Glorious Chenille

A wonderful lady, Margaret from Etsy and eBay, make this lovely chenille quilt for me from blocks of different neutral chenille. I sent her the backing which I found at a local store and then ordered from a store near Margaret to have mailed to her...it adds to the vintage feel of the quilt. Margaret spent tons of time setting and resetting the blocks to get them perfect. I was looking for a very neutral/yellow pallet, and she came up with the perfect combinations. Shep rovides top notch communication and will collaborate with you until you are happy with the layout, providing oodles of pictures and ideas. I will link her email address herre when I get her permission:) Margaret stitched her name into the back, in a kind of cross stitch which I think is so cool, as her 'signature'. Love. It.

Here is Margaret's email address: Margaret Dwyer   gleefullest@yahoo.com
She can also be found at: CaterpillarClothCollections.com

iSad

Who Says There is no God?

Bees & Honey

I am the first to admit that we are late to the party when it comes to the honey extraction process; we should have started in August, but we took out two frames to make room for the feeder frame, in preparation for winterizing the hive, and there was tons of honey on those two frames, so we let it drip/strain into an enormous bowl. Since this is our first year, we were super excited, and with some practice we hope to do a lot better next year with timelines. I am reading the book Beekeeping in Western Canada by D.C. Murrell and D.N. MacDonald.

We were very fortunate to have maintained our hive over last winter, since it was so long and cold - I hope we will be so fortunate again this year, as with a little time, I think I am better understanding the process of beekeeping. I would really be sad to lose my crew now! 

BTW - Mano was stung on the foot today - he says it was a good experience because it's his first sting. He was decked out in head to toe beekeeper gear, except for no socks in his shoes! You have to laugh. Now he knows what it feels like. I have only been stung once in my life, that was ages ago - as a tweener.  

Lastly, how did we get into bees? I have to thank Eli - he brought over the whole set up for Dad for Father's day last year - it was a super cool gift. We like everything about it! 

PS We ended up with 11 jam jars of honey! It smells and tastes heavenly!

THE BEE.

Like trains of cars on tracks of plush
I hear the level bee:
A jar across the flowers goes,
Their velvet masonry

Withstands until the sweet assault
Their chivalry consumes,
While he, victorious, tilts away
To vanquish other blooms.

His feet are shod with gauze,
His helmet is of gold;
His breast, a single onyx
With chrysoprase, inlaid.

His labor is a chant,
His idleness a tune;
Oh, for a bee's experience
Of clovers and of noon!

Emily Dickinson

My outdoor pool, and my indoor pool...

Hearst Castle, in San Simeon, north of Sal Luis Obispo, Ca.

California

These pics are for homeschool with Janey, Charlie and Jacob...even Scarlet b/c she was interested in Dolphins:) They are not to look below the Cabrillo statue for now - next week we'll go on to Tidepools and the Brown Pelican. Then we want to cover the topography and weather, earthquakes, and maybe some conservation from the San Diego zoo. I loved spending time with the kids learning! I will think more too about how I can include each one,maybe do some one on one.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks 'What Think Ye of Christ?'

Pumpkin Smoothie

The recipe for this smoothie came from 'Crazy Miss Tammy" - uppiesbeads59 on YouTube. I check in with her for smoothie ideas and beauty talk for 50 year olds:)

Pumpkin Smoothie

1 C almond milk (Silk unsweetened)
1 C pumpkin (pure, canned, COLD - so from the refrigerator)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
1 T ground flaxseed
1 frozen banana
1 t vanilla (1/3 of a whole vanilla bean - whole if an option)
1/2 t (or to taste) agave nectar (I use honey)
dash cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, sea salt

Blend, blend, blend:)

Dryer Balls!

My B-Day gift was waiting for me when I arrived home from vacation - I can count on Sarra for a unique Etsy find - and this birthday was no exception! Here is the etsy seller's address: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62450757/wool-dryer-balls-a-late-evening-in-the, for these beauties.

They come in lots of color combos, and they really do work! Here is the low down from the seller:

These Dryer Balls do a number of wonderful things:

1. They are an eco-friendly alternative to the conventional dryer sheet.

2. They do more than a dryer sheet by pulling the moisture out of your clothes so you don’t have to run your dryer as long, saving you time and money.

3. They reduce static just like dryer sheets do.

4. They soften your clothes like liquid fabric softener when they’re bouncing around your dryer. Fabric softener has harsh chemicals that make your clothes soft and also increase the flammability of your clothes putting you at risk of a dryer fire - not fun!

5. They’re wonderful cat and dog toys when they “accidentally” make their way out of the dryer!

6. They’re made of 100% wool so they’re safe for babies to learn about colors and as a counting tool, they love the texture!

7. They’re absolutely WONDERFUL for cloth diapers! They keep them soft and clean without the harmful chemicals in conventional dryer sheets.

LOVE THEM!

 

Birthday Love

I had such a wonderful B-day; hearing from friends and family all day, and then spending a super great evening with my family. I had dinner out, 2 lunches out, flowers, ice cream cake, and some nice time with my hubbie who was home for my birthday. I'm still kind of basking in the sunshine of that day:)

Here's some of the thoughtful gifts I received: