I hope you had a great weekend. We had a busy but very fun filled Sunday that started with strawberry shortcake!After lunch P had her Twinkle Cupcake Recital (five versions of Twinkle on the cello and cupcakes for an after treat).
We did a little tree planting - and look, short sleeves!
The day ended with a walk in the woods.
I think we may have scared the fairies but I am pretty sure there were some there.
It does seem like just the sort of place for woodland fairies.
Don't you think?
I couldn't have asked for a better day!
Wordless Wednesday
Crocus!
Finally.
It's Coming
Spring is taking it's time.
Patience
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring.
A Cold and Cloudy Day
It was a cold and cloudy day.
Mother earth has put on her brown coat for winter.
Thoughtful Sunday
"Nothing keeps you from learning."The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1940.
Wordless Wednesday
Fall
I'm slowing down to appreciate the warm sunny days of fall.
I even started hand quilting again this week.
It has been a long time. I need to build up some callouses on my tender fingertips.
Thoughtful Sunday
"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the moreunsustained I am, the more I will respect myself."Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, 1847.
A Couple of Raisins in a Cup
I really enjoy spending time with P. I love hearing her observations of the world around her.
After our recent rain the weather has been cooler and crispier. The mosquitoes have even been taking the days off.Yesterday, P and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon outside. We took the picnic blanket, a stack of books, the baby doll, some knitting, the camera, cups of water - you know, the essentials- out in the yard.
There we were, lying under the edge of the plum tree looking up into fluffy white clouds on a sea of deep blue. It was beautiful.P said, "We are like a couple of raisins on the bottom of a cup."What?She went on to explain that the air was the cocoa and the clouds were the whipped cream on top.Yeah, it was just like that, a beautiful relaxing afternoon outside.
We stayed out until the mosquitoes started to find us.While scratching the latest bites she said, "Putting bug stick (liquid antihistamine) on bites is a good thing to do... unless they are bites from a crocodile or something like that."Yes, she is a very wise child.Do you have any good childhood wisdom to share?In the mean time, I hope you feel like a happy raisin in the bottom of a cup.
Flowers, Fabric, and Floors
I would love to spend some time outside, maybe sitting by the garden reading a book while sipping something cool.
I would even enjoy getting caught up on weeding in the gardens. But, sadly my time outside the past few weeks is spent in the following way. I look out the window and think, oh, the flowers look so pretty, I'll go take some pictures. I grab my camera and head outside.
I take a few good shots and then the mosquitoes find me. I hurry to make the complete route around the house but I can't hold the camera still to take the pictures.
I end up with some hastily taken out of focus pictures and run screaming into the house while swatting the biting bugs. Next time I'll have to start going around the house the OTHER direction. I didn't get any pictures of the flowers blooming on the south side of the house. I keep encouraging the chickens to eat the mosquitoes but I think they are eating their eggs instead.
My solution to the bug problem today will be to sit at my new sewing machine and do some quilting while watching the wood part of the wall in my sewing room come down. 
The wood will be used for flooring upstairs. Twenty years ago we took up flooring in what will be the new bathroom. We used those floor boards to patch and repair the floor in the rest of the house. We also purchased maple flooring for the bathroom. Since then, we have changed our plan and the bathroom upstairs will not be as big and some of that space will go back to what is now P's room. In working on the new plan we have found that flooring made from yellow pine today is very different from what was made 100 years ago. Today it is all flat sawn. Most of the flooring in our house is quarter sawn. B went to the lumber yard and could not find a single floor boar that was vertical grain.
Here you can see a section of our old flooring. Most of the boards are vertical grain with straight parallel grain lines. There is one board here that is flat sawn and shows the face grain as curvy ribbons of color. This is what ALL of the new floor boards look like. A whole floor like this would look like a zebra! So, we are using the old wall boards for a more uniform look to finish P's room. We can use new flooring on walls in the bathroom that will be painted.
(My sewing room used to be two rooms with the wood area being the back of a build in storage unit. This was changed before we moved in. I do wish the changes had not been made before we bought the house. We have found many interesting things as we have done our own remodeling.)Also, please note that my desk is actually CLEAN.
End of May Color
We are enjoying some splashes of late May color in the yard. P loves that she can see these pink peonies from the window in her room.
I love these Siberian Iris that were divided from some that belonged to my mother.
I don't remember what these flowers are but the bees really like them.
We also have a variety of other iris blooming now. My neighbor gave me a garbage bag of pretty rusty brown iris last year. We planted them all along the front of the yard by the road. A few are blooming this year but next year should be spectacular.I am still learning about my new sewing machine. I have a quilt top pinned and ready to go when I feel confident enough with my skills on the new "sewing computer".I think I'll go ahead with the "random" look for the Spring Butterflies quilt. I will need to lay that out again and then sew it together.I should have some fun sewing progress to share soon. I don't think you would be very interested in the mending of blue jeans that I did yesterday.
In Bloom in the White Garden
Color in the Yard Today
Today
There's a Fungus Among Us
We've been enjoying more of the beautiful outdoors. The recent rain and sun combination was good for the morels. We collected a full basket yesterday.
P and I also went to "Kindergarten Round-Up". She was thrilled with the little bus ride across the railroad tracks and back.
The Dandelion Experiment
P has been telling me about two DIFFERENT kinds of dandelions - the yellow kind and the gray kind.
She could not be convinced that they were the SAME flower. So, we started "The Dandelion Experiment."
We marked an unopened dandelion flower and took a picture of it each day.
The experiment was, however, cut short by a rabbit.
We will be starting the experiment again but perhaps we need to find a wire cage to put around the dandelion.
The First Morel
P and I found our first morel of the season yesterday.It is nothing like last year's harvest yet.
In the Pink
We are really savoring the spring show around here.
I hope you are able to enjoy some natural wonders this week.
Thoughtful Sunday
"'Spring, Spring, Spring!' sang the frog.'Spring!' said the groundhog.'Spring, Spring, Spring!' sang the robin.It was Spring."Home for a Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown, 1961.
