Just in time for summer: Barefoot (Books)

I have reviewed some of the unique offerings from Barefoot Books before, but my, has it been that long?

The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales, by Dawn Casey and Anne Wilson, features illustrations created from collaged papers with brilliant acrylic backgrounds in earthy browns, vibrant chartreuse, and sky blues. The book retells seven folktales from around the globe: from the American Southwest to Bali. Accompanying each tale is background information on the country of origin and an activity to try (some are more involved than others - one requires living willow rods, while another just requires cornhusks, string and scissors). Read "The Sun Mother", a Dream story from the indigenous peoples of Australia, and then try your hand at creating a song-line drawing in the style of the Aboriginal people.

Along with A Forest of Stories, this book celebrates the essence of oral tradition as culture after culture handed stories down around the fire or under a dome of sky. A sources and acknowledgements page encourages further reading.

I would be happy to share this book, sent to me by Barefoot Books, with one lucky winner selected randomly. Simply leave a comment on this post by midnight, U.S. East Coast time, Monday, March 9th, 2009. And yes, I will ship internationally.

Perky

Mary Beth over at Salt and Chocolate wrote a little ode to her now defunct stove top espresso maker - which reminded me of my own stove top percolator I received for Christmas from Green Husband (run on sentence).

Not only does my coffee seem to stay hotter longer (than when I used my drip coffee maker), but I just realized that it's a little bit greener than my drip: no need for coffee filters! Which is very helpful at 5 in the morning when you realize you've run out. Now running out of milk is another story.

Garden Themes and Summer Dreams

Well, dear friends, thank you so much for all of your fabulous suggestions on what to plant in my little garden patch. Since I so nicely "volunteered" my fellow "volunteers", I decided I had better come up with a theme and quick. So here it is: A Garden of Gourds (Catchy. Not so much).

I got my inspiration from several places, linking both literacy and art. Know any other children's books that feature gourds as a story element? And by the way...now that I've chosen my garden theme...um...HELP!!! Anyone adept at growing gourds?

While we are on the subject of seeds, I wanted to share a project that I almost overlooked. SusieJ has a smart little badge that reminds us of the importance of sharing any bumper crops that might come our way (I know anything "bumper" other than snow is hard to imagine at this time of year!). And she is even offering a little contest to win your own very cool packet of Burpee's Money Garden seeds (I mean, aren't the graphics on the seed package adorable!). And while I'm over at Burpee...I mean, how fun is this!?

And by the way...remember my little post about "Garbage Can Gardening"? Voila! :) These are my peppers seeds, rescued straight from the trash can:

Will Try Harder

The family has been home since Tuesday, DTI (Due To Illness) and the house is rather a mess. I have not been the stellar mom that I strive to be, frantically trying to Catch Up, much to Sprout and Pip's chagrin. I may have been giving a second chance, as Major [downgraded: semi-Major] snowstorm has hit our region (hey, it is March 1st after all), and school is canceled for my wee ones. If I have off too, I Will Try Harder. I was reminded of this poem, Song for a Fifth Child from Ladies Home Journal, 1958:

Song for a Fifth Child.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

The (Garden) Plot Thickens

Wow. Have you ever read over your blog's past entries? Maybe you have kept up with your blog like a good little do-bee, but then again perhaps you have even turned into a little slacker like me.

Like, I used to post pictures of myself as a toddler? Who knew?

Or post 21 entries over the course of ONE month!?

Dream Memes of me?

I have really let my blog go to...well, why am I in this handbasket and where am I going?

The GREAT news is - there was an extra garden plot in my school's courtyard and I snagged that baby for myself and three of my unsuspecting colleagues. Heh, heh. An entire plot! For me! And three of my closest co-workers! Without the aid of Green Husband! To plant! To tend! To weed! What the heck have I done! Hopefully my old standby, KidsGardening, will help get me through. I need a garden theme, dear readers, that should include literacy and art.