My sister-in-law just had her birthday, so I thought i’d whip up some earrings for her.  I spent 15 minutes making two pairs of earrings, and then the girls spent about half an hour quietly playing at the table with the beads – stringing them for a while, then acting out little scenes with various beads [...]

Read Full Post »

Tum Tum is the sweetest, easiet baby I could ever ask for.  If all babies were like him, everyone would want 15 kids!  Unfortunately, as of late, he seems to be developing a bad bad bad habit. 

Now, I’m ashamed to admit it, but I was a thumb sucker, and my parents had a terrible time [...]

Read Full Post »

For homeschool, we are exploring the letter “B” this week and butterfly crafts, blowing bubbles, beekeeping books, and butter making abound.   Little Hen suggested that we bake Banana Bread this morning.  I thought a simple dinner of the bread served next to Black Beans with carrots and Brown rice would round out the B theme [...]

Read Full Post »

The few precious grapes from our grapevine were finally ready today (not sure of the variety, but they are very flavorful).  I snapped this shot as quickly as I could – because, well, as you can see below, they didn’t last long!

Read Full Post »

Grosgrain’s offering another gorgeous girl’s frock giveaway here – this one an adorable blue and white check.
Also, I’m loving these blogs’ posts this week -
Little Red Caboose
Blue Yonder
Mom in Madison
Five Reds
Wool Windings

Read Full Post »

A friend is having a baby boy this winter, and I’ve been busy working on a super easy, but super cute kimono-style sweater for her little one.  I’ve adapted an old pattern to use Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride in Mallard.  With three little ones to chase, a sweater that used to take me a weekend is now [...]

Read Full Post »

The last few days Little Hen has been collecting fall leaves and saving them in her pockets.  Needless to say, this doesn’t preserve them too well, and they have been ending up in the laundry instead of the nature table.  So, today we made her a little box in which she can collect her leaves.

Materials – paper bag, old candy [...]

Read Full Post »

 
I am a huge fan of Penzey’s Spices, and find that their spices add so much to the simple, mostly vegetarian, dinners we cook around here. Their Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle is awesome mixed with sour cream and tossed over garden veggies.
 We had a heat wave last week that sent our potatoes over the [...]

Read Full Post »

Here in Pacific Nortwest, our tomatoes aren’t usually ready until September.  I’ve been reading other ladies’ blogs with so much envy as they enjoy salsa, tomato salad, panzanella, fresh pasta sauce.  Now my beefsteaks are ready, and I’ve been enjoying fresh tomato salad almost every day.  I have Better Boys and Brandywines from my own [...]

Read Full Post »

I have a weakness for worn old tea cups that no one else wants, especially those with fading designs or teensy chips in the rim.  When i have a cup of tea in one of those cups, I think about what conversations they must have overheard or the comfort they brought on a chilly afternoon.  [...]

Read Full Post »