The Treasured Library

note the cute little air drying penguins the girls made. We'll paint them when they're dry.

I love the library--particularly the 'juvenile' section, but all of it. First, you've got the books and the knowledge that if your fines are paid down (which is not an uncommon issue for me), you can take whatever one you choose home with you, free. Not just books mind you, audio books, dvds, equipment. When I was a kid we'd regularly borrow a VCR, bring it home and watch movies we otherwise couldn't--namely Anne of Green Gables and Beauty and the Beast. (We didn't own a VCR until someone gave us one when I was 13).

Then, in college I learned to write and actually use the library as a tool. First, you search by topic and author and it's like hunting down a treasure. I LOVE doing research (on the right topic) and having books or articles specially shipped to me or emailed or accessed, free. And, did you know you can request certain books be added to your library's collection just so you can check them out? Awesome. Or, if you don't feel like driving to central library downtown, put in a request and they'll transfer what you need to the library closest to you in about 2 days! It's really amazing to have a free resource like this, especially for us homeschoolers. Between that and Youtube I'm not sure anyone really needs a curriculum!

I haven't even mentioned the programs and activities they have for children and adults. Knitting, story time, summer reading, movies, afterschool stuff, book clubs, internet libraries, rosetta stone, librarians in general (whom are usually superbly kind)...For all the pitfalls of government organized services, the library is really one of the best things I think our tax money gets us.

Above is a picture of all the books we took out this week. Mainly Penguin books because, on account of our Zootles (by zoobooks) magazine focusing on them, so are we. It's been a really neat thing to explore and Naomi is really to the age where details about animals and their characteristics are sticking, so she can re-share them later. It's neat, and she's learning to get excited about how the library works as well. We hunted down 'Juv 598.47' together and what a thrill when she saw the shelf full of penguin related reading material! Very cool.

And the few extras are books I threw in simply because they looked amazing. Like A to Z Picture Book I LOVE Gyo Fujikawa's art. It's nostalgic and pleasing and modern and vintage all at the same time. The colors are a little muted, but also bright and you have to really look to notice all the detail and enjoy it completely. And with the library we get to sample and enjoy without committing to buy. But, now I want to buy the whole Fujikawa library for our home!

So. What do YOU have from the library right now?

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Hope everyone enjoys seconds, pie, and loosened belts.

these are some of our holiday decorations. Felted acorns and paper Pilgrims and Native Americans from the Toymaker.

To Eat and Play

Play for me:: I'm excited to try and make these for myself when I get a spare minute. I'd actually played with trying to make a similar pattern a few years ago and gave up frustrated. Thanks M.S. for making it easier for me...

Play for the girls:: This was Leviah's b-day present. We ALL have enjoyed it as much as she does, it never gets old to try different ways of stacking/balancing them. There are a lot of toys from this shop that we want...

Food for us all:: (which turned into play as they arranged it themselves) Lunch for today.

sliced apples with dad's home-made yogurt (from raw local milk) & local honey from our own hives! Pretty decent ensemble on the fly. As we try to cut wheat/carbohydrates out as a mainstay in our lives, it's little victories like this lunch that help me know pb&j's and mac&cheese aren't the only things my kids will eat...

Some more options that are carb-free & kid friendly:
Peanut Butter and Celery
Dried Fruit
Cashews
Almonds
Cheese (like baybel, slices, cuts of whatever we have)
Cottage Cheese
Plain yogurt with honey
Carrots

what are some of your lunch time staples? 

Closure Found in Ginger Pumpkin Bread

the girls with the pumpkin we used for the bread & more.

There are about 1.7b'zillion things I want to share here, but I'm going to focus on rounding out the 'conclusion' of the last post--especially since I've had it up for so long as the latest entry.

First, thanks to all the thoughtful responses. It's comforting to have friends around me who read and share. Talking/writing it out is a tremendous help when I can count on people with understanding to offer advice!

Naomi didn't help me make the cake that day. She asked again and I just asked her if she knew why I didn't think I could let her; she said she did. That was it. I turned away trying not to cry and she moved on to playing something else.

2 days ago I invited her to help me make pumpkin bread. Of course she wanted to, I gave her a look and said, 'but, what are you going to need to do?'
'Listen.'

There was no hesitation, she had no doubt about how to make this experience successful. And she did too. We had a really good time together and whipped up the most delicious pumpkin bread I think I've ever had. Perhaps there was a certain sweetness that only I could taste. But, it really gave me the closure I think we both needed to the 'incident'.

And so, in lieu of your support, the fall season, my extensive love of anything pumpkin flavored and the grace that we all have when we take advantage of second chances, here's Martha Stewart's recipe for the best pumpkin bread ever--so you don't have to search high and low trying all varieties with mediocre results ;-)

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups) (we used fresh pumpkin)

3 large eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pans (see note, below); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; invert pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely.

(we baked at 350degrees convection for about 45minutes)