nesting...

when it comes to decorating i'm a "natural" or mark might say i am a little bit "off the beaten path", to put it nicely! but i don't care. i love my branch window covering with its little nest.

everyday gift: a bit of the woods brought into my kitchen

another view of horse camp

S was a good sport. although he could have had plans to play with a friend during B's horse camp show, he wanted to come and see what she had learned. he really is a nice brother. but after an hour of watching the girls circle the arena and lead their horse through the cones and over logs, he was getting a little bored. was i done with that camera, yet? he wanted to know. he found some more interesting subjects to photograph...

"hoof prints in the sand"

"haybales"

"___"

i love his creativity! and his kindness toward his sister!

p.s. more pictures of the horse show to come...

everyday gift: a sense of humor

the library sale

i am in a little bit of trouble with mark. you see, we are moving soon. very soon. and i am supposed to be getting rid of things so we have less to pack and store.


but saturday morning at 7:25 am, i stole away to the library sale. sadly, they have closed the old main library downtown, the beautiful old library with a huge brick fireplace in the center and dark walnut curved railings down wide open staircases. the elevator was put in later. it is small, has one of those metal gates you pull closed, and clanks when it carries you between all 3 floors. the aisles between the bookshelves are so narrow that you have to turn sideways to pass another patron. but it has that wonderful feel of old books. it is an historic building and i hope they find a worthy purpose for it in the future.


well, i went to say goodbye to the old carnegie library and i came home with a few wonderful keepsakes.

this round table was in the children's department. i think it will make a perfect coffee table in the family room. it is wide, 48" across. i can just picture a rousing game of Settlers of Catan on top or a big bowl of popcorn in the center as we watch a movie. it was a steal at $10!

i have really been taking some teasing over this. i don't care, i absolutely love it. a vintage metal trash can. i only paid 50 cents for it! can't you just see it spray-painted some funky color? i plan to keep it in my laundry room so mark won't have to worry about seeing it, he never goes in there!! ;o)

the only problem with spray painting it would be covering this cool company label. have you ever heard of Yaman & Erbe Mfg. Co. of rochester, new york?

everyday gift: vintage treasures from the library

dear old raggedy ann

i never really set out to collect dolls. it just sort of happened. i inherited my grandmother's dolls, some very rare and beautiful dolls from the early 1900's. and i have now acquired my mother's dolls because of her lack of storage in her condo. in a series of future posts i plan to display these special dolls since i have no place to display them in my home. but i do treasure them! there is something about a well loved doll that makes you believe she is alive and returns the same affection to the little girl who cared for her. it is easy to understand why such a theme runs through so many story books...and i just might believe it is true...

"Oh, Children!" Marcella cried, one day, as she came running into the nursery where all the dolls were sitting, "we are going to move, so you must all help me get ready. We must put all the doll clothes in the little trunk and pack everything nice and neat so nothing will get lost."

The dolls thought this would be great fun and they would have enjoyed jumping right up and helping, but Marcella did not know that dolls can run around and talk and do all sorts of things.

But, dear me, how the thoughts flew through their little heads and how they wished that Marcella really knew they were alive instead of just pretend. "Why!" thought Raggedy Ann, "wouldn't she be s'prised, if I should suddenly jump up and start packing our clothes in the little toy trunk?"

Marcella would have been surprised. Sometimes she did think that the dolls had moved around in the night after she had gone to bed. And, indeed, that is just what they always did...

from Marcella: A Raggedy Ann Story by johny gruelle

the inscription reads, "Judy Lynn, from Betty 1948"

what a sweet gift from a big sister

my mom's Raggedy Ann doll from the 1940's

a gift from her sister Betty

"curly"

a hand-stitched treasure, given to my mom by her mom in 1949.

everyday gift: the special love between girls and dolls

little italian village

these little wooden houses belonged to my grandmother, my dad's mother. as far as i know, they were brought back from italy in the 1940's by an uncle, presumably fighting in world war II. i wish i knew for sure. i wish i knew who the uncle was and the circumstances surrounding these souvenirs. i wish i knew exactly where they came from. but these details were lost when my grandmother died.

the tops of the houses lift off, they are actually little boxes. i love the hand-painted details.

if your grandparents are still living, please go visit them. ask them questions. listen to their stories...and take notes. their lives are history, your history. and you undoubtedly will find out the most remarkable things about them.

.

everyday gift: a treasure from my grandma

a book treasure

several weeks ago i found an old book about a raccoon called Masked Prowler at a library book sale. i stop in regularly looking for good books and sometimes i am rewarded by finding an out-of-print book or a hard cover edition of a favorite author. in this case, it was a vintage book with nice illustrations about nature. upon closer examination i noticed the authors: john and jean george. could that be the same jean george as in jean craighead george, the newbery award winner and author of such titles as My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves? i did some checking on line and found it was indeed the same author and this was one of her earlier books! i also found that there were actually more titles in the series American Woodland Tales. others in the series include a story about a fox and mink. oh, how i wished i had the book about the fox. we are studying canines in B's science book, and i would love to have this as a go-along book. i checked the online auctions and found only paperback editions. and of course, i wouldn't settle for that. (i know i'm quirky, but i like my book sets to match!)



so you can image my delight last week when i returned to that book sale and found this:

Vulpes: The Red Fox

it is an ex-library book, but it is in very good condition.

the illustrations are beautiful pen and ink drawings by jean george. the reader is taken along the trails of the red fox with such detailed and accurate descriptions of the woodland forest, its flora, fauna, and seasons. it was fun to see B recognize the wild flowers mentioned in the story as we were reminded of our own springtime hike. i love 'living books' that inspire beautiful imagery, curiosity, learning, and imagination!

.

"May came to the Maryland woods and opened the purple blossoms of the pawpaw. the May-apples bloomed under their green umbrellas, and the Jack-in-the-pulpits stood straight and tall in their green parishes. The floor of the woods was splashed with spring flowers and the warblers flew in from the South. Some stayed to nest, others paused briefly during the day, then resumed their flight northward with the setting of the sun."

i recommend this book with a small warning to those with sensitive children. it is very realistic in describing the food chain and the conflict between human hunters and the animals. it might be disturbing to some tender hearts. B was concerned, but commanded that i read on!

everyday gift: discovering an unexpected treasure on a dusty book sale shelf

The Saturdays

after reading Thimble Summer, B wanted to read another book by elizabeth enright. she picked The Saturdays off the shelf. i tried to talk her into another book, not that i didn't want to read this one, but i have plans of doing the Beyond Five in a Row lessons with this book. i did not want to spoil the freshness of the story by reading it ahead of time. but she persisted and i gave in. and it is such a wonderfully rich story, full of inspiration to explore the world of arts, theater and music. i am looking forward now, more than ever, to pursuing the lessons that accompany this book!

it is the story of the 4 melendy children who decide to pool their allowances and take turns doing special things with their saturday afternoons. the adventures they have are so exciting! it makes me long for the days when a child would be safe alone in new york city and $1.50 would pay their entrance to a concert and buy an ice cream cone, too! B has been plotting a special saturday to the american girl store in chicago ever since we began. unfortunately, it may run a bit more than $1.50. ;o)





inspired by the descriptive details of the story and by "the year of the doll house" over at a mother's journal, we decided to make a diorama of the melendy children's playroom in a shoebox. we read the details of the playroom over and over adding things like the trapeze that randy was so fond of swinging on, the red linoleum floor, the big fireplace in the middle of the room, a skylight, the piano for rush, and isaac the dog adopted half way into the book. play mobil people were just the right size. B braided yarn and wound it around to make a braided rug and drew the faces on the masks displayed over the mantle. yes, it was hours of fun creating and playing. what a joy to be at home, loving, learning, and exploring possibilities!

B with a friend playing with her diorama

everyday gift: enchanted with a miniature world

a treasured masterpiece

this pastel drawing hangs in my home and is one of my most treasured pieces of artwork. the artist is not famous. he never had a showing at a gallery nor sold a painting at a prestigious auction. but this simple drawing is a treasure. it speaks volumes to me about faith, love, and perseverance.


the artist was my gran'dad.




he was an amazing man, overcoming many difficulties as a child. his mother died when he was only 4 years old. and when he was 5 his stepmother, not wanting the burden of caring for him and his sister, put them in an orphanage. he only achieved an 8th grade education before entering the work force. but he lived in a time when hard work could mean more than education. he married the love of his life and they built a wonderful life. he came to know the Lord as an adult, brought to faith by the loving example and testimony of my grandmom. they brought up 3 daughters and had many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

in 1969 he suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed on his right side. ironically, gran'dad was left handed, but taught in school that it was only correct to write with your right hand. with difficulty he learned to switch. now, he had to relearn to use his left. this pastel drawing was done using his left hand, a kind of therapy for him. so i see in this painting his love of art and the garden; perseverance and optimism. as a child i was always so fascinated with his boxes of pastels and sketch pads. i like to think i got my love of art from him and i pray that when times are tough i will follow his example of perserverance.

everyday gift: gran'dad's legacy

field of sunflowers

after 2 weeks of airports, hotels, and meetings mark was glad to arrive home on friday afternoon. and we were so glad to have him home! he was restless to be outdoors, so we all went for a tour of mark's sunflower fields. he planted 1 acre of sunflowers as food for the wild life and to draw in the mourning doves. dove season opens on september 1st and he is hoping for a good hunting season.


i tried to get a picture of the gold finch who were feasting on the seeds, but let's just say we didn't exactly sneak up on anyone.

helianthus annus

bumble bee on a sunflower

sampling the sunflower seeds...i think they are better roasted with salt.

everyday gift: having mark home again

first blue egg!

we found our first blue egg this afternoon laid by one of our araucana chickens, the easter egg layers. well, mom. i guess all you had to do is ask!

college for kids

C was invited to participate in the community college's annual "college for kids" this summer. he selected his top picks from a variety of class choices including extreme engineering:

he constructed a bridge and then tested it for strength and endurance. his bridge held 30 pounds! the center portion of the bridge rotated to allow for barge traffic.

book making:

he enjoyed making books from a variety of materials including paper bags, envelopes, and collage materials. his favorite is the one with the tie-dyed cover.

and finally, animal dissection...don't worry, i don't have any pictures of that! ;o) but he did enjoy that class very much.



everyday gift: kids who love to learn

treasures

mark and i share a camera. but don't worry, we never have to wonder who took which pictures. i take pictures like this:



mark takes pictures like this:





he has been doing some clean up at an old barn and has found many antique farm tools and implements. you know the ole saying, "one man's junk is another man's treasure".

bible horse camp

last week B had the time of her life at bible horse camp. i can't believe how natural she looked in her riding boots, flinging her leg over the back of a pony and trotting around the arena. it was a wonderful time of friendship and fun.

12 girls, a barn cat, a dog, bible stories in the horse stable...

does it get any better than this for an 8 year old girl?

lemon drop, the cat joins in the bible story

B and rosie

B and a sweet friend on the fence

giddy up

the three amigas

B with miss stacey and rosie

everyday gift: the sweet smell of hay mingled with the giggles of girls

critters R us

mark came home from work the other day to find yet another jar on the kitchen island, bringing our critter count to approximately 30 ants in an ant farm, 1 caterpillar transforming into a chrysalis, and 15 tadpoles...



i can't believe you all put up with my terrible photography, but this is the best shot i have of one of our little fellers.

now that the water has settled and cleared we are finding all kinds of interesting life forms in our puddle water! (praying that they aren't mosquito larva!)

everyday gift: muddy toes and tadpoles