{celebrating dailiness} wintry potpourri

Nestled in on a cold wintry day.  Bunnies snooze.  The heater hums.  And wintry potpourri simmers on the stovetop.

few orange slices (best citrus for the job -- I tried lemon, lime & grapefruit as well)
cinnamon stick
whole cloves (doesn't take many)
fresh cranberries


Also makes a nice little gift for a friend, if you include a whole orange along with the other ingredients, in a clear little bag & tied up with a bit of baker's twine!

Happy Wednesday!

Game Spotlight: Q-bitz

No reading involved.

Arrange the cubes as quickly as possible to match the cards.

We add a timer to the game so that our youngest player is on par with other family members.  (His assigned head start is 40 seconds.)

As short or long a game as players want it to be.

We all win!
Play on!

2017: Nourish

Alongside the hustle and bustle of every day life, I will carry a word: nourish.

When I sit down with my calendar, I will consider this word: nourish.

Do more of what nourishes us, and do less of what does not.

Some of what has nourished me this week ( "2017 Pilot Project"):

A few much needed repairs,
little details that matter,
honing in on rabbit care that creates calm & peace,
noodling around with the sewing machine
& finally getting to some upcycling projects

Do you keep a word close to your heart throughout the year?  I'd love for you to share it in the comments.

Game Spotlight: Dragonwood

Dragonwood by Gamewright

Hey!  Our friends shared this game with us recently, and we loved it so much that it showed up under our Christmas tree!

Meets our family game criteria: 
Fun (obviously)
Easy to learn
Game stays fun for the entire length of play
Excellent for non-readerss
Good for 2 players as well as for more

Bonus gems:
Good for early math learners
Inexpensive
Reminds me of Castle Panic (though this is not a cooperative game)

Happy Halloween!

Put away your books &

have a MONSTROUS night!

Thunder Cake

This morning, Linus was afraid of thunder.
Tonight, he is not.

He didn't have to go up against Nellie Peck Hen or old Kick Cow, but he did go out to the garage for butter and tomatoes, and brave the hand mixer and food processor.  He learned to separate eggs, beat the whites into stiff peaks, fold them in, and operate the hand mixer all by himself.

He is brave.  He is skilled.  He has chocolate crumbs all around his smiling mouth.

Beautiful Day Out

Our recent artsy week -- talking about famous artists, watching a few movies about their lives, getting our hands messy -- reminded me to check in on current exhibits at local and local-enough museums.  When Sela saw the we could see a painting by Raphael, she was dazzled.  Inspiration had struck at just the right time...

One of the joys of homeschooling is the freedom to pack up snacks and escape for the day without a lot of planning.  So, we popped over to San Francisco to catch "Portrait of a Lady With a Unicorn" by Raphael in its final week at the Legion of Honor Museum of Fine Arts.

What a view outside the museum!

The "bonus" exhibit, in this case, was a collection done by Pierre Bonnard.

And in the permanent collection, (wow) we saw works by these guys:
Monet
Pissaro
Degas
Renoir
Cezanne
Manet
Seurat
Van ault
Rembrandt
Rodin

Puzzle souvenirs from museums are my FAVORITE.
We saw this work by Pierre Bonnard.

best of all-
this was my tour group <3