A Couple of Comfy Corners of a Cottage

 It's a tiny little cottage, but it's been in the family for 4-5 generations....so it's special.

 Nana's little touches all around make it inviting and restful!

 I tried to capture the shadow on the cottage kitchen wall of the clothes line and a dragon fly on the screed door - a little strange - but there was beauty in that moment!

 

Every room contains some marks of my Great Grandparents who ran a popular cafe at the beach sum 70 years ago.

Playing, playing and playing....

Every Mama likes Quiet Time! Something that my own Mama instilled in me, "every child no matter what age needs to have some Quiet Time Play each day, so Mama can too!" - she would say. When I was little it was called "F.O.B. time" ; Feet On Bed! We've been calling it Quiet Play ON your OWN bed....Hey, sometimes they end up falling asleep, good thing they are on their beds.

 Of course we are at the beach EVERY day, rain or shine. This year we've started the tradition of matching up cottage weeks with the beach swimming lessons.

 This vintage beach town has so much cute - appeal. This year they painted the below block some "currant" colors like taupe, egg-plant and black....I didn't bother taking a picture, because I already had this one - and I love to remember the colorful-vintage look it did have!

Papa works most of the time, when we are the beach, but he does commute. Which is so nice! I feel some how connected to all those women who spent their summers with their children at this beach in the early 1900's while their men commuted on the "Daddy Train"!

 

That's it - glimpses of our week living at the beach! Wish it was longer....

No Mice Transformed into Prancing White Horses....

 Nine years ago today....

We got ready....

Little ballet dancers danced at the family farm...

We got married!

 

Joyeux Anniversaire Mon Amour!

Waldorf School at Home

I should have assumed that we would be a little backwards.
My parents had strong opinions about the education system....which of course would effect my views. Academics this year have not been the enjoyable part of school at home, by any measure. Some folk would say that we unschool....but I needed something more.
I took the plunge and bought a used Christopherus Waldorf curriculum....after doing some research, this seemed to be in high demand.

 

 We've been at it for 3 or 4 weeks and I am sold! The day and rhythm is much more peaceful and everything ties together. The activities and academics are not isolated external lessons that are disconnected from their emotional selves. It just seems a lot more wholesome. I was impressed to see my 6 year old daughter's drive to wind an entire skein of wool into a large ball in a single afternoon for handwork.

She may not read as early as some of her other schooled and homeschooled peers, but the loving words of mature mother's who've raised responsible deep feeling people, have encouraged me not to make external academics our main focus. The issues we face in society are so rooted in the heart....why would I not want to take concentrated interest in cultivating their hearts, creativity and a discerning compassionate mind?

::~::

    

                                           

East to God's Country

It is hard to believe that less than a week ago we were in "beautiful Lake of the Woods", or God's country.  Which brings back memories of when I traveled by bus from Winnipeg to Nova Scotia in my early 20's to attend Granville Ferry's Dance Intensive....my protective mother told me "please don't sit in the back of the bus, that is where ex-inmates sit"...I learned very quickly that the most interesting people sat at the back of the bus also.  Sorry Mum.

T'was at the back of the bus where all the Atlantic Canadian Maritimers were sitting - and they couldn't stop talking about "God's country", meaning Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Well it has been several years since I was that far East - so for now, we enjoyed a little East of us, Lake of the Woods.  We love hiking and trying out different trails - with the 3 'littles' Literally in Tow at times - it takes us about twice the time for each trail.

I never tire of the views, smells, sounds, lack of sounds, plants, mosses, trees and water.  And I wonder what it would be like to live there all the time. We drank up every minute and even did some excursions in the rain - and happily arrived to our heated pop-up!

 
We bumped into a few familiar faces along the way, which was a nice surprise, and surprise it was in the middle of no-where at times.  Some of the most interesting conversations I had with people were with random folk I met in the laundry facilities at the campgrounds we stayed.  One couple topped it off for adventures - a newly wed from PEI cycling their way across our wide country.  You can follow their journey here.

I have some catching up to do.  Those who left comments on older posts while I was away - I will get back to you;)  Also my lovely package arrived from my Vintage Swap partner, so I'll have to tell all about that.  I would love to share with you some of the exciting plant discoveries we made on our trip - can't seem to go very far without bringing along some plant/tree field guides...and we are gearing up for our first official year of homeschooling.

Lady's Slippers and No Knead Bread

It has been a little quiete in this space lately....but nevertheless there has been a buzz of summer activity.  In this post I wanted to share just a few highlights from over the past 30 days.

  

My valiant husband, of all days of the year...it was Father's Day...faced the enemy head on, rushing through forest and field, braving the mammoth armies of mosquitoes to bring home these.  The rare Lady's Slipper grows in droves near my In-Law's country property.

The same hero, who knows me only too well, surprised me earlier this month, with Edible& Medicinal Plans of Canada .  Regarding Lady's Slippers it says, 

"The rhizomes (the part most commonly used) contain an active compound called cypripedin. Rhizomes were used for menstrual disorders, headaches, insomnia, stomachaches, kidney troubles in children, urinary tract problems and nervousness" ...pg 200

One refreshing place we've been at is the lake.  Our family cottage was built by my Great-Grandfather.  They say 60-90 years ago there was a train called "the Daddy train" that went back and forth from the beach to the city.  The Mamas stayed at the lake all summer long with the children, while the Dads commuted by train.  I could get use to that!

You should know by now, if you've read this blog before, that I am ADD, and many times it is all just a run-on-sentence of rabbit trails.   ::  ::  ::  ::

I had seen this book online before, but it wasn't until I came across Heather's post that I actually got motivated to find Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I decided to take it out of the library, since our cookbook collection needs some serious de-cluttering - before I add another book!

This method is fascintating because it is along the same lines as Traditional Foods, in that the grains are in a sense being soaked. The dough is made the day before (no knead), and then you take from the refrigerated dough as you need over the next 5-14 days (depending on the recipe).

This jewel of a grain grinder came to me for $25 from our Chiropractor - he seemed happy to get it off his family's hands - and said it was a lot of work.  It is manual labor - and I'm hoping that my valiant husband will one day hook it up to a stationary bike.

We enjoyed homemade bagels for the first time (recipe out of the same book), with our homemade yogurt cheese (which is just yogurt left to drain through a cheese cloth over night) - flavored with homemade jam.

So this is a summary of my month - I'll end with an online project that I really enjoyed; My interview with a fellow Canadian Mama-preneur, Miss Mouse and her lovely Etsy Store!  Below, is one of her lovely quilts.

Miss Mouse graciously contributed one of her handmades for the healthy challenge that I was hosting. And I'm excited to announce the winner tomorrow on From Home.

Braided Onions and Food Carving

She, my oldest and biggest helper, is now ready - for what I've been waiting for.....reading chapter books together.  We've embarked on the heart warming series; Little House on the Prairie.  It was our favorite, growing up.

"....Onions were made into long ropes, braided together by their tops, and then hung in the attic beside wreaths of red peppers strung on threads.  The pumpkins and squashes were piled in orange and yellow and green heaps in the attic's corners.....

....."The attic was a lovely place to play. The large round, colored pumpkins made  beautiful chairs and tables. The red peppers and the onions dangled overhead. The hams and venison hung in their paper wrappings, and all the bunches of dried herbs, the spicy herbs for cooking and the bitter herbs for medicine, gave the place a dusty-spicy smell.

    "Often the wind howled outside with a cold and lonesome sound. But in the attic Laura and Mary played house with the squashes and the pumpkins, and everything was snug and cozy.

    ...."Laura had only a corncob wrapped in a handkerchief, but it was a good doll. It was named Susan. It wasn't Susan's fault that she was only a corncob."

Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Now with food on my mind, I just have to share this with you;

and this,

Dear friends of ours from Thailand, talented in food carving, show their skills!

Heritage, Memorial and Heaven

Heritage is important - it contributes to our identities and confidences and if shame, then we must to rise above it.  It maybe fitting to play this video as you read today's post, allowing the music to accompany your read;

Part of my heritage, that which I am proud of and even cherish, is my parent's involvement with the St John's Boy's Schools in the 70's and early 80's.  I was only a little girl, when I ran about the boarding school and property, cheered with them at snow shoe races, welcomed them home after their canoe trips...my Dad-the Headmaster, all shaggy from the lack of shaving and each man thinner than when he left for the canoe trips. I enjoyed October Fests where I was crowned Queen.  I reveled in the dynamics of community living, tried to sneak into the chapel and eat communion wafers with Jamie Voss. Dug my hand into the barrel of what I believed to be icing sugar, but was rudely surprised by the flour-taste, more than once - in the school kitchen while my mom was cooking for 70 or so people. And made sure that I was NOT on the field during a rugby practice.

This all took place in Southern Ontario, and chances would have it, today I raise my own family just blocks away from where my own Dad went to the first St John's School, under the direction of Frank Weins.  Who was my Dad's God Father. Yesterday marked some closure of an era of this unique, unforgettable school, education and philosophy. We walked together as a family in our Sunday best, passing by tulips and fruit trees in full blossom, past the first location of the St John's school on St. Cross Ave, and on to the Cathedral to attend the packed memorial service for the recent passing of Frank Wiens.

When my Mother first let me know of his passing, a thought, almost like a memory, a picture really...crossed my mind.  There was a group of young men, they were sitting around Frank Wiens,  in Heaven, talking and reminiscing about the school.  I'm not sure what the reader thinks as you are reading this - you can chalk it up to either an over active imagination or perhaps some revelation - whichever you choose is fine with me.  A flood of warmth came over me seeing this picture in my minds eye, these young men who've gone on before meeting Frank Wiens and enjoying his company and words of affirmation.

The memorial service ended with Compline, and with the Hymn of St John's; I feel the wind of God today

I feel the winds of God today

Today my sail I lift

Though heavy oft with drenching spray

And torn with many a rift

If hope but light the water’s crest

And Christ my bark will use

I’ll sail the seas at His behest

And brave another cruise

It is the wind of God that dries

My vain regretful tears

Until with braver thoughts shall rise

The purer,  brighter years

If cast on shores of selfish ease

Or pleasure I should be

Lord, let me fell thy freshening breeze

And I’ll put back to sea

If ever I forget Thy love

And how that love was shown

Lift high the blood-red flag above

It bears Thy name alone

Great pilot of my onward way

Thou wilt not let me drift

I feel the winds of God today

Today my sail I lift

Signing Off,
one of Felletti's kids.

Something of Sentimental Value - Day 5

This mug is very special to me.

It belonged to my Dad.  I never saw him drink out of it.  It was stored in our bathroom vanity when I was a child.  Inside the mug was hard soap and a shaving brush.  For those who know me, you know that I am very familiar with head injury, and it's affects on family and the individual with the brain injury.  My Dad had a very serious head injury when I was 6. I love my Dad very much, and hold to those precious memories pre-car accident...like this mug.  

It is my favorite mug by far. 

If you come to my house for tea or a cup of coffee, particularly at a time when you and I are the only adults, I will always offer you your choice of mug or tea cup.  It is a part of the beautiful ritual of drinking something hot together. Choosing which mug you find most identity with or beauty or whatever! 

I hope my post is not too emotionally loaded, but it is a little something that is special that I wanted to share with you today! 


Blessings on this Friday before some very special celebrations next week.

Day 5 - Fini

A Cure For Fussy Babies (Day 4)

Dealing With Fussy Babies and Infant Sleep Problems

On this Day 4 of my 5-Day Challenge my post is two fold.  Today I'm writing in response to a recent conversation on facebook - proud Mommies of newborns who are sleeping on their own  through the night AND I'm also testing out some more SEO with the use of the tag phrases, "fussy babies" and "infant sleep problems".  But don't you worry dear google, my post will be appropriate to the tag phrases.

Sleep; A precious commodity in a parent's life. 

Sleep; something we are ALL emotional about.

 
A most common question a mama receives in the first weeks of baby's life is, "how is your baby sleeping?"  Sometimes I'd like to knock that naive, well-meaning person over the head, when I get asked that.  How do YOU think a newborn sleeps? Like a baby.  Lots of waking, lots of nursing.


Infant sleep problems are normal for Most babies.  Dr. Sears provides a wealth of resources and encouragement to parents with fussy babies.  Our solution was to have our babies in bed with us.  It seemed natural to us, and it seemed unnatural to put our baby in a crib, alone in a room down the hall.  Hard core NINO mamas (Nine months In  Nine months Out)  feel that fussy babies best thrive in an outdoor womb, which would be baby wearing and co-sleeping.  Baby wearing can really help fussy babies and even cure infant sleep problems.  

Baby wearing and co-sleeping with babies, have been practiced in most cultures for millenniums.  It has only been in the last century or two amongst industrialized countries that fussy babies have been left to cry it out in their cribs alone.

There are 2 complaints I have received from disapproving parents of our sleep choices. The first, that parents will not get intimacy - I'm not going to go into detail here, except to say that this is not a problem.  There are many co-sleeping choices. Co-sleeper cribs, bassinets, hammock beds like ours, are just a few solutions for the infant with sleep problems.  With baby close by, it is easy to then bring them into bed to nurse. The second complaint is that we are spoiling our babies.  I assume that this is rooted in Christianity somewhat; "taming the flesh".  Here is my approach.  A mother working outside of the home may need or want to create an independent baby quickly and will train her newborn to sleep on their own for extended periods of time.   I will not argue with the fact that co-sleeping and wearing fussy babies can and may create a dependent baby, or even a needy baby.  But I do believe that there is more and more evidence that a worn, co-slept, dependent baby creates a more independent toddler and grown child.   Keeping baby close to us in these early years, we believe is creating a foundation of security and offers them a springboard into confidence and independence later - while still holding to a healthy respect and closeness with their parents.

The most valuable practice I learned as a new mama was nursing while lying down.  After my first and hardest birth, a home birth as well, I could not sit to nurse for several weeks.  The healing process was long and slow and I honestly did not feel I had a choice, when it came to co-sleeping and nursing in bed.   Now we thank God for the journey we had, as it laid the foundation for us in our parenting choices today!

My heart goes out to you Mamas if you have a fussy baby or are dealing with infant sleep problems - it can be hard on Mom and Dad.  We also have had seasons of fussy babies.  Joash, our 2nd, I was told he had colic - but I did not agree - Yes, he could be categorized with fussy babies BUT he was consolable in a sling!  

Wise blessings to you and your family in your parenting choices!

Day 4 - Fini

Am I related to Star Trek's Spock?

This is my brother.

Mike!

"I like Mike and my bike likes Mike"

(we always sang, growing up)

~ sorry 'felletti', I didn't ask if I could use this photo...but you know FB's policies.~

I love my brother.  He is a well of creativity and a compassionate soul!

AND he just so happens to look a bit like Zachary Quinto, the new Spock in the latest Star Trek movie.  Well, this post was inspired by my 2 yr. old son's latest hair cut....I know I am biased but this picture is TOO cute to keep a secret!

Perhaps he will follow in his Grandfather's footsteps as another Trekkie !

~Have a Great Day!!!

I'm dreaming of a wood Christmas...AND li'l rag curl tutorial

Perhaps it should be more accurately said, "I'm dreaming of a green Christmas..", and by green I don't mean snowless...(although we weren't far from that in our Canadian prairie city this year)!  Green - ecofriendly - sustainible - LESS PLASTIC! 

HOORAY! It's happening!  3 children in 5 years can equal ALOT of plastic in gifts and hand-me-downs.  I hope I'm not sounding ungrateful - I am VERY grateful for my family blessing our children, and it is definately NOT expected.  This year I can say honestly that I am truly thankful for family's thoughtfulness.  Some new wood toys and rag dolls grace the floors and corners of my home!  I found some used Ryan's Room on ebay that were in great shape - and I was happy to give them a new home.

In other news Thank-you to Rural Mama for the lovely swap!  I sent her a hardcoverd book on plant dyes, some healthy chocolate and mama magazines, she sent me some loveliness from her home to mine, some handmade soap, beautiful sewn cards and holiday copper earings that I adore!  Thank-you!

 ::  -  ::  -  ::

I am haveing a healthy chocolate giveaway on the facebook group, Chocolate Revelation.  Have a look!  In the process of  building a healthy chocolate blog, I'm hoping to chart my adventure there!

::  -  ::  -  ::

Thank-you to Garden Mama for asking about our rag curls!  My mother curled our hair in rags before special occasions and her mother curled her hair in a rags and so the story carries on for who knows how many generations!  My hair is not very curl-friendly...I remember my mother trying to do a home perm on me in the early 80's - I think it was called a Tony?  Well it stuck for ABOUT a day - that is how straight my hair is!  My oldest daughter however was blessed with my husband's gene's in this area!  BUT, as I do not have much experience with curls - it easily becomes frizzy and flatish a day or so after wash day.   So we've started a little ritual of rag curls once or twice a week, and that seems to really keep it in some ringlettes, less frizz, and less tangles (YAY).

As my mother did, we rip a rag into some strips and curl a section around the strip, until the hair-wound-rag is close to the head, then we tie it - just once, OTHERWISE you may be cutting it out of the hair after.  We put these in after hair has been washed and wet and detangled.

 Have a wonderful New Year's celebration!  We'll be heading over to my parents 30th New Year's Crepe breakfast....Hope your day is just how you like it!