~owl love~

Owls. Love them up. I made these ones out of felt, from an idea I saw here. I think I'll hang them somehow. No doubt you have seen this video where I learned that lovely owls can smile.
On their backsides they needed something else. To hide the knots and such and send a message of love. A little Stitch Witchery Fusible Web on some linen, some hand-cut stamps, and these little owls are ready to spread their love in the world. Valentine's Crafts can't be beat.
Yummy, dense bread, and easy too. Full of all things wonderful and lots of different kinds of flours, currants, pumpkin seeds, molasses, and nutritional yeast. Best. Toast. Ever.

Here is what it looks like this morning.
Like winter!
Finally.

The 3 Fs

Friends, Family, Food. The most important and the best. (And reading.)

This year I didn't have to host a big Thanksgiving and I didn't have to travel far either. Yay and hooray! We had a white Thanksgiving and our first snowplow!

good cheer!

In other news, let me tell you how thrilled I am that our 3rd grader had his first homework: to make foccacia.

He copied the recipe at school and brought it home, read it himself, gathered the ingredients, kneaded the dough, with only the occasional check-in with me.

He was delighted and so proud, literally skipping through the house as he waited for it to rise. With no standardized testing interfering with instructional time, a teacher who requires children to greet adults respectfully (and stand when an adult enters the classroom), knitting and handwork, and homework like this, I am grateful every day for the education my boys are getting. Oh and there's still time for academics, and I do mean all of them, not just language arts and math!

Gratitude

Treasures from across the Sea
Erna, of Blij als Mij, sent me a few of her handmade items! I have enjoyed reading her blog and sent a few ATCs her way, in thanks for the inspiration. Erna has a shop that you can visit---especially helpful if you speak Dutch! Now I am the proud owner of two of her tiny handstitched hedgehogs (or "hedgenogs" as Sylvan used to call them) that she created for a spring fair at her children's school---bestill my heart, they are precious! Here they are pictured on my kitchen sink windowsill:
Also in the picture above you will notice my seashell ATC display stand, which shows the ATC of the moment. Recently some Playmobil has made it onto my little altar. The little red mushrooms that delight me, as well as my Playmobil avatar, Boadicea (a warrior queen of Celtic origin, AD 60 or so; my girl has her mace in one hand, bouquet in another, with keys on her belt). She kind of looks like me, I guess. I spend a lot of time looking at this kitchen sink view.

And also a lovely bookmark, with ribbon that says "happy." How could she know that my before-bed reading time is such a happy time of my day?
Finally, a little swatch of Delft tile patterned fabric. Adorable.
Thank you, Erna!

In other news...
This is what happens when you get carried away blogging/housecleaning/laundry-folding and your bread rises for a bit too long: the tops come out a little funky. But the loaves are still delicious. When will the Internet allow you to attach an Aroma to a blog post?
This is what happens when you're taking off your sweatshirt and your hand touches the hot loaf pan: you get a little burn and need some comfort.