Thank you

I don't remember where I came across this photo. Gratitude wells up along with tears every time I see it.
Yesterday we celebrated the holiday with a lovely, small gathering out along the Mohawk River with Pablo's parents. It was the most relaxed Thanksgiving I've enjoyed in years. mmmm...

Handmade Holidays

I wish I could check this out on Saturday.

We do have a great holiday market here with many amazing artists and craftfolk. It opened this past weekend. We all went, even Hope! Sahara had fun listening to the music and running around with other kids by the stage. Lydia happily watched them. We ate yummy food and were inspired by all the amazing trinkets and treasures that talented folk spend many hours creating. They hope that each creation will find an appreciative home.
If I had my way, gifts given to my family and received from my family would all be handmade. I'm wise enough to know that this would include gifts handmade by others in my community. If I didn't need any sleep, I would happily spend my nights knitting, sewing, painting, baking . . . creating for others.
I do have a great gift in the works for Sahara which will require about 2 hours alone with some fabric, scissors, thread and my sewing machine. I can't imagine when I could possible manage 2 hours alone without falling asleep, so I'll have to do about 15 minutes per day.

FYI

It came to my attention last night that some of you may not be aware of the links I have posted over there to the right.
Check them out! I change my current faves fairly frequently. If you are a crafty mama, and I know some of you are, or aspire to be like me, then for sure explore the craft blogs. I'd like to find some good food sites to inspire me on days when I just don't know what to concoct in the kitchen . . . any recommendations would be welcome.

amor y pera

Lydia loves the pear sauce we made end-of-summer. At the rate she's eating it we'll run out by the end of this month. And I thought I had canned enough for the winter! I happened to pick up a fresh pear from the store and gave it to her to gnaw on while I prepared dinner. She wasn't very interested in eating it . . . just a few love bites.

RED

Red shoes, red apple, red house.

Here we go with the underline again. . .????!!!???

Our washing machine died after only 4 years of use. We bought it new from Sears about the time Sahara was born and our laundry duties multiplied drastically.
So, we got a new one, a good one, which is amazingly efficient and all those things that help you feel like you are making the world a better place for your children's children.
Within a few days, before we recycled the box, Sahara announced that she wanted to live in her own house. (Pink, of course) Well, we didn't have pink paint laying around, but red is close so Sahara spent a drizzly afternoon painting her new house.

very cool

Brujajajaja

Little bit of ketchup here.
We didn't get a photo of us all. We were a family of witches (except for Lydia who was a lion). Sahara had been changing her mind daily in regards to what she wanted to "be" for Halloween. On October 30th it was a witch. I insisted on no more changes, then ran out and bought a dress and a hat. Later, we painted her little house broom black.
Our school has a sweet Halloween festival which we attended. The first friend we came across was a dear angel. At least I got one photo!

Dedicated to our favorite librarian . . .

This is currently one of Lydia's favorite activities.