The Magic of the Miniature.

A few weeks ago, the Craunlets and I finally created a little fairy garden. 

 

For ages, we have had a door that we *planned* to use for the project, and I venture to say it's been sitting on the Little Miss's nightstand for nearly two years now. 

Our friends Robb + Bette of Hidden Worlds, make the sweetest fairy doors and other tiny accessories to build out fairy gardens and diminutive communities. 

With the prompting of a few more fairy furniture purchases that we made at the Open Studio Sale a couple weeks ago [where Robb has a workspace] we finally had enough pieces to motivate us at last! From another artist studio in the building, we picked up a handful of small glaze-test tiles to create the perfect little fairy path. 

 

The same afternoon, we snagged a mixed succulent planter from our local garden center, and before we knew it, we were arranging and planting a little fairy-space in a galvanized container.

We were *hoping* that planted in a container, it would prove easier to tend and care for our than our prior efforts in corners of our larger gardens, but it seems the squirrels are equally curious about the container garden endeavor as we were.

We constantly find our once perfectly-manicured miniature retreat completely ransacked and quite a disheveled mess. I love the overturned table here.

I suppose it's good to see that more than the fairies are enjoying the little garden, and it certainly prompts the opportunity for more rearranging than we would do otherwise!

Easy to Celebrate.

The husband's promotion was officially announced yesterday. 

It's a wonderful write-up; made my heart swell with pride. You can read the blog post announcing his promotion to Associate Principal right here.

Dave is so easy to celebrate. He makes the balance of work and life look so much easier than it is. He absolutely spoils the Craunlets with his time and attention, and he always puts me at the top of his long list of priorities and to-do's. I'm so fortunate to have him as my life mate, and I cannot imagine a better dad. He's the hardest worker that I know, and he never quits. Never gives up. He keeps the wind in our sails, and has made this life such an adventure.

Three Cheers for the husband, and congratulations on both the promotion and the recognition!

Reading, and soon to be Tippling.

I've been carving out small crevices in my afternoons for a little time in the pages. It's been nice to have an object in my hand, and a few consecutive minutes for reading before part II of my everyday where homework begins, dinner, and all of the other demands of the evening take charge.

Right now, I'm pouring through this book. 

I'm learning words like tipple, and nodding my head a lot as I swim through topics of local eating, raising chickens, and making homemade bitters. The connection to American history is interesting and at times humorous.  It's very much in step with our thinking and living right now, so it's quite a pleasure read.

A Gaggle, a Herd, and Several Bunches.

It started with a two-sentence speaking part. Specifically, a fill-in-the-blank note that Nathaniel brought home from school indicating that he had been selected to speak two sentences in the upcoming Kindergarten music performance. Shortly following, the music teacher surveyed parental interest in helping make some signs for the show. 

A few back-and-forth e-mails with the music teacher, and I had volunteered to take on almost all of the props. The show is Aesop's Fables Deluxe, and as I poured over the list, I couldn't bear the thought of the potential mix-mosh of signage efforts by multiple volunteers. So, without adding the total number of animals and objects, I volunteered to take them on. Unable to work in poster board and markers, I proposed decoupage on foam core instead. Cue the over-doer...

It was only after heaps and piles of tissue squares, sticky fingers, and multiple quarts of Modge Podge that I started to fret. 

I printed out a little reference list to stay focused; it seemed so short + tidy, only six lines long.

Bunches of grapes:  red, purple and green [3 of each]
Dog bone [1]
Dog [1]
Tortoise and Hare  [5 of each]

Dove and Ant [3 of each]
Lion and Mouse pictures [5 of each]

What I failed to take into account were all of the multiples, as most of props had quantities attached to them.  It was late into last week, when Isabella counted up the list, and reported that I had 37 total props to make. CUE THE INTERNAL PANIC!! I casually shrugged, and played it off. I already had the tortoises done, and the hares were rounding to the finish line second. Isn't that how the story goes? I reassured myself with the maxim slow and steady wins the race...slow and steady...and over the next several days I repeatedly talked myself out of giving up and quitting.

The Craunlets slathered on the encouragement all weekend with quips like "only seventeen more to go mom," "you are down to twelve now!" and yesterday, "you still have five left?!" I was down to the mice by yesterday afternoon, and I empathetically took this picture thinking, I know just how you feel.

And this morning, FINALLY, and all neatly nestled into a box, I carried in the gaggle, the herd, and several bunches of props into school. DONE. And officially on a decoupage break, for a good long while.

I'm ready to enjoy the show, and clap and cry and take copious amounts of pictures. Reading the performance information sheet that was sent home with Nathaniel yesterday, I just now picked up these lines: Your child Nathaniel will have the part of storyteller. Storytellers are the only group that does not have a special prop to hold/wear. 

AWESOME. So I snapped a million shots this morning of Nathaniel holding props. You know, BECAUSE HE WON'T BE HOLDING THEM IN THE SHOW. No biggie, he's got a super big speaking part...

And for the record, the PROPS for Aesop's Fables Deluxe. The tortoise and the Hare:

The Lion and the Mouse:

The Dove and the Ant:

The Dog and the Bone:

The Bunches of Grapes; Red, Purple, and Green:

Forever and Ever and Ever.

Dave and I enjoyed a quick getaway to Richmond Virginia this past weekend prompted by a family wedding. It's been a beacon of escape etched onto the busy spring calendar for months now. A booked hotel, dinner reservations made at a delicious farm-to-table restaurant, and much unscheduled but highly anticipated merriment.

Cue the snag. 

Days ahead of the weekend, our sitter had an unexpected death in the family. After much initial panic, and many a back-up plans considered, the Grand Dubs swooped in for the rescue. FABULOUS! Weekend is instantly back on, and the Craunlets are over-the-moon excited about prospects of a weekend all alone with the Grand Dubs. No parents to rain on the fun parade!

Dave and I drove off into summer on Friday morning, and wrung more fun out of those few days than I dreamt possible. The wedding on Saturday was lovely and perfect. Outside under a canopy of trees, the sweetest vows were exchanged listing promises of faithfulness and loyal love. But what completely undid me was how the bride ended ended hers with a forever and ever and ever.

The seemingly sing-song lightness of the words, and yet their eternal heaviness. So little is forever. Relationships are worth that, the promise of working at love forever and ever and ever.

And the husband and I remembered back to our wedding day, our exchanged vows, and our forever that now lies both behind and yet still stretched out ahead.

Mr. Prolific.

It's been a big year for Nathaniel. I feel like I could say that, and simultaneously hear the sound of the heads of anyone that has ever sent a child to Kindergarten collectively nodding in agreement with me.

That said, within the last handful of weeks, Kindergarten seems to have accelerated a ton, like it's getting ready for 1st grade, TOMORROW. It's been leaving my head absolutely spinning around the dining room table as I review daily schoolwork and assist with homework, administering practice spelling tests, and timing rocket math equation races.

But what's super crazy to me, is how Nathaniel effortlessly meets the challenge, and then in his spare time, carves out other meaty tasks for himself to knock out.

Last weekend, he took a stab at writing his first song which he titled: O Little old Lady. He's got two full pages of lyrics, copiously hand-written and taped together like a book, for fast and easy turning during practice and performance. The best part is that his "little old lady" is a 4-year old girl friend Poppy. It's his first ballad, a sweet little love song to make up for forgetting to invite her to some imaginary party.

The kid is in constant create-mode, and always tinkering with inventions––like his recent printer that he constructed out of a cardboard box, rubber bands, tape + colored pencils. He made this several weeks ago, and takes orders for "what to print", then he works away [hands inside the printer] to satisfy his customer.

His first "print" was Superman of course, for himself, to test out his invention.

Mr Prolific, is only six after all. Wildly independent and driven, passionate and completely committed to creating, and certainly every bit six year old boy.

To Market, To Market.

We are out of the Winter, friends, and we have survived [!!!] still eating primarily locally-grown food! We are thrilled that our Farmers Market is back outdoors, and every week the number of stands has grown significantly!

The first week the market moved outside, we watched a sheep shearing.  Eyes wide, and bundled up fiercely, we were stoked about the heralding of Spring and the increasing variety that it will slowly present us. So far, we have already enjoyed many a crisp salad greens, and a few bunches of ramps. We've also begun to splurge on the local charms we have fallen in love with, building up our pantry, with things like Hickory Elixir [think a smokier maple syrup] and maple cream, honey varieties, some fabulous candied citrus peels, and a handful of terrifically interesting jams.

On the freezer-full-of-cow cow front [remember here, and see it here], we are very nearly through all of the large cuts, as we worked our way through roasts, recently the oxtails [YUM!] and are preparing the London Broil today. Aside from a few odds-and-ends, we are left with about two dozen pounds of ground beef. Thank goodness it is grilling season [burgers anyone?] but MAN –– getting through the ground beef has been a big challenge for us.

Beef Shanks before cooking, we consumed them too quickly for a "done" shot...

For the beef shanks, we followed this recipe near-exactly, using our own stock instead of the recommended brand, and we traded olive oil for the coconut. It was a cold and rainy day of early Spring, and this was a perfect match to the weather, presenting a hearty and warming main dish that was both deliciously flavored and unbelievably tender.

I really thought we might become burdened by all the meat at the onset of this adventure, but I have been again and again overwhelmed more by the unceasing variety of all the cuts. 

And now, with Spring certainly upon us, the fresh produce variety picks up again as well! We have also just added a weekly fruit CSA to the mix this year through one of our favorite fruit farmers, and we look forward to that starting at the first of June. This year, through the learning curve of last, I want to be better at putting down reserves for winter––saving even a few special treats from the season's of abundance, will prove a great indulgence for the year ahead!