Is That SPRING I See?

Um, nope, not quite yet. We've had some amazing weather over the last month or so (on and off). Beautiful sunny skies with not a cloud in sight. Our garden was turned and readied (and, ahem, maybe some things were planted that could have waited just a few more weeks...maybe) and trips to the beach were made.

But now the weather looks so much more like the Pacific Northwest late winters that we are all accustomed to around here. Which, really, is just fine. No, really...I mean that. Sincerely.

While we try not to blow away with our umbrellas I'll be sharing snippets of the things missed in the last few months of blog absence. Lots of projects (big and small), outings (near and far) and memories made.

Now to go off and stare at the neighbor's spring flowers...what? No one told the flowers it's still winter? Oh, well, all the better for getting us through these last dreary days of winter. My very favorite flower growing next door are the crocuses...so delicate and nearly unexpected as they push up and bloom first thing. What's your favorite spring bulb?

Here's to dreaming of Spring!

St. Nicholas Day 2009

We've had such a lovely weekend!

On Saturday evening we joined many friends in clebrating the first snow of the year. Well, we didn't know it would snow, but it was absolutely wonderful to be outdoors, around a crackling fire, feeling the frosty, fat flakes on our faces. I love this time of year.

On sunday, St. Nicholas visited our house, spreading his generous spirit to the smallest members of our family.

In the morning these slippers were full of clementine, chocolate coins and a golden walnut for each child. The kids were happy to dive into a breakfast of chocolate and oranges...that sounds good to me too!

Anyone else celebrate this year?

Generousity and Kindness: St. Nicholas Day

Although we are not a very religious family we've decided to have a low-key celebration of St. Nicholas Day this year. Jacob has been very interested in Santa and all the myths, tales and different perspectives about who this man is/was.

In preparation for St. Nicholas Day, we are reading one story per night here. This has sparked some great conversations while reading! Jacob, sitting back finger-knitting, asks questions and makes connections between today's "Santa" and this saint. He seems really at peace while I'm reading and the stories make perfect sense to him. There's a lot of discussions about angels, heaven, and God going on around here..and I'm a bit out of my element!

On Saturday night the children will leave a shoe out full of hay or carrots for St. Nicholas' donkey and in the morning they will awake to find treats and goodies. I'm still working on what exactly they will find, though. So far, clementines, chocolate coins and a "golden" walnut with a tiny gift inside. I haven't been terribly organized about this...but it's our first year so we're learning.

Since it IS Wednesday, I'll add a little bit about my WIP (work-in-progress). I'm working on a baby blanket for a dear friend who is expecting a sweet baby girl any day now and knitting a sweater for Kaiya's naked-but-loved doll I made her. We are also thinking about adding long hair to the doll...and somehow covering her rear as well as her top!