Here’s to a sunny and brisk first day of Autumn. Jane, i thought of this when i took this;

The wild west wind did blow and we went out to play- silk streamer in one hand, gathering basket in the other. i’m surprised the monkey costume stayed at home as it has been getting a lot of wear these cooler days. Speaking of wearing, i got a new hat. it’s alright. a little itchy. i hope to have many hats this season.

Autumn in Vancouver is my favorite. or did i say that about Spring already? i love them both but now, with the wind, it feels so fresh, alive and yet quieter still with all the children in school and the tourist returned home. We seem to have our parks and beaches back to ourselves.

We missed you friends today. We had such fun with you in the park last time.

Joel Dewberry’s aviary collection has been an absolute favorite fabric of mine so i was utterly flattered to receive a special request from his wife for 2 of my dolls using his fabric. The 2 on the left are her choices and the other 3 are or can be available in my shop.

Soroka, Blanka, Melita, Yulenka, Korina

i absolutely love this boy. The past few days have been so awesome - good sleeps, mostly great moods, lots of sillies and creative ideas & play. i remember not long ago when we seemed to be in a cycle of 1 good day, 1 challenging day… Today one of our teachers told me i was reaping the benefits of my patient parenting and while i often don’t find myself feeling very patient i have to agree with her that there is some great growing going on and up.

May your weekends be full of playful sillies.

i am all flattered, nervous and shy to be included in the next show, Creature Feature, at Black Lark Gallery, Hastings UK. Some inspiring and admired artists will be displaying their dolls and creatures. Thank you Sarah for thinking of me and my matryoshka.

These gals are dressed in their Autumn attire and ready to join the party. i wish i could travel over land and sea with them.

i finally got to go through all the spinning photos my sister took of little A and i that day in August when we went berry picking. i felt dizzy for hours after this. She takes the best photographs.

The forecast calls for rain tomorrow. it feels appropriate to remember those sunny summery days. Enjoy your Summers to the very end.

Little A’s room is the most complete as far as unpacking and settling goes. i suppose it’s because he has the most stuff to fill the space. um did i just say that? What i meant to say is that his is most easy to organize because in his 4 years of life thus far his stuff is all looking pretty good. Don’t expect so many photos of the other rooms in the house or any time soon for that matter.

wondering if you all have seen Shelley’s new waldorf home flickr group? it inspired me to snapshot Little A’s element shelves. Please note that aside from little gnomey by the fire there, i did not make any of the felted items above. See here, here and here for inspiring felted toys.

Aside from puttering about the play room we’ve been enjoying the porch and yard, exploring the new neighborhood and parks, meeting new cats, gathering nuts and soaking up Vancouver’s indian summer. Life is good. (pms aside - had to throw that in - it’s been a bit rough in that respect).

now which way?

beautiful streets lined with nut trees;

Autumn is exciting especially when the sun shines so. i am in love with my new hood.

it was a long search but we found a perfect home, without compromise, to settle into for at least a year and hopefully more. it’s beautiful. i’m grateful. the transitions have been smooth so far. Little A spent the moving day at a box car derby with a friend and has been talking about it all week and playing it out again and again with his cars. he loves his new home, room, yard, bathtub, the unpacking, the constructing and his pink walls. i anticipate some slow settling these next weeks and a few odd posts here and there.

stairs and levels. what a novelty. slinky digs it.

staying up late, assembling the beds so we can go to sleep;

saying goodbye to the old home - checking in on the sunflowers, they blossomed while we were away.

oh and thank you for all the comments on the previous preschool post. Last week was awesome! Little A’s rockin’ the big boy leaps …sleeping solo too in that great big room. Now if mama will just forget the unpacking and PLAY he’s a happy camper.

Little A has begun his year of Waldorf preschool.

The rhythm is similar to the parent and tot program that we have been a part of for the past 2 years but with some subtle differences. We gather outside where the children can play (the sandbox was the playground today, lots of digging, building, baking) and eventually move inside to play before circle time leading to snack time and finally a puppet show or story before heading outside to play some more. While i mostly assumed and still consider homeschooling/unschooling, i feel that the continuity is more important right now, as well it offers some healthy growing of our own connection. Little A’s 2 teachers are lovely, familiar and accommodating to our personal situation. They have offered the opinion that our extended breastfeeding(weaned at 3+years) has created a bond which now requires a slow and gentle separation and i am welcome to be a presence in their classroom, tidying, sweeping, preparing snacks, sanding toys, pulling weeds… while Little A settles into the rhythm of things. The gradual entry sets a gentle pace for these big transitions and while there are immediate challenges i would say it’s going a lot smoother than anticipated. The first day was perhaps more difficult for me as Little A clung to me and was whiney… i know it is what it is but i couldn’t help envying the other parents who were able to sit, meet and converse amongst themselves while their little one’s ventured off to play. Day 2 was much smoother. Little A baked sand cakes & engaged with his teacher and i was able to leave the scene long enough for a bathroom break (which is huge!) There was a meltdown at snack time but in the end it all turned out alright. And so we continue 3 hours 2 mornings per week. i look forward to making the move out of the classroom and into the lounge where i can relax, read, knit, stitch… and i hope that Little A finds himself some good friends to play and engage with.

August in the Okanagan is a time to enjoy the abundance. Little A is in his element here; wandering, exploring, picking from the gardens and orchards. i’m grateful that we have this to look forward to each Summer. We sort of have the best of 2 worlds because Vancouver is pretty great too.

i just can’t believe the peaches. so so so delicious. quite possibly my favorite fruit when picked fresh off the tree and still warm with sunshine. in some parts of the orchard they’re dropping off by the dozen even before ripening. many of these trees are old and despite being supported, huge branches have broken, laden with the weight of so many fruits. to me it’s tragic. still it’s a beautiful place to pick breakfast.

yummy!

Bestafa grows hazelnut trees. It was a long time growing since the deer also love to eat the tender leaves on the young trees. These nuts all came from a self seeded tree in their yard and Little A spent a good half hour peeling them - a fine and entertaining project. i love their caps. Now they sit in a bowl on our table where we mix them around to help them dry. Fresh they are the texture of a fresh coconut. interesting but i prefer them dried.