In These Hills: May 2008

Fiction or Real Life?

Lou has been reading Melissa Wiley's Martha books and loving them. She has been fascinated by a little hedgehog that lives in the kitchen of the Old Stone House, eating bugs and being a pet.

This afternoon she suddenly called to say that there was a hedgehog in the driveway. We didn't pay attention because...well....as far as we know there aren't any hedgehogs in Vermont. She continued to insist that we come quick and look. Just as we got to the door, she opened it and Odin flew out....chasing a porcupine.

The porcupine waddled away as fast as it could and climbed the nearest tree.

Odin came limping back, legs coated in quills. Luckily, we were able to get them out quite easily. Luckily he didn't have a face full of them.

What an afternoon flurry. The porcupine is still up in the tree and Lou won't set foot outside.

Open Studio

Memorial Day Weekend might be my most favorite weekend of the year. All over Vermont, craftspeople open their studios to the public for two days. We've been visiting studios for five years now and have met blacksmiths, woodworkers, rug hookers, sculptors, painters, and many others. It is so fun to follow the signs up winding dirt roads, down long driveways, to discover little studios like this one.

Sometimes the studios are massive post and beam barns that house glassblowers. Sometimes they are little sheds tucked away by a beaver pond. It is fun to see how these various artists are inspired by their surroundings both inside and out. We hear amazing stories as well. Once we ended up in the living room of a woman who had escaped Nazi Germany and was hooking her story into a rug. We stayed and listened to her talk for a long time.

We have driven all over Vermont. We stop along the way for yard sales and library book sales--it's opening weekend for these events as well.

We stop when we see something interesting such as this marble quarry--the first in the United States. There were actually people diving in. BRR.

It's a lot of driving, but we all love it. We pack a picnic. The girls usually bring along a walkman and book on tape. I knit. N drives. Odin sleeps and barks. The girls have an "Open-Studio Journal Kit" they created which includes glue sticks, scissors, pens, and a journal which they've been keeping for years now. It's basically a scrapbook of business cards from the various artists. It keeps them busy and interested even when the studio is a furniture shop--LOL.

Occasionally they will pick up a tidbit of yarn, a shaving of wood, or a splint scrap from a basket to glue in. Sometimes they pack knitting needles, thread, and needles in case they get inspired to make something from materials they buy. That didn't happen this year, though.

So, if you're ever looking for something to do on Memorial Day Weekend and you love craft, come up to Vermont. We'll see you on the road.

A Little Crafting

>> Tuesday, May 20, 2008 – Crafts, waldorf

May has brought festivals, recitals, plays, ceremonies, and birthdays. What a flurry. Lou and I sat down on Sunday for a little crafting. It felt so good. She and I made this little cottage together--a perfect craft for 3rd grade. They are building a tree house at school right now as part of their "Shelter" block. The idea came from Ilse who got it from Molly Chicken.

I wanted to add little gardens along the bottom and more decorations, but Lou was too excited to spend much more time on it. You see, it was to be a home for Monkey and she needed to get in it right away :) I think we'll be making more.

She also whipped up this bag. It's a spy bag and holds everything for her spy kit.

Birthday!

We celebrated Hels' 12th birthday over the weekend. She had all the girls in her class come for a sleepover out in our camper. They also went to see Prince Caspian. I don't have any photos to share because every picture I took is packed with her friends' faces. I guess that's part of turning 12--the friends come more to the forefront. Phew. It took me all of Sunday to recuperate from my very late evening of trying to get them to quiet down and sleep!

Her birthday is special to me--it's when Nels and I became parents. Her birth was just as I wanted it--with a midwife, in the hospital, bearable pain, and not too long :)

In her early years at the Waldorf, we came into school for her birthday. The teacher would tell the "rainbow bridge story" and then we shared a picture of her and told a little story from when she was a baby.

The story I told was of an event that happened about a week after we came home. One night I just couldn't get her to sleep, so I went out onto the porch to sit in the cool evening air and rock. As she quieted and occasionally made a little bleating sound, I heard another little bleating sound come out of the dark. And then another and another....the lambs on the field below us were quietly settling with their mothers just like us.

How Vermont is that? Sorry. No photos of the sheep!

May Fair

>> Thursday, May 15, 2008 – waldorf

Today was the school's May Fair. It was a cool, cloudy day--a reminder that it is still spring.

Here's the 8th grade arriving with the maypole. After it was set up, the two youngest first graders blessed the pole, skipping around it with apple blossoms.

Each grade then danced with the dances getting more complex each time.

Here's Lou getting ready with her class. I wasn't in the best spot for dance photos this year.

After the dancing, the May Fair began. I spent all morning with Hels' class cutting strawberries and whipping cream. We went through at least 175 shortcakes in about 20 minutes!

No worries--there was more sweetness. The cake walk was also popular. Here, children moved around on a circle of tiles while somebody fiddled. When the fiddle stopped, the leader pulled a matching smaller tile out of a basket. Whoever was standing on the winning tile won a cake. There were some pretty snazzy cakes--the first one to go had lollipops sticking out all over it :)

There were also crafts. These star wands were popular with the younger children. First they sanded the stars, then painted, applied glitter, and decorated with ribbons.

Here are all the stars hanging to dry. I thought they were beautiful.

Children could also felt balls of wool and dye them pretty spring colors. After strawberry shortcakes, Hels ended up here helping the younger children with the dyeing. Her hands were black.

Lots of children painted silk scarves. The colors were gorgeous. I wanted my girls to make one for me, but no luck.

The 7th graders offered face painting which was a big hit. Lou arrived home with a lizard on her forehead.

The big mystery at May Fair is to find out whether Lady Spring or King Winter will win the annual argument over which season is best. How to settle the argument? King Winter suggested that we all go home to our towns and vote a gazillion times...by the time we decide it will be November :) The children suggested a tug of war.

It used to be that the old folks would be on Winter's side and the young folks would be on Spring's side. Now it seems to be the girls on Lady Spring's and the boys on King Winter's. Lots of ice cubes get thrown.

OF COURSE Lady Spring ALWAYS wins.

Happy Spring!

A day in my life

>> Wednesday, May 14, 2008 – day in my life

Jenny, of Little Jenny Wren, began a day in my life where she and fellow bloggers are writing about the dailiness of their lives on the 14th of each month. I've been wanting to do this for a couple of months, but have been too busy. I've finally done it!

Today I woke with a start at 4:30 a.m. There was just a little light glowing in the east and the owls were hooting quite loudly nearby. I got up, let Odin out, put on the coffee, and settled into reading blogs and my new book, A Voyage Long and Strange which is about the many "discoveries" of America.

6:45-- Woke the girls, showered, and headed downstairs to make lunches and start the porridge. Today we had it with blueberries we had picked one hot afternoon in August and maple syrup our friends boiled one cold night in March. After breakfast we packed up the car for school and headed out.

N is away for the week. Odin followed me around all morning with his little dog. He carries this constantly when his best buddy is away. Doesn't he look miserable?

After dropping off the girls I came home, started laundry, re-heated my coffee and headed into my office for a morning of work. I'm currently working on 2 new history websites which is a lot of fun, but this morning I worked on finances--not so fun.

Lunchtime--our school May Fair is tomorrow and our class is responsible for strawberry shortcake. My friend and I descended on BJs and bought 25 quarts of berries! Now they need to be hulled and washed....that's tomorrow's job. I'm now back at my desk answering emails and finishing tasks before picking up the girls from school.

3:00--unloaded all the May Fair stuff at the school farmhouse and went to get the girls. Discovered Hels hadn't done her classroom chore of sweeping, so had to wait around while she took care of it. Loaded up Hels, Lou, and her friend and came home.

Discovered that we really didn't have much left in the way of snacks around the house, so made a batch of oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies. They went quickly. Lou and her friend disappeared outside for the afternoon.

Hels settled into homework at the dining room table. She has gotten quite behind so had a lot to do. Here's her completed essay on Charlemagne. Blogger won't put the photo in right-side up. Sorry. I sat with her and finished up the afternoon emails that had come in while I was tending to pick-up and after-school needs.

5:30--the time crept up on me. Sent Lou's friend home. Fed Ex arrived. The neighbor arrived to borrow the tractor. What a whirl of barking dog and confusion right when dinner should be getting going.

6:30--had a really wimpy dinner of tortelinni, red sauce, and peas. Not very inspiring. The girls disappeared upstairs and became engrossed in beading for the first time in months. I spent some time gathering dirty downstairs linens, washing the dining table, and other tidying.

7:30--girls appeared with lots of beadwork to show. Got the violin practice done. Lou's got a recital on Sunday.

8:00--Hels disappeared back to beading while listening to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I read a couple of chapters to Lou from The Faraway Tree and then she read on her own.

8:20--said "good night" to Lou. Hels' turn to sleep with me. She got into bed with her book The Outlaws of Sherwood which is a re-telling of Robin Hood. I settled back into my history book which I'm really liking.

9:00--turned out the light after falling asleep while reading and dropping my book on the floor. Appropriately teased by older daughter.

Good Night!

My Perfect Day

Mother's Day dawned bright and sunny. I was greeted with breakfast in bed prepared by Lou....at 6:30 a.m. She was so excited and had been planning it all evening--scrambled eggs, toast, coffee on a pretty tray decorated with a daffodil in a little bud vase.

There is an outdoor flea/antique market nearby each Sunday, so we poured our coffee, grabbed sweaters, and went exploring. The girls pooled their money and bought me a pretty pair of earrings. I found a first edition copy of B is for Betsy--one of my most favorite childhood books which Lou also likes.

We then headed out toward the mountains. Our destination was a perennial farm where, word had it, they were selling plants for $3 each. We had to stop at this interesting shop. Inside we found a man playing and selling Native American flutes and didgeridoos. He played for us and we chatted and then headed on our way.

We found the farm, and indeed they were selling plants for $3--lilacs, forsythias, lupin, hollyhocks, herbs....so hard to choose. But we did.

We were home in time for lunch. We spent the afternoon planting our treasures.

In the evening, N and his buddy made a fabulous dinner while the ladies toured more gardens and visited.

It was a great day. I feel so blessed to have such great children and such a caring husband who spent a lot of time making it "my day."

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

>> Saturday, May 10, 2008 – waldorf

The Knighting Ceremony is about to begin!

The swords have been carved and the crests have been made.

The squires have demonstrated their skills at fencing.

They have danced their Morris dance.

Come forth, young Squire Hels. You have demonstrated your worth. Your sponsor has spoken for you. You have done more community service hours than required. Your classmates speak of you well--of your strong opinions, your love of reading, your athleticism, and your kindness.

Sing new knights--Gaudeamus hodie--Let us rejoice today!

It was a beautiful evening. The following day the class competed in Medieval games and then went on a quest where each team had to solve 3 riddles. I haven't heard a lot about the quest except from a friend who apparently was "the witch of generosity." The kids had to decode the correct way to knock on her door--3 large coins and 2 smaller coins attached to her door frame indicated that they were to make 3 loud knocks, then 2 soft knocks. Once they got her to open the door, the found a freaky witch who gave them a very hard time until they were generous enough--first they pulled from their velvet bag a thimble. She wouldn't accept it. They finally gave her coins and fled. LOL.

Here they are as they finish their quest and arrive at the field for the big capture the flag game. There were about 50 people awaiting them with a big cheer. Very fun!

Keep me away from scissors

Yesterday, Lou was one of the wicked step-sisters in Cinderella. Lou does the wicked thing really well on stage, and she was great yesterday. She also played the violin for the ballroom dance scene. She learned a song and played with the 5th graders. I was quite proud of her initiative until I found out that the reason she wanted to play violin was so she didn't have to dance with one of the boys :)

Yesterday morning I took a look at her hair and asked her if she'd like me to trim her bangs. She had cut her own little set of bangs last summer and FINALLY they were growing out....but a mess and in her eyes which was annoying her violin teacher.

Well, I took the scissors and made a bigger mess. The poor thing was so upset. A disaster right before being on stage. We skipped the beginning of school and went to the hair dresser. Now she has even more bangs, but straight at least.

WHAT WAS I THINKING? I have a bad reputation with cutting hair. Here is Hels' first haircut. I cut her bangs from ear to ear. It took years to grow them out. She's smart. She won't let me even touch up her split ends.

I know Lou's will grow out, but now it's going to be harder and take longer. I swear I will NEVER cut my children's hair again.

The Squire's Challenge

>> Tuesday, May 6, 2008 – waldorf

Thursday night brings a special ceremony to our family--the Knighting Ceremony. As part of their Medieval studies, Hels' class has been issued the "Squire's Challenge." They are asked to:

Do 5 - 10 hours of community service
Find a special adult who will speak for them at the ceremony
Create a family crest that mixes their interests with their family heritage
Make a wooden sword
Uphold a vow of silence
Compete in a tournament of games
Embark on a quest "requiring the eyes of an eagle, the cunning of a fox, and the courage of a lion"

At the ceremony on Thursday night, they will sing songs in Latin, speak about knightly qualities they see in their classmates, listen to adults describe their community service and character, and take an oath of Valor.

The next day, after a variety of Medieval games that include archery, jousting and the javelin, they embark on a Quest. This will take all morning. They will be challenged on many levels--they might have to give up something that they have been given and really want, they will discover that some challenges can only be conquered alone while others require a group, and they will need patience, precision, agility, strength, and balance.

Finally, in the afternoon, there is a big surprise--as they complete their Quest, they will be greeted by all the other Middle Schoolers, alumni, faculty, and parents and will join in a big game of capture the flag.

The whole idea behind the ceremony and ensuing games is to recognize that the 6th graders are becoming adolescents...that the adult world recognizes them, welcomes their contributions, and supports them in their challenges...and that they are now part of the middle school.

Hels has risen to the challenge beautifully.

She has done much more community service than required, having found her own niche at our local music center where she has taken on organizing the choral library, sorted clothing at a thrift store with her Grandmother in Florida, and tended the school garden. She has opened up to the world a bit and is now looking about to see where something might need to be done.

She has nervously asked a dear friend to be her sponsor. She has put a lot of thought into the design of her crest. She has learned to joust, shoot arrows, and throw javelin's with skill. She's ready!

Sniff. I know I'm going to cry :)

Pilgrims, Farms, Cinderella, Violin....

>> Sunday, May 4, 2008 – waldorf

Friends say that on the blog our lives seem pretty serene...the truth is that last week our family calendar and my work calendar clashed fairly dramatically. On May Day, after our lovely morning of posies, Lou headed off on an overnight farm trip. Most Waldorf 3rd grades go away to a farm for one or two nights to deeply engage in their farming/gardening curriculum.

Lou was just not ready to be away from me overnight. So, Wednesday night I drove up to the Farm, spent the night with the 3rd grade girls, then got up at the crack of dawn and drove teachers to Plimoth Plantation! Needless to say, I was happy to be in my own bed last night.

Today is busy--bleaching mudboots because Lou goes to a different farm tomorrow and we don't want to spread any weird weeds or disease between farms, hanging out smoky sleeping gear from life with Pilgrims, getting the weekend baking finished, and trying to figure out meals for another crazy week ahead--Hels has a violin concert. Lou is an evil step-sister in Cinderella, and Hels has a beautiful knighting ceremony. Luckily, I don't have a lot of work commitments!