We carved our pumpkins in the late afternoon and later put them on our stoop.
We lit the fires and and candles, welcoming the night and all who would visit.
Blankets and pillows at the ready on a chilly Halloween night, we waited for visitors. We set out hot cider, wine, toasted pumpkin seeds and other treats. The soup was on and the house was warm, just in case the cold got to our bones.
The children were dressed and made ready for their evening of trick or treating. They would go off together and with a friend and we wouldn't see them again until the cold chased them indoors.
Later we huddled together near the fire as we watched the night sky change and listened to the Halloween sounds of the neighborhood. We cupped glasses of wine and mugs of hot cider and pulled the blankets around our shoulders.
Eventually the kids came home, red-cheeked and cold-scented. We soon cuddled together by the indoor fire with bowls of soup and buttered garlic bread and looked for something scary to watch while Adam announced yet another lost tooth. It was a good Samhain Night. Blessings on the turning of the wheeland a new year!
We've had a week of the blahs and icks (of the cold, not quite cold but sore throat kind) here, guys, so none of us have been much in the writing mood, but photos I can do. And this song, which you should play now as I've had it in my head this entire day week.
We attended the annual home/unschooling grave stone rubbing at Portland's Evergreen Cemetery, where once again, we're more inclined to walk, talk, film and photograph than make rubbings. Of course, I enjoy photographing the cemetery and the challenge of seeing things just a bit askew, getting the camera in close for the details of the lichen and moss that cover the stones, the cracks in the marble. I take my own kind of impression of the graveyard through my lens. Today, like last year, Adam ran off to film areas of the cemetery and by the end of the day, he had a cast of other kids willing to perform amazing graveyard feats. Olivia, still on the ill side of things, spent some time walking the grounds, taking her own photos, I'm certain. Later we walked with friends, joked, inevitably, about this, and made plans for future gatherings. It was a good autumn day, walking the graveyard, under the concrete sky.
Last week Alex baked six apple pies, a tray of wrapped apples, a small batch of apple crisp, canned the apple and pear butter, made peach jam and apple jelly, which totalled thirty-three cups of preserves. We shared some with our neighbors who cat-sit for us and some pies went into the freezer and we have a long list of friends and family who are hoping Alex bakes pies for them soon, too.
Sipping the first glass of blackberry wine while making dinner- so, so good.
Relying on this nutritious and easy to make frittata for dinner at the end of busy days.
Basic frittata recipe:
Heat oven to 450F. Butter a 11" x 17" pan.
Layer frozen or fresh (or combination) of veggies and other on-hand ingredients-this comes out a bit differently each time, depending on what's in the fridge or pantry: chopped onion shredded or thin-sliced potato leftover brown rice roasted red peppers spinach, chard or kale grated carrot squash olives grated cheeses, more is better (I used 8 ounces of grated feta and about 16 ounces of sharp cheddar for my last frittata.)
lots of black pepper some salt
Put all ingredients into pan. Beat 9-12 (farm fresh, local) eggs and pour over the other ingredients. Use a spoon to gently toss or stir together all the ingredients. Put into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Having unschoolers around our table, learning together~
I think I've found the color, Clay .04, for our living room paint project (for either November or January) after reading over at Amanda's.
Alex and I are reading Radical Homemakers and identifying with it strongly.
And I must blow a virtual kiss to Lisa, who I consider a friend and who sends me the most confidence-boosting, kind emails and whose blog is a constant source of inspiration. I am ever grateful.
Saturday and day-tripping with the kids~
Lunch out at the Dogfish Cafe in Portland, where the kids had killer grilled cheese and Alex and I had our second beef burger each in twenty years (the kids think maybe next time they'll split a burger--fyi, this is in part because we wish to truly eat close to our plates and support our local food culture).
Olivia had a late invitation to another unschooler's birthday party, so we hit the road for Cornish. While she was at the party, Alex and I kicked around with Adam, enjoying the autumn colors in the pretty small town on the river.
Sunday afternoon, fall chores and autumn in our garden~
