Winter in the Desert

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We have had a bit of snow lately and I am always in awe how beautiful the high desert is in the winter. Nearby us is a Bosque del Apache, a National Wildlife Refuge. Thousands of birds descent on it every year.  One photographer who has captured this event beautifully is our friend Sam Mulder. He is a father of four, scientist and a home-school dad, who does wildlife photography in his spare time. Take a look.

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He goes to the Bosque several times a year trying to photograph and then  catalog all  the wildlife that lives there. One time he took my oldest son who helped him spot a few animals. What an opportunity for my son to see what it takes to be a wildlife photographer. There is a  lot of hiking involved, and patience.

If you come to New Mexico in the wintertime, make Bosque del Apache one of your destinations. Stop by at Buckhorn and eat their famous green chili cheeseburger in San Antonio (NM) on the way (call first to make sure they are actually open). The best times to be visit the Bosque is at sunrise or sunset.

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

Winter in the Desert

The Perfect Homeschool Room

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Friends,

this post is about what would be a dream come true for me: a designer helping a home-school mom to design a room where she can teach her kids. Can you imagine?? Edie from Lifeingrace had the good fortune to do just that. That is after her  previous house burned down and they had lost everything. So don’t be too jealous. Take a look.

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Here is what Edie says about her room:” The multitasking type of room has long been a dream of mine.   A room that’s like me—–that reads and does laundry and blogs and dabbles in paints and maps and printing and child-rearing and bird watching.  We’ve only lived here two weeks but I can’t even  count the hours we’ve already spent in here.”

updatedworkroom3A place for everything, even the works of Luther. Love it.

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Here comes the surprise. Not only is this room a school room but also a laundry room!!! This makes total sense to me, since that is what my days are all about: schooling, blogging, and laundry.workroom5

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Edie assures her readers that her room is NEVER this clean and organized. The green table for example gets cleaned about 27 times a day only to be cluttered with new projects again. The family spends their whole day in this room, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

Friends, this rooms speaks to me on so many levels. When you are home with children all day you want it to be a happy and aesthetic place, and one that functions well. We use our front room as a library/school/play room. Now I need to work harder in making it look prettier. However the washer/dryer will stay in the laundry room…

How about you, is your space working for you? Is it pretty enough where you want to spend all day in it? I know most of us can’t afford a designer, still the smallest changes like drapes, pillows, and a couch cover can make a big difference.

Happy decorating!

-Sofija

The Perfect Homeschool Room

Sledding

Hi there,

how was your weekend? Did you try to squeeze in as much fun as you can before school starts up again? My kids certainly did. Thanks to dear friends they got to go ice skating twice and sledding. Here are some pictures my 11 year old daughter took when she went sledding. I must say this girl takes some good pictures.

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The picture of the girl is Esther’s good friend. Looking at these pictures makes me sad I missed it. I did make it into the mountains once, I’ll share pictures soon.

Have a lovely day, and good start back to school!

-Sofija

Sledding

Downton Abbey

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Are you ready for season 3? If you haven’t seen season 1 and 2 you have until Sunday before season 3 begins.

Not sure what draws me most to the show. Maggie Smiths’ wit and one liners. Sympathizing with an aristocratic family who might loose their vast estate. Watching the family adapt to changes in society (my favorite is the butler trying to get used to the telephone).  The intimate relationships between the aristocrats and their servants. Or the fact that all the pictured people are main characters, leaving you many options to identify with. Add to that superb style and fashion and a beautiful setting in the English country side.

In season one and two the writer has imparted moral constraints in their characters. I appreciate when a show does not assume that infidelity is O.K. and normal. I hope it stays like that.

You know what I will be watching this Sunday night.

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

Downton Abbey

Happy New Year

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Friends,

how was your start into the new year? Ours was not glamorous at all. We spend a lot of time holding and nursing sick children. But after the recent school shooting I am more than grateful to have sick children to nurse.

What are your hopes and dreams for this new year? Any big travel plans? For me a good year is a year I travel a lot, or I have lots of visitors. I’m anticipating some of my family coming to visit, so I am exited about that.

Do you set goals for the year? I try to set spiritual and personal goals. For spiritual goals I might attempt to read the bible in one year. For personal goals I might make a list of books to read, or take a class. And there is always the goal to exercise more…

I started a new category Art and Faith. For a long time I have been in awe how many creative friends I have. I thought this might be a good place to introduce you to them.

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

I took the pictures behind our house. I never get tired of our view.

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Happy New Year