A Journey in Homeschooling
BARBARA HEDGEWITCH
Yule 2003
It's been quite some time since I've written anything. We're having a wonderful Yule season this year. John just turned 16 and is eagerly awaiting the day when he can get his driver's license. This summer he spent hours in the lower pasture mowing roads amongst the chest high grass so that he could practice his driving skills with the car. I'm happy to say that he passed his Driver's Education class with flying colors. Now I have my own personal chauffeur everywhere I go. I have mixed emotions about this, as I love driving.
Raven is now 8 and has learned to sew. She has been having fun this autumn sewing pillows and made a special flannel pillowcase (with French seams) for her brother's birthday present. She and I have also been baking up a storm. It's been a challenge to me personally to allow her to use the oven (fear mode here), but thus far she has been very careful and hasn't gotten burnt.
We spent one recent afternoon making melt and pour chocolates. We used my Willendorf Goddess soap mold and made some beautiful big goddesses, among other things. Unfortunately, when I slammed the goddesses down on the counter to unmold them, I was a bit too enthusiastic and I broke their little heads off! We had fun eating the results. We'll be more careful next time.
I've been busy making raggedy quilts. These are the quilts where you make each individual square like a sandwich, with the fabric on the outside and the batting in the middle. I cut 7.5 inch squares out of unwashed flannel, and 5.75 inch squares of batting, sewed them from corner to corner to make a big quilted X, then sewed the squares together with all the seams facing the top of the quilt. Once assembled, I cut slits in the seams to help the seams fray. Onced washed and dried a couple of times, they make a wonderful raggedy quilt on one side, and a pretty patchwork on the other. I have been making these "throw" size and am using them as Yule gifts. I can make one in a day, with my only drawback being not having enough fabric to make as many as I wish I could.
I've been knitting up a storm this fall. So far I've made Raven two cardigan sweaters, which she loves. My mother taught me to knit when I was young, and I've taught Raven. She is working on a scarf and it's been fun watching her stitches improve as she goes. I am also knitting Greg a patterned sweater. It is forest green with a white pine tree pattern, with a lot of little white dots on the rest of it, with a little splash of red in the border. Unfortunately, I seriously underestimated the amount of time it would take to make this concentration-intense project, and it won't be done for Yule. I have the back finished and am about one third of the way done with the front. It will probably be a gift for next Yule, but the good thing is, it will be brand new when I enter it into the Fair next summer.
I can see the passage of time with my parents, who are in their 80's. My mother emailed me recently to say that she'd recently purchased some lovely yarn, but had forgotten how to cast on. My heart sank. It's hard to see our parents lose skills. I sent her some links to knitting sites, and she was able to use them to remember. She's now fully involved in a new project. Raven and I were fortunate enough to fly "home" in October where we celebrated the wedding of a nephew and my parents' 61st wedding anniversary.
Our Yule decorating took a different turn this year. We bought an artificial tree rather than cut one. Our trees down below are now getting too large to bring inside. I miss the scent of the live tree, but I am not missing the falling needles and little spiders who come in with the tree and stay on, uninvited, for months, making little webs everywhere. The artificial one doesn't have to be wired to the wall so it won't fall over, either.
John has taken over the job of putting up the outside lights. He's now the one who climbs the ladder and walks bravely on the roof. His sister goes out to help him as his "gofer". I stay in the house and make hot chocolate, preferring to stay busy so I don't fret about him taking a fall. I have a wonderful recipe for homemade hot cocoa mix:
- 10 cups of powdered milk
- 1.5 cups of powdered cocoa
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups miniature marshmallows
Mix them all together and store in a large container. To make hot cocoa, mix 1/2 cup of the mix into 8 ounces of hot water. You can leave out the marshmallows and top with whipped cream if you like. This is excellent mixed with coffee, too.
I hope that you enjoy a peaceful Yule, and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa with your loved ones.
