Outdoor knitting

Trying to remember to post on Mondays for the Great Outdoor Challenge. We went to my mom's yesterday and the kids picked flowers and herbs and then sat down for a knitting lesson.

Couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon with family and yarn. Join in the fun.

5 orange potatoes, the five of us, little eco footprints, potje thee, silverpebble, the work of childhood, searching simplicity, love living simply, strasilo, semi-handmade, this little kitchen, school time adventures, heirloom seasons, the loving path, a place like this, the magnifying glass, pebbles in the water, chocolate eyes, we are here, rosy-posy, oakbee farm, my year in haiku, time to craft, child in harmony, serendipity, secret water, free flowing ways, se7en, a smile a day, where ada likes to wander, wide open campus, what are we doing today mom?, chasing domestic bliss, dim sum, bagels and crawfish, adventures of a flake, frontier dreams, the snail’s trail, goose and binky, over the crescent moon, it’s a wild life, my world edenwild, the binker files, lil muse lily, foursquare schoolhouse, obaitori, boys in the woods, bumbles and light , wonder in the woods, terrallectualism, semi-crunchy mama, Gwynneth, All Things Beautiful, we are here

Continuing Outdoor Challenge

We're continuing the Great Outdoor Challenge on Mondays.


What goes great with exploring? Magnifying glasses!

Join in anytime :)

5 orange potatoes, the five of us, little eco footprints, potje thee, silverpebble, the work of childhood, searching simplicity, love living simply, strasilo, semi-handmade, this little kitchen, school time adventures, heirloom seasons, the loving path, a place like this, the magnifying glass, pebbles in the water, chocolate eyes, we are here, rosy-posy, oakbee farm, my year in haiku, time to craft, child in harmony, serendipity, secret water, free flowing ways, se7en, a smile a day, where ada likes to wander, wide open campus, what are we doing today mom?, chasing domestic bliss, dim sum, bagels and crawfish, adventures of a flake, frontier dreams, the snail’s trail, goose and binky, over the crescent moon, it’s a wild life, my world edenwild, the binker files, lil muse lily, foursquare schoolhouse, obaitori, boys in the woods, bumbles and light , wonder in the woods, terrallectualism, semi-crunchy mama, Gwynneth

Happily in the dirt :)

This weekend

1. Did a little sewing starting late last week through the weekend. I'll be posting the completed projects and the works in progress this week.
2. Sat outside with my laptop and watched the little ones play with mud. Lots of mud :)

3. Made up a chicken recipe. Cook chicken drumsticks at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. While the chicken cooks in a bowl mix 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1 onion and sliced black olives. I don't know if I seasoned it. Ooops! After chicken cooks for 30 minutes toss mixture with chicken and coat. Then bake for another 30 minutes. Once it's done try it and let me know how it turns it out because I didn't get any at all. It looked good with rice but it was all gone by the next day. Not even a leftover for me. lol.

4. Boiled lots of water due to the water ban in eastern Massachusetts.

5. Because of the water ban it's much harder to wash dishes. Forgive me for behaving unenvironmentally friendly this week. But boiling water to wash dishes, brush our teeth and wash our faces has not been fun. I have resorted to using all those paper plates from past birthday parties. (I wanted to get rid of those anyway and go with something that was not store bought.) But for now we are using paper plates, plastic cups and plastic utensils and then throwing them away after 1 use so we don't get any bacteria. If only I could throw away the guilt too.

For cleaning our fruits and veggies I'm keeping a spray bottle of boiled water that's been cooled down. The other spray bottle is a mixture of water, vinegar, baking soda and grapeseed oil. It's a veggie/fruit wash I found in Kiwi magazine. I'm also using a Biokleen All Purpose Cleaner. Hoping to get clean drinking water soon.

6. To finish off the weekend I did start and complete 1 granny square. This yarn was in my hope chest and it was something I was hoping to get to soon. I tried to follow one of the patterns in my crochet book. I'm trying to make each member of the family a granny square using yarn that is 100% cotton to replace the the loofahs in our bathtub. Time to say good bye to the loofah and hello to the squares.

Hoping for a good week!

Great Outdoor Challenge Day 10

Our cloudy Sunday was spent outside picking dandelions and mint leaves then jumping and sitting on tree logs. But most of the day consisted of wood working with uncle.

Hammering away and screwing nails. (I think that covers cognition & fine motor.)

Sanding the bench with uncle.


Finally the completed bench. My brother is into construction and woodworking and yesterday seemed like a good day to be outside and work on a wood working project. Out came the wood, nails, hammers, drills and sanding machine. It was a lot of fun to watch. What is a shame today is that schools focus so much on testing and job preparation for the global market that life skills are tossed aside. What happened to life skills aren't they important too? Well I guess between the craft & cookbooks, hardware stores and thrift stores we'll start our own wood working, metals, shop, cooking and sewing sessions in the yard. There is never a shortage of ideas here and I guess you are never too young to pick up a hammer and nails and hit them into a log or some wood.

Outdoor Card Games/Great Outdoor Day 9

Great Outdoor Challenge: Day 7 & Day 8

Day 7: What is there to do on a day when the weather is cool and questionable in New England ?

Put a sweatshirt and jacket on and head to the beach with Dad.

Day 8: One thing we love about the clocks changing in the spring is getting out later on in the day before dinner when it's still light out.

Snacking and watching a little ball playing.

Comfortable picnic on the grass.

Skipping along.

Join in on the outdoor fun!

Great Outdoor Challenge: Day 6

On a nature walk with Dad.

Trying to follow what Lise's does with her kids in her program. Go out no matter what the the weather is like just have the right gear. It's spring and the kids are in snow boots and jackets so that it's ok to get muddy on a light rainy day. A couple of handy items for science and discovery magnifying glasses and binoculars! I wonder what they discovered.

Great Outdoor Challenge Days 3-5

Day 3: Walking together to do errands in the rain.

Day 4: The camera was at home while all the kids were outside late in the day throwing a ball, reading on a blanket and picking dandelions.

Day 5: Continuing those morning walks and doing some rock climbing.

Great Outdoor Challenge Day 2

Yay swings!

Join in on the fun!

lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, lisa, carmen, teena, joey, stephinie, rosina, saminda, emma, elizabeth, gidget, melissa, katie, becca, barbara, atouria, missy, ariella, elizabeth, sarah, eileen, stacy, lisa, jennifer, tulsileaf, lisa c, morticia, angela, rana, jamie