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A scene from this weekend's performance of The Harvest Day, a play in three acts. Showing throughout the weekend, in the library, at 11am, 2 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm, or anytime upon request.
We are enjoying the lingering feeling of a long weekend, and hope you're doing the same! See you back here on Tuesday...
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Artefacto Apparel. In Leslie's words:
"Artefacto Apparel creates simple, comfortable and versatile clothing for women made exclusively from a hemp/organic cotton blend fabric, and dyed in small-batch form. We offer a “modular” wardrobe which consists of different styles that are available in a variety of lengths and colors. Our clothing is designed to be mixed, matched, and layered in endless ways, allowing women to have effortless style.
I am building my Facebook audience. “Like” my page and enter a raffle for a free give-away! I’ll be regularly holding give-away raffles, as well as other promotions, so it’s really worth connecting to. Also, it’s a great way to get sneak-peeks at new designs.
I’ve recently completely re-vamped my entire line of clothing. If you haven’t checked out my Etsy store in the recent couple weeks, head on over because it’s a whole new place!"
SouleMama: Tell us about the beginnings of your business.
Leslie: I’ve been sewing since I was a child. My grandmother was a professional seamstress and she and my mother taught me endless amounts about making clothes. I began Artefacto in 2008, however at the time I only sold clothing at a handful of local artisan fairs. Then in 2012, I opened up an Etsy shop. Until recently, Artefacto Apparel has been a part-time venture that I did alongside being a college Spanish teacher (yes, I had an entirely separate career and life, unrelated to sewing), as well as raising my children. It wasn’t until the universe conspired in some powerful ways in my family’s life, and my husband’s career (ways that at the time seemed like endless adversities, yet have turned out to be blessings in disguise), that I decided to drop my teaching job and dive head first into making and selling clothing. So as of this past June, Artefacto Apparel is my full-time job (alongside my other Full-Time Job of raising four kids!)! I guess you could say that I had a bit of a “quantum” moment in life, and I decided that I wanted to take a chance on doing what I really love! After all, we only get one chance to live, so it’s important to not have any regrets!
SouleMama: What inspired you to start your business?
Leslie: The main reason I started my business was because I wanted to make clothing that I couldn’t find in the marketplace. During college and graduate school I spent a lot of time living and travelling in Europe and Latin America. It wasn’t the fashion that I saw in any one city or country in particular that inspired me, but the overall exposure to the fibers, fabrics, and colors of the world that I had accumulated throughout my time abroad that led me to the designs that I create in Artefacto Apparel. I saw how women in other countries fearlessly and effortlessly layered their clothing, and I wanted to be able to bring that same sense of style to my customers, without needing to have an innate sense of fashion themselves. In essence, I wanted to be able offer a “curated” wardrobe of sorts, composed of layering pieces, enabling women to look and feel beautiful without them having to “think about it.” I’m a busy woman and I know the value and importance of being able to “throw” something comfortable on in the morning, without that “something” being a pair of sweat pants. So my goal with Artefacto Apparel is to offer an eco-friendly wardrobe in which women can do more with less; a wardrobe that has no rules, just options.
SouleMama: What inspires you?
Leslie: I am inspired time and time again by anyone who is self-actualized, and is true to their inner voice, and the pursuit of their dharma. I am inspired by what I could be five, or ten years from now, or twenty, if I stay true to my dreams and to the belief that anything is possible. I recently saw the movie “Man on a Wire” which documents the story of Phillipe Petit, a Frenchman who high-wire walked between the Twin Towers in 1974. It took him years to plan the event and he needed the help an entire team to pull it off. When he was arrested after completing the walk, the police asked him “Why did you do it?” His response was: “Why not?” I thought it was brilliant! He followed a dream not because it made any sense, but because it came from a sacred inner place of truth. I ask myself time and time again what the world would be like if we could all live our lives so audaciously!
SouleMama: Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?
Leslie: Yes, I have so many! In fact, these days I litter my house and studio with inspirational quotes. It’s important for me to nourish my spirit with ideas that are positive and uplifting, and continuously remind me that I’m part of a universe that supports me. Henry David Thoreau and Mark Twain have endless quotes of inspiration. But Rumi always seems to come though, time and time again. A few of my favorite are:
“What you seek is seeking you”
“Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.”
“Respond to every call that excites your spirit”
For today's giveaway, Artefacto Apparel is generously offering the following gift to ONE winner:
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 9:00 am EST on Sunday, and announce the winner, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winner is...
gorgeous clothing. The ease of the clothes looks amazing!
Posted by: melissa
Thank you, Artefacto Apparel!
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{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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Ah, these days in the garden....are mostly being spent in the kitchen! Freezing and fermenting more beans (more beans! Oh wow), roasting tomatoes, drying herbs, and making pickles.
In the garden, I'm still working on harvesting the potatoes - I have just one more variety to go. So far we're at three bushels going into storage, though it looks like it might ultimately be five which I'm so thrilled about. It's turned out to be our best potato year yet. Lots of you have asked about potato storage - we store them in paper bags, on shelves, in our dirt floor basement that keeps a humidity of 90 degrees. We are working on improving ventilation right now which will help the air circulation down there, a problem we had last year. This Mother Earth News article is a great starting point for root cellar planning.
Tomatoes are coming in slowly, and at a decent yield....but it's never quite enough. I think the only way I'll be able to grow enough of the tomatoes that we really need to preserve, I'll have to make the switch to growing them in a greenhouse. For this year, I'm putting as much as I can in the freezer.
Cold frame building and cover crop planting are at the very top of my to do list this week, and I'm hoping that this coming weekend both of those are done. But that'll mean keeping up with everything that's coming out of the garden, which is a whole lot right now! I think I'll have to put some of these helpers of mine to work in the garden.
Our next garden update will be in September! That's so hard to believe, but true. Enjoy these last August days in your gardens, friends!
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If you're keeping garden notes and photographs and want to share it with the rest of us, do leave a comment with a link so that we may take a stroll through your garden too! It's a delight to see what and how things are growing all over, and to read the comments with such great gardening wisdom! Thank you all for continuing to share in this little project.
There are potatoes that are in serious need of being harvested, tomatoes that need roasting and freezing, grass that needs mowing, and if I'm being honest with myself, a house that is in serious need of some cleaning. And you know I want to paint those benches.
But this time of year? As the August days are winding down, and I'm spying surprising shocks of red on the trees (really, so soon?)....now is the time to say yes. Yes to the beach. Yes to the lake. Yes to the ocean. Yes to picnics in the park. Yes, yes, yes.
And so we did, yesterday.
And today, I woke up early to harvest the potatoes and roast the tomatoes. The grass and the house can wait. For now, we're going back to the beach.
Yes, yes, yes....to summer.
Will it upset you if I talk about holiday gifts? I'm sorry. I assure you I am the very last person who would wish away summer, and that's not at all what I'm doing. But, there are the realities that soapmaking takes a good deal of curing time; that fall is an incredibly full time of year for us (I can hear the Nutcracker music creeping into the back of my head already); and well, we've been bringing in so many herbs from the garden to preserve, and store, and use in potions and lotions....and soaps! I've been eager to get to it.
And so it is that I've found myself up late a few nights this week, making batches of Calendula Soap, Honey Oatmeal, and Mint as well. Though I don't know if I'll ever get over my moment of fear each time I open the lye, the rest of the process is fun and relaxing. (This post from last year has all of my favorite soap making resources and great tips in the comments too.)
While the actual act of making the soap wasn't for the kids at all (the lye! the lye!), the rest of the process certainly is. From harvesting the flowers and drying and storing them....and now to the fun part of 'packaging' our soap for giving. Adelaide is on top of the artwork, Calvin's the official first tester of each kind, Ezra is in charge of creative naming, and Harper and Annabel are on the production team - helping me craft the labels and put it all together. This is going to be fun!
Friends, I have a new crafty love interest. Power tools! I am head over heels in love at the moment with a pile of fresh lumber, a saw, some screws and a drill. Smitten, actually.
My children are clearly far ahead of me on this passion - Steve says he's always running out of nails and screws and can never find his drill, for all the places they take it for all the various projects they have going around the place - forts, refreshment stands, ramps for bikes and skateboards, "houses" for all kinds of animals they plan on trapping and keeping. And while sometimes I'll lend a hand to a project that someone else is working on, I haven't really done a lot on my own. Not for lack of interest, I don't think, but for lack of time and freedom to do so. Little babes clinging so tightly to Mama's legs are not so conducive to working with saws, now are they? But my babes are growing and with that, a freedom that comes with having both hands free, for exploring new things. I'm loving that.
I started truly easy peasy and simple in my efforts. The Modern Park Bench plans from Ana White seemed doable for me upon first glance...and it really was. With kids nearby, helping me measure and drill, the first bench came together so smoothly. And just as soon as that one (slightly crooked) bench was finished, I can't tell you how pleased I was. Nearly ready to abandon all other forms of occupation to dedicate myself to furniture building. Ha! That's what building one (slightly crooked) first bench will do to a girl.
I made a couple more over the weekend, bringing me to a lovely set of three. They aren't quite finished - I need to sand and then paint. I think my family is quite sick of hearing me belabor over the color choices for my simple little benches (blue lake or blue toile?), and the ultimate placement of them (all three around the firepit, or scattered about in different spots through the gardens and pasture?). But they have no idea what's coming their way - for I've got great plans. If I can build a simple (slightly crooked) bench, surely I can make some cold frames, and a table for us to use outdoors, and a bed frame while I'm at it. Right? Why not.
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{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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Oh, things are looking a little....wild....out there in the garden these days! I think that's the right word for it - so many things have passed now, and the weeds are plentiful. But so too are the vegetables and flowers still to come. The berries have all but finished, excepting the elderberries which are very close to ready. I'm excited to play with those a bit.
And after fretting about the potatoes - we were hit hard by the potato bugs towards the end - I started to harvest some of them and was so pleased at what I found. Just one row of potatoes is what you see in the photos above, with seven more to harvest! Those are all the variety Satinas, which we've heard good things about from friends and are so happy to have tried this year.
The onions are all drying now, alongside the garlic under the garden shed roof. The smell is divine.
We're enjoying (truly) a small break from the beans, as bush beans are done and pole beans not quite ready. There's an entire freezer shelf dedicated to those frozen beans now, not to mention all the jars fermented and canned. With more to come, we'll be well stocked in beans this winter.
And I'm roasting tomatoes every day - also headed to the freezer or fermenting jars. Yes...the garden shift is definitely into the kitchen these days. Next week I'll share some kitchen happenings, as I know so many of us are spending our time there right now, preserving and enjoying the harvests.
A twenty five pound bag of winter rye seed is in my garden shed now, waiting for me to use it on some beds as a cover crop - something we've never done here before. I'm excited to see what that does to our soil for next year, and excited, really, to be "planting" in late August - whatever it may be.
And on that note - both kitchen and garden are calling! I do hope you are enjoying your gardens this wee too, friends!
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If you're keeping garden notes and photographs and want to share it with the rest of us, do leave a comment with a link so that we may take a stroll through your garden too! It's a delight to see what and how things are growing all over, and to read the comments with such great gardening wisdom! Thank you all for continuing to share in this little project.
I haven't really knit in months. It's seasonal, of course, as my hands have been busy with lots of other things - mostly dirt and food (it's garden season, after all). And yet...as these days of August start to wind down, I am starting to feel the urge. Mind you, I have no interest in rushing summer - it is my very favorite time of year and hope for many more warm summer days ahead. There are a great number of backyard barbeque's still to be had, and I haven't been swimming nearly enough to call it a full summer. But still, that feeling to have something warm in my hands, keeping my fingers busy, I've been feeling that. Talking to my knitting friends, I am not alone. It seems we're all at the least thinking about knitting. And that's something, isn't it? The beginnings of what is to come...
And you? Are you knitting yet?
I don't remember a single meal at my grandparents house - either set of them - at which dessert was not served immediately after the dinner dishes were cleared. In my Meme's kitchen, a treasure of a lady, but not so much a fan of cooking, it was often nothing more than Gifford's French Vanilla Ice Cream with Grapenuts cereal mixed in, which she ate every single night whether there was company or not. We adored it, sitting around her kitchen table, waiting for the ice cream to soften the Grapenuts just a bit. More often than not, she had her dessert with a very small glass of white wine (with a single ice cube) that I swear (despite my quick Google searching coming up with nothing) was made at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, where she stayed for a visit annually (she had a little bit of an obsession with The Sound of Music, my dear Meme). She was a wisp of a thing - just 5'3" and rarely topping a hundred pounds - and despite how sophisticated to me (and everyone else) she always was, I remember eating dessert with her at that table on so many nights, her knees tucked under her on the chair, almost like a child. It felt like grown-up girlfriend time, being invited to her table to share in her nightly ritual. And despite how full the table was, as it sometimes was with cousins and friends, it always felt so special. And oh, that simple dessert was absolutely delicious because of it.
In my Nana's kitchen, cooking was something she delighted in, particularly on Sunday when the house was always open to and usually full of her children and grandchildren for an early Sunday dinner. An avid vegetable gardener, it was always a seasonal treat that was served, and very often, from her own backyard - strawberry shortcake, blueberry crumble and apple crisp. In the winter, we had canned peaches over ice cream. There were often so many of us that the kids would eat first, a gaggle of cousins gathered around the table enjoying her treats before retreating to the "rec room" in their house for chinese checkers, coloring and television while the adults lingered over their dessert.
We certainly didn't have dessert every night at my own house growing up, but often enough. Mom's chocolate chip cookies, with a glass of milk, was the perfect ending to lots of days, I remember. Asking my sisters this weekend what they remember, and how we each now do it in our homes with our own children - the answers ran all across the board from "every night!" to "hardly ever!" to "once in a while." Here, I suppose we fall into the category of 'when we feel like it'. Which is hardly ever night or even every week. But in celebration of something, or just because one of us feels inspired to make something.
Which is all to say (!) that we had a most delicious butterscotch pudding last night, just because. I used this recipe by David Lebovitz and was so pleased at how it came out. After a game of family wiffle ball, followed by dinner from the grill, we cleared the dinner dishes and commenced to enjoying our pudding dessert. Still plenty light out, and with a lovely late summer breeze keeping the bugs away and everyone comfortable. I've written before about my love for our Sunday dinners, my favorite meal of the week. And I'm thinking, I just might have to add dessert to those special Sunday dinners. In doing so, I think those special meals become even more a weekly celebration of our family. I do love that.
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Nova Natural Toys and Crafts. In Marisa's words:
"We sell toys and crafts that inspire and encourage children and families to learn, share and play together. By selling toys made in Europe, the U.S. or in fair trade businesses, we ensure that our products are as good for the people producing them as they are for our customers. Because our products are made primarily of natural materials like wood, cotton, silk and wool, we ensure that they are renewable and safe. It goes without saying that they are also fun!
Nova Natural has been the US distributor of Babylonia baby carriers for over 5 years, but we recently made a website and web store dedicated to just our baby carriers. It is full of information on babywearing and the 5 different types of Babylonia carriers. We still sell the carriers through Nova Natural, but you can also buy directly from our new website. Nova is excited to reach more people and spread the love of babywearing outside of the Nova Natural community."
SouleMama: What inspires you?
Marisa: I am the Babylonia Sales Manager and resident babywearing enthusiast, and recently attended the International Babywearing Conference in Tempe, AZ. It was so inspiring to see a room full of people wearing their babies. I was amazed that in a room with hundreds of babies, there was almost no crying. I also love hearing stories about how babywearing has changed peoples' lives. It is such a small thing, but it can make a huge difference in quality of life, especially in those first months of getting to know your new baby.
SouleMama: What's your favorite part of your job? The most challenging?
Marisa: I love seeing people realize how awesome babywearing is and what a difference it makes in the day to day life of a parent or caregiver. The hardest part of my job is convincing people to give babywearing a try! Babylonia wraps are all free of buckles and clips, so the learning curve is a little steeper. People tend to balk when faced with a big piece of fabric, but that lack of structure is what makes our carriers so comfortable.
SouleMama: What's the product or offering that you are most excited about in your shop right now? Tell us about it.
Marisa: My personal favorite baby carrier right now is the BB Tai. It is a Mei Tai style carrier, but with wide fabric straps that offer a perfect fit. My 1 year old loves being in it and I love having my hands free. Whenever he starts to get fussy, I can pop him on my back and he is content to peek over my shoulder for hours, or settle in for a nap.
For today's giveaway, Nova Natural Toys and Crafts is generously offering the following gift to THREE winners:
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:00 am EST on Monday, and announce the winners, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winners are...
Wow! I would love a BBTai! Just what I need to keep my 16 mo-old calm during schooling time.
Posted by: Leslie
Id love to win for my husband and baby #3!! Thanks for the chance!
Posted by: katbyrd
Love this sling! I'm 34 weeks pregnant with our 3rd right now, and plan to give baby wearing a try this time around... Thank you for the lovely give away (fingers crossed!)
Posted by: Erin
Thank you, Nova Natural Toys and Crafts!
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Lotus Path, LLC. In Sarah's words:
"Lotus Path, LLC is the vision and creation of Sarah Davidson, a lawyer turned holistic health coach and yoga teacher. Sarah is devoted to helping individuals and families establish and maintain a holistic approach to health and wellness by returning to real food, creating a balanced lifestyle and feeling joy and gratitude in daily life.
Sarah hosts and collaborates on wellness retreats throughout New England. For more information on these retreats, please visit her website and be sure to signup for her newsletter to stay updated with retreats, recipes and offerings."
SouleMama: Tell us about your background. What path led you to the work you do today?
Sarah: In February of 2013, my daughter Adeline, then 15 months old, began to experience a chronic and severe rash on her cheeks and legs. After numerous visits to doctors and specialists and many attempts on antibiotics, creams, and steroids, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I devoured medical journals, articles, and books on food allergies, food sensitivities and the gut-brain connection. I knew there had to be a better way.
I realized the onset of Adeline's rash coincided with the time period she began to wean from breastfeeding. During this time, dairy and other foods were being introduced and I knew these foods were wreaking havoc on her system. I eliminated the top allergen producing foods- dairy, gluten, corn, soy and eggs. We ate real foods and I did all the baking, creating and recipe building to ensure clean whole foods. I introduced probiotics and digestive enzymes to help restore the essential healthy gut bacteria needed for proper digestion and nutrient assimilation.
Adeline will be turning three this November and has been symptom free for over a year now. Her gut is healthy and we have been able to introduce raw dairy and eggs back into her diet.
I learned that food can be one person's poison and another person's medicine. My daughter at 15 months old taught me about bio-individuality, the concept of food as medicine, and inspired me to take my passion for health and nutrition to the next level and become a holistic health coach.
SouleMama: Is there a special place that inspires you?
Sarah: Water in all its forms inspires me. The ocean, rivers and lakes are always calling my name and I know that a few moments in meditation along a river or the rocky coast of Maine/New Hampshire with leave me centered, peaceful, and full of new ideas ready to take form.
SouleMama: What's your favorite part of your job?
Sarah: I love being able to connect with people from all different areas of the globe. My job allows me to listen deeply and support fully. I love celebrating with my clients on their accomplishments no matter the size.
SouleMama: Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?
Sarah: “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. . . . In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." Thoreau’s Walden.
For today's giveaway, Lotus Path, LLC is generously offering the following gift to ONE winner:
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:00 am EST on Sunday, and announce the winner, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winner is...
What a marvelous opportunity! I would be thrilled to be able to work with Sarah.
Posted by: Sarah Heimann
Thank you, Lotus Path, LLC!
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{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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Well! After a day of rain and a night of heavy storms that reportedly resulted in over six inches of rainfall yesterday, I was a little hesitant this morning to step out to the garden. It is, to be sure, a soggy place - a bit of a mess in some spots, but overall will be just fine after a day of sunshine as today promises to bring. The tomatoes will need a little bit more propping up and maybe even some drainage work around them, and I think the rain might have finished off the poppies, but I'm still counting ourselves lucky.
Otherwise, the garden is flourishing this week, in mid-August abundance. I've begun to harvest and dry the onions, one little bundle at a time when I find a minute to get out there. I never have been able to grow the onions as large as I'd like, but at least this year they are bigger than last. And in the squash, it's a treat to see some hints of orange on the pumpkins. Beans are still coming in by the five gallon bucket full headed to fermenting jars and freezer bags. I'm roasting tomatoes everyday and sending them to the freezer as well. And perhaps most of all, I am fully relishing the lack of evening meal planning in advance...and instead, enjoying my walk through the garden around four o'clock in the afternoon, harvesting what's fresh and putting together a meal from what we find there. It's one of the most wonderful things about summer to me.
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If you're keeping garden notes and photographs and want to share it with the rest of us, do leave a comment with a link so that we may take a stroll through your garden too! It's a delight to see what and how things are growing all over, and to read the comments with such great gardening wisdom! Thank you all for continuing to share in this little project.
These pictures, I think, summarize my world these days. There is ballet (always), and new additions to the farm (kittens!), and flowers - oh so many flowers. Gladiolas and sunflowers and calendula and zinnias and oh my goodness, did you see that the tansy is blooming? Right outside my kitchen door. It's my favorite.
This weekend I put together our fall schedule of classes and activities. It's a full schedule, as seems impossible to avoid these days. As they grow, so do their passions and the time needed to commit to those passions. It's all good - a pleasure, really - to watch it all unfold, to watch them become more of themselves with each passing year. But the days and nights will be full, and I'm not quite ready for that. There is a whole lot more summer to be had. With the last weeks of this season upon us, we are all diving into summer as best we can. Summer camps continue, backyard summer fun is the agenda for each day, and I have vowed to say yes to the lake and the ocean whenever it's even remotely possible. We are all truly loving every moment of these August days.
I wish you a lovely start to your week, friends!
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Silk Oak. In Jan's words:
"Silk Oak is hand printed, eco-friendly clothing made with love in Ithaca, NY since 1977!
For up to date info, check out our Facebook page."
For today's giveaway, Silk Oak is generously offering the following gift to ONE winner:
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:30 am EST on Monday, and announce the winner, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winner is...
Thanks for this opportunity! My little guy says if we win he wants a chicken tee. :)
Posted by: Megan Fennell
Thank you, Silk Oak!
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Lavender's Blue Homeschool. In Kelly's words:
"At Lavender’s Blue Homeschool I work with families who are looking for a holistic homeschooling method - one that nurtures their child’s creativity, spirit, and intelligence. I offer tons of free resources for the early years on the blog as well as complete Waldorf-inspired curriculums for kindergarten and first grade."
SouleMama: What's the one thing you can't live without?
Kelly: Tea! I survive winter by constantly keeping a mug of hot tea in hand but I can’t get through the summer without it either. My tea cupboard is kind of hilarious….and rather than rattle off options when a friend comes over, I just ask, “What’s your favorite?” (My favorites? Right now it’s Equal Exchange Green in the mornings and Sleepytime Vanilla before bed.)
SouleMama: What's the product or offering that you are most excited about in your shop right now? Tell us about it.
Kelly: I was thrilled to announce this summer that a first grade curriculum is now available! I feel strongly that holistic education has so much potential to change the world in a positive way, one child and family at a time. That’s why I’m super excited to offer homeschooling curriculums based on the Waldorf tradition but full of guidance, support, and step-by-step explanations for bringing this approach to your own children at home.
SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of your business.
Kelly: One of the questions I get most often is whether I’ll be writing curriculum for other grades ….and the answer is yes! I love writing curriculum and working with homeschooling families. The second grade curriculum is in progress - watch for it in July 2015!
For today's giveaway, Lavender's Blue Homeschool is generously offering the following gift to ONE winner:
Lavender’s Blue First Grade is designed to help you thrive in your first year of Waldorf-inspired homeschooling, with detailed lesson plans in form drawing, language arts, math, painting, and modeling, full-color pictures, a complete first-grade circle time, and all the information you need to feel confident and prepared!
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:00 am EST on Sunday, and announce the winner, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winner is...
The kindergarten curriculum looks splendid:) Thank you for such a wonderful giveaway!:)
Posted by: Michelle
Thank you, Lavender's Blue Homeschool!
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{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.
. . . . . . . . . .
The work of the garden has definitely shifted to the kitchen, rather than the garden beds. Just when I think I will have a bit of time to pay attention to the weeds, or to cleaning up after the garlic, I find something else entirely that needs to be canned, fermented, or frozen - right away! And that, I think, is the way of the August garden. So much goodness coming out of the garden.
The potato bugs may be winning the battle at the moment. A few people mentioned tossing a few chickens by way of the potatoes. Brilliant! We put some portable fencing around the potatoes and added a few laying hens, hoping they'd eat the bugs faster than we could pick them. They did! But they also dug up a whole bunch of not-quite-ready potatoes. So back to the pasture they went...and back to handpicking we are. Squash bugs too are requiring a twice-daily walk through the garden. I'm hopeful that we can keep that up long enough to harvest some of the squash before the bugs claim those plants as their own.
In happier news, the late blight that has been found in other parts of our state has not (yet) reached my garden. The tomatoes are looking wonderful this year. We are just at the beginning of harvesting those, though I think next week it will be full-on tomato time. It's my favorite, all those tomatoes. And the promise of all the sauces and salsas and ketchup that keep these kiddos of mine sustained all winter long.
Harper and I planted one hundred gladiola bulbs earlier in the spring, and this week they're all popping in color all over the garden and the yard. I love them! And they've reminded me to make a note to myself for more pink flowers in the garden next year. More flowers in general - I am having such a good time with the flowers this year.
We are at an amazing little window of time for berries - never before do I remember having blueberries, raspberries and blackberries all ripe at the same time, but that's just what's happening now. Such a treat! There is mostly a lot of snacking happening, but I'm tucking some away for jam making too.
And speaking of jam, have I told you about the sunberries? Wonderberries, they are sometimes called (they're in the quart box next to the raspberries in the photo above). I've never had a huckleberry but I'm told they're a bit like that. I picked up just two plants this year to try for the first time. They are producing so much that we've been enjoying them on salads all summer long, and I've even had enough to put up several batches of jam. They are my star of the garden this year, such a pleasant surprise they've been. Admittedly, they're a bit of a hassle to harvest so I wouldn't want more than a few plants (I hear some self-seeding may happen, so I'll be careful!). But I'm enjoying the two we have and telling everyone I can about the wonders of that little sunberry plant.
The other superstar of the garden? Once again, provider bush beans do just that - provide. Over and over and over I've been harvesting those green beans - and they're still coming!
Wishing you a lovely start to August in your own garden!
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If you're keeping garden notes and photographs and want to share it with the rest of us, do leave a comment with a link so that we may take a stroll through your garden too! It's a delight to see what and how things are growing all over, and to read the comments with such great gardening wisdom! Thank you all for continuing to share in this little project.
Oh my goodness. This one. She gives us a run for our money, as they say. I was worried a bit, in my pregnancy with her, about how she'd fit into the mix. About how she'd find her way in an already full family of characters and personality and energy. But of course she did, just perfectly, in a way that's all her own. She is a spitfire (I never understood that term until I met her), an absolutely sensitive sweetheart, and most definitely....In Charge (and a wee bit loud). I suppose that is what it's like to be the youngest of five.
She gets a little stuck these days, in a three year old way, on what she's wearing. For a while, it was bathing suits. Then as soon as she had an ample supply of bathing suits gifted to her, she moved onto other things. For now, it is this vintage dress (picked up for her older sister at Brimfield a few years ago), a rainbow cape (from Sarah's Silk's) that trails behind her everywhere she goes, and wellies for outside. And for inside...tap shoes (cast off from her older brothers). She keeps them by her bed when she goes to sleep at night. And when she wakes in the middle of the night, she slips into her tap shoes to walk the twenty yards to our bedroom, or to the bathroom, tap shoes then placed there and at the ready for when she wakes. It isn't that she wants to dance necessarily, as the boys have certainly tried (with every one of their siblings) to nurture another dancer in the family - and to no avail thus far. It's more, I think, that she wants to amplify the sounds she makes when walking. Did I mention she's a loud one? Fantastically loud.
Three is amazing. She is amazing. It's really all just so much fun, isn't it?
Weeks ago, when Steve started planning this past weekend's summertime adventure for the kids, we knew right away that it made the most sense for me to stay home. The farm, as it is at this very moment, is quite high maintenance in its needs. There are some electric fencing troubles that we've been having, the meat birds are at their peak - meaning they need watering and feeding and moving so as not to destroy the ground they're on several times a day, and well, there's just a whole mess of other things. Besides, with all the shuffling about of kids to camps and other summer adventures, and all the time I've been spending in the garden, I was feeling a bit behind on the work I needed to get done. Three days alone would be a perfect chance to play a bit of catch up.
Like any Mama with the promise of time alone, I fantasized for a good long while about how the weekend would go. I imagined I would efficiently crank out all of my work, and then get to what I perceived to be the real pleasure of the time alone. I thought about leisurely hammock-sits with a poetry book. I thought I'd bring my spinning wheel out into the garden and spin. I planned to sleep in. And eat ice cream...in bed. I even thought about watching a movie - in the middle of the day. Oh, the wild and crazy ideas of a mom left to her own devices!
I told a friend that I'd be home alone for the weekend and she laughed at me. "Amanda. Your idea of alone is most people's idea of a zoo!" And well, she's right. For when I say 'home alone" what I really meant was home with...a mother-in-law, ten sheep, approximately eighty chickens, four ducks, two goats, two pigs, two cats, three newly acquired kittens (oh yes), and what I think can still be fairly classified as a (giant) puppy. So, yeah. Not exactly alone. And perhaps not very leisurely at all.
I never did exactly have a sit with poetry in the hammock. And never did touch that spinning wheel. I fell asleep at 8pm watching a movie in bed before I could even remember to go get the ice cream, and my body - forever changed by children - woke up at 6am on the dot, ready to start the day.
Instead of all that, I cleaned the entire game cabinet in the library and sorted all the missing parts and pieces into where they belong. I spent an entire afternoon pulling thistle from the back pasture. I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the hearth and every square inch of the woodstove. I washed every floor in this house. I cleaned my closet. I fussed over a vase full of garlic scapes and queen anne's lace for a good twenty minutes until it was just precisely arranged how I wanted it to be. I lingered with the sheep at chore time.
Glamorous, isn't it? But you know what? It felt soooo good. Because all the while...my thoughts were my very own. And turns out, that's what I needed. To move at my own pace, to think, to get some house chores done that have been pestering me for a while. And to do so without interruption. All in the silence and calm of my house. Ah...
Of course, as it goes, several hours before they were all ready to come home, I was ready for them. More than ready. I sat anxiously waiting on the porch, eager to embrace each and every one of them. Ready for the noise. Ready for the fullness of it all. And that's precisely what I got - at dinnertime with everyone all together at the table for the first time in a long time (the boys are home from camp), there were all the sounds I've come to know deep in my bones as my family. We took a breath together, said our peaceful blessing...and then the everyday chaos began. There was some bickering over a sneaky switching of chairs that someone had done, a mild argument about dividing the beets evenly and fairly, a tumbled over glass of water, the tears of an overtired little girl....and stories of time away shared, new jokes told, and a whole lot of laughter. Loud, messy, and most definitely - a very full house. Just exactly how I like it best of all.
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, urban baby bonnets. In Colette's words:
"unique & totally original fabric combinations define our hip, artsy approach to kid’s apparel design. we’re more than just a store, more than just a brand. we move beyond craft and commerce. we believe what we’re doing is art. like you, we’re mamas, too, and we think we’re still kind of hip. we’ve done all of our own product design. our kids have done all of the product testing. with UB2, you get an honest product with distinctive design flair. everything we sell is handmade. no sweatshops, no outsourcing, just beautifully handmade, heirloom quality clothes & accessories for your little one. try us out. join the project. all the cool kids are doing it.
I recently opened a fabric store on Spoonflower where my custom designs are featured."
SouleMama: If you could spend a day with any crafter/artist who would it be and why?
Colette: I would love to spend the day with Sarah Watts, the amazingly talented designer from the new Cotton + Steel fabric collection. Her work is AMAZING (check her out!)...and I would love to talk to her about how she develops her designs and how she moves them from a mental design to a finished fabric. I am sure she'd have a ton of advice for a newbie fabric designer like me, and I am sure she'd be an inspiration!
SouleMama: As a child, what did you wish to become when you grew up?
Colette: As a kid, I always wanted to be an artist, but never believed I could. How sad is that?!? I thought artists had to "draw things that look like things"...and I couldn't do that (not well, anyway). It wasn't until I was much older that I realized being an artist is a frame of mind and a way of seeing the world, not one's ability to reproduce reality. even when artists DO reproduce reality, what makes their work interesting is the way their eye, their vision impacts the ultimate product. my art is all about color and composition, about using form and color to express my own unique vision of the world. my animals are eclectic, deeply designed. they don't look like real animals... but their shapes are borne from nature.
I'm thrilled to be doing what I'm doing! i LOVE designing hats, and I love designing fabrics even more!
So... to be an artist now, doing fabric design, designing products, desgning advertisements and marketing materials... it's literally a dream come true. I never thought it was possible... but I always wanted to be an artist!
SouleMama: Is there a creative pursuit you haven't explored yet, but would like to?
Colette: Yes! I've just begun the process of designing my own fabrics. I love birds, especially owls, and so they've been the focus of most of my work. I recently attended quilt market in Pittsburgh and showed my collections to some of my favorite fabric companies-- and I had really positive feedback! RIght now, I'm trying to complete 3 collections...with the hope that I can find a company who'll partner with me to bring my designs to my bonnets, caps & dresses. I'm a total newbie at this-- learning Illustrator as I go... but I've been drawing animals for a long time, and I have about a MILLION fabrics stored up in my head! Getting them out of my brain and onto fabric is both a dream and my current obsession!
For today's giveaway, urban baby bonnets is generously offering the following gift to ONE winner:
To enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person, please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:00 am EST on Sunday, and announce the winner, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winner is...
I love her bonnets. So sweet and old-fashioned yet modern. I would love a winter one for my little boy.
Posted by: Regina Cocco
Thank you, urban baby bonnets!
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{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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Hello, August!
Welcome (and welcome back) to the newest Sponsors here at SouleMama. I'm so pleased to introduce them to you this morning...
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L'Oiseau Fabrics is a family owned online fabric store located in Calgary Alberta. We carry beautiful fabrics imported from Europe, with an emphasis on fabulous jerseys and fun poplins. We are all about encouraging sewists to use beautiful fabrics so that they can get amazing results.
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Quality handmade clothing made from all natural, low impact dyed, and organic materials.
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Check out all of their handmade, natural, and creative offerings - and those of our other Sponsors - in the days and weeks to come. I thank them and you both for your presence and support here. And if Sponsorship is something you're interested in for your own business, please be in touch!
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!
