Another Kids market Post

the busy face painter...













Each week this makes me happier and happier....


thanks to the women of ashfield hardware that make this possible-

The return of the Wednesday Kids Market

Seemed like we were living in a boomtown


FACE PAINTING

The Artist at Work

Peace Cairns and Pollywogs

Day 4

Zega Lockatong Preserve Rosemont, NJ

Day 2

Island Beach State Park, NJ











Shaped by storm and tides, Island Beach State Park is a narrow barrier island stretching for 10 miles between the restless Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. It is one of New Jersey's last remnants of a barrier island ecosystem that once existed along much of the coast and is also one of the few remaining undeveloped barrier beaches on the north Atlantic coast.
The sand dunes and white sandy beaches offer habitat to maritime plants and diverse wildlife that is almost the same as it was thousands of years ago. The state's largest osprey colony, as well as peregrine falcons, wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl and migrating songbirds, are found here. Island Beach is nationally known as a unique resource with over 400 plants identified, including the largest expanses of beach heather in New Jersey.

Making Valentines...

while listening to Sarah Pirtle "Heart of the World" and the Sound of Music.

Our European adventure is approaching fast. The stop that Zoe is most excited about is Salzburg, Austria. The reason for her out of control excitement is her obsession with the Sound of Music.

"mum did you know that teenagers don't need gobernesses? mama what is a goberness?!!"

"did you know the goberness fell on love with the captain!"

Celebrating Losar

Presently *LOVING* Tenzin's Deer by Barbara Soros (Author), Danuta Mayer (Illustrator)

“May no harm come to us. May we love each other well. May we be kind to all the creatures of the earth.”

Who can resist a book with such a beautiful message!

Thursday was the Tibetan New Year (Losar) as well as the Chinese. These two important festivities rarely fall on the same day. Losar is the most important holiday in Tibet. We celebrated with some craft projects

creating sand mandalas




prayer flags






As you have probably read in this blog before we have a small library of kids books about Tibet, folk tales, fiction and non fiction. This week at night I have also been showing Zoe photos from this beautiful blog....especially the ones "women" "children"


Other than that we have been in awe of the winter beauty that has been surrounding us....spending time outside looking for animal tracks. building shelters, fires and taking photos and then coming inside and




snuggling on the couch and reading books and drinking hot cocoa,

Rainbow Crow by Nancy Van Laan
Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft
Big Tracks Little Tracks by Millicent E. Sels

planning our trip and finishing hand made gifts for our family in Europe (more about that soon).

Zoe Travels the World: Join Us in Our Adventures

(this post has already been published over at Hilltown families)



Hi, my name is Zoe. Some of you may know me as I live here in the hilltowns. And while I love the hilltowns, one of my favorite things to do with MamaT is to travel. I LOVE to travel! I’ve taken an airplane to Europe when I was four months old, and I’ve journeyed by car from the hilltowns to Florida. I’ve traveled by bus and by train, and I even spent seven months in India (in utero!). I don’t remember much about that trip, but MamaT has stories to share!



This spring (March ‘08) we’re taking off again. I can hardly wait! We are flying to Amsterdam (Holland) and then caravaning through Eastern Europe to Greece to visit my Giagia (greek for grandmother). MamaT says that our trip this spring is just a warm up for the BIG ONE … a journey over land from England to Tibet! And all along the way we are planning our adventures with visits to many cities in seven different countries, including:

Berlin (Germany)
Prague (Czech Republic)
Vienna (Austria)
Budapest (Hungary)
Bucharest (Romania)
Sofia (Bulgaria)
and then into Northern Greece

You can follow our adventures right here on The Herbal Way or on Hilltown Families. You can read our posts, which will include photos, activities, maps and links to suggested readings. And when we return we’ll be sharing more stories and craft projects at the Children’s Art Museum in Shelburne Falls, MA.



POSTCARDS FROM THE ROAD

If you would like to receive a postcard from us during our travels, send us your name and mailing address, along with a donation of $1.50 to cover costs and we’ll send you a card during our trip. Drop it in the mail (please email me tlemos (at) noho (dot) com if you would like our mailing address) to arrive before March 7th, 2008. Our road trip will begin the next day!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

~ Alfred Lord Tennyson


New beginnings.........So very quiet, so very white, so very still, so very new, so very beautiful.



Thanks for stopping by and reading, thanks for commenting and sharing thoughts with me......Looking forward to a great 2008, Can you believe it 2008 already.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I finished the magic blanket and Zoe's hat......yeah! Here she is all wrapped up!

scenes from the night before Christmas

the dishes were piled in the sink (sorry no photo!)

the child was fast asleep in her nook!



How am I to sing your praise,
Happy chimney-corner days,
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,
Reading picture story-books?

( Robert Louis Stevenson)

wearing new jammies and mum was sewing away!


finally inspired to create Zoe's gift.....it all came together in the 13th hour! A magic blanket for her reading nook.....magic because it can take her anywhere she wants to go, a day dreaming blanket........on one side is a world map fabric with several appliques that look like polaroids with some pictures of places she has been and people she loves and the other side a soft cotton flannel fabric that looks. Thematically it fits with the gift that I bought her (a 24 piece world map puzzle from Barefeet Books) and a mini Usborne books atlas. This is a child that talks about travelling ALL THE TIME! Even at 4 she is a good traveller. A cushion to follow in the New Year.



And now I know why it is best to have our little ones write letters to Santa earlier on in the month! Tonight we wrote our letter to Santa and whoa!!! full of suprizes! All along she has been alternating between requesting "Candyland" or anything" Santa wants to give me" but tonight, the night before Christmas she started listing parts of the playmobil hospital set! "I would really like the vehicle with wheels that takes sick people to the hospital" About a year ago on ebay I picked up a bag of hospital people and beds. She has really enjoyed setting them up and playing hospital. Recently we set up a 3 story hospital using some dollhouse furniture and some wooden bricks.

Better go and drink the pomegranate, ginger, orange peel brandy that was left out for Santa! Happy Holidays to everyone.....May Joy surround us all and peace be in our hearts.

What did you do with your extra minute of daylight?

We read Sunbread by Elisa Kleven and made sun muffins!


The fourth light of Advent is the light of humankind.
The light of love, the light of thought, to give and to understand.

Rudolf Steiner


Hope you all had a Happy Solstice! We celebrated in a town wide Solstice bonfire, storytelling, carolling with Morris and Molly Dancing! It was the first time that we headed out to this event and am sure it will become a tradition. The children were entertained by climbing and then sliding down a huge mound of snow. Fun was had by all.

I have not posted much about our Advent activities.....books were read, projects were completed, projects were abandonned!

Here are a few pics









In other news at home I created a little reading nook for Zoe (really a work in progress) but she LOVES it. Infact last night she wanted to sleep there. I agreed though I was a little nervous as it is so close to the wood stove. It worked out! Part of her Christmas present is a camping lantern which I think will be great for that little space.Finally I am clear about what to make her, I am planning a little lap blanket (a magic blanket- more about that after the holidays) and cushion for her little nook. Have you seen Montessori by Hand beautiful reading pillow pattern!