turkey feathers

Daisy Hill

I love how daisies project sunshine even when its cloudy. 

We were expecting thunderstorms with heavy rain over the long weekend, but surprisingly never had a single drop.  Apparently that particular storm missed us by about a hundred miles.   It was however, cool and gray with glimpses of blue sky.  Perfect gardening weather. 

There was a fair amount of puttering that happened too, mixed with movie watching (The Water Horse was quite enjoyable), some home cooking, a three day game of Monopoly spread out across the floor, chocolate-chip cookie baking (and munching),  a backyard BBQ, and a little crafting. 

A new foal has joined the menagerie!  I think I'm finally getting the needle-felting down.  Fewer needle jabs to the fingers anyway. 

One more glance at my sunny inspiration. 

Enjoy!    

Coffee Break

This was yesterday, but mentally, I'm still lingering over here in happy land.  That cupcake was especially good, compliments of Grace who's real-life baking is just as sweet as her dollhouse goodies.  If this keeps up though I'm gonna have to let out my pants! 

I've been particularly charmed with the May 2008 issue of Romantic Homes, (shown above) starting with the letter from Editor, Jacqueline deMontravel, about the changing art of communication between women.  About blogging in particular she says, "Step inside these cozy places trimmed with crafty borders.  You can visit any time of day, dress as you please and type a few nice words to your host that will be as appreciated as a bundle of flowers."  She really captured the essence of it all so nicely in just two simple sentences I think. 

I keep going back to this issue for all the amazing articles, like the one pictured here about retro baking, Betty Crocker style, so fun, and the cute aprons it inspires like these darling ones from Heavenly Hostess. 

I feel lucky to have some of those old cookbooks from Mom's day and cherish them.  Most are dog-eared and spattered, a sign that it was a favorite and used often.  I don't really cook the same way today, but they're a lovely connection to the past. 

And, of course, lovely to linger over.

More lingering out here too. 

The garden is at its Spring peak right now and I've been spending more time outside admiring the flowers, trying to keep on top of the weeds, and planting a few things.  Field daisies are always a welcome sight.  They've propagated themselves throughout the yard dotting the landscape with bright spots of light.   Each year they fill in a little more.  Some may consider them weeds, but give me a choice between weeds with thorns and weeds with flowers and I'll choose the flowers.   

See them over there in the background?  They've wrapped themselves around the lawn in this way purely by nature's design.  The effect is charming!  I'm still gushing over that blue Iris too.  It's the perfect accent with all the pink and white. 

Well, my lingering time is just about up.  I have lots to do and I know you do too, so I won't keep ya, but I just want to again say, thank you for stepping inside to visit with me here today. You're most welcome anytime!      

Eye Spy:: Iris

Last year, toward the end of summer, the Mister came home with a bundle of rhizomes from a friend's backyard and stuck them in the ground, knowing nothing about their color or size.  In fact, all that was left were the gnarled, dirt-encrusted root divisions that needed new homes.  Well, after they were buried we all promptly forgot about them. 

Until yesterday, when I saw this. 

And this.  What loveliness!

If you build it...

. . . they will come.

I'm happy to report that the first bluebird sighting took place this weekend in our own backyard!

There's actually a pair of them, and they've been back several times scoping out the location.   House-hunting it seems.  (These birdhouses were specifically made for them by our friend John.) As luck would have it, Grace was out in *the fortress* with her camera that morning when one landed right in front of her.  Somehow, despite utter shock and surprise, she managed to get this one fantastic picture before it flew out of sight. 

We'll keep ya posted. 

Little Things

Something to make you drool.  Grace made these chocolate fudge fairy cakes for Mother's Day. 

Boy does she have my number. 

They're all gone now, but I'm still dreaming about them.   They looked so pretty with the borage flowers. 

I spent most of the afternoon yesterday playing "animal rescue" with my darling granddaughter, Bitty the Vet. 

She examined, diagnosed, and treated each and every stuffed animal in the house, using a flashlight, a magnifying glass, and a tinker toy for medical tools.  Yes, we are resourceful.  And thorough. 

The game could not stop until every single solitary animal had been seen.  Most of them just had thorns in their paws from "climbing the blueberry trees". 

(Big excitement when a live doe and her fawns wandered by later in the day). 

Before that, I was up early this morning getting the new free-with-purchase designs finished and up on the website before the house got busy again with little people and animal friends.  I guess there's a bit of a baby theme going on here.  Stork and all.  

Birth of a Flower

I was meandering around my yard yesterday and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this Rhodie; a perfect puff-ball of pink petals. 

Planted a couple of seasons ago, it has finally come into its own.  Worth waiting for don't ya think?   Sorry, the official name escapes my muddled mind at the moment.  I try and keep a small garden journal for such things, because I'm good at forgetting details like this, however, no time to dig it out this morning.  We've got "Bitty", our 3 1/2-year-old grand-daughter staying with us during the day, so mama can get the rest she needs. 

Baby Olivia is doing fine, no jaundice at all and already gaining weight.   We were in sync with matching pink outfits this morning. 

Sigh.  I could stare at this face forever.

Short & Sweet

A perfect 20" and 6 lbs. 9 oz. to be exact. 

And extremely sweet!  Just as sweet as this cake Grace made to celebrate the occasion.  I meant to update a bit sooner but these past few days have been a blur of activity.  Baby granddaughter #2 was born literally moments after that last post, and since then we've all been kept quite busy.   Thanks so much for the *baby love*.  I'll be sure and pass it on to the proud parents.

Ding....there goes that kitchen timer again!

Frozen Food & Warm Fuzzies

 

OK, so what do you do when you get the call that your DIL has gone into labor?  You boil water, of course!  And . . . add noodles.  Roast a chicken.  Steam some vegetables to go with it.  Then bake a cake.  That's what! 

 

If you ever wonder what you can do to help a family that has a new baby (and a toddler) in the house, the answer: food.  Comfort food.  Mostly in the form of nourishing home-cooked freezer meals. 

 

 

So to this end, the girls and I spent most of the day mixing, cooking and boxing things up.  We still have a few presents to wrap, including these, a knitted baby blanket to finish (Grace’s project), a basket of books and puzzles to keep the new big sister occupied and some Mother’s Day goodies to gather together before heading up to the house to meet grand baby #2 who hasn't actually officially arrived yet.  But will.  Soon.

 

These few quiet days of contemplative needle-felting and tea sipping suddenly got very busy and oh, it feels good to be sitting down right now and resting my feet.  If only for a few minutes as I wait on the kitchen-timer to call me back. 

 

Ding.

 

Alas, my allotted fifteen minutes for blogging is up. I shall leave you with more needle felted fun.  I’m awfully proud of the bum on this one. ACK! Think I found a new hobby!

 

Take Your Time

We have been working on some needle felt projects inspired by this book. 

 

Played around for a few hours making critters.  I must’ve stabbed myself half-a-dozen times, and let me tell ya, those needles aren’t only sharp, they’re barbed, and rather rusty.  Caution and common sense is required.  It was the first time I’ve done this type of wool sculpting and I probably went about it all wrong.  One needle broke, so I’m sure I did.  

Not too bad for a first try. 

 

My friend Missy supplied some of the fibers for our projects.  She’s put some nice kits together with a variety of pretty wool roving and a few other essentials; now available in her Etsy shop.  I'm finding more inspiration here and here and here and may just take another stab at it. 

Dolly Sweets

  There’s been some serious candy-making happening in the doll house bakery kitchen again.  Grace was back in her craft corner, following a brief intermission of driving lessons (eek!), starting up a Celtic band with friends (woot!), planting a vegetable garden (yum!), and ya know, just generally being a busy teenager.  So I was quite surprised when I saw these dainty boxes of petite confection a few days ago. Oh my.  Even the darling teeny boxes and tissue flower roses are handmade.  (Gasp!)  The sad thing though--supply is limited.  These do take quite a bit of time to make, so if you need a little candy box, you’d better scurry over to her shop without delay. 

 

Scoundrels & Scallywags

I'm glad my bunny tales are giving you all a good laugh.  Reading your comments has helped me keep a sense of humor over this silly situation.  That last post is just a small example of what’s been going on around here.  All these furry rabbits are cute, but it can be alarming to see so many of them running amok and grazing everything in the garden, and knowing that the gestation period for these critters is only about a month. 

 

By summertime most of the rabbits are gone due to predators of one kind or another, but in the meantime, I’ve been covering a few plants with cages and spraying the magic concoction (deer repellent recipe) again this weekend, which also deters rabbits.  Yesterday, we were somewhat relieved to see a falcon surveying the backyard. 

 

 

And fortunately, there are ‘volunteers like this borage plant that need "natural pruning".  Isn't it amazing how borage (and other plants) can spring up like this from a tiny crack? 

 

 

I am also on the hunt for this tree spotted in a park over the weekend. 

 

Anyone recognize this variety of dogwood tree?  So pretty!

Peter Rabbit Pays a Visit

Apparently I'm not the only one who likes borage flowers. 

I'd better pick a few before they're all gone!