Snow, Sew, and So much more

 

I remember practially holding my breath by the radio in the morning, burrowed deep beneath the covers, waiting to hear the announcer tell us if school was canceled. If we missed the announcement, there was frantic dial spinning and rapid tuning to catch it on another station. No more. Now, within seconds of the decision, my phone starts dinging with the news, heralded from far and wide.

And my kids don't even go to school!

The school decision has a domino effect, even here. No school in the neighborhood means that friends can come play in the middle of the day. It means that dance is canceled and the studio firmly closed. It means soccer becomes a last minute dcision and a moving target--everybody and his brother scrambles to secure indoor space all over the region and at all hours of the day. Why, sure, I didn't have anything planned or anything, let's just go check out driving conditions in two different counties.

School has been canceled for the whole week. They've even made the decision for tomorrow already.

"School" is not canceled in the Foss household. Actually, I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing. If my children get some work done every day this week, I figure that makes up for the week when the school kids went back after  Christmas and we were still distracted by the presence of our college boys. We're all even now. More or less.

Not a lot of sewing is happening here, much to my surprise. I've been distracted away from pajama sewing by a little Valentine towel embellishment. And, as in years past, for some reason, snow means a beeswax furniture polishing blitz. We're stocked up on Daddy Van's Beeswax polish. Bored children get the polish and a rag. Kitchen cabinets, furniture, banisters--there's no end to the polishing that can be done while the snow falls and the wind howls.

We did made some really pretty snowflake ballerinas with a whole bunch of girlfriends. This craft was surprisingly successful even with tiny girls. The girl total that day was around ten, I think and everyone enjoyed the craft. I highly recommend clicking that link and giving it a whirl (or a twirl).

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 There is, of course a basket of "Snow Books." The basket grows fuller every year. Here's a list of favorites. Christine Scarlett sent me some recommendations last year (or mayb the year before) and we've added to our basket based on her suggestions. So, here's hers and mine, all together and happy.

::Our Snowman by M.B. Goffstein (I love the line, "Year after year, these things work," and I look for opportunities to say it in real life.)

::The Snow Child retold by Freya Littledale, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee (other versions available)

:: The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Yaroslava (Jan Brett and others have also done this.  It is fun to do a comparison.) Jan Brett's is here.

::The Hat by Jan Brett (Hats and Mittens: they go together;-)

::  The Snow Speaks by Nancy White Carlstrom and Jane Dyer (enchanting and one of my favorite illustrators.  Pull it out again during the Christmas season.)

::  Winter Harvest by Jane Chelsea Aragon and Leslie Baker (a calming evening story)

::  Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and John Schoenherr (Caldecott, classic)

::  Ollie's Ski Trip by Elsa Beskow (nice one to read on a day of sledding, skating, or X-C skiing)

:: Flannel Kisses by Linda Crotta Brennan, illustrated by Mari Takabayashi (a just-don't-miss book favorite)

::  City of Snow, The Great Blizzard of 1888 by Linda Oatman High, illustrations by Laura Francesca Fillipucci (true story)*

::  A Day on Skates, The Story of a Dutch Picnic by Hilda van Stockum (for older readers or as a read aloud over several days)

::Snow (I love the lyrical Cynthia Rylant. She does beautiful things with snow.)

::Snowsong Whistling (We pull this one out in the autumn and love it together through February.)

::The Snowy Day (Karoline's favorite for several years. We even have a Peter doll.)

::Owl Moon (Another Caldecott. I love this story of a late night adventure with Dad.)

::Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening (beautiful, effortless poetry memorization)

::My Brother Loved Snowflakes (this one, with the one just below, makes the spine for really good unit study on the science of snowflakes

::Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott-worthy woodcuts, true story)

::The Rag Coat (this one makes us so grateful for warmth)

::Jan Brett's Snowy Treasury (all the Jan Brett snow books, bound together. Definitely a treasure.)

::The Three Snow Bears (another Jan Brett favorite)

::Katy and the Big Snow

 Here are some more links for snow discoveries:

• Six-fold symmetry of the snow crystal (click here and then click on "Nature, Number, and Geometry")HT: Kim
•   Make a virtual snowman
• The Snowflake Bentley Website
• Learn some new facts about snow
• Intermediate level list to help understand winter weather
• Snow art, snow castles, virtual snowflakes, and lots of snow info
• The official site of the Snowman story , with some games
• The FEMA Winter Storm site for kids
• Jan Brett activities

::And, finally the popcorn and marshmallows. This is standard snow food, but my littlest children probably don't know the whole meaning behind the tradition. When Michael was little, there was snow predicted one day. I made a big deal, stocked the snow books, talked it up in a big, big way. He was so looking forward to snowballs. No snow. So, I popped popcorn and made popcorn "snowballs." Saved the day. Now when snow is forecasted, I stockpile the ingredients for popcorn balls. That way, we have big, round, white balls no matter what.

 

Melt two sticks of butter in a very big pot.

 

While the butter is melting, pop 1 cup of popcorn, the old fashioned way.

Dump a bag of marshmallows into the melted butter.

  Stir until melted.

 

Pour the popcorn into the melted marshmallows and stir well.

 

Generously grease your hands with butter. As soon as the marshmallow-coated popcorn is just barely cool enough to handle, form into balls.

Even if you don't have snow, read the books and make the popcorn balls. Childhood should be sweet.

So, what about you? Is it cold and snowy there? How are you spending your days. Of course, please tell us about your sewing and your reading. And also, let us know if you have any snow links to add to the list.

And the snow,

while it is here,

reminds us of this:

that nothing lasts forever

except memories.

~from Snow

 

C. S. Lewis and Pajama Pants

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Good morning! I've missed this space:-). I've been thinking about it a lot, but the actual keyboard time hasn't presented itself very much. The days have been full; we're working hard as a team here in my house to right the ship and get back on course after a season of considerable turbulence. I doubt our days will ever be smooth sailing, but I'm not feeling quite so seasick this week as last.

Enough with the seafaring analogy.

Sewing is slow-going. I finished Sarah's pajama pants. I made her a Size 5, which is clearly too big. I'm trying to decide whether I want to take off the waistband and cut off an inch or so and then re-attach it. I'm definitely going to re-do the cuff and cuff it up the entire width of the contrast fabric. I don't want the pants to drag. I'm toying with the idea of making the shirt in a 4. If she were a big sister, I'd make the 4 and know I could hand them down when she outgrew them. But, she's not and I'd kind of like to see her wear them forever...

I'm on a C. S. Lewis binge these days. Actually, I've been on a C. S. Lewis binge for quite some time. I bought the C. S. Lewis Bible when we renovated the house in late 2012. It matched the living room paint and looked so pretty perched there. I did read it, however; it wasn't just for show. I kept thinking of my cousin Ellie's reference to pretty Bibles perched in family living rooms of our childhood and didn't want that. However, I didn't write in it. It's out there in open space and I encourage the kids to use it whenever they want, so I didn't really want my notes and highlighting in it. At the beginning of the year, I bought another so I'd have one to highlight. I'm using these pencils to highlight and I do kind of love them. 

Mary Beth, Michael, and I have all reading through A Grief Observed. Mary Beth and I come together occasionally to think on it together. Grief is a strange thing and I've found we are approaching it very gently with one another. At the most recent funeral (yes, our funeral-going has extended into the new year), the priest quoted from Lewis' book. I think Mary Beth was surprised to hear that; Lewis wasn't Catholic after all. This observation has led to some good conversations about truth and about the man-made divisions in communities of faith. It's also led me to pull C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church from my shelves and read it again with my current crop of teenagers.

I want to raise these children to know and love and understand the gift of the Church. I also want them to grow to be the kind of genuine Christians who meet people of all denominations in the place where Jesus is and to both share their own heart stories of His goodness and hear the stories others bring. Pearce's book is an excellent one for understanding how pride and prejudice of the denominational divide can affect the sense and sensibility of even the most brilliant and holy thinkers.

Homeschoolers have a reputation for hunkering down, for raising children in a bunker and not exposing them to either the secular world or to other religions, even other Christian religions. I think this is a mistake, especially in the high school years. Instead of avoiding anything that contradicts or challenges a family's belief system, it's important to come alongside them as they discover those things. They will discover them! If we leave that discovery to a time when they are supposedly more mature (and so, away from home), we might be surprised to learn that they have neither the wisdom nor the tools to navigate the confusion. It's far better, I think, to explore together and open a dialogue that will hopefully continue as they grow.

I'm also reading Lewis' The Problem of Pain with a friend. It's good to have a grown-up theological discussion right now. I'm in a place where I really want to dig deep and think some things through. And not just theological things. As I've pulled away from social media, I'm reading longer pieces--whole books, long articles, the slow, thoughtful pursuit of Scripture. I'm spending a lot of time with my Bible open and I'm journaling pages and pages on paper. I'm kind of obsessed with paper and pens these days. I think after years of tapping at keyboards, I've missed the feel of paper and the sense of order and satsifaction that comes with seeing my thoughts in front of me in my own handwriting. To be sure, those are the scribblings of pondering in my heart. I write them knowing that they are mine alone. Perhaps it's the assurance that I will protect them from exposure that has opened the floodgates. Or maybe it's just I really, really like using these pens;-).

What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the comments or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!

You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.

A little Bread and Wine with that needlework? (and giveaway winner)

Hello! Hello! How is your January going? I've done just a little sewing. I'm so thrilled with it and can't wait to finish, but my house is filled to the brim with people I love and I've been kind of running an endless circuit from stove to sink to laundry room. And around and around. The noise level is way higher than is our norm. Noise makes me a little nuts. So I ducked out this morning to a place where I could find a London Fog made with almond milk, an internet connection, and some groceries when I'm finished letting my fingers have their say on the keyboard. Yep. I left home to write in a grocery store because it's lots easier to concentrate here:-).

 

Those sweet Sleepover Pajamas are just as darling as I'd hoped. I've had to switch up the fabric a bit in order to have enough and it's taken some very careful cutting, which definitely slows things. Ruffling such nice, plush flannel is sort of tedious and I'll held my breath when I first asked my machine to conquer those layers, but she came through like the true friend she is and all is well in dear flannel ruffle land. I'm only slightly further along than these pictures depict, but I am ever hopeful for weekend sewing.

I'm reading Bread and Wine by Shauna Neiquist. I cannot adequately express how very much I love this book. I hesitated to buy it. I can't eat wheat (or many other grains). I didn't want that title taunting me and I didn't want to read lots of essays about people dipping crusty, hot loaves into fruity, heady olive oil. But I took a chance and I'm so glad I did. I began with the essay, "What My Mother Taught Me." Just beautiful. So often, the Internet makes a woman feel like everyone is thirty-something, cute, and hip and there is nothing after that. Shauna writes so movingly of her mother and how much she values her mother precisely for her wisdom and experience. And her mother reminds me, "the best is yet to come."

After that, I read about a scary hospital experience after her son was born. In that one, I was struck by her father. This woman is teaching me how an extended family grows together! It's really very beautiful and during this wearying holiday season of transition after transition, her perspective offers me hope and a reason to persevere.

As for the whole gluten thing, she's got that covered, too. Her husband cannot tolerate gluten and Shauna writes movingly and compassionately about their experiences. Shauna Niequist has a lovely knack for making her readers feel understood and nurtured and I'm very grateful for her words.

It was great to hear from so many of you last week. I learned two things: (1) You care very deeply about conquering perfectionism and managing your time online in order to be fully present for your families. You want the message in Hands Free Mama . (2) If I bribe you with a great giveaway, I can get you to tell me all about your sewing and reading. Point noted. Stay tuned for more great book giveaways this year.

What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the comments or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!

You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.

GIVEAWAY WINNER:

The winner of Hands Free Mama  is Stephanie K, who said, 

Oh lovely giveaway!

My sewing resolution is to try to make a few items this year. I've been on hiatus for, oh, 6ish years or so. Babies, homeschooling, housekeeping, life in general keeps pushing it out of the way! I hope to make a few tops from a pattern from Sew Liberated and to make at least a dress or two for my three daughters :) Oliver + S pattern I think!

I have a ton of books on my reading list this year. But I think I'm most looking forward to the release of Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full by Gloria Furman. I loved her first book!

Thanks for the book recommendation Stephanie! I'm planning to read the first book while I wait for the second. Send me your address and I"ll get your copy of Hands Free Mama out to you!

 

 

needle & thREAD

I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!

You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.

Sorry to be so late today! Been up since dawn.

There has been some of this:

{Mere Christianity in the dark hours}

And some of this:

{The Perilous Journey while Stephen worked beside me.}

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A whole lot of these:

..

and some special ones of these:

Tell me what you're up to!

Needle & thREAD

I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!

You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.

It's been more of the same here this week. I did take on the Snow Queen challenge and spent some very happy time stitching up some magical snow on a tutu. We're all pretty happy with the result. 

 

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Beyond that, it's been gift sewing. Can't show too much of that. Here's just a bit:

I read and re-read Lidia Bastianich's Nonna, Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen. I have to admit, she had me at the title. This is a darling story of an Italian grandmother who shares her Christmas traditions with her grandchildren and then spruces those traditions up a bit to make them work in modern America. Just darling!

(I've created a new category here, Nonna's House. New season in the heart of our home.)

So tell us all about your reading and stitching! Do you have Christmas secrets you can share in the combox?