Happy iphone snaps taken during errand running. Have a splendid weekend.
Author Archives: Kim Halloran-Fry
Pheasant call
Coming around the corner on the farm road we surprised several pheasants foraging around this mound. I surprised my husband even more when I leapt out of the car to try to catch a shot. Only caught one.
Another morning after the time changed I stood in the open doorway as my husband was leaving for work. It was quite dark and still except for a loud call which sounded a lot like my old hens. I guessed pheasant since they are fowl I believe. We checked against this audio and sure enough it was that.
They are VERY loud fwiw and a little creepy when they are squawking in the dark within a few feet of you. They are such a noble looking bird though.
If you have another minute and want a quick chuckle, check out this link from the Daily Mail. Apparently this British bird isn't minding his manners. Might make me rethink stepping out that door at the break of dawn when I can't spot ours lol.
of tallies and tea and treasure hunting
It's been a long day and night and day and now night has fallen again. The American election began mid-afternoon our time. The boys went to football practice, we all ate late and prayed, finally turning on the 'telly' after the little girls were down. Aidan really wanted to fill out the electoral college map and begged to stay up. Kieran crept into the living room with him. I went to bed after one. My husband came up a few hrs later without waking me so I had an idea of how it all shook down. As predicted approximately 50% of our American friends are pleased as punch and the other half are devastated. Such is the division in our homeland these days.
We moved through a busy today nevertheless. Moira met with her worldviews class. Aidan and I ran errands. Alannah was called for a job interview. Four children went to dance. Driving home in the dark I heard the BBC newscaster announce, "As President Obama begins his next four years in office we will take a look at what that means for us." Her colleague piped up and said, "So what DOES that mean for us?"
"well, um…" she said, "Business as usual."
"Righto then," he responded. "Kate and William went undercover to attend the opening night showing of the new movie…"
Obladee, oblada…
It's been a little surreal from this vantage point. I hope you will understand if I just step away from the Facebook feed scrolling wildly still and rest my eyes here for a minute remembering a quieter day last week. Maybe you'd like to join me for a minute too and think about something else for just a moment? Sit. I will tell you about it.
(all pics from the phone in the dark – my apologies)
My friend Umit has been promising to take me to a nearby village which boasts a cluster of antique shops. We headed out with our friend Maria on a very cold, rainy Saturday afternoon stopping first at a local farm store on a large estate. Many of these old properties are open to the public and have some sort of retail attraction now to bring in revenue. This one was was overflowing with natural foods – wines, local cheeses, sweets, olives and a marvelous chest full of meat and ale pies.
(vintage Dickens set)
From there we drove on to the village edge and pulled up to a rambling, low-slung barn conversion. We were greeted by a mannerly black lab who peeked his nose out at the rain and then followed us back into the shop, having wisely decided against venturing out.
I was thrilled to find racks of vintage clothing and shoes and took notes for the girls, whom I have promised to return with. The hats were in mint condition – felted wool creations molded into exquisite shapes, sporting feathers and ribbon trim still in excellent condition.
China is everywhere you turn here although it's not a bit like German china which tended to be primarily transferware in rose or green or blue. Here you have a riot of color and pattern and are hard pressed to find more than a couple pieces that match. The bone china is all similar in weight and style however and looks gorgeous massed together.
(this peasant girl caught my eye, reminding me of the German countryside we left behind)
By the time we finished rummaging it was late afternoon and we had a half hour drive home. That warranted ducking out of the drizzle into the tea room. We ordered a pot for the table and the ladies had scones served with a tray of clotted cream, jam, and whipped butter. I found myself taking cream with my tea though I never do that at home.
(here with a friend on either side – what better place to find oneself : ))
Do you remember these? : ) My Gram had a set of salt and pepper shakers like these. Made me smile to see them here.
I leave you with one more P.S. – a British sentiment for today. You no doubt have seen the iconic Keep Calm and Carry On signs. I love them. I think I love this one even more.
If you hope to truly change the world, however you wish to see it changed, it begins and ends with this.
Be cheerful. Be resolute.
Carry on then. : )
a chill in the air
carry beauty
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,
we must carry it with us or we find it not.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
living and learning lately
Just a collection of lately-ness so I don't forget.
I have been teaching for nearly a quarter century now. It was high time I got a proper laminator, yes? I have a driving urge to laminate EVERYTHING in sight now.
(game freebie from CHC)
Soup on the stove. Applesauce on the stove. Chili on the stove.
I love this stove.
I watched them putting away the size matching sticks the other day and as always they got stuck and had leftovers. I was thinking of Steven Covey's "big rocks first" analogy and realized that this current group of kids had never heard this metaphor. The older boys had read the 7 Habits for Teens. It's been a while.
We got on youtube and watched a 'big rocks' presentation and quickly restacked the sticks. Then we talked about the ipods, the fantasy football, the many things that eat up the day and how we often find tasks undone at day's end. I need this reminder as much as the rest of them.
My silly kids. : ) What I love most is the laughing.
Speaking of youtube, Aidan mentioned an experiment in his text that he couldn't do because we didn't have the supplies. It was about water testing and ph levels. It occured to me that surely there was such a test in cyber space. And indeed there was. Many of them. Five minutes later we learned all about acid/alkaline balance and the pro's and con's of many brands of bottled water and sports drinks.
Youtube – it's a beautiful thing.
Bowling with the homeschool group.
and some thoughts about when to discipline. And when to just hug.
Autumn is a busy season for us. Sports practices keep children up later than usual in the evenings and out the door early on the weekend. A midweek holiday stirred up lots of excitement. Timing for a homeschool outing might have been less than ideal but important for children who are meeting new friends in a new place. So we went.
Tess and the older boys had a blast. Brendan was so very excited to go. He had mentioned early on he didn't need bumpers on his lane anymore so I didn't program his lane that way. However the other children did have them and his scores were quickly dropping behind. He was soon in tears and fixing the program to provide him bumpers did not help his distress.
The girls who delighted to play with the children at the center likewise promptly fell to tears on the way home. Seatbelts too tight, jackets too warm, everything suddenly just…wrong. There are times like this when you pause, look deeply into a child's eyes and err on the side of mercy.
How often does this happen to moms after all? Up all night with a baby, running from appointment to appointment, laundry to fold, and finally a broken cup or paper cut and it all spills out. It isn't a character flaw. It's fatigue.
Sometimes naps are better than nagging.
There was plenty of day left after resting. And it went better then.
It always does. : )
spun
trick or treat
The house was aflutter all day with costume making for one and all. Or most <g>. There were last minute runs to the craft store and even more last minute costume changes. In the end everyone was delighted with their creation. Or most <g> We didn't have a well-planned Dad costume this year, but you'll see he did pull something together for trick or treating.
This is always a silly family affair. We tend to make big plans for the following year while we wander the neighborhood with the children. Without fail we are scrambling the hours before that next holiday anyway. Still, it is a blast.
I was thinking as we walked tonight of all the angst of Halloween's past. It was one of those things we didn't think twice about early on, filled as we were with Peanut's style memories of masquerades and jack-o-lanterns from our own childhood. Then we were introduced to the myriad (strong) opinions on the subject as we moved around the country. To costume or not. Yes. No. Only as saints. Only at church. And every variation in between. Some years I did multiples of those things and made saint AND secular costumes. And nearly lost my mind. Add to that the new debates about fair trade chocolate and HFCS and you have dilemmas that rank right up there with epidural or no-meds, home or school, and bangs or no bangs in the hierarchy of parental decision making.
I don't envy young parents. There are a lot of things to sort out. I am not the person to pretend to know what is best for any other family. For us, though, it was a Peanut's style Halloween complete with plenty of Charlie Brown moments as usual.
The days are rapidly shortening and we had our time change last weekend. (I was on it because the BBC radio man kindly alerted me to "check your timepiece" and we did) All that means it was getting dark when Moira got home from her class at 4ish and it was pitch black by the time we left. So no Germany style sidewalk pictures this year. We snapped a few at home before we headed out though. (and roughly edited to include more less radiator. Agh they were bugging me)
In this year's Halloween performance credits, Mom's name goes under wardrobe and Moira is listed under makeup artist. She was brilliant. And fast. And the little girls made it all night without their faces running. Let's hear it for real face paint instead of Mom's makeup bag. <g> I am always amazed at the difference it makes to have the right stuff. So much of my life I try to muddle through without and it doesn't always save time or money.
Ok I was really REALLY happy with B's costume. I am still laughing. The wind blew so hard he lost parts of his beard as we went but still. He was so darn cute.
Kieran is ten, which means he still wants to trick or treat but he is now old enough to be self-conscious about wanting to trick or treat. Dressing up as a grown up (Someone pegged him as Jim from The Office ; )) seemed to help him reconcile the whole thing with himself.
The sugar plum fairies. I wish I had a better shot of their wings. Do you hear that husband? I need a wider angle lens my dear….
Aidan is 13, which means he is old enough to now think its cool to dress up, as long as you dress up in something cool. Like this. And then perform for your candy.
This was actually a pretty big hit. : )
And Miss Moira who feels it is only right to make herself up a bit while escorting the fairies to the doorstep.
That would be her father photo bombing her.
Whether you are home or about on this All Hallow's Eve I hope you have a grand evening and laugh much.
Autumn Butterfly
We were more than a little startled when we were cleaning up the other day and this butterfly fluttered across the room. It had been slumbering in or about the piano, which was propped open. I wasn't completely certain what to do with it this time of year but we figured we couldn't exactly foster a butterfly, nor did he need to meet his end on our watch, so we just carefully scooted him onto the dustpan and out the window.
I have never been good with that whole circle of life thing.
pumpkin playdough
Early in the month we were talking about making homemade playdough when I ran across a recipe for pumpkin scented dough. (actually this links to the basic recipe with a link to the scented) We had all the ingredients on hand so Alannah made up a batch for the littles one morning while I was working with the olders. Divide and conquer.
Yay-ah! <g> Seriously now, don't be a hater ok? 20 some yrs ago when I was teaching a five yo to read while my three year old was attempting to climb out the windows (not kidding, ask my neighbor) and my nursing one year old was beginning to toddle through the house I would probably have had some choice words for the woman with a built in extra pair or two of adult hands. But a) I had to be in your shoes to walk to where I am now and b) those extra adult hands don't linger long. They get jobs and go to school and move away all too soon. It is a teeny tiny window of wonderful collaboration. A grace God sometimes grants which helps to make year 25 of preschool as much fun as year one was.
Back to playdough. The post mentioned refrigerating the dough to boost its longevity. This recipe has lasted all month. In fact we had it out today and I am amazed at how pliable it still is.
We have made rolled out pumpkins with cookie cutters and added dry beans to make faces. We also made pumpkins from balls of dough and noodle stems. I want to point out though to any new teacher-moms that might see this that it is especially nice to organize a blog post around thematic colors and shapes. In real life though, it is the rare child who feels compelled to restrict his/her play to preselected, holiday appropriate themes. Hence, we have also had orange apple pie and pumpkin scented snowmen with the dry beans becoming snowman wigs. Which actually went sorta well with the Christmas story book from the library. In October.
You should know this happens. It's ok. : )
Starry Sky Journal 