Dye Goodness

marigold, tansy,

onion skins in a dye pot -

golden autumn crowns

The World on Turtle's Back...

... or The Woman Who Fell From the Sky.

There are many versions of this wonderful creation myth that can easily be located online. I told my students the Onondaga version. It seemed a nice way to start the year, which we are beginning in our combined 4/5 grade with a nature studies block essentially, focusing both on plants and animals that can be found on our beautiful rural campus.

Our first painting of the year was a color circle, out of which emerged a tree. Maybe the tree uprooted in Skyland. Maybe Yggdrasil. The life force. That which sustains us. 

This week we painted Tolba, on whose back the world sprang forth. I asked the students to start with a page of lively blue, darker toward the bottom. We then placed the turtle in the water using yellow. From her back brown (mixed on the paint board) tree trunks sprang up crowned by yellow and green foliage. One student preferred a brown turtle with "rainbow trees."

Calendula

My Grandma Luise always grew these in her garden and I've loved them since I was a child. So grateful for the abundance of today's harvest. Salve. Tea. Dye. To be.

 calendula bloom

sunlight's sweet-smelling magic

or poor man's saffron

Seven Years

Nu turned seven today. And for this girl the special things are so simple. Last night we baked an orange cake for her to take to school today. She wanted it topped with a bit of powdered sugar, lavender, and flowers. We ended up with too much batter but not another cake pan in the apartment, so I decided to bake the second cake in our cast iron frying pan.

While she was thrilled to see there was a second cake this morning when she woke up, she did wonder about the frying pan. "Seriously, Mom? Who gets a birthday cake in a frying pan?" - "All seven-year-olds do. It's a special thing that happens only when you turn seven." Her only wish? - A trip to the candy store where she was so overwhelmed with the choices that she only picked a few things, but to her it's the biggest bag of candy ever.

This & That

I had big plans to write a blog post and then, once again, life happened, so here I am a few days later... I guess I should start with an update. A bit over a year ago Nuriel and I moved to rural Vermont where I started teaching. Having enjoyed a year in the Farm & Forest Kindergarten at our school, this girl started first grade a couple of days ago. The last two mornings have been chilly, so here is the first grader, wrapped in woolen goodness on the way out the door.

She is a lucky girl attending a Waldorf school in rural Vermont with a most wonderful first grade teacher from New Zealand. My girl gets to hear a Kiwi accent on a daily basis. I couldn't be more pleased!

Noah is in his third year of college, studying political science. Quite the progressive thinker. Nathan is planning on pursuing a degree in graphic design/marketing. They share an apartment back in Virginia. After seven years of owning a house, I sold my home in Richmond this spring. It was bittersweet as Nu was born in this home, yet it was the right thing to do in moving forward.

I'm teaching twenty students in a combined 4/5 grade this year. Having taken a class from 1st through 8th grade in the "traditional" fashion, it's quite nice to be able to pour even more creativity into one's work with a combined group. I'm ever searching for ways to bring discussions on privilege and race to students and I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and what I learn along the way here.

Nu and I live in a small apartment {no dishwasher} by a beautiful creek. Sweet & simple living. A tiny food co-op in walking distance. And better yet, a bar, too! - We quite like rural Vermont life although we do live close to "the big city," population 7500.

I've found a new connection to nature and especially plants. I've received a grant to study with Annie McCleary at the Wisdom of the Herbs School. I'm looking forward to the experience and hope to share here, too, in the future. I'm very happy with these Calendulas I grew from seed. The flower heads are plump and they smell divine.

Well, Hello Blog!

After a long absence, I've decided that I have stuff to say. I'll start blogging again. First post this evening. Stay tuned. I may no longer know how to do this. Ha.

April

Linnea in Madelinetosh Pisces. 

I made some changes to the pattern to accommodate my smaller needles and thinner yarn.

A picture by Nu at 5 years & 7 months old.

Happy Spring!

Our fiddle ferns have appeared and Nu's "gnome friend" has emerged from winter hibernation & is greeting his forest friends. Here's to mud season & planting! (Felted fern from the lovely Marie at Softearth's World.)

For Alison P.

... with thanks for writing a comment that made me smile.

Here's a bit of an update.

Noah is nineteen now, attending Virginia Commonwealth University (Go Rams!) for Political Science in his freshman year and working as a substitute teacher. He has a very sweet girl-friend. I like her a lot. 

Nathan is in his sophomore year of high school. He's looking forward to a trip to Italy with his Visual Arts class this June. He worked last summer and on weekends to make it happen and saved up from some custom art projects he worked on. 

Nuriel is growing. Currently, her dream is to be a dog musher. This dream has replaced her dream of being a princess. She recently learned how to ride a pedal bike and enjoys riding in the little side street next to our house. We still live in the same old yellow house with all its quirks, dust, and cracks. 

The eight-year-journey with my students at Richmond Waldorf School is nearing its end. I have caught myself reminiscing about those early years and I vividly remember how it all started. I have been blessed with the most supportive parents a teacher could hope for. And I look at these students and in the midst of all the drama and pain in the world, I am hopeful. These people are destined to bring innovative ideas, social justice, and love into the world. 

Not all is rosy, but for the first time in my life I can take a deep breath and truly focus on the moment. Mindi reminds me to just keep doing my thing. Murielle inspires me to read my affirmations and to deflect the arrows.  

I'm not sure what the near future will bring for us, but I trust that what will come will be good. My dream is to move back to beautiful Alaska, the home of my heart. Many, many years before Nu was born, I had a dream. I stood by a river and across was a sweet little cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney. As I was standing there, I realized someone was holding my hand. When I looked down, there was a little girl with curly reddish-blonde hair. At the time I had no idea who she was, but it's apparent now. I think it's our destiny for the time when the teenagers have moved on to their adult lives. I'm trying to take a step toward that dream on a daily basis. Slow & steady...

...

I look at this blog. A moment to breathe. Over a year since my last post. I had good intentions there in the beginning of last year. A lot has happened. How does one pick up after all this time?