Category Archives: Life

Christmas 2015

I never plan to take a giant blog break at this time of year, sometimes I even make an effort not to, but it always happens anyway.

I opted out of sewing Christmas pajamas this year, both because I had other projects to concentrate on and because I had something specific in mind that I very much did not want to make.  We purchased double thick, wool-cotton red union suits for the kids.  The making of which would have required sewing about a gazillion button holes in stretch fabric.  My brain translated that as akin to being trapped in a medieval torture device while forced to watch people burn perfectly good yarn.  No, no, and no I say!  It was a good purchase.  They will wear them under work clothes, under snow gear and around the house all winter long.

I was, however, content to do a little Christmas knitting and since the suits we bought came in sizes to fit everyone except for dear Seraphina, I made her one.  Very cute.  And I was right, that Hollyberry is an amazing color for her.

The whole time I was planning for Christmas, I was thinking in terms of keeping everyone warm for the winter.  Steve and I decided together that it was far more important to us that they feel well cared for than entertained.  We gathered together coats and wool socks to go with those woolly suits.  Wool on wool on wool, to shelter our babes from the harshness of a New England winter in the mountains.  On Christmas Day we beat the long standing record high by something like 15 degrees.  I walked barefoot in the garden, mostly so that I could say that I had.  It was far from unpleasant, though a little moist.

Don’t be too freaked out by the shorts and the fan.  It wasn’t that warm!  But I’ve noticed that teenagers tend to exaggerate these things for effect.and there was a smokey kitchen mishap (one of Galen’s precious pies bubbled over).

Some of the kids were devastated by the idea of a truly green Christmas, but they appeared to have a good time all the same.  To me it actually seemed the grandest of gifts.  It will be a story to tell, a memory to share, “Remember that Christmas where we were out playing football in tee-shirts?!?”  After a full summer of not really having the strength to step outside, much less enjoy the weather, I hoped and prayed for a long mild autumn.  And when I was granted it, I found my days too full of trying to play catch up to go out and enjoy it.  But on this one glorious day, I had nothing much left to do and I just reveled in it.  And, well, finally harvested my horseradish…

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baby things, celebrations and festivals, Food, Kids, Life, snapshots, Yarn Crafts
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Merry Making (heavy on the making)

There has been so much going on this season.  The downstairs of our home has been completely changed around.  We still haven’t managed to decorate our tree, save for the lights and angel on top.  Maybe tomorrow?  Growing up, my family always decorated the tree on Christmas Eve.  I’m really kind of digging the minimalist decor!  The tree looks pretty with just lights.  I’m glad there is very little else out in the main living area just now.

I gave the kids free rein to decorate however they pleased provided they avoided headache inducing flashing lights.  They seem to have concentrated their efforts on the stairwells which are absolutely covered in garlands and lights and Iain’s attic bedroom, where they plan on spending Christmas Eve night all together again.  Their tree has been decorated for ages now, complete with wrapped presents underneath (note to self: next year we should make a stash of fabric bags for their own private use).  I’ve not wrapped or bagged a thing and I’m still working on a set of pajamas to be given tomorrow and praying a few last minute gifts show up at the post office today.  It will all be whatever it is.

The house smells overwhelmingly like cinnamon.  There are snickerdoddles baking and Galen was determined to make traditional mincemeat pie- heavy on the meat, like Almonzo’s mother.  I’ve just popped in here for a moment when it seemed like there were more than enough hands trying to tuck crust around.  Back to it all for me, and all the best to you!  Merry, merry folks!

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building, celebrations and festivals, crafts, Kids, Life, snapshots, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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red and green

“Birthday traditions will not of their own accord become simpler, rather the reverse, and it is not difficult to imagine that traditions generated with enthusiasm can, in certain circumstances, become a burden.” ~ The Birthday Book: Celebrations for Everyone

The holiday season leads right into the birthday season in this house, with three birthdays in January, one in February, one in March and a break in April before our final child birthday in May.  Currently, I’m reading about birthdays while planning food for the Solstice and knitting for Christmas.  The knitting bit is a warm surprise for a certain little someone, with my current favorite everyday yarn, in the rich, festive ‘Hollyberry’.

A hand-made doll for her child (this was the only gift mentioned), a house decorated with greenery, odd bits of roots and foraged slices of wood mixed with white fairy lights, with plans for a day spent dancing, singing and eating nourishing foods.  This is the description of a Christmas celebration that I remember reading many years ago that has stuck with me.  As far as I’m concerned, it sounds just right.  Our own celebrations have become too complicated.  It’s time to scale back.  Mostly I want to reassess how we handle gifts.  We’ve always tried to keep things fun, but moderate.  In recent years we took up the “something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read” concept, to which I tacked on art supplies as we always seem to be ready to replenish by this time of year.  It sounds fairly simple.  But with five children that’s 25 gifts!  Without taking into account a few odds and ends in stockings, not to mention gifts for any of our other loved ones or the gifts and planning required for our big double birthday celebration just 11 days after Christmas.  Even so, it might not be so bad if I didn’t have such high standards for the items I’m willing to purchase.  If I was willing to buy just anything…even if it’s likely to break…or potentially toxic…or from a sweatshop…or crass…or too much money…etc….it might not be such trouble.  But that’s not something I’m willing to compromise on.  As things are, it’s too much time, too much money, too much stress and much too much time spent on the computer shopping for me.   I’ve had a late season epiphany (erm, private little hissy fit? It’s a fine line.) and announced that each child would be getting one present under the tree.  They were all like, “ok” and went right back to what they were doing….I mentioned it would mean more time to be together and that I wouldn’t feel so strained and someone said that would be a much better gift.  Right.  And all this time Steve and I have been fretting about expectations and precedents having been set.  Eye opening.

It’s not quite as little as it seems as everyone will have a nice full stocking (have I ever shared my stocking formula here?  Would you like me to?) and there will be Christmas Eve pajamas of course.  And they all like to give gifts to each other.  So really it becomes quite a lot, without even taking extended family into consideration, and I wonder why I’ve fussed about it for all this time?

I’m also reading The Princess and the Goblin.  Firstly because I’m not yet too old for a good fairy story and secondly to see what hands would be best to set it into next.

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Books, celebrations and festivals, Holidays, Kids, Life, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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bits and pieces

The older boys are studying Emily Dickinson just now.  I ordered a great heap of books from the library, including The Gorgeous Nothings (ack, that title! sublime), which is a collection of Emily’s “envelope poems”.   It’s just beautiful and such an intimate little glimpse, it kind of makes me giddy.

I’ve been working on Iain’s quilt whenever he’s out of the house.  It’s absolutely exhausting.  How pathetic that I find something a simple as sewing exhausting!  It’s not exactly something one thinks of as strenuous.  But there you have it.  Exhausting, but satisfying.

The plan for it was very simple, uniform, and symmetrical.  And following that plan I very rapidly depleted my fabric stores.  Which is when I switched to using every little scrap in anyway I could.  I’ve since moved on to quilting it completely at random.  There is no method to the madness.  I have absolutely no idea how it’s going to turn out.  After all this work it could be completely hideous.  Or not.  It’s a mystery.  The whole of it is deep winter; frost covered trees, glittering stars set in the deepest of dark blues, snow and owls like the one that haunts our compost pile when the snow lays thick all about.

After what was frankly a terrible morning, full of strife and family discord, I was in for extensive blood work (again) tonight.  It was kind of a monstrous affair with 14 vials needing to be filled and them not being able to find a vein (seriously, the technician kissed my arm in relief when after much jabbing she finally found one she could use on the second side).  As I sat in the waiting room knitting, a little girl went in for her tests, and I listened to her cry thinking how glad I was that I was the one in for testing this time and not one of my children.  A smiling older woman struck up a conversation with me.  That on it’s own was so pleasant and friendly in a room full of disgruntled looking people staring at their phones.  The arthritis in her hands made it so that she can no longer knit.  It was her father’s birthday as well as mine, though her father had long since passed.  She had four children of her own, though she had lost a grown son to cancer 6 months prior.  And here our conversation was cut short.

I came home woozy and shaking with both arms bruised, but keenly feeling my blessings.  I called and wished my father a happy birthday this morning.  I worked a bit on knitting little gifts, something that feels so connected to the very essence of who I am.  I’ve hugged each of my children today, many, many times for some and no one has prodded them with needles or anything else.  Back at home the children bustled about, making dinner so that I could rest and concentrate on caring for the little one who was missing me.  She kept laying her whole self on top of me and snuggling in tight.  It’s been a very good day.

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Books, Life, sewing, WIP
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November Days

One of the downsides to where we live is that almost everything is far away, but the view on your way there is almost always beautiful.

Paint samples mingling with family art.  Just a daydream right now.  A happy thought for way off in the future.  I’ve already decided just which one I want.

It was in this month that I finally gave up on the rest of my tomatoes, piled up in baskets in the mudroom, waiting to be dealt with.  They are now for the wildlife to enjoy.

Iain built me an arbor to grow my roses up, lovely boy.  Steve and Elijah helped a bit at times, mostly holding things in place, but it was designed and built almost entirely by Iain.  It’s going to look gorgeous all covered in blooms come summer.

Following their interests, our “woods day” has mostly been taking place fire side for the younger ones, with the older ones stopping in to visit from time to time.  We tend to cook at least our midday meal on the fire.  Last week it was apple, yam and raisins topped with cinnamon and a bit of oil, cooked up together in a tidy packet.  A little spit for roasting apples has been erected.  They like to roast apples every week.  What Galen really wants is to roast a turkey over the fire.  They are working on new burn bowls.  Galen has been making paintbrushes from found wood and bird feathers.

I got such a wonderful head start on Iain’s birthday sweater this year!  At some point I got distracted and put it aside, knowing that I had time to spare.  Suddenly it’s November and occurring to me that I have this giant man-sized sweater to complete and very little time to do it in.

I’ve been sewing and sewing.  I’m wrapping crafting and the holiday season about me like a comfortingly soft old quilt.  And on the subject of quilts, I up and decided to make Iain a “quick” last minute quilt.  As if there is really such a thing as a quick quilt!  I’ve had the fabric for an embarrassingly long time and the child will be 16, it’s feeling like now or never.  I’m really enjoying the process.  It’s mostly quiet sitting work, which is just my speed these days.

Experiments with various types of barometers.

Wood gathered for sugaring off on the other side of the year.

I haven’t quite wrapped my brain around Thanksgiving being in just two days.  In fact, I keep thinking it’s Friday and the week is over.  I think we’ll be keeping things fairly simple here.

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Food, Gardens, Homeschooling, Kids, Life, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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full disclosure

Monday marks nine years of blogging here for me. What started out as a way to keep family and friends updated on our journey while trying to recover from toxic mold exposure has turned into something much more. From the beginning it has also been a place for me to focus on and appreciate what was and is good and beautiful in the middle of an often challenging time. In all these years I’ve really resisted the idea of monetizing my blog. That was just never the point of this space for me.

I’m sitting here writing this on a Wednesday morning.  So far this week the various members of our family combined have had an MRI, an MRA, multiple EKGs, x-rays, an emergency room visit and extensive blood work.  And the week’s doctors appointments are far from over yet.  I’d like to say that this has been an extreme week, but it’s not all that out of the ordinary just now.  We’ve had 4 emergency room visits in the last 6 weeks- all for different members of the family- and each with it’s associated follow-ups with various specialists.  That’s without even going into all of the planned appointments, the medications, the supplements.  We’re kind of coming apart at the seams.  As if trying to balance and live with the stress of multiple chronically ill people within our family wasn’t challenge enough, the added strain of our mounting medical bills is simply too much.  This is such an easy and obvious source of potential income that I can literary no longer afford to overlook it.

It’s important to me that any company I support be one that I personally use.  What do I buy?  I buy yarn.  And the vast majority of my yarn comes from Knit Picks.  Their wide selection fits our budget and lifestyle while offering me lots of creative flexibility.  I have no less than four projects using their yarns on my needles at this very moment.  I’ve been sharing projects featuring Knit Picks yarns for years now.  Becoming their affiliate seemed logical.  They are supportive of independent designers, organize charity fundraisers, and are committed to ethical manufacturing practices.  I think we’re a good fit.  So in the future, if you follow a link from my site to the Knit Picks site and make a purchase, a portion of that order will go towards supporting our family.  The same goes for purchases made at Amazon.  And I thank you in advance, from the very bottom of my heart.

Worsted Weight Yarns from knitpicks.comThis week is Knit Picks biggest sale of the year.  I have my own small order to place for some holiday crafting- woolies to warm my babes in the months ahead.

happy knitting,

Melody

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EDS / POTS, Life, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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delicate lace

That’s the name of the paint color that we are oh, so slowly covering most of our first floor in.  I like to think that I’m above being influenced by the names of colors.  Surely I can’t be swayed by something so superficial?  The wildly disproportionate number of colors we’ve used with textile related names seems to indicate otherwise!Every morning two pajama clad little girls hide in my curtains giggling.

I never shared Seraphina’s toddler blanket, though it’s been done for six months or so now.  I meant to get very official photos of it laid out to block or hung up in the sunshine or most especially, me carrying her all bundled up in it.  But of course I never did any of that.  All I have are a few pictures that happen to include her shawl.  Including the two that I just happened to snap while admiring it one day.

Usually I’m not the least bit conceited about my knitting projects.  I enjoy making them and I enjoy using them, but I don’t think that makes me anything special exactly.  I’m just so tickled by this particular knit, completely smitten really, that I feel as though perhaps just a bit of it’s glory is reflected back on me and sometimes when I look at it, I confess that I may be just a wee bit pleased with myself.  

It’s huge.  I made the large version.  I used an adult sized sleeping bag, unzipped, to block it and the blanket stretched to it’s full width and length.

It was worked in soft and squishy Bare Stroll Fingering Sock Yarn. The undyed yarn is a beautiful warm cream color and using it meant that I could make a mostly merino blanket for a very reasonable price.

Her shawl- for a shawl it truly is, knit in the traditional Shetland Hap Shawl style, is much beloved.  She always sleeps under it.  She’s carried down from her naps wrapped in her creamy woolen cocoon.  It’s understood that she’s not really awake and ready to join in life again until she’s willing to shed her shawl.  Mairi is rather jealous and has asked me to make her one.  I can’t blame her really.  I dream of having one of my own as well.

I’m now reading Why Can’t I Get Better?  all the way through and it’s fabulous.  I highly recommend it to anyone suffering from chronic illness.

 

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baby things, Books, Kids, Life, snapshots, Yarn Crafts
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cider making

At our friend’s homestead, nearly a month ago now!  The world outside has changed so much in that time!

For a seasonal treat; peel and chop parsnips, add them to a roasting pan with chopped apples (no need to peel these).  Add a splash of cider.  Cover and bake until soft.  Delicious!

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Food, Kids, Life, recipes, snapshots
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comfort knitting

More simple baby knits in soul soothing baby colors.  As mindless as mindless can be.  And even so I noticed a mistake in my first row of ribbing.  Ribbing for goodness sake!  Can you imagine?  And I also decided I was too beat to care enough to fix it.

I’m just barely reading Anne of the Island from the Anne of Green Gables series.  I picked it up at random in the bathroom one day.  Are other people’s houses like this?  We have books everywhere, but they seem to kind of funnel here.  Especially in the upstairs one where Galen thinks he’s being clever and sly by hiding out in there to read after lights out time.  Once a week or so, usually over Sunday dinner, I’ll mention that I counted, say, 11 books in there earlier and as there aren’t 11 people in this house that can read, it seems like maybe some of them could be returned to shelves?  I don’t even know who was responsible for the appearance of this one, but no one has complained about it going missing yet.  I could be reading any one of my more serious books, but I’m so tired that I wouldn’t remember a bit of them anyway and so the balm of good, old, reliable, steadfast Anne with an “E” it is.

Wee Miss Seraphina Violet Juliette, usually the very picture of glowing, roly-poly, rose cheeked health, who never gets any more than a touch of what may be going around, has developed the worst case of croup that I’ve ever borne witness to, resulting in several scary, sleepless nights for the both of us.  Thankfully it has just about run its course.  It’s been such a relief to hear her singing to herself again, even if her voice is still just barely more than a little squeak.  Things seem to be improving, but it’s been another very long week, in a streak of long weeks.

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baby things, Books, Kids, Life, Mothering, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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Halloween and 44/52

I had what I thought was an adorable idea for a costume for Seraphina and others.  As of 3:30 on October 30th, all that I’d managed of it was her little hat.  And I couldn’t have cared less.  In fact, I was quite ready to throw in the towel with Halloween across the board.  Try again next year.  Maybe.  Maybe not even that.  But Elijah, who obviously puts great stock in creative Halloween costumes, and probably equally pressing was looking to get out of washing dishes, laid the old sheet I was planning on using out on the table and started piecing together a pattern.  And so, with a good deal of help, I rallied and there were costumes all around.

I wanted Mairi Rose to be a Matryoshka with us, but no, she wanted to be Tink to his Pan.  Mommy and daughters matching costume?  Totally cute.  Controlling mommy who insists you wear the costume she wants you to wear?  Not so cute.  So I did not push even though it really would have been kind of perfect since she is just the right in between size.  Side note: All three boys and I just recently watched the Milwaukee Ballet’s production of Peter Pan.  It was magical.  And inspiring for a certain young, male, ballet dancer.

Sewing notes: I used this pattern for Seraphina’s bonnet and a pattern similar to this one for my kerchief- which was very comfortable and stayed on perfectly and I want to make a bunch more for everyday wear.  Seraphina’s dress is this one.  Details on the sweater to come.  I just made my dress up as I went along.  It didn’t balloon out as nicely as it could have.  Also, for the record, I’m not actually shaped like Humptey-Dumptey.  Or at least not any more so than you would expect a woman who has given birth to five children to be.  It’s the costume, honest! (well, mostly anyway)  Mairi’s leggings in the first picture were made from this pattern.

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52, baby things, celebrations and festivals, crafts, Food, Kids, Life, photography, sewing, snapshots, toy making
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