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Our Seder

…it was a bit unorthodox, but it works for us!
Since the kids are still quite young we had some fun making a Pesach tablecloth telling the story of the 10 plagues. We used some inspiration from Challah Crumbs coloring pages and fabric markers and got to work. I spaced ten circles around an oval, each representing one of the 10 plagues that hit Egypt-recorded in Scripture, encircling the Hebrew word for Pesach on our tablecloth. We don’t use the typical seder plate, so our table-cloth is sort-of our seder setting.

Thing 1 and I did most of the work. I sketched out the rough drawings and she got to work coloring in the motifs. Starting with #1, her specialty (Egyptology) and making her lettering look like it has little highlight bubbles… 🙂 She is proud of her little signature marks and she is quite creative (and knowledgeable about Egypt’s history).pesach2015

Thing 2 and Lil’ Bit preferred to play outside, they didn’t realize all of the fun we two were having… until they came in, and great wailing and gnashing of teeth came to pass when they discovered only two motifs remained! *gasp*

Once we finished our art work we heat set the cloth. We’ll add a few finishing touches with some white puffy paint so our table-cloth will be textured. Then some hemming of the two ends. Another project for another day is making some matching napkins and matzah covers.

pesach2015.2We enjoyed various modern Passover songs, including the best ever… Bohemian Rhapsody parody. You should watch it. Our meal was a seasoned, seared beef roast, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts & matzah w/karpas and charoset of course. And wine. White Merlot is yummy! And of course, it was enough!

Much to Thing 2’s dismay, Thing 1 discovered the afikomen and was awarded a cash prize. With a lesson about grace and mercy, Thing 2 and Lil’ Bit were rewarded with small gifts of their own. Teaching moments… once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler.

We have a few new recipes to try this year for our week of Unleavened Bread but are already looking forward to next year and our cool tablecloth. ❤

Passover

Wishing you love & light as we observe the memorial of the Exodus and the Passover; our festival of freedom from slavery & exile and returning to our homeland.

pesach

The case for Passover instead of Easter. 

It’s a New Day!

newday

2 Years

Today marks the second anniversary of Dad’s death. Two years.

It seems surreal.

Like it hasn’t been that long, and yet, like it’s been ages.

I’ve been out at the cabin the past two weekends which helps a lot. Finding comfort in and around his things. His world. This is one of the last photos I had of Dad before his accident, Kim sent it to me. Dad was waving, seems so appropriate now.

Photo credit: Kim Good

Photo credit: Kim Good

It’s time for a glass of rhubarb wine, and a toast to the man, to the legend! Love you Dad.

Author Unknown

Author Unknown

P.S. Last year I made a remembrance wreath and hung on Dad’s cabin door. The little notebook I put there has had several entries by the friends who have stopped by. Reading their words, knowing their love for Dad, is comforting. ❤

Lessons…

understand

To Do List

My To Do List is growing!

The greenhouse needs re-sheeting (eventually be glassed in).
The fence needs mended.
The garden needs weeded.
The rest of the cabin needs sanded and sealer put on.
The woodshed needs a refinishing and restocked (mostly after someone helped themselves to half of the wood).
The cache needs to be rebuilt (it finally toppled last fall).
The cabin floor needs to be repainted.
The sauna needs sanded and sealer put on too.
The sauna needs a metal roof at some point…

Now at my house…

The greenhouse needs to be erected.
The garden needs tilling.
Seedlings need to be transplanted.
The second garden needs a gate.
The compost pile needs moved.
The rhubarb and horseradish need moved.
Dirt work over the new water line.
Dirt work on the hill next to the house.
Transplant raspberries.
Build a patio cover and 2 decks.
Finish interior walls and drywall work.
Install cabinets, back-splash and center workstation island in Kitchen.
Finish bathroom.
Install flooring.

I think I need to clone myself! Two of us just isn’t enough to get all of this work done. Thank Yah for our looooong summer days!

Alaska Folklore: Qalupalik

Thing Two expressed an interest in legends this morning so as any good home-schoolers would do, we started exploring! He actually wanted to know what “legendary” meant, and then he wanted to know more about the legend of the giant squid. Then our discussion morphed into folklore and how legends come to be woven into the fabric of our cultures. Since we have the ongoing subject of Alaska history we delved into Alaskan folklore. Here we learned about Qalupalik. Watch a short animated narrative about her here: Nunavut Animation Lab: Qalupalik

She is a green-skinned sea-dwelling creature waiting to nab a wandering child at the seashore or exploring the sea ice.
She takes children who do not listen to theirs parents or elders.
She prefers the very young and avoids adults.
She grows young while the child grows old.
Qalupalik never blinks, she watches and waits…

Thing Two thinks Qalupalik is “kinda creepy, but also kinda cool.”

Grand Prix Racing!

Today was Thing 1’s pinewood derby “Grand Prix” race. She spent a lot of time sanding and painting her car. Applying her decals, picking her number…

grand.prix1 grand.prix2

She picked out the paint…hot pink body and blue swirly decals inspired by the auroras. “Dancing Souls” was the name she gave her ride. When we checked in we were way under weight. A quick trip to the garage and help from Dean to get her up closer to the weight max…

grand.prix3

still more weight....

still more weight….

Then there were 34 racers registered!

The field: 34 very original cars.

The field: 34 very original cars.

There were 4 heats and Thing 1 placed 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 4th. Her top speed was 120 mph (they have a nifty computer that adjusts car speeds to what they would be for a full sized car!!). But sadly, that wasn’t enough to bring home a trophy, the fastest car belonged to another girl topping 204 mph! She’s my kinda girl!

Finish Line

Finish Line

Overall it was a fun learning experience. We learned a lot about competitive Pinewood Derby racing! Next time we’ll have a few tricks up our sleeves!

Oh, and GIRLS RULE!

Shorties!

So here they are, shortened. They feel better, lighter and easier to manage.

short.locks.blogSome people will cringe because I cut my locks *gasp* but I had to! I like that they are easier to manage, I can have funky ponytails again and they are much easier to maintain!

Just the change that I needed!

3 Years of Locks

November 2014 my locks turned 3! They have grown quite long…
locs.3yrs

My ends never have locked up, they stay wispy and curly. These babies are getting heavy now! And so long that buns make me about 6′ 6″ tall without shoes. lol I am finding it hard to deal with the length, so that blue ribbon that you are wondering about, yeah, Ima cut ’em off there.