Monday, May 30

Renaissance Faire

Gorgeous Toadstool fairy!!!






















Mado, Naya and Sodie

















the most outrageously awesome music
we've ever had at the Faire!!!
Cu Dubh!!
























Cu Dubh (pronounced koo doo)
was all bagpipes and percussion...so, so awesome!


















silly comedy acts

















Our dear Lady Ettie






















pretty things to buy

















pointy things to buy

















people watching

















Toucie's favorite part of the Faire





















faun-fairy
Happy little monarch-fairy :)

Friday, May 20

Springtime moments...

new lamb





















planting blueberry bushes





















can you see the little chipmunk
sitting on this catalpa tree?
fuzzy caterpillar sashaying across the top of our
 field guide





















mud pies!





















the pony of her dreams
















first harvest from Toucie's garden





















sorry, dude. she just can't help loving you





















racing with the billy goat























our young Red Buckeye tree






















jumping the ditch!

















Mado in a sidewalk art competition

Tuesday, May 10

The cicadas are here!!

they look so exotic...like jewels
















...and there are gazillions of them everywhere...singing





















I used to find and play with the left-behind shells when I was a kid.















best book EVER about the phenomenon of 17 year cicadas!
Ha! I guess I'm not the only kid to ever think of playing with them!

Thursday, May 5

Sewing Project: The Perfect Smock

I love this pattern! It is the art smock from Little Things to Sew, by Oliver + S.

I made this for a child's birthday,
but here is Toucie modeling it for me :)


front view





















back view






















it has such great coverage





















and i love how the bias tape binding on all the seams
defines the lines of the garment and brightens  it up!





















All wrapped up for gift-giving...
with a yo-yo slipped into the pocket for an extra treat :)

Tuesday, May 3

More May Day preparations

Our May Day feast featured this beautiful loaf of bread, shaped into a braided ring, and made into a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich.

















Here's how it came to be:

















This was a last minute idea, so we used our bread machine to help expedite matters. We mixed up a batch of dinner roll dough using white whole wheat flour and a recipe that came with our machine.























Then it was time to test out Toucie's skills!























She did her part perfectly. It was me who was challenged when it came time to join the ends to form the ring.


















See the messy bit there on the right? Sigh....







































Baked it, cooled it, sliced it, spread it with cream cheese, covered it with cucumbers and stacked it all up!























Easy, festive and just right!