: Thursday : Nature :

Probably the most exciting recurrence of nature these days is the friendly little fox that likes to hang around on top of the kids' play set and near the compost pile. He is so beautiful and sweet with his lovely sandy brown body and an orange neck and belly. His tail so fluffy and his nose and ears so sharp and cute. Luke and Jared nearly coexisted with the little guy yesterday when they were out by the garden. What a privelage to make distant friends with someone many only see on nature shows and in books.

So, there were numerous things to put in this week's nature gallery...

This is the butterfly I finally caught...on camera. Those beauties are always on a mission.... Very hard to catch them still.

Sweet sweet peas.

American River in Coloma

Red Poppies 'n' Sweet Peas

Honey Suckle is probably one of the most beautiful smells this time of year.

A beautiful web with its creator in the center, awaiting it's next meal.

I didn't even know blue jays landed on the side of a tree. How funny.

This is a gnarly looking face on the side of the tree the boys love to climb in our neighborhood.

I used to have this in my front yard at our old house. Such beautiful color!

Not-yet fully open.....

Ah yes, and the scorpion Daniel caught. We get those around here sometimes. This little guy kept attempting to strike. He wasn't too happy about being in the jar. We showed the boys and then let him be.

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: Wednesday : Love :

I love making patchwork, namely from vintage materials. I have now made a patchwork quilt, a picnic blanket, and I have yet to make another picnic blanket. In coming months, I will make a quilt for Luke, as well. Maybe I will make some patchwork bandanas or a handbag.

I am loving yellow at the moment. It is so alive and delightful and warm. This vintage sheet could be awesomely made into so many things. This dress and this dress are pretty cute, as well. I like this pan and these fabrics: butterflies, fruit, and embroidered.

I love that I finished the quilt late this afternoon. I thought I would never finish it!! Now for a bigger one.....

I love this article from Mother Earth News called Plan the Perfect Homestead. It is a pretty thoughtful summary.

Frank Fretz

I love how the sunlight shines through all the various leaves and creates a luminescent green.

There are a couple of friendly squirrels in our yard that we love to watch every day. Jared named the little one Crunchy, I guess because he eats through crunchy acorns.

Once again, I love riding my bike. There is a sense of freedom and youth and self-challenge...I love this weather and time of year making it possible to ride every day in the later evening. I am so busy with everything all the time, but being able to have the flexibillity to squeeze it in is nice.

I love tomatoes and other fresh produce from the farmer's market...Such variety and freshness and color and flavor. I do so love fruits and vegetables.

Jared loves to draw, tinker, and ride his bike. Dylan loves to dance, check out birds and bugs, and play ball. Luke loves to skateboard, sew, and cook.

So, how 'bout you? What do you love?

: Tuesday : Creations :

This week's creations were practical, I would say, rather than recreational or apparel-related. I completed the other wash cloth my friend and I were making together, but I still must tie in the loose ends. Jared's quilt is so close to being complete....man, that binding takes a while to complete when done by hand. 

I started and finished this Summer retro picnic blanket from vintage sheets, pillow cases, and fabric, all from my stash, originally from the thrift store. It was experimental, really. I have never worked much with yellow before. The simple tutorial I followed was found at Rhythm of the Home.

I was getting tired of the thick, dark curtains on our dining room window, so I decided to use an old sheet to make sheers. I fit it to the window and decided thereafter that I would just leave the bamboo curtains as a border on the outside. It will be behind a table anyway, so length is of little concern to me. It lets in so much light now. It is not my favorite sheet selection, but I only had so many to choose from in what I have. It will certainly do for now.

....More to Come......

: Monday : Nourishment :

Not much in the fabulous food department this last week, other than the general throwing together of what we have, which usually ends up being healthful, tasty concoctions. There are a couple of things I would like to share with you, though.

This carrot zuchinni bread was pretty tasty. You can find the recipe here.

My typical oatmeal pancakes, a new family tradition in eating, and a thrown together scrambled egg mixture with fresh red chard, crookneck squash, green onions, fresh garlic, and sea salt and pepper. It was a pretty good start to a morning in this house. Oh yeah, and the fashionable paper plate is because I was slacking a little on the dishes last night...I hate to abuse disposable goods..oh well, once in a blue moon, I suppose.

Lastly, I wanted to share the lemon frosting recipe with you because it is so delectable and somewhat naughty. It is okay to be naughty occassionally when it comes to good eating.

Lemon Frosting

1/4 cup soft or melted butter

Dash salt

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 tablespoons milk

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Mix and mix until all is smooth. Spread upon a 9 by 13-inch cake and serve. That is it! You can add food coloring to create a desired festive effect or you can replace the lemon for vanilla for a delicious vanilla frosting.

Until next week in edible nourishment......

: Sunday : Reflection :

~ Fourth of July and Stuff ~

We are not entirely "proud to be American", well, because we don't exactly fall into today's mainstream American culture and we certainly do not agree with many aspects of our government and the way politics and conducted.....and we do not agree with the original establishment of our country in any way, shape, or form, as well as many of the historical ongoings throughout the centuries thereafter.............. But it is fun for the kids to celebrate the fourth anyway. We were going to go to a local parade, but we missed it because we were a little busy. So, we simply made an American flag cake. I used a pound cake recipe, made lemon frosting, and decorated with rasberries and blueberries. I don't think I will go back to store-bought frosting. Homemade is too easy and too delicious. Later on, we visited Sacramento for the big fire works show at Cal Expo. We were going to check out the show over the lake in Tahoe, but I guess we'll hit that next year, and maybe stay the night.

Daniel had a moment of nostalgia when his buddy brought over his brand new Harley that he just purchased on Friday. He insisted that Daniel test it out, which is unheard of and totally trusting. What a guy. Daniel was gone a good half hour joy riding that beauty.

The boys enjoyed checking out frog books at the library and climbing the crooked tree out front. Climbing trees is always a highlight of their day.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, whether it was a Summery one or a Wintery one. Just enjoy laughing, loving, learning, living......

: Saturday : Journey :

Three days and I haven't posted anything...I'd say I have been a little busy this weekend. Not that we truly did much to speak of. Many people were having parties and camping and so on. We laid fairly low around the house, cleaning, setting up soakers in the garden, playing with the kids.... We also took the boys down to Coloma again so we could make use of the new picnic blanket I made. The pesto pasta dinner we ate was perfect for a Summer evening picnic. I played some guitar, the boys played soccer and frisbee and just ran around, enjoying the shade. I also heard some groovin' reggae in the background over by the river, so I trekked over to check it out. There was a local band playing known covers at a campground nearby. It was perfect for Summer down by the river.

Jared is vaguely captured here approaching a very trusting doe. She just kept grazing and occasionally looking at Jared. He was able to get about a yard from her before she decided it was time to go. I caught him extremely close, but the picture is much too blurry. This was the clearest of them all.

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: Friday : Moment :

~This Moment~

~A Friday Ritual~

~Inspired by Soulemama~

~No words...well, except the one word in the photo~

~A moment to be captured and savored~

~Gratitude~

I am grateful for.....

~Vintage linens

~The butterfly that finally stopped so I could take some photos

~Daniel being among the most understanding men...seriously

~Baby feet

~Breastfeeding

~Forgiveness

~Cycles and Change

~A clean, tidy home

~The numerous people living for good causes

~The sun and the Earth

~Peace

~Love

If you have a moment you would like to share or something you are grateful for, add your 2 cents in the comments below. Have an excellent weekend!

: Thursday : Nature :

Not too much in nature this week.....well, at least I didn't do much leaving the house. It was hot! There are a few cool things, though.....

This fox was so sweet and trusting in my front yard.

I can't believe these little guys are still coming into my garage...

Around the house and at the park.....

Our hotbed, I think, on Sunday...it just keeps growing.....

That is all for now. Maybe I will get out with the boys more this week. I spotted numerous things on my bike rides...maybe I should take my camera when I am riding....hmmmm.

: Wednesday : Love :

I spend half of all my time in the kitchen. I love this corner of my home and I love to watch it evolve. A couple of items for the kitchen that I love include this butter churn, this pot, this cup, these frying pans, these other pans, and this sifter.

I love a little splash of red on the farm. Check out these boots, this lantern, this barn shelf, and this dress. A bit of yellow is always enjoyable and uplifting, too, like this egg basket, these mixing bowls, and this dress, accompanied by a little turquoise, like this luggage set, this ladel, and this basin.

Now that I have rambled on about stuff I enjoy, I guess I will mention a few things that actually matter.

I love bike riding....the wind in my hair, the solitude, the often sunset, the pines, the physical challenge.....

I love when the kids are cracking up. It doesn't matter what I am feeling...their laughter makes me smile.

I love our garden. There is something very gratifying about planting seeds and watching them grow into enormous plants that offer life-sustaining food.

I love music...it keeps me going, brings rhythm and soul to my life.

I love to make things from vintage items, such as sheets, pillow cases, old fabric and thread, clothing, yarn, needles, etc... To me, it is even better than buying fabric new.

On that note, I love thrifting! I love going to a thrift store and finding awesome treasures passed on from former generations. They are cheap, often valuable, and it is a beautiful way to tread lightly on the Earth.

I love our family, simply put.

How about you? Anything you are overwhelmingly loving this week?