Gratitude

 

We have been having a gorgeous Autumn. The sun still shines most days and the leaves are beautifully colored. As a Thanksgiving tradition we collect fallen branches to make a gratitude tree. Of course the day before we went to collect branches it had rained. Luckily it was also windy so we were able to find many (damp) branches. There were also many chestnuts on the ground so A took a basket to collect some. Anyone have some wonderful chestnut crafts for my A?

Our Thanksgiving was a day filled with family and good food. It was the first year that I did not eat turkey and to be honest, I didn't miss it a bit. We had vegan mashed potatoes, cheese perogies (made by my Ukrainian husband), kale salad, brussels sprouts with apples, cranberry and squash quinoa salad and pumpkin pie. It was a feast indeed.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some gratitudes and reflection. We are fortunate that's for sure. We have our health, our family, our safe home, our large garden, our chickens, our loving cat, we are both employed, our children have all their needs met, we are never hungry or cold. We are blessed and we are grateful.

Michaelmas

 

Brave and true will I be

Each good deed sets me free

Each kind word makes me strong

I will fight for the right

I will conquer the wrong

Traditional Verse

This was our first year celebrating Michaelmas. As we did with Martinmas, we focused on the stories and the moral message of the holiday. I participated in a Michaelmas themed craft swap early in September which really got us in the mood. F got a sweet pair of dragon arm warmers, A got a dragon and St. George for story telling and we got a few other goodies for our table. 

We picked up this book from the library (Trina Schart Hyman is one of our favorite illustrators) and used our dragon and St. George to act it out. Miss A decided however that our dragon is a friendly dragon who gives rides.

We talked a little bit about of inner "dragon". I think it's hard for my children to identify that part of their personality. However, this year I decided my inner dragon is my mama guilt. Since F's birth I've been carrying around a lot of guilt. I tell myself I'm too hard on my children, I don't give them enough of my time, I'm not meeting all their needs, I don't give them enough opportunities, and so many other negative thoughts that do nothing but bring me down. So I'm going to tell myself some kind words about myself and be strong so I can conquer my inner dragon.

Did you all get a chance to see that amazing Harvest Moon eclipse? We thought we had missed it but we managed to catch a glimpse as we were driving home for bedtime. So magical.

A Weekend Getaway

This past weekend we headed to my favorite place on earth for a family wedding. Although the forecast called for rain, Mother Nature took pity on us and gave us some sunshine for the last morning of our trip.

This place is so beautiful. I always feel calm there. It's like my second home. The deer, squirrel, seals, eagles, ravens, kingfishers, herons and frogs only add to the magic. As I was packing up to head home I noticed a huge dreamcatcher hung in the forest near our room. It was woven with feathers and shells and A called it her treasure. We had sweet dreams indeed.

A weekend seemed all too brief. I was not prepared for the return to the daily grind. I wanted to stay in the healing space. Be there with my children and soak in every moment. Time feels different there. Not slower but sweeter. I will be going there in my dreams tonight.

A Little Laura

I was chosen to test this sweet Little House on the Prairie doll pattern. We are big fans of Laura Ingalls and we've read all the My First Little House books. So I just couldn't pass up the chance to make one of these sweet dolls.

I chose super soft alpaca for the doll herself and a tweed for the dress. My magic loop skills could use some work and this was the first time I had done doll hair and I'm not happy with it but A seems thrilled with her and that is what matters.

I might have to make a little Mary to keep little Laura company. If you want to make a Laura and Mary for yourself the pattern should be released by the end of the month. Keep an eye on the link for the pattern. My rav notes can be found here.

Something New

It was time for a change. My blog address of westcoastaddict was so often misunderstood (I chose it as I feel like I'm addicted to the lifestyle of west coast living) that I decided to change it. It was hard to find something that fit but wasn't already in use. For now I've gone with westcoastlovinmama.blogspot.com. Because really, I am a west coast lovin' mama!

Oh and here is a super cute picture of my boy with some apples.

Garden Blessings

It's been a difficult year in the garden. It's been hot and dry. The heat has benefited the pears and the tomatoes but other things are struggling. My zucchini has been rotting on the stem and my swiss chard is barely 4 inches tall. If that weren't enough the blight of urban deer has spread to my garden. More than one morning I've gone into the yard to find a handful of deer happily munching away. They ate all my beautiful cabbage.

The long hot summer seems to be making the grapes very happy. Almost every morning I collect handfuls of grapes for my children's snack. I've also been harvesting cherry tomatoes daily. It's been such a joy to eat from our garden. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than picking vegetables and then heading straight to my kitchen to make my family dinner. Just the other night we had herb mashed potatoes with roasted carrots, beets and squash all from our garden.

Catching Crayfish

A few weekends ago we attempted to go on an impromptu camping trip. We drove for several hours and only found packed campgrounds. It had been a long day filled with disappointments so before we made the long drive home we stopped by Cowichan River for a dip and to search for crayfish. One of A's favorite Sparkle Stories is titled Catching Crayfish. We certainly don't have big crayfish here but they are fun to search for.

We stripped the kids down and headed into the river. Though A wanted to be the one to catch the crayfish, she just didn't have the grab down pat. So once spotted, Daddy grabbed the crayfish. A held one but I'm pretty sure F was determined to crush. Poor little guy was pretty scared. We found a nice little spot for him to hide and set him free. We searched and searched but didn't find more crayfish. We saw a few salmon fry but that was it. It's been a very dry summer so the river is low. It's not good news for the fish.

Dinner and a dip in the river seemed to help recharge us for the drive home. It was a bit disappointing to arrive home without having had a night in the woods but to quell A's disappointment I set up an indoor campsite for her. A little campfire made of a lantern and playsilks, her sleepbag on her bed, a couple stuffed birds and a stuffed raccoon and the window wide open. It's not the same but it was a little something fun.