Dodson Diversions

springtime in the winter

2012-01-26T15:07:00.000-08:00

This January has been a nice contrast to last January. Last year we were getting massive snowstorms, and I spent the entire month wondering if the midwife was going to be able to make it to my house for Amelia's birth. This January the daffodils and tulips are popping up in the garden.

There has still been plenty of chilly weather and cloudy, rainy days. I have still had to reach deep into my bag of tricks to stave off cabin fever in the kids. Blanket forts, cardboard box slides, artwork at the kitchen table, music & dance sessions, and more.

But we have also been taking advantage of those nice sunny days in between and going on lots of walks and outings. A big favorite with the kids is story time at the nature center with "Miss Ladybug". William is always requesting to go to the nature center and "listen to ladybug". Last time we combined it with a nice hike down to the lake, complete with a picnic lunch.

I will be perfectly happy if this weather keeps going and we avoid any severe winter weather. I am rather partial to those flowers popping up around the yard.

it's the little things

2012-01-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

Painting my fingernails (for the first time in ...6 years?) a shocking red, to see the delight in my daughter's eyes.

Blueberry pancakes & coffee (in my favorite cup, covered in marine creatures).

Scanning & restoring piles and piles of old family photos.

Pony rides in the backyard.

Red wine.

G.K. Chesterton Father Brown stories.

winter beauty

2012-01-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

It is hard for me to get excited about winter any more. Everything in Missouri turns drab and brown. All of the water troughs freeze and chores involve carrying buckets (and more buckets) from the bathtub to the animals in the early morning. Ice and snow make for treacherous driving conditions, and getting into town can become an ordeal. And it takes about half an hour to make sure everyone is bundled up sufficiently for a daily walk, so we can all try to shake off our cabin fever.

I guess I have grown up too much. Or maybe that is just part of winter in the mid-west. My childhood winters in Canada were so much more exciting. I am not sure how much of that was because there were more winter activities available, or because I was a happy-go-lucky kid and typically everything that is troublesome for adults is an adventure for children.

I don't remember it being a hassle to put on ten layers of clothing before going out to build snow forts. Back then I was light enough to dance on the crusty top layer of snow without falling through, and hikes through the woods were like skipping through a fairy land. Freezing my toes off while ice fishing maybe wasn't my perfect cup of tea, but I sure enjoyed the hot chocolate and roaring fire afterward. Sledding, snowball fights, skiing, rosy cheeks, warm pajamas... winter back then was magic.

I need to remember that magic. Remember to see it as an adventure and encourage that in my kids.

The other day I was sorting through pictures from my camera and came across these shots from a rainy, wintry hike in November. Many months ago when winter was still a novelty (sort of). It was a good reminder for me that there is beauty in the cold. Usually better viewed from inside, while sipping on hot tea and wearing fuzzy socks. But nevertheless, beauty. And adventure.

bird ornaments

2012-01-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

Google "felt birds", or type it into pinterest, and you will find a plethora of tutorials and picture ideas for this craft. Add mine to the mix. I had a lot of fun making a few simple versions of these bird ornaments using felt, buttons, stuffing, string and a hot glue gun. There are so many different things you could do with these birds.

The owls and cardinals were my favorite.

They made a nice addition to our Christmas tree this year. And I may have even handed out a few as gifts. Next time I make them I might take the extra time to sew around the edges. And a friendly word of advice: Make sure you hang the string from the top of the bird so that it is balanced properly once it is hung. A couple of mine tip forward, ever so slightly...

bucking sheep

2012-01-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

Clay and I have thrown around a lot of ideas for building up our little farm empire. A vineyard, making maple syrup, sleigh rides, Christmas trees, an Orchard and cider press...

We've also been exploring ideas for utilizing the empty cement silo behind the barn. So far the options have been to use it as a roosting spot for free range chickens, housing the vineyard wine equipment, and more. My personal favorite was to put a platform on top, maybe with a hot tub and a telescope? Or we could always opt for the house option, like this one, except above ground:

But I think our best idea was just hatched last night.

It all started with William's current obsession with horses and cows bucking. Every game somehow involves him riding a bucking bull and falling off. All the toy horses have been renamed from Sackett to Chico, after Chico's lengthy display of galloping and bucking around the field on Saturday. As a result Clay and I have joked about letting him enter a muttonbusters competition at a rodeo.

And then I got the brilliant idea. We could breed champion bucking sheep. Sell them across the country for all of the muttonbusting competitions. Then we can advertise: "Visit the Vineyards & Orchard at Cross-D Ranch - Home of the Champion Bucking Mutton Baa-dacious, Never been ridden by any children aged 9 and under".

I have always wanted the job of naming bucking bulls. This would be my chance. We could start with sheep appropriate variations of some PBR's finest:

Baa-dacious
Rammer
Little Bucks
Slick Woolly
Kids Rock
Ewe-nabomber
Trou-baa-dour

so trendy

2012-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

My new shelf for music books. Made from a scrap pallet lying in the basement.

That's right, pinterest rules our lives.

It also helps to have a handyman husband.

long december

2012-01-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

I'm sure it comes as a big shock to all of you that our family was incredibly busy during the month of December. Or maybe you guessed, due to the complete lack of blog entries. It was a fabulous month (filled with both tears and joy), but I welcomed this first week of January with a sigh of relief.

After way too many traveling days squeezed into the past couple weeks, I think the kids will be ecstatic to not have to gear up for another road trip for a while. Four Christmas celebrations, one funeral, one new nephew born, one New Years Eve party at our house, and various get-togethers and last minute projects and errands to fill up every spare moment in between.

A quiet January is sounding blissful right now.

Of course, life goes on, and we still have plenty of upcoming activities on our calendar. If we can fight off these threats of a family-wide sickness. It still hasn't sunk in that another year has crept into place, but I couldn't think of a better way to have brought it in than by spending the preceding weeks seeing hundreds of family members, getting together with friends, celebrating Christ's manifestation on earth, singing and playing music, bundling up the kids for family hikes around the farm, a mailbox full of Christmas letters & photos, and reveling in how wonderful it feels to collapse and relax in our own home after traveling.

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year.

burlap stockings

2011-12-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

Surfing on etsy one day I came across these adorable burlap stockings. And then I saw the price tag. And then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some burlap and flannel.

ice skating

2011-12-09T13:24:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I took Margaret on a special mother-daughter date to go ice skating for the first time.

She loved it.

The parking lot was packed, we had to wait in line forever to get in, and to get Margaret's tiny little rental skates. Fortunately, most people who go ice skating last about ten minutes and then get hot cocoa from the concession stand. Margaret utilized every minute of our hour of skating time. We only got off the ice when the rink employees forced us.

I was mildly concerned that I wouldn't be able to support Margaret while on ice skates myself, it had been a few years. Fortunately, all of those skating expeditions throughout my childhood and adolescence proved themselves worthy. I found myself cruising by everyone in sight, flying over the ice with Margaret in front of me, holding her skates together as I introduced her to the joys of skating.

I felt so cool, until that 5 year old boy with the hockey gear zipped by us.

There was a reason why I spent more time hunting for hockey pucks in the snowbanks around the Bar River outdoor rink in Ontario, and not in the midst of the sporting action on the ice. Still, I put in my hours, and could hold my own in any skating-for-pleasure expedition. I have fond memories of trekking through the snow to go ice skating in some woodsy pond, with my hockey stick and skates slung over my shoulder. Skating with cousins in New England, and our pond hockey games and explorations of a frozen Vermont marsh. Not to mention the countless hours spent throughout high school at the local ice arena.

Margaret was fascinated by the fact that I had my own skates, and hintingly asked, "did your mommy buy those for you?". I told her when her feet stopped growing maybe I would get her a pair too. Unless we move back to the frozen north and start skating every day of the week. I don't foresee that happening. I was proud of her dedication in figuring out the art of skating. And in her amazing progress throughout the course of the hour as she learned to push and glide while holding lightly onto my hand, instead of taking short choppy steps while clinging to the wall.

The minute we were back in the car she was campaigning to go again. Ice skating as special Advent treat = huge success.

jolly old st. nicholas

2011-12-06T12:40:00.001-08:00

Today is St. Nicholas Day.

Clay and I have decided to add this holiday to our family celebrations and traditions. We like to give our children gifts on Christmas morning that are from us, because we love them, in imitation of Christ loving us. That's how we roll. However, there is no denying that Kris Kringle is a pretty fun guy, so celebrating St. Nicholas Day on December 6th - recognizing the real man behind the festive red suit - is a nice addition to the Advent season.

Since a large percentage of the St. Nicholas Day festivities come from the Netherlands, we borrow a few traditions from our Dutch neighbors. Including waking up to find Dutch wooden clogs filled with oranges (or cuties) and chocolate coins. Except I forgot to buy the chocolate coins in time, so the kids got chocolate chips and pepernoten cookies. Next year I will do better and remember the coins so we can leave the pepernoten cookies out on Sinterklaas eve, along with a carrot for his reindeer - or big white horse, as celebrated in Holland.

This was my first attempt at making pepernoten cookies. They came out a little hard - as I guess they are supposed to - but go fabulously with milk. Clay and the kiddos apparently love them.

In Holland St. Nicholas visits the children on December 5 accompanied by his faithful helper "Black Peter." He, or a black gloved hand, distributes the peppernoten to the children by throwing them through the door before the arrival of St. Nicholas.

2½ cups (300 g) flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (75 g) brown sugar
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon anise seeds optional

Knead all ingredients into a soft ball. Butter two baking sheets. Form about 50 marble-sized balls. Place them on the two sheets, so that they are the same distance from each other. Flatten each ball slightly.
Bake at 350º F. (175º C) 20 minutes or until done. The cookies will be very hard, but they will get softer as they get older.
Makes about 50 peppernuts.

aged beauty

2011-12-02T09:52:00.001-08:00

Clay and I were presented with this family heirloom on Thanksgiving.

Old instruments fascinate me. Imagining all of the stories they could tell, all of the beautiful music and festive gatherings they have been a part of. I guess it is the romantic in me.

My own violin has always held that appeal for me, being somewhere in the vicinity of 200 years old. And this 'new' violin has even more character. It is in rough shape, and very likely may never be playable again. Its origin is unknown, but it entered the Gilham family in an un-padded cardboard box shipped to Clay's great-grandfather from someone in Texas. But the really amazing thing about this violin is the hand-carved scroll.

William loves it. He loves anything with lions right now (as well as hippos and alligators).

Now I need to plan a trip to St. Louis to get both of my violins looked at and appraised. See what kind of miracles it would take to get this beauty in working order, or at least how to preserve it. I love the old cracked and worn wood. I love the lion's head. I love the wisps of wavy horse hair falling off of the bow. It's a lovely addition to our house, and collection of family heirlooms.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

2011-11-28T13:35:00.001-08:00

It's the second day of Advent, and somehow we managed to cut our farm fresh cedar Christmas tree and decorate it, despite the torrential downpour that we received this weekend. I wasn't too thrilled with the sudden wintry change of weather - after a beautiful Thanksgiving day - but the hot cider and Christmas boxes were good therapy. Let the winter festivities begin!

Advent calendar activities this year include: making paper snowflakes, making tin lanterns and going on a night hike, watching the Nutcracker (a movie version will have to suffice), blanket forts, reading Christmas stories and drinking hot chocolate, ice skating, and much, much more. The little slips of paper were stowed away in the advent stockings this morning, and now we will see if all of my grand schemes will come to pass. Sundays, being special feast days to celebrate the Lord's Day, will have chocolate treats and the kids will get to light the advent candles on the table.

What are your advent traditions and plans?

Relaxing on the couch, sipping more hot cider - after the tree was put up, the baked ham with walnuts and cranberries was eaten, and the kids were in bed - I wondered aloud why putting up the Christmas decorations felt funny this year. Like no time had passed at all since last year, a complete deja vu. It's not like nothing has happened since last year... Amelia being born, attic addition built, et cetera, et cetera... And then it hit me. This is the first time we have set up the decor in the same house and in a similar manner.

Year 1&2 - Christmas in transit, traveling from Idaho to various parts of Missouri with no preparatory advent season at our own house. Year 3 - Portland, Christmas at our apartment and massive quantities of snow, flying out the day after and spending 12 hours stuck in the Vegas airport. Year 4 - Clay's parents fly into Portland to help us move back to Missouri. Year 5&6 - Christmas in the Ozarks. Cedar trees in the dining room.

I am going to have to get used to this setting down roots and living in the same house with the same yearly routine thing.

I think I like it.

thankful

2011-11-22T12:47:00.001-08:00

A few of my favorite things.

so hard

2011-11-16T12:38:00.001-08:00

I am beginning to understand why people take their children to a professional photography studio. It takes more than one person to try to arrange squirmy little children and hold their attention for more than 2 seconds (if you're lucky). Even with a fast camera.

This is what usually ends up happening:

Notice the leaf eating child. Turns out two year old boys do not like to pose nicely for cameras. They just don't have time. Life is too full of fun. Margaret got so busy being a good big sister and trying to arrange Amelia for the photo shoot that she forgot to look at the camera.

Guess maybe we'll just settle for the action shots.

birthday bunting

2011-11-11T13:42:00.001-08:00

Recently we had a big birthday bash as a joint celebration for Margaret & William. In preparation I made this happy birthday bunting banner.

The weather was beautiful. Family fellowship and festivities were chaotic, happy and wonderful. By 6:30 p.m. the kids were exhausted. A giggling, got-too-man-fabulous-presents, ate-too-much-ice-cream, reeling and wandering around in a dreamlike trance, collapsing in bed and snoring within 1.45 seconds sort of exhausted. I think it was a success.

I just have to come to grips with the fact that I now have a 2 year old and a 4 year old in the house.

on reason

2011-11-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

A man may have prodigious learning, and yet never be saved. He may be master of half the languages spoken round the globe. He may be acquainted with the highest and deepest things in heaven and earth. He may have read books till he i like a walking cyclopaedia. He may be familiar with the stars of the heaven, the birds of the air, the beasts of the earth, and the fishes of the sea. He may be able, like Solomon, to "speak of trees, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on the wall, of beasts also, and fowls, and creeping things, and fishes" (1 Kings 4:33). He may be able to discourse of all the secrets of fire, air, earth, and water. And yet, if he dies ignorant of Bible truths, he dies a miserable man. Chemistry never silenced a guilty conscience. Mathematics never healed a broken heart... They may enable a man to strut and fret his little season here below with a more dignified gait than his fellow mortals, but they can never give him wings, and enable him to soar towards heaven.

- J.C. Ryle in "How Readest Thou?"

Reason and Religion
Dim, as the borrowed beams of moon and stars
To lonely, weary, wandering travellers
Is Reason to the soul: and as on high
Those rolling fires discover but the sky,
Not light us here, so Reason's glimmering ray

Was lent, not to assure our doubtful way,
But guide us upward to a better day.
And as those nightly tapers disappear
When day's bright lord ascends our hemisphere;
So pale grows Reason at Religion's sight;
So dies, and so dissolves in supernatural light.

-John Dryden (Religio Laici, l1. 1-11.)

"...But, as matter of fact, another part of my trade, too, made me sure you weren't a priest."
"What?" asked the thief, almost gaping.
"You attacked reason," said Father Brown. "It's bad theology."

-G.K. Chesterton (The Innocence of Father Brown)

fall food fetish

2011-11-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love fall recipes. There's nothing like pulling fence all day and then coming inside for some spicy chili. Or curry chicken and apples, or broccoli and cheddar soup in bread bowls (I'm trying those tomorrow). Spiciness, warmth, apples and pumpkins in everything... it just doesn't get much better than that.

Besides the expected pies, pumpkin cookies are probably my favorite fall dessert. And the ones shown below are one of my old stand-bys, and a popular item for me to bring to potlucks. Recently I have had several requests for the recipe so I figured I would share it on here for all who are interested. I originally discovered the recipe in a Methodist women cookbook (treasure trove). These cookies are so simple and moist and delicious....I highly recommend giving them a try.

Pumpkin Cookies

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl:
1 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1 C canned pumpkin
1 T. orange zest

Then add these:
2 C flour (whole wheat or all purpose)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C raisins or chocolate chips (or more...)

Bake 8-10 minutes at 350

Enjoy with some hot cider and pumpkin spice candles for full affect.

a b c

2011-11-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have been in crazy craft mode recently. Maybe it's the cool, crisp, fall weather and all of the upcoming holidays. Maybe it's because I actually have a sewing machine now. I don't know. I am blaming most of it on pinterest and the overload of ideas I have been exposed to over the past few weeks.

In other words, I have way too many projects going on at the same time. I mean, I haven't totally dropped my life. The kids are still happy and fed and clothed and bathed (fairly often). The dishes and laundry are still in order. I am even doing some school with Margaret every day. But every free moment that I have (read: nap times) it seems like I am frantically trying to finish up some project or, more often, starting a new fun one. I guess this is what happens when I finally decide I am done repainting our entire house (until we get drywall installed downstairs) ...

At any rate, you don't need to worry about being bombarded with a thousand posts displaying every one of my latest creations. But you may be subjected to a selected sampling over the next few weeks. I am going to take a wild guess and project that this phase will putter out about the same time I have to take all the Christmas decorations down. And maybe then I will catch up on all of the baby scrapbooks. I may or may not suffer from a touch of obsessive compulsiveness.

Long story short: here is one of my latest projects. I have jumped on the bandwagon (again) and made some framed alphabet art for the nursery. Scrap fabric letters hot glued on a fabric background and framed. Simple and fun to create. And it adds a nice touch of color above Amelia's crib.

margaret eileen-a ballerina

2011-10-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

My eldest daughter has entered the stage of leotards and ballet slippers. It is the epitome of little girlhood, and she is eating it up. It has been the turning point for her in learning independence. From being petrified to leave her parents' sides, to knowing how to put on a brave face and venturing across church to the toy room after lunch, or disappearing through big swinging doors to the dance hall. She has found that Mama was telling the truth when she said she might just have fun if she was brave enough and friendly enough to go play and dance with other children. Her love of twirly skirts and spinning to pretty music helped her make that first big leap of faith.

A couple weeks ago she had her first "parent observation" week during class time. She is in the class entitled creative movement. It was adorable. I was stifling laughter the entire time as the whole troop of girls were, very conspicuously, confusing their rights and lefts, timing, sense of balance and displaying very short attention spans. All the while taking it very seriously and having a blast.

Is there anything cuter than a line of little girls in tutus?

watchable wodehouse

2011-10-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

horse camping

2011-10-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

A story in pictures. Unfortunately I wasn't brave enough to take my camera on rocky trails with fiesty horses. The scenery was breathtaking, the weather beautiful. A fun trip all around.