Autumn Woodland...

Practical, But So Delicious...

It is hard to believe that the Nativity Fast is starting this coming Saturday.  I baked a pie yesterday morning while Button and I were in quarantine (he had pink eye!) during Liturgy and coffee hour and it was weird to be rolling out pie crust and peeling apples while our friends were running around having fun.  Once the fast arrives, I won't be baking much so  It was nice to make something memorable with the last of the apples that we brought back from an Amish farm near Jordanville...  Hooray for practical souvenirs!

Preparing for the Feast of Saint Martin...

 In signs and in miracles thou wast renowned throughout Gaul.
By grace and adoption thou are a light for the world, O Martin, blessed of God.
Alms, deeds and compassion filled thy life with their splendors,
Teaching and wise counsel were thy riches and treasures,
Which thou dispense freely to those who honor thee.

:::::

November 11th is the feast of Saint Martin and one of my favorite days to celebrate.  It is such a lovely reminder to our children (and their Papa and Mama!) to be kind and generous to all. I gathered up all of our Saint Martin treasures last night and surprised the children with a new display on our nature/feastday table this morning. I've been tucking things away these past weeks to make Saint Martin's feast special: new hats and mittens, some whole nuts to crack, ingredients to make blueberry muffins for breakfast, a special pinecone shaped beeswax candle for our table, and a chocolate bar to share. We normally have our first clementines of the season on this feast and will have a lantern walk through the woods at twilight.  

You can find the learning basket for the feast of Saint Martin, HERE.

Living and Learning: November...

 

Faith
Archangel Michael
Saint Nectarios
Saint Martin
Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos
Kursk Root Icon

Homemaking
Purchase last bits of warm clothing for the cold weather
Host in-laws Thanksgiving dinner
Create costumes for the children to wear on Saint Michael's Day
Plan Cleaning List for Nativity Fast
Plan activities for the Nativity Fast and the Twelve Days of Christmas
Plant Bulbs
Feather the nest with down blankets for the beds, warm throws for the living room, pajamas and slippers, candles, slippers and a stock of teas and cocoa
Plan Nativity activities
Plan for December's feastdays (Saint Nicholas Day, Saint Herman, Saint Lucia, Christmas)
Plan for Little Man's Namesday and Birthday
Knit Tama Sweaters for the Boys
Plan celebration for the feast of Saint Martin (Martinmas)
Stock the winter pantry

Themes
Pilgrims
Native Americans
Turkeys
Thanksgiving

Read Alouds
The Borrowers

Farmer Boy

Special Days
2nd Auntie Heather's Birthday

6th Full Beaver Moon 

9th Uncle Nick’s Namesday and Birthday
9th Jacob's Birthday
11th Veterans Day
17th National Bread Baking Day
20th Uncle Gregory’s Namesday
27th Thanksgiving

Learning
Practice being still and quiet during services and prayers
Practice Venerating Icons Properly
The Sign of the Cross for Button

Practice chanting the Trisagion Prayers
Nature table scene
Seasonal book basket
Celebrate the feast of Saint Michael
Celebrate Martinmas
Encourage imaginative play

Work on Memorizing the Four Times Table (Sugar Plum)
Take nature walks through the woods
Polish wooden toys together
Celebrate the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos
Tidy bedrooms each morning
Tidy the playroom each afternoon
Put Away Own Laundry
Play Letter and Word Games with the Older Children
Schedule and Attend Homeschooling Evaluation
Practice the Violin (Sugar Plum)

Enjoy the Piano and Practice Scales

Visit an Art Museum

Visit Gardens

November Glory...

 

For months I have wanted to go to a museum a few hours away that has a rather lot of Pre-Raphaelite art in their permanent collection and yesterday was the day.  We were also able to visit one of the huge gardens that is about 15 minutes from the museum and the day (while very long) was really perfect.  Our children (three of mine and my sister's two) were little gems.  The museum was not of general interest, but they did a good job allowing me to look at things that I was most interested in.  The garden, however, was amazing for all of us.  Despite our number of little people, we got many kind smiles (which is a change from the usual response!) and the vast paces for running around and exploring really was exciting!  I'd like to make it back to both places at least once in the coming year...  maybe in the spring?

P.S.  I brought our good camera to take photographs that were worthy of our location, but managed to forget to pop in a memory card before we left.  

Yarn Along: The Reason Nothing's Changed...

I am still in the exact same spot in my knitting that I was for last week's Yarn Along and it is all because of Sebastian.  This little visit from my sister and Lucy and Sebastian is going much too quickly and I can't possibly be expected to knit or read when there's a baby to hold, can I?

Overheard...

Characters: Button, age 4 and Lucy, age 2.
Setting: The Front Step, blowing bubbles
Mood: Tense

:::::

Button: Don't eat it, Lucy. It's poisonous.
Lucy: But why?
Button: Don't say why.
Lucy: ...
Button: Because it's poisonous.

Lucy: But why?
Button: Don't say why, Lucy.


Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Thanksgiving, Part One...

I have three or four dried hydrangea blooms and have been pairing them with dried grasses, crepe myrtle branches, and other bits of foliage gleaned from around the church property.  For the past few weeks this vase has adorned our nature table, but I thought to freshen it up and move it to our dining room table as the centerpiece for our Thanksgiving feast today.  It was nice to see the table dressed up and filled with so many place settings we needed a children's table for the first time!

Every year, I feel like our little early Thanksgiving tradition gets better.  Now that we have been doing it for so long (nine years!), it feels so happy and comfortable when we are all together.  I love my in-laws very much and am so happy that we can all spend time together regularly.  I am very thankful that they are so easygoing and let us hold the party early for this side of the family so that my sisters-in-law and I can have Thanksgiving with our other families, too! 

The kitchen is almost back to normal.  I have the turkey pan soaking in the sink and a big pot of turkey stock simmering on the stove.  November weather seems like it is really here - blustery, overcast days with the leaves swirling down around us as we get in our daily dose of fresh air - so I think that soup will be just right for some of our meals.  I'm hoping to get in a Thanksgiving Sandwich tomorrow (turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing on white bread) before all of the leftovers are gobbled up.  Oh, and there's still pie!

November Sponsor News...

 Welcome back to Liturgical Time!
Liturgical Time provides handmade infinity veils, chapel veils, mantillas, and Christian headcoverings for their patrons to wear in church, at prayer, or in everyday life. They are the creators of the Eternity Veil - the original infinity scarf style head covering. They are able to take special orders, and to provide some customization, so don't hesitate to make special requests. Their veils are made with prayer and packaged with care. Please stop by their shop to buy a beautiful headcovering!  Remember:  Ten percent of gross sales from Chapel Veils at Liturgical Time Veil Shop are always donated to charity. At the present time, this money is being used to provide emergency assistance to children who have been orphaned and families who have been displaced as a result of the civil war in Syria.

And welcome back sponsor, New Cardea!

New Cardea is an online shop for digital art including Orthodox stamps for the Christian crafter. Stamps are used for scrapbooking, card-making or as printable coloring pages. 

Pumpkin Day...

I can hardly believe that it is already Friday!  We came home from our trip last weekend on Monday night and have been on the go ever since.  Auntie Kate is visiting with her two little ones for about ten days, so we're having a lot of fun.  We've been getting ready for our church's annual Saint Michael's Day Party this weekend and also our early Thanksgiving feast with my husband's side of the family.  

Father John carved our pumpkin last night and even broke out the drill!  The kids loved every minute!  Kate and I picked out all of the good pumpkin seeds and roasted them with olive oil and salt (300 degrees for 40 minutes).

Have a great weekend!  Tomorrow is November!

Thanksgiving Menu...

Appetizers

Vegetables and Dip

Rye Dip and Crusty Rye Bread

Empanadas

Dinner

Turkey

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Sausage Stuffing

Peas

Cranberry Sauce

Christmas Cauliflower

Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good

 

Dessert

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Monica's Pumpkin Pie

Vanilla Ice Cream

Sebastian's Baptism...

Antares Rocket and Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft

The children and I headed to the beach last night to see the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft take off about 45 minutes from our local beach, but unfortunately, the rocket exploded just after lift off.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.  If you look closely, you can just see the explosion in the distance in the fourth and fifth photographs. 

Lots of news outlets have covered this event, including CNN.  You can watch the coverage here.

Yarn Along: Stockinette in the Car...

We went on a very long roadtrip this past week (from Thursday to Monday night) stopping in so many places along the way:  My husband's Baba's apartment for an overnight first (she's 93!), a little cave exploration adventure, my sister's home, a cider mill and Amish farm, my sister and brother-in-law's church/monastery and seminary for our nephew's baptism and Sunday's Divine Liturgy, a working historical farm, a women's monastery to venerate a myrrh streaming icon of the Mother of God, a state capital building, and an inner harbor (for lunch and wandering with the children while my husband worked), and finally home.  All along the way, this wee sweater was my companion.  I knit the most on the trip up to visit Baba...  the rest of the time was spent in wondrous amazement of the glorious autumn foliage in the area that we were traveling.  It was so thrilling to know that we were seeing such fleeting beauty in the north and would still get to see the autumn colors in our more southern area these next two or three weeks.

I read very little this past week, so I am still working on Lessons from Madame Chic. 
I only have three or four chapters left and recommend it.