Library bag

At the Recycling Center Book Sale (which I always volunteer for) we offered up these lovely free bags to customers to carry home all their wonderful used books.  I made two purchases and so I came home with two lovely American Express bags: 

And since my kids are obsessed with books (big pat on the back to me) they could really use their own library bags.  Enter the bag make-over...

With some fabric and ribbon already in my stash (zero cost) and a few minutes, Ms. S. has a brand new library bag.

I'm thinking it could use her name on the top (perhaps in felt?).  What do you think???

R has requested a spider and a bat on his.  That's my goth 4-year old for you!

Sweet Sleep Soap

This most recent swap is called the Sleepytime Swap.  I haven't done one in a while, but this sounded fun.  My creation is soap!

A blend of coconut oil (which is my new obsession), lye, a hint of shea butter, lavender flowers, chamomile flowers, organic oats, and honey.  It's to die for!  The lather is thick and creamy and doesn't leave your skin dry.  I'll never buy store-bought soap again.

Here's the little bundles all ready to go.  And since I wanted to include something extra, I wood-burned some stars to go with it.  One star says "Dream" and the other "Rest".

Hot weather = Sprinkler time!

It got up to 97 degrees here in SE Kansas today.  Yuck! 

Since we needed to water anyway, it was time to let 'em play in the sprinkler.

And since R sprayed me with water (like, a LOT), I wasn't able to get good pictures of them actually playing in the sprinkler.  But the popsicles afterwards are always a hit.

Summer Solstice

What a beautiful thing, the first day of Summer, the longest day of the year.  We celebrated with sun themed art projects, a batch of sun tea (made with herbs from the garden), lamb's quarters done up like kale chips (which were fantastic!), and ended the night with a bonfire and toasted marshmallows.  I was quite inspired by this blog. 

Next year I'd like to try making sun bread and to leave treats for the fairies...

Welcome Summer!

Blue pill bug

Under the woodpile (which has gone the way of the burn barrel) was the strangest thing.  It was a blue pill bug (sometimes called roly poly). 

This one really was the oddest color.

There were many fun creatures at the bottom of the woodpile.  This snail was pretty sweet.

The door

Stripped...

Potions

So far this week I've made up a batch of elderberry syrup (for our colds) and black walnut tincture (for future cleanses).  The black walnuts came from our yard.  I'm feeling really blessed that I have this space to urban homestead!

Notes on these two "potions":  Elderberry syrup with brandy is perfect for before bed.  Soothes the throat and coughs AND helps you sleep.  It was like a miracle drug! 

Black walnuts are being dropped from the trees by the squirrels (potential ick), so I washed them and dried them for a bit in the oven on warm.  Wait 6 weeks for the tincture to be ready.

The yard, again.

So, we got a burn barrel.  (And you are allowed to burn yard waste in this city between the hours of 2p.m. and 7p.m.).  You hear that people, YARD WASTE!  Plastic most certainly is not YARD WASTE!  Plastic should be taken to the RECYCLING CENTER!!! - End rant.

So here's N, doing what he loves, burnin' stuff.

The yard is coming along.  With some of that giant stick pile gone (the usable wood is stacked neatly near our back door for cozy winter fires).  We are gaining a wee bit of space to play and hopefully garden soon...

This kid cracks me up!

Two is such a fun, yet challenging, age!  Most of the time she's up for anything, as long as she can do it herself. 

Chalk Art

Much like traditional mandalas created by Tibetan Sandpainting, sidewalk chalk art lasts for only a brief moment in space and time. 

This bat was worth keeping in my memory.

Yard update

In this post I told you about our yard.  Well with the water coming into our basement, we've had to move even more dirt around.  Here's a view of the "compost" pile and stick piles. 

Turning lemons into...

Not lemonade! 

This week I had a much anticipated second interview for a job I really wanted.  As it was in training not in education, I was a bit conflicted.  It did not offer summers off and time to take my kids to dentist appointments, but it made up for that in salary and benefits.  So when I got the (really nice) rejection letter, I was quite disappointed.  So how to turn lemons into lemonade?  Literally? 

R and I whipped up a (my first ever) batch of wine (lemons and oranges).  I had been collecting dandelions, but missed the initial crop.  So I modified the recipe I found here.  Instead of a gallon of dandelions, I used my pathetic amount and added in dried rosehips and dried elderberries.  Should be interesting.  I have about $50 invested in wine making materials and less than $3 in this first batch.  And it should yield a gallon of wine... in 6 months. 

The Lawnboy

Purchased in 1987, it's been a reliable machine.  We use it every summer and it is Daddy's prefered machine to the reel mower I purchased 5 years ago (though it does get used on occasion).  The Lawnboy has developed some issues in it's old age.  Last summer we replaced the bags, the starting cord (that thing you pull to get it started) and the pole that holds up the bag.  This year the deck had developed quite the hole.  Since the welder was out to fix my Vibe's exhaust leak (there's another vehicle that has been awesome, but that's another story) N decided to fix the Lawnboy too.

Here's the process...

 And here's where things went wonky.  N took R to the hardware store to pick up a can of spray paint.  I assumed that the Lawnboy would stay green.  But N decided that R could pick out a color.  So after some debate, they settled on electric blue.  Although it's not to my taste, the boys seem to like it just fine. 

 And here is R shaking up the bottle.  What a look!

Introducing: Fang

So we have a new addition.  He followed us home.  R named him Fang.  He is a silly little thing and he's enjoying his life in the garage, though he would like to come into the house.  Not sure the dogs are okay with him yet, so he'll stay safe and sound in the garage until he gets a bit bigger.  Based on our weights and the vet's opinion, he's probably around 6 weeks old.

He doesn't hold still for a moment, so it's been quite difficult to snap his picture.  These are the best I could do. 

Fine Art's Final Day (Late again)

So we've been working on a letter a week (not very Waldorfy, but we are following the kiddo's lead).  This last week was B, so I'm at least a solid week behind.  Here are some of the projects...

Working

Always work to be done around these parts.

Even the Father's Day wrapping paper must be decorated...

See that mama-made crayon bag is still being used, even after all these years.  :)