Summertime Goodness

 

This summer is zipping by. We have one last trip to Oregon, leaving tomorrow on a 5am flight! Now is my chance to share some bits and pieces of what we have been doing around here. Peaches have been a major theme in the past week. It all began with an almond peach cobbler that Mia made from one of my favorite cookbooks, San Francisco Flavors. She baked it for the Azalea Mountain potluck and got tons of complements on it. Yum, it was delicious. Next came Vivienne's peach tart from my other favorite cookbook, Clotilde's Chocolate and Zucchini. And this was divine! So very yummy and we got to share it with Grammy and Granddaddy when they visited. Then there was the peach ice cream, that I got inspired to make for the annual Rennicks' ice cream social. I made a peach ginger (winning the award of most sensuous flavor) and a peach thyme, both recipes are from The Ultimate Ice Cream book. Very interesting flavors. I really liked the thyme.

Vivienne making french toast, a favorite weekend breakfast.

Jasper was having a blast learning how to wind a skein on my new Amish swift. He was quite a help, as I started to wind skeins from four pounds of wool. Thankfully, the other seven pounds were already in skeins. Which leads to the next images, the start of my plant dye adventures. I was so impressed by the process at my handwork training that I committed myself to making plant dyed wool for the children of Azalea Mountain. (Did I mention that I will be teaching handwork this year?)

The red powder is cochineal. Apparently, it is very rare these days and is valued at the price of gold. I felt lucky to find a natural dye kit that still carries it. Below is the Madder root (right) and alkanet (left). I also used henna, coreopsis from my garden, logwood, cutch, and indigo.

Ah, the beauty! Takes my breath away!

Vivienne with her joyful harvest. We sometimes bake with plantain seeds. Which brings us to the next theme. When Grandpa came to visit last year, the kids got into picking the grapes and Grandpa showed them how to mash and boil them to make grape juice. This year, they took up the project on their own and made delicious grape juice to sell at a stand in the front yard.

And today, Mia decided that she wanted to make neck pillows for the air plane, so we chose cozy fabrics and made up a design. Then we stuffed them with sheeps wool. The kids got silly when Jasper realized that the pillow made a very silly little-bo-peep hat.

Another busy day and now that I am packed and ready to travel, off to bed I must go!

More Learning...

It has been my quest this summer to renew my own education and continue to support my growth and development as a mother, teacher, artist and striving human. I am so excited about the online course that Dr. Rick Tan is offering, called Five Spheres of Waldorf Education. For me, it will be a wonderful extension to the coursework at Rudolf Steiner College. Setting aside time to deepen my understanding and engage myself in this work feels right.  I have been a long time reader of  the waldorf way and the Tan family's blog, Syrendell. I am continually inspired by the wealth of creativity and information that they share. If you are interested in finding out more, here are some details below!

Five Spheres of Waldorf Education ECourse

through Little Acorn Learning
Instructor: Dr. Rick Tan
Five Week ECourse Begins August 15th and Runs for 5 Weeks

~NOW ENROLLING~
5 Full Weeks of lessons, videos and assignments!

The Five Spheres of Waldorf education encapsulates the sweeping themes of this educational movement: Self, Relationships, Balance, Rhythm, and Course. In the five-week seminar offered at Little Acorn Learning, Dr. Rick Tan will discuss one sphere per week and the relevant topics in anthroposophy and Waldorf that are connected with the sphere.

Dr. Rick Tan is an artist, musician, and graphic designer. He was a homeschooling parent and currently is the seventh grade teacher at Davis Waldorf  School.

Week 1
The Self Sphere:
The topic of Anthroposophy as the human being’s inner striving to understand oneself will be reviewed. Here, the many natures of the Self: ego, astral, etheric, and physical bodies will be discussed

 Week 2
The Relationships Sphere:
We will touch on the synergy of our connections with each other.

Week 3:
The Balance Sphere:
This week will present us with a foundation for the three fold social order, and the three fold human being as thinker, feeler, doer.

Week 4:
The Rhythm Sphere:
We will cover the four-part main lesson, and the four temperaments: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, and melancholic.

Week 5:
The Course Sphere:
This lesson will touch on the curriculum of Waldorf education.

To Enroll in this Exciting ECourse, Visit Little Acorn Learning HERE for More Details

I look forward to sharing what all I have been up to and what I will be doing with my training soon!

Handwork training

I just returned from a two week handwork training at Rudolf Steiner College in Caliornia. It was challenging to be away from my family for such a long time, but so wonderful in many ways. We got to plant dye wool and silks, knitted and crocheted through the grades 1-3 and attended a wonderful variety of classes. It was a very rich experience for me. My sweet sister even came down with her beau to spend the weekend in San Franciso. We headed for Muir Woods and the Sausalito farmer's market, then back to classes. I spent my birthday on a red-eye flight home, and was greeted at the airport the following morning with five bouquets of flowers and a welcome home banner! I love my sweet family. More photos to come.

Beautiful flow form in the Rudolf Steiner College Biodynamic Garden

Loveliness

It is often the simple things that capture my eye, and bring joy to my day. I just have a few images to share that I have enjoyed witnessing lately. These are glimses into the glorious season of summer. "Simple" is a theme that I feel called to work on right now. I feel that the clutter of things can also really effect my thinking and take too much time away from my days. I am working on letting go of more things so that I can enjoy life! I would love to hear your experiences and suggestions in this effort as well. One place that I am beginning, is reading Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne.

                                                  

Bee Love

I had the great pleasure of attending the premiere showing of the film Queen of the Sun last week . It came as a part of the Asheville International Pollinator Week. I can't express how inspired I am after seeing this film. I know that bees are are  incredible creatures, but this film really brought my awe and appreciation for them to a new level. I also feel the calling to protect and nurture them, as they do so much for us. Thankfully, my dear friend and neighbor, Heather, has started keeping bees this summer and I can enjoy watching them swoop over the fence and into my garden. Someday, I would really like to take a workshop with Gunter Hauk at Spikenard Farm and Honeybee Sanctuary. To hear Gunter speak of the bees in the film, as did many other wonderful beekeepers, it was truly beautiful to hear their reverence and deep gratitude.

In honor of the honeybees, I brought the bee mobile project to our local handwork group that meets at Azalea Mountain. I found the idea in one of my very favorite books, All Year Round.

Wool magic and other creations

I am enjoying this wonderful online tutorial with Nicole from Lebenskuenstler  All the wool creations are made without felting the fibers. It is really a subtle art form! I just love the beauty of the plant dyed wool. So far, I have made the bunnies and a sheep.

Vivienne fashioned a cool "new" instrument, which she named the guitar-um, also known a prisoner's bliss. One has to be inside the box in order to play its strings. Pretty fun.

Vivi also fashioned her top out of a bandana and jute rope. She wore it proudly.

And let me not forget Jasper's super deluxe veggie sandwich. Yum. He ate every bite.