In the first post of this series, I explained my family's desire to celebrate the natural world as well as how to celebrate this season in a way that resonates with our values. You can read how we tailored the idea of celebrating Advent in relationship to the Winter Solstice in that post as well. In addition to marking each of the four Sundays before the Solstice with a small candle ritual, we also count down the days to Solstice with a special advent calendar. This year there happens to be 24 days from the first day of Advent to... Continue reading

Almost one year ago, I left this space behind (in the middle of my Celebrating Solstice posts no less) to attend to the news that we were expecting our second child. I have learned that as a pregnant mama, I am not much of a multi-tasker and the everyday duties of life were all I could handle at that time. And now here it is almost exactly one year later (with our 2.5 year old and our 3 month old!) and I am ready to resume the chronicling of our days and of my observations of such in this online... Continue reading

When my husband and I met (over 10 years ago now), we both expressed our desire to create our own traditions and rituals to celebrate living in rhythm with the Earth's seasons. Traditionally these festivals are celebrated by Pagans and other Earth-based spiritualists. I can't say that I belong to any such formal religious group, yet I see value and wisdom in them all--from Christianity to Buddhism to Paganism. Instead, I choose to remain unaffiliated but create holiday traditions that fit with our family's unique blend of beliefs. In the next few posts, I'll share with you some of the... Continue reading

Visiting Dear Friends in SF Knitting, Lots of Knitting Turn-A-Square Hat Snowboarder's Hat Ribs & Ruffles Scarves Cooking & Baking Yummy Apple Pie Decadent Pumpkin PieEasy & Delicious Green Beans My Red Lentil Soup (recipe to come) Eating and Sipping Theo's Fig Fennel & Almond ChocolateLost River Merlot Watching Dress to Kill (for free!) Yes, I've read them all! Just got started with this And of course, my current favorite Listening Christians & Pagans The Elf Soundtrack Wishing for this coffee maker for these bootsfor these earrings for this this yummy yarn Learning how to psso how to make beeswax... Continue reading

Aidan and Daddy discovering rocks by the lake - September 2009 I'm reading Barbara Sher's newest book, Refuse to Choose: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything That You Love. And I have to say, despite the sort-of-cheesy title: it's awesome. Long ago, I read her book I Could Do Anything If Only Knew What it Was and discovered that I am a Scanner. Boy, did this ever explain a lot. But it apparently wasn't enough of an "Aha! Moment" to really change me. I mean, I really identified with the description of a Scanner and knew that was me, but... Continue reading

Continue reading

our weekly bike ride to the farmer's market via our beloved city bike trail Each year thousands of bloggers write about a single topic to encourage discussions on social and environmental issues. In the spirit of raising awareness about global warming, I'm participating in Blog Action Day today. I'm more of the mindset that inspiring and encouraging people to make small lifestyle changes is more effective than coming from a place of fear-based evangelism--especially when it comes to environmental issues. Nothing turns me off more than a seemingly self-righteous person preaching the gospel of global warming. And at the same... Continue reading

Along with Honeycrisp Apples and Bartlett Pears, this year we added a few Asian Pears in the mix for our first batch of homemade apple pear sauce. I just adore my Pampered Chef apple peeler/corer/slicer. It's super fast and fun to use. Plus, aren't these peelings so pretty? My littlest taste-tester had four bowls of warm apple pear sauce this afternoon. Guess we've found a winner. Continue reading

Making Chicken Soup October 2009 Well, well, well. It's been a while since I've come to write in this space, hasn't it? In the last month so much has transpired I've found myself feeling stretched to the limits and unable to come here to share my thoughts with you. Although this blog is so young, I've already felt an inner tugging to clarify (even more) what it is I'm doing here. And for the last month or so, I've been marinating in these thoughts. But it dawned on me today. I was reading Ali Edward's latest post and I felt... Continue reading

It was my intention to post at least three blog articles each week when I started this blog. And even before I began, I researched the best way to launch a blog and spent hours writing down ideas about how to structure free Spirited mama. Most of the successful pro bloggers out there say to have at least 20-30 blog articles built up before launching, to get the best blog design possible, and to offer free downloadable PDF's or e-books for readers. I had big plans. It's not that I won't continue to move in this direction. No. It's just... Continue reading