The Nutcracker written (or rather, adapted) and illustrated by Susan Jeffers:
It's early December, and this year in the Bach household that means one thing: the countdown has begun. No, not that countdown. The countdown to The Nutcracker - we're going to see the ballet this weekend! I am soooo excited!
I thought it would be nice to get the Bachsters a book about the Nutcracker so that they can read the story and understand what it's all about before we get to the performance. There are many picture books out there on the Nutcracker, all based on a lengthy fairy tale called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, published in 1816, on which the ballet is based (the ballet premiered in 1892). But I am particularly fond of this one by Susan Jeffers because it tells the story in such an understandable kind of way. There is a nice author's note at the back of the book, in which Jeffers explains that she decided to create the book because she wanted to present a simpler retelling for picture-book-age children, and she also wanted to incorporate ballet into the images. Jeffers has accomplished both of these goals with aplomb.
For those who are not familiar with the story, it is about a little girl named Marie (often called Clara, although I'm not sure why her name was changed from the original at one point in time) who is enjoying a holiday party with her family and their guests. Her godfather, Herr Drosselmeier (who is a bit magical) gives Marie a special gift at the party: a nutcracker. Her little brother, Fritz, grabs the nutcracker and breaks him. Marie wraps him up and falls asleep under the Christmas tree later that evening. She wakes up in the middle of the night, and the tree has grown to an enormous size (or perhaps she is now tiny). Before she knows it, she is surrounded by a bunch of mice and their king (who has 7 heads!). And her nutcracker has come to life and is fighting all the mice!
The nutcracker, Fritz's toy soldiers and Marie win the battle with the mice. Nutcracker turns into a Prince and escorts Marie to the land of the sweets, where they enjoy the dances of all the inhabitants (like Coffee, Mother Ginger & her polichinelles and the Sugar Plum Fairy). One day, Marie will find herself Queen of this wonderful land.
I absolutely love The Nutcracker, & have ever since I was a child. I love ballet (and love sweets!) and adore the music. In fact, I listen to my Nutcracker CDs (composed by Tchaikovsky) throughout the year. I think the music is my favorite part of the Nutcracker experience - if you've never listened to the entire composition, please treat yourself & sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy some of the finest classical music created!
Whether you are planning to see The Nutcracker this month or not, The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers is a wonderful retelling of the story that will turn anyone into a Nutcracker enthusiast!
-Cheryl
Monday, December 5, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Hey, Santa!
Every year, our local library hosts a day with Santa Claus, with live music, crafts for the kids and a chance to visit with Santa. It's always a lot of fun - I'm so grateful for our library for having such a great event!
For the past few days, the Bachsters have been revising and finalizing their Christmas lists to give to Santa. And bright and early this morning, the 6-year old woke up to decide which fancy dress would be best for the occasion, and to get her new fancy dress shoes all ready. Yes, there has been a great deal of excitement over meeting Santa today!
When we pulled up to the library's parking lot, Santa was right behind us - being escorted in a police car (but in a good way). As Santa walked up to the building, our oldest DD ran up to him and gave him a big hug - it was so sweet! Followed right behind her were the other two - yes, they really love Santa!
And of course, they sat on Santa's lap, and gave him their lists and drawings they had made for him:
(I know, the flash, the flash! But I didn't want to miss the shot & the indoor lighting there is not the best)
After we visited with Santa, we headed over to the kids area of the library to do some crafts and games:
Our oldest said today that for Christmas, she would like Christmas to actually come a little earlier than the 25th - she said she just can't wait that long!
Are you doing any fun holiday activities this weekend?
-Cheryl
For the past few days, the Bachsters have been revising and finalizing their Christmas lists to give to Santa. And bright and early this morning, the 6-year old woke up to decide which fancy dress would be best for the occasion, and to get her new fancy dress shoes all ready. Yes, there has been a great deal of excitement over meeting Santa today!
When we pulled up to the library's parking lot, Santa was right behind us - being escorted in a police car (but in a good way). As Santa walked up to the building, our oldest DD ran up to him and gave him a big hug - it was so sweet! Followed right behind her were the other two - yes, they really love Santa!
And of course, they sat on Santa's lap, and gave him their lists and drawings they had made for him:
(I know, the flash, the flash! But I didn't want to miss the shot & the indoor lighting there is not the best)
After we visited with Santa, we headed over to the kids area of the library to do some crafts and games:
Our oldest said today that for Christmas, she would like Christmas to actually come a little earlier than the 25th - she said she just can't wait that long!
Are you doing any fun holiday activities this weekend?
-Cheryl
Thursday, December 1, 2011
August 2012
I received a very surprising, wonderful phone call last week: a photo that I had submitted to a calendar contest for our local power company got accepted! I'm pleased to let you know that my picture of a tree trunk with moss and ferns all over it (taken at the Rock House in Hocking Hills) is the shot for August:
There are a lot of really nice shots in the calendar - I especially like the winter pictures that were chosen for those months. So, if you don't have your 2012 calendar yet, you might enjoy one of these! You can contact Ohio's Rural Electric Cooperatives at 614-846-5757 for more information.
The shot from Rock House was from our family vacation to Hocking Hills in 2010. I'm so glad I brought my camera with me (seriously, would I have even considered leaving it at home!?) because some of my favorite shots ever were taken on that trip. I think it might be about time to re-visit Hocking Hills - it's my photography-muse!
-Cheryl
There are a lot of really nice shots in the calendar - I especially like the winter pictures that were chosen for those months. So, if you don't have your 2012 calendar yet, you might enjoy one of these! You can contact Ohio's Rural Electric Cooperatives at 614-846-5757 for more information.
The shot from Rock House was from our family vacation to Hocking Hills in 2010. I'm so glad I brought my camera with me (seriously, would I have even considered leaving it at home!?) because some of my favorite shots ever were taken on that trip. I think it might be about time to re-visit Hocking Hills - it's my photography-muse!
-Cheryl
Monday, November 28, 2011
Book Nook - Handmade Holiday Crafts
Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Inspired Projects for Year-Round Celebrations:
Last week, a crafty book was featured here on my blog, so I thought I'd continue with that theme and share another holiday crafts book that I've been enjoying lately. Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts is a huge book, filled with lots of great ideas. There are crafts for holidays throughout the year, including New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah & Christmas. Each chapter/holiday has a neat title page done in some sort of creative, crafty way (for example, Mother's Day is spelled out by writing the name of the holiday in a pile of buttons - then, there are a couple of projects that use buttons, so the title page sort of "matches").
I think my favorite chapter in the book is the Easter chapter. There are so many inspired crafts! Maybe it's because I haven't seen a lot of the Easter projects yet, or maybe because Easter decorating and activities are pretty bare-bones around here, or maybe because I'm already dreaming of Spring, I just saw so many projects to do! I definitely want to try the all-natural egg dyes (using ingredients such as cranberries, coffee & tumeric); I love all the egg-decorating ideas, but especially loved the botanical decorated eggs. Such a neat idea & looks pretty easy to execute! The envelope bunny treat bags are adorable. And the projects with fresh Spring flowers have me wanting to skip over Winter all together.
But the same accolades can be given to each and every chapter in this book. This is why I love Martha Stewart's books and magazines so much: new, fresh ideas that are sure to inspire you, in addition to excellent photography and clear instructions. (On a side note, add all of the recipes that Martha has given me over the years, and well, I'm one of her biggest fans)! I can't help but look at all these neat, crafty projects and want to get started on one of them, and eventually do them all!
On Thanksgiving, our 6-year-old was setting the table and she asked about the napkins. I asked her to get this book so that we could see some different ways of folding napkins. Then, we kept the book on the coffee table throughout the day, and lots of our guests were perusing through it. Even if you're not a "crafty" person, I think anyone would appreciate the many great projects in this book.
All that being said, I will let you in on a little tip: you can find many of these projects on Martha's website - for free. And many of them (if not all of them) have been featured in her magazine. So, you can get the ideas without investing in the book. But, it is very convenient to have many of these ideas right there, in a handy book form. The website also has tons and tons of Martha's awesome recipes. It's the first place I go if I need a recipe for a dish I'm making, or if I need a crafty idea for a holiday or a party. And now that I have her book, Handmade Holiday Crafts, that will also be one of the first places I turn to for inspired holiday crafts ideas.
Thank you, Martha!
-Cheryl
Last week, a crafty book was featured here on my blog, so I thought I'd continue with that theme and share another holiday crafts book that I've been enjoying lately. Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts is a huge book, filled with lots of great ideas. There are crafts for holidays throughout the year, including New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah & Christmas. Each chapter/holiday has a neat title page done in some sort of creative, crafty way (for example, Mother's Day is spelled out by writing the name of the holiday in a pile of buttons - then, there are a couple of projects that use buttons, so the title page sort of "matches").
I think my favorite chapter in the book is the Easter chapter. There are so many inspired crafts! Maybe it's because I haven't seen a lot of the Easter projects yet, or maybe because Easter decorating and activities are pretty bare-bones around here, or maybe because I'm already dreaming of Spring, I just saw so many projects to do! I definitely want to try the all-natural egg dyes (using ingredients such as cranberries, coffee & tumeric); I love all the egg-decorating ideas, but especially loved the botanical decorated eggs. Such a neat idea & looks pretty easy to execute! The envelope bunny treat bags are adorable. And the projects with fresh Spring flowers have me wanting to skip over Winter all together.
But the same accolades can be given to each and every chapter in this book. This is why I love Martha Stewart's books and magazines so much: new, fresh ideas that are sure to inspire you, in addition to excellent photography and clear instructions. (On a side note, add all of the recipes that Martha has given me over the years, and well, I'm one of her biggest fans)! I can't help but look at all these neat, crafty projects and want to get started on one of them, and eventually do them all!
On Thanksgiving, our 6-year-old was setting the table and she asked about the napkins. I asked her to get this book so that we could see some different ways of folding napkins. Then, we kept the book on the coffee table throughout the day, and lots of our guests were perusing through it. Even if you're not a "crafty" person, I think anyone would appreciate the many great projects in this book.
All that being said, I will let you in on a little tip: you can find many of these projects on Martha's website - for free. And many of them (if not all of them) have been featured in her magazine. So, you can get the ideas without investing in the book. But, it is very convenient to have many of these ideas right there, in a handy book form. The website also has tons and tons of Martha's awesome recipes. It's the first place I go if I need a recipe for a dish I'm making, or if I need a crafty idea for a holiday or a party. And now that I have her book, Handmade Holiday Crafts, that will also be one of the first places I turn to for inspired holiday crafts ideas.
Thank you, Martha!
-Cheryl
Friday, November 25, 2011
{Vegetarian} Thanksgiving
I have really come to appreciate Thanksgiving over the years. As a child, it seemed sort of boring, nothing more than a dinner. No presents, no special songs, no real decorating. But now that I'm an adult, I really love the simplicity of the holiday. Maybe it could use a special carol, but I would add nothing more. Getting together with family and loved ones just to have a simple meal and give thanks.....it's just perfect as is.
We had DH's family over at our house this year, but it ended up being a smaller group than expected. But it was a lovely day, and after the meal we all just ended up sitting around, chatting for hours. It was so nice!
This was my 2nd Thanksgiving as a vegetarian and I must admit that Thanksgiving Day is the only day of the year where I re-think eating veggie and consider getting a big 'ol plate of turkey. My DH is a wonderful chef (no really, that's what he does for a living) so he is always in charge of the turkey when we host the holiday. And it smelled wonderful! However, I didn't budge, and still enjoyed a fantastic, vegetarian meal. I think the key is to have lots of delicious veggie options - and we did! I made a tasty walnut-herb stuffing that everyone seemed to love - it got a lot of compliments. The recipe is from Martha Stewart (I modified the recipe & used vegetable stock instead of chicken). I usually skip stuffing altogether, but this year I had a second helping of it! We also made mashed potatoes (DH made them and they turned out way better than mine ever do) & cranberry sauce. Our family brought Brussels sprouts, green beans and onions and sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Everything was so delicious!
Our 6-year-old was especially helpful, setting the table and doing little tasks for us to help get ready. As her reward, she got to eat her meal on one of the "fancy" plates:
Little Dude found a quiet moment to sit by the fire and look through a book:
Here's a shot of the best pumpkin cheesecake ever. I think it's going to be my Thanksgiving staple from now on - wherever I go, it goes. The recipe is from The New Best Recipe and it is soooo good. In fact, I had a piece for breakfast this morning (blush).
Isn't that one of the best things about having Thanksgiving at your own house......the leftovers!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!
-Cheryl
We had DH's family over at our house this year, but it ended up being a smaller group than expected. But it was a lovely day, and after the meal we all just ended up sitting around, chatting for hours. It was so nice!
This was my 2nd Thanksgiving as a vegetarian and I must admit that Thanksgiving Day is the only day of the year where I re-think eating veggie and consider getting a big 'ol plate of turkey. My DH is a wonderful chef (no really, that's what he does for a living) so he is always in charge of the turkey when we host the holiday. And it smelled wonderful! However, I didn't budge, and still enjoyed a fantastic, vegetarian meal. I think the key is to have lots of delicious veggie options - and we did! I made a tasty walnut-herb stuffing that everyone seemed to love - it got a lot of compliments. The recipe is from Martha Stewart (I modified the recipe & used vegetable stock instead of chicken). I usually skip stuffing altogether, but this year I had a second helping of it! We also made mashed potatoes (DH made them and they turned out way better than mine ever do) & cranberry sauce. Our family brought Brussels sprouts, green beans and onions and sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Everything was so delicious!
Our 6-year-old was especially helpful, setting the table and doing little tasks for us to help get ready. As her reward, she got to eat her meal on one of the "fancy" plates:
Little Dude found a quiet moment to sit by the fire and look through a book:
Here's a shot of the best pumpkin cheesecake ever. I think it's going to be my Thanksgiving staple from now on - wherever I go, it goes. The recipe is from The New Best Recipe and it is soooo good. In fact, I had a piece for breakfast this morning (blush).
Isn't that one of the best things about having Thanksgiving at your own house......the leftovers!
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!
-Cheryl
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Preparing
The menu has been set by tradition. Old recipes have been brought out, new recipes have been printed out. The headcount is set (we think!)......
Fine china has been pulled out of the cabinet and washed.........
Ingredients have been sitting patiently until they get to room temperature........
We're having 18 people over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. It's exciting and also a little bit.......yikes!
I hope you & your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
-Cheryl
Fine china has been pulled out of the cabinet and washed.........
Ingredients have been sitting patiently until they get to room temperature........
We're having 18 people over to our house for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. It's exciting and also a little bit.......yikes!
I hope you & your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
-Cheryl
Monday, November 21, 2011
Book Nook - Holiday Crafting & Baking with Kids
Holiday Crafting & Baking with Kids written by Jessica Strand:
Unbelievably, the end-of-the-year holidays are upon us. Every year, I try to do some fun activities with the Bachsters to celebrate the holidays and keep them busy while they have a break from school. This book is packed full of great crafts for kids - decorations, gifts and fun stuff to do.
The projects start with Thanksgiving and include things like making a leaf wreath, decorating a cornucopia and making place cards for the Thanksgiving table. Other holidays included in the book are Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day and New Year's. There are also a couple of snow-themed projects just for Winter. So there's something for everyone here!
I think the Bachsters would love to try the magic ice on page 49. Here, you submerge a snowflake-shaped pipe cleaner ornament into a jar of water and borax. Overnight, crystals form and make a really cool snowflake. I also really want to try "wrap it up" on page 61, in which you take plain paper and paint holiday-themed shapes on it to create your own wrapping paper. I think the soft felt ornaments on page 73 would be lots of fun, and would make great gifts to the grandparents from the Bachsters. Of course, I'll need to check with them to see which projects they would like to do (I'm guessing the ones with the sweet treats)!
One thing I really liked about this book is that all of the projects are very kid-do-able. And all of the photographs show projects that look like a kid actually did them. They're not perfect, but as anyone who has done crafty projects with kids knows, perfection is not the goal. It's all about having fun! Let the crafting begin!
-Cheryl
Unbelievably, the end-of-the-year holidays are upon us. Every year, I try to do some fun activities with the Bachsters to celebrate the holidays and keep them busy while they have a break from school. This book is packed full of great crafts for kids - decorations, gifts and fun stuff to do.
The projects start with Thanksgiving and include things like making a leaf wreath, decorating a cornucopia and making place cards for the Thanksgiving table. Other holidays included in the book are Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Boxing Day and New Year's. There are also a couple of snow-themed projects just for Winter. So there's something for everyone here!
I think the Bachsters would love to try the magic ice on page 49. Here, you submerge a snowflake-shaped pipe cleaner ornament into a jar of water and borax. Overnight, crystals form and make a really cool snowflake. I also really want to try "wrap it up" on page 61, in which you take plain paper and paint holiday-themed shapes on it to create your own wrapping paper. I think the soft felt ornaments on page 73 would be lots of fun, and would make great gifts to the grandparents from the Bachsters. Of course, I'll need to check with them to see which projects they would like to do (I'm guessing the ones with the sweet treats)!
One thing I really liked about this book is that all of the projects are very kid-do-able. And all of the photographs show projects that look like a kid actually did them. They're not perfect, but as anyone who has done crafty projects with kids knows, perfection is not the goal. It's all about having fun! Let the crafting begin!
-Cheryl
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