Welcome December!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and reviving Thanksgiving feast and break.  I spent a lot of time with my family...it was lovely.

Now we set our sights on winter and Christmas.  Welcome December!

Winter Snow

O where do you come from

You little flakes of snow

Falling, falling, softly falling

On the earth below?

On the trees and on the bushes

On the mountains afar

Tell me snow flakes do yo come from

Where the angels are?

-Snow song, Festivals Family and Food

Special Happy Birthday to Amanda...happy birthday dear friend.

Sharing a meal...

Sharing a meal together...

We gather 'round this table,

where bodies are renewed,

where hearts appease their hunger,

for we feast on more than food.

-Waldorf meal blessing

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family.  I hope everyone shares a meal with loved ones where bodies and souls are nourished.

With love,

Kim

Lynch Children at Play...

Here are some snap shots of Benjamin & Mia at play this weekend...

Benji plays peek-a-boo between my chair & ottoman (sweet sweater Benj)!
Mia in full dress up regalia...thanks to Auntie KJ for her "new" sarongs!

My two little ones in their "fort."  
In closing, a special candle of remembrance for our friends the Chapmans.  We are thinking about you... 

Camp Mimi

We've started the process of cleaning out Mimi's house and preparing it for the new owners.  This is an arduous process filled with fustration (she really saved everything!) and sentiment (she really saved everything!).  We all have a bit of a heavy heart selling the place where so many memories were made.  Intellectually, we can all agree that Mimi needs a smaller place, closer to us not in the woods...but emotionally I want Camp Mimi!  I want the rambling stone wall, the overgrown blackberry bushes, the dirt road, the acres of woods and the peacefulness of a country retreat.  Yes, I am romanticizing it...but a part of me is really dreading letting go of a place where rootbeer floats were snack, there was always dessert and cookies, and craft time was all the time!

We used to always go to Mimi & Poppa's house for Thanksgiving.  Each year, Mom & Dad would drag Kaitlyn and I outside for the "Christmas Photo."  Kaitlyn and I laughed remembering all the forced smiles and freezing times as we played with Mia & Ben outside and set them up for some re-created pictures!  On the big rock?  Check.  

Playing in front of the stone wall. Check.
Being silly despite the freezing temps...check & check.  Thanks Auntie for the help...I can't believe how overgrown the boulder in back is.

Have a nice weekend friends...enjoy some family time and stay warm up here in NH!  

They do exist...

About two months ago we adopted two sister kittens...and nobody believed us!   For nearly two months we hardly saw them!  Now, they are getting more friendly, but are still more nocturnally orientated.  Here is Frida, named in honor of Frida Kahlo.  She is all black, except for a few stray white hairs on her chest...very cute.

And here is her sister, Camille, named after Camille Claudel.  She is all silvery grey.  She is slightly more timid--but a purr machine!
They like to join me on my chair at night, while I knit, or watch tv, or nurse Benji (or do all three....would I dare?)  They enjoy tormenting poor Zola, who gets his revenge by tackling them.   They are scared to death of Benjamin, who would like nothing more that to squish them.  Mia thinks they are "so ador-able."
So there you have it--proof, they exist...now we have 3 cats...2 kids, and 2 parents.  That's good for now, don't you think?  

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Happy Birthday to my Mimi!

Today is my Mimi's 88th birthday...I don't mind saying she is 88 instead of 39 (which is what she would tell you!), because she doesn't use the computer! She is a marvel and inspiration in so many ways. Ever the lady, she never leaves the house without lipstick and used to wear killer heels! I atribute all my craftiness to her genes! She is an amazing seamstress, embroiders and crochets!

She told me the other day how she learned to crochet. As a young girl she went to a convent boarding school. While there, she bent a bobby-pin into a hook to make sweaters for her doll. Sometimes I cannot fathom the things she has seen and done. Born in manhattan in 1920, she was witnessed a lot of history and change.

My kids love her, and I cherish this time for them to spend together. I know she will not be around forever, and I hope that Mia & Benj can form memories of her to hold onto. Although, Mia & Benji can never attend "Camp Mimi," I know Mimi can whip up an awesome rootbeer float at her new place and hopefully even teach them to sew, like she did for me and Kaitlyn.

To my Mimi, happy birthday...we love you...

Glimmer Lantern Glimmer

Glimmer, Lantern, glimmer,

Little stars a-shimmer,

Over meadow moor and dale,

Flitter flutter elfin veil,

Pee-witt, pee-witt, tick-a-tick-atick

Rou-cou, rou-cou.

Martinmas song

Happy Martinmas, friends.  We are celebrating by bringing a little light into our house, through the lantern Mia & I made and collecting clothes to donate to goodwill.  I love discovering all the wonderful and meaningful holidays along the Waldorf calendar.  

Off to snuggle a baby on a cold November day...

Mia is funny!

Tonight, after dinner Mia was playing with her sewing cheese (great little toy), and she says to me, "Mama, when I'm five I'm gonna be knitting up a storm."  Ha....like mother like daughter.  Too cute. 

This just in...

After 6 weeks of knitting class, I completed my first big project!  Hooray!  A little wool sweater for Benjamin.  I love it & will surely take a pic of my little guy in it as soon as possible!  What's next?  A hat for Mia, sweet legwarmers for Mia and a hat for my husband...that should keep me busy for a while! 

In other news, I realized yesterday, that Tom & I have indeed cloned ourselves.  When I snapped this picture, I thought, "wow, he looks just like Tom, minus the sea shell necklace."
And then there is Mia, she truly is a mini-me!  Look at her, in my chair with a quilt, looking at the Nova Natural catalog!  What you can't see, is on the table is her cup of herbal (non-caffeinated) tea!  Wow...kind of spooky!

We did it!

I feel proud today; I feel hopeful today; today is a great day to be an American. Hooray! I believe the best is yet to come, and I have never felt so inspired by politics as I do by President-elect Barack Obama. Yahoo friends!

This is the way we wash a day...

I met a little dusty gnome.

He said it's time to clean my home:

Round, round, round;

Swish, swish, swish-

Clean my home.

-Waldorf kindergarten verse

Now what?

With Halloween behind us, we have turned our attention to readying our home for winter. Mia & Ben both got into the cleaning action with some window cleaning! Mia loves to clean...I have no idea where she gets that from. I love to cook and bake, create and keep house...but I really don't like to clean. I made bread today in thebreadmaker I inherited from Carol! With a recipe from the Chapmans and lots of past inspiration from Amanda...I finally got my act together enough to make a loaf. It is still cooling...but I'll let everyone know how it turned out!

Also, with winter coming, that means Christmas will be here before you know it. I added a new element to the right, a wish list for the kids. There are plenty of ideas in all price rages for delights for the kiddos. Less is more when you lovingly choose beautiful toys, clothes and books. Thank you to all who keep our children in a special place in their heart and think of them at Christmastime.

I am anxiously finishing my first knitting project...a wool (NH wool at that!) sweater for Benj. I hope to complete it this week...and will post a pic when I am done. I love knitting...I thought, at first, it might not be for me...but now I am just imagining all the hats and sweaters and socks in my future! Hooray for learning something new!

With that, I say goodnight...and cheers to a great first week of November.

Wickedly adorable!

Another fun halloween...how's your sugar shock setting in?  Mia & Ben enjoyed themselves immensely!

Nothing but smiles and laughing after getting into Halloween jammies!
Our little garden gnome in his element!
Mia shows off her mother's handiwork! (not too shabby!)
All four kids hanging out at Grammie's house before trick-or-treating.  In case you don't recognize, we have Olivia the cutest zebra, Mia the "iris" fairy, Benji the gnome and Cam the snuggly rhino!  Hooray for home-made costumes and cute kids.  Also, we loved our 2nd annual halloween party at Grammie's house.  Thanks Grammie for hosting, thanks all for coming and thanks to Tom, Damien, Amanda and Judy for taking the kids out!