(at the workbench) - rock collection

this is what's new this week:

lots and lots of new wooden crystals, minerals and rocks for your rock collections... they're all handmade from native cherry, walnut, maple, butternut and basswood, as well as, reclaimed mahogany (and a few other beautiful wood species I've been fortunate enough to come across!) ... they're individually hand-sawn, facetted, fine sanded and finally finished and protected with my shop blend of pure beeswax wood polish

i've put together several different sets in my shop today ...you can find the newest rock collections here ... happy weekend!!!

(in the kitchen) - jalepenos hot and not so hot

somewhere little jalepeno plants must be flourishing...I was so inspired this week that I pick-up about a dozen or so of these hot little peppers to make into a jar of homemade pickled jalepanos for the coming weeks of quick taco salad bowls, taquitos, burritos and who knows what else ...

they were very simple pickle to make: hot mixture of boiling water, vinegar and sea salt brininess, garlic and bit of sugar to balance it out .... 

with the couple of spare peppers left over I made a very easy cucumber and cilantro salad for a last-minute local artist's potluck.

but this time the jalepenos were seeded (so not hot at all!) and mixed with lots of finely minced fresh cilantro, garlic, sea salt, olive oil and lime to make a very tasty, light summer salad.

ps. the cucumbers should be sliced as thin as possible so they marinate well in the dressing...

I have a few other of my own projects in the works like this hand-thrown bowl that I made for (of course) salad-filled summer days that are nearing ...

In the workshop, I have other new projects all in the kind middle state of completion mixing with these last days of school for my daughter who will unbelievably be an eighth grade this coming year ... it's been said before... "but how did this happen so fast"?

I've added a new sample size of the beeswax polish I make for wooden toys and housewares. The other sizes can be found here. 

Well that's all the time I have today to post...have a wonderful weekend!

(glimpses) - settling in

settling in (in a sort of, kind of way) between unpacking boxes and building warming fires in an old wood stove…

between long weekends away at holiday fairs and all the wooden horses, beeswax angels and gingerbread men, freezing rain and winter weather, early mornings and late dinners, dark and moonlight nights…

a child homebound and sick at time least expected more than ready to return to her pace,  between a busy workbench and shipping boxes eager to see their new homes,

 the new work projects that will sit speechless until time slows again, the tree yet to join us for christmas with their pretty little lights to have us sit still on a cold and quiet night by a comforting fire ….

we are settling in ….

in a kind of sort of way… 

for now…

(glimpses) - the new door

they are only the first pictures we will take, as we open a new door to see a warming afternoon sun cast its light into a vacant home.

the door is old, but new to us…we are so very happy that it will be our own front door in the years to come…

and as the afternoon goes on, the rooms come to fill with boxes holding picture frames, pots, pans, books, childhood friends, linens and all the things that for the short distance of one home ending and another beginning are placed in limbo until they might again be find their place and their useful

the first family place appears and set for a first meal as we begin again in a new place even as all the rest our life is still packed away.

and the past garden that has been frozen still, will become our own to be carefully planted when spring arrives again new.

(at the workbench) - a picture in the making

I don't think I've ever found myself here being unabashedly wordy...











so hope you won't mind if I share a recent project that I've been working with a few pictures...







 

these picture frames are quite a bit bigger then the post card frames I begun making earlier this year









 they're custom made for the children's watercolor paintings and artwork ... and are great for larger seasonal waldorf prints too









but of course there's still more to come...

(glimpses) - a little yarn

between these days....where seasons change and are somehow unknown....

with winter-filled autumn days of snow and falling leaves.... and autumn/spring-like winter days, when even snowflakes question whether they should themselves be little raindrops or freezing rain....

 inside we are beyond all these undecided seasons and weather ....

 


with a few balls of yarn, there are many stories waiting to be told ... between days spent sick in bed and both sleepy  and sleepless nights ...




























from these squares and blocks have begun... little repetitions and clusters newly learned .. .while I wonder listening to falling winter rains,  what the fisherman's wife was dreaming while mending his nets late into the fire lit winter long evenings ...
.

(at the workbench)- little picture frames

settling back into a few new projects I've had in my thoughts for some time ....

some for our little home ... crocheted squares for a throw for my daughter and some hand carved wooden waldorf picture frames to share..
 
I've been asked a number of times whether I might  be able to make these picture frames available through my workshop.... so they'll be available here soon....








and perhaps a few wooden spoons and other friendly figures for the nature table will show them selves in the days to come...

and though we are already in mid-January  and a bit late to send best wishes for the new year ...  I'm hoping everyone has a wonderful start to 2012!!

(glimpses) - warmest winter

How delicious it has been ....  to have some time out of time ...

for the little things .. .


a sleepless Christmas eve (for a mama that is filled with excitement) ...  for the simple joy a young girl feels  at early morning surprises of a Christmas morning

 .... and even a restless kitty has the the need to wake her sleeping family well before the first light  in anticipation of the deliciousness to come ....

winter stars ....  folded of paper colored bright and paper white...

and summer's songs are warmed in a pot of hot tea .... smelling sweet of honey and golden beeswax all at once....





























as we sip from tea cups full of tasty chai ...















around the table with projects old and new ....




















 
we send you the warmest wishes for the new year!

(this moment) - Shadows in Cream

{this moment - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.}

(this moment) - Shine Like Gold

{this moment - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.}

(at the workbench) - glowing

I am so excited about my current projects ...  I  still have more photos to take, but wanted to share a little look

.... I hope to start posting these luminous candle holders later today here.










 Children studying a Waldorf curriculum enjoy the very magical study of form drawing. The forms they draw are both simple and complex. They are mathematical and artistic. They are taught to instruct the child in many ways.  Gracefully drawn,  they fill the childrens' handmade books  ....

While working on my own projects, I came across this wonderful chart that is used to express how geometric shapes relate to one another ...

In my mind I can see a very wonderful shifting of forms in all these studies. Happily dancing shapes that change from one form to another in delight. I can understand why a mathematics teacher might be so very excited to teach geometry to his or her students ...


Geometry and forms are alive in this way ... and that is what I I envision when I am working with "living design".

... forms that are both exact  yet organic and dynamic...












... while I wait for delivery of parcel filled with sweet smelling, honey-scented beeswax ...

to make more little tins of my  "Bee's Make Polish by Bright Sunlight" beeswax polish

... I will share that I will be adding a larger tin size and second special blend to the traditional one that I love... 

... the rain is coming down like a waterfall now ... and I am thinking about all things warm, cozy and glowing as I work inside the studio today. 



Happy Autumn!