a rambling patchwork...

My, how the days go by. Life is full. Full of people, and the work that goes along with them...
caring and cooking
listening and laundry
driving and dishes
schooling and scrubbing
visiting and vacuuming
comfort and cleaning
laughter and learning

Well. You get the picture. :-) Blog posts rarely find a place to land, sprout, and grow. Not so sad a thing in and of itself, perhaps, just a sign that the contemplative writer's life of my imagination is not my portion in this season.

These days are precious, though, and I hope to get here from time to time in order to record pieces of them--if only for my own future remembering.

Winter hasn't entirely loosened it's grip on our small patch of prairie. But there was sunshine yesterday and bean field puddles reflected sunset pink by evening. Fog blurred the trees around the little house today and water dripped. We heard a screech owl call in the misty dusk just a few moments ago. These are subtle softenings that renew anticipation of a not-yet-here spring.

March birthdays brighten next week's calendar. So we'll celebrate people and thank God. One year for little Greta and seventeen for our Will. Two very happy reasons to light candles and sing a song around this old table.

March also brings the Iditarod---an annual favorite around here. We learn the names of sled dogs and mushers, follow the race via internet, and generally revel in the northern glory of it all.

We've begun the 'priming' process by watching Braving Alaska and reading Morey's Scrub Dog of Alaska at the dinner table. Miss A. sent Ben Stone Fox in audiobook form, so that fit in nicely, as well. thanks, Miss A.

There are those unit study aficionados who'll see a theme developing here. Well, I'm not sure this qualifies as a bona fide 'unit'. My aim in ordering used copies of pertinent books and videos to share as a family, was, well, to share as a family. There are no vocabulary lists or mathematical calculations related to our little thematic excursion. We just enjoy the dogs and the drama. The sheer athleticism and dedication of the mushers. The whole notion of toughing it out in the northern wilderness.

Then there's Jeff. Husband and Papa, all-around outdoorsman, keen life-long learner, and modern rennaissance man. He's a veritable font of tundra tidbits and northern know-how--as well as being just plain enthusiatic about life in general. He'll be the one making maps of the dog-sled race course and hanging it on the fridge. Do you see why this home-based, free-range learning life is just not so hard on the teacher?

Teacher just adds some good stories about wolf-dogs and courageous boys. The outcome? Good conversation, imaginative play, and lots of we-are-us memories. And one more sort of school-ish benefit: interested, curious, self-motivated learners. It translates. Really.

As vice-president in charge of home atmosphere and culture, I quietly but deliberately choose 'ingredients' [Books, mostly, some music, films, art, websites] as seasons and themes change. The result is less like a blue ribbon no-fail formula, and more like a no-other-quite-like-it soup that requires tasting and tweaking as it simmers on the back of the stove.

Speaking of which, I believe it's time I left the metaphor and went to the stove. Peace to each of you who have stopped through to read here. Until the next ramble,

Melissa