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?