Hand work...

School is out for the summer! Amalie brought home her hand work. I think it's amazing!

This is her knitted gnome girl...

She needle felted a face on at home...

and added some mohair locks for hair...Isn't the braid cute?

This is the scarf she knitted. She gave it to me for Mother's Day this year. I couldn't have received a sweeter gift!

Amalie was invited to a birthday party. We whipped this up together...

The body of the purse was wet felted around a rock. We cut the opening with a razor and took the stone out after it dried. We added a wooden bead as a clasp. The strap was braided out of left over yarn scraps.

When we turned the purse over we discovered a cute little pixie had felted himself into the back quite by surprise. Can you see him? Another reminder of how magical creating can be.

Twirly Skirt

What to do with a bunch of cotton fabric scraps that I just CAN'T part with?

Make Amalie a TWIRLY SKIRT of course!!! Here she is modeling it...

and twirling in it...

I think I'll make the next one a bit bulkier so there is more "twirl"...

Of course all that modeling leads to some relaxing "porch fishin'"...maybe she'll catch a moth...

Happy Flowers

Happy Flowers

"Hailstones and Halibut Bones"...

Yesterday was field day at school and was it HOT!!!! The children had so much fun with the games...and with the water! Here is Amalie celebrating the finish of tug-o-war between the teachers and the eight graders! Guess who won?

Amalie went off to have ice cream and swim with Daddy and friends. During this time to myself I made a nice batch of Bieler Broth. ("Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon) I started my liver/kidney detoxification today. Wish me luck!

As we were just about falling asleep at the end of a wonderfully busy and hot day we heard what sounded like someone throwing rocks at the house. Of course we had to investigate...

Makes me want to revisit a book that was gifted to me many years ago when I was teaching in the Kindergarten..."Hailstones and Halibut Bones" by Mary O'Neill.

Some moments from my day...

Part of the reason we were later than usual to school...a family of Canadian Geese crossing the road...

Later this afternoon, I went for a woods walk alone...no dogs...no kids...just me and the camera...The Mountain Laurel is so stunning...

The wild blueberries are fruiting...still green....hundreds and hundreds...the bears will love them of course...

Something unexpected and rare...a Lady's Slipper...a special treat to remind me of my childhood...

I think this blue beauty is called a damsel fly...she sat for a second and was gone...

I'd like to think that this might be the stone spirit looking out at me...

This was puzzling to me...in the middle of the woods...maybe someone didn't want the tree to run off...

Another kind of berry being born...

This tree just looked happy so I had to snap a photo...

This was really special...I was admiring the knots in this little dead tree...examining the woodpecker holes...when I saw this little nose...

Then an eye...

There are at least three little babies in there...and this one just watched me...quietly...peacefully

As I left the woods there were daisies...growing in last years fallen leaves...

Such a beautiful day...and a beautiful walk.