.: A bundle of wheat painted by my mother on this wooden tray. This tray holds sweet memories of my childhood as well as the cooked pumpkin seeds we made on this day! :.
The gentle tapping of the rain at the windows and the soft crackling of the fire in the wood stove orchestrate a natural cadence to our day today. The percussive melody of elemental sounds both inside and outside of our home brings to my mind the poem "Song Of The Rain" by Gibran...
.: Pumpkin seeds waiting to be rinsed sit in a vintage collander passed down from my grandmother :.
.: We started scooping with wooden spoons, and ended scooping with our hands! :.
I decided to gather up some pumpkins we picked earlier in the gardens and cut out a circle around the stem-- knowing very quickly the three wee ones would quickly gather by my side to help without me having to say a word. The four of us sat around a wooden table, wet seeds filling up the wooden bowls as each child busily scooped out the orange flesh of the pumpkin. In quiet meditation we all sat together pulling seeds from these mature pumpkins that once lived in our garden.
.: Some of our pumpkin seeds set out for a snack, others will be stored for use in winter :.
.: A pair of small hands help to set the table for snack and play :.
Taking the warmed pumpkin seeds out of the oven, I set them into pumpkin-colored bowls. A small posey bouquet joined a pair of handmade beeswax candles that were lit to add a sense of sacredness to the moment on this rainy afternoon.
.: Little ones taking turns stirring the doughy mixture in my favorite vintage bowl :.
The smell of warmed pumpkin seeds filled the air, a comforting and familiar scent that instantly brought back many powerful memories of fall's past. This special salty snack sustained us as we we started to mix ingredients together to make a simple homemade play dough. Flour, water, salt, oil... each child took a turn pouring and stirring the ingredients in the bowl. Soon a soft ball of dough began to take shape.
.: Heart and hands working together to make impressions in the dough with my grandmothers vintage cookie cutters :.
Little hands delighted in the warm natural-colored dough. We each selected our favorite vintage cookie-cutter from a collection handed down to me from my grandmother. As my children cut out shapes I was reminded of my childhood, cutting out the same shapes with my Nana from the very same cookie cutters. In the evening we lit the candles in our newly-carved pumpkins and took in the warmth from their gentle glow at dinnertime.
.: The dough still warm from cooking on the stove and now from working with it in our hands :.
.: Gardenmama's Homemade Family Play dough recipe :.
One cup of flour
One cup of water
One half cup of salt
One teaspoon of oil
One half teaspoon of cream of tartar
Mix your flour, water, salt, oil and cream of tartar in a small saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, continually stirring until the mixture holds together.
When the dough is cooled, knead it together and enjoy your time of play!
.: Homemade play dough will last for a long time. We store ours in waxed paper taped closed. It also can make for a lovely gift when wrapped up with a pint-sized rolling pin, apron and cookie cutters! :.
