No Time to Think

 I am feeling very ungrounded from to many work commitments.  April is just jam packed with obligation.  I long to be horizontal.

I Am Vertical by Sylvia Plath

But I would rather be horizontal.
I am not a tree with my root in the soil
Sucking up minerals and motherly love
So that each March I may gleam into leaf,
Nor am I the beauty of a garden bed
Attracting my share of Ahs and spectacularly painted,
Unknowing I must soon unpetal.
Compared with me, a tree is immortal
And a flower-head not tall, but more startling,
And I want the one's longevity and the other's daring.

Tonight, in the infinitesimal light of the stars,
The trees and flowers have been strewing their cool odors.
I walk among them, but none of them are noticing.
Sometimes I think that when I am sleeping
I must most perfectly resemble them--
Thoughts gone dim.
It is more natural to me, lying down.
Then the sky and I are in open conversation,
And I shall be useful when I lie down finally:
The the trees may touch me for once, and the flowers have time for me.

I saw this greenhouse when I drove South over Spring Break. It catches my eye whenever I go by it.  I think I want it

Splitter

I spent the morning splitting wood.  Very rewarding and slightly tiring.  The wood pile is growing and I feel secure that if the power goes out in the now warmer days we will be well taken care of.

Wood, Wood, Wood

I know I talk a lot about wood, but it is a major theme in our life.
We were down to just two rounds on Friday.

So it was time for the hubby to go South and get some more, and that he did.  (I just re-read this and saw it said that he die.  Nope not die, did.  Must edit)

We had to haul the wood by sled around to the other side of the house.  The little guy was very eager to help.  Don't you just love the moose hat that was gifted to him.  

We created a little bridge of rounds for the little guy to play on.  Back and forth he went celebrating his accomplishment.

We did not even get halfway with the hauling and stacking, but we did have a lot of fun.  The little guy is such a big help these days.  I had trouble getting him to come back inside for bath time.  Life is good!

36℉ and Sunny

I have waited for this day for months.  It was 36℉ and sunny today.  I practically ran outside as soon as I woke up.  The little guy and I went to the Alaska Conservation Center, which takes in injured or orphaned animals.  We saw lots of Alaska animals.  The wood  bison are amazingly large.

The elk were lazing in the sun eating away.  They are such beautiful animals.

We also saw puddles.  Really we saw just a few animals and lots, and lots of puddles because that is what the little guy is interested in.  Splash, stomp, crunch.

It was such a fun adventure ending with a picnic lunch.  It was just warm enough to eat with our gloves off.  Yep that is cheese sitting on a dirty picnic table.  Hey I am o.k. with that.  It builds immunity right.

Little Artist Note Cards

I have been saving the little guy's finger paintings for a "rainy day" project.  Today I finally made note cards to tuck away for future gift giving.  Once framed with the solid color it reminds me of some of the contemporary art out there today.  I am going to put an "artist statement" on the back. I usually type who made the card on address labels since you can print out a bunch at once.  It might go something like this.

"The artist lives in a small A-Frame in view of a mountain.  He gets his inspiration from water, closing doors, and trains."

 I also put together two book marks that I will laminate and put a beaded ribbon on for grandad's birthday in June.  Grandad is a huge fan of books so he could probably use about 10 of these.

Spring Break

I am on Spring Break.  I left the boys at home and went 3.5 hrs South to Homer.  Walked the beaches.

Stayed with a friend and her dog.

Snowshoed a mountain.

It was heaven.  This week I am getting back on track, finishing the everlasting embroidery project, staring a knitting class (because I am not a natural), and kicking back with the little guy.  Life is good!!

Iditarod

The  ceremonial start of the Iditarod took place in Anchorage on Saturday.  If you are interested in following the race here is the official Iditarod web page.  It is fun to have your child or student choose a musher and follow along.  There are so many great learning opportunities in the area of geography, health (dogs & mushers), literacy, math, social studies, and science.

Here are a few links if you are interested in learning more.

Iditarod web page link for teachers & parents.
Teacher on the trail blog
Fun Iditarod journal paper, coloring pages, musher bio page, and lots more.
Dog Sled 101
PBS Iditarod Page

Have fun!

We Love Eco Dough

We do, we do, we love Eco Dough which is made by eco-kids My son sniffs it each time we play with it even though it does not necessarily smell very good.  It is not scented, but it is fun.  I love the way it feels compared to regular playdough.  We have been on a big "cay"(clay)  kick this week and are having a blast.  Isn't it pretty.

The company is run a family business started with the mother started selling her products at a farmers market.  I just love that!  The ingredients are incredible and are plant based.  The companies web page gives the ingredients as:

Molding dough handmade with flour, salt, cream of tartar, organic rosemary oil, vitamin E oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, potassium sorbate, citric acid, natural and organic fruit, plant and vegetable extracts from annatto seed, beets, blueberries, carrots, paprika, purple sweet potato, red cabbage and spinach.