Celebrate

We were looking at photos a few days ago and Jon commented to me that we have "more pictures of that kid in pajamas than anything else." So it is not at all surprising to that while all our friends and acquaintances flooding Facebook with lovely pictures of their families from the weekend in new spring dress clothes, our kid was decorating eggs in . . . can you guess? His pajamas. With bed head to boot. Evidence that we are comfortable and joyous dissidents.

The first day of spring, better known as the spring equinox, was fully a week ago, but mother nature could not have provided a more beautiful sign of the lengthening days than we were graced with yesterday. Brilliant sun and warming temperatures brightened our crafting, decorating, and cooking as we prepared to celebrate with family. Weekends like this are a vital part of recovering from winter. They are the promise that entices us all from quasi-hibernation. I swear I have seen more neighbors in the past week than through all the past three months combined. 

And while much of the nation is also celebrating the end of a marked period of waiting, our own season of patience is just getting started—the bird migration is upon us. Our local friends, the ones that don't abandon us for warmer climes but still disappear mostly from hearing for the darkest months of the year, are starting to rejoin us in a tentative morning symphony. It will swell over the next few months as they become increasingly urgent in their communications, and as they are joined by summer-weathered friends. And the visitors that pass through for the briefest of moments will be on their way in just a few weeks. We actually saw our first Sandhill Cranes on February 28, sparking an impatience for early morning bird hikes.

But today was still a pajama day. A craft rabbits, decorate eggs, and eat chocolates day. A ring in spring with friends and family day.

 

The green holiday

The year can really be measured in holidays that aren't holidays: Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo. Actually, maybe it's a function of our desire to finally get out and see people as the weather warms that leads to our obsession with celebrations in the springtime months. On the face, these are great jumping off points for homeschoolers: what really is Valentine's Day? Who are the Irish? What does it mean to be Mexican (as opposed to Spanish)?

 For the rest of us these are just great excuses to enjoy different foods . . . and drinks. 

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with shamrock eggs in the morning, Irish boiled dinner soup in the evening, and the baking of Irish soda bread in the middle of the day. Plus the drinks. But when Jon and I went out for bear it wasn't for Killians or Guinness, it was to the Jolly Pumpkin Tasting room for some fantastic local brews instead.

Making Valentines a family party

Saints and massacres aside, in the B.C. years (the years before child), Valentines Day felt like an importantly romantic celebration. We couldn't afford a meal out back then, let alone jewelry or romantic getaways, but we did what we could with what we had to share an amorous evening bordering on schmaltzy. Special meals for two with champagne consumed in candle lit ambiance with the ceremonial delivery of cards and/or often flowers. 

But these are the A.C. years, the years after child, and the romantic Valentines Day has all but completely faded into a thing of our past. Now the "holiday", if it can be called that anyhow, is about choosing the right cards and accompanying candy to give to the multitude of children in our homeschool group. It's about crafts and potluck foods. It's about wearing red (or pink or purple) for the class party on the day in question. 

Romantic it is no longer, but has the day really changed? It was always about love, the form of love has just changed a bit through the years. No longer looking like bubbly and kissy balloons, it has taken the form of a family affair, which is the focus of our love and attention at this moment in life. So after the class party and the almost offensive influx of sugar in our systems, we spent the rest of the heart holiday weekend sitting in front of a fire assembling every Lego set in the house (and through three lives of Lego collectors that is a lot), consuming hot cocoa, Mexican food, and, at the very last, going out for delightful family dinner. 

And, in the time A.B. (the hours after bedtime), there was some enjoyment of champagne (or sparkling wine, for those of you keeping track).

December recap

It may seem like all I ever do anymore are recap posts. The months are just flying by, and before I know it weeks have passed without a single post. Sometimes they are getting by me without a single picture. My poor camera is neglected—if it wasn't for the improved phone cameras it seems I would have no pictures at all! 

December, of course, was a delightful month full of friends and family. There were concerts, plays, and at home sing-a-longs. Plenty of baking was done, and plenty of eating. There was giving and receiving, a Star Wars movie, and other good stuff to be remembered.

So, for posterity, here's a recap.

The homeschooling group play

Datenight at Knight's downtown before going to see Calvin perform with the Boychoir in the Christmas sing at Hill Auditorium

The Boychoir Christmas Concert

Tea on cold winter days

A little bit of sewing

Carols with friends

An annual Christmas ornament craft 

Cookies with friends

A night out on the town with these goofballs

Cookies and carols with family

Christmas Eve at Kerrytown by tradition

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner and cake with family

Traditional Christmas Eve date night wine and Meet Me in St. Louis

Iris's first time joining us for Christmas with family day 1

Christmas with family day 2

Beer making

Star Wars

November recap

Good books, good times

We went to the Audubon lands at Waterloo to watch the migration of the Sandhill Cranes.

We voted

We did science

We tailgated, sometimes with the Boychoir

Pumpkin beers were taking over, and so were giant bears

Calvin and I ran the turkey trot

Iris learned to help with the dishes

We spent a lovely weekend with my family at a lodge in middle of nowhere. And it snowed.

It snowed even more at home

But it melted before Thanksgiving

MST3K Thanksgiving marathon

The last game of the year, the last disappointment (we hope)