Learning playing a role in creating more meaningful online experiences for children, parents and teachers.
For today's giveaway, Mariah Bruehl is generously offering the following to ONE lucky winner:
~ a copy of the book Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder
and a space in the Playful Learning Spaces E-Course, which starts Wednesday, September 14.
In addition, Mariah is also offering a 10% discount for all SouleMama readers who register for the Playful Learning Spaces E-Course by Friday, August 19th. Use code SOULEREADER at checkout.
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Thank you to Mariah Bruehl of Playful Learning!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winner is...
Wow, this sounds amazing! How I'd love to win!
Posted by: abbie
{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
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SoulePapa Blogs :: Absorbing it all
I remember the conversation Amanda and I had as this third book started to take on its identity in the very early stages of conception, before we started writing. It was kind of a global, "what do we want to do with our lives" chat that ran in tangents off topic and back again. We knew we wanted to start looking in earnest for a farmhouse so we slipped into that familiar discussion which lead to the geographical area of where we should be looking for a house discussion. Should we be within twenty minutes of Portland? It takes twenty minutes just to drive across town. An hour? More? How far do we want to roam from family? How will our homeschooling days change in each of these possible places? Before long our heads were dizzy with the complexities of life decisions and their repercussions for each child and ourselves. My heart rate was up and I hadn't even left the couch (does this count as a workout I wondered?).
Very calmly and precisely Amanda said, "I need to slow down."
The words sat in the air for a moment as I heard them, and then sort of evaporated. My breath came back to me as I realized, "of course." Just like that it was easy to see. For this lady, my lady, her life and her writing and her work had all evolved into a nutshell of living in the moment. Taking the time, as we stroll through this life, to notice the small wonders that make up our day. Well, with our growing family those moments come and go and ebb and flow and string together to make months and years and moments become momentum and instead of a poet on the beach you're a firefighter in the street and you're stamping with both feet and...it can happen to anybody.
I remember we kept talking for a long time. This book didn't have to be about what we were doing right this minute. It can be about how we want to live out our year, our life that we make moving ahead. Nothing drastic need be done, we just continue to live. But, we seek out and feel the vibrations of the natural world all around.
Whether we notice or not, the tide will pull and the tide will sway and it can change the weather which can change your day. We are not, any of us, separate from this landscape on which we move across. We can feel distant or removed but, like the arms of a strong parent, its embrace is always there. For us, it appeared to be time to remember, to breathe easier and to return that embrace.
Since the book arrived, I've shared a couple of my essays with Calvin and Ezra. I was so happy to see their pleasure in reading them. I think they were thrilled, partly, because they were in the stories. I also like to think that maybe they understand me and all of the love that I have for them a little bit more when they can see those feelings as written words. Our many days of work laid out in front of them, their hands on the paper turning the page.
Naturally, we still ebb and flow and the peace in our days comes and it goes. We do our best to notice these things. To turn our noses to the breeze and close our eyes if even just for that moment.
{We hope to see some of you at Longfellow Books tonight at 7:00!! Please drop in and say hi if you're able, it would be so nice to meet you.}
into the woods
Yesterday, we spent the day in the woods. Not our woods, but a destination nearby, on public land, where our family gathers regularly with other homeschooling families.
Getting all seven of us out the door at a designated morning time is a tricky thing. It's not necessarily a pretty thing. I needn't paint that picture for anyone who has shuffled a child (or themselves) out the door in the morning (and most of you do it far more often than I - hats off to you!). Inevitably, someone forgets one shoe (what?), the chickens all escape as we pull out of the driveway, and then someone has to pee. But .. this morning drive was made easier by night-before packing, and the much-loved treat of breakfast smoothies placed into each sleepy child's hand as I directed them right to the car. We made it out the door without any tears, high-fived ourselves, and counted it as a small victory.
Getting all seven of us engaged in the same activity, at the very same time, is a tricky thing, too. The two year olds among us get frustrated that they can't use the knife in the same way that the ten year olds do. The ten year olds get frustrated with the songs the two year olds love. And so on and so forth. But, there's something magic in those woods - or the mountain - or the shore - or our backyard. Everything is made easier by the freedom we find when we give ourselves over into the arms of the earth. When we aren't rushed, when we are given the time to just be there, I watch as everyone settles into their own rhythm. My oldest heads out of sight with his friends - close enough that I can still hear their giggles, but far enough so that they can be together 'alone'. My eight year old wanders barefoot along the bank of the stream, humming a song and tapping his fingers on a tree. My five year old is focused and deep in the stream and in the work of building a dam with her best friend, talking about their respective cats all the while. My two year old has found a patch of wild berries, where he quietly picks and watches the children all around him. My husband moves quietly around the youngest ones, making sure they're safe while looking around and dreaming himself (I imagine). And on my chest lies a sleeping baby, sighing heavily in her sleepy breaths and reminding me to do the same. To breathe this magic in deeply.
On this relative tiny piece of the earth - accessible by all - I have seen many seasons pass with my children, and watched as they have come to know it deep in their souls. The same can be said of other places in our lives, and I know in yours too. For there are pieces of earth to be explored no matter where you live, and subtle changes in it, no matter if the temperature is the same in February as it is in May. And most certainly, when we allow ourselves and our children to just be there, there is magic to be found, always.
In seven seemingly different directions, at seven seemingly different places in our lives, I see that in these moments, we are all in fact, connected to one another. Breathing the same fresh air, hearing the same bird songs, and walking the same green paths. We arrive to it slightly frazzled and full of everyday family dischord. We leave a lot quieter, full of peace, and with our hearts connected for having shared it all together.
These are the moments we thought a lot about in the writing of The Rhythm of Family. They're the kinds of moments that we now work even harder at experiencing and sharing as a family, as a result of writing The Rhythm of Family. And they are precisely the kind of moments I hope this book will inspire you to create more of in your own days. Sometimes we all need a little reminder to slow it down.
{Three of the lovely contributors to The Rhythm of Family currently have giveaway copies of the book available on their blogs right now - Maya of Maya*Made , Heather at Beauty that Moves, and Heather at Shivaya Naturals. (Thank you, ladies!)}
officially
{Family beach shot by Jessie Fields.}
....some outtakes from The Rhythm of Family. Which is officially available today!
(Find a copy in my Shop, at Shambhala, through Amazon, or any of the lovely local spots you like to frequent. And a reminder that we'll be at Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine on Thursday night for a little book party! C'mon by!)
We're headed into the woods for the day! It seems like the right way to celebrate with these four little ones (and Annabel) who inspired the creation of this book, worked on it alongside us, and now proudly hold it in their hands.
Wishing you a peaceful day, and joy in the season you are in!
in my kitchen
This week, in our kitchen, I have...
:: fallen crazy-in-love with the hour before dinner spent in the garden seeing what's ready, gathering it, and planning what to have for dinner.
:: spent so much time blanching, freezing, pickling, canning and otherwise preserving the abundance.
:: felt grateful that the kitchen that kept us COLD in wintertime, is at least keeping us COOL in the summertime heat.
:: dreamt a little bit more about my someday-in-the-distant-future dream wood cook stove.
:: worked through the long-day, pre-dinner energy slump by trying to keep our summer meals simple. Roasted veggies over pasta. Roasted veggies over rice. Grilled veggies over greens. (You get the idea.)
:: walked out the door and gone for ice cream (for dinner!) when even "simple" feels like too much.
:: made, and loved, this popcorn variation a whole lot.
:: shelled a whole lot of peas.
:: eaten even more, whole and fresh off the plant.
:: said goodbye to peas and zucchini and hello to cucumbers and the early potatoes.
:: brought in the first tomato! And cut it six ways...
:: rung the dinner bell and seen my people coming running from five different directions.
:: listened to a whole lot of Beastie Boys, courtesy of my after-dinner clean up crew of boys (because when you're washing dishes, you choose the music, y'know?).
:: seen kale in the sink, at the cutting block, in the freezer, in the blender, in the oven, still in the garden, and definitely coming out of my ears.
:: made this yummy zucchini chocolate cake for my honey's birthday. Then made it again. And one more time. (It's good!)
:: remembered how much we love the easy and satisfying Blueberry Crisp in The Art of Simple Foods.
:: made our favorite pulled pork for the last time until winter.
:: made a lot of quick and easy "pizza" for lunch with dinner leftovers, over bread, inspired by a friend.
:: enjoyed fruit and veggie smoothies for lunch nearly every day (our 'recipe' is in The Rhythm of Family!)
It's a busy place, this kitchen of ours!
What's going on in YOUR kitchen this week?
SouleMama Sponsor ~ IMAGINE CHILDHOOD ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Imagine Childhood. In Sarah's own words:
"... a little nature... a little imagination... a lot of play. Toys, tools and activities for growing minds. Imagine Childhood is a family owned and operated company offering high quality environmentally conscious toys and activities that encourage exploration, creativity, and open-ended unstructured play."
You can follow along on the Imagine Childhood blog as well!
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to do the work you do today?
Sarah: I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I feel like the path that has led me to where I am today has been a circular one. Growing up I had always wanted to be involved in primary education in one way or another. But college led me in a different direction, toward the world of art, where I lived for quite a while thereafter. It actually wasn’t until I worked in exhibition design for the Field Museum of Natural History, that I began to recognize a familiar texture beneath my feet, roots and stones on a path that I’d navigated before. I wasn’t teaching per se, but I was beginning to come back to the idea of developing conduits for information, of putting time and care into how ideas could be shared with children. Now in the work that I am doing at Imagine Childhood, in the shop and the blog as well as a new venture into the world of writing, I feel like I’ve come back to where I started, but this time with a completely different perspective... one that I could only get from going the long way around.
SouleMama: What inspires you?
Sarah: Right now it’s the space in between. The spaces between the leaves on the tree outside my window that collapse and expand depending on the wind. The space in between breaths where everything, even my body, is completely quiet for a millisecond. The space between thought and action where everything lives in a world of unbridled potential.
SouleMama: Tell us about your customers.
Sarah: Our customers are, in short, amazing. Families of all shapes and sizes that generously share their stories, and sometimes even their adventures (in the nature walk series on our blog) with us. Every time I get an email or a call where someone explains the look on their 4 year old’s face after using binoculars for the first time, or the happiness that a simple wooden growth chart brought to a kid’s oncology ward (when a nurse who worked there had the wisdom to know that it was important to measure positive growth too) I feel lucky. Really lucky. I feel lucky to be in a business, that most days, doesn’t feel like business at all. I feel lucky to share in a community of people who are so engaged with and devoted to the growth of their families in every way, physiologically, emotionally and intellectually. I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that our customers are inspiring.
SouleMama: What's the product or offering you're most excited about right now? Tell us about it.
Sarah: With just a hint of autumn rolling on the wind, I’m excited about our back to school goods and the blank notebooks! A school nerd from the start, my favorite thing growing up was that stack of fresh empty notebooks that I would receive each fall. They were crisp and clean, just waiting to be filled to the brim.
For today's giveaway, Imagine Childhood is generously offering the following to ONE lucky winner:
~ a $75 gift certificate to Imagine Childhood!
In addition, Imagine Childhood is offering 10% off all orders placed between now and August 12th, as well as free shipping for all orders over $100. Use code "soulemama" at checkout. Discount expires 8/12/11. ** Also, get an additional 5% off (making it a 15% discount!!) by "liking" us on Facebook.
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Thank you to Imagine Childhood!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winner is....
Back to School! Love new beginnings and the little things that make those events special--like a new lunchbox, or fun composition book. Thanks for the giveaway!
Posted by: Jane G Meyer
SouleMama Sponsor ~ BACKWOODS MAMA ~
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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Backwoods Mama Spring Sew Camp. In Kathy's own words:
"Backwoods Mama Spring Sew Camp is an ongoing online sewing course for advanced begginer sewing Mamas with a little bit of a backwoods mindset: to live sustainably, mindfully and in sync with the rhythms of nature. Through video and written instruction, the camp counsellor (me) will walk you through the process of sewing up a spring collection designed to work functionally for chores at hand while still looking cute, presentable and maybe even slightly gussied up!"
You can follow along with Kathy on her blog While Tangerine Dreams, find her fiber in her yarn shop, and the clothing she makes in her shop While Jupiter Dreams.
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to do the work you do today?
Kathy: Upon completing my degree in Communication Studies I worked in advertising for five years before retiring from the corporate world to teach yoga full time. After my first baby I wanted to stay closer to the homefront and then wanted that homefront to be closer to the woods. So my husband, daughter and I packed up our gear and moved out to the boonies. We now have another baby, plus some chickens and a family cow, are living in our dream strawbale house and attempting to live as self-sustainable and simply as possible. Part of my approach to this goal is to challenge myself either to obtain all our clothes from second hand sources, as Christmas gifts from my mom or make them myself. There appears to be a large community of women with a similar calling so this sew camp seeemed to be an ideal and fun way to connect with them and share my busy backwoods mama approach to sewing. Let's just say it's a little different from your typical high school home ed class.
SouleMama: What does a typical day for you look like?
Kathy: I wake up at six o'clock to milk our sweet cow Daisy. I reunite her with her baby, Meatballs, and make myself a mean, fresh from the cow latte. With said latte in hand, I run across the garden to my husband's solar powered office while he feeds the kids breakfast. Here I get some work done before I relieve him at 9:00. It's then farm chores and/or homeschooling until lunchtime. Mommy tea time happens from 1:00 to 2:00 where I check email and prepare for homeschooling lessons while the kids have quiet time or at least jump on my bed. Whatever they do they just can't talk to me. In the afternoon, if we're not off on some great outdoor adventure I manage to get some crafting done here and there while I listen to the kids get into really intruguing imaginative play. We have an early dinner at 5:00, get the kids in bed at 7:00 and Craig and I get to hang out on the couch, while I knit, before bed time; typically 10:00.
SouleMama: What inspires you?
Kathy: The beauty of my surroundings inspires me. The first thing I do upon waking is look out our sliding door that frames the beauty of the mountains that lured us out here. Once outside the sweet smelling air (yes, that's how I describe cow smells) reminds me of the sacredness of our connection with nature and in turn each other, no matter where it is we might live, and our duty to make our impact on her as minimal as possible. My class pariticpants inspire me as well. The posititve energy that excudes when one is willing to hone a life skill both invigorates me and gives me hope for a brighter future for the world at large.
SouleMama: What artists/crafters/teachers have inspired you?
Kathy: My mother is the artist, crafter and teacher that has inspired my life; especially in the cooking and sewing arena. I grew up playing alongside the sound of her sewing machine as well as falling asleep to the whir. I have a video interview here with her where she shares her approach to fostering a love for sewing.
For today's giveaway, Backwoods Mama is generously offering the following to THREE lucky winners:
~ a spot in the Spring Sew Camp!
In addition, SouleMama readers are offered 20% off the Spring Sew Camp with the discount code: soulemamamama. Valid until September 1, 2011.
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Thank you to Backwoods Mama!
To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post in the coming week.
Comments closed! The winners are...
I hope I didn't miss this giveaway! I would love this!!!
Posted by: JeckabeeI want this one so, so, so bad (if I don't win, I'm paying for it!) I love Kathy's blog (and her too, from what I've been introduced to thus far!). Thanks!!
Posted by: Jennifer Stakovits (Jennifer - please email me at soulemamaATgmail.com!)I've been trying to win a spot in one of her sew camps for two seasons now!! Thanks for the chance. xo
Posted by: meghann
{this moment}
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
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the rhythm of family :: in the news
Hot off the press (typewriter) and fresh on the newsstand (refrigerator), sandwiched in between Calvin's summer camp schedule and Adelaide's recent book list, I bring you this bit of news from The Daily Soule News (written by Ezra):
"Amanda and Steve Soule with a new book!
Amanda and steve soule wrote a new book. It comes out August 9th. You can get it at Longfellow Books Portland, me. The name of the book is The Rhythm of Family. Amanda Soule also wrote the creative family and handmade home."
Yes! We are fast approaching August 9th...the official release date of The Rhythm of Family. A few book-related details I want to fill you all in on and remind you of today:
~ Signed copies are now available through My Shop (yes, we can ship internationally!). They're also at Roost Books (an imprint of Shambhala), Amazon, or wherever else you may love to buy your books.
~ We are just beginning to ship the books ordered through my Shop. I thank you for your support and purchases and patience as they make their way out my door! I love this part - it is such a treat to see so many names and email addresses that I've come to "know" through the comments here over the years, and so much fun to be sending this little book of ours out into all the corners of the world. Such an incredible honor, really.
~ If you want a peek inside the book, Roost Books has placed the Table of Contents up for browsing!
~ I'll keep this page as up-to-date as I can with reviews of the new book, if you're interested in seeing those.
~ In somewhat related news, I've just learned that The Creative Family and Handmade Home are both now available as eBooks! (Rhythm of Family may become available in the future, but is not at this time.)
~ And last but not least, Next Thursday, August 11th at 7pm, Steve and I will be at Longfellow Books in Portland, Maine for a book signing. Come on by if you're local! We would love to see you there.
Oh! And the above-mentioned editor of my local family newspaper, a young Mr. Ezra Stanley Soule, has just asked me to write the Foreword to his current book-in-progress! I'm honored, indeed. I can't reveal too much of its contents, as it's a gift for a special (blog reading) family member. But I will tell you that he's given me twenty-four hours (how's that for a deadline?!) to write this piece, in which I must connect George Washington and Diana Ross.
I've got some work to do!
berries blue
Last week, we made the journey to our favorite spot for blueberry picking - Rivard's Farm in Springvale, Maine. It always was a bit of a journey for us, but in our new home, it's even more of a journey. We hemmed and hawed over whether it really made sense to drive all that extra distance "just" for berries (precious time, precious ecosystem and all those important things).
We went for it, though. And it was a gorgeous day - the picking was perfect and plentiful, the children happy, the weather nice and cool, and the berries even more amazing than I remember. We filled up our baskets while I dreamed of jam and pie, and counted how many pounds I could freeze. I watched my children run up and down the rows and eat as many berries as they collected. More, really, because they kept stealing from mine. Classic. I think Steve and I even managed a conversation between the picking and the parenting. I felt myself filling up with contentment with each basketful.
When everyone tired of the picking, we gathered our loot and headed to the white farmhouse at the bottom of the hill. There, on the front porch, we found the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Rivard, playing a game of cards together (last year I specifically remember them eating cookies and drinking tall glasses of milk). Just the sight of them made my smile wider, my heart warmer. After weighing the berries and paying, we exchanged quick hellos, talked about berries, the weather, the farm, and their grandchildren (25 of them, to be precise). They don't know us from the next customer - but oh, we know them and remember them from year to year, and care for them in our thoughts.
Married for 63 years, this time I asked them what advice they had to share. Talking over each other excitedly, she said, "We never fight." and he responded with a sweet smile on his face, "I decided a long time ago, I'd rather be happy than right."
The morning spent picking berries with my children was lovely, the pie we had after dinner that night was divine, and I am quite certain that the jam we make and the blueberry pancakes we eat come February will be such a treat. But I remembered in that simple little exchange that getting our berries is about so much more than "just" the food. It always is.
(And I do hope Steve was listening.)
the first egg(s)
Hooray!!
The new girls in town have joined the older ladies by laying their first egg(s)! Calvin's Rhode Island Red's were the first, and just two days ago, the Americaunas joined in the laying fun with that lovely light shade of blue/grey shell. It's gorgeous. I'm in love with their eggs (even if they are smart and sneaky little chickens...flying over the fence like no other breed we have. And while we're talking breeds, can I mention how my love for the buffs have grown? They really are the gentlest, sweetest ladies of all, and such consistent layers to boot).
While Calvin readies his marketing materials (and plans his first Itunes purchases); and I plan the next quiche for dinner (and fawn over and photograph the lovely rainbow of colors in our egg tray); Adelaide is on day two of a stake-out in the chicken yard, determined to find out precisely which of the 36 birds out there are laying, and which 'first egg' belongs to whom. She's quite certain it came from the one she named Rooster. Naturally.
Well. Whether it was Rooster or Hat or Strawberry or Snowy or any of the others that only she can identify...we thank them for their gifts!
these summer days
Turning the calendar page to August today, browsing the photos from a weekend gathering with family, hearing the sounds of my children calling me outside this morning....I am reminded to not let another chance to jump in pass me by this season. These days of summer are not forever, but they are happening now.
The time to jump in is now, my friends.
"Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?"
~ Mary Oliver
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Greetings! I'm Amanda Blake Soule - mother of five, author of four books on family creativity, editor & owner of Taproot Magazine. I live with my family in an old farmhouse in Western Maine where we raise animals, grow vegetables and make lots of things. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting!
