Roses and Horses

Imagine a little girl in the frozen environs of the mid-west, glued to her television watching the Rose Parade go by. I was mesmerized, all the beautiful colors, the nice announcer man telling me all the cool things that the floats were made out of. I was hooked. Fast forward to 2010, I am still here, glued to my tv watching all the beautiful floats go by. I haven't missed a parade since i was 3 years old.



I can't wait for the parade tomorrow. Things have changed so much, the complexity of the floats is mind boggling. But much has remained the same, comforting in its annual appearance. The horse troops, the marching bands and old cars. The roses and many of the same plant materials year after year. There is always the little thrill of some new plant material used to create some fantastic color or texture.

Who knows, this year I may even manage to get up there and see the floats in person.

The focus of my days

It must be love!

Sorry for the radio silence.....

but you see I have acquired a new member of our family! Her name is Chase and we all love her dearly. She is very shy and a bit traumatized by her time on the street and in the pound but she is coming around. Everyday a little more of her sparkling personality shine through.

Rain drops on roses...

and whiskers on.....

well, bunnies of course!


Too cold and wet for a nature outing today,
so I sent the children on a walk about the yard with the camera.
Today's theme was water.



We are working on a photography unit at the moment so the tie in was perfect! My daughter is developing a good eye for the framed shot wouldn't you say?

Thursday Give-a-Way

What in the world are you going to give your dad, brother, boyfriend, etc. ??
How about one of these cool shavings sets?
The set comes with a shaving brush and 2 bars of soap. My favorite shaving soap is the Orange Bay soap but you can use any of the Sacred Waters scents.

If you leave a comment today you will be entered to win one of these sets.

If you place an order for one of these sets,
type Shenanigans in the comments
and I will ship it for free!

Happy Holiday Shopping!

Fall has fallen away....

and made way for winter. But what is Winter here in sunny California?
What does one put on a winter nature table here is this part of the world?
Actually it is really cold here at the moment and I am loving it!

So far I have collected a little mirror to represent a frozen pond
and a collection of gnomes decked out for the cold weather.

All warm and toasty in his recycled sweater cloak.
Isn't this little gnome cute?
I am especially fond of his little mouse companion.

I need to get some winter colored silks I think and maybe drift some wool roving snow about.

What does your winter nature table look like?
Please send me some photos!

Almost done!

The tree is up and the children have slowly been adding the ornaments.

Now what to do with all those boxes!

making christmas happen

Today, all of the christmas boxes came down from the attic.

The children are running about,
pressing their little faces to the sides of the plastic bins
trying to catch a glimpse of their favorite pieces.

Lots of cleaning happening, dust flying, mom sneezing!


the fall nature table is being cleared away, and winter is moving in.



i think i love this part of the holidays more than Christmas morning! so much squealing and excitement!

Favorite Christmas books are rediscovered and poured over!

I love the Holiday season so much!

this is where it is at today! Coffee and crafting. I have some orders to finish up and ship out. A batch or two of soap to whip up. A bunch of tiny mice to finish for a swap, aren't they cute? Well they will be when they are done. I will post some photos of them later today!Lots of stuff in process. What are you up too?

Happy Cyber Monday

I am pleased to announce that both of my shops are having holiday shipping specials thru Sunday, December 6th.


The Shenanigans Shop is offering free shipping and boy are those strawberries flying!



The Sacred Waters Soap Co. is offering half price shipping and a price reduction on any purchase of three bars or more.


I am also very happy to entertain custom orders. Just ask!

How Do you Celebrate #11

well you start at Hot Dog on a Stick!

Then you go to Kooza

then you have a proper English feast at the King's Head!

then you promptly go back to bed as you have now overdone it.
So much for the recovery, we are now pretty snotty again!

Saturday Give Away

Let's kick off this holiday shopping season right:) I am offering free shipping in my toy shop thru next friday. Custom orders are always entertained! Plus if you leave me a comment today with your favorite soap smells and you will be entered into a drawing for a three pack of my soap!



AND THE WINNER IS MAMA ROSE!!!!!!!

congratulations!

Happy Thanksgiving

happy thanksgiving everyone.

I have so much I am grateful for.

My Husband, my children, my life!

that about sums it up

I would blog if I could but I can't so I won't! No one wants to hear me whine about my snot filled face and the pressure about to pop out my eye balls! Instead I will leave you with these lovely photos to chew on. They will be up in the shenanigans shop later today:)

Holiday Vacation Declaration

I have declared this week to be a holiday week. Everyone is free to sleep in, lay about in pajamas all day and read a pile of good books. This declaration came just in time as we all seem to have fallen ill over night! Nobody is feeling to awful yet, but there are hints of sore throats and lots of sneezing and snot. No one really wants a picture of this scene, right? That is what I thought!

Meet me back here tomorrow for Pony Tuesday!

How did we get to 11 already?

seems like I can still smell your new baby smell!
Feel the fine wisps of your hair tickle my neck.
Your tiny shoes, your tiny hand in mine.


where did the time go my daughter?


Now the world is your oyster, just waiting for you to dive in.
I am so honored to be your mama.
Thank you for choosing me.

One Last Look

at our fall nature table.
I am really happy with the way it slowly came together.
A bit here, a bit there.

Pieces from our trip up north,
pine cones from Yosemite,
Gourds and squash from the garden.


A few very special pieces from some very talented swappers!

How I love this little corn husk doll, isn't she gorgeous.

The tiny mouse hiding about his hollow log ...

and little gnome folk everywhere,
stocking up for the dark months ahead.

Starlight, Starbright Birthday Crown

or any occasion really. this crown is now available in my shenanigans shop. I have three more crown designs in the works and I am always happy to do a custom order:)

off to a field trip today. I will post pictures later!

New Shop Photos

aren't they gorgeous! My dear friend Donni took them for me. I am going to have to give her my next born child in exchange, or maybe she might want my first born. You know, already potty trained and all, does good work in exchange for food, etc.

Seriously though, I am thrilled. I think they are so pretty. Only one problem now...all the rest of my shop photos look rather shabby in comparison. Oh Donni!

Both the strawberries and the soap sampler bags are available in the appropriate shops. Check the side bar and go have a closer look. The strawberries are very sweet for your budding chefs and the soap sample bags will make great stocking stuffers.

Tuesday is Pony Day

and boy are my legs and arms tired! It is a good tired and I would do almost anything for horseflesh.....seriously anything! I love the ponies. I grew up with horses all through my young life at home. Once out on my own, horseflesh got a bit expensive so....farewell went the horse. But now, here I am, 40 years old and back in my boots and helmet, trying to resurrect muscles that have not been used in oh... about 20 years! I am a lazy old thing after all. I think the most magic part of life out at the barn, is getting to share the wonderful adventure with my daughter!

well I am off and running, busy, busy, busy you know!

sunday is cookie day!

We had our first school festival last night. Lantern Walk is a beautiful celebration focused on sharing through the dark months. We walked through the park carrying the most amazing handmade lanterns. The glow in the dark was magical. I wish I had photos of it for you, but Greg was in charge of the camera so all the pictures are "arty" meaning weird! For the celebration, we made the most delicious sunflower butter oatmeal vegan cookies ever! Thanks Vegan With a Vengeance Girls!

Back in the saddle again

Has it really been 4 months??? Where have I been? What have I been up to? The honest answer, I have no clue! All I know is that I have been busy. The days have been a blur and it is, apparently, very easy to fall out the habit of blogging.

The good news is that I have re-opened my soap studio and once again Sacred Waters Soap is available to the world. If you are able to, go stock up now at the old prices. Once I have to resupply, I am going to have to raise my prices a bit:(

This is what I have been up to today. That's right I have been obsessively painting mini mushrooms for our winter fair project. Later in the day, i added the tiny white spots.
Now just a coat of sealer and then on to the next project!

Acorns!

out in the garden

grapes on the fence

buckbeak doing away with rollie pollies in the vacated carrot bed

waiting for red tomato goodness

the potato leek soup of the future!