30 days of beauty: day 2

This morning, I went into our library for a few minutes to put Lucy down for a nap. While I was out of the room, one of the older children called in a stage whisper "Lise! Do you want to see my snowflake?" I answered that I'd be back in a few minutes. When I returned, this is what greeted me:



The kids had set up the chairs right on the other side of the gate that separated us. I loved it: the display, the beautiful snowflakes, the contrast of red on white, the silent invitation to notice. A perfect spot of beauty on a February day.

The kids have been exploring the art and mathematics of snowflake cutting for several weeks now. With 17 years of early childhood teaching under my belt, cutting snowflakes is nothing new. But it's amazing how there's always something unique in each group of children, and how with close observation, more is revealed each time a subject is explored. I've been really struck this time around by how much mathematical thinking is involved in their work. I think I have a post or two in me about it, if anyone would be interested...

30 days of beauty: day 1

It's an ugly February around here. There's been hardly any snow this winter, but it's bitterly cold, so the yard is covered with a thin layer of icy snow/mud, speckled with chicken droppings, and scattered with objects frozen to the ground where they were dropped. The house is cluttered and messy. I'm having a rough time with some work issues. I need to refocus.

Just in time, Bluebirdbaby offered a "30 Days of Beauty Challenge."



A reminder to look for the beauty--those fleeting moments that we sometimes miss in the depths of winter. To slow down and notice it. And to photograph it, which is something I would like to learn to do better. (Still using a temperamental, rubber-banded broken camera, but still...)

So here's my first photo. Today, I was struck most by the light, which was intense and cheering. Coming inside after play in the yard, I noticed the shadow cast by this left-behind basket of toys.



What beauty have you found in your February days?

First hat!

I did it!



I have a standing date on Saturday nights; an hours-long phone conversation with a friend. Last night's "quick little chat" gave me plenty of time to finish Lucy's hat.



The simple hat I'd learned in class begged for embellishment, I thought. I found a great tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets and was able to make a flower on my first try, though I hadn't yet learned a double crochet stitch (the tutorial has a video, so it's great for visual learners.) To top it off, I had the perfect vintage button.



Unfortunately, the hat would have fit her great a few months ago, but right now, it just barely fits. I used up absolutely all my yarn (and the red? that's the original scarf bit, re-incarnated). That's what you get when you use the left-over yarn you find around the house. Might be time to suck it up and actually buy a skein or two.

Crochet, week 2

Look at that! I might actually be making a hat! Last week, I sat on the other side of the table from the hat-makers, thinking I was really too uncoordinated to be in this crochet class. This week, I was one of the hat-makers! What a thrill to see it take shape in my hands. And boy, do I love having some hand-work to do. When I'm sitting at the snack table with the last-to-finish child, or listening to my friend's late-night woes on the couch, or reading a long blog post, my fingers have something to do, and it settles me, helps me to slow down.

As you can see in the photo, Lucy's hands are kept busy, too, reaching for the hook, twisting around the yarn, making herself a part of this hat that will be hers when it's finished.

(And the scarf? It didn't make it. I ran out of yarn when it was still a wee short thing, and didn't have more. And returning to class, it was time to learn something else. I knew the deadline was a bit too close with everything else I'm trying to do right now. Next time.)

Clay: 11-month style

Lucy now has enough experience in the studio using colored pencils, crayons, and paint to pretty much know not to put everything into her mouth. So this week, she got to join the big kids as they did clay.





(That big trash can in the background? That's where the clay is stored, to be available to the children at all times. But because it's closed, it suffers from "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. This week, the kids re-discovered the clay, and we spent the morning watering it and hammering the heck out of it to soften it back up. I'll have to get it out for Lucy again soon, so she can have more of a satisfactory sensory experience.)

Time to make the bagels

Yes, it was definitely time! My mother got us Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day when it first came out, and I quickly got into the habit of making bread. But that habit fell by the wayside when we had a baby and life felt too busy. I've been wanting to get back into it, and kept thinking I would, but not doing it. Until I saw Molly's post about making bagels, and I knew I had to do it now. I love bagels. I'm willing to go all junky-white-flour for bagels. And we buy them, too often. And in my head, it's one of those things you don't make; you buy. No more!






They're not the prettiest bagels (I'm hoping that will come with practice), but they sure were yummy! And I still can't quite believe I made them! There's dough left in the fridge, ready for this weekend's bagels. I think making the bagel dough may have to become a Friday-night tradition.

Progress

Here's an update on a few projects...

My sprouts are off to a slow, but definite, start.



Is it my cold house? It seems to be taking ages! We want some green stuff!

I'm crocheting!



(Yes, I know it's wonky and, even though my friend says it's not possible, I've been dropping stitches as I go. But I think I have that under control now. Right after I took this picture, I ripped it all out for another try.)

Boy, was that crochet class nerve-wracking! I turned out to be the only beginner in there! I sat down all nervous and insecure, only to see women pulling half-finished lacy-looking shawls and adorable baby hats out of their bags. Yikes! But I plan to show my face again on Wednesday. And yes, the yarn seems to have changed colors. When I couldn't figure out where to poke the crochet hook in (don't you love my adept use of technical crochet language?), the teacher said "well, it's black. You didn't do yourself any favors." So now I'm working in red. If, by some miracle, a scarf appears by February 14, it will be the right color for Craft Hope's latest project.)

And I've made a good start on the Food Waste Reduction Challenge. I surveyed the fridge (too much cheese, limp carrots, fuzzy mold on some carrots and beets), the bedroom closet (apples going soft, too many that needed to go straight to the compost), and the basement (squash that need to be eaten right now, ditto the onions). Boy, we're disgusting, aren't we? After chucking out the worst offenders, I tackled some of the must-eat-now things, and today we ate:

apple-oat bake (super-soft apples)--one of our standard breakfasts
2-bean salad (canned) with grated beets (about to go)--got rave reviews from the kids
squash soup (nearly-gone squash, coconut milk, curry paste)--more happy kid reviews
mojadra (onion-lentil-rice thing from here), using nearly-gone onions

We've planned tomorrow's dinner around the leftovers: we'll have squash stuffed with mojadra. The kids are getting lots of leftovers, too (they're used to that). I'm going to work more on getting them to take more realistic portions so we don't end up feeding so much of their food to the chickens.

How about you? (I'm so glad to see a few readers joining in on this challenge!)