Bits and Bites

It has been gray and rainy, quite the contrast to the bright white weekend we just had.  The shorter dark days of December are here, but I find them comforting as I work through my holiday preparations and gifting list.  Spending the evenings sewing or felting is just what I want to be doing, it just doesn't seem to make it to the top other times of the year.
I have been working on this super sweet costume which are at the top of some one's list this Christmas.  A quilt for a special person's bed is in the works, which I am a little (ok a lot) intimidated by.
The house is filled with the warming smell of apples, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg while making some favorite butter in the slow cooker.
 A new treat which will be part of gifts this year is this super easy date ball.  Since Shai is very sensitive to any cane sugar we try and cook with alternatives such as honey or maple syrup.  This is a sweet yummy treat that uses dates to sweeten it.  The recipe is from a friend and this is the instructions she passed on.  Put into your food processor a few handfuls of pitted honey dates, raw almonds, coconut and dried apple rings.  When its all blended into a rough paste roll into balls.  Put some in the freezer right away, because you will eat them all if you don't!s
Something big has been happening at night.  Shai has been climbing into bed with Ben, instead of us.  I loved and completely encouraged this with my other kids.  The three older ones slept together for along time, at different times they have slept in different combinations.  But he is my youngest, my baby.  Even though I have yearned and longed for my bed back for years I am not completely sure I am ready to move on.  sigh. growing up is hard.
To end this jumbled post, a quote from my daughter talking to friends who were discussing wedding outfits "Forget the fancy dress, a wedding isn't about the clothes it is all about the cake!"

Let it Snow

There is rain in the forecast....we are hoping it's wrong, but in case we have been making the most of the snow!

Winter Days

The snow is here, let the games begin! hockey equipment is out, sledding has started and the mugs are in rotation with hot chocolate!

A Winter Wonderland

In one day we got buried in snow! It looks beautiful- the excitement is high!

Craft Friday

I must confess that felted soap is a craft that has left me baffled.  Why would I want to cover soap in felt? isn't that a waste of perfectly good felt?  The friends attending the crafting day don't have any experience working with roving.  After reading through this great tutorial I decided we would give it a try.  I am SO glad we did! They are beautiful, the colours so vibrant, the texture so soft and the lather....oh the lather! These are definitely on the list for gifts.
We also worked on beaded napkin rings.  There were lots of beads to chose from, as everyone brings supplies to share.  We made a set for Christmas day and a few for gifts.  It feels great to have some of our presents done before December!

Craft Friday

We continue to enjoy sharing our space with friends for craft Friday.  This week we made solstice lanterns, using glass jars, tissue paper and beaded handles (a family tradition).  Our second craft was 3-d stars.  Both crafts were a hit.  The kids loved hanging out in the yard afterwards.

Remembering

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Along the Way

I never cease to be amazed at the very cool things we see in nature.  On our walk today we stood for close to thirty minutes watching a beautiful Pileated Woodpecker eat insects from a dead tree a few meters away from us.  We listened to two Ravens calling to each other, moving ever closer to each other as they did.  There were burr wars and hide and seek in the tall grasses.
Elias spotted some newly cut down trees with clear markings of a beaver.  As we went down the river we came to it's lodge, the new logs sits at the entrance.  

Making Time

The weather has been incredible, deceiving us into believing it can't be November.  Despite being mild and inviting we haven't slowed down in our schedule very much to be out enjoying it.  Thankfully I shook my head and put lots of things on pause.  The reward of walking, exploring and spending time together outside was well worth it. 

Craft Group

The Craft group kicked off this past Friday, with 36 people in attendance it was a great success.  Lots of friends who joined us last year came and we were joined by new faces.  We have the usual age spread 1-15 years old, the crafts therefore need to span abilities.  This week we worked on weaving. There were three stations for the kids to rotate through; weaving bookmarks with paper and ribbon, weaving mats on a loom, weaving scenery's on branch looms.  It was a great start. 

Happy Birthday Ben

October was a little crazy, we had lots of welcome guests and the programs all started this month as well.  This meant Ben's party was a little late in getting organized.  We did a bit of brainstorming around ideas, lots of themes have been taken in the past, everything from jungle to pirates and outer space to spies.  I guess that's part of having 3 siblings and having a house which enjoys celebratng with birthday parties! Ben knew he wanted to play games, lots of the them. As we brain stormed we decided this was the perfect theme/focus for his party- puzzles and challenges to solve.

Once the friends arrived the games began.  Each puzzle once completed led to another, clues needing to be brought together to move to the next stage.  The kids liked the first game a lot.  On a table were 20 items, they had 15 seconds to memorize what was there.  The table was covered back up and they had to write down as many of those items as they could collectively remember.  From this list they needed to discover a common thread between the items which led them to their next location.  There were maps leading to puzzle pieces, letters and symbols hidden in the woods to decode, string webs to climb through, blindfolded team games, charades, and more.

The kids never stopped running.  It was a gorgeous fall day, perfect for an outdoor afternoon.   Eventually the trail led to the cake of course.  Ben out did himself by making a fabulous Lego cake.  He figured out how to make the  blocks look realistic, with ten notches - 1 for each year he is celebrating.

The Big Question

What career do you want to have when you grow up?

It was a tough choice between being a mama and staying home with her kids (heart melts) or being a donkey rider.  Donkey rider won out....the outfit was better!  (you have nurtured a passion angee!)

The Closing

The Stisted Fair has a great celebration evening to honour every ones hard work.  It is open to everyone who enjoys pot luck dessert.  There is a silent auction and time to mingle.  People can pick up their prize money, which for my kids is crazy big.  Even though the individual money awards are .75 cents to just over a dollar, with a few special categories for a few dollars, it very quickly adds up.  The four of them came home with close to $70 dollars !  Even Shai had almost ten dollars. Elias won a trophy for his chicken (we have such fine ladies :).