Master your senses,
What you taste and smell,
What you see, what you hear.

In all things be a master
Of what you do and say and think.
Be free.

You are a seeker.
Delight in the mastery
Of your hands and your feet,
Of you words and your thoughts.

Delight in meditation
And in solitude.
Compose yourself, be happy.
You are a seeker.

Hold your tongue.
Do not exalt yourself
But lighten the way
For your words are sweet.

Follow the truth of the way.
Reflect upon it.
Make it your own.
Live it.
It will always sustain you.

Do not turn away what is given
you,
Nor reach out for what is given to
others,
Lest you disturb your quietness.

Give thanks
For what has been given you,
However little.
Be pure, never falter.

You have no name and no form.
Why miss what you do not have?
The seeker is not sorry.

Love and joyfully
follow the way,
The quiet way to the happy country.

Seeker!
Empty the boat,
Lighten the load,
Passion and desire and hatred.

And sail swiftly.

There are five at the door
To turn away, and five more,
And there are five to welcome in.

And when five have been left
Stranded on the shore,
The seeker is called oghatinnoti*
“He who has crossed over.”

Seeker!
Do not be reckless.
Meditate constantly.
Or you will swallow fire
And cry out: “No more!”

If you are not wise,
How can you steady the mind?
If you can not quieten yourself,
What will you ever learn?

* Note:
The first five are: selfishness, doubt, false spirituality, passion, hatred.

The second five are: longing for birth both with a body and without one, vanity, mental restlessness, ignorance.

The third five are: faith vigilance, energy, meditation, wisdom.

The five left behind are: greed, hatred, delusion, pride, and false teaching.

How will you become free?

With a quiet mind,
Come into that empty house, your
heart,
And feel the joy of the way
Beyond the world.

Look within-
The rising and the falling.
What happiness!
How sweet to be free!

It is the beginning of life,
Of mastery and patience,
Of good friends along the way,
Of a pure and active life.

So live in love.
Do your work
Make an end of your sorrows.

For see how the jasmine
Releases and lets fall
It’s withered flowers.

Let fall willfulness and hatred.

Are you quiet?
Quieten your body.
Quieten your mind.

You want nothing.
Your words are still.
You are still.

By your own efforts
Waken yourself, watch yourself.
And live joyfully.

You are the master,
You are the refuge.
As a merchant breaks in a fine horse,
Master yourself.

How gladly you follow
The words of the awakened.

How quietly, how surely
You appreciate the happy country,
The heart of stillness.

However young,
The seeker who sets out upon the way
Shines bright over the world.

Like the moon,
Come out from behind the clouds.
Shine.

Italian Gravy Recipe

5 sweet Italian Sausage links
5 hot Italian Sausage links
1 lb Beef Stew meat
1 chunk of Pancetta
1/2 cup olive oil
3 sliced cloves of garlic
1/2 chopped onion
1 can of tomato paste
2- 28 oz cans of tomato puree *
2- 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
28 oz of water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 large bunch of fresh chopped basil
1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano

In a large pot brown meats in olive oil until deep brown. Add garlic and onion cook until onion is softened. Stir in tomato paste and cook until paste darkens. Add canned tomato puree, crushed tomatoes and water scraping the bottom of the pot getting all the browned bits. Bring to a boil.  Add salt, red pepper flakes, fresh chopped basil & oregano. Simmer for 4 hours stirring occasionally.

*I only use store bought pureed and crushed tomatoes when I don’t have any left over from my canning.  I usually buy Organic Muir Glen brand but I also love the Cento brand.  Unfortunately I’ve never seen Cento have Organic.

The next doll is going to be a lot smaller.   I’ve also been debating back and forth with myself about whether or not to put faces on them.  I’m afraid I might totally ruin them so I’m holding off until I’m sure.  Thoughts?

I have to say I’m getting a LOT faster at threading my sewing machine though.   If I didn’t have a bunch of housework to do and a child to entertain I would be doing this all day!  It is so much fun and such a great learning experience.

Feel free to offer me as much advice as you have.  I’m really doing this all by trial and error.  It would be nice if somebody who actually is a doll maker could give me some pointers.

Happy day to all of you!  Now go do some handwork!

I hand sewed the whole thing which took a little longer but it was good practice I think. Which of course I need a lot of! The bottom of the doll is filled with rice.  I don’t know if that was such a smart idea but it just felt nicer than putting beans in it and I wanted it to be weighted.  The arms and head I used some beautiful Eco Wool from http://www.weircrafts.com that I bought a very long time ago.  I also have all the fixings to do a real Waldorf doll from there too.  I just have been too afraid to start.  However having gotten my feet wet by creating Olivia I think maybe I might just give it a try!   The best part of the whole experience was Kate coming home from Kindergarten this afternoon and saying,  “Ohhh Mommy she’s sooo cute!  I’m going to name her Olivia.”  I was so thrilled I started doll #2 this afternoon.  Who knew it would be this much fun!  I’m learning so much too.  I just might have a new little hobby.

We had a lot of fun and it really wasn’t that messy.  It was the first time I did paper- mâché with Katie and I was surprised she didn’t really want to touch my homemade paste!  Can you imagine?

We went through the recycling and dug in the junk drawer to find things that looked interesting.

We taped his body parts together first and then to make him a little more sturdy, and to add a little more fun to the project, we decided to make our own paste out of flour and water.  Kate loves to measure, pour, and stir so she loved that part.  She also tore all the strips of paper up.  Since she wasn’t too keen on touching the paste I just let her tell me where to put the pieces on him after she gave it a try.

The next morning I tried to get Kate to just let me cover Rodney completely in foil but she REALLY wanted to paint him so… we did.  I was surprised that she was so patient with letting him dry overnight.  Not so patient the next morning about wanting to paint him as the next photo shows.  Still in her pj’s and her hair hadn’t even been combed yet.  Since it was just us girls having a slumber party we kind of chilled out a bit and didn’t get dressed until later in the afternoon.  Slumber parties are suppose to break all the rules right?

Kate chose a beautiful shade of blue.  It took a couple of coats to really cover him well.  He actually probably could of used a third coat but we were ready to start decorating him.

Rodney is a work in progress.  Katie and I are collecting things that look like they would be useful tools for him and of course we’re still looking for the perfect shoes.  For now Rodney is watching over our kitchen to make sure we’re not throwing away anything he or we could use for a second time around… and on occasion many other times.

Sophie age 12 spent some time with us describing her experience of Waldorf.  One of the things that she said was that they memorize the stories about the topics they are learning about.  She mentioned multiple subjects, physics, Greek Mythology, Creation stories from various religions, etc. etc.  It really made me think about my public education and how little I can remember and why that is.  I think it stems from the memorization of things, testing, and then not building upon them.  Nothing flowed together so once you proved that you memorized it, then it could be forgotten and onto the next topic.  My understanding of Waldorf is that as they are learning and memorizing the stories they flow together and are interconnected.  It is also all done at along with the developmental age of the child wherever they may be not just their age.

I was surprised that as we wound down for the evening and the girls were coloring with Katie that Emma, age 10 was reading a book that I recently had read, “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen.  A 350 page novel.  Any concerns about Waldorf kids not learning to read soon enough just got blown out of my radar as an issue at all.

Some of the other things they are learning to do or have learned are handcrafts.  They’ve carved their own spoons out of wooden blocks, which must of taught them a great deal of patience but also could be a great metaphor for how your decisions shape your life.  They know how to knit, crochet, embroidery, draw, and they are learning to play the violin and the piano.  They both learned to speak Spanish in the 3rd Grade.

I just can’t help to think, “Wow how lucky is any child to be able to attend a Waldorf School?  I really hope that we get to have the experience of Katie attending.  I think she would just flourish going there.  I know I would have.

“Simple Mom is a productivity blog for home managers. It’s like Zen Habits wearing an apron. If we want to get things done and be fully present for all the things that are most important to us, we have to keep things simple.

This blog is a catalog of the resources, tips, and lessons to make that happen. When we find solutions for cutting everyday life clutter, we’re taking care of our family, our home, and ourselves. I believe that when Mom (Dad, too) is doing well, the whole family thrives.”

I’m really looking forward to learning ANYTHING that will make life a little less hurried.