Meandering Home

FO Friday -- Wispy Edition

2012-01-27T14:23:00.000-06:00

Today's FO Friday is a UFO turned FO. Hooray! While waiting for my Kinetik clue #3, I was in the mood for more lace knitting. I dug in the bottom of my closet--in the bags scattered amidst the yarn stash, to find this gorgeous little Wisp scarf, with only 3 repeats left to complete. Ravelry says that I started this beauty in 2009. I think I put it aside to knit baby items when I found out was pregnant with Theo. But as of Monday morning, when I gently lifted it from the blocking quilt, Wisp became a FINISHED object. Here she is in all her delicate splendor:

Stats:
Wisp is a free pattern on Ravelry!
The yarn is Shibui Knits Silk Cloud, a silk/mohair blend that feels light, fluffy, dreamy, and soft
The needles are size 8, 16" circular bamboo needles. I don't remember the brand, but they came from Knitty City, back when I was living in NYC.
I knit Wisp with no pattern modifications.

Hubs and I are having a date night tomorrow for his birthday. I plan to wear my wisp with a cute LBD (little black dress) and some ankle boots. Who said hand knits couldn't be sexy?

WIP Wednesday (Kinetik KAL edition)

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000-06:00

Remember my trepidation about joining the Kinetik Mystery KAL? Well, I am happy to report that the pattern is stunning. Because this is my first time working with beads, and lace patterns require a lot of concentration anyway, I'm finding the work slow-going yet fun. I have knit 80 rows so far.

You may notice that my beads are different from the ones initially posted. Well, after looking more closely at the clear crystal beads I originally purchased, I noticed the were the wrong size! Wanting to start the KAL on time, I quickly searched Amazon, and used my Swagbucks credits to purchase some Czech crystal beads in a colorway called "Vineyard." My mistake with the original beads was quite fortuitous, as I am loving the way these beads work with my yarn.

Garden Preperation

2012-01-22T12:45:00.000-06:00

Saturday, we began preparing our garden beds for planting. We didn't plant anything last year because I wanted us to focus on composting and learning about soil health before we made an attempt at an organic garden. With most things, I like to jump right into something, learn as I go, and hope for the best. (Heck, this is how I learned to knit!) But after participating in a CSA in Nashville and reading Wendell , I learned about the important of soil health. Healthy soil grows highly nutritious vegetables. And why put work into a garden to get vegetables that aren't much better than the ones available int the store?

As part of my research, I talked to a successful organic garderner and learned that bugs attack weak plants, not strong ones. If your soil is healthy, your plants will be healthy, which means less work combatting pests.

I like to do things the LAZY way, especially in the summer when the weather gets hot. So here is the beginning of our lazy, layered, raised bed garden.

The First Layer: Some rotting logs and sticks collected by the pond and old cardboard boxes

The Second Layer: Old newspapers--These were actually hard to track down, as we get most of our news from the internet.

The Third Layer: Dead leaves, collected from the neighbors. Fee loved helping spread the leaves.

The Fifth layer: Compost --It's still a little chunky, but this is why we are starting the soil early.

After the compost, we watered everything down to make a big schlop.

After we plant, Rat will supply us with some fertilizer. Everyone contributes to this garden.

FO Friday--Meet Marco Moose

2012-01-20T14:21:00.000-06:00

He's FINISHED!! My safety eyes arrived this week, and I was able to complete the amigirumi moose I've been crocheting for Theo. Now that I've used safety eyes in a project, I've concluded that I simultaneously love them and hate them. I love how cute they look compared to crochet eyes or button eyes, both of which can look weird or creepy. I'm also not very good at embroidery, which means that safety eyes look better on my finished projects than embroidery eyes. At the same time--Ugghhh!! Getting the plastic washer on the eye was a serious battle. My thumbs are still sore from the process.

And here is Marco, the fruit of my safety eye (and crochet) labor:

Isn't he cute now that his head is attached to his body, and he has cute little black safety eyes? I sure think so. I haven't given Marco to Theo yet, and it will probably be a few weeks before Little Man gets his moose. See, while I was wrestling with those safety eyes, a curious three year old began asking questions. When I explained that I was making a moose for Theo, she told me that she wanted an animal too. Once again, I pulled out Crochet Softies, and sat a child on my lap. After flipping through the different animals, Fee decided that she wants me to make her a red crab, like the one on the cover. And she is holding me to this too. She keeps asking about her crab.

Now before my amigirumi-loving kids wake up from their naps, I'm going to grab some peppermint tea and look at more FOs.

WIP Wednesday (Ankle Socks Edition)

2012-01-18T14:50:00.000-06:00

A little confession--I am a sock knitter. This means that when I want something to mindlessly occupy my hands while watching Star Trek with my husband, I cast on a pair of socks. I use my favorite sock book, Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch, and pick out an easy to memorize stitch pattern, and I knit away. I like to use the magic loop and knit from the top town. This is because I don't like the way the heel is worked on toe-up socks, and I don't mind working a kitchenr's stitch at the end of my top-down

I also find that top-down socks fit my foot much better than toe-up socks. This seems counter-intuitive because one of the advatages of toe-up socks is being able to try on the sock as you knit to get a perfect fit. But I find that by working my top-down socks with a magic loop, I can still try them on as I go. They fit nicely, but all the toe-up socks I have made fit loosely through the ankle. I'm not sure if this has something to do with my bind-off method, or if it's a quirk of my fat feet and skinny heel and ankle.

Well, with no further adeau, here is my current sock project:

These are ankle socks, and I'm making them with ONE 50g ball of Knit Picks Felici in Botaney. That's right, I can make a pair of socks for my short and fat feet, using only 50g of sock yarn. I'm not particular about the striping on socks I knit for myself, in fact I enjoy the stripey quirks that occur when using one ball of self-striping yarn.

For those interested in the pecularities of these socks:
*Cast on 72 stitches
* 2x2 ribbing for 1 1/4 inches at top
* Slip-stitch heel with 3 stitch garter border, worked on size 1 dpns
* Basket weave pattern on top of foot
* Knit to fit my short, fat feet
* I'm currently at the gusset decreases on the second sock.

Now I'm grabbing a cup-o-tea while I look at more WIPs.

FO Friday--Tunisian Crochet, Hexipuffs, and More

2012-01-13T14:39:00.000-06:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to learn Tunisian crochet, and possible create a Tunisian crochet project. At my visit to Strings and Things yesterday, I purchased a Tunisian Crochet hook and talked to L about my desire to learn Tunisian crochet. She told me that it was very easy and not worry about it. I was still a bit mystified by Tunisian crochet, but as with all things yarn related, I decided to dive right in.

I found the Tunisian crochet CAL at KRW Knitwear Studio earlier this month, and it looked like a great way to learn. But because I have a closet over-flowing with bags (sorry Hubs), I've decided to adjust the square sizes to 6", and use these in my friendship afghan from the Granny Square Swap on Ravelry. Here it is, my first ever Tunisian crochet square, and as L said, it really was easy. I also found the back and forth action very addicting and fun.

Next up, 3 hexipuffs to eventually make a Beekeeper's Quilt, or perhaps something slightly less ambitious. Now I'm wondering if it's fair to count squares and hexipuffs as finished projects. They are technically tiny parts of BIG projects, but they feel like little finished projects.

I used leftover scrap yarn from old projects to make each of these. The purple and grey one is Knit Picks Felici in Goth. The variegated one is Chameleon Colorworks Twinkle Toes, and the blue/grey one is in Zauberball Crazy, which is perhaps my favorite self-striping sock yarn.

And in case these don't count as finished objects, here is a picture of some raw pepita brittle that I made in my dehydrator. My husband and children are very happy that I am currently on a snack foods kick.

Am I Crazy?

2012-01-12T14:46:00.000-06:00

I've been sucked in!! Laura Nelkin is hosting a KAL for a beaded lace shawl, and after looking at all the lovely bead and yarn combinations in the Ravelry forum, I decided to participate. As for my prior experience with knitting shawls, I have only made a few simple lace shawls with easy patterns and no charts. I DO know how to read charts, and I have used charts for knitting and crocheting, but not for lace. I've also never done a project with beads, but from what I've read, it's not very difficult.

I checked Strings and Things in Beaumont to find some yummy yarn for this shawl, and I found this:

So am I crazy for going completely out of my comfort zone on this?

As a side note, this was my first visit to the LYS since we moved back to Texas. I must say that even after living in New York City and Nashville, this is my favorite yarn store. The ladies there are so friendly and helpful, and it has the most cozy atmosphere of any yarn store I've ever visited. I will certainly be back again when budget permits.

WIP Wednesday (Creepy Moose Edition)

2012-01-11T14:42:00.000-06:00

In December, I won a copy of Crochet Softies by Stacey Trock from Robyn Chachula's blog. I imediately fell in love with all the adorable amigurumi animals. Since Theo only has a few stuffed animals, and most of them are monkeys, I decided to let him pick an animal from the book for me to crochet.

I sat my chubby 15 month old in my lap and started flipping pages. Theo mostly enjoyed turning the pages, but when we got to the moose project page, he pointed and made happy noises. I knew which animal to make him!

As you can see, the moose is mostly complete. He is simply lacking eyes, and well....his head needs to be attached to his body. I ordered some safety eyes a week ago, and I can't complete the moose until they arrive in the mail. Hopefully Mr. Headless Eyeless Moose will be finished soon. Then I can give him a proper name.

More WIP Wednesday

Darned Socks

2012-01-09T13:14:00.000-06:00

I just finished darning two pairs of knitted socks, both over a year old. I just worked too hard on these socks to let them go out with the trash. They're also really comfortable socks.

This was my first experience darning socks, and because I do not own a darning egg, I had to improvise. So what did I use? A sweet potato! They're egg-shaped, and I happened to have a large bag of Louisiana sweet potatoes on hand. I used the instructions and photo illustrations from this website, which were very easy to follow. I thought darning my socks would be difficult, but it's actually quite easy.

Finished Object Friday (1)

2012-01-06T14:05:00.000-06:00

I'm in the Crocheters' Granny Square Swap group on Ravelry. Each month we exchange two 6" granny squares and a card or postcard. This has been a great way for me to use up random bits of acrylic yarn that I inherited from some my hubby's relatives. When I receive enough squares, I plan to make a giant friendship afghan.

These are my granny squares for January.

Both squares come from The Granny Square Book by Margaret Hubert. I modified them both by adding or subtracting rounds in order to make my squares the standard 6 inch size. The one on the left is the "Cluster Cross Square," found on page 44. I used two different colors, instead of just one, in order to make the flower-type center pop out. The one on the right is the "Jeannine Square," found on page 36. This is perhaps my favorite square in the book. I love the look and feel of post-stitches, and with each post-stitch aligning with a corner, it is very easy to keep track of them in the pattern. Both squares would work great in an afghan.

You too, can participate in FO Friday.

2011 in Review (Health and Well-being/Notable events)

2012-01-05T14:10:00.000-06:00

I didn't set very many health and well-being goals last year. I think I mostly just needed to recover emotionally and physically from 2010, which was a very rough year.

Thankfully 2011 was awesome!! I ended the year feeling the best I've felt in my entire life, both emotionally and physically. I attribute this to small diet and exercise changes. I find that I feel happier and parent better when I am eating well, and exercising 4 times a week.

I really hate exercising. I simply find it boring. But exercise is important, so I go running around the property right after I put the kids down for their afternoon naps. I run with the dog and listen to the Heart station on Pandora to make it more interesting. Will I be able to keep this up when it gets hot? Honestly, probably not. I HATE the oppressive Texas heat. Maybe I can find something to replace this with when summer hits.

I hate exercise, and I also hate counting calories. Such an act really zaps the joy from eating. Oddly enough, I do enjoy learning about the vitamins and nutrients found in food, especially plants. For whatever reason, I am drawn to learning new ways to prepare plant foods to maximize the body's absorption of nutrients. I enjoy un-cooking, and preparing raw foods. At the same time, I live in Texas, and I'm not going to turn my nose up at a good barbecue.

This exercise and diet routine works or me, so I plan to keep it up in 2012

Health and Well-being Goals from Last Year:

*Continue a regular prayer time with the children. --Fail, with the exception of meals and Fee’s bedtime prayer. Of course, Fee likes to jump around the room while saying the “Hail Mary,” so I’m not sure how well I’m doing at teaching reverence. I'm also not sure if I want to take this any further than meal and bedtime prayers. Our days are packed, and it's hard to get the kids to sit still. I grew up only doing meal and bedtime prayers, and this worked well. I simply don't want prayer to be one more thing I stress about or one more thing to gripe at the kids about. I'm not called to live in a convent, and prayer fits in naturally at meals and bedtime. Therefore I will be setting no new goals in this area.

* Eat a traditional foods diet. (will be possible when we move into our new house) -- Did pretty well on this one. I throw all diets out the window when other people are serving me, after all that is good manners. I made a few sweet goodies for the holiday season. On the plus side, I fermented more, started drinking kombucha tea regularly, made my own stocks when whole chickens were available, and ate mostly whole foods.

This year I'm adding eat more raw foods to my diet goals. I am now the proud owner of an old school Vita-Mix, and I've been doing green drinks daily for the past week. I plan to keep this up.

* Find local friends.-- I did this, and I LOVE my playgroup. No new goals in this area

Added goals for 2012

* Keep the house tidy. Junk just seems to collect in certain place--the end of table, the corners of the bedroom, the end of the couch, etc. I mostly want to watch these junk magnet areas.

Notables Events from 2012:

* Moved into our own home!!
* Practiced elimination communication (EC) with Theo for 5 months.
* Lost 15 lbs.
* Started running 4 days a week
* Learned to sew
* Got paid to knit something
* Started giving Fee preschool activities (She calls them “big girl” activities.)
* Got back into making soap
* Improved my diet greatly (fermented foods, more raw foods, kombucha tea, limited refined sugars)
* Took the kids to the Houston Zoo
* Took a day trip to Moody Gardens with the playgroup
* Visited San Antonio to see a close friend get married

Overall, 2011 was a simple and enjoyable year. It sure beat 2010!

2011 in Review (Crafts)

2012-01-04T14:33:00.001-06:00

Many of these projects can be viewed on my Ravelry projects page. Leave some hearts if you see something you like.

Knitting
Intactivist Soaker for Theo
EC pants for Ella
Shamrock longies for Theo
Lenten Mystery KAL scarf
Tiny Cables Baby Sweater for Daisy
Felted Teethers for Theo
Log-Cabin baby blanket for $$$
Vintage wool longies for Theo
Chain link socks for Mom
Mason-Dixon Washcloth for Leslie
Diagonal Triangles dishcloth for Leslie
Ballband Dishcloth for Leslie
Sweatered Soap for Christmas gifts(x4)
Flower doily (needs blocking)

Crocheting
Crochet Diagonal Stitch Blanket for March of Dimes charity auction
“God is Love” fillet crochet for Parents
Simple Bib for Theo (x2)
Hexagon Thing CAL headband
Arcade Scarf for Kelley
Multiple Motif Banner (ongoing)
Harvest Campfire afghan (ongoing)
Squares for swapping

Sewing
Tee shirt to Toddler dress for Fee
Seat Belt pads for Theo and Leslie
Cat jumper/dress for Fee
Simple tunic shirt for Fee
Sock Monkey for Theo
Apron for apron swap
Stationary Folder for Kelley
Wool soaker for Theo

Soap
* Bergamot Shampoo Soap (Rectangle Bars)
* Pink Power Soap (Hearts and circles)
* Pumpkin-o-licious Soap (Flowers and squares)
* Man in the Woods Soap (I made soap sweaters for these)

Bests/Favorites:
Knitting -- My Lenton KAL mystery scarf came together beautifully. I should have taken better photos than the one on Ravelry. I enjoyed knitting it and reading about the meaning behind the design. I was also quite proud of the Log Cabin baby blanket, though garter stitch became a bit tiresome after a while.

Crochet -- The "God is Love" Fillet crochet banner that I made for my parents (Pictured at the top because it's not on Ravelry). I'm proud of this because the design is original to me. If I get some charting software, I may chart it out for others to use.

Sewing -- The ruffled apron I made for our Mom's Night Out/Apron swap. It was by far the most professional looking thing I have sewn. I also enjoyed making the sock monkey for Theo's birthday. It was only my second time to do embroidery, and it required a lot of hand-sewing. I put a lot of hard work into that monkey.

Soap -- The Pumpkin-o-licious soap is amazingly moisturizing. It's currently my favorite soap. The sweatered soaps were also a big hit this Christmas, and it's definitely something I plan to make again.

Craft Goal from last year: Learn how to use my sewing machine
Success!! Did you see all my sewing projects. I mostly enjoy sewing little sundresses for Fee.

Craft Goals for 2012:
* Learn Tunisian Crochet -- I've seen many cute Tunisian projects, and I'm ready for the challenge of new technique.
* Make some amigirumi -- I enjoyed sewing that sock monkey, and crochet toys are just really cute.
* Make Fee a dress with a Thomas and Friends fabric. (She LOVES Thomas!)
* Do all handmade gifts for Christmas. I did this in 201l, and I want to continue the tradition.
It seems that my craft goals are crochet-heavy this year. 2011 was a pretty knit-heavy year, and I'm ready for a bit more crochet.

2011 in Review (Books)

2012-01-03T14:43:00.000-06:00

This year I'll be breaking up my review post, in order to make it a bit more readable than last year. I'll begin with the books I read.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (947 pages)
* Home by Marilynne Robinson (336 pages)
* How and When to be your Own Doctor by Dr. Isabelle A Moser (289 pages)
* The Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh (240 pages)
When Science Meets Religion by Ian G. Barbour (205 pages)
* Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (ongoing, currently at page 1228)

Total: 3245 (countable) pages

Asterisked books are books I read on my Kindle (Thaks Mom!). I found the page numbers on Amazon, or, in the case of Les Miserables, using a paperback copy of the same book.

I started reading these books on my cell phone, when I needed to read in the dark or when I didn't have another book available. I didn't finish either book, and I'll be carrying these over into 2012.

First and Last by Hilaire Belloc
The Arabian Nights

First and Last is a collection of essays and the Arabian Nights is a collection of short stories, making them easy to pick up again after lengthy absences.

Book Goal From Last Year: Read more books.

I actually read fewer books this year, and had a lower page count compared to last year. At the same time, I read the New York Times regularly for 2 months. (It's amazing how much information you can bring to conversations, simply by reading the NYT.) I also didn’t read any children’s books (except to my children), which inflated my page count last year. I’ve also been reading a really LOOOONG unabridged novel, which naturally meant I read fewer books. Technically I did not fail at my goal, I just read less systematically than I did last year.

Favorite fiction book of 2011 -- Home: Marilynne Robinson is simply a wonderful author. I read Giliad a few years ago, and Home is basically a side story to Giliad. If you haven't read Giliad, Home can still stand on its own. But, by reading the two books together, the characters take on a greater depth.

Favorite nonfiction book of 2011 -- The Diaper Free Baby: This is a great introduction to elimination communication, and after reading this book I felt confident to begin practicing EC with Theo. This is more of a practical book, which I liked, and less of a preachy book about EC. (I don't care for a preachy book on this issue, because I don't think it's necessarily superior choice to using diapers.) If you are the slightest bit interested in trying elimination communication, this is the first book I would recommend..

Least favorite book of 2011 -- Les Miserables: Victor Hugo just gets overly descriptive and can tend towards lengthy idealistic/romantic descriptions of love and Paris in spring, and the life of street urchins. Believe it or not, I typically like long novels (Dostoevsky and Tolstoy), but Les Miserables is less cohesive because it was originally published in serial. I only continue reading this because it's a favorite of my husband and because I find the French Revolution interesting.

(Somewhat) Healthy Pumpkin Bread and How-to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

2011-09-30T18:28:00.000-06:00

My pumpkin bread recipe uses maple sugar, a natural and healthier choice to cane sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree (directions here), or use 1 15. oz canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup water
2 cups maple syrup

3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:
1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish
2.     In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and maple syrup until well blended.
3.      In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and ginger. 4.     Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
5.     Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven. The bread is ready when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Technique for Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

Make sure you save your pumpkin seeds for roasting. Pumpkin seeds are loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids and important minerals, making them a delicious snack. You can also roast other winter squash seeds, using this method. I've found that spaghetti squash and acorn squash are especially delicious.

Always soak your seeds in water with 1 to 2 tsp. of sea salt. Soaking eliminated phytic acid and other nutrient inhibitors. I soak my seeds 12 to 24 hours.

*     Preheat oven to 300 F
*     Lay seeds on a towel to dry.
*     When seeds are dry, put them in a bowel with 2 Tbs melted butter. Toss with a fork until seeds are covered in butter.
*     Using your fork, scoop seeds onto a baking sheet, spread evenly, but no need to be a perfectionist about seed spacing.
*    Spinkle Tony's Chachere's, sea salt, or other preferred seasoning over the seeds
*   Cook for 15 minutes, flip, sprinkle more seasoning if you wish
*    Cook for another 15 minutes.

YUM!!

Homeschool Preschool

2011-09-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

Dissolving cornstarch packing nuts in water for sensory play

Lately I've been thinking about what to do with my children for preschool. Although I am generally the sort of person who thinks things out in details, putting things together from the bottom up, when it comes to thinking about homeschool, I've been investigating theories and pedagogy. Fee will turn 3 in December, and I still believe that unschooling is the best approach at this age. At the same time, I've been borrowing ideas from both Waldorf and Montessori methods of doing preschool. Here are my thoughts on each, and what I've done with my little student thus far:

Finding wildflowers on a nature walk

Waldorf methods focus on fantasy, nature, and imaginative play. The toys are minimilist and made of natural materials. It simply isn't possible for us to be overly picky about our children's toys, but do have a few things that work--wooden blocks and fantasy dress-up clothes. Although I think Waldorf style toys are really cool, I don't think my lack of Waldorf toys has hindered Fee's imagination. She's turned her couch into a train, her toybox into a car, and she looks for fairies in the bushes. I try to let her spend a few hours each day outside, running around, collecting things for her nature box, looking at bugs, and searching for fairies. We make up songs and tell stories. She helps her Maw Maw garden and is responsible for taking care of her pet rabbit. All of this is compatible with Waldorf preschools, and it's been easy to incorporate these things into our day.

Fee's yarn-craft box

The Montessori approach focuses on observing the child, having a well ordered environment, providing tools for sensory play, teaching numbers and letters, and learning life skills. The tools for an education are provided for the child, but she picks what she wants to do. Right now I'm trying to create a learning space in our living room by putting clear plastic boxes on our bookshelf that contains age appropriate, learning activities. Fee has a knitting/crocheting box with crocheted motifs, small yarn balls, a crochet hook, and large knitting needles with a small swatch attached. This is currently on the shelf, as are some homemade cards practice sewing, and some books. I need to get some more boxes together, to keep Theo out of Fee's activities. When Theo's asleep, Fee and I will often play Candyland or work with her counting bears. I've also been trying to give Fee more responsibility and allow her to help me with more daily tasks. She will now set the table for us, get her own water from the refrigerator, and help with laundry. Last week, she actually made her own egg for breakfast. I was very proud.

Sewing cards

One thing I've seen stressed on Montessori websites is hanging up a coat rack on the child's level, to give the child more independence by letting them take off and put on there own jacket. Like a diligent and responsible homeschooling mother, I hung up a wooden coat rack for Fee. Of course, we live in Texas and only wear jackets 2 months out of the year, so as of right now her coat rack is being used for her dress-up clothes. But come Decemberish, I'll teach Fee how to put on her own jacket.

I'm not sure when we are going to teach Fee how to read. My current thought on the matter is to wait and see when she's is ready. I don't want to push reading on her too soon. At the same time I don't want to completely withhold the alphabet from her, as some extreme Waldorf schools do. As far as reading goes, we take her to the library once a week. She picks out 2 books from the children's section, and we read twice a day before nap and before bed, unless she wants to read more frequently. Fee seems to go through phases where she wants to read all the time and later will want to read almost never. Right now I just follow her lead.

For the future, I'm considering doing some Charlotte Mason style schooling. I like her approach for when the children are older, but at this age, I'm happy borrowing a few ideas from the Waldorf and Montessori curricula and letting the children do what they want with that.

Summer for the Gods and the Deep Chasim Between Religion and Science (Creation and Evolution Series--Part 5)

2011-06-23T13:42:00.001-06:00

Note: As a way to keep track of the books I am reading and my thoughts on those books, I will do occasional book reviews and essays on this blog.

In Summer for the Gods, Edward Larsson describes the Scopes Trial of 1925, its history, and the implications it has for America today. During the 1920s Darwin’s Origin of the Species began gaining popular ground as evolution became the predominating view in the scientific community. Some theologians tried to reconcile evolution with the Genesis, creation story. Others accepted evolution while taking a scientific approach to biblical studies, and still other rejected evolution completely. William Jennings Bryan and those prosecuting John Scopes fell into the last category. The Scopes Trial occurred within the larger context of this debate within the Christian community, and the outcome that emerged from the trial has created the privatization and separation of science and religion that one sees today.

First, Bryan used rhetoric that naturally placed science and religion in opposition to one another. Rather than try to reconcile the ideas of creation and evolution as previous theologians had attempted, Bryan continually asserted that a person can either believe the Bible, which is divine, or believe science, which is a man-made theory. Ironically enough, some of the original contributors to The Fundamentals, such as B.B. Warefield, James McCosh, A.H. Strong, and James Orr could accept evolutionary theory as a possibility for the way God acted to create the world (20). Although, secular essayists and writers were the first to dichotomize religion and science, Bryan accepted this dichotomy, and rather than attempt to harmonize the two, acted defensively against evolutionary science.

Next, part of Bryan’s rhetoric included appealing to the popular Christian believes of his audience. Throughout the trial, Bryan continually emphasized that the people should be able to decide what their children are taught in school. For this reason, if Christians are a majority in a particular state, and these Christians believe evolution should not be taught, the state has a responsibility to these Christian voters not to teach something contrary to their believes. Although, this idea about education raises questions concerning academic freedom and the nature of truth, it also shows how the fields of science and religion became further separated. Larson explains, “Bryan crusaded only against teaching evolution in public education and maintained throughout that evolutionists could start their own schools” (213-14).

Rather than attempting at dialogue between religion, science, and epistemology, the prosecution appealed to majority vote, showing that evolutionists could believe what they wanted to believe and creationists could believe contrary, and although the two contradicted each other, they would never have to dialogue, but could vote on what should be taught in school. Ironically such ways of thinking ultimately lead to postmodern relativism. You have your truth and I have mine. In the end this is completely contrary to Christian believe, in which Christ is Truth. In a way, Bryan was “shooting himself in the foot” with this particular way of thinking.

Finally, the arguments made by Clarence Darrow and the defenders of John Scopes initiated the final step in creating a gulf between science and religion. Because issues such as individual liberties and academic freedom were at stake for Scopes defenders, their defense became focused not on saying religion is false, but on separating science and religion. One example of this comes from Dudley Field Malone, who became known as a champion of academic freedom throughout the trial. In a moving speech Malone exclaims, “We say keep your Bible…but keep it where it belongs, in the world of your conscience” (180). This statement portrayed theological modernist sentiments at the time which viewed the Bible as useful for morals and stories, but irrelevant on issues of science and contemporary issues. Although Clarence Darrow originally sought out to disprove the Bible during the trial by questioning Bryan about the nature of miracles, by the end of the trial, he also conceded by separating science from religion and preventing them from conversing with one another. Larson writes that Darrow, “portrayed religion as a personal matter ‘that ought to be the affair of the individual” (218). Through these arguments, Malone and Darrow could let the prosecution continue believing in the Bible, while stripping the Bible of some of the power Bryan and the fundamentalists believed it contained.

Overall, the harsh rhetoric of William Jennings Bryan, his appeal to the masses, and the defense’s acceptance of only parts of Christianity led to the division of science and religion into two separate spheres of understanding. On one side, science remains useful for progress and cures to harmful diseases, and on the other side, religion stands to teach us about morality and ethics. This divide has ultimately stripped both science and religion from some of their power and promises. For, what use is science without morality? Why not perform dangerous experiments on humans without their consent? And what use is religion if it cannot help us answer fundamental questions about our origin? Can we come to a basic understanding of human anthropology that takes into account both science and religion? The Scopes trials provided an opportunity to answer these questions but by eliminating any sort of dialogue between faith and science this never happened.

Larson, Edward J. Summer For the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate over Science and Religion. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.

* About the Picture: Summer for the Gods by Edward Larson: Your Meandering Home blog author highly recommends this book to understand the historical background behind debates concerning evolutionary science and creationism. Being something of a history nerd, I had to include the Scopes trials in my blog series. I believe the picture on the book cover is taken from the movie Inherit the Wind. I have not seen this movie, but from what I've heard it does a poor job depicting William Jennings Bryan.

Theo Goes Potty: An EC Update

2011-05-29T20:04:00.000-06:00

It's been 3 months since I started doing elimination communication with Theo. We haven't really picked up in our frequency of practicing it, and I'm still rarely willing to let Theo go completely without a diaper. Still, I feel like I've made some big improvements in understanding Theo's elimination needs, and he's started making a distinct grunt to signal his needs to me. Really, this is what EC is all about. It's not about the number of "catches" you make, or even necessarily about letting your baby go without diapers, it's about the bonding experience you have with your baby and learning more about his or her needs.

With that in mind, we've made big strides within the past three weeks. Theo is now pooping in his potty, instead of just peeing in it. He's now sitting up mostly on his own, and can therefore sit on his potty, without having to be held in place. He really likes his bECOPotty, and he'll sometimes kick at it and reach for it when he wants to go.

Crawfish Boil

2011-05-28T21:21:00.000-06:00

This year we celebrated Memorial Day weekend with a crawfish boil. Our children even got to see BOTH sets of grandparents this weekend, and it was fun having my parents over for the weekend. A few pictures from the event:

Beautiful Live Crawfish Waiting for the Boiler

Fee Turned her Crawfish into a Finger Puppet

Theo Ate Crawfish Too!

And good times were had by all!

Around the Homestead

2011-05-13T18:08:00.000-06:00

Gardening is in full now. I must get the weeds out of the okra. The soil is decent at best, but certainly not great. Tomatoes are doing well. We even have a few blooms. There are blooms on our lemon tree too. This week I transplanted some cucumber plants. We have to water every day! Damn, this drought!

Mr. M. brought his tractor over to build us a front yard. He almost ran over a killdeer nest, but he's an experienced East Texas farmer. He knew to look for a nest when he saw the bird pretending to be injured.

The R's across the street gave Fee a bunny for Easter. She named him "Rat" because she has an ironic sense of humor. In the mornings she helps me care for him by refilling the water in his cage--a simple chore for a two year old girl. I hope this teaches her a little responsibility, and the importance of caring for living things. The R's also built us a giant rabbit hutch. This will be for meat rabbits in the future, but "Rat" is distinctly marked as a pet. When we get our meat rabbits, we will have to explain the difference for Fee. I think she'll understand.

While I'm mentioning the R's: Mr. R. was over here dropping off some pastured eggs, and discussing various matters with PK's parents. It turns out his peahens had laid some eggs under a pine tree at the front of our property. The R's now have 4 peahen eggs in an incubator. I hope they hatch. One can make a lot of money selling peacocks, and I'm sure Fee would enjoy seeing the babies.

In Light of Current Political Events

2011-05-02T19:47:00.000-06:00

But do the Lords of War in fact
hate the world? That would be easy
to bear, if so. If they hated
their children and the flowers
that grow in the warming light,
...that would be easy to bear. For then
we could hate the haters
and be right. What is hard
is to imagine the Lords of War
may love the things that they destroy.

Wendell Berry, X, from Sabbath 2003, from Given

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" Martin Luther King Jr.

Toddlers Keep Life Interesting

2011-04-26T22:19:00.002-06:00

* If my daughter had her way, she would "Run around all day." In fact, most days she does exactly that...runs, non stop.

* The breakfast cereal with almond milk in her bowl is never as good as the same cereal and almond milk in my bowl.

* She insists that we read the same Curious George story, over and over and over and over again. When George goes to the zoo at the end, she says, "Fee go play there, and kiss 'dat animal (a pink flamingo)."

* My daughter enjoys making messes, but hates being messy and dirty.

* She will proudly display "particles" she finds in her nose.

* Any sloped surface is labeled a "slide," and she will immediately scoot her butt across it. (I'm just waiting for the day she gets a butt-splinter from the small trailer bed.) But if you try to coax her down a real slide, she becomes terribly afraid and refuses to play on it.

* Rocking chairs are "Rockee-wees" and dogs are "Dog-dogs." Peanut butter crackers are "Tear-up crackers." "How 'bout that?" is used in many different contexts, and her pet bunny is named "Rat."

* If a pet eats it, she has to taste it--cat food, dog food, rabbit food. These are declared, "yummy," but seldom eaten a second time.

* Naps are for wimps. No matter how tired she gets, she will talk to herself, spin around in circles in her room, and jump up and down--anything to stay awake during nap time. Unfortunately, this has led to some weird sleeping positions (ex. hunched over in a shopping cart) while out running errands.

The Hammock Chair and Weaning

2011-04-21T13:32:00.000-06:00

We have been busy moving, and finally getting settled in our new home. I'll post pictures when things are more neat. No one wants to see pictures of a messy house.

In the mean time, here is a picture of Fee enjoying our new hammock chair. I put our hammock near a window with a bookshelf for Fee's books. I want to create a fun reading corner to encourage the children to enjoy books.

The hammock is also working out as a great place for comfort, something Fee needs lately because *insert drum roll*we have weaned her off nursing.

I feel confident with this decision because she hasn't made a big fuss about it. Basically Theo has been needing me more lately. He's seems to be hitting a growth spurt and teething at the same time.

I decided to cut Fee off completely, figuring a clean break would be the least stressful for us both. PK had a discussion with her about growing up, and she really seemed to understand, despite a little sadness about no longer getting "el la."

Thus PK, has become a bigger part of Fee's rituals, which used to revolve around morning nursing, nap-time nursing, and bed time nursing. Now we have morning prayer in the hammock and bedtime book reading in the hammock. Nap time is still tricky because she used to always fall asleep while nursing. She hasn't taken a nap in 2 days because she just gets out of bed and plays in her room. This puts her in a funk for the rest of the day. Any tips on how to get a 2 year old to nap without breast milk would be much appreciated.

Now back to our hammock chair--I ordered it from Nova Natural Toys. I like it because an adult can sit in it with a child, and it's very relaxing. Plus, who doesn't LOVE a hammock?

Wild Edibles, East Texas Edition--Bull Thistle

2011-04-01T10:29:00.001-06:00

This week, PK and I have been searching out wild edibles around our new home. Fee enjoys these walks because she'll occasionally be handed a bit of plant to taste, and Theo simply loves being carried in the Boba.

Quick note: When doing a wild edible plant walk with a toddler, our policy is to only let her eat something we have identified with 100% certainty, and something we know that is safe to eat in raw form. This is also our practice when watching our daughter explore nature. She now holds up what she wants to eat. If it is safe to eat, we tell her to taste it. If not, we tell her to smell it or look at it. Fee can now tell the difference between dandelion flowers, a tasty treat, and yellow "butterfly flowers" which smell wonderful but should not be eaten.

On this particular edible plant walk we discovered bull thistle. This stuff grows everywhere in East Texas, but until last year I never knew it was edible. Bull thistle can be eaten raw, steamed or sauteed, and every part of the plant is safe for human consumption. We decided to harvest some stalks and leaves and figure out how we wanted to eat this plant.

My first impression when handling the thistle is that it is super prickly. Even using scissors and being careful, we could not remove all the prickly spines on the leaves. For this reason, I do not recommend using the leaves in salads. It's simply too much work to prepare. One way to get around this is to pulverize the heck out of the leaves using a high-power blender like a Vita-Mix. But PK was reluctant to do this because we have an older Vita-Mix version and have occasionally found a chunk of romaine lettuce in our green drinks.

Instead of using the leaves, we decided to wash the stems and try them raw. I must say that this was a wonderful decision, and bull thistle is perhaps the most delicious wild edible I have tasted. Fee also really enjoyed it and was asking for more raw bull thistle.

Of course, this being our first experience with the plant, we found another obstacle while eating the stems. Older thistles are more difficult to chew, but there are two ways around this. First, one can use a knife to skin off the tougher outer skin to get to the juicy soft middle. But we decided to steam our stems. Steaming preserves most of the nutrients and makes the thistle stems easier to eat.

This was a wonderful decision! The steamed thistle stems had a slightly sweet vegetale flavor, reminiscent of asparagus. Those reluctant to eat wild foods could easily enjoy thistle prepared this way, perhaps as a side vegetable.

Lesson learned from the bull thistle: Harvesting wild edibles is not for the timid, but with a little experimentation anyone can enjoy nature's bounty!

About the picture: By PHYLOMON! on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons license.

Wearing My Babies

2011-03-19T17:45:00.000-06:00

This post is dedicated to babywearing and some of the different types of carriers I've used:

First up, a woven wrap: Woven wraps are the simplist type of carrier in terms of design (a long piece of cloth) and there are many different ways to wear a woven wrap. I purchased a Wrap N Wear wrap while pregnant with Theo. I needed a comfortable carrier to use for Fee. With PK trucking, I had to learn how to wrap her on my own, and it took a few weeks of practice before I really became comfortable using it. It's true that wraps take time to learn, but I personally find this an exciting challenge. As soon as I mastered one way to wear my woven wrap, I searched for videos to try mastering other techniques. We used a back cross carry style throughout pregnancy because it didn't put any pressure on my belly. I still use the wrap for Fee because it's one of her favorite carriers. When using my wrap with Theo I do mostly front wraps.

Theo in stretchy wrap. Fee in woven wrap

We've also used a stretchy wrap,which is similar to a woven wrap in that it is a simple piece of cloth. It's not as versitle as a woven wrap, because the stretchy fabric makes it unsafe for back carries. My Moby Wrap was my favorite carrier when Theo was 1 month old until he was about 4 months old. The stretchy fabric is very comfortable for a younger baby. Unfortunately for those of us in Texas, stretchy wraps have thick fabric, which poses a heat rick when wearing outside for extended periods of time.

Another favorite carrier is my ring sling, and I've used mine pretty regularly for both Fee and Theo ever since I recieved it. My sling also has sentimental value. It was made by my friend, Melissa, who brought it over to me while I was in labor with Theo. (You can read that story here.) There are sewing instructions for ring slings on the internet, but if you neither sew nor have a friend who sews, you can purchase ring slings like the Maya Wrap on the internet. My ring sling was my favorite carrier when Theo was first born, and the only one I was able to use while nursing him. It also has great "popability," meaning it's very easy to pop a baby or toddler in and out.

Theo in Boba. Fee in woven wrap.

For Christmas, my sister and her brother-in-law gave me a soft-structured buckle carrier, which I now use most of the time for Theo. Mine is a Boba, but I have friends who also use Ergos and Becos. Buckle carriers are easier to use because you basically just buckle them on and adjust the straps as needed. The only down side to these carriers is that they don't work as well with smaller babies. Buckle carriers are made slightly different from each other, so it's a good idea to try out different ones to find what works for you. I like my Boba because it's comfortable for my husband (over 6 foot) and me (5'4'' with a short torso). It has a higher back than other buckle carriers, which works great for Fee because it prevents her from leaning back while being carried. It also has foot straps to help older children feel more comfortable and keep their knees and legs in proper alignment. I find this the easiest carrier to breastfeed Theo in, now that he is older. Sometimes he will refuse to nurse while I sit or lay on my side, but he will always nurse or take a nap in the Boba.

Finally, there are mei tais and other Asian-inspired baby carriers. I got one from a friend at a meeting for the Beaumont Breastfeeding Coalition. A mei tai is basically a fabric panel with a strap sewn to each corner. My mei tai was made using the Frakenkozey pattern, but you can also purchase mei tais like the Babyhawk. Overall, I find my mei tai the most comfortable for extended wearing. Theo seems to enjoy it, and Fee now requests being carried in the mei tai when PK and I go on our afternoon walks.

That's my experience with babywearing. Do any of my readers also wear your babies? What are your favorite carriers?

Saint Patrick's Day Fun

2011-03-17T18:35:00.000-06:00

We began St. Patrick's with a breakfast of green eggs and ham with toasted beer bread. While I was making breakfast, PK read Green Eggs and Ham to Fee to prepare her for the surprise.

PK gave up alcoholic beverages for Lent, but he did enjoy the beer bread I baked last night. I used whole wheat flour instead of white. We use King Arthur flour for all our baked goods because it cooks well and tastes delicious.

For an afternoon snack we made a green dessert salad. It's a simple dish I learned to make as a child. Simply mix a package of cottage cheese, a package of cool whip, a can of drained crushed pineapple, and a package of Jello mix. We used green Jello, and Fee mixed everything up, herself. It was a fun celebration.