MAKE goals 2013

Instead of letting them just roam around in my head, i ought to make a list:
-a wet felted boot tray
-a henhouse out of the old shed at the edge of our property (aka the squirrel's resident)
-needle-felted nativity set
-crochet storage bins to hang above Eily's craft table

I'll probably have more up my sleeve, by say, mid-January.

This list is not to be confused with my shop list which is already as long as my arm.



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Treasure hunting

A treasure hunt for a rainy (but mild) "Mama-Eily-Gabe" day. Why not dress up too!


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It was a farm party....for anyone who knows Eily, of course!  Here's some shots taken specifically for the invites.

Bunny Funeral

Backyard Workshop

Yesterday evening, guild members came over to try wet felting. It was 30 degrees, the perfect night for it.


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The garden in June

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Apple seeds

Eily made himself a patio. Here he sits, overlooking his best friend's yard, eating an apple and saving the seeds to plant in his garden.


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Spring faeries

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First Snowfall

(Note the lovely new shed..not quite finished but keeping our stuff dry)

white lights in the crab apple tree

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flagstone

we've been working on a path to widen the driveway and the snow beat us to most of the cracks.

while i was laying the stones for the path, i noticed how similar it was to piecing together wool for a skirt or a shawl. and though it's not yet finished, we can already see how flagstone instantly makes a place feel more naturalized, even next to asphalt.
afterwards: hot chocolate, la sauvagine cheese, and lesley stowe knock-off crackers

thanks to Grazing by Julie Van Rosendaal, here's the recipe:

2 c flour
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 c buttermilk
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c honey
1 c raisins
½ c pecans
½ c pumpkin seeds (optional)
¼ c sesame seed
¼ c flax
1 T fresh rosemary (or 1 t dried)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add buttermilk, brown sugar, and honey and stir a few strokes.
4. Add the rest of ingredients and stir until just blended.
5. Pour the batter into two buttered 8 by 4 inch pans. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
6. Once cool, slice the bread as thin as you can and place in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Reduce over to 300 and bake for 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 15 minutes on the other side until crisp and deep golden.

Makes about 8 dozen.

July

some minor miracles of mount hope street:
1. i found raspberry bushes along the north end of the yard;
2. it just so happens to be raspberry season.
3. turns out the air conditioner, which looks like it was born in the 70s and sits forlornly at the side of the house, still works! (we are reserving it for successive over-30 days like this week and trying not to feel too guilty about how much we delight in the cool)
4. 2 cookie sheets were nestled side by side in our new oven this morning (full of course), unlike in the apartment-sized one of the old place. i had to call B at work today to exclaim my joy. this is after 2 other phone calls already by 11am.
5. it took only 12 days for Eily's new sandbox to be built, at which point he ran around it in circles, repeating: "i love my new sandbox, i love my new sandbox..." many times before actually playing in it.

Backyard

I imagine I'll miss this yard even though the next one will have its own potential. Eily's bike on the patio:
And individual rhubard pies from the giant rhubarbs taking over the garden:

A special addition today from Brett, who made a fence in a matter of days, weekdays (aka work days) no less. he credits it to adopting my family's way of doing things, that is, a bit of imprecision and resourceful finesse without exploiting the measuring tools and human perfectionism (and yes, those are my words). but it's a lovely fence, complete with hinges and caskets and all.