February Daybook

..

Once again from The Simple Woman's Daybook. I would like to try to do this each month through the year. I wrote my answers quickly, first things to come to my mind...


Outside my window... Dark and very snowy. Lots of snow.


I am thinking... About how grateful I am that this has been a month of real winterness.


I am thankful... That we are making it through this winter! And for some extra hopefulness that we have found this past week.


In the kitchen... A really weird stew I made of red lentils, beets, and cabbage. It's good, just weird. And so so red, which is pretty, but also kind of weird. The beets and cabbage we grew ourselves, still eating so much from last years harvest, and that's so so good!


I am wearing... Green linen skirt and maroon plaid top. And that may seem a lot like what I was wearing the last time I wrote a daybook entry, but that time it was a green plaid shirt, not maroon. And that top has long sleeves, but this top has short sleeves. Yes, I love plaid. Probably the majority of all the clothing I ever sew for myself is plaid.


I am creating... Today a few granny squares, and probably some more tonight. During the week some sewing. With pretty pink fairy fabric! I will show you soon...


I am going... to hopefully sew lots more this week. I was missing it. It makes me very happy.


I am wondering... I am dreaming. We are dreaming...


I am reading... Seed catalogs and our garden notes from last season.


I am hoping... it's that dream again...


I am looking forward to... Everything!


I am learning... Trying.


Around the house... Washed the kitchen towels, napkins, cloth sacks, and rags. Folded the kitchen towels, napkins, cloth sacks, and rags. Need to sew more kitchen towels, napkins, cloth sacks...


I am pondering... Not at the moment, but when I finish writing this and sit down with my crochet. Ooh, probably while I crochet I will ponder some future knitting projects.


A favorite quote for today... I suddenly can't focus, crazy kitty cat going wild hunting a stick on the stairs. That's not a quote, that's what distracted me.


One of my favorite things... I have so many favorite things. I wonder what I wrote last time. Family. Love. Forest. Knit. Sew. Granny squares. Books.


A few plans for the rest of the week: Homeschool days. Finish Mesopotamia with Chloe, begin Egypt. Think ahead to the next blocks of geography and botany. Finishing up a second math block with Chessa, the four processes and a squirrel story.


A peek into my day...


A moment of sweetness.

Wishing you lots of sweet and happy moments during this coming week!


...

for love, and just because...

..





















In our own simple way we celebrated a lovely little valentine's day. It may not seem to be a very significant holiday, but I see it as a time to add a little extra color and cheer (and love of course) to these sometimes dark and often long winter days.

The girls spent many days making many, many valentines, most of them for their dolls. And then, inspired by the so very wonderful Tasha Tudor, we made our very own "Sparrow Post" to receive the various cards, love letters, and tiny handmade gifts.

And it snowed. And snowed and snowed and snowed. For many days of the past weeks. We are finally having a real winter!

So we will continue to embrace the simpleness and loveliness of these winter days...


...

Waldorf Fifth Grade - Ancient India

..

Here are some lesson book photos from our first Ancient Civilizations block. We spent about three weeks on India. I planned this block mostly using Charles Kovacs' Ancient Mythologies book for our stories with some extra guidance and inspiration from Christopherus.





When Chloe read that there have been many poems written about Krishna and Radha she asked if we could find some. She wrote this verse into her lesson book, along with this pretty picture.


We read the Mahabharata (Donna Simmon's very nice retelling in the Christopherus book) and Chloe wrote some of her favorite parts from the Bhagavad Gita. She also drew this picture of Arjuna and his bow. She really enjoyed this adventurous story!


We finished the block with the story of Sidhartha. I feel like the message of compassion and kindness towards all beings really made an impression on Chloe. I know that these stories will always stay with her.


...

moments from the middle of winter

..



We celebrate the middle of winter, Brigid's Day, Candlemas. Inside and outside.


We have been reading stories of Brigid. Yesterday we wrote a small play about her, and the girls and I performed it for Jason this evening.

We had buttercup squash soup for dinner. We baked "snowdrop cookies". We only make these cookies on this day and on the winter solstice.


Earlier in the afternoon I was thinking about what kind of painting we could perhaps do tomorrow. I had a thought of Brigid's well and imagined trees intertwining above it. Then I suddenly decided I should sit down and do a crayon drawing. (Done mostly with beeswax block crayons.) As I started I realized the picture was going to be much more spring-like than wintery, but I decided that was okay, it is nice to look ahead at this time of year. It has been a while since I have practiced my drawing like this. It was nice to take the time for it, I would like to do it more often.

I wrote a Brigid blessing on a small chalkboard and placed it with the drawing next to our table at dinner. And we lit a new candle.

(And you see, all that was this evening, with a dark and snowy sky. So no photos to share...)


And earlier in the week...

A wonderful outside day, so much sunshine, so much happiness and running around!



Time with our horses.


The girls were so delighted with the smell of the dried up grasses and flowers in the hay.


Chessa told me I had to stand with my eyes closed and the sun shining down on my face and take deep breathes of the hay and it would feel like summer. Of course it really did.
Then the girls tucked bits of the dried flowers and grasses into their braids.


And inside play...



Setting up camps.


Doll picnics, doll parties, lots of doll love and play.


Chessa's dolls get much more worn that Chloe's ever did. Smudged faces, dirty hands, scuffed feet. So loved. I am noticing here that Isabella's mouth is quite messy. Hmm, it seems someone may have been feeding her...


She looks like her dolls.


And just this one perfect photo of my dear eldest child. But so many wonderful moments with her.


Wishing you all wonderful mid-season days!


...