chanda's toes were very cold because she wore her rainboots. (with all the deep puddles of slush along the crosswalks, it's a tough call whether to wear snowboots or rainboots. walking about the city these days is not easy.) my fingers were icicles. we warmed up at the chocolate bar!
at home, chanda completed her bow, made with a branch from the fallen pine tree in our courtyard.
she meticulously cut away the bark so the twine would have a shelf to rest upon, and not slide down.
we also worked on fractions today; pulling out our old auntie pasta game which we hadn't played in awhile.
she was very enthusiastic to work on her fractions. i'm afraid of been negligent in the math department this year. we had grown tired of the singapore math, and i wasn't sure what to move into. right now, we're working with several ideas i jotted down from my friend's donna simmons' fifth grade math curriculum, along with the key to books. the sparseness in this curriculum induced me to explore the live-ed fifth grade curriculum, and we will be receiving this in a week or so (we were inspired by eva's math main lesson blocks with her daughter charlotte. thanks eva!). we're looking forward to the geometry sections.
chanda enjoyed working on her fraction tree . . going up the tree with larger denominators, but smaller fractions.
morgana came home and we had a dinner of chicken sausages and red lentil soup with carrots and coconut milk, and a loaf of freshly made bread.
after dinner, morgana did the dishes while chanda started another loaf of bread for her friend whose tibetan grandmother, amala, just passed away in kathmandu.
we then had some time to listen to the voyage of the dawn treader before going to bed.
morgana and i chose to knit, but chanda chose to work in her key to fractions book.
since morgana went off to see a film about doris humphrey, chanda and i took a walk along the river to observe and sketch trees. we chose this tree as it's branches were different from the surrounding deciduous trees. they were more sharply angled, with little twigs sticking out along the ends.
chanda's tree silhouette.
and mine.
the bark was also very rough, with deep ridges. lichen also seemed to be growing in tiny patches.
the twigs were more smooth, with terminal and lateral buds. we didn't observe any seedpods or fruit.
besides being smooth, the twigs were white, or a very, very whitish grey.
we thought the tree was very "witchy" looking! we also observed a bird's nest in it's branches.
if you look very closely in this photo, the branches are similar to the bark: rough, with ridges.
when we got home, we put our twig in a glass vase, in the sun. hopefully, our buds will open, eventually.
this is chanda's favorite climbing tree. it's branches grow out in a circular path, making it easy to clamber up.
it's nice seeing her in the tree in the wintertime. in the summer the deciduous trees hide the pine and all i hear is her voice.
sadly, it was too much snow for our pine tree in the courtyard. last night i was sitting in bed finishing janet's mitten for her birthday the next day, when i heard a low and long creaking groan from outside. i got up and peered out the window, but couldn't see any branches that may have fallen. i thought it was our mulberry trees. i got back into bed and began knitting again. about 30 to 45 minutes later, i heard another low creaking groan. again, i got up and peered out the window. again, i couldn't see anything. i sighed, and got back into bed and continued on the mitten until i finished the thumb. then i went to sleep. in the morning i woke to the above scene outside our windows.
if you look carefully in the photo above, you can see the pine branches laying down on the bottom left side. i didn't notice this when i took the picture. in fact, when morgana woke, i whispered (korrina was till sleeping) "look out the windows!" (thinking to myself, "oh it's so beautiful outside, she's going to love the white winter wonderland scene.") (i had been at my desk, on the computer, publishing the prior post about the gorgeous snowy scene outside our windows.) morgana is the one who observed, "the tree is down. the pine tree split. it had two sections, and they're both down." morgana, chanda, and i quickly dressed and ran downstairs.
chanda was in tears.
i am too, writing this. i didn't cry at the time, not wanting to heighten the sadness for chanda. but, our trees in the courtyard are so precious to many of us. they are food and housing for the birds. they are a screen and comfort to us as we look out our windows and across to the apartments on the other side of our courtyard. they are living, breathing plants that help keep our earth beautiful and full of oxygen for all of us.
i just don't understand why it had to happen.
it feels so unfair. the city is full of concrete and steel and brick. why must we lose our trees?
our coop board is not easy to deal with. i think it would be beneficial to take the stump out, but i really don't think the board will allow the expense. a new tree can be planted, but for us on the upper floors, we may never have the privilege of looking out onto the tops of a tree again. it depends on how fast growing the tree is . . and how large it is when planted. having been on the gardening committee in the past, i know that many residents do not favor large, fast growing trees!
it was not all tears for chanda. thank goodness. she and morgana had a sweet time playing amidst the fallen branches.
they created a kitchen, living rooms and bedroom. 
i remember lying in the snow as a child . . looking up at the snow on the pine branches. my girls have climbed this tree. it was a living, breathing friend to them. good-bye pine tree. we'll miss you terribly.
well, we have a lot of snow, and it's not going away! usually the weather warms up, it rains, and the snow melts and gets washed away. so far, it has stayed. i like it! however . . ! it's supposed to snow tomorrow morning, followed by sleet, and finally rain! it looks like our normal weather will be returning. but i have greatly enjoyed all the snow!
this evening, chanda had to share her chair with jack. ahem, i mean she had to share jack's chair . . 
chanda and i were up early today to walk to third street music school for her repertory class and orchestra rehearsal.
i always enjoy sitting and knitting and listening to steve expound about his experiences as a teacher and violinist. he insists the children work hard, but with a gentle manner and a good sense of humor.
getting ready to leave . . we move quickly since the next orchestra enters the auditorium to rehearse.
at home, before running up the block to her acting class, chanda worked in her fractions book.
chanda's toes were very cold because she wore her rainboots. (with all the deep puddles of slush along the crosswalks, it's a tough call whether to wear snowboots or rainboots. walking about the city these days is not easy.) my fingers were icicles. we warmed up at the chocolate bar!
at home, chanda completed her bow, made with a branch from the fallen pine tree in our courtyard.
she meticulously cut away the bark so the twine would have a shelf to rest upon, and not slide down.
we also worked on fractions today; pulling out our old auntie pasta game which we hadn't played in awhile.
she was very enthusiastic to work on her fractions. i'm afraid of been negligent in the math department this year. we had grown tired of the singapore math, and i wasn't sure what to move into. right now, we're working with several ideas i jotted down from my friend's donna simmons' fifth grade math curriculum, along with the key to books. the sparseness in this curriculum induced me to explore the live-ed fifth grade curriculum, and we will be receiving this in a week or so (we were inspired by eva's math main lesson blocks with her daughter charlotte. thanks eva!). we're looking forward to the geometry sections.
chanda enjoyed working on her fraction tree . . going up the tree with larger denominators, but smaller fractions.
morgana came home and we had a dinner of chicken sausages and red lentil soup with carrots and coconut milk, and a loaf of freshly made bread.
after dinner, morgana did the dishes while chanda started another loaf of bread for her friend whose tibetan grandmother, amala, just passed away in kathmandu.
we then had some time to listen to the voyage of the dawn treader before going to bed.
morgana and i chose to knit, but chanda chose to work in her key to fractions book.
since morgana went off to see a film about doris humphrey, chanda and i took a walk along the river to observe and sketch trees. we chose this tree as it's branches were different from the surrounding deciduous trees. they were more sharply angled, with little twigs sticking out along the ends.
chanda's tree silhouette.
and mine.
the bark was also very rough, with deep ridges. lichen also seemed to be growing in tiny patches.
the twigs were more smooth, with terminal and lateral buds. we didn't observe any seedpods or fruit.
besides being smooth, the twigs were white, or a very, very whitish grey.
we thought the tree was very "witchy" looking! we also observed a bird's nest in it's branches.
if you look very closely in this photo, the branches are similar to the bark: rough, with ridges.
when we got home, we put our twig in a glass vase, in the sun. hopefully, our buds will open, eventually.
this is chanda's favorite climbing tree. it's branches grow out in a circular path, making it easy to clamber up.
it's nice seeing her in the tree in the wintertime. in the summer the deciduous trees hide the pine and all i hear is her voice.
sadly, it was too much snow for our pine tree in the courtyard. last night i was sitting in bed finishing janet's mitten for her birthday the next day, when i heard a low and long creaking groan from outside. i got up and peered out the window, but couldn't see any branches that may have fallen. i thought it was our mulberry trees. i got back into bed and began knitting again. about 30 to 45 minutes later, i heard another low creaking groan. again, i got up and peered out the window. again, i couldn't see anything. i sighed, and got back into bed and continued on the mitten until i finished the thumb. then i went to sleep. in the morning i woke to the above scene outside our windows.
if you look carefully in the photo above, you can see the pine branches laying down on the bottom left side. i didn't notice this when i took the picture. in fact, when morgana woke, i whispered (korrina was till sleeping) "look out the windows!" (thinking to myself, "oh it's so beautiful outside, she's going to love the white winter wonderland scene.") (i had been at my desk, on the computer, publishing the prior post about the gorgeous snowy scene outside our windows.) morgana is the one who observed, "the tree is down. the pine tree split. it had two sections, and they're both down." morgana, chanda, and i quickly dressed and ran downstairs.
chanda was in tears.
i am too, writing this. i didn't cry at the time, not wanting to heighten the sadness for chanda. but, our trees in the courtyard are so precious to many of us. they are food and housing for the birds. they are a screen and comfort to us as we look out our windows and across to the apartments on the other side of our courtyard. they are living, breathing plants that help keep our earth beautiful and full of oxygen for all of us.
i just don't understand why it had to happen.
it feels so unfair. the city is full of concrete and steel and brick. why must we lose our trees?
our coop board is not easy to deal with. i think it would be beneficial to take the stump out, but i really don't think the board will allow the expense. a new tree can be planted, but for us on the upper floors, we may never have the privilege of looking out onto the tops of a tree again. it depends on how fast growing the tree is . . and how large it is when planted. having been on the gardening committee in the past, i know that many residents do not favor large, fast growing trees!
it was not all tears for chanda. thank goodness. she and morgana had a sweet time playing amidst the fallen branches.
they created a kitchen, living rooms and bedroom. 
i remember lying in the snow as a child . . looking up at the snow on the pine branches. my girls have climbed this tree. it was a living, breathing friend to them. good-bye pine tree. we'll miss you terribly.
we received twelve inches of snow during the night. it's a winter wonderland outside. the snow sits thick on the branches.
we were supposed to have an ice skating lesson this morning, but the rink is closed until noon to clear the snow from the ice. i don't know where they will put it all! the last time i was at the rink on tuesday, the pile of snow already reached the windows from which you looked out at the skaters. they'll have to cart it to the river . . !
i didn't expect snow this morning. i expected rain, which was predicted by the weather people on the radio. so i thought.
morgana and chanda read and worked on puzzles . .
while korrina held her first knitting class.
i helped her make knitting needles for the students.
we take a long dowl and cut it down to about ten to twelve inches in length. then shave it into a point with a pencil sharpener, and sand it. and sand it. and sand it! last night i made some more beeswax finish and after sanding, i slathered it on. then i buffed it. i love buffing it. it gets to be so smooth. then we glue the beads to the end. i'm looking forward to making a few more. there were some students missing today because of the weather. they'll be here next week, and i think we need another set of needles. morgana would like another set also. someone stepped on her's!
m and c and i finally got in a craft hour. we listened to the voyage of the dawn treader.
chanda's boucle scarf.
morgana began an end of year gift for her acting teacher: a spring scarf with sock yarn and knitpicks crayon yarn.
and this secret knitting project continues . . 
this is korrina's friend tyler. she made him the wurm hat in patons bamboo silk and lionbrand superwash merino. i'm glad it's done as now she can start mine! she'll make it with lionbrand superwash in mahogany.
i just stepped outside for a moment. it's really coming down!
it's another blustery snowstorm. it's supposed to snow all night.