I've been busy in the craft room making many things for the holidays. Here are King and Queen Winter. Needlefelted from wool roving in icy blues and whites, they rule over the Winter season bringing snowflakes, icicles and chilly winds. They create blankets of snow to tuck the fields and forests in for a winter slumber. Sparkling ice crystals sit atop their magic staffs. They can be ...
Advent Spiral Walk
The days are growing shorter, the mornings are darker when we get up, and in the absence of the sun, it is time to turn inward and create a little light of our own. Our Waldorf school held an Advent Garden spiral walk this week for all the students, and one on Sunday night for adults. We have a wonderfully diverse school community, so our celebration of the Advent Season means a ...
Advent Wreath
This weekend marked the beginning of Advent season. This is a winter festival of light celebrated at our Waldorf school, and the Advent wreath in the center of our table honoring the light found in stones, plants, animals and humankind is a tradition we began last year to brighten up our very dark, rainy Oregon winters. We go out in the woods and fashion a little wreath from spruce, Douglas-fir, ...
This Little Light of Mine…
In the dark, quiet stillness of the winter, people all around the world are lighting candles, lamps, fires, and strands of shining lights to bring some brightness into their lives. Festivals of light are celebrated in many cultures and faiths, and carry on traditions both ancient and new. With winters here in Oregon being particularly dark and rainy, our family has enjoyed incorporating different ...
The Gnome’s Garden in the Foothills
The little gnome, tired from a days work in his homestead garden, rests beneath the apple tree to the lullaby of a babbling brook... He's just a little forest gnome, the Olympic Mountain foothills are his home, and he dreams and dreams under the apple tree of all tomorrows adventures that will be. I recently made this custom order for a friend to send as a gift to a family ...
A Gathering of Pies
I would like to pay homage to the crowning glory of Thanksgiving feasts all across this country. Pies. Every November, families come together, friends come together, and all the pies come together. When else is there ever such a gathering of pies? This Thursday, we met up with friends at a beach house and shared good times together and an epic feast including: turkey, a quarter ham from our ...
Tidepool
Growing up by the Straits of Juan de Fuca, where rocky beaches abound, I spent a lot of time playing around tidepools and observing the little worlds they held. I have always been drawn to tidepool art. One of my favorite artists, Margaret Owens does these beautiful ceramic tiles of tidepools and sometimes makes tidepool bowls. You can see her work here at ...
Give Thanks
I have learned over the years to recognize the vast importance of being thankful in day-to-day life. No matter how many things are not going well, acknowledging those things for which you are grateful, however small they may seem, can shift your focus, put you in a whole new place, and ultimately change your experience of your life. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Being thankful for ...
Bob the Snowman
Bob the little snowman had a radish for a nose... ...
Molasses Snow Candy
Remember when they made snow candy in the Little House on the Prairie books? Growing up in an area where we just didn't get a whole lot of snow, I was always fascinated by this treat. I never quite got it to work out though. I ended up with gooey messes, teeth stuck together, and goop that just tasted like plain molasses. Last year I found The Little House Cookbook by Barbara M. Walker, and lo and ...