JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

We were surprised with three huge blossoms this evening.

UNEXPECTED BEAUTY

Just a couple of weeks ago, I noticed this strange vine that had, seemingly overnight, taken root right in the middle of my rose bush. My first impulse was to snatch it right up before it "ruined" my rose bush, thinking it must be some nuisance of a weed. Then, I paused and thought to myself that I should give it a chance to see just what it was all about. Within 3-4 days, that little vine aggressively grew taller and taller, wrapping itself around the trellis and the rose bush. Hmmm ... had I made a bad decision with my "wait and see" approach??? The fifth morning, before daylight, I happen to glance out the window and saw this huge white bloom. It was about the size of a saucer and breathtaking. Not wanting to wake Boo Boo, I decided I would wait and take a look at it after daybreak when we went on our nature walk. At that point, it was wilted to nothing. Hmmm.... I took a close look and realized it was growing on that vine I once thought was a "nuisance of a weed". The next morning, another amazing blossom, that quickly wilted as the sun rose. I had to find out what this beautiful flower could be. After a little research, I found that it is a Moonflower ... one of the giant types of Morning Glory. As I watched, each evening a blossom would begin to open and grow into a giant beauty. Every morning before daylight, it seemed to glow. Then, quickly wilt away as day began. What a precious gift we have right in our back yard. To think I once thought it could possibly be a "nuisance of a weed" and almost snatched it from the ground! It really gives me something to think about in the scheme of everyday life. Something unexpected, whether it initially appears positive or negative, just might be a precious gift ... just a little patience might mean the difference in whether or not you discover just how precious it is.

APPLE HOUSES

This week I offered a class at my home on creating a wet-felted Apple House. The moms (and a dad) spent the day massaging the wet wool with hot soapy water until it took shape. The children moved in and out of the project, taking turns massaging and sculpting the house and playing on the slip-n-slide or swinging in the hammock. What a beautiful day! After a picnic lunch, we moved the fun indoors and went to work needle felting cute little mousies to live in the apple houses. Here are a few pictures of our creations.

Creating Stories with Our New Silks

Here is Boo Boo draped in silks and creating a delightful story for us all.

Silk Dyeing Class

Yesterday, I had the honor of taking a silk dyeing class with Judy Forster. I had a wonderful time and created some really beautiful silks for use as backdrops on the nature table, landscapes for puppet shows and play, or perhaps as part of a story apron. Right now, these silks are getting lots of love and attention from Boo Boo as she dresses in them, wraps and rolls around in them, creates her own beautiful stories and spreads them all across the floor to make "an autumn forest" or a "brilliant sea" as she puts it. Here are some pictures of what I created with Ms. Judy's help. The pictures cannot begin to capture how the colors flow into each other. Absolutely breath-taking! Hope you like.

To see other work by Ms. Judy, check her out at www.mamajudes.etsy.com, Ravelry - mamajude, Twitter - Plantdyestuff

Stay tuned for our next project, which will be taking Boo Boo through this process with silks and also some beautiful yarn we got from Ms. Judy.

Late summer fun in the sun!

Still hot enough for some wet fun!

Kindergarten 2010

Here are some pictures of our first week of Kindergarten this year. Boo Boo is really enjoying the songs, stories, baking, painting, gardening, nature walks and handwork. The Waldorf approach to education was meant for this child. She is thriving in the artistic and imaginative nature of it all.