Day in the Life

I woke up this morning with enthusiasm for the day ahead, all the possibilities and freedom. And then my mood turned more melancholy, and I realized why. Today is the last quiet "home" day for the family, before the girls are back to school and life is back the usual hustle and bustle. I savor the days when we can wake up and meander downstairs, enjoying a late breakfast and several cups of tea, before moving on to the tasks at hand. I am simply not a morning person and never have been. In addition, I love my home and between home and garden, would happily never leave the confines of my personal space. Of course, I love to have friends and family visit! I love the idea of new adventures, but I have to admit that I am more comfortably an armchair traveller than a real explorer. So these last couple of weeks, with everyone on holiday, it has been amazing. And tomorrow it is time to readjust to our usual routine. I think the girls are eager to see their teachers and classmates, go to Chinese class, and make play dates. After feeling mopey for a while, I began to appreciate this day of enjoying my wonderful, sweet family and here is what we've been up to...

Building a fire~

~our well loved dining table, covered in an artful mess. The first photo in this post is the result - a colorful snowflake. It is made from this Magic Cabin kit.

~The girls reading a new Elsa Beskow book, Annika with Grandma. I couldn't resist a good deal on this book, with it's beautiful illustrations.It is written in German so we are grateful to have her here to translate for us. It looks as if the titled will soon be released in English under the title Emily and Daisy. And notice the mild weather! Not a typical winter's day.

~Self portrait, doing what I enjoy most, observing through the lens of my camera! Notice my lovely new camera strap slip cover, purchased from fellow blogger, Molly, at A Foothill Companion.

~Mia wondered what I was doing, and joined the fun.

~ I can't leave out the usual load of chores that are begging for my attention! Here is my bed buried in laundry. At least it's clean laundry.

~I decided to bake cookies for some de-stress therapy. Nothing like sugar and chocolate (for the grown-up oatmeal cookies that is...shhhh...)

~Here is Vivienne's invented dessert recipe. She called it oatmeal sugar cake. It actually turned out quite good, the kids gobbled it up in an instant!


~Papa got to spend a bit of time working from home today. He was lucky to arrive just in time for the cookies to come out of the oven.

~The girls were very eager to show Grandma how to needle felt. Vivienne proudly showed me her very own creation, done under supervision of Grandma, but with absolutely no assistance!

And here are some of the various project that the kids have been working on in recent days. This is the pretty little doll that Vivienne made from various bits in the Recycle bin, and gave to me. Her dress is from cupcake paper, her body is a wood popsicle stick, her hair is made of a trimming from my hemp twine. She is so darling.

~This is a needles-and-pins felt mitten book that Mia made and surprised me with for Christmas. It was inspired by one that Grandma got from a girl many years ago, which she described to Mia over the phone. I love it.

~Mia's starry night illustration

~Good-bye to our lovely Christmas tree and all the other decorations. Tomorrow is the 12th day of Christmas, and soon it will be coming down.

~a gift from my mom that finally arrived from Canada. I am so excited to be collecting these beautiful pieces from the Ostheimer nativity scene.

In joy and peace...