play

I thought these blocks were never going to be played with again.  They had been collecting dust for a few years and I really thought I would put them in the garage, otherwise known as the toy graveyard.  It seems like these days my boys would rather play on the computer than do anything else and I had really reached my breaking point the other day.  They were fighting and I just yelled, "play with the blocks dangit!!!"  (or something like that)  And they did.  My blood pressure lowered a bit and I realized how beautiful it is to have a mess in the family room.

Honestly, I miss the days when my kids just played with toys.  I feel nostalgic about those days when I had an ever present little one on my hip and the house was a disaster zone most of the time.

My kids, at the moment, are playing flashlight hide-n-seek with dad.  My heart is really happy.

more

This time last year we had already been skiing for a month.  It's been a really bad year for snow in the Sierras.  I see all the pictures of the snow falling in other parts of the country and I feel envious.  We need the snow, not only for fun, but for the precious water it gives us.  I want MORE snow!  I don't know if we're going to get lots more.  It's starting to feel like spring.

I called the Sky Tavern office this morning to see what their plan is. I have lots of planning to do myself. This snow situation has really put a wrench in my plans.  And if the ski program is really going to happen, I have a huge problem on my hands.  Because, I have a lot MORE going on this spring. Do you feel my stress?  All three kids are signed up for soccer and the first game starts on March 29th and practices usually start two weeks before that.  Between soccer practice 4 or 5 nights a week and soccer games on Saturday and skiing all day on Sunday....Well, I can't even go there.

I had a talk with the kids this morning and asked them how they felt about all these commitments and they agree that they like their afternoons free to play, read or just do nothing. I don't like this overlap of activities.

This weekend is a no-go for skiing which means that I'm free this Sunday for a walk out in the desert with my people or just to catch up with life.  This last picture shows Mount Rose in the distance.  That's close to where we ski.

Time will tell how this all pans out. Meanwhile, I still wish for MORE snow and I still hope for MORE time in the day.

winter hike

This space here has seemed like a far off distant life I used to live.  Where did I even find the time to post so much?  I found myself going through this blog and the previous one last night and I felt kind of melancholic.  My kids have grown up so much.  Amelia is in high school!  In a way, when the kids were littler than they are now, only a year ago even, life seemed simpler to me.  Cuter almost and most definitely more tender.  There seemed to be more art going on, although much of our days are spent drawing, painting and being creative. It's just different. We stayed home a lot!  These days we are involved in so many activities outside of the house.

One thing I can say is that I've found my home school groove.  Five years ago when I started this journey of teaching my kids at home, I really struggled with what kind of homeschooler I was.  Was I an unschooler?  I kind of was/am.  Was I a Waldorfy kind of mom?  Most definitely I feel drawn to that style.  I can't even remember how many years I've been homeschooling but it's definitely been at least 5.  I think it takes that long to feel confident. If you would have told me that I'd be homeschooling my daughter through high school, I would have laughed in your face!

We went for our hike this weekend along a canyon just east of Reno.  We'll be skiing soon and we won't be able to do much of it in the next couple of months.  It was a beautiful day, sunny but cold enough to need layers the first mile.

I'd like to get back into posting pictures and words here.  At the moment I feel a bit rusty.  But, I'm going to give it a try.

fermenting the cukes

Lately, my preferred method for preserving cucumbers has been fermenting.  Too bad we planted so many Japanese cucumbers because I could have used them this year.  Instead, I ordered a lug from our local organic farmer.  You don't know what a lug is?  Neither did I.  But, I ordered one from the farmer.  It turns out that a lug is just a measurement that they use.  In this case it was a box of cucumbers.  Maybe 20-30 pounds? Anyway, a lot of cucumbers!!

Obviously I decided I was going to ferment a LOT of pickles this year. You might say I love fermented pickles. And last year I didn't make enough.

I may have forgotten one little detail which is where the heck I'm going to store all these jars!  I always make things work.

I am now the proud mama of these beautifully, bubbly, cloudy, garlicky fermented pickles.  I actually got one more larger jar and filled that up.  My husband took all the really large cucumbers left over and made a batch of bread and butter pickles today while I was at the store.  I think we're set in the pickle department?!

Do you ferment?

lazy summer

These lazy summer days.  Yesterday I had some things to do and I totally blew them off in exchange for staying close to home.  We did a little laundry, a trip to the farmer's market and a stop by the post office to send Amelia a care package (a duffel bag, gluten free lemon bars, toothpaste and a card).  But mainly, we did much of nothing. I'm not much for packing my schedule full of activities because we do enough of that during the school year.

Summer = LAZY

Not that my summer has been uneventful.  Amelia has been away at summer school for 5 excruciating weeks.  The boys and I have been sprinkling our days with fun activities while she's been gone.

Months ago when summer was just a page on my calender, we applied for a two night summer camp for Solomon.  That happened last weekend and I envisioned that page on my calender in my mind and checked it off of our summer plans. I'm now looking forward to Amelia coming home in 12 days.

We still have plenty of summer left and I'm happy about that.  I need that recharge time in the summer to think and plan for the school year coming up.

on our way to Solomon's summer camp

I hope you're summer has been fun!