My Log Cabin Life

I'm Back. . .

2012-01-01T08:26:00.000-06:00

In November and December, I was addicted to hat making. I knitted all Thanksgiving break and beyond into the last few weeks of school. I knitted during winter break, and I still have a few more to finish as the new year begins.

It has been a good Christmas season, and we are still lingering over the last two days of the school break and preparing for one more birthday on Epiphany. In our neighborhood, we are one of the last families to put our decorations and tree up, and we are last to take them down-- unless the cats get the better of me.

One of the daily comic episodes in our house has been the game: "Keep the Cats Out of the Christmas Tree Room." Every day, at least one or both cats find their way in to be retrieved from branches, tangles of lights, and an ever-growing collection of ornaments on the floor instead of the tree. I suppose they are slowly helping to un-decorate the tree.

Bailey has been my constant companion as he follows me around the house most of the day unless he is deep in sleep. He watches everything, unless he is asleep, with his worried-looking eyes. He has enjoyed the visits of family and friends. He has relished extra walks with the slower pace of life. He has become so deaf that last night's fireworks did not stir him into trembles of anxiety. To see another year turn over with Bailey is a gift.

Finally, I leave you with apologies that I have been absent for so long. While I'm not making any promises for 2012, I have missed this place for recording some of the things I am doing, making, and thinking. Happy New Year!

Seen Around

2011-10-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (missing some wings on both sides)

Monarch

Pipevine Swallowtail (look at that blue in the sunlight!)

Variegated Fritillary?

Giant Swallowtail

This is a blurry shot of the same Giant Swallowtail in the photo above. I chased this butterfly around the garden for several minutes because I wanted to get a good photo for identification. It seemed to be very aware of my presence and eventually tired of me and left the yard. Doesn't it look ghostly?

Flurry

2011-08-30T13:13:00.000-05:00

Good thing the bees, wasps, moths, humming birds, and butterflies don't mind that my butterfly garden is a complete mess. This summer has been so hot and so dry that the basil is yellow and wilted. A morning glory vine wraps around the rosemary, and Johnson grass reaches taller than the lantana and chive flowers. The sunflower long ago fell sideways and dried up. Weeds choke the overgrown oregano, but a couple of volunteer zinnias keep blooming brightly in their awkward places against the brick sidewalk.

The yellow swallowtail caught my eye and lured me outside. It fed and gracefully danced all morning. I didn't realize that its wings were damaged until I went outside with my camera. Then, I saw and heard all of the other buzzy things flitting in and out of the remaining flowers. An anole crept up a sage stem and leaped to the cover of the lantana. A dragonfly zoomed in and out of my hearing as I leaned in closer to look at some of the tiny butterflies no bigger than my fingernail. Bees of different sizes landed on flowers in my peripheral vision and directly in front of me. Ants crawled into the centers of the morning glories, and the underside wings of the painted ladies glittered in the high-noon sunlight.

So much activity in such a small place. The light is starting to feel like September.

Accomplishment

2011-08-20T12:39:00.000-05:00

About two years ago, one of my new year's resolutions was to knit a sweater. The year 2011, my friends, is THE YEAR. I'm giddy with excitement in reaching a goal and bursting with anticipation for cooler weather (it is only 99 degrees right now with a heat index of 104). The swatching worked because it fits! In this moment, I feel like I can do anything.

The pattern is Melissa LeBarre's Tea Leaves Cardigan. The yarn is Cascade 220 Heathers # 9452. I used almost 5 skeins with one complete skein left over. Hmmmm. Maybe I need a matching hat?

Adaptability

2011-08-10T08:05:00.000-05:00

gecko on my window

inspiration from Ed Emberley's
Picture Pie: A Circle Drawing Book

another attempt to "organize"
homework supplies for the beginning of school

a refashioned circle scarf (cut from a t-shirt)
with running stitch embroidery

For the first half of 2011, I have only been posting one photo per day with a one word description. You have probably seen 365 photo projects on other blogs, and I thought it would be a manageable way that I could keep my blog going (in a minimal way) without giving it up completely or taking an extended leave of absence. While I remembered to take at least one photo each day most of the time, sometimes it was a chore and sometimes I fudged a little. In the last couple of weeks, the process completely broke down. Yesterday, I decided to let it die and go back to documenting, photographing, and writing.

With this school year, I have cut my "working at school" days back from 3 to 2. I can already tell that having this extra day will ease some of the stress in the house when everyone is going in different directions. The extra day will also allow me to focus on some other projects-- and have a little more time again for this space.

The photos above reveal a glimpse into my recent days: observing & thinking, planning, organizing, and a little stitching here and there. I am already back at work, and the children start school on Friday. Let the 2011-2012 school year begin!

Visit

2011-07-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

7.22.11 Museum

7.23.11: Badmitton

7.24.11: Frog-legs

7.25.11: Cousins

Inspiring

2011-07-26T08:12:00.000-05:00

7.17.11: Two

7.18.11: Wave

7.19.11: Nest

7.20.11:Paint

7.21.11: Home

. . . ing

2011-07-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

7.12.11: Arranging

7.13.11: Winding

7.14.11: Blocking

7.15.11: Sewing

7.16.11: Turning

Projects

2011-07-11T13:21:00.000-05:00

7.11.11: Coloring

7.10.11: Drying

7.9.11: Dyeing

7.8.11: Knitting

7.7.11: Watering

Embroidery School

2011-07-06T07:18:00.000-05:00

7.4.11: Son's

7.5.11: Daughter's

7.6.11:Unfurling

Stages

2011-07-03T17:41:00.001-05:00

6.27.11: Red
(forgotten day from the last post)

7.2.11: Afternoon

7.3.11: Another

Away & Home

2011-07-01T16:36:00.010-05:00

6.28.11: Hanging

6.29.11: Walking

6.30.11: Cooking

7.1.11: Closing
(Explanation: Yarnell's Ice Cream, from my hometown, is closing.)

Summer Again

2011-06-26T17:36:00.000-05:00

6.26.11: Dragonfly

6.25.11: Bud

6.24.11: Patchwork

6.23.11: Cereus

More Summer

2011-06-23T11:31:00.000-05:00

6.22.11: Rain

6.21.11: Solstice

6.20.11: Camp

6.19.11: Fortune

6.18.11: Comics

6.17.11: Skein

6.16.11: Dry

6.15.11: Moebius

Summer

2011-06-15T10:10:00.005-05:00

6.14.11: Sorting

6.13.11: Watering

6.12.11: Harvesting

6.11.11: Lazing 3

6.10.11: Lazing 2

6.9.11: Lazing 1

Without Children

2011-06-08T17:45:00.005-05:00

6.8.11: Progressing

6.7.11: Cleaning

6.6.11: Quieting

6.5.11: Dining

First Week of Summer

2011-06-05T07:24:00.004-05:00

6.4.11: Feast

6.3.11: Window

6.2.11: Game

6.1.11: Music

5.31.11: Books

Last Days & First Days

2011-05-27T12:55:00.007-05:00

5.25.11: Awards

5.26.11: Goodbyes

5.27.11: Receptions

5.28.11: Plans

5.29.11: Stacks

5.30.11: Mornings

Blooms, Gifts, Rays, Autographs

2011-05-24T16:26:00.005-05:00

5.24.11: Autographs

5.23.11: Rays

5.22.11: Gifts

5.21.11: Blooms

Fun, Together, Rest, Concert, Marketplace

2011-05-24T16:04:00.004-05:00

5.20.11: Marketplace

5.19.11: Concert

5.18.11: Rest

5.17.11: Together

5.16.11: Fun

A Week

2011-05-15T17:28:00.005-05:00

5.15.11: Recital

5.14.11: Light

5.13.11: Notebooks

5.12.11: Mermaiden

5.11.11: Hidden

5.10.11: Rainbow

5.9.11: Cards

Snapshot 6

2011-05-08T13:42:00.003-05:00

DSC_1031
Originally uploaded by nolteowen

5.8.11

Snapshot 5

2011-05-08T13:42:00.001-05:00

DSC_1028
Originally uploaded by nolteowen

5.7.11

Snapshot 4

2011-05-08T13:40:00.003-05:00

DSC_1026
Originally uploaded by nolteowen

5.6.11

Snapshot 3

2011-05-08T13:40:00.001-05:00

DSC_1029
Originally uploaded by nolteowen

5.5.11

Snapshot 2

2011-05-08T13:37:00.001-05:00

DSC_1027
Originally uploaded by nolteowen

5.4.11

Snapshot 1

2011-05-08T13:35:00.002-05:00

DSC_1024
Originally uploaded by nolteowen

5.3.11

Seven Days

2011-05-02T16:38:00.008-05:00

5.2.11: Reading

5.1.11: Dressing

4.30.11: Measuring

4.29.11: Making

4.28.11: Roaring

4.27.11: Lazing

Buns, Box, & Hidden

2011-04-26T15:10:00.004-05:00

4.26.11: Hidden

4.25.11: Box

4.24.11: Buns

Catching Up

2011-04-23T14:48:00.011-05:00

4.23.11: Rite

4.23.11: Past

4.23.11: Present

4.23.11: Grandma's

4.22.11: Piecing

4.21.11: Chess

4.19.11: Stack

4.17.11 Sage

4.16.11: Maple

4.15.11: Eye

Cracks, Growth, Silly, Rose, & Art

2011-04-15T13:48:00.007-05:00

4.14.11: Cracks

4.13.11: Growth

4.12.11: Silly

4.11.11: Rose

4.10.11: Art

Mine & Theirs

2011-04-09T12:20:00.003-05:00

4.8.11: Mine

4.9.11: Theirs

Storm, Green, Dance, & Costume

2011-04-09T11:59:00.005-05:00

4.4.11: Storm

4.5.11: Green

4.6.11: Dance

4.7.11: Costume

Up & Down

2011-04-03T13:47:00.002-05:00

4.2.11: Up

4.3.11 Down

Fitting, Springing, & Sprung

2011-04-01T10:45:00.005-05:00

4.1.11: Sprung

3.31.11: Springing

3.30.11: Fitting

Reaching, Sunning, Stocking, & Studying

2011-03-29T17:12:00.003-05:00

3.26.11 Reaching

3.27.11 Sunning

3.28.11: Stocking

3.29.11: Studying

Butterfly, Nap, & Full

2011-03-25T15:32:00.002-05:00

3.23.11: Butterfly

3.24.11: Nap

3.25.11: Full

Seeds, Marigold, & Violet

2011-03-22T10:34:00.001-05:00

3.20.11: Seeds

3.21.11: Marigold

3.22.11: Violet

Riding, Dining, Exploring, Unfurling, & Sprucing

2011-03-19T14:20:00.003-05:00

3.15.11: Riding

3.16.11: Dining

3.17.11: Exploring

3.18.11: Unfurling

3.19.11: Sprucing

Surprise & Gifts

2011-03-14T17:55:00.001-05:00

3.13.11: Surprise

3.14.11: Gifts

Together, Historical, & Indigo

2011-03-12T16:08:00.002-06:00

3.10.11: Together

3.11.11: Historical

3.12.11: Indigo

Gathering, Collar, & Silhouette

2011-03-11T07:43:00.001-06:00

3.8.11: Gathering

3.9.11: Collar

3.10.11: Silhouette

Pattern, Piles, & Popcorn

2011-03-07T15:48:00.002-06:00

3.5.11: Pattern

3.6.11: Piles

3.7.11: Popcorn

Perching & Organizing

2011-03-04T16:42:00.002-06:00

3.3.11: Perching

3.4.11: Organizing

Writing, Hunting, Waiting, Sniffing, & Seussing

2011-03-02T15:41:00.002-06:00

2.26.11: Writing

2.27.11: Hunting

2.28.11: Waiting

3.1.11: Sniffing

3.2.11: Seussing

Friends, Lilies, & Laura

2011-02-25T13:46:00.002-06:00

2.23.11: Friends

2.24.11: Lilies

2.25.11: Laura

Seeding, Holding, Revisiting, & Knitting

2011-02-22T16:49:00.002-06:00

2.19.11: Seeding

2.20.11: Holding

2.21.11: Revisiting

2.22.11: Knitting

Lost, Soup, Work, Play, & Gift

2011-02-18T10:10:00.004-06:00

2.14.11: Lost

2.15.11: Soup

2.16.11: Work

2.17.11: Play

2.18.11: Gift

Scarf, Thaw, Blanket, & Portrait

2011-02-13T12:02:00.002-06:00

2.10.11: Scarf

2.11.11: Thaw

2.12.11: Blanket

2.13.11: Portrait

Touchdown, Tea, Trophy, & Tonight?

2011-02-09T17:37:00.002-06:00

2.6.11: Touchdown

2.7.11: Tea

2.8.11: Trophy

2.9.11: Tonight?

Feather

2011-02-05T17:43:00.001-06:00

2.5.11: Feather

Signing & Sewing

2011-02-04T15:21:00.002-06:00

2.3.11: Signing

2.4.11: Sewing

Four, Reading & Afternoon

2011-02-02T16:32:00.003-06:00

1.31.11: Four

2.1.11: Reading

2.2.11: Afternoon

Three, Another, Luncheon, & Altar

2011-01-30T13:41:00.003-06:00

1.27.11: Three

1.28.11: Another

1.29.11: Luncheon

1.30.11: Altar

Careful, Scarf, & Two

2011-01-26T15:54:00.002-06:00

1.24.11: Careful

1.25.11: Scarf

1.26.11: Two

Temptation & Mirror

2011-01-23T19:41:00.002-06:00

1.22.11: Temptation

1.23.11: Mirror

Court, Shadows, Jedi, & Up-cycled

2011-01-21T15:12:00.002-06:00

1.18.11: Court

1.19.11: Shadows

1.20.11: Jedi

1.21.11: Up-cycled

Night & Still

2011-01-17T18:08:00.002-06:00

1.16.11: Night

1.17.11: Still

Napping

2011-01-15T17:53:00.001-06:00

1.15.11: Napping

Finished & Waiting

2011-01-14T17:06:00.002-06:00

1.13.11: Finished

1.14.11: Waiting

Washing & Rising

2011-01-12T17:05:00.002-06:00

1.11.11: Washing

1.12.11: Rising

Frozen

2011-01-10T08:16:00.001-06:00

1.10.11: Frozen

Marathon & Precipitation

2011-01-09T20:22:00.002-06:00

1.8.11: Marathon

1.9.11: Precipitation

Celebrating & Opening

2011-01-07T14:48:00.002-06:00

1.6.11: Celebrating

1.7.11: Opening

Kings

2011-01-05T15:19:00.001-06:00

1.5.11: Kings

Socks & Chalkboard

2011-01-04T15:48:00.003-06:00

1.3.11: Socks

1.4.11: Chalkboard

Peas & Leaves

2011-01-02T11:15:00.003-06:00

1.1.11: Peas

1.2.11: Leaves

Pet Photos

2010-12-29T06:47:00.002-06:00

I spent most of yesterday organizing and uploading photos from 2010. In the past, I have done a good job of keeping up with this task throughout the year. This year, I left it all for the end. Let's just say that I've learned my lesson. Going backwards through the year, I'm only on June. Yikes!

One of the silver linings in my procrastination, however, is that I'm seeing the full sweep of the year at year's end. I forgot about some of the items I sewed, quilted, or knitted-- until I saw the photos I took (time to update my Ravelry page)! Several themes have emerged-- butterflies and the flowers that sustain them, leaves (always leaves), pets, education projects, documentation of creative projects such as sewing and knitting, and of course, family/friends.

Today, I share some of my recent pet photos. The first photo is Bailey in his ever-present and ever-graceful bow. When we pull in the driveway, I see him rising from his window spot-- bowing. He meets us at the back door with his happy face and tail.

The second photo shows a quiet moment between all three pets-- seeking the sunlight streaming through the windows.

In the third photo, Conn is in the Christmas tree. He climbs it at least twice a day, knocks off at least two ornaments, messes up the light arrangement, and breaks a few limbs. Good thing I love him to death. Good thing the tree has a stable base.

Last, Rowan was ill on Christmas Eve. Because we had switched the cats' food, she had been quietly losing weight-- a lot of weight-- because she was so stubborn she refused to eat. Willpower. Sheer willpower. After a few days of the old food, meds from the vet, and some special canned food, she recovered. Here, Conn is comforting her. So sweet.

Christmas Visitors

2010-12-25T14:15:00.005-06:00

After making so many bird ornaments in the last month (with more still to go), I decided to do some real birding since we no longer have outside cats. It's my first new year resolution.

On Christmas Eve, the children and I made 6 pine cone bird-feeders. Our dog longed for a spoonful of peanut butter, and the squirrels quickly discovered and devoured the leftover seeds on the sidewalk. They also managed to escape with three of the pine cones (I caught one red-handed as he ran off along the top of the fence). Three feeders are left in the remains of the butterfly bushes.

Using our new chalkboard place mats, I made a list of the birds and squirrels we've seen so far today. Bird book in hand, I'm hoping to get better at distinguishing sparrows.

Shhh. . . add a Towhee to the list. . .

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Crafting

2010-12-24T15:22:00.003-06:00

Thank goodness for twelve days of Christmas-- I'm going to need all of them. My dining room table still looks like the first photo. I'll clean it off for tomorrow, but I still have plans for more sewing of Christmas gifts. I've sent out about 40 or so felt bird ornaments into the world with a few more to hatch tonight.

Peace to all this Christmas Eve.

Solstice Sunflower

2010-12-21T12:51:00.003-06:00

On this solstice day, I present my daughter's sunflower and sky blanket. I started it with the advent of this blog several years ago. You can see its beginnings on my first post if you scroll down to the very bottom. I had just turned forty years old and had just finished my son's rainbow blanket. While I didn't work on it constantly (many other sewing and knitting projects intervened), it was a constant companion throughout many days and nights. With its completion, I'm busy sewing gifts for Christmas and other celebrations.

Solstice greetings!

Cousins

2010-11-27T16:49:00.003-06:00

Today is the last day of our visit with my sister's family. We took a walk in the woods. I will be sad to see them go back home.

Thanksgiving Napkins

2010-11-25T08:05:00.002-06:00

Yesterday afternoon (cutting it close), I finished a new set of fall napkins for our Thanksgiving table. I'm pleased with them as I've wanted some fall napkins for several years. I also cut out the fabric for a dress which I hope to sew today in between preparing the Thanksgiving sides. Ambitious? Yes. Thanks to my brother-in-law, the smoked turkey is already done. We also spent the day playing and talking with family, and my sister and I prepared a five- dish Indian meal-- probably more time consuming than our Thanksgiving preparations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Owl Sighting

2010-11-14T07:36:00.008-06:00

We were playing a family game of Harry Potter Clue last night when our neighbors rang the doorbell to tell us that an owl was on some lines outside of our house. It was a barred owl, and it let our neighbor shine a flashlight in its eyes and let me flash lights with my camera. Four adults and four children stood in the middle of the street in front of our house and looked up in amazement. The owl probably has a home in our neighborhood in a hollow tree or abandoned crow's nest. It may be responsible for the intestines our neighbor found in his yard a few days before. After about five minutes, it flew away across the street and out of view into some pine trees.

After doing a little research about the barred owl and downloading my photos, we returned to our game of Clue to rule out the owlery as the crime scene. The intersection of this feathered messenger with our Saturday night, however, was as bewitching as the world of wizards and magical creatures in our Harry Potter infused imaginations.

Wait-- a letter!

Courtesy of Charlie Deaton.

Carving

2010-10-31T08:25:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween!

October's End

2010-10-29T08:42:00.008-05:00

The above photos were taken by my daughter for a visual arts project at school around the theme of "together we can." She visited my after-school knitting club and tried to capture how learning to knit often involves one-on-one instruction-- sometimes with "teaching hands" and "learning hands" wrapped up together with yarn and needles. This knitting club has been one of the bright spots of my October.

October also brought several challenges. This entire school year has been a rocky ride that has eaten up what used to be little bits of free time. I used to blog several times a week! Lately, I only seem to manage a few posts per month.

All of October's challenges, however, were not daunting. Some of the pleasant opportunities were:

Taking a weekend trip to Birmingham for the Writing and Illustrating for Kids conference of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (Sarah Campbell, a writing buddy and fellow traveler from Jackson, wrote a wonderful description of the conference here;
Learning how to cook Chicken Tikka Masala, Baighan Bartha, Naan, and Aloo Gobi Masala with some good friends;
Reading Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder with my daughter and thinking about "common magic;"
Watching both of my children participate and progress in their Tae-Kwan-Do classes;
Reveling in rain after a long time without.

With less than three days left in this month, I'm anticipating:

Enjoying cooler, more fall-like temperatures;
Carving two, large pumpkins and three, small pumpkins to welcome hallowed haints and saints;
Strolling through the neighborhood in search of fall colors peeking out here and there.

Giant Swallowtail

2010-10-03T14:34:00.003-05:00

This Giant Swallowtail visited our backyard, butterfly habitat today. I spent an hour hunting down information on the internet to identify it. For a while, I thought it might be a Thoas Swallowtail, but its range is South America through Texas (only sometimes in Oklahoma and Kansas), so that didn't sound right. This set of photographs helped me correctly identify it as a Giant Swallowtail (I LOVE the internet). The difference is the number of spots on the trailing edge of the forewings. Thoas has 4 marginal spots on the trailing edge of the forewing; whereas the Giant has only 3.

Can you count the spots on the separated wings in the enlarged photo below? You can also see some damage to its left forewing.

This butterfly did not want me too close. In fact, it flew away over the fence twice while I was trying to photograph it. If I had not been able to zoom in on my photos, I probably could not have identified it. I hope it returns this afternoon. We see Eastern Tiger Swallowtails in our back yard every so often, but this is the first Giant Swallowtail.

Sleeping Bees

2010-10-01T15:21:00.001-05:00

One evening last week, I went outside to gather some flowers from our overgrown, butterfly garden to bring inside. We had not had rain in a while along with record breaking high temperatures, and the plants were showing their weariness. I wanted to save a few before they all dried up. (Thankfully, we now have some cooler temperatures to give us a hint of autumn).

Did you know that bumblebees sleep on flowers during the night-- like little black and golden fairies? I counted and photographed at least 11 bees that I could see around the perimeter of the garden. I turned to the computer to do some research and discovered that male bumblebees indeed sleep on flowers -- especially late in the season when the temperatures begin to drop at night and when female bees refuse to let them back into their underground nests. Apparently, they are no longer needed for making baby bumblebees. Poor things. They attach themselves to flowers and hang out all night until the sun shines on their backs to warm them up for another day of pollen gathering. In our garden they preferred the lantana, flowering basil, and butterfly bush flowers for beds.

How could I live for almost 42 years and not know this?

Once inside, the bunch of flowers (lantana, zinnias, and some mysterious plant that the nursery told me was milkweed but that I have doubts about) quickly became the center of attention for curious cats. They smelled, rubbed, and chewed on the flowers until I moved the mason jar vase to higher ground. Those cats!

Knitting Together

2010-09-24T16:40:00.005-05:00

As promised. . . some photos of my after school knitting club at St. Therese Catholic School. Several of my students had been asking me to have a knitting club for several years. When I agreed to offer the after school activity, I did not expect that twenty-five third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders would sign-up. What is more, sign-up forms keep rolling in as other students see their friends knitting and want to learn.

We have met several times this year, and a few of the students are already able to mentor other students (love that). Thank goodness I now have some help teaching! I was barely able to catch my breath at the first few meetings. I'm also helping students one-on-one or two-on-two in the mornings before school.

One mother has already come to class with her daughter because she wants to learn, too. How cool is that? Another mother asked if she may come next week. Inter-grades and inter-generational (love that, too). Our club has several boys and more who want to join. The school principals want to learn, and I plan to have students teach them. One student has completed her first project-- a headband!

Knitting with students in the morning and after school has been a joyful part of the last few weeks. I am looking forward to their creations and accomplishments. Mostly, I'm looking forward to what we will laugh about and share while we knit, knit, knit, knit.

Maybe we will purl a little, too, in a month or so!

Balance

2010-09-18T16:07:00.005-05:00

The beginning of this school year is throwing me curve ball after curve ball (my only excuse for not showing up here very often). I hope I learn how to hit these balls soon. At least I'm showing up every day for practice-- whether it is at work or at the kitchen table for homework each night. I love a challenge, but I haven't quite figured out how to master this school year yet.

Balance is the mantra I try to hold in my mind, and I hope that I am helping my children learn how to balance their interests and obligations, too. My son has three new endeavors: cello, after-school choir, and Taekwando. My daughter is adding Taekwando to her art, piano, and the increasing academic demands of fifth grade. Their schedules impact my schedule and vice-versa.

While I want my children to be academically successful, I also think the expectations of today's schools are sometimes unrealistic and just too much. I don't want my children sacrificing their creativity for worksheets, busy work, or multiple choice tests. I ask myself: "Do I have computers with bodies, or do I have children?" My vocal inflection on asking the previous question might equal Patrick Henry's cry: "Give me liberty or give me death!"

I remind myself that balance is important when I need to check off items on my "to-do list," but I also need to exercise. I may not have photographed or blogged about my newly formed knitting club at school, but I promise photos and a blog post after all twenty plus students get the hang of the basic knit stitch. I may not have a perfectly clean house, but I have found a few creative minutes here and there by sewing some needed p.j. pants, dyeing curtains with turmeric, and making journal covers and pillowcases for gifts.

And, I'm diligently searching for some writing time with that idea that keeps popping into my mind during moments of silence on my way to work and late at night before falling sleep. I have so much to say about education.

School, School, and More School

2010-08-29T13:22:00.004-05:00

First grade students enact short slap-stick stories and knock-knock jokes in the style of Jon Scieszka's Cowboy and Octopus with stick puppets of unlikely pairs they made for literature connection class.

Second grade students act out scenes for a book they are writing in the style of David Shannon's No, David! after studying several of Shannon's books. Their book will be called No, Second Grade! They are illustrating it with photographs.

My daughter and I went to a wonderful book-signing/reading on August 25, 2010, at Lemuria Books to meet Deborah Wiles whose newest book is Countdown. We are reading it together before bedtime and loving it!

I have facilitated 3 workshops on learning styles for 2 groups of parents and 1 group of teachers in the past month. I'm so excited that Poplar Springs Elementary in Meridian, MS, has given all of their students a learning styles inventory!

I apologize for not blogging in one month. My only excuse is that almost every ounce of my creative energy (and time) has gone towards school, school, and more school-- both in school, on the road, and at home.

For teachers, the beginning of the school year is super concentrated. There is so much to do, and we want/need to be prepared for anything. I especially want my first interactions with my students (all 100 plus of them) to be positive and engaging. With the addition of 3 year olds to the school where I teach, I have had to re-tool and re-think what works and doesn't work for our youngest students. Teaching students with creative lessons, managing classrooms of students from age 3 to 12, remembering that each student is unique with different learning styles and abilities, and keeping in mind age-appropriate expectations across the board is both challenging and invigorating.

But I am also a parent of students at two other schools and must help them navigate all of the beginning of school issues from the other side of the teaching/learning equation--learning new rules, new teachers, new classmates, and new expectations. Besides helping them with homework (the easy part), I listen to stories about their day, reports on what is happening inside and outside the classroom, and how it makes them feel. I try to give them strategies for dealing with anything that comes their way.

I've been thinking a lot about education. Here is my hope for how I will be a teacher to my students and for how my children's teachers will guide them and their classmates through their days of this school year:

Be kind, prepared, and ready to work hard every day.
Respect each child as an individual.
Never punish a group of children for the actions of one or a few.
Never make a public example of a child's inappropriate behavior by shaming them.
Never raise voices or yell when quiet redirection may be used first.
Teach with a variety of learning styles to meet the learning preferences of all students.
Never punish students multiple times for the same infraction.
Always remember that we all make mistakes and that mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth.
Remember that teachers influence the emotional, physical, and social development of children as much as their intellectual development. The whole child must be addressed with dignity.
Remember that engaging lessons will curb behavior problems as much as behavior management systems.
Increase student freedom as responsibility is accepted and maintained.
Allow free reading choice and opportunities for silent reading during the school day.
Create assignments and assessments that are meaningful and matched to content objectives.
Encourage questioning, problem solving, and higher order thinking as appropriate to age levels.
Promote a joy of learning always.

There you have it: the past month.

Painting II: Sky Blue Walls

2010-07-29T16:13:00.004-05:00

Because I painted my daughter's room, I also painted my son's room. Everything is EQUAL around here. He wanted dark blue instead of light blue walls. We compromised with this in-between color that reminds me of a sunny, cloudless sky. I had a little help with the painting and constant companionship from a varying audience of my son, my daughter and her friend, the cats, and the dog. We listened to my favorite stations on Pandora, NPR programs, and a few chapters about Gregor in the third book of his adventures in the Underworld.

Painting is so satisfying.

And now, he wants curtains. EQUAL!

Painting (and Sewing) I: Lavender

2010-07-29T15:46:00.008-05:00

I haven't been around the blog in a few days because I've been busy painting two bedrooms and sewing for one. My 10-year-old daughter needed an update. I had promised to re-do her room at the beginning of the summer, and since I return to work next Tuesday, I had to get busy!

Gone are the green walls, curtains, and rug that we inherited when we moved into this house about 5 years ago. Instead, we painted lavender walls and made curtains and a duvet cover based on patterns and instructions in Meg McElwee's book, Sew Liberated. We still have a few finishing touches-- organizing stuff, cleaning the closet, sewing a new sham & a seat cover for the desk hair, making fabric covered bulletin boards, and re-hanging some artwork.

We love the new look-- perfect for a tween and her dolls.

Next post: Painting II: Sky Blue Walls

Afternoons This Week

2010-07-22T07:11:00.005-05:00

Two cups of tea,
two sewing machines,
two sisters,
and two sewing projects.

One cat who does a little of everything:
reclining on the IPad with the instructions for one of the sewing projects,
sniffing the sewing machines,
playing with bits of ribbon and string,
batting bunches of fabric,
fetching a ball,
messing up my applique design.

Two hours of afternoon entertainment. All three of us were purring.

Loving Butterflies

2010-07-19T06:48:00.004-05:00

Silver-spotted Skipper(Epargyreus clarus)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) --orange and black on the
center purple butterfly bush flowers

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

All four of these photos were taken on Monday afternoon when our butterfly garden was buzzing with bees, wasps, and butterflies. At one point, all 4 butterflies were in the same frame of my camera, but the photo didn't come out well. I hope I have identified these correctly. I'm least sure about the Red Admiral, but this photo isn't as close. I used this site to help me discover the names of these creatures.

Because monarchs and swallowtails are so large and beautiful, it is tempting to take all of my photos of them. I'm trying to branch out, however, and see how many different kind of butterflies I can find in my little patch of flowers for the rest of the summer. Late afternoon, if a thunderstorm isn't blowing over, is the best time for butterfly activity.

Do you have a butterfly garden? What are you seeing in yours?

More Loving

2010-07-18T13:31:00.003-05:00

: : my son reading in the morning in our maple tree

: : a blur of blue and black wings on Harlequin Glorybower flowers

: : a small, heirloom tomato raised from seedlings shared by a fellow teacher at the end of the school year

: : this newly bloomed, golden zinnia

Small & Large Sewing

2010-07-17T16:40:00.005-05:00

I made this small sewing machine for very small projects. My daughter put the rest of the mini-sewing kit together-- small bits of fabric, small spools of thread (the travel kit kind), small buttons, small scraps of elastic, the small strawberry from my larger strawberry pincushion, and a button shaped like a pair of scissors. Perfect for small hands. She even put together a mini knitting basket using toothpicks for the knitting needles!

We also have a large sewing project planned. After looking online at pages and pages of girl's bedroom linens and "tween" sets, we decided to design our own using the paint colors she picked out at the hardware store. Very soon, she will have a lavender and light aqua room with purple and pink accents. We plan to sew curtains, a duvet cover, and paint before school starts. The best part is that we will design, sew, and paint together.

I love that my 10 year-old daughter is still young enough to play with her dolls and old enough play an equal part in a large project. Let's add this to my Loving list.

Loving

2010-07-15T16:26:00.005-05:00

: : these zinnias outside of my kitchen window

: : the places my cats sleep

: : block printing with 10/11 year-olds

: : sewing with friends young and wise

Good times of the summer.

Intermediate

2010-07-11T12:59:00.002-05:00

Call me Scarlett, please. I have made a skirt lined with an old curtain. It is a Barcelona skirt, to be exact, and the lining is a re-purposed, muslin curtain from days in the "Gin House" (our house in Tunica that was next to a cotton gin). The curtain was moved to 4 houses after the Gin House because I always knew that I would do something with it. I have more of these muslin curtains, and I have a feeling that I'll make another one of these skirts soon. I may also re-use these curtains in some quilts within the year. Stay tuned!

invisible zipper detail

lining detail

The skirt was a joy to make even though I ruined the first zipper attempt and had to make a run to the fabric store for another zipper. The hardest part about the invisible zipper was figuring out how to put the invisible zipper foot on my machine. I persevered, may have said a choice word or two, and learned how to put in an invisible zipper and a lining! Through making the other two garments shown with the skirt in the first and last photos, I have learned several new "intermediate" sewing skills including waist darts, facings, and pleats. The orange print dress is Built By Wendy's Simplicity 3835. The purple tunic/dress is Sew Liberated's Schoolhouse Tunic.

Finishing

2010-07-04T12:07:00.006-05:00

One of my main goals for the summer is to clean out and organize the house from top to bottom. Ambitious, I know, but I have started!

Is it cheating if in the process of organizing and cleaning out my knitting stash and supplies (previously scattered in 5 different places) I decided to actually finish some projects? The first finish was my socks. Then, I wove in the ends to five washcloths, fingerless mits, and a log cabin blanket. Then, I frogged several flawed projects from my early knitting days to reclaim some nice yarn. Then, I felted (instead of frogging) a largish, circular, rug I made during Hurricane Katrina. Then, I decided to look for a good sweater pattern to knit as my first sweater: thinking of this one. Any other suggestions?

I'm definitely and hopelessly diverted, but I did gather all of my knitting supplies in one place, and I discovered a leak behind a wall (the shower?) that warped some floorboards beneath boxes full of stuff. You never know where finishing a bunch of old projects will lead. This time, weaving in ends = calling a plumber.

Knitting in the Afternoon

2010-06-24T19:48:00.005-05:00

I have been so lucky this week to knit with friends (and cats) for three afternoons in a row. After swim team, chores, extra chores, and errands, we have been able to sit in my sitting room with some relaxing tea and spend a few hours doing something we all love to do with each other--slipping stitches and bits of conversation in between the hard parts.

Jennifer is working her heel flap. She loves the stripe pattern her yarn is making and is interested to see how the stripes change as the heel is turned.

I'll take my socks to the pool this morning. I predict a small crowd of children to gather around me as a I work. Yesterday, one 7-year-old boy was amazed that I could knit socks. I let him try them on his foot, and he said, "These feel soooo good." I said in return, "That is one reason why I make them."

One mom who does not knit remarked that she didn't know anyone made socks by hand any more. "That is really a lost art, isn't it?" she said.

Lost art? Not really. Not if you take a look at all of the knitting blogs. No, I don't have to knit socks. I can buy them in multitudes for dollars. But there will only be one pair of socks like my socks with their hidden mistakes and interwoven memories of making them with friends.

Swimming & Knitting

2010-06-23T06:56:00.002-05:00

Swimming and knitting. . . two challenging and fun activities that sum up our summer thus far. The children are participating on swim team for the first time, and I am knitting two socks on two circular needles at the same time for the first time. No, I'm not swimming and knitting at the same time! I'm grateful that all of us have coaches and friends who are helping us along the way in our gross motor and fine motor endeavors.

Swim update: Both children have participated in at least one swim meet and have started a collection of colorful ribbons. They are learning how to do the various strokes better and better every practice. They will have to teach me someday.

Sock update: We have turned the heels and picked up gussets on one side of both socks. Today, two more gusset sides, and we'll be ready for gusset decreases and toe shaping! Yeaa!

Stopping By

2010-06-16T16:32:00.002-05:00

Stopping by on a hot and humid afternoon--
A yellow swallowtail on white butterfly bush
Close, closer, and closer still.

Knitting with Friends

2010-06-15T19:05:00.006-05:00

my socks with Conn (the cat) as the shadow in the background

Knitting with friends is so much easier than knitting with cats, but I like to do both! Two of my friends joined me on an overcast and sometimes rainy afternoon to knit two socks on two circular needles at the same time. We are using the basic instructions from this book, and we have all pledged to help each other out through the difficult parts (heel flaps, gussets, and toe shaping). All three of us are equal teachers and learners in this endeavor.

Jennifer starts her socks. . .

Sarah knits, knits, knits . . . with Bailey (the dog)
in the background watching the weather outside

Conn the cat hung out with the ladies for the afternoon-- sometimes chasing the grape ball, sometimes inspecting our knitting bags, and sometimes scratching the furniture so that I would throw the ball for him again. After my friends left and the power went out for a little while, he assumed the same spot he had occupied before they arrived. Perhaps he stayed with us all afternoon because he just wanted his chair and cheerful, log cabin pillow back!

Knitting with Cats

2010-06-09T16:24:00.006-05:00

I knew it. As soon as I returned home from assembling these two skeins of yarn onto two circular needles to make two socks at the same time, I knew Conn would want to check it out. He had better not mess this project up as he did by partially unraveling a finished dishcloth! Didn't I tell you he has a thing for the kitchen table-- and textiles? Twenty seconds of sitting and knitting, and he was there. No kidding.

Rowan has a thing for textiles, too. She took an afternoon nap on a new seat quilt while Conn investigated the knitting, and I carefully made sense of yarn and needles. This project promises some challenge and some fun-- especially if I have to keep putting the project down to take a few photos.

Blogging with Cats

2010-06-09T06:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday while I was preparing the post on Sewing for Cats, I was visited by Conn. Do you see what he does? He gets in the middle of anything done at the kitchen table-- homework, reading the newspaper, breakfast, blogging, writing, photo shoots. He doesn't like to be held, but he does like to "hang out" purring and inching closer to the center of whatever is going on. When my friend came over to start a knitting project yesterday, he lounged on the coffee table nearby (and he played with my water by dunking his paw in the glass). For him, the kitchen table must be like a tree with a great view of the creatures outside and goings on inside.

The cats like their seat quilts. Under the table or on the table, they are providing great company during this quiet week while the children are off catching fish, swimming, laughing, and meeting new people.

Sewing for Cats

2010-06-08T07:43:00.007-05:00

one seat quilt made and one cat trying it out

Remember, dear blog readers, I've been charged with daily posts about the cats while my children visit their grandparents, so here is the second installment. It also involves sewing. Our kitchen chair seats are covered in some kind of woven fiber that the cats love to use as scratching material. Some scratching posts for cats are even made out of this same fiber, so I don't blame them. Really. But I decided it was time to take action and deter this behavior with a little sewing project.

I used some fabric from my stash with which I had intended to make cloth napkins. I drafted a pattern with newspaper and measurements (very satisfying). I didn't really want a poofy cushion, so I only layered them with cotton quilt batting. I made several mistakes and fixed some of them. The result of my afternoon endeavor is four "seat quilts" (that currently do not have ties to keep them in place-- one of my mistakes in the inside-out layering process).

The cats wasted no time trying them out. I could hardly take photos to document my work before they were all over the seat quilts and posing for photographs.

before cat

after cat

above view

above view with posed cat

Backyard Turtle

2010-06-07T06:57:00.002-05:00

While my children are with their grandparents this week, I promised to send them daily photos of our cats. I think they will miss the cats more than me! This little scene happened this morning before 7:00 am. My son found this turtle last Tuesday while raking magnolia leaves with his dad. He had wanted me to take a photo of it, but it hid away before I made it outside with my camera. This morning, it visited my herb/butterfly garden, and the cats watched it scuttle around and plod away with great interest.

Lately, I have seen several back and front yard residents a little more unusual than the numerous squirrels, anoles, geckos, birds, and insects. Who knows what else is around? A large garden snake (photo below) was sunning itself in the jasmine several weeks ago. A cottontail rabbit has been munching in the garden regularly. I'll be on the look-out and try to get its photo next.

Spider Colony

2010-06-03T06:30:00.004-05:00

The lamp in my foyer is home to a colony of small spiders. It looks like all of Charlotte's babies drifted to this lamp in my home and decided to stay together in this one spot. I wonder if I could count them. There are so many. Guests may think I'm a terrible housekeeper, but I enjoy stopping to observe them as I walk by doing chores or gathering the mail. I could suck them up in the vacuum cleaner, but I can't think of any harm they are doing except to the small insects that get trapped in their cobwebby snares.

During the night, the light from this same lamp attracts our pale, house geckos to the outside foyer to snap up the insects-- also attracted to the light. Just think of the small dramas happening in this small space between these small creatures.

Afternoon Thunderstorm

2010-06-01T06:40:00.003-05:00

The sun was shining, thunder clapped loudly and suddenly, and large, heavy raindrops fell from the sky. When rain and sun mix, there might be a rainbow nearby!

This rainbow appeared low to the ground. It started in a neighbor's front yard across the street and arched over another neighbor's house. I ran through the house to the back windows to see where it ended.

On Facebook, I saw reports of people all over town seeing rainbows-- over a Walmart parking lot-- in another neighborhood in front of towering pine trees. With the angle of the afternoon sunlight, I suspected there were many, many rainbows all over the city depending on the vantage point of the seer. I wondered if there was one right over our home waiting to be seen by another neighbor looking out of her front window and down the street.

School is officially out for the children, and I only have today left to wrap things up in the library and with my teaching colleagues. I am looking forward to a slower pace of life not over scheduled with homework and school projects. I can't wait to read, knit, quilt, garden, cook, explore, walk, write, sit by the pool, organize and clean out. For me, and I suspect for other teachers, the beginning of summer break is a better resolution time than the new year. I am taking stock, refueling, and preparing for the next academic year and all of the challenges and opportunities it will bring.