FIMBY

Creating the perfect Christmas and holiday season used to be a fall obsession of mine. I would print schedules (bake this weekend, shop these weekends, etc...), collect recipes, scour the local paper for activities & craft fairs, budget and plan gifts for months.

Whatever happened?

First we moved far away from family and spent many a Christmas season traveling. So much for taking in all the local sights and sounds. We had a couple more babies, one of them born the week of Thanksgiving. Preparing for and celebrating her birthday and Thanksgiving uses up my November creative juices that could be spent on Christmas plans. And somewhere along the way we became mostly gluten free, sugar free, whole food house vegans. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a typical holiday sweet with no butter, eggs, sugar and flour? Sure you can concoct "treats" with dates, fair trade cocoa and rice flour but trust me - shortbread it ain't!

Oh, and we started to become very intentional that our spending, all through the year and Christmas especially, reflect our life values. Cheap plastic toys, planned obsolescence gadgets, itchy sweaters and one more unnecessary gift for an already well gifted person are not part of our family values. So we pulled way back on the typical hit-the-mall style gift giving as well.

What does that leave us with? Time.

Time to craft, time to play cards on a dark afternoon, time to make soap for friends and family, time to attend the local orchestra and choral rendition of Handel's Messiah, time to go sledding, time to light the advent candles, time to sip hot (soymilk) cocoa and eat popcorn, time to travel to visit family, time to hike in the winter woods, time to connect with people in our community.

Saying NO to the insanity of the North American Holiday Season has let our family say YES to the activities and traditions we find meaningful.

What are you doing to prepare for the holiday season? What activities do you find meaningful, that add richness to your life, not stress and debt?

Sharing the Season Share-Fest

Get ready to share those ideas. Next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving (God help me, I hope you're not shopping that day), I'm hosting my first ever Mr. Linky thingy. You know, where you post about the related topic, in this case what you're doing to create meaningful holidays, and then you link back here and we all share and are encouraged by one another.

Some of you probably bake awesome (gluten, loaded with dairy fat) cookies that your family loves. Others of you serve at a soup kitchen, collect mittens or put together gift boxes for children. I know there are some arts and crafty sorts who read this blog. What are you creating to give or decorate your home? Do you have a special place you visit, an outdoorsy activity to share?

Let's share all of them! I don't know about you but I've felt insecure traveling the crafty mama blog world these past weeks. I don't scrapbook, knit, fold papers or have any other such decorating/gift making skills. But I do love making soap and have another green & crafty idea I'm looking forward to sharing next week.

Please join me, I think it will be fun. We'll call it Sharing the Season. There are no rules except it can't involve shopping... except maybe for supplies.

Oh, and there will be a prize bar of my latest seasonal soap (you know you want it) to one lucky contributor.

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(probably my mom is the only one still reading this long winded post)
A recap of how this works if you are slow like me:
- Write a post between now and Friday, November 28th (or maybe you have an old post to share) on something you are doing to celebrate or prepare for the holiday season. I don't care if your holiday focuses on Christmas, Hanakkah, Solstice, snowflakes & snow, whatever.
- Come back next Friday ready to share that post. There will be a Mr. Linky box in my post where you can all link to posts on your own blogs.
- We all visit each others blogs and are amazed, encouraged and challenged (but never insecure) by what other families and individuals do to make the season meaningful.
- Shopping, unless it's buying a cow for a family in Africa, is strictly forbidden from this share-fest.

It comes to me
first thing in the morning
through the kitchen window.
Bright and energizing.

"I can do this"
love, discipline, teach, train
keep, cook, find, solve
hope, build, grow, create

Inspired.

The day is busy.
the light shifts
and I lose track.

It finds me again
late in the afternoon
through the picture window.
Warm and filling.

"Ah... I can do this".

Renewed.

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I don't know that I have a photographic style, yet. But I do know I spend my day observing the light, finding the light, seeking the light. Looking for what is being illuminated, reflected, highlighted. Wondering... can I capture that?

I've started a Gallery of my best work, or at least my favorites, which I've titled Light Living Photography. Or maybe I'm titling my photographic outlet (it's certainly not a business) Light Living Photography. Probably both.

I like aperture priority. I kind of, sort of know what I'm doing in that mode. I choose the aperture (how large or small the lens opening is) and the camera does the rest. I love shooting shallow depth of field shots (wide open aperture) and I'm comfortable here but I need a new challenge. I want to capture motion in my photos. But, shutter priority scares me. I have no idea in a given situation what to set my shutter speed at. No clue.

So I experiment. I try a shot. Ack, way to dark! Adjust shutter speed (which way do I turn this little knobby anyway??), try again. Too much light. Fiddle with the ISO. Oh, and while I'm doing all this I'm trying to capture some kind of action. Action that has already happened by the time I fiddle with knobs, take a test shot, fiddle again, take another test shot. This is hard work.

Here's what I came up with this week, don't laugh.

Brienne playing with homemade marble works (I helped with the tubes and such and she made the marble from FIMO clay).
Homemade marbleworks: look! look! I captured the ball in motion at the end of the track

And for something totally different. A nighttime driving streaking lights shot. With the kids safely & warmly parked in the car right behind me I froze my fingers while fiddling with the tripod and shutter speed on a downtown corner. Cars driving in front of Orphan Annies

I obviously don't do the technique of motion photography any justice. Be patient, I'm getting there.

In the mean time you can read this beginners guide to motion photography.

Technically not a "field" trip, more like an art trip.

We've done quite a few "learning" excursions with the kids but this by far was my favorite. It was so creative and yielded such great results.

A friend of ours and fellow homeschooler organized a trip recently to a local stained glass studio and art gallery. The children each created their own fused glass tile. Sounds harmless, thankfully it was. But anything can happen when you give a 5 year old shards of glass and "nippers" to cut with.

I can't take any credit for these works of art my kiddos created. The designs were their own and except for cutting a few pieces here and there these pieces were wholly my childrens' doing. I'm hoping they will hang on our windows for like, ever. These glass tiles capture their unique styles perfectly and I simply love them.

There is no way I could choose one, two, three or four photos for this post so I've posted a slideshow. If you read this in a feed or e-mail you'll need click on the original post to see these beautiful works of art.

These beauties are going to seriously brighten my winter.

I love the idea of Charlotte Mason nature study. No doubt other educators and naturalists advocate this approach but I hadn't heard of it before investigating CM philosophy.

Picture this; a child in the woods, with a drawing pad and pencil. Diligently sketching a leaf, stone, tree, flower or butterfly. We actually tried this once or twice last year.

Our reality; three kiddos running through the woods, building forts and fairy houses, pretending to be drunken pirates (my son's latest obsession).

We are city folk so when my kids are in the woods I am less than inclined to require then to sit and sketch. In fact I WANT them to run around like crazies, minus the drunken sailor bit.

Don't get the wrong idea, we are all over nature study at our house. It's an everyday occurance but it looks more like this:

- The kids find a couple pieces of brown felt and some fleece from the fabric bin. A copy of the ancient vintage sewing book "The Big Book of Soft Toys" by Mabs Tyler inspires an afternoon of tracing, measuring, cutting, stitching & stuffing. Behold, "Silent Sam" and "Cocoa" are born.

Laurent and Silent Sam

Celine with Cocoa

- Based on the kiddos current interest I decide to scour the local library shelves for squirrel books. We start a new bedtime chapter book The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. We learn all about the habitats and traits of little mammals, birds (& little boys) while reading the antics of Chatterer and his forest friends. We read other books about squirrels and these are a couple favorites:

The Squirrel Wife and Nutmeg and Barley: A Budding Friendship weave natural science with folklore and story. Reading them teaches us about neighborliness, kind-heartedness, friendship, sacrifice and love. Our lives are enriched by good reads and snuggles on the couch.

- We spend time over several days playing in the leaves. The kids build homes and burrows and generally goof around. Is goofing off part of nature study? It is in our house.

- There are a lot of squirrels running around this time of year. What are they doing? We recall all that we've read about collecting and storing for winter.

- On our weekend hikes we find acorns and admire the gorgeous golden oak leaves. Earlier in the season, at our state museum, we discovered that the US Constitution was written with oak gall ink. I fantasize about making ink and quill pens with the kids. But other creative opportunities present themselves, maybe some other year.

Golden Oak leaves: hike at Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area

Lone Acorn: hike at Bald Pate Mountain

- Our treasure collections from our walks around town and hikes in the woods just beg us to make acorn, leaf and pine cone critters.

So, no we didn't sketch a squirrel or leaf. Right now the kids are more interested in sketching motorcycles. But...

Are we learning something about the natural world?
Certainly Probably.

Are we appreciating creation and its Creator?
Definitely!

Are we spending time together?
Absolutely.

Nature Study, FIMBY style

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Another great fall read:
It's Fall

My garden is still delighting me. I took these photos this week. I'm posting them and participating in SOOC Saturday at Slurping Life.

Lamb's Ear

Foxglove: why on earth is this blooming right now??

SOOC is short speak for Straight Out Of the Camera. Since getting my new camera almost all my photos that I've posted here and on Flickr are SOOC. I'm just so pleased with what this camera can do compared to what I had before I don't give much consideration to processing and editing. Maybe the photos would benefit from a boost here and there - oh well, they are what they are.

I actually want to hone my skill as a SOOC photography. I only have so much time and I'd rather be taking, posting and sharing photos than editing. My little computer is struggling with all these RAW files and all that processing takes time that I don't have.

Not that I don't love edited photography, I do. Some of my favorite photos from other photographers are quite processed. It's just not my thing right now.

That's my story. And I'm sticking to it. Till I change my mind.

It's been a grey, rainy, November day. Although the sun was shining earlier this week I feel tired and worn down. Tonight I miss August's sun, wait a minute, it rained all August. I miss July's sun. The perfect time then to post this photo.

Orange Clove Pomander
Doesn't this soap look lovely in the morning sun?

Soapmaking is not just a utilitarian hobby for me. It's one of the ways I observe and celebrate the seasons and add beauty to my everyday life. Who doesn't love a bar of homemade soap sitting in a pretty dish in the bathroom?

Mind you, my soap dish gets kind of gunky with three kiddos washing up but when people visit, which is often, I try to at least clean up the soap tray. (But don't you dare lift up that toilet seat.)

Seasonal Soap

Once I figured out the basics of making soap I started to craft recipes based on the time of year and what might be good for our skin during that particular season. In the summer I love refreshing garden inspired bars. Peppermint essential oils to cool sun-kissed skin swirled with calendula petals for texture and color. Or this past summer's creation, Orange Lavender Blossom. Uhmm... I feel summery just thinking about it.

But fall and winter are the time for luxury and spice. Richer oils that moisturize and soothe dry skin. Scents and textures that remind you of gingerbread and hot cocoa.

I usually give away bars at Christmas to friends and family so I like that soap to be "Christmasy". Last year's bar was Christmas Orange. A rich soap with expensive oils, scented with orange, myrrh, frankincense & clove essential oils. Family and friends have in no uncertain terms ("hey, you know that orange soap - I really liked that one best") let me know that was one of their favorite soaps of mine. So I was inspired to do something similar this year.

Crafting a recipe

My first step for creating a new soap is to start with a familiar recipe I've made before. Or I find an idea in a book or more likely on-line. Then I seriously tweak the oils based on what I have or what is readily available to me at my local natural foods store. Kind of like cooking but with poisonous ingredients (lye is dangerous). For my latest soap I bought a few more ingredients because I'm trying to see if I can create a harder bar than I usually do with just coconut oil, olive oil and vegetable shortening.

Once I choose the oils, based on availability and the properties I want for my soap, I use a lye calculator to determine how much lye to use based on how much of each oil I'm using. I haven't wrapped my head around how these things work, chemistry was never my favorite subject. Soapmaking is art and science. I leave the science part up to a computer program and focus on the art.

The fun part of course is choosing the essential oils and trying to mix and match scents to achieve "perfect aromatherapy harmony" (that was a joke, but I do want the bars to smell nice and hold their scent). Depending on the soap I also love adding natural ingredients for texture; oatmeal, coffee, cocoa, dried herbs, flower petals.

Here is this year's Christmas recipe for Orange Clove Pomander Soap. My house smells heavenly orange and these bars make me smile every time I see them in the kitchen. Soap making is good for my soul.

layered Orange Clove Pomander Soap

I love the history of the pomanders (I'm fascinated with the middle ages) and the modern day clove studded oranges that decorate and scent homes during the holidays. The traditional Christmas Pomander was my inspiration for this bar.

Looks good enough to eat: and it smells even better

Orange Clove Pomander Soap Recipe

Read A Beginner's Guide to Soapmaking for basic soap directions.

Soap Base

• 29 oz. olive oil
• 16 oz. palm oil (not palm kernel)
• 14.5 oz. coconut oil
• 12 oz. vegetable shortening
• 10 oz. canola oil
• 5 oz. soybean oil
• 5 oz. castor oil
• 5 oz. cocoa butter
• 13 oz. lye
• 36.5 oz. distilled water

Essential Oils & Technique

• 3 oz. orange oil
• 1 oz. clove oil
• 1 oz. rosemary oil

At trace add essential oils. Mix well and divide batch somewhat equally into two pots. Working quickly add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and 2 tsp of ground cloves to one pot. Combine well with stick blender. Pour dark layer into mold. Pour light layer on top. Even out evenly or swirl if you wish. Lightly press dehydrated lemon and orange slices onto the top.

Cool, cut and cure.

layered Orange Clove Pomander Soap

More soap related posts.

OK, Wayfaring Wanderer, I'll bite.

November Green Lamb's Ear

5 green things I currently do:
- make mostly all our own soap, except for liquid dishwashing soap
- grow a small garden
- buy local produce
- keep our trash to a minimum through composting, recycling and (you guessed it) reducing and reusing
- use recycled paper products

5 green things I want to. I can't say these are all easily done. I honestly feel I've exhausted the easy options (you have no idea how cold I am all winter because we are trying to energy conscious) and now we're working on bigger life changes.
- run errands on my bike, with my 3 kids, and teach them how to use people power
- set up a rain barrel to catch water off the garage and use that for watering the garden
- replace plastic "tupperware" type containers with glass or stainless steel. Wouldn't those look lovely also in my fridge?
- (getting personal now) use exclusively cloth feminine pads as back up for my Keeper. Currently using cloth and disposable until I can afford to invest in more cloth.
- buy more local, Maine produce through coops and such even through the winter.

And I'd like to nominate my friend Cori who is an amazing green mama and all around good person for this prize.

And you thought the elections were over?!

You may have noticed that I was rather silent on the whole subject of elections. As a disenfranchised legal alien (fancy speak for Canadian living in the US) with good friends on all sides of the political spectrum it's best to keep my mouth shut on these matters. You can be sure I have an opinion but I choose to keep it to myself (unbelievable I know). Besides I believe in making the world a better place right where I live, regardless of Washington politics.

Ok, that's enough politics. I'm here to ask you to vote... for me!

Official campaign photo: taken by 5 year old Brienne

(I can't believe how dorky I look in this photo. I love those corduroy flowered pants but I'm not sure they photograph very well)

FIMBY has been nominated for an award over at The Homeschool Post. A site all about "encouraging, informing and connecting the homeschooling community".

I've been nominated in the Best Variety category, which I guess describes this blog as I'm kind of all over the place in what I post about. Life's more interesting that way.

I totally don't want to inconvenience or pester any of you so you are welcome to dismiss this post altogether. But for the rest if you'd be so kind and pop over to the Best Variety Blog voting page. Click on the little circle next to my blog name and click the Vote button down below.

I just did it, right now, and guess what? My blog has one vote, mine! Ha, ha... kind of funny actually. Yes, I really do need your help. But please, only one vote per person. I think they can track that somehow anyway. IP addresses or some other mumbo-jumbo.

There are prizes with this award but I honestly haven't looked into that since prizes aren't so much my thing but the "publicity" would be kind of cool.

Take care you all and thanks for reading this. And if I don't win this award I'll know who to blame! Just kiddin'.