September 5, 2008
September 4, 2008
September 3, 2008
September 2, 2008
Summer Camping in Maine
- The shore near our campsite
- The only way to keep five kids quiet at a campsite -- read to them
- Attentive listeners
- Violette & Sabine (aka Isabella & Gus)
- Happy Baby James
- Look at that hair!
- Django and Mika
- Django's first album cover
- Happy Ben
- Smiling Hill Farm Milk -- Sabine likes the blueberry milk best!
August 24, 2008
Boy and Girl Day

We have a new holiday. Though Japan may have a Boy’s Day (May 5) and a Girl’s Day (March 3) and former East Germany has Kindertag (June 1), only Massachusetts has “Boy and Girl Day” (August 21).
Boy and Girl Day was originated by Sabine and Violette Smith and is celebrated on the third Thursday of August.
Here are some photos from the celebration in Groveland.
August 20, 2008
Brooksby Farm Peaches with Finny
Just like last year, we enjoyed the peaches right off the tree at Brooksby Farm in Peabody, MA.
August 19, 2008
Recent Reads
Harvest: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm by Nicola Smith
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Contrary to what other reviewers said, this made me think, “Why would anyone do it?” The photos are beautiful and the writing is excellent — you are a fly on the wall and get to witness the good, the bad & the ugly (fights between the couple). It definitely made me appreciate the farmers at our farmers market a lot more.
School As a Journey: The Eight-Year Odyssey of a Waldorf Teacher and His Class by Torin M. Finser
rating: 4 of 5 stars
With Leo about to start at a Waldorf Kindergarten, I thought this might be a good way to learn about Waldorf schools. It was interesting to read and gave a teacher’s perspective about what having a class for eight years was like.
Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work by Gary Lachman
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very readable and I definitely learned about Steiner and his times. I’ll never be a convert to Anthroposophy, but I have a new understanding of his very interesting life.
August 18, 2008
DIY Skee-Ball on the Beach
We saw someone doing this game a few years ago here in Swampscott. A perfect beach game if the beach is sloped and you have a few minutes to build it. The original set-up we saw had multiple holes worth varying points, but the kids just liked the one hole. We used croquet balls and dug a gutter all the way around to catch the balls.




















































