a gypsy caravan

Five Things You Hope Your Kids Don’t Tell Your 90 Year Old Grandmother Who Visits Approximately Every Three Years:

5. "Great Grandma, I am not going to grow up to be a lady, I am going to be a guinea pig."

4. "Great Grandma, I know that you are 90 but my mommy told me not to mention it."

3. "Great Grandma, Your skin is very wrinkly and loose like those funny baggy puppies."

2. "Great Grandma, Your chin is pruney!"

and last but surely not least...

(pointing at Grandma's blouse and lifting her own)

1. "Great Grandma, Do you have milk? 

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

A very Happy Birthday to the boy who made me a mother!  I love you more and more each day.  Your sweet smile, kind heart and bellowing laugh make me so happy.  Thank you for being such a dear son.   

Love,

Mom   

Hanging the Wash

Today is a great day for me to catch up on all that laundry that has been haunting me for the past few days.  Pre-baby #4, I was washing every day but have found myself scrambling to get it done these days.  The joke around here is that when the children start to wear Halloween costumes as clothing, it's time to do the laundry.  When Mary showed up to the table this morning wearing a pink poodle costume, I knew it was that time again. 

I love to hang out the clothes to dry on a clothesline.  I used to think it was old fashioned and time consuming to do it this way but the reality is that the clothes dry faster in the sun on the line than they do in my dryer, especially in this 95 degree heat.  My grandma used to hang all of her laundry on the line, outside in the summer, downstairs in the winter.  I have fond memories of living with her and helping her do her wash every Monday.  After she brought in the laundry from the line, she ironed it all.    I recall watching her iron underwear, sheets, undershirts of my father's.  The only things that I did not see her iron were towels and socks.  I iron only when necessary and never the sheets or underclothes! :)

 

Don't you just love the fresh clean scent of sheets hung on the line to dry?  When you fall into bed and lay your head on the pillowcase, the scent of sun, fresh air and sweet clover just make it impossible not to fall asleep with a smile on your face.   Ever spend a day in the sun, on a boat with the wind blowing through your hair, only to fall into bed and snooze like a baby, your lungs full of fresh air?  Sheets on the line have the same soporific effect, an instant ticket to a blissful night's sleep.

We have two retractable clothes lines on our property.  One is at a lower level for the littles to hang up their things.  This is a fun and satisfying activity for the children to do.   The children, from about the age of two, can take a clothespin from the bag that is hanging on the line and practice hanging their clothing to dry.  As they get older, they can be quite helpful by hanging the family's wash on the line without assistance.

Speaking of hanging the wash, I just have to share this picture, which is one of my favorite images of Our Lady.  I really like the paintings of her doing everyday things.   

The sweet little Christ child sitting on the ground always makes me smile. 

100th Post

This is my 100th post on A Gypsy Caravan.  Perhaps I should bake a little cake, sing some songs and pass around the Guinness! Maybe a Chianti? 

Many thanks to those of you who visit my blog regularly.  I am so glad you keep coming back!  I may not understand why you do but I am ever so grateful nonetheless! 

You may have noticed that I have gone back to a simpler template.  I had grown tired of the Van Gogh print (although I do love Van Gogh, ear or no ear!) so I began playing around with a new banner image but found myself wasting a whole lot of sleep time without much success.  I hope to get another banner image up soon but for now, enjoy the simplicity!   

In light of this monumentous occasion, I am posting a photo of my children that was taken yesterday on our nature hike.  I thought you might like a fresh peek at my little gypsies. 

Madonna of the Chair

My dear mother, knowing my love for Montessori education and philosophy, brought me this gift the other day.   I have wanted one for years.  I am just delighted to have it hanging in our learning room.  Maria Montessori had a painting of Madonna of the Chair in each of her Children's Houses.

"The littles ones may not be able to understand the symbolic meaning of the Madonna of the Chair, but they would see in it something greater than the other pictures which show fathers, mothers, grandparents and babies.  They would enfold it in their hearts with religious feelings."--Maria Montessori

Raphael's painting actually contains the person of St. John the Baptist, who in my rendition has been cut out.  To view the entire painting as well as a history of Raphael, click here. I love how the people in Raphael's paintings are not thin and whispy but rather chubby and healthy looking.  Baby Jesus' legs look a bit like my Annie's!  Couldn't you just give them a squeeze?

My Herb Garden

I love to have herbs growing in the yard.  It is much less expensive than buying them at the grocery store and it's also nice to have the quick access when cooking.  Here is a photo of my herb garden, which is doing well this season, with the exception of the lavender (center) that got far too much rain.

Growing are chives, peppermint, spearmint, sweet basil, cilantro, sage, rosemary, lemon balm, chamomile, and parsley.  Do you keep fresh herbs on hand for cooking?  If so, do you grown them in pots or inground? 

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down…

We have had such heavy rains this Spring and Summer. As of yet, I have not had to water my flower beds at all!  They have remained wet and often are boggy.  My Annabelle hydrangeas have reached to the heavens this year, doubling and in one case, tripling, their usual height. Many of the flower heads are as large as a soccer ball, instead of the usual softball-sized blossoms.

The astilbe is flourishing due to the wet conditions.

And the children have been quite creative in their play, adapting our backyard into a water fun park.

Who needs a pool when we've got our own pond? :)   

Happy Independence Day!

"The Flag Goes By"

by Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
Hats off! The colors before us fly
But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the State:
Weary marches and sinking ships;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace;
March of a strong land's swift increase;
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverend awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong
To ward her people from foreign wrong:
Pride and glory and honor, --all
Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off! Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
And loyal hearts are beating high:
Hats off! The flag is passing by!