Richmond Folk Fest

 We had a nice evening at the Richmond Folk Festival last night. The wonderful Celtic folk music put Nuriel to sleep for a nap & when she woke up, she was jamming in the Egro, loving the Reggae.

Any halfway health-conscious person would be appalled at the idea of eating deep-fried Oreos. Noah & Nathan pleaded and begged. (Not for long!) We probably consumed our weekly nutritional need of fat in just one Oreo, but I have to say, they were pretty good. (We're having veggie soup for dinner today!)

Isn't this just hilarious? It had me laughing for sure. It's an Art180 project on display at the fest.

The Days In Pictures

A drawing by the artistically-challenged Waldorf teacher - Take one.

And two. (Not sure why this is so blurry.)

 Gifts for the Gods by 4th graders.

Iduna by a 4th grader.

Skadi by a 4th grader.

Making Mead with my students using kefir grains.

Nathan made yummy apple-pie. Nuriel is ready to eat. 

(She has her very own blog now. Since I mostly blog about Nuriel anyhow - Noah & Nathan don't like me blogging about them - I might shut this blog down and just try to keep hers up as a "baby book" kinda thing. We'll see.)

Another one from the State Fair. Crawl-away baby. She had so much fun. There was no way I could have kept her strapped into the stroller.

Lovin' to play with leaves & dirt & such.

Mother Earth

How do you imagine Mother Earth? Is she old & wise? Young & adorned with flowers? I have different images of her in my head. They change with the season, with stories I hear & tell. 

To me she is such an archetypal figure on the Nature Table. I've been experimenting with creating the different Mother Earths of my imagination.

This one is about 10" tall. Her body is needle-felted. She wears a hooded cape knitted on teeny-tiny needles using some Koigu yarn. Her apron has a simple grass - sky - sunflower scene needle-felted onto a piece of wet-felted wool-mohair felt. She is wise & old. Her hair is thus gray, with a lil' bun in the back. 

I love how she turned out. How about you? Well, guess what. I'm not keeping her. This is a bit of a teaser. :-) On Monday I'll tell you more about all of that. Do check back in!

In the meantime, if you have a link to the Mother Earth of your imagination, the Mother Earth who lives on your Nature Table maybe, please do share a link in the comment section. I'd love to see her!

Martinmas

Our lantern walk on Friday was "rained out," so today was the rain date. It was the warmest lantern walk ever - a short sleeves & shorts kinda day with temperatures in the low 70s. My 2nd grade performed a Martinmas song & I told the story of St. Martin & The Robbers.

From left... A lantern wet-felted over a small balloon. A recycled can with hammered holes - Freeze water inside before pounding as to avoid can denting. Line with wax paper if desired. This was our 2nd grade lantern project. So loud & awakening, but so much fun especially for the boys and the cholerics. The 5th graders carved gourds - fitting with the study of Botany. The 6th graders used Chinese take-out boxes and made lanterns with the moon, sun & constellations punched in.

The 1st graders glued tissue papers onto glass jars. The round ones are the traditional glue & tissue paper over a balloon type lanterns created by kindergarteners, I believe. The blue one with cathedral windows was created by 4th graders.

Just more lanterns. :-)

Nathan's gourd lit there on the right. It was a smokey kind of lantern walk. Some lil' fuzzies inside the lantern burned down & it started smoking.

Noah's 8th grade had created torches. For some reason the wax on the torch spread downward, further & further, thus it ended up on the ground as a safety precaution.

Sunday Morning In October

I needed to get away for a bit this morning. Away from work and the seemingly never-ending household chores that need to be done on the weekends. Away from the constant reminder of how broke we are. Away from the heartache this weekend has brought. So, I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood.

The pretty autumn colors are everywhere. The trees look so amazing in yellows, red & browns. The sun was shining, but there was a pleasant breeze.

The yellows and greens on this tree in the park across the street were so gorgeous. Couldn't quite capture it on camera. Then I remembered I was standing in a field that brought memories of laying together in the grass under the spring sun & as the tears started flowing down my cheeks, I decided to journey on.

Two squirrels were playing tag up & down the tree. So funny. Hard to snap a picture of a squirrel in motion, though.

Lovely red roses still in bloom.

I have always loved stained glass art. I remember being captivated as a child with the gorgeous stained glass art of the old European churches & cathedrals. Just so pretty. How beautiful the light falling through such a window must be inside the home. Just around the corner from us is a house with beautiful stained glass art. As I drove by one evening, I noticed the workshop in the basement. So much colorful glass. I have been wondering if I should knock and ask if I could learn.

My fascination with the white picket fence continues. My own version that is, which has nothing to do with middle-class life in suburbia. My head tells me it's a stupid ideal from a fairy tale world. My heart tells me, it must be possible.

Funny enough the house with the white picket fence is right across the street from a haunted house. Coincidence?

How idyllic - overgrown with ivy, the symbol of determination, strength & renewal to the Druids of olden times. I mean, it's virtually indestructible and grows just about anywhere. - A nudge to carry on, maybe.

Or maybe not?

Back at home. Our marigolds are still blooming. It's a lovely day out. Now back to reality. To work. To chores. To dealing with the now. To figuring out how to go on from here. Where to go. What to do. How to make the half-empty glass half-full again. What bread to bake. What undies to wear...

Pumpkins...

♥ Autumn is my favorite time of the year! ♥