thanksgiving...it was absolutely perfect!

our thanksgiving was a quiet, simple affair, with just the six of us.  something that hasn't happened in many years.  and yet it was absolutely perfect in every way.

from our centerpiece of dried flowers & grasses picked by ehren, evyn & i on our morning walk the day before...

 to the way that everyone pitched in to make our thanksgiving feast the delicious meal that it was.

ev was the first to rise thursday morning & after a bite to eat, we got straight to work baking the pumpkin pies.

 pinto wishing each of us a "happy thanksgiving", & to you as well...

 aydin teaching ev how to crack the mixed nuts.  a special thanksgiving treat & a family thanksgiving tradition...;)

despite all the green grass in the photos above, it did actually get cold enough to freeze a puddle in the garden beds coverings.  that is exactly where ehren found this lovely little treasure left by mother nature herself...

 ehren was my helper with the stuffing.  this year, we gave this recipe a go...

 orin made the apple pie, complete with the hand print turkey decoration seen above. TOTALLY his idea, & doesn't it just look lovely??

 aydin was my right hand, turkey man...  he said it was both cool & gross, which i *think* is a sentiment that we can all relate to...;)

 i snuck in a wee bit of crafting, a knit lovely *for me* amidst all the holidays gifts & orders.  of course, what was done that day remains all that has been done....but oh well, there is always after christmas right??

note the paintbrush substituting for my cabling needle which seems to have wondered off recently.  there are little fingers involved in this plot, no doubt...;)

 ev, all dolled up in her fancy dress.  she was soooo excited to use our fancy glasses, reserved for thanksgiving & christmas dinners only.

 such a young lady...

 oh my, the stuffing was absolutely delicious!! side note:  stuffing is arguably my favorite part of the infamous thanksgiving day meal...

and of course, papa to carve the turkey...a family affair if there ever was one.

the day was so chill & calm, which alone is a feat for this house of 6!  (if you know us, then you know that i am speaking the truth!)

we just moved from one thing to the next, enjoying all the preparation & the love & the togetherness...it was perfect & that is that.

all our love & blessings to you & yours this holiday season. xo

us, as featured in the blog-a-licious world of cyber space...

so, i sometimes receive emails thank yous for our lovelies & link to blogs as well.

 i wish i would have thought to share them earlier.  ah well, a thought for the future...but from here on out i will. *promise*

i simply LOVE it when folks send along their photos & links.  such a wonderful feeling of warmth comes from seeing the smiling faces & knowing that your handcrafted items are loved!!  

st. nicholas's visit @ barefoot five

& waldorf vest love @ zach abroad

there is so much love @ the holidays, do you feel it to??  xo

out with the littles & their rudolphs...

ok, so here is the teaser picture that i left you with yesterday...

they were being so silly before we left (all the more reason for a walk, as their papa works nights & sleeps during the day ;)

 ehren & evyn with their strollers & their rudolphs...my sweet peas!

 the puddles are calling, the puddles are calling!

 (i love the reflections that you can see in the puddles)

 this one though is my fav...

  

 what a good little mama...;)

 these spider webs looked so cool in the morning dew.  well, they all do, but these were shaped differenlty than most that i have seen on our 'route'...they were almost shaped like little stork pouches..

 the flowering moss...

 this is another of my favs...

 **love**

(that is what these two posts leaning on each other makes me think of)

and a mantis egg, to close out our morning...

xo

the marshall handmade market...

this past saturday, the two littles & i went to check out our local "handmade market".  it happens each november, the weekend before thanksgiving& we LOVE it!!

it is a good time, with lots of good food & lovely handmades, all LOCAL, & many made by our friends, which makes it even more special.

this year i had not yet spent my birthday money (from oct!) & so that was our spending loot! ;)

& this is our haul...

they each picked out a turtle plush handmade by our friend sarah westhues-owen, also a member of our homeschool co-op & a family friend of us all...

they also each picked out a skein of yarn for a *special project* to be revealed @ the end of this post...  (i LOVE how their yarns match their turtles ;)

i bought this amazing cherry ladle, made by dennis ruane.  it is so soft & smooth, & dare i say silky (lance laughed because i was rubbing it on my lips like i do with my hair, but it was really that smooth!  ;)

my *new* favorite coffee mug, complete with chickens!  it is perfect, a bit rustic & everything that i love (well, aside from knitting, but she didn't have one with yarn/needles ;)

& the special projects??  well, sweaters for the rudolph's of course! 

ehren pointed out that rudolph #4 (his rudolph) & ev's rudolph (the original that i made our son aydin nearly 5 years ago) needed sweaters because they would get cold outdoors...

who can argue with that, right??  so, they each picked out a skein of yarn @ the market for me to knit up sweaters for their rudolphs...

the blue is ehren's & is plant-dyed with indigo, so i call it "hidalgo", yes, i know...nothing to do with a horse, but i like the sound of it...

 and here is ev's, i call it boisenberry...

this rudolph, wow, he has been through a lot in his short life.  as i mentioned earlier, he was made for our son aydin, when he was 4, & he will be 9 in march. 

he was my very first waldorf doll & loved very much from the beginning.  but last year, he was left outdoors & the neighbor's dog got a hold of him.  he drug him through the mud & all around the yard & who knows where else, but we found him a few days later. 

he was covered in dirt & grime & funk & all manner of dog stink...so, i did what no waldorf doll is made to have done to him & he was washed & in HOT water no less.  and he wash washed again & again after that...until @ last the stink was gone & i felt he was *decontaminated* enough to be put back into circulation.

but he is very much worse for the wear.  his hair is now matted & clumped & his body is no longer as soft & huggable as it once was, but sort of lumpy as the wool stuffing felted time & again. 

i am almost slightly embarrassed to have ev playing with him as he is nothing of his former self, but she chooses him time & time again over her other dolls.  that is a true testament to handmade...

i hear people say that they make this or that, but in the end, each stitch whether sewn or knit, is filled with our love for the child that we are creating for & that is something that children can sense...

**********************************************************************************

i am going to leave you with one last super silly faced photo of the littles before we took the rudolph's out for their walk today, in their new cardigans... 

xo to you & yours...