Day 6  :: A week of pajamas continues.  :) Today is windy with a forecast high of 71°F. This might just be the perfect day to venture out to the cider mill for some hot apple cider + then to do a little thrifting. Then again, it's the weekend...during Covid times...so we might just avoid people + stay at home...again. Anyway, a girl can dream.  :)

Also...a few things I've enjoyed lately:
​Clothing as a tool of service.
Just in case there is any doubt.
What's at stake.
​Food for thought.
Just to live + enjoy simply...life.

Have a lovely, safe weekend, friends!

This post is part of this series.

Love,
Jane

Before we moved to London, my exposure to Indian food was pretty much limited to the samosas we savored each time we were lucky enough to come across a Whole Foods in our travels. Once I had the chance to eat a little bit more Indian food, it pulled me right in. The flavor combinations are amazing + different from any other. Especially as the temperatures cool, I could eat Indian food every day. Meera Sodha's Fresh India is a fantastic guide!

Love,
​Jane

I recently finished + enjoyed Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom. (Her last book, Homegoing, was my favorite book I read that year.) I finally got my turn with How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi + am looking forward to being inspired by Meera Sodha's Fresh India this weekend. (I love the library!)

Mourning the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg + all that it means for our precarious future.
Poverty has its freedoms; opulence has its obstacles.
Kombucha leather + mushroom bricks.
The equivalent of seven billion fleece jackets being flushed into our waterways.
But I have to wonder how much equestrian flooring + how many standing desk pads we need.
Both science + metaphor.

My thoughts are with all of you dealing with the weight of fires, floods + this pandemic. I hope this weekend finds you safe + able to breathe some fresh air.

Loads of love,
​Jane

-You don't need new desks or a school room. We tried desks, but the girls ended up at the coffee table or kitchen table. The schoolroom was our shortest lived experiment. I needed to be moving about my day + liked having them out in the open where they were accountable at least in the morning + early afternoon. 

-Do (+ finish) the hardest subjects first. For us, that was always math. ​

​-Every subject doesn't have to happen every day. We did math every day, but science + history on alternating days for longer time periods. This way they can get more deeply into a subject, rather than breaking away just as the learning kicks in.

-Take advantage of one-on-one learning. It can be so much more effective than classroom learning. No tangents. No waiting for everyone to sit down or quiet down or catch up. No shyness about asking the questions that are meaningful to them (encourage that). ​

-Recess isn't the only reason to get outside. Now science can involve using a nature journal...noticing which birds come + go when...studying the different types of trees in your neighborhood...planting a garden. 

-My intention is not to try to influence anyone away from being tethered to the school's resources, but I will say that homeschool resources are designed for at home learning. Science experiments often use the kitchen as the laboratory. In middle school + high school, the textbooks are designed for student led learning. Kits of microscope slides + chemistry experiments are available. Math books are designed for us, as parents, to track alongside our children...no prep time is needed...we just read through the lesson with our child, work through practice problems with them + then know the methods that are being utilized in the day's lesson. Each assignment (in the curriculum we chose) has problems from previous lessons in order to facilitate knowledge retention + the lesson number is listed beside each problem for easy referral (by student + parent).

-I personally feel that choosing homeschooling for a year will not disrupt your child's tracking with the neighborhood school's system...especially during this year of global educational upheaval. Our girls were able to go in + out of school (even in a different country), because we chose rigorous homeschool curricula. ​

​-At home learning teaches personal discipline, time management skills, provides time for individuals to come to answers without peers blurting it out first, promotes self-learning, increases reading + comprehension skills (because this is a primary mode of learning as they get older). Students can benefit from these lessons this year.

-Instead of spending time shopping for just the right desk (though, I realize that might be a priority if your student needs to sit at a computer for hours each day)...spend time preparing yourself for what is to come. Set intention with your attitude...your outlook...your expectations.

-Take time to step back + see the big picture. This is one semester...one year in your child's life. What opportunities can you take this year? What could this experience add to their childhood or adolescence? 

OK. I meant to keep this short + as succinctly meaningful as possible. I'm not sure I did either of those things, but I love this topic. It has been my unintended, but pleasurable work for a lot of years now. Please feel free to reach out. I would love to chat with you. Comments don't automatically post publicly, so if you'd rather keep it private just let me know. I am cheering all of you amazing parents on! Our children are not just our future, they are our incredible now! 

Lots of love,
Jane

I took some time recently to sit down + find some books to put on hold at the library. A few days later, we were able to pick up this exciting stack! It really made my day to have so much possibility at my fingertips. My current comfort with borrowed books is enhanced by knowing that our library is quarantining returned books for three days in order to minimize their chances of being Covid-carriers. We are able to pick up books via a drive-thru, which minimizes human contact too.

I've enjoyed reading Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie + Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall. I'd been looking forward to watching On the Basis of Sex again with my girls. This movie stirred up so much emotion + made me think so much of the current Black Lives Matter movement...changed thought + culture making us ready + able to bring about a great shift in legislation. And then the final Ruth Bader Ginsburg quote of the movie, "I ask no favor for my sex, all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks." So, yeah...tears.

Beautiful plus sized sewing patterns.
Dance, monkey.
Something I no longer recognize.
Painting for conservation.
If you sit at my table + eat with me, you will know who I am.
Fight for democracy + the USPS here + here.
Get out the vote!

Hope you have a weekend full of bright spots, friends!

Love,
Jane

Tokyo Stories just makes me happy. The colors are bright. The photos intrigue + transport (especially nice right now). And the recipes promise flavors as varied as a fizzy yogurt drink like the ones offered in Japanese vending machines, noodle sandwiches, flavorful noodle bowls + dumplings.

I came across Tokyo Stories while searching for Vegan JapanEasy (which I would still like to see). Tokyo Stories was the Tim Anderson book that was available at our library, and I'm so glad that I found it.

Love,
Jane

This weekend we're listening to neighborhood fireworks + also listening to Ibram X. Kendi + Jason Reynold's Stamped: Racism, Antiracism + You. We're eating a rustic, blueberry tart + also taking recipe inspiration from Jamie Oliver's 5 Ingredients: Quick Easy Food. (There is quite an index here as well.)

A red tailed hawk has been living in our neighbor's tree for about a month (it's impossible to ignore its loud squawks or the squirrels' + birds' frantic warnings to each other). It swoops + sails inches from our windows some days. 

A little decluttering motivation.
​Sacred place...never willingly relinquished.
We need the storm, the whirlwind + the earthquake.
​The beauty + resilience of our people.
Made in the USA.

May this weekend inspire us to fight for recognition of the injustices this country is founded upon + to fight for the inclusion of every one in our efforts toward freedom, justice + our collective happiness.

Love,
Jane

This weekend comes after a heavy week. I'm looking forward to feeling the sunshine on my skin, to moving my body, to making smoothies + to hugging my people this weekend. 

If you care about the working poor, racial justice + climate change...
Evidence that individuals can take action out of altruism + integrity.
For the visually inclined...maybe start here? 
The answer has to come fast, if it's going to come at all.
Culture's got jump leads on my consciousness...sending signals that are not helpful.
​Darkness has its teachings. Love is never leaving.

Hope your weekend offers a little taste of sunshine + warm breezes! Be gentle with yourself.
Lots of love,
Jane

There are a lot of feelings to be had right now. What feels so pressing + all encompassing one day can feel distant the next. One thing is for sure...we can all share love + hope + light with another. This is meaningful + good + life sustaining work. 

We have the ability to change our narrative whenever we choose.
Benefits from a small hobby.
Thirty-four more rollbacks in progress.
​Hope is a non-negotiable.
A rational evaluation of cost + benefit.
So much to gain.
You're like a real rockstar to us.
​Quarantine quarters.

Have a lovely weekend, friend.
Love,
​Jane

I had a conversation with my sister today. When she asked me what's new with us, there was a pause...and then we both just laughed. In a way, we are blessed to have no exciting news to talk about. Our families are healthy, and we have an income. 

Until the last day or two, the weather has been cold + rainy...so I hadn't been venturing outside much or felt too productive. I have managed to read + watch a few things that I enjoyed. This sort of thing is usually the stuff of a weekend dispatch, but what constitutes a weekend has blurred a bit lately...so...

:: a case for making paint 

:: connection + motivation    

:: mrs america (related...I learned that I greatly admire Shirley Chisholm from this)

​:: exposing holes (again)

​:: like a cathedral  

Lovely photos via links.

Love,
Jane