a kiss for each of you

Family of mine,

We have gotten a bit lazy here lately. Cheeks. Foreheads. Top of the head. On the hand and then blown to your cheek.

From me.. you will get a kiss on the lips. Each one of you. Morning and night at the very least. The lazy kiss on the cheek is banned, and I will look you in the eyeballs and tell you I LOVE YOU, instead of at the back of your head when you are walking out for the day.

With love,

Your wife and your Mama

color quilt

A photography workshop over at Bloom inspired this collage.

It is my homemade quilt {Our Day} .... in photographs. The assignment was to fill your frame with color and make a color "quilt" out of it. I had to throw in some polka dots too (blueberries in pancakes) now what is a quilt without polka dots? I numbered them if you would like to know what "material" was used. You can click on the collage to view larger.

1. My Mom's old green tea pot warming on the woodstove.

2. My dear making breakfast.

3. Mae's doll tucked in my coat pocket.

4. Raspberries in a blue bowl.

5. Evening, looking in from the porch.

6. Grabbing some more wood.

7. Fresh grapefruit juice, something I am craving lately.

8. Knitting Otto some socks.

9. Winding yarn.

10. Frozen puddle in the driveway.

If you would like to see the other color quilt collages that were put together, click on Bloom up above to find out who participated.

Have a good weekend!

my morning girl

Her apron has just come undone, so she holds it together with her free hand. The sun is in her eyes, but she doesn't care.. my girl is painting. I am in love with this thing they call motherhood.

"The best conversations with mothers always takes place in silence, when only the heart speaks."
-Carrie Latet







A good morning to you.
Montana Mornings

country mouse returns from the city

From these golden raspberries we picked outside in Oregon...

To this (above) one day and this (below) out the window this morning...

I came home to winter.

This is how I remember it as a child... one day would be autumn and the next morning we would wake to a white world of winter with snow up to our knees.

My little ones woke, peered out the windows, hurried with excitement to gather mittens, hats, pull snow gear over pajama's and run for the door in the early light of the morning.

I stayed inside, put some wood on the fire, made some tea, snuck out our DVD collection of the Original Christmas Classics to watch this evening ,and watched the kids play from the window until I couldn't stand it anymore and had to go and find my mittens! It's good to be home. It's good to see winter.

Thank you for the well wishes in my travels. It was a great trip.

friendship

A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once we stayed up all night. We were caught in an August snowstorm, camped at the base of a peak that we were to climb the next morning. We shared half of a jar of peanut butter, and waited out the cold night. With our faces lit by light of our headlamps and only our woolen covered heads and hands sticking out of our down sleeping bags, we kept each other company laughing and talking until morning light finally came.

There are times with friends that are etched into my memory. Being caught in that storm is just one of the many that we still laugh about. It got even funnier when I realized that the toes of my boots had curled by the heat of the fire the night before, and I had to hike down the mountain in my wool socks.

Little memories here and there, making me smile as I pack, and then one catches me unexpectedly and send tears sailing down my cheeks. My dear friend battled cancer earlier this summer. She came out well (see celebration here), but is still on the mend. During her battle she said to me that life is truly short.

So, with that.. this Mama is taking a solo trip to see her and gather with friends -the headlamp and peanut butter will stay at home for this trip. I admit it is tough for me to go, leaving my little family behind for the first time... I think of that and smile -remembering that I am actually taking one child with me :)

Until I return . . .

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.. It has no survival value, rather it is one of those things that gives value to survival.

-C.S. Lewis

Thank you all for your friendship; my penpals around this small world we share.

{Lip Balm}

I will start by telling you this is not an actual recipe for lip balm. I told you I would share my recipe, but I do not have an exact recipe written well enough to share.

The base of my recipe started here with beeswax, a carrier oil, an essential oil and honey being the only ingredients. I added a few more and this is what I came up with:


Bee House Hives Lip Balm Ingredients:
---------------------------
beeswax
coconut oil
apricot kernel oil
jojoba oil
vitamins a & e oil
honey
and a few drops of peppermint essential oil


I make my lip balm in small batches in a copper tea kettle on very low heat. The tea kettle spout comes in handy for pouring the balm into the small tins.

First I melt the beeswax. When that is melted I add coconut oil, apricot kernel oil, jojoba oil, and vitamins a&e.

Honey and a few drops of essential oil go in at the very end. Basically the trick is to keep the ratio of the beeswax (3 teaspoons) to the carrier oil (5 teaspoons) the same.

What do I consider to be a carrier oil?
Coconut, jojoba, apricot kernel, jojoba, and vitamins a&e. They are the oils that create the smooth texture. If you would like a softer, more shiny lip balm just increase the carrier oil. I prefer more of a solid lip balm because most of the time it is in my pocket and I don't want to take the chance of it melting.

From beeswax (left) to a simple lip balm (right) is pretty easy.

::Extra notes::
I fill my tins when the balm is still warm.
I make my balm in something I don't ever plan to use for anything else.
I order my lip balm tins from Sunburst Bottle Co.
Some simple labels can be found here under clip-art labels.
Make sure to always fill the tin before you put the label on in case of spills.

Good luck and I would love to hear if you made some!

3 books&the winners of lip balm

Becca over at Knittymama had a great idea; to do a book review and share it. There are many knitting books out there, and sorting through them all for patterns takes a lot of time.


Where did I start? My neighbor Camilla and her books to be exact. I called and asked her if I could borrow a few. I was looking for some simple and classic baby patterns. She loaned me two books, both written by Erika Knight.


The third knitting book I am sharing was recommended by my friend Mrs. Love. From a pattern in that book, she made a sweater for Mae when Mae was a baby. Mae wore it and wore it, and wore it until it no longer fit anymore. Those are the best kind... and I like to tell Mae that it was knit together with hands of Love. I made the same sweater for Otto (see below).

Here they are listed, my three favorite books when in search for patterns for little ones:

1. Simple Knits For Cherished babies by Erika Knight

2. Knitting For Baby by Melanie Falick + Kristin Nicholas (click to link to her blog: Getting Stitched on the Farm)

3. Simple Knits For Little Cherubs, another by Erika Knight

:: :: :: ::

1. Simple Knits for cherished babies is simple and modern. It has patterns ranging from newborn to nine months old. The needle sizes used vary from size 1 to size 7, with most patterns calling for size 5 needles.

From the book, just finished and still needing a ribbon; the Garter Stitch Wrap Top, pattern found on page 61.

I used left over yarn from this baby cap and size 2 needles.

Another favorite pattern from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies is the Rosebud Cardigan, page 98. Camilla made this one to welcome Otto into the world.

I love the blue stripes.

It is one of those wear everyday baby sweaters. Otto wore it until I could no longer button it up. Siri has knit many of these as well, and you can get some inspiration for colors there. But watch out...you may end up knitting socks and entirely forget about the rosebud sweaters you went to see.

2. My other favorite book right now; Simple Knits for Little Cherubs. I am knitting Mae the Fluffy Bolero (page 44) this year for her Christmas Eve gift. As children, we were always able to pick one single gift to open on Christmas Eve. I have added that same tradition to my family. Christmas Eve morning is when they get to open their little special somethings to wear to the family Christmas Eve get together. She can wear the Bolero over her Christmas dress.

I bought Simple Knits for Little Cherubs for all of the great classic patterns. Although Mae (age 6) is just growing out of the size range (2-5 years old), it is great for Otto (age 3).

The next book up on my list to buy is Junior Knits by Debbie Bliss. It has 25 patterns for children ages 3-10, perfect for knitting for Mae.

3. And last, Knitting For Baby. I will admit it, I bought this book for that single great pattern I saw ( page 131 ) and had to knit. As it turns out there are many good patterns, 30 in all. Included are an earflap hat, simple thumbless mittens, a felted diaper tote, even a pattern for a little bear that is just the right size to fill a little pocket or stocking.

The pattern for the first sweater I made is in this book.

Page 107, the Nordic Snowflake Pullover. I used Cascade 220 for the yarn.

I knit it for Mae when she was 2. She caught her first fish in this sweater. Up and down the road to the cabin, running through the woods and the mud, gathering eggs..

all in this sweater.

Knitting for Baby is also where I found the pattern for my first cable sweater.

Page 131, the Aran Pullover, the pattern I bought the book for.

I spun the wool and knit this for Otto when he was 1.

He hiked (rode on Papa's shoulders )to his first Lookout while wearing it.

Cory (Papa) made me 4 buttons using an antler he picked up while in the woods.

The knitting was simple, yet challenging at the same time. I was known to wear a headlamp while knitting this one, just so I had good light. I finished it just in time for him to open on Christmas morning.

The sleeves are stained brown, but all through the mud and dirt and baby food spills it wore well and I will pass it to his children someday, brown sleeves and all.

Those are the three books on my table right now.

Thanks to Becca for the book review idea.

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{the three winners of the lip balm}

First of all I want to thank each and every one of you for sharing such great ideas. If you haven't already read through the comments there are many, many ideas in there. I also was so happy to get to meet some of you through your blogs.

Going in the mail as soon as you send me your addresses...

(you can e-mail me with it, over on the side)

1. Young in the Mountains

2. The Forest Room

3. A little house by the big woods

Thanks again for participating.

Have a good weekend and I am looking forward to hearing from you so I can get these in the mail.

-Sarah

P.S Do you have a favorite knitting book?

at the family cabin

We went for a walk.

Otto and I the slowest of all. He picking up leaves and rocks,

listening to birds and discovering sticks that Beavers had chewed on.

Me, taking photos and walking slow to etch Fall in my mind before that blanket of snow on those mountains unfolds to cover the land below.

Mae ahead, she keeps with her Papa's steps. Aunt and Uncle and friends along too.

We came in to start dinner and a fire to take the chill off.

When the cabin is cold and the fire is just starting to warm it up again.. when we are all in for the evening and the tea and coffee is on...when it is so dark outside that it seems the stars came down for a closer look... it is in those things that I settle and smile and am utterly happy. The baby growing kicks, the kids are in pajama's and slippers, there are cards on the table ready for a game of Slap Jack...

I never want to leave.

Morning comes and brings this same blue bird. I was standing at the window doing breakfast dishes and finally he came to eat the last of the huckleberry pancakes I threw out for him. My hands covered in soap suds, but I got his picture...

Ha!

Until next time...

go green

Yesterday, Life in Yonder put a color challenge on her blog. Her color was red and the color she chose for passing along was green.

If you would like to to take the challenge.. I picked blue; the first color I saw this morning when I looked out the window at the mountains to check the weather.

What color do you like? If you would like to take the challenge, go green and then make sure to pick a color to pass along.

I would love to know if you took the challenge, so leave a comment and we can see your day of blue.

{GREEN}

P.S See you over at Montana Mornings today.

Honey part 2by Sarah

She looked into her hives and found the top stories filled with well-cured honey.

She lifts the frames which are filled with honeycomb. Then she cuts the wax top off the cells with a special knife and puts the comb in a machine which whirls so fast that the honey comes out of the comb. She smells the sweet air coming out of the extractor and calls to her family to smell it too. They all smile.

She knits,

and plays Davy Crockett while she waits for the honey to whirl.

When the extractor is full and won't spin anymore, she (actually her strong husband) lifts it to the kitchen table to make room for the buckets to catch the honey. Now she is ready to strain the honey and put it into jars.

She is also ready to melt the wax coverings she has cut off the honeycomb.

She will make lip balm with the beeswax and bottle the honey to sell at the market in the spring.

She is thankful.

The end.