SouleMama

Sonny

It's been quite a week. Recovering from a wild and wonderful Common Ground Fair weekend. My kiddos were all sick (back to school for the first time immunity kind of thing, I presume). The news (I don't even know where to start there). An anniversary to celebrate. Work. Life. So full and then even more full. But this week we added some sweetness, some sweetness in the form of Sonny Soule. He's the new English Shepherd puppy that joined our family - a thirteenth birthday gift to Adelaide. I would say I'm not in the habit of gifting animals to children because it's a bad idea, but then my very own children would remind me that Adelaide got a cat for her fifth birthday, a duck for her sixth, and two goats for her seventh. So I'd be a liar. But to be fair, this girl of mine has been asking for a puppy of her own for two years and Steve and have been so strongly resisting. But....she found herself some dog walking gigs and saved every single penny of her earnings - enough for food and vet visits and a ridiculous amount of dog toys she has earmarked for the foreseeable future. And then she proved herself responsible enough by doing the daily animal chores on the farm without being asked for a solid year. And then, well, we found ourselves with nothing left to say but yes. And so we surprised her on her birthday with the announcement. The joy was magnified by the fact that her best friend got a pup from the same litter. 13 year old dream come true, that is. 

Sonny, well he's a gem. He was the largest of the litter - one we're told who liked to hang out by the food bowl most of all during his first eight weeks. He's kind of bumbly and mellow and funny and fabulous and we already all love him so. Even Greta, who is tolerating his puppy antics with a great deal of patience, bless her. But of course, no one is happier than my girl Adelaide. She's doing this all on her own, dear one, waking up in the middle of the night for puppy breaks (I keep joking that it must be like having a night nanny for a newborn - I'm not tired at all!), and training and loving up this pup. She's a good Mama to him, and I'm so very proud of her.

at the fair

I'm settling in after another wonderful Common Ground Country Fair. Gosh, this really is one of my favorite weekends of the year, even though my time there has changed over the years. I noticed that this year I didn't even step foot once in the Children's Area, whereas that used to be the only place I made it to. But this year, Annabel had her big brother to take her, and friends to run around with. That's what they all did there - run around with friends. I couldn't even find one of my kids to walk around with me if I wanted! Ah. Growing up.

The Taproot booth was nothing short of bonkers, in the best kinds of ways. It is always such a treat to connect with readers there and introduce new likeminded folk to the magazine. So many people have made renewing at the fair a tradition, and it's so fun to check in with them about how they're liking the magazine and what they've made. 

After talking all day long, not to mention schlepping so much stuff (magazines are heavy), we found respite in the evenings and early morning hours once again at the guest cottage of Toddy Pond Farm. They host farmstays there on their farm, complete with a lovely pond, beautiful farm store, cows outside your window, not to mention the sweetest farmers around. We love it there!

And now, back to work and play, full of all the inspiration that the fair gives us!

fair bound!

When I should have been packing for the fair, I got lost instead in nostalgia. It's okay - it was time well spent! And things always get packed anyway, right? I'm remembering back on so many fairs - the one above being I think our first year with Taproot at the fair. That little cutie with the Harry Potter scar face paint on his forehead will be driving to the fair this year. And my littlest baby, wearing all those hand mades, is already asking if she can 'run off and be alone at the fair' with her new school friends. Sigh. Such great memories made here each year. 

If you're at the Common Ground Fair, come say hi! I'll be there all weekend in and out of the Taproot booth (we're near the Maine Public tent and the lamb kabobs!) 

Have a great weekend, all! 

 

at the table

Our kitchen table is seeing so much action these days. I mean, it always does. But it seems I'm not leaving it much these days, between meals and making lunches (I want to talk more about that here soon! I'm a little, well, into it.), and all the things that are coming in from the garden to preserve! This coming weekend I head to the Common Ground Country Fair, and while last year was in the nineties, it's very often our first frost date. And so I'm pulling in what I can when I can. There were giant batches of pesto made that went straight to the freezer (roughly using something like this as a recipe). And I brought in all the marigolds for drying, which I hope to use as a dye later in the season when I have more wool to play with. I'll tell you more about that when it happens. 

It's taking a concerted effort to keep the table clear between all these tasks, but I'm committed to it. Such a little thing, but it's so huge to have an empty space ready and waiting for the next task to begin with ease. 

Another full week has begun and I know this little corner of my home will see so much more in the coming days! Wishing you all a wonderful start to your week! 

 

 

 

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Posted by: April

Letters to Adelaide

My little girl turned thirteen this week, making us officially a house with three teenagers. How does this happen? Time is so bizarre. She was just a little babe in my arms yesterday, I'm certain of it. I can remember it like that anyway. The baby girl I knew long before I met her. What a joy it is to be her Mama, this fellow Virgo daughter of mine, who can push my buttons like no one else in the world, but also knows my heart just the same. And I think it goes both ways.

When each of the boys turned thirteen, Steve - along with some other Dad friends of his - led the boys on a wilderness trip that included a healthy dose of ritual and celebration. They don't tell me a lot about that, but I do know how meaningful those trips were for each of them. When I thought about Adelaide turning thirteen, I considered something similar. And we might just do a trip (or maybe more fitting for she and I - a visit to our friends at Koviashuvik). But I wanted to give her something different. I thought long and hard about my own teen years, and what I wish I had known, or done differently, or just what I could go back and tell my thirteen year old self. And ultimately, that's what I decided to give her. Words. I reached out to many of the women our lives and asked for each of them to share something with Ada on this birthday, something to carry with her in her teen years. I left it fairly open, wanting people to find their own way to the pages. And oh, they did! As each letter, piece of art, or poem has come through the mail in the past few weeks, I have cried many times, and smiled so many more. I bought a simple scrapbook with sleeves for inserting these pages into. And then I had to buy refill pages as it filled up and up with the love. I am SO very moved by the words and humor and good advice shared within, and it was such a joy to hand her this book. As I told her in my own letter, I hope that this book can be a reminder to her that she is never alone. That there is a strong web of sisterhood holding her up in love and light, in support and strength through all the days and years to come.

We have an exciting year ahead with this still-homeschooled thirteen year old baby girl of mine. She's chosen to spend the year fully entrenched in that community of women that I called upon for this book, as she hops from one of them to another (and back to me again), learning alongside their individual trades and talents. I'm excited to be following along.

Happy Birthday dear Adelaide Margaret Soule! 

Bonbon for Ez

"Today I fell and my mom made me a hat." ~ Ezra's Instagram

Perhaps I should just leave it at that. But you know I won't. Because....knitting!!

Honestly, I've had a funky spell of knitting this summer. I started many things that didn't work out, got bored with even more things, and in general just felt a bit uninspired. I even stopped lugging around a project with me for a good stretch there. I know! But then the weather shifted, and it shifted suddenly and I remembered....hats! I can knit hats again! There's nothing like a good hat to break a knitting strike, I'm certain. And this was no exception. It's the Bonbon hat by Rie Vive, and I used some of my yarn. My yarn is actually dwindling down a bit, and that's exciting because at Rhinebeck, I'll be picking up a whole lot more from the mill (Battenkill Fibers) from last year's shearing. I can't wait for that pickup, and to visit Rhinebeck for the first time! (Any tips for a first timer?)

Until then, I surely have a few more skeins to make some more hats with, and definitely a few heads to cover. 

(Oh, the fall? Skateboarding, of course.)

 

finding our groove

Twelfth Grade, Tenth Grade, Seventh Grade, Fourth Grade, and First Grade. Oh my! (And woah! That barn door color changes a whole heck of a lot in the hour between 6 and 7 when the sun rises these days!)

I disappeared there for a little while, didn't I? I did. In all manners of my life. When friends and family started calling and texting on Friday and Saturday to wish me a happy birthday, I was confused. Wait, I made it? We made it through the week? We did indeed! My head was down, buried deep in not only the making of seven lunches each morning, and the logistics of getting everyone to very different places each morning not at all close to one another, but also the emotion of it all. It was a big week. And thankfully, I had those lunches and drives to distract me a little bit from some of the emotion, for I could have easily slid down into feeling ALL the feelings. Thankfully there is plenty of distraction...and also? Some incredibly happy kids who are all going to thrive in each of their different but similarly supportive and nurturing environments. And well, when it comes down to it, that's what matters right? There's some grief at the loss of our days as they once were, there's some relief at the letting go of some of that educational responsibility, and there's a whole lot of gratitude for our options. 

And so...Calvin, Harper and Annabel are loving their Waldorf school and community full of both old and new friends, and rhythms that are both familiar and new. Ezra is back at his groove in the technology and science charter school he attends. And Adelaide? She's with me! There is a year (or more?) ahead full of all kinds of adventures and opportunities we have planned together. I'm excited for her to spend her seventh grade year surrounded by the people she's chosen and asked to be mentors of hers, and frankly, excited to be learning alongside her. It's going to be a great year.

I don't know that I'm all that great at change, to be honest. But this change has been a slow and gradual one, organic and natural by both nature and design. I'm so very glad for all of our years homeschooling and how precious and wonderful they were. And I'm also grateful that by some blessing, we knew when it was time to make a change. And so, cheers to new adventure and all the many ways that we learn all the time and in all the places! 

(school) duds

Goodness, that was a productive weekend! We kicked it off with the first cross-country race of the season, followed by hosting a team dinner at our house for, gosh, I think 45? I didn't count. It was a lot of tacos. And stinky sneakers. But it was wonderful, and wild too, to watch a new group of freshman girls and boys join the fray, remembering my own little guy who I swear just started high school yesterday. But no, now he's embarking on his last year on the team, as captain, and writing college essays in the meantime. I've grown to love this sport that he loves, and while I can't bring myself to use a cowbell as seems to be the cross-country parent norm, my cheering voice is getting louder. Just in time to wrap it all up. 

After the flurry of that fun, we dove into a full-on home family work weekend that felt oh so good. There was at least 3 cord of wood stacked, and plenty more cut and split for drying. I spent a good deal of my time up in my little sewing nook, making some more new clothes for the kiddos. Ani isn't the only one starting school for the first time this week. Harper is too! He'll be entering fourth grade at the same school as Calvin and Ani. He's a little more nervous than she, but we are all so incredibly excited for him. He's going to just blossom in his place there, I am certain, and I can't wait to watch it. He is, however, going to need some new clothes. His fondness for athletic wear just doesn't quite match the dress code required, but oh, that's just a perfect excuse for Mom to make some new things! And thankfully, he still indulges me. Thanks to one of your recommendations, I found the Parsley Pant pattern and it's the answer to all of my sewing needs for this guy. So many great options for pockets and waistbands and shorts and a million other customizations so that it doesn't feel like the same pair of pants over and over again. A great construction and easy pattern, and he loves them! I made a few, one pair of shorts, and need to make some more (I think some fabric shopping needs to happen first). While the machine was fired up, I slipped in a few more dresses for Ani - the classic Suzanne and Geranium that I'm so familiar with, I didn't even need to search for the pattern instructions. (I went heavy on the Robert Kaufman Essex yarn dyed linen/cotton blend, it's just so hardy and wonderful drapey.) 

And so with some new duds, we all await the big day (tomorrow) with a whole lot of anticipation. And this morning! This morning I sent Ezra off, my new sophomore! He had his guitar strapped on his back for band practice after school, and a sleepy face from adjusting to the school morning schedule once again. By the end of this school year, he'll be driving himself to school, and well, wow. I'd tell time to slow down if it weren't that all the things that keep coming are just so good too.