Online – Page 5 – Giants & Pilgrims

June Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

June 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Bellwether, Desktop Backgrounds, Downloads, Online /by Betony Coons

Happy June friends!

Here is a fun summer reading list to dig into, a “Collection” of ideas for June from last year, and a little poem just for the month.

Enjoy this new desktop for your screens – open roads, broad skies, and so much green.

For the desktop, click on the image below to view the large size image.

For the iphone wallpaper, navigate to this page on your phone and then click and hold on the iphone images. Select ‘Save image to camera roll’. Then from your camera roll set your home screen/lock screen.

High Resolution Desktop Wallpaper:

iPhone Wallpaper:

May Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

May 1, 2016/1 Comment/in Art, Bellwether, Creative Process, Desktop Backgrounds, Downloads, Monthly Themes, Online /by Betony Coons

Happy May Day!
This desktop is inspired by antique seaweed scientific illustrations. Aren’t they so delicate and lovely? The complexity of the smallest things in our world is so beautiful. Just some interesting info about red algae – they makes up the largest group of algae in the plant kingdom, with more species accounted for than brown and green seaweeds combined. They are almost exclusively marine plants. Although generally found in shallow waters, these seaweeds are able to withstand deep water and low-light conditions.

So here is to searching out light even in the darkest moments just like these beautiful plants.

Some May inspiration for you – our May Day tradition around here, a tiny poem about May, a School’s Out playlist, and possibly my favorite dessert of all time.

And of course, here are some new visuals for your screens!

For the desktop, click on the image below to view the large size image.

High Resolution Desktop Wallpaper:

For the iphone wallpaper, navigate to this page on your phone and then click and hold on the iphone images. Select ‘Save image to camera roll’. Then from your camera roll set your home screen/lock screen.

iPhone Wallpaper (I like to use one for my lock screen and one for my home screen):

April Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

April 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Art, Bellwether, Desktop Backgrounds, Downloads, Monthly Themes, Online /by Betony Coons

April is here! Spring oh lovely springtime. Fresh air and sunshine. Here is a favorite spring recipe, an April Showers playlist to dance in the rain to, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, go take a look at my newest Silkscreen Print and Tim’s gorgeous song that goes with it.

And here is some new artwork for your screens!

For the desktop, click on the image below to view the large size image.

For the iphone wallpaper, navigate to this page on your phone and then click and hold on the iphone images. Select ‘Save image to camera roll’. Then from your camera roll set your home screen/lock screen.

High Resolution Desktop Wallpaper:

Cheesy Lasagne Soup Recipe

March 16, 2016/0 Comments/in Online, Recipes /by Betony Coons

(Picture is from A Farm Girl Dabbles)

I know it is kind of strange to post recipes on this very art centric blog. There are plenty of wonderful sites that fill that niche without needing any help from me. But, food is my love language. Making delicious meals for the people I love is what I do. I never get tired of it. So, here is yet another recipe from my files

Over Christmas, we went to our annual family potluck at my grandfather’s cabin in KS. My aunt, who I am beginning to think of as the “queen of comfort soup” made a version of this yumminess. I knew immediately that it would become a new family staple. Besides the fact that it is filled with cheesy melty goodness, and tastes likes the best of lasagnes, one of my favorite things about how this is served is that the cheeses, and mozzarella, and pasta all go in separate bowls so you can individually craft your dish. Between three picky children and lots of friends with food sensitivities, I am a fan of any recipe that is highly customizable. Extra cheese in mine? Yes please.

(this recipe is adapted just slightly from A Farm Girl Dabbles)

LASAGNA SOUP

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SOUP:

2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage (sweet or spicy, and ground beef works here too)
1 package McCormicks spaghetti seasoning (not in the original recipe, so you could leave this out, but I think it adds a good amount of flavor quickly and easily. Cheating I know, but try it)
3 c. chopped onions (I just use one large onion)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (leave out if you have kids who don’t like spicy)
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (regular would be fine too)
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. fusilli pasta (or whatever you have on hand)
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE CHEESY YUM:

8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper

additional cheesy yum:

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta to al dente following package directions in a large pot of heavily salted water. Rinse with cold water and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and seasoning packet and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the sauce is simmering, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, spoon noodles into bowl, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the top.

March Practice and Process: “Ground”

March 8, 2016/0 Comments/in Art, Bellwether, Family, Monthly Themes, Online /by Betony Coons

In creating our new project, Bellwether (an art series and album due winter 2016) we’ve decided to share what we’re doing each month before it’s released.
We’re calling these posts “practice and process“.

They will detail the spiritual/life practice we’re doing,
give a look at our in-process art that we’re creating in response,
and then include a whole host of resources and activities! (like the new desktop wallpaper, book/music/movie lists, recipes, explorations for kids, etc. This is so as an entire family we can engage in this year’s exploration of “belief” we’re calling Bellwether.

MARCH Theme: GROUND

We are approaching this March theme in lots of ways: asking “what grounds you?”, actually digging in the dirt AND metaphorically digging in the dirt, finding foundations, and setting ground work.

Practice:

This month we are

Reading then gardening! We’ll be setting aside a specific time for reading spiritual writings right before heading out to work in the garden. As a whole family we’ll be reading from the psalms, from poetry, children’s books, or any host of passages we find resonate with us. We’ll pair this with gardening in hopes to dig our hands into the Spring season.
For our Table Alter this month we’ll be setting up little pots and planting seeds – we’ll water and watch the slow progression of growth, again hitting on the death and resurrection truths we find in the world around us.

Process:

Betony hopes to hit some finish lines on art projects she’s been working on so she can set the “ground” work for this new series. Tim has a tour in the Chicago area he’ll be recovering from in the beginning of March.

The other process is going to be exploring this big idea: there seems to be spiritual archetypes that happen all over our favorite stories. In movies, books, all sorts of art, you’ll find baptism scenes, out-to-the-desert scenarios, resurrection pictures… Betony and I are looking in to these universals to better inform our own belief.

Resources for “GROUND”:

MARCH Dates to Take Note of:

March 13th – Daylight Savings
March 14th – Pi Day – You can’t go wrong with this recipe.
March 17th – Saint Patrick’s Day – Irish mix to listen to, yummy pub food to make, and a touch of poetry
March 21st – World Poetry Day – Here’s one to get you started
March 25th – Good Friday
March 27th – Easter

Local: Greeley, CO events:

March 19th – Poudre River Friends of the Library Spring Used Book Sale
March 21st – Seed Swap and Garden Talk – Riverside Library – 6:00 pm
March 22nd – Perilous Plants – 12pm at the Farr Library – Botanist Dr. Kathy Keeler

Let me know if you have other fun Greeley events I should add to this calendar!

RESOURCES/EXPLORATIONS:

We are planning on getting Chickens next week!

The girls and Betony have been hard at work building them an enclosure and a chicken coop.

(A painting of Bet’s from a few years back that seems appropriate, obviously she has been dreaming about them for a while)

We discovered a parcel of land adjacent to our yard that we thought belonged to the city actually belongs to us. We are going to turn it into a secret garden of sorts – we will only need a great pole saw for high reach to cut off the branches – after we dig up all the sumac and poison ivy and weeds – the labor of clearing this neglected land will be part of our spiritual practice for the month.

Betony is finally ready to start the groundwork on my new series of paintings. She has been playing around with monochromatic under paintings (as explored through the Book of Job)

MAKE:

Bet might just have to start making some of these hanging chairs for our back porch to lounge in.

Start the seeds we ordered from rareseeds.com (it is also time to plant peas out in the garden already!)

READING LISTS:

The Little Gardener and Wild by Emily Hughes (LOVE her illustrations)

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (haven’t read it yet, but have had it recommended by several people we trust)

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
by Du Base Hayward (really loved this one as a kid)

ART:

Play drawing with Opaque markers on brown eggs

Bet is also enjoying these rubber cement resist died eggs and rubber band wrapped ones. Definitely on her list to try this year.

ADVENTURE:

Go on lots of bike rides and explorations along the Poudre river trail

We are not going to tell you quite yet what we have planned for this giant box of keys, but we’ll give you a hint that it is something in the category of this epic city-wide adventure we facilitated a few years ago…

Find some greenhouses to visits

TECHNOLOGY:

A friend recommended this online reading ap, we thought it would make a fun Easter-month game, especially for Harriet (4) – Reading Eggs Game

LISTEN:

On the first spring rain, listen to this mix.

January Practice and Process: “Clearing”

January 8, 2016/1 Comment/in Bellwether, Family, Lists, Monthly Themes, Online /by Betony Coons

In creating our new project Bellwether we’ve decided to share what we’re doing each month before it’s released at the end of the year.
We’re calling these posts “practice and process“.

They will detail the spiritual/life practice we’re doing,
give a look at our in-process art that we’re creating in response,
and then include a whole host of resources and activities! (like the new desktop wallpaper, book/music/movie lists, recipes, explorations for kids, etc. This is so as a entire family we can engage in this year’s exploration of “belief” we’re calling Bellwether.

JANUARY Theme: Clearing

To me January is about resetting, starting fresh. It is the metaphor of a clear desk space – putting away all old projects and supplies, shining the surface, pulling up a stool, and opening up a new blank sketchbook, and beginning.

Practice:

As a family this month, we plan on doing two main things.

Clearing out our house of it’s excesses – stripping down to the objects that give us joy and clearing room for creativity to breath.
After a book has been recommended to me by 3 different people independent of each other, I figure it is time to read it. While we were home for Christmas, Tim and I both read this book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

Marie Kondo is quirky. She personifies objects and houses. I particularly loved how she talked about socks.
(“The socks and stockings stored in your drawer are essentially on holiday.”
I can’t say I have ever really thought twice about how hard my socks work.) Here are the basic ideas in the book –
- Start by discarding. Then organize your space, thoroughly, completely, in one go.
- Discard by category – not by location (first clothing, then books, etc…)
- A dramatic reorganization of the home causes correspondingly dramatic changes in lifestyle and perspective. It is life transforming. Then everything has its right place and tidying becomes easier.
- when you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too.
- Surround yourself only by the things you love
“Letting go is even more important than adding” – Marie Kondo

What I have discovered by going through this process, at least so far, is that through discarding, I begin discern more clearly what is most important to me!

2. For our second spiritual/life practice we’re setting up a table altar. When the meal is finished and the table is cleared and cleaned ring the bell and say this prayer together: Lord God and King we thank you for your sustaining love.

Process:

Artistically, January is a month of exploration for me. I have some initial ideas for Bellwether, but mostly I am letting things steep. I will be drawing in my sketchbook a lot. And working through several boxes of beautiful old books to be used as collage material donated to me by the Greeley History Museum. I’m resetting and clearing my studio space to begin a new year of creating – I can’t hardly bear to post this picture of my studio right now. It is in SUCH a sad shape of disaster (this is what happens when the year ends with 3 major art shows). But, by sharing it here, it is just even more motivation to get it to where I want it to be.

Tim is working on recording a song around the ideas of subtraction and clearing. Hopefully for use in a really cool upcoming project.

(by the way if you haven’t checked out the new January calendar and desktop you definitely should)

Resources for “Clearing”:

JANUARY Dates to Take Note of:

January 11th – Winners of the major Children’s book awards are announced
January 18th – Martin Luther King Day – listen to this playlist or this one

Local: Greeley, CO events:

January 9th – Missoula Children’s Theater Rapunzel @UCCC
Starting January 18th – Centennial branch library is hosting a “Discover Nasa” exhibit
January 29-30th -The Annual Father Daughter Dance – tim takes the girls each year, and they all just love it.
(Here are the pictures from last year, we still giggle at how much these two shots capture the girls’ personalities)

Let me know if you have other fun Greeley events I should add to this calendar!

READING:

I am reading a lot of parenting and “how kids learn” kind of books, because we are thinking about shifting up how we teach our kiddos next year.

I have been really digging into Michelle Garrels new blog/resources at her site The New Domestic.

I want to listen to this podcast interview of her.
Her resource lists are particularly wonderful for learners of all ages.

Tim has been reading The Crowd, the Critic, and the Muse by M. Gungor
Every snippet he has read to me has been just wonderful. I can’t wait to pick it up too.

I have seen some powerful reviews of When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
I am very interested to read his story.

Here are some of the books I have on hold at the library for the kids this month:

We are also planning on rereading the financial classic Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (if I can get past the Cheese factor). It is a proven system of money managing that has worked wonders for us in the past.

LISTEN TO:

Chvrches – Every Open Eye (my current favorite track is Clearest Blue – it makes me want to go running)

This liturgists podcast called “Vapor”

WATCH:

Selma

SCIENCE EXPLORATIONS:

Since the theme is “Clear”ing, I would love to do this vinegar egg experiment with the kids

Since it is ridiculously cold here right now, I think this would be a beautiful little science experiment to try as well.

FOOD:

We are in the midst of the Bon Appetit food lover’s cleanse for 2016. A practice we have done for the last 3 years. For our family it is a lovely reset. I do simplify and rearrange the menus for the sake of our grocery budget. So far our absolute new favorite is the Oven Roasted Chicken with Grapes.

ART:

Read and be inspired by this children’s book and experiment with our own scratch art.

Because one of our sub-themes is subtraction, we want to play around with Soap Carving with the girlies. Also seem like they would be fun for the bath if we made little boats.

POETRY to READ:

A New Years Blessing by Joel Mckerrow

The Journey by Mary Oliver

January Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

January 1, 2016/0 Comments/in Desktop Backgrounds, Downloads, Online /by Betony Coons

We love the end of the year holidays. All the festivities and feasting are something we look forward to all year long. But, I have also really started looking forward to January and the close of the old year as well. There is nothing quite like it. The vast potential and blank slate of a new year fills me with fresh energy. It reminds me of the feeling of cleaning off a cluttered workspace and coming in the next morning to a clear table with endless possibility and energy. Our theme this month we will be exploring is “Clearing.” To kick us off on this first day of 2016, here is a clean minimal desktop/iphone wallpaper set for you. A tiny boat heading off into new adventures.

To dig into January, read this simple poem, make this yummy New Years Stew, and listen to this “Resolutions” playlist.For the desktop, click on the small thumbnail below to view the large size image.
For the iphone wallpaper, navigate to this page on your phone and then click and hold on the iphone images. Select ‘Save image to camera roll’. Then from your camera roll set your home screen/lock screen.
High Resolution Desktop Wallpaper:

iPhone wallpaper:

The Odd and Random BEST of 2015 List!

December 31, 2015/0 Comments/in Lists, Online /by Betony Coons

We posted a list at the end of the year in 2014 with some of our favorite foods, experiences, stories, etc. from the year. Here’s our new, curated list for 2015. It is odd and random, but it is our “best of’s” for sure!

BEST METAPHORS of 2015:

(from Betony)

Are found in this tremendous book!

Sometimes I miss the most obvious metaphorical scenes in books and movies. Tim will mention something about how a director was brilliantly foreshadowing or developing a character and I just go “huh?.” All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer was so rich with metaphors and intertwining stories that even I was able to catch the beauty of the connecting threads. The poetic writing in this book is just stunning.

Here is the quick Good Reads description of the book:

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

BEST BREWERY of 2015:

(from Tim)

What an audacious claim! How can I choose just one? Runner up would have to be WeldWerks. Betony and I have loved heading over to that local brewery in Greeley and their beers have been fantastic.

But number one goes to NEW GLARUS, found in Wisconsin. And the great, heart-breaking problem is… they don’t sell outside of Wisconsin!

Anything that comes out of New Glarus Brewing company is pretty amazing. Their flagship is called “Spotted Cow”. It is creamy and rich and tastes like I’ve dreamed of what the best wheat beer in the world should taste like, then I get to drink my dreams.

If it is testament to how good they are, Betony recently had a friend smuggle 2 six packs out of Wisconsin in their suitcase all the way back to Colorado. All for my Christmas present! It’s so good we ask our friends to break the law so we might partake.

BEST FOODS WE FOUND ONLINE of 2015:

(from Betony)

This is absolutely perfect German mustard – Lowensenf -(we love both the sweet and the spicy. Don’t discriminate).
I ordered it for our Oktoberfest themed cooking club and we can’t get enough of it. I don’t even like mustard usually.

These little perfect buttery crackers – Effies Oatcakes – I told Tim I thought they were what Elven Lembas bread probably tasted like.

BEST LOCAL-PRIDE MOMENTS of 2015 (STATE and CITY)!

(from Betony)

Tim had the chance to open for Nathaniel Rateliff a couple of years ago at the MOXI theater. We became kind of smitten with him. The rawness in his performance and songwriting pulls at your gut. He reminds me of a bluesy, rougher Johnny Cash.

Then this local hero out of Denver formed a new band and had a BIG break. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Nightsweats were asks to perform on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. They crushed it and Tim commented on how good this will be for Colorado and its music scene! Way to go Colorado!

The performance can be seen here. They get a standing ovation!

That was best local pride moment for the STATE of Colorado.

For best local pride moment for our CITY we have the breaking of a Guinness world record!

Greeley isn’t always known for being the coolest, most happening town. A lot of the press Greeley gets is negative – “smelly”, “oil-driven”, etc. But, the people of Greeley are pretty wonderful, so when the community can come together and do something like this – it makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. Real proud of you Greeley. Way to be unexpectedly awesome.

BEST NEW LIQUOR Cabinet Addition of 2015:

(from Betony)

I went searching for this liqueur so that I could make a fun recipe I came across. I was at our favorite liquer store in town and the lady helped me search for it for quite some time. (Apparently most Greeley-ites don’t use it). When we finally got it, I kind of balked at the price ($50) but felt a bit obligated to buy it after she had spent so long helping me locate it. I am so glad I did! First off, the story of how it is made is pretty incredible –

Chartreuse is a French liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks since 1737 according to the instructions set out in a manuscript given to them by François Annibal d’Estrées in 1605. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers. The liqueur is named after the Monks’ Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains in the general region of Grenoble in France.
(wikipedia)

And, it tastes like its origins – very complex with floral and herbal flavors.
Our current favorite use of it is in The Last Word – a great classic cocktail.

BEST NEW RECIPE of 2015

(from Tim)

Goes to a pie! a pie that will be made from here on out for my birthdays, Christmas’s, Thanksgivings, bar mitz fas, and whatever special occasion I can convince Betony to make it. (It’s being made tonight for New Year’s Eve. Of course.) It’s called Banoffee Pie.

(She posted the recipe here a few months ago) – She happened upon this one kind of by mistake and when she didn’t have the kind of cookie the original recipe called for in the crust, she improvised using Biscoff cookies (you know, those European airplane cookies?). Everything about it is pretty perfect if I do say so myself.

BEST INSPIRING MAGAZINE of 2015

(from Betony)

Truly I could not give this Canadian magazine, UPPERCASE, a more glowing review. It is immaculately designed, thoughtfully curated, and fascinating to explore. I read each issue cover to cover. Janine Vangool (the editer and mastermind behind it) is pretty incredible at what she does. Her tagline “for the Creative and Curious” is perfect as each issue digs into a theme in all sorts of interesting ways. The second to last issue was called “Perfection” and was a beautifully done exploration of stamps, lace, and other “perforated” artworks. If creativity is “the art of making connections”, UPPERCASE is a great example of that. The connections she makes and the circular way she ties all the pieces together is wonderful.

BEST OUTDOOR GEAR Addition of 2015

(from Tim)

This was the summer of the bicycle for us. Lucy learned how to ride with out training wheels and I said goodbye to my 1994 electric blue Trek 820 (as I got a new bike)!

We picked up this WeeRide attachment from Craigslist so Harriet could ride with us (exhibiting great bravery for a 4 year old). And we are so pumped about it. With Lucy finally being able to ride her own bike, the addition of a baby bike seat to Betony’s cruiser, and this brilliant contraption that attaches to the back of my sweet new ride, we can FINALLY ride bikes as a family. We have declared 2016 the “Year of the Bicycle” for the Coons family and love how solidly made this little tandem attachment is.

BEST AMUSEMENT RIDE of 2015

(from Tim)

We had a whole post about this from the spring but we went on our first family vacation this year. We went to Glenwood Springs by train, stayed at a great family friendly hotel and went up to Glenwood Canyon Adventure Park on the last day. I’ve done alpine slides before, but I’ve never really experienced an ALPINE ROLLER COASTER like what they had there. It was incredible.

You strap into this little car that’s a bit like a go-cart (and your kid is allowed to seat in front of you) then head down the rail at a great speed. Since you’re surrounded by mountain pines on all sides it feels like you could be in the speeder-bike scene from Return of the Jedi. When you’re done a snag-line takes you back up the mountain and you have a great view to enjoy of the forrest. It was better than any roller coaster, ferris wheel, or loopty-loop I’ve ever ridden!

BEST EMOTIONALLY WRECKING ALBUM of 2015

(from Tim)

The Collection is a band out of North Carolina and they created an incredible album here. The songs are rich in arrangement, powerful in melody, and lyrically striking (the spiritual honesty gives me chills at least once listening through the album every time).

Ars Moriendi | the Collection

BEST NEW RESTAURANTS of 2015

(from Betony)

This award goes to a new Greeley restaurant and a new find in Glenwood Springs.

Hands down our new favorite MEAL in greeley is Right Coast Pizza‘s “Sunny Side” pizza – delightful thin crust, with house charred peppers, red sauce, bacon and a fried egg. Sounds a bit weird, I know, but it is A-Maze-ing!!

Polanka could also win the “best restaurant with the worst atmosphere” award. It’s found in a dingy shopping mall with florescent lighting and ugly tile floors in Glenwood Springs.

But this is the kind of food I would want on my death bed. This place is like “last meal of your life” good. Partly because you can FEEL the love and history put into it. You might cry it is so good. Drop everything and drive there right now. Order everything on the menu. Ignore the fact that it looks like you are eating in a weird florescent lit packing store in a strip mall. Ignore the styrofoam plates. Just close your eyes and stuff your face.

By the way, honorable mention in Glenwood Springs goes to Slope & Hatch tacos too. Great creativity AND execution.

Hope you enjoyed our favorites of the year. With moments and foods and discoveries like this it makes us look forward to 2016!

Blessings and much love,

Giants & Pilgrims
Betony & Tim Coons

December Ideas and Activities around the Theme “Advent”

December 3, 2015/0 Comments/in Abacus, Family, Online /by Betony Coons

For this entire year (I can’t believe it is the last month of the year already!) I’ve been doing an at home curriculum with the family (Lucy 6, Hattie 4, Beatrice 1). Tim and I call the project “Abacus” and we’re sharing it each month for the fun, challenge, and community of it. Each month we choose a theme and then come up with a bunch of activities around that theme. Read all about how to use this list and our heart behind this project here.
Explore past months themes here.

Our theme this month is “Advent.” To me December is a month of anticipation. Our family is OBSESSED with advent calendars. We literally have 5 that we will do every day this month. For me it is a way of slowing down and fully enjoying these favorite of days. I am going to share some of my favorite advent traditions here, as well as our own little “activity” advent of 25 perfect December activities – one for each day until Christmas.

DECEMBER Dates to Take Note of:

December 6-12 – Hanukkah
December 13th – The Feast of Santa Lucia – we are hoping to take a trip up to Georgetown to partake in their annual European Christmas Market –

December 22nd – Winter Solstice – I love the tradition of making a small bonfire outside on this day.
December 24th – Christmas Eve (Also my grandmother’s Birthday!) (for us, it is Christmas eve services, followed by takeout, leaving cookies for Santa, and opening a package that is always pajamas)
December 25th – Christmas Day – (for us it looks like – photos on the stairs before coming down, sausage souffle and cinnamon rolls, opening stockings and presents as slowly as possible, playing all day, a family walk in the cold, and grilling outside)
December 26th – Boxing Day

Local: Greeley, CO events:

December 5th – Teddy Bear Bash at the Festival of Trees – 9-11am
December 5th – Handmade for the Holidays 10-3 at the Kress Cinema
December 11-13th – The Nutcracker at UCCC
December 11-13th – Twas the Night before Christmas performed by the Stampede Theater Troupe

Let me know if you have other fun Greeley events I should add to this calendar!

The Coon’s Family 2015 ADVENT CALENDARS:

You might laugh at this one. But our family LOVES Jacquie Lawson’s advent calendar she releases each year. It shows up as a Snow Globe on your desktop and each day another little animated short or activity is released. It borders on overly “thomas-kinkade” sappy, but at the same time it is SO great. We all unabashedly love it. This year the theme is Victorian Christmas.

If you haven’t yet discovered Sparkle Stories, I am so happy to get to be the one to introduce you. The stories are very simple but sweet original audio stories for kids. They have a specific Advent calendar as part of their Martin & Sylvia Series. Each day showcases a very simple holiday activity. They released the advent calendar in 2014, but it is still great. We listened to it last year and are excited to relive it again this year.

Partly thanks to having a brother who manages a Lego store, we can’t miss out on the Lego Advent calendars. This year we opted for their Star Wars edition (in anticipation of the new movie). Each day you get a tiny set of legos to build.

Tim loves playing the Angry Birds seasons (which unlocks one new level each day)

We are participateing in our church community Atlas’s Random Acts of Christmas Kindness list

25 ADVENT Activities:

These don’t have to be done in any particular order, but this is our list of 25 “Christmasy” activities that don’t require much extra money or time, but are what this month is all about for us.

Make Gingerbread Cookies/houses (my sister just recommended this recipe)
Cut Paper Snowflakes
Visit a Christmas Tree Farm to pick our tree
Take our time decorating the Christmas tree and tell stories and memories
String popcorn and cranberries
Bake Christmas cookies for the neighbors – Here are some recipes to get you started.
Drive around and look at Christmas lights (especially the Greeley Grizwalds)
Go caroling
Eat dinner by candlelight
Go Ice Skating (The Greeley Ice Haus or the Ice skating rink at Centerra are good choices if you are local)
Go on an icy walk and then have hot chocolate with marshmallows
Make snow angels
In Hutchinson, where Tim and I grew up, they have an INCREDIBLE night of illuminaries in the Hyde Park neighborhood the Saturday before Christmas. Blocks and blocks are illuminated. They don’t allow traffic through and instead have hay rides of carolers and horse drawn carriages. I would love to have our own tiny version one night.
Write and send Christmas cards (just wait until you see the adorable family photo I have…)
Go sledding – just need a little more snow first!!
Get matching pajamas for our whole family. Shhh… don’t tell Tim…and have a family game night
Eat a candy cane – I have heard that the Hammond Candy factory tour in Denver is pretty cool
Make a wreath (isn’t this gold feather and leaf one pretty?)
Read all the Christmas stories out loud – We love: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Max’s Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Polar Express, and so many more…
Go to the Nutcracker (or at least listen to it)
Write letters to Santa and deliver to the Currier Inn Reindeer Route mailbox.
Lucy really wants to have a Christmas scavenger hunt. I am not sure what that means, but I’m working on it.
Keep the bird feeders filled and chart the visitors
Have a Christmas movie watching and present wrapping party
Watch Charlie Brown Christmas and Ice Skating – the two shows we would always watch on Christmas day at my grandparent’s house.

December Calendar Free Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

December 1, 2015/0 Comments/in Downloads, Online /by Betony Coons

December’s palette is gray and white. Outside all the world has faded to these shades. Snow has come. The color is in the subtlety. I believe that it’s inside the house, the hearth, that embodies December. Inside we gather together around warmth and goodness. We bake cookies, sing, and wait with eager anticipation for Christmas holidays and the new year.
To dig into December, read this simple poem, make these perfect cookies, and listen to this angelic playlist.

Enjoy this vintage silhouette inspired wallpaper for your month.

For the desktop, click on the small thumbnail below to view the large size image.
For the iphone wallpaper, navigate to this page on your phone and then click and hold on the iphone images. Select ‘Save image to camera roll’. Then from your camera roll set your home screen/lock screen.

High Resolution Desktop Wallpaper:

iPhone Wallpaper:

June Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

May Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

April Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

Cheesy Lasagne Soup Recipe

LASAGNA SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SOUP:

FOR THE CHEESY YUM:

DIRECTIONS:

March Practice and Process: “Ground”

Practice:

Process:

Resources for “GROUND”:

MAKE:

READING LISTS:

ART:

ADVENTURE:

TECHNOLOGY:

LISTEN:

January Free Calendar Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

December Ideas and Activities around the Theme “Advent”

The Coon’s Family 2015 ADVENT CALENDARS:

25 ADVENT Activities:

December Calendar Free Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper

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