makey a beaded flakey

here is a project that tashi and did tonight: beaded snow flakes!

you will need:
pipe cleaners
beads
string, twine or fishing line

1) take three pipe cleaners and cut them in half, or use them whole if you want big flakes. we opted for the smaller versions, and they were pretty heavy as is.

2) bunch evenly together your three pipecleaners, or three smaller half-pipecleaners, and then twist them a couple of times at the center, so they hold together.

3) fan out their arms so they are like flakes, or stars.

4) now slide beads onto them. you can either completely cover each limb with beads, or, you can make a little twist in the pipecleaner after each bead, if you want some space between beads. tashi covered her limbs, mine had spaces.




5) leave a little space at the tip of each limb. you can loop the pipe cleaners at the tips so the beads don't slide off.

6) you can curve the limbs a bit, like tashi did, or leave them straight.

7) attach a string, or twine, or fishing line, and hang. in the window. on the tree. from the ceiling. they are so pretty!

dresser trunks

i forgot to tell you what tashi and i did last saturday. we went to the family art jam at the uva art museum. this is a great program the museum offers where you get to learn about and explore exhibits with your child, and then make a project based on an exhibit.



the featured exhibit of this art jam was the dresser trunk project. this was a really funky, 3-d exhibit that combined sculpture, found object, photography and language to show and tell stories about travel, history, black culture and segregation along the southern crescent rail route, from new york city to new orleans. it was very cool and i want to go back to peek into peep holes and pull out moving slabs.



the project was to decorate our own little dresser trunk, and base it on a place we've been, or would like to go. i did india, because, i am still obsessed with the place. tashi did cyprus. amongst the craft supplies there were wooden spools, glass beads, pom poms, felt squares, stickers, markers and lots of magazines.



we really didn't have enough time to complete our projects, but we brought our little dresser trunks home and hopefully they will continue to grow and fill with our visions and memories of these two wonderful places that we've traveled to and from.

peace is a tin of orange chocolate chip cookies

i make these cookies every year around christmas, and at any time of year really. serious party for the taste buds. we love them. the recipe is in the molly katzen cookbook, vegetable heaven. i always add a lot more grated orange peel than the recipe calls for. this is the one cookie that actually tastes better as it ages. i found a recipe online, but it has orange extract in addition to the grated orange peel. i'm all over that and will make sure to give it a try next time!

my mother's knitty talent

my mother is an extraordinary knitter. part of the backdrop of my childhood was the sound of her needles clicking. and she continues to knit. every winter she begs me to lay out a new knitting challenge for her. this year it was this, though i'm not so sure the slimmed in waist would suite me these days. she knits tashi beautiful sweaters. and she makes us great hats.

the sweater above was modeled after one of my grandmother zoe's vintage hand knit sweaters. at some point the sweater was passed on to me and i wore it to death. i asked my mother if she could replicate it, and she did, exactly. unfortunately a few of the giant red buttons from the original sweater were broken in half, so they couldn't be recycled. but i am loving this sweater, and wanted to share with you a bit of my mother's talent.

here is tashi in a new purple cap, knit by my mom (yia yia to tashi).



thanks mom, for your treasured yarns.

tis the treeson to be jolly

first, breakfast.



next, tree farm.



molly found a wee perfect tree.



ours was a wee bit taller.





tomorrow, baubles and spangles. tonight was all about stringing lights.



and playing with lights.



and eating virginia fried chicken, because it was quick (so we could get back to our tree).



how do you celebrate the light?

oh great

it's a december. a great time for someone to break the lock off of one of the doors of our toyota. a great time for the subaru to go into the shop because it sounds like the right front wheel is about to snap off. and while we're at it, might as well have a carbon monoxide leak in the house because an exhaust pipe in the basement has disintegrated.

a great time indeed.

why not make another soft tree?



and while the plumber is replacing the pipe in the basement, go have a bluegrass brewing jefferson's reserve bourbon barrel stout at beer run, our friends' fantastic new eatery/pub/cafe/gourmet drinkery?



and once home again, create a canopy for tashi's bed?



yes, a great time for all things.

soft tree in the season of light

i made a soft tree! it was so fun! you can make one too! and then make some more like i am about to!



the little lights on the menorah make me happy



as do the lights around the house



may your inner light grow as the nights lengthen

first snow

today the wintry mix arrived as promised.



the snow plows were at the ready, though there was really nothing at all to plow.



while i was in my office i heard a very loud rattling sound. a big truck had sideswiped the railroad bridge as it was turning left off of 14th street onto main street. see how it's trailer is dented & tipped slightly, and the rear wheel is no longer touching the road.



tonight we enjoyed a feast of latkes. i used the recipe at this informative site, and i added minced garlic, parsley and thyme. they were very tasty with yogurt slathered on top, and a some sides of broccoli and salad.



sweet dreams!

happy hanukkah

bring on the wintry mix

it wasn't until we moved south of the mason dixon line that we heard the term "wintry mix". it makes our snow hardened northern hearts giggle. there are predictions of early morning flurries, turning to wintry mix in the afternoon. 20 minutes of the local news has already been dedicated to it. floods and devastation in the northwest, george bush performing yet another act of supreme idiocy, and we're talkin' wintry mix in charlottesville.

i can't wait.

speaking of snow, i was lead to this really cool design-a-snowflake-site through this really cool blog. after making way too many virtual snowflakes, tashi and i turned to good old fashioned paper flakes, two of which are displayed above.

blogland has been full of inspiration lately. i think i need to go into rehab for blog addiction.

this evening i was prompted by this hip blog to make chicken & dumplings for the first time ever. i used a different recipe however. and i improvised some on the martha recipe too. instead of carrots and peas i used potatoes and celery (because that's what i had). i also added garlic and a bay leaf. i used a little more chicken broth too. and i used chicken breasts instead of thighs. personally, i think it was probably better than martha's.



thanks for listening to my random. . .

freecycle rocks

i feel so fortunate to have scored a glider chair on freecycle today! i've been wanting one of these for ages, and this one is in great condition, with such nice natural wood. the cushions are pretty beat, so i did a quick/temporary cover up job.



the fabric on the back cushion is a crib cover i found at salvation army for $1. i love the old fashioned motif, the way the land is crawling with babies.







i can't wait to make some space for it in our bedroom. a quiet corner in which to rock out.

the same freecycler also passed on a chemistry set to us, never used, the $50 price tag still on its case. tashi will be psyched. she's been wanting to look at pond water under a microscope.

and now for a rare glimpse of my corny pj's:

sew whiney

it's late and i've had a frustrating night of sewing. it was the kind of night where i was saying, "who do you think you are, pretending you can actually learn to sew? you with no patience, who can't sew nor cut a straight a line. you who is too lazy to iron your work before top stitching it. you whose corners look like malformed ear lobes. you who accidentally sews two facings into a place mat, and doesn't even realize it until you go to put together the next place mat and the facing is missing."

yea, it's been that kind of night. that's what you get for beginning to sew at 10pm.

i'll wait 'til tomorrow to top stitch the last two. and i'll iron them out first. and the one with two facings, well, it's just going to be a little bit thicker than the other three. there's nothing wrong with that is there?

and now, i'll take a hint from loki, and crawl under the covers.



good night.

beautiful bazaar

yesterday was the holiday bazaar at the charlottesville waldorf school, and it was a success. it was the first bazaar at the school's new location. because the school building, which is temporary, has no indoor hallways, the event took place largely out of doors. a vendor tent was set up in the parking lot. the activity rooms were spread out between three buildings. there was some skepticism about how this was all going to work out, but it all ran quite smoothly. it was a beautiful day on the beautiful grounds. the vendor tent was cozy and cheerful. people could move around and get fresh air. there were performers in three different areas. i actually found it an improvement on crowded indoor hallways crammed with excited children and exhausted parents. here are some scenes:


duet


candle dipping was a very popular success


dan performed in the cafe



tashi and nia did a great job with "good king wenceslas"


parents performing and vending in the tent

welcome to december

this little fairy found her way into tashi's advent calendar.

i love the handmade advent calendars i've been spotting in blogland. perhaps i will attempt one for next year. right now we have a wooden one that was passed down to us from dan's sister when she upgraded. i think the original idea is that the ornaments go into the cabinets and one per day is hung on the tree. but tashi puts all the ornaments up in the beginning and i fill the calendar with little surprises. it's certainly better than the cardboard calendars full of chocolate we used to get. starting the day off with a dose of chocolate isn't a good idea ever, and particularly in december when there is enough of a buzz going around.



earth worshipping polytheistic person that i am, i have mixed feelings about advent. we haven't attached any religious significance to it. but i enjoy the magic of a little daily surprise, and the joy and anticipation that fills tashi's heart at this time of year. it's a time of faries and surprises and magical stories. and maybe snow? i really would love to see some snow. . .

we will probably go to the tree farm next weekend to bring home a green friend. so this week i've got to prepare the house. i have been very, very lax on the housecleaning front lately. i think i have to make a schedule for myself: monday dust & clear, tuesday vacuum everywhere, wednesday clean out tashi's toy storage spaces, etc. etc. i've found it very difficult to motivate myself toward housekeeping. and there is an element of chaos beginning to emerge that makes me tweak.

today is a day for laundry, grocery shopping, finishing placemats, and beginning other things. onward. . .