the small things

Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

JRR Tolkein,  The Hobbit

Oh, the un-boxing (a school-year planning post)

It goes so slowly.

Of course it doesn't help to have school to plan for.  And with a start date only 1 weeks away....well, the boxes (those not homeschool-related, anyway) are languishing while I get all the books in order, pages copies, files prepared, and notebooks set up.

Want to take a peek?

The girls will be studying the Middle Ages and Renaissance in history and Ecology & Astronomy in science.
Most of these books I've read with one or several of the kids before, so it is really fun to cycle back through them.  (see my boxes peeking out back there...mocking me.)

Here's my new homeschool set up.  No homeschool room means we are juggling with where to store our daily needs.  This cabinet is in the laundry room just off the kitchen where the girls and I will mostly do their school work.  The boys may work here or in their rooms.  Age has its privileges!

Part of the set up is a set of files for storing their work.  In the past I haven't always been good about sorting this out and keeping up with it during the year.  Usually it just goes into a general file for each child to be sorted (or not) at the end of the year.  But this year I did this:

Each child has his or her own color: Red for Athos, Blue for Faramir, Yellow for Artemesia, and Green for Kalliope.  (Extra yellows in the back for general or group records)

And my Challenge Director supplies are looking good!  I've discovered Washi Tape - so much fun!  I'm using it to jazz up all those boring black and white binders.  It does make a remarkable difference...makes everything seem so coordinated and intentional.  All for $3 a roll.

Also, dolled up the girls' binders with their own design of Washi tape...

And then there are the boxes... and boxes.  I swear I'm never moving again.  Not until I've graduated the last child, anyway.

From "draft" to new home

This draft post has been waiting here since sometime in April, I think.  Boy, did life pick up steam quickly.

On, or about, March 2nd (yes, one day after my last post) we noticed that a house in our neighborhood that had been on the market had gone under contract ... in less than 2 weeks.  And for significantly more than we'd paid for ours - and ours is larger!!  We did the math and decided that we just might benefit financially by bumping up our future plans to downsize a bit once boys started going off to college.

The problem would be, with such low inventory in the housing market, finding a house that would still fit us *now*...and that we could afford.  After a quick MLS search, we discovered that, while it would require some sacrifice of space or location, or both, it could be found.

What happened next was a flurry of activity which has only just come to an end.

We were able to get our home on the market within a month, and had a contract in no time...less than 2 weeks.... and for our asking price!  Truly amazing in this economy, and nothing short of a miracle.  Closing was set for June 14th, so we had some time to continue our search for our next home.

You'd think that was easy, right?

Well, it took about 4 months from the time we listed to the time we finally closed (and our closing only took 30 days).  We saw so many houses they began to blur and we had to give them nicknames...party house, 70s house, old house, fancy house, big house.  Of those, we attempted to purchase 3.... the first house was a no realtor situation, but fell through due to a very low appraisal.  Second house was won away from us by a cash offer (major renovations needed).  And the third house is now our home!

All I can say, is that while I loved many of the houses we saw...and especially the ones we placed offers on, I'm so glad that we ended up here.  This house suits us so well!

It does need some updating, minor repairs, and exterior work (cleaning and yard work).  I'm terrible at taking "before" photos...and already missed the window on some of our projects. So, here are the  photos  from the MLS listing:

1987, Custom built, all-brick Cape Cod.

Obviously, the front.  Yard is pretty compacted...and very mossy.  But there are some azaleas in that front bed.  Next week those blue shutters come down and will be replaced with charcoal grey.  Needs a new roof in the next couple of years.  We'll completely pressure wash the entire house...including the walkways and driveway.

Here's the kitchen.  Faces the front yard.  I LOVE kitchen sink windows....been missing one for years.

Granite is new, but added in order to sell.  Dishwasher and stove hood are original to the house.  In the next year or so, we are going to have the cabinets repainted and we'll replace the light fixtures.  Notice that little kitchen desk to the left?  Love!

The breakfast area.  Faces the backyard.   You can't see the wallpaper.  It was pretty unoffensive, just dated....and partially (and poorly) painted over.  

Dining room.  The wallpaper is original (and when we stripped it, we discovered it was signed by the installer)...a pearlescent, textured paper.  

The family room.  Despite the brass, I love this fireplace.  It has a gas insert, which we will replace with gas-ignition system (wood-burning).  The paint throughout the house (other than the wallpaper) is this stark white...and needed refreshing.  The white really washed out the wood work.  Carpet, while white, is very nice THICK wool carpet.  We'll keep it until we destroy it and then put down more hardwoods.

The foyer - all the rooms downstairs have wonderful trim work: chair rail, dentil moldings, and hefty baseboards.  All could use a little polish.  Nice hardwoods (not laminate!) through foyer, dining, kitchen.  The front door was really worn on the outside - with most of the varnish deteriorating.  We've already had it sanded and recoated with a nice tinted varnish.

Off the family room and overlooking the backyard is a heated/cooled sun porch.  The brick floor has a sealant on it making it easy to sweep clean.  Already love this room!  

Sadly, no MLS photos of bathrooms and bedrooms - all pretty dated with 25 year-old fixtures, vinyl flooring, oak cabinetry, but all in good shape!

I'll start posting photos as we clear rooms so you can see the paint (pale dove grey - really warms up the wood trim) and other updates.

Happy Saint David's Day to you!

My CC Challenge 3 class is just at the tail-end of Shakespeare's Henry V.  Saint David is mentioned, as is wearing leeks.  I posted this on our class blog for them to enjoy, and thought I'd like to share them with friends and family, too.  So, here are two videos about the beloved Saint David of Wales.
The first one is short and read by a child (a very British child), but gives a quick explanation of Saint David's historical importance to Wales.




This one is a bit longer.  Produced by BBC, it gives a more complete history and great on-location footage.



Enjoy!

Early Morning Paintbrushes

Feet hit the floor a little later than usual this morning.  Been sick on and off with a cold, or something, for several weeks, and I decided to let myself sleep until I woke on my own today.  Clock said 7:48 when I rolled out of bed.  Usually the clock says 6:05.  Or 6:14 if I've hit the snooze.  Or 6:23...you get the idea.

Down to the kitchen to make my morning tea.  House is a bit of a mess.  Having teens who stay up later than I is frustrating.  I can tell what they had for a late-night snack.  Going to have to speak harshly, AGAIN, to them about cleaning up before they go to bed.  

Perhaps Chai this morning instead of my usual Constant Comment tea. While the tea steeps, I feed the fish when I notice the paintbrushes left on the table from Artemisia's watercolor work.  (Must speak with her about cleaning up, too.)  The light is hitting them just so, making the bristles on that well-used (and mis-used) Chinese calligraphy brush stand out so beautifully.

I look.

Then I think about my camera.  I've got a lot to do this morning before I head out the door for a day of errands and classes and a talent show.  Lately life has been a real whirlwind...and my photography has withered.  Lately I'd have noticed something beautiful, but rushed on to the next thing.  But not today.

Today I searched out my camera and snapped a few photos.  Loaded them up to PicMonkey and cleaned this one up.  Decided I liked the black and white (although it was hard, the colors were so pretty...but the black and white made the bristles pop).

So, why did I take the time to do this today? 

If you've been around this blog for very long you will remember Dear Neighbor.  Well, Dear Neighbor has FINALLY started a blog.  She's blogging about her particular creative pursuit, quilting and sewing, but also about creativity: Windsor and Main.  (She's also a home educator.)

Last week she had a post about creativity and just "doing it", not waiting for "inspiration".  And I was reminded of that this morning while looking at those paintbrushes.  Of course, I was practicing the opposite of "doing it", being inspired in the moment ...but I did have to force myself to pick up the camera and frame the photo.  And sometimes inspiration does just happen...but so much more often it is just regular work where the "magic" happens.  I'm reminded that I need to make a regular practice of looking for photos rather than waiting for them to happen. 

Check out Dear Neighbor's blog - it's fun reading even if you aren't a seamstress!

Feast of St Andrew

Advent must be near....

Because today is the Feast of Saint Andrew!  We won't do much more than read about this saint's life, enjoy our scones, and put up his icon on the family altar.  If I had a Scottish flag handy, I'd hang that to commemorate our Scottish heritage, and St Andrew's patronage of Scotland.

Remembering the saints doesn't have to be complicated.  If you have a book of saints' stories for kids, that is great, but you can also look up biographical information on the web.  Search around for some ideas about traditional foods for the Saint's day...or from the Saint's homeland...or from a country for which the Saint is associated now.  (Andrew was not from Scotland!)  Do a web search for children's or family activities for the Saint's day, and you'll usually find plenty of ideas to get your started.  

Better to start simply than go overboard and be burned out.  That's happened to me.  And don't try to do EVERY Saint - just start with the major feasts (apostles, generally), or those that might have a special place in your family (a child's name, for example).

I often find Catholic Culture to be very helpful.  They have a calendar of saints that has just about all the information you could possibly need!  Just skip anything that isn't appropriate to your faith tradition, of course.

Have a blessed Feast of Saint Andrew.  Is he also the patron saint of errand-running moms?  I sure hope so, because that is what I'll be spending his feast day doing!

Good morning, Zeke

Kalliope enjoying some morning drawing while we do morning session.

Thanksgiving 2012

Up the highway and through the traffic to Farmor's house we went...

Farmor lives just outside Fredericksburg, VA (about an hour south of Washington, DC).  The leaves were mostly off the trees, but the weather was crisp.  Perfect Thanksgiving weather!

Our Thanksgiving table.

I love old homes.  My husband's childhood home began life as two log cabins in the late 18th century.  The two log cabin rooms are still in use, now with added modern amenities, like electricity. 

An evening by the fire...and the books.   With wine, of course.

Artemesia got to meet a very friendly squirrel while we were in D.C. for the day.

Helpful blog for Anglican Families

Just want to take a moment to direct you to a new-to-me blog.  It is a church blog, but is specifically written to support their families and kids...and they are Anglican!

Saint Pete's Kids (a blog of Saint Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham, AL)

The blog owner contacted me recently to ask if she could publish an old Advent essay on their website.  (Could they?  OF COURSE!)  You can read it there if you there, if you wish, or on my blog just by searching.  It is one of my favorites:  The Advent That Almost Wasn't

Be sure to poke around their website and check out their resources.  And leave a comment to say "Hi!"

And it is time to start getting ready for Advent, isn't it?  You know Advent always brings out my blogging....  :)

20 years well-celebrated

With the start of school and several family birthdays, the celebration of our 20th anniversary had to wait a few weeks.  That wait ended this past weekend when Erik and I traveled to the northwestern-most corner of North Carolina for a weekend trip.

Here are some photos from our trip to West Jefferson and the surrounding areas:

Enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Black Jack Restaurant.  Really great hamburgers! 

I wish I could remember the  name of the beer -- a double IPA, I think.

Very casual - and we enjoyed a long conversation with the owner who is originally from Romania.

After lunch, we found the first of two "Church of the Frescoes": St Mary's Episcopal Church.  These frescoes were painted by Ben Long and are quite famous in NC and beyond. 

The interior of the church.  I wish I could convey the beauty of this small intimate church.  The interior is entirely covered in wood and the scent of incense has deeply-penetrated this wood.  Very simple, but truly beautiful.

A small statue of Mary.

The central fresco behind the altar.

The next morning we visited the West Jefferson Farmer's Market to purchase the makings for our dinner.  Eggplant, tomatoes, and steak.  We also picked up some lovely goat cheese and crisp apples.

I really wanted a pie, but we resisted.

Afterwards we took a trip to the Ashe Cheese Factory.  These cows (there are three) are the milk containers for the factory.  The local high school shop class added the cow heads and legs as a class project.

It rained.  See that driveway going up the mountain just beyond the bridge?  Yea, that is the driveway to the cabin.  We had to leave the car on the far side of the bridge and tiptoe across the bridge.  Thankfully, the water receeded quickly and we had no trouble getting over the bridge later in the day.

A vist to the New River Winery (good wines!!) provided unexpected entertainment.  This local band, The Worthless Son-in-Laws, fought off the yellow jackets while giving us a fun show.  And shouldn't it be "The Worthless SonS-in-Law"?

What a lovely ramshackle set of buildings.  

West Jefferson doesn't let a fire hydrant go un-decorated.