A Crafty Post

Here is a post with some of the crafty things we've been up to lately. I always hope I'll have more time in the summer for crafts, but then find it usually doesn't work that way. Oh well. However, when there is any kind of little window of time, you will find me working on something.

Here's my new summer purse. Christina passed the purse down to me and I added the flower.

I'm slowly making progress on a slew of tea cozies for my Etsy store.

And more flowers are being worked on all the time around here.

Potty training provided plenty of time to sit and unravel. I've stocked up on some lovely sweaters from thrift stores and I'm now making good progress frogging them (rip-it, rip-it, rip-it).

One day we drew large houses and cut picture from magazines to decorate the houses. It was a fun idea for about 45 minutes and then we had to put them away for another time.

I'm off to put some finishing touches on a batch of flowers and then there are cookies to bake and Knit Night tonight!

More Peonies

Michael came home yesterday from a visit to friends with this gorgeous bouquet! Peonies. Ahhhh.... they smell so wonderful. I feel like carrying this vase around with me throughout the day, just so I don't miss any of that loveliness.

I've been up to the farm and back. I snuck a quick visit to my sister (Christina) and saw the incredible jacket she is designing for a contest. She says it will be available free when she's done. I can't wait!

The weather is hot and humid. None of the promised rain. My work's cut out for me, so I better run.

Little Lambs

We all enjoyed watching the sheep last week on our outing. They are so beautiful in their own way.

And the little lambs were so playful:

Looking at scenes like this evokes a sense of calm and peace:

Interspersed by play, of course:

A perfect day for a sheep:

My little lambs have spent the morning at the library and are just now nearing the end of their rest time. The weather here is warm and humid. It was too cool this morning to go to the pool, but I'm sure it won't be long before that's where we'll be spending a lot of our time.

The weekend was nice -- despite some bad weather we enjoyed time with a number of different friends and family. A food highlight was a Lemon-Blueberry Trifle. I'm sure you will hear more about it sometime since Michael has declared it the only trifle so far that he actually loves!

We have a busy week of hospitality, Knit Night (Thursday), etc. In between there are so many projects I want to get to: organizing my closet, sewing flowers, knitting, sorting yarn, unravelling sweaters. :) Enjoy your week!

Peonies

Peonies are one of the prettiest flowers (in my opinion). Not only are the beautiful, but, they have an incredible perfume.

I wish these peonies were mine. However, they are not. I took the pictures at Conner Prairie earlier this week.

Don't you just love that shade of clean, pure pink!

My peonies are not fairing very well, yet. Only one of the 6 roots have made appearance. I haven't given up hope for the rest. The three transplants are still alive. They haven't grown much, but aren't showing any signs of giving up. I hope they will feel happier in their new home next year.

If this peony were edible, it would be very tempting indeed!

We even saw a red peony variety -- interesting, with it's single layer of petals:

I hope you all have a pleasant weekend! We are making progress on potty training(!) as well as my overhaul of the kitchen. The weather is wonderful and I am really, really enjoying having no school! I have so much more time for housework! :)

The Garden 103

Every morning I go out to check the progress of the garden. Lettuce and radishes are poking through! Today I caught a glimpse of the very first squash. I wonder if my anticipation is akin to my friends' anticipation I read about of what the next episode of "such and such" will be on television. :)

Monday we got our pots filled with dirt: a mixture of soil, peat moss and cow manure. Rachel decided it was like acting out the miracle of the never-ending supply of oil.

Everyone had fun helping. Some helped longer than others.

We had lots of herbs to plant!

I am so pleased with my perrenial bed! This is its second year and I feel the plants are much more established.

Flowers are starting to bloom, along with this native-to-Indiana grass:

The columbines are so pretty:

With a fresh layer of mulch, the gardens look terrific:

The myriad of gladiolas we planted a few weeks ago are poking their first spears up through the mulch:

By the end of the evening, all our pots were filled!

And the herbs were planted:

I'm sure you just can't wait to see the next episode in this season's Growing Home series. :)

BTW, I almost forgot -- I have just repotted my aloe plant and have 4 small ones to give away. Anyone in the area that would like an aloe plant? Let me know!

End of School Celebration

Yesterday we spent a lovely few hours at Conner Prairie an "interactive history park."

We started with a visit to the animal barn:

Every garden we went by we stopped to look and chat and take mental notes for what we wanted to add to our collection:

The wood shop was just gorgeous and I took these pictures for Michael....

....just to dream about a day when he has such a shop.

Baby Cakes spent much of his time being carried about by an obliging Grandma.

A picnic of salami, cheese, good bread, strawberries and fig newtons was enjoyed in the baseball park:

Conner Prairie's newest addition is a helium balloon.

A wheelbarrow just his size! Grandma is now determined he needs one:

While Rachel was "doing chores" in the farmyard, the boys were enjoying being with Grandma:

What can be more fun than water play!

Look at these crazy chickens!!! This is for you, Willow! Apparently the chickens are trying to stay cool (it was only in the low 70's):

And the rooster, whom we decided looked just like Bob in Bob the Rooster (David's favorite book):

And how did we end up in school just when we thought it was over!

The temperature is going up today -- into the lower 80's. I finally managed to get up early and start my chores. The garden is watered and the lettuce is poking through!!!! Now, I'm off to teach child #4 just how to be potty-trained!!!! Wish me luck! ;)

Last Day of School

Today was our last day of school!!!! In some ways I didn't want it to end as there was a very nice, satisfied feeling to being on, say, day 178 of 180 and having the whole summer to look forward to. The kids were excited and we celebrated with ice-cream cones:

We have some new art hanging up. I can't take credit for inspiring any of it. I'm very proud of Andrew, though. We took the kids to an art open house at an art center downtown recently and we saw one artist who paints on cardboard. Andrew decided he could do the same! I wish you could see more detail in the picture. It's pretty cool!

The kids and I were on our own one evening last week. Asked what they wanted to do with me and they replied "make flowers." So we made flowers. David insisted he wanted to sew too. He did very well for his first time. :)

Andrew loves to make flowers most of all. In fact, he made sure I would include a picture of his flowers on this post. He is selling them for 25 cents each in case anyone would like one.

Rach designed her own flower and I really liked it. She actually gave me an idea for how I should be making mine.

James enjoyed himself as well.

A few days later I convinced Rachel to give me her flower. :) It's going on my summer purse.

And here are Andrew's flowers:

Tomorrow the kids and I are off to Conner Prairie to celebrate the end of school. Summer has begun!

Tea, Books, and Knitting

Last Friday we took some time out to sit down, drink tea, visit with a friend, and knit. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable time. Our friend is a librarian, and a great source for new books to read (in fact, many that I do read are recommended by her).

Tea is always a necessity. This "pink tea" is becoming a favorite:

We all had our various projects. This is a baby cardigan.

Janet was working on a crocheted afghan.

I came away from our get-together with a list of books, websites, and ideas. I learned about www.cozy-mystery.com. At this site you can find lists and lists of fun mysteries to read. You can also find more lists at http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/. I intend to use this site when searching by country (since I do enjoy British books). And any day now my friend at http://coffeeteabooksandme.blogspot.com/ is going to post her compilation of good books on cozy houses, tea, etc. I can't wait!