The Tuesday before the holiday: cold but spirited!
It is my Thanksgiving shopping day and so shortly after breakfast...
... I am off to the store. It's always an emotional experience for me -- this wealth of foods, doused with memories of days when I would bring my girls with me to the store and they'd wander the aisles while I inspected every last bean, apple and potato (so many to choose from!) because I wanted the best for their holiday table.
Today I ran into a friend at the beginning of my shopping trip and, having the same path before us, we kept running into each other, pausing to chat each time, so that the whole trip was wonderfully long and filled with chuckles (my friend has a terrific sense of humor) as the cart filled with produce, then spices, cheese, broth, bread and butter and I'm thinking -- if this isn't a rich morning, then I don't know what is.
(Oranges too pretty to hide in the fridge...)
In the afternoon, I pick up Snowdrop.
She is in a bubble of glee because this morning she finally attempted, successfully, to write her own name -- all six letters, carefully shaped, perfectly legible. To her, this is a turning point. The books she now writes still have plenty of characters that are made up, but they can all be signed by her full name -- Snowdrop.
Learning is not a race. Each child learns something every single day. But to Snowdrop, perhaps more than any toy she possesses, words are important. They fill her free play time here at the farmhouse and so this step is as important as riding a bike would be to a child hell bent on moving forward on wheels.
Predictably, she spends a while today on her "books."
Well, on books in general.
An interruption: ahah's here, ahah's here! You'd think royalty had just made an appearance...
Back to book projects...
I'm to take Snowdrop home today. As we walk to the car, I'm thinking -- no one could accuse this girl of being low energy!
(The drive reveals a spectacular sunset. Believe me, it was even more beautiful than this, but one has to snap the camera at a safe moment, not necessarily at the optimal moment.)
(At Snowdrop's home, the ever inquisitive Sparrow...)
Have a serene Tuesday eve, little ones!
Tomorrow, the cooking begins.
It is my Thanksgiving shopping day and so shortly after breakfast...
... I am off to the store. It's always an emotional experience for me -- this wealth of foods, doused with memories of days when I would bring my girls with me to the store and they'd wander the aisles while I inspected every last bean, apple and potato (so many to choose from!) because I wanted the best for their holiday table.
Today I ran into a friend at the beginning of my shopping trip and, having the same path before us, we kept running into each other, pausing to chat each time, so that the whole trip was wonderfully long and filled with chuckles (my friend has a terrific sense of humor) as the cart filled with produce, then spices, cheese, broth, bread and butter and I'm thinking -- if this isn't a rich morning, then I don't know what is.
(Oranges too pretty to hide in the fridge...)
In the afternoon, I pick up Snowdrop.
She is in a bubble of glee because this morning she finally attempted, successfully, to write her own name -- all six letters, carefully shaped, perfectly legible. To her, this is a turning point. The books she now writes still have plenty of characters that are made up, but they can all be signed by her full name -- Snowdrop.
Learning is not a race. Each child learns something every single day. But to Snowdrop, perhaps more than any toy she possesses, words are important. They fill her free play time here at the farmhouse and so this step is as important as riding a bike would be to a child hell bent on moving forward on wheels.
Predictably, she spends a while today on her "books."
Well, on books in general.
An interruption: ahah's here, ahah's here! You'd think royalty had just made an appearance...
Back to book projects...
I'm to take Snowdrop home today. As we walk to the car, I'm thinking -- no one could accuse this girl of being low energy!
(The drive reveals a spectacular sunset. Believe me, it was even more beautiful than this, but one has to snap the camera at a safe moment, not necessarily at the optimal moment.)
(At Snowdrop's home, the ever inquisitive Sparrow...)
Have a serene Tuesday eve, little ones!
Tomorrow, the cooking begins.
