Winter welcomes us

with wide open arms.  Winter, in our garden, is a time of rest and preparation.  In our rest we prepare for the coming year!  I am already thinking about seed catalogs and ordering seeds.  We are doing some simple composting this year, even though I have yet to figure out a bin that will work for us.  We are doing something very simple, holes in the garden that will later be tilled under.  Please share your composting experiences and methods. 

This year I also have plans to developing some water conservation methods around our gutters.  I found one that appears very doable on Pintrest (see the link on the side--->) that I am hoping, Lord willing, we will be able to incorporate into our little victory garden.

Cookies 2010

Thanksgiving is over, Christmas cards are ordered and I am thinking about our year end holiday letter.  I am also thinking about our cookie list that we will make this year and have plans to start them in the next couple weeks.  This should be a fun project this year as Sarah will be able to learn more and more and I plan to use it for school projects as well. 

The sewing in commencing as I wrap up school as well.  We still haven't decorated.  I had a bug Friday and Saturday and have used today to rest, though with our wonderful Northwest weather, decorating outside today would have been a sad event with downpours.  When the weather is decent we have other plans and when we have something like that on the schedule, well it rains!  :-)  Despite the wetness of the Northwest, we love it and I feel very much at home.  Maybe it's the Scottish/English in me? 



This year we are trying to do a less commercialized Christmas season.  More homemade, local crafted, etc.  Though we have made a few purchases from box stores (if you can call Amazon a box store--since they are a Seattle based company I feel a bit better about it).  I do want to encourage everyone to check some of your local shops though.  Wal-mart can't rule the season.  Ok, off my soap box now.  :-)



Yankee Trader 2010



This month we are going to be learning about weather.  I think we will learn about snow flakes and snow and other winter type weather.  I found some snow kits at the dollar store and think I will buy one for each of the girls in our Homeschool Group and I think for December we will concentrate on learning a couple Christmas carols for Sarah to sing at our annual Yankee Trader Party (a family party that we have where we also celebrate our background as well--English and German celebration traditions--with our own twist.). 



I will be making a Christmas tree to replace our Thankful tree and each day I will let Sarah put a ball on it with a good deed she did for someone else that day.  I hope this will encourage her to think of doing good for others, the true spirit of the Season.  We do not believe Christ was actually born in December, but we do celebrate His birth during this time.  We also have adopted the Santa legend into our family, I know this might upset some, but for our family it works as we talk about Santa Claus and how he gave to those that had less.

On that note, what are your holiday season plans?

Happy Tending!

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