Summer Sky: Learning as I go

Giveaway :: Alphabet Glue, an e-zine for kids who love books

 

 

Giveaway winner announced & commnets are closed! Thanks for participating!

If you have never had a chance to visit Annie’s blog, you must do so straight away.  I am always delighted to read her reviews of children’s books, many of them gems that find their way to our reading basket. (Full disclosure: Annie is a fellow contributor to The Magnifying Glass.)

Now she’s turned her love for children’s literature and all things library into a sweet downloadable magazine (or e-zine), Alphabet Glue, that is chock-full of fun activities and ideas for kids who love books. Volume 1 is 28 pages long and has 9 activities plus Annie’s own suggested list for great Spring reads for kids.

If you want your very own copy, it’s available by download via this link for $4 per issue ~ truly a bargain for all the wonderful ideas Annie provides.

Today, I’m privileged to be able to offer one lucky commenter their very own copy of Volume 1 as a giveaway, compliments of Annie.  Just leave a comment in this post by midnight, Friday, April 8—I’ll be leaving comments open for one week.

The winner will be selected via random number generator and posted Saturday, April 9. Please be sure to include your e-mail (kept completely private) so I can contact you if you win.

And feel free to spread the word about Alphabet Glue!

 

Inside Volume One:

a reading list for spring

do-it-yourself library catalog cards

mix and match story cards

a printable reading record

a library scavenger hunt

tiny box accordion book tutorial

felt bracelet book tutorial

paper story character houses

wildflower seed pods

 

It is chilly and rainy this week, but an afternoon trip to the library with Annie's scavenger hunt will be just the ticket ~ thank you so much Annie for creating this labor of love.

 

Yarn Along + Wednesday WIP

Once again I've been posting over at The Magnifying Glass--we've made a mason bee nest and I've provided the instructions. Also, Dawn is hosting a fool's gold (iron pyrite) giveaway on TMG--check it out.

And, before I forget, be sure and come back here tomorrow for a giveaway for kids who love books.  I'm sure you know a few! So don't miss out.

 

Is it totally obnoxious to pair these two up--Wednesday WIP and Ginny's Yarn Along? Oh, well. So be it. A cup of tea and a window into what others are reading and knitting--that is the Yarn Along.  What could be better? I've been sitting on the sidelines but it's time to jump in.

 
What am I reading?  Well, I'm still trying (in vain) to keep up with Lifetime Reading Plan.; Even though I am deeply grateful that she is giving us plenty of time, I can't just "whip through" The Iliad or Gilgamesh. I'm still so happy I've committed to this, I'm trying to go easy on myself and giving it my best shot.

Up and Down Stairs--I started reading this last fall before the Downton Abbey craze.  My D (who knows me well) gave this to me as a gift a while ago.  It's a little meaty / historical--it is not fluff--and a good counterpoint to Downton Abbey which I love. (So glad there is a 2nd season--and even a holiday special--in the works!)

I'm also enjoying In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite--another rec via the Splendid Table--I have it checked out from the library and it must go back today.  My family travelled throughout Europe when I was a child, so I could picture myself in some of the stories about being a kid in a European restaurant during (what I assume) was the 1970's.  Except (sadly?) I was eating pommes frites and korv, not pickled herring or escargot.

And my knitting--well, my IRL friends are laughing right now--they have watched me try to start this sweater from Vintage Baby Knits so many times I could've knitted 3 of them by now.  For some reason, getting started is always hard for me but once I get past a certain "hump" I'm good to go.

Very last, I'm playing with the camera--I've been shooting in manual for a year but I want to take it to another level.  Sometimes the light works just so.  This photo is totally untouched--it came this way out of the camera--almost like a painting if I do say so myself.

I'll be back tomorrow for that giveaway...hope you'll join me.

Heavy hearts on St. Patrick's Day

I had planned since last week to write a cheerful St. Patrick's day post full of news of our two parades.  E and her Irish dance classmates marched in the National St. Patrick's day parade down Constitution Avenue.

However, the news from Japan keeps getting worse and it's all D and I can think about.  The everyday becomes so frivolous at times like these.  At night I turn on CNN around 11 pm and watch until I am so tired I must go to bed.  Then, first thing in the morning, I check facebook to see if our friends in Japan have news we won't see here in the U.S.--and they usually do.

My mind slips along two grooves. On one hand, it seems wrong to go about our everyday lives when others are suffering. On the other hand, my senses seem heightened to bits of beauty around us. I feel the texture and hear the crunch of the vegetables as I cut them for lunch.  The air is chilly but clean and fresh.  There is no line at all at the grocery store checkout. The local tulips in their vase are still closed tight.

I savor N's pure joy at discovering three little crocus blooms by the front stoop. He is only 5 but he's taught me so much.  His joys and sorrows are felt very deeply, but he always sees the good even when I cannot.

: : : : : : : : : : : : :

On giving:  I've been reading these thoughtful views about donations for Japan, which, while suffering an enormous (ongoing) tragedy, is the third largest economy in the world.  After reading a number of aid-watch blogs, the answer seems to be:  give to a charity with low administrative costs, that is transparent in how they use their funds, and do not earmark  your donation for any specific disaster.  That way, the money will reach those truly in need and achieve its maximum benefit. 

The aid groups that are mentioned most often as worthy of support are Doctors without Borders, The Red Cross, and Save the Children.

If you are ever in doubt, I find Charity Navigator, GiveWell, and GuideStar to be useful for choosing charities.

 

It's that time (again)

We are again thinking about people in need. We are thankful that our family's friends in Japan are all safe, but our hearts ache for those who have lost so much.

 

It's that time of year again--when many schools hold their annual benefit auctions to raise funds for the school. We never had school auctions growing up--so I wonder sometimes how they came to be here in the U.S. But regardless, it is fun to use them as an excuse to do a little quilting.

 

Last year, I sewed quite a bit more for the auction--I believe I sewed 8 items? Yikes! And I complained then about how few photos I take of the things I make because I'm working right up to the last minute.

For example, I made a doll quilt last year but never did post the picture of the finished quilt. I think I was being way too hard on myself because it was the first quilt I'd ever made and of course I see all its flaws! Well, I went back and looked again and I guess they weren't as bad as all that. So here is one of last year's doll quilts, front and back.

 

This year I undertook a more reasonable amount of sewing, and 'only' made two doll-sized quilts. I used fabric on hand. Again, the photo was very last minute and taken in dim light so it's been photoshopped within an inch of its life and the colors might not be quite true.

 

I do think my quilting abilities have vastly improved--but I'm not super crazy about these fabrics. The one on the left is cheery enough, but it's very 'matchy-matchy' for my taste. I like the more ecletic look of the one on the right, but the palette is a little too subdued. Anyhow, I hope you read these words with a grain of salt; I can be hard on myself and I tend to second-guess my creative choices.

I should also mention that the doll's quilt on the right contains three or four fabrics from a bunch of scraps I bought from Erin way back when. (More recently, I did try to buy some of Sally's but I think she's all sold out. And I joined in Amanda's giveaway via Alewives and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hey, you can never have too many fabric scraps!)

The school auction was this past Saturday and I'm not sure who won these quilts. I only take one peek at the bidding sheets to make sure somebody loves me has placed a bid. But in the end, the process of sewing and quilting is for me. Though I'm hard on myself, I don't worry too much about what other people think ~ the joy is in the making.

 

 

Holding them in our thoughts

 

Health and sickness have been much on our minds lately around here.  While our family is well, we have various friends and acquaintances, here in town and out in the blogging world, who are undergoing various treatments, surgeries, illnesses, hospitalizations . . . and we are keeping them in our prayers.

 

::    My friend K’s mother, who was in a car accident but thankfully survived. She has broken various bones, including both her ankles, and will need extensive therapy and has already undergone five surgeries since last week when it happened.

 

:: My friend M’s husband P, king of the barbecue (seriously! the kind of guy who will spend the night in the cold in downtown D.C. just to monitor the meat in the smoker), great dad and all around good guy. He is in the hospital with a very sudden and serious blood infection.

 

::  My friend A broke her foot several weeks ago. She is on crutches and is recovering well. But her house is perched on one of the highest hills in town with the steepest set of stairs and she has two little ones.

 

:: Little Rainer has suffered a seizure and we await more news. He is a tough little dude who has been through more already than his years might suggest.

 

:: Eren’s brother is in the hospital but miles away from her.

 

:: Steve, Amanda’s husband and father of four, photographer and raconteur, is undergoing a full hip replacement, perhaps as we speak.

 

:: Kyrie, who broke her ankle last December and required lots of metal to put it back together. I know she’s doing much better, through all this she was pregnant and in January I believe gave birth to a sweet healthy baby they call Bear. But, speaking from personal experience, I know she still has a ways to go and I think of her often.

 

:: Lachlan, Meg’s newborn (like brand new) who has already undergone a much-anticipated heart surgery and apparently is pulling through like a champ.
 

I feel like I’m missing someone . . . I sincerely hope not.

Noticing the sun today, it is shining very bright.

 

 

When I'm not here, I'm over there...

If you visit here, you've probably notice that as much as I intend to post often, it doesn't quite happen that way.  But sometimes, that's because I'm posting over here.

And if you don't go over there, you have likely missed entirely the fact that we've been watching an eagle's nest just half a mile from our home. Which to my mind is still amazing. We need to get over there again...I imagine they will have a hatchling any day if they don't already.

 

And then I wrote about the Dawn Redwood . . . a tree that was brought here from China, but that is in fact an ancient (like dinosaur ancient) native of our country. A "living fossil" they call it.  Something I learned when I first moved to this town and have always found fascinating.

so if you were wondering, why so silent? that is why.