Higher Ideals

I consider myself creative, but not artistic. I feel driven to create. I make things in order to enrich my life and the lives of those I love. I especially enjoy pleasing the senses, not just something beautiful, but something soft and comforting, or something aromatic and delicious. I create individual pieces that are part of a larger picture, a beautiful, nurturing life for my family. My creativity doesn't explore or communicate ideas the way art does; it conveys love.

The kids and I were all feeling the need for a reset, so we decided to take a school break. It gave us more time for crafting, cooking, and family audiobooks. School pauses don't mean learning pauses.

I may have discovered the solution to some of those yarn scraps left over from old projects. I taught my girls how to make a cardboard loom and braid bracelets.

Embracing the final remnants of cozy winter vibes by experimenting with making a butter candle for my sourdough.

I would put local yarn shops right up there with used bookstores as places that make me happy. 😊

My oldest daughter recently decided to reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Which meant that she talked my next oldest daughter into reading it so they could discuss it. Which meant my third daughter wanted to be in on the conversation so she read it, too. Which meant I had to give making Turkish Delight a try (definitely the most over-rated treat in literary history). This is how reading goes in our household.

I went out to the hazel wood, Because a fire was in my head, And cut and peeled a hazel wand, And hooked a berry to a thread; And when white moths were on the wing, And moth-like stars were flickering out, I dropped the berry in a stream And caught a little silver trout. When I had laid it on the floor I went to blow the fire a-flame, But something rustled on the floor, And someone called me by my name: It had become a glimmering girl With apple blossom in her hair Who called me by my name and ran And faded through the brightening air. Though I am old with wandering Through hollow lands and hilly lands, I will find out where she has gone, And kiss her lips and take her hands; And walk among long dappled grass, And pluck till time and times are done, The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun. -Yeats

I am sooo excited about this magnificent shawl made my dear friend, Sarah, over at Loom Woven. Sarah is one of the most genuine, giving, fiercely loyal people I have had the pleasure to get to know in the past few years. I've treasured the times we've been able to get together, sitting around a fire late into the night, laughing and having thought-provoking discussions while our children played in the nature surrounding us. So when she decided to get back to her traditional roots making woven pieces for our folk, I was beyond excited to get in line for a custom piece. I could not be more pleased with this gorgeous, soft, warm shawl. If you haven't been by her channel, you should definitely check it out (her aesthetic process shots of weaving give me such cozy vibes), and maybe you'll be lucky enough to pick up your own handmade piece. Below is a post she made highlighting my shawl (featuring Yeats' poetry, because we could all use a little more Yeats in our lives).

"No one can 'get' an education, for of necessity education is a continuing process." – Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man Fun fact: Louis L'Amour left school at age 15 because "school was interfering with my education."

A kid at the park was talking about his favorite television shows, none of which my daughters had even heard of. He asked them if they lived under a rock or something. Insulted, they started talking about historical Greek and Roman figures, none of whom he seemed to have heard of. Apparently he's being educated under a rock... I'm not feeling bad if this makes them weird, unsocialized homeschool kids.

My daughter: You know, I really enjoy mending. Sewing a whole new project can take a bunch of time and sometimes be really frustrating, but mending is always quick and so satisfying. It's taking something wrong and making it right, which just feels good.

Just to clarify, I realize Antarctica is south, but there's a reason the first to the South Pole was a Norwegian.

I interrupt your day to bring you a mesmerizing interlude. I came across this video and something elemental about it spoke to me. A French ballerina actually danced en pointe on the bow of a ship in icy Antarctic waters. It's such an amazing melding of our culture's emphasis on beauty and grace with the fact that we are a people of the North. 🤍

Why did I not know this? I have two shelves of these jars because as a homesteader, I compulsively save glass jars but I had no idea my canning jar lids would work on these! 🤯

"Like books, there is something just a little magical about board games. Maybe it's the way they make people laugh or the conversation that happens over rolled dice, but the memories made with games seem to stick around. They offer something that modern-day technology doesn't—connection. The real-life, shoulder-to-shoulder, hands in a popcorn bowl, laughing so hard your drink comes out your nose kind of human connection. The good stuff." –Laura Martin, from her author's note of Wander Lost (a fun book about a family that could go into board games)

We celebrated our anniversary this past week. Fourteen years and six children later, and James is still my best friend. He's the love of my life, the most amazing father to our kids, my biggest supporter and my greatest sounding board. We spent the day celebrating as a family. This day is special not just to us as a couple, but as the start of our life and family together. So the kids, as a physical manifestation of that love and a significant piece of that life and family, are a part of the celebration. James took the day off work, and we all played games and ate homemade ice cream.

Happy Tuesday Tea Time!

"It is often said that one has but one life to live, but that is nonsense. For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods of time." – Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man

I found out that my 10-year-old and my 4-year-old have a secret hand shake. I love being a close-knit family. 🥰 One of the many advantages of homeschooling is that my older kids have the opportunity to develop closer relationships with their younger siblings than if they spent most of their day outside the home.

🤍 Little things can make the biggest difference 🤍