My Sea Stars at Golden Gardens

Sea Stars hanging out at Golden Gardens

Cupcake Day

Cupcakes for Gramma's 83rd Birthday today!

Material stash coin purses

My first batch of coin purses.

Little surprises to view inside.

Just had to put chocolate coins in these, can't give a purse without money in it, right?

I am thinking to incorporate at least one zipper in these to make them official 'coin'  purses
.
These are more of a 3 pocket credit/gift card purse really.

A strap that could be tucked into the back pocket when not in use too would make them more versatile.

Paper Snowflake Ballet Dancers

Our ballet dancers are hanging out at Keri's house.

I decided to add the link to the snowflake ballerina pattern.  You will probably have to copy and paste as I am still learning how to add links to the blog.  I love how easily language is translated too.  You can see them  on my Pinterest board named Winter, I just had to repin them!

http://krokotak.com/2012/11/snowflake-ballerinas-for-little-hands/

Holiday Season

A dusting of snow early in the morning, but not quite enough to get that late start to school/work!

Snow is so rare in the city and is sooo cool!

It looks so dark at 630 in the morning.

Shorter days are on their way - hooray!

This years tree gets the red and whites...

Tucked in all kinds of gnomes, elves and Santa's.

Alaina's Watercolors

Watercolors by my daughter Alaina.  I just love how they turn out.  She says it just takes a good pen, (Ha!)

Farmer Guy

 Caveman...

Rainbow Eagle

Octopus

Tribal Armadillo

Crab from earlier works of Alaina's.

Grapevines and Planters

Grapes Grapes and more Grapes! What a bumper crop this year, and not eaten by local vermin.  Too bad they are rotting on the vine as I just don't quite know what to do with them.  

 Hooray!  Vintage cement planters from the old house in Blaine.  These have traveled to my house via Everett via Bothell.  Not sure when I will find the right spot for them, as the rain rain rain, falls down down down and everything is soaking.  Thanks Gramma!

3 recess Amigo's

3 crazy recess Halloween Amigo's:

Oh yes, 3 new Sheriff's for recess duty!  Too bad the mustaches were itchy and sticky. Not missing wearing the mustache one bit. Have enough shaving to do as it is, right?  

Howdy Pardner the kids had us saying :)  Some also wanted to know why there were 3 Sheriff's too.  Well where there's smoke....

1952 ads are colorful and cheery

Wembley's ties ooh la la

Kiss of the Sun
new glowing colors that
glamourize man's summer tan

Bright and Cheery ads make me want to run and and buy some of these products! 

Barreled Sunlight Paints

Lees new textured carpets
One of the stars is thrilling new
Horizon shown here in Ocean Green

fall colors

I love this copy of Jinnet Powel's watercolor called  fall colors. I picked up at the Portland Saturday Market years ago.  I  have it displayed where I can see it everyday, along with a spring version.  It makes me smile!

Super soccer ball

I got to sew up a soccer ball for Sam.  I hadn't made one since middle school.  Well I have gotta say, fabric choices today are outta this world.  Perfect stash buster.  20 hexagons and a dozen pentagons.  I am going to have to make more, which color next?

Book bags galore

Here is something I have been working on.  I designed and have sewn up 56 book bags so far for Cascade K-8.  I had fun working out the bugs and I am thinking I should add my easy sew pattern to my blog, hmm.

Photos Unearthed!

My Auntie brought over pictures for us to figure out the dates of.  How great to 

see pictures of myself during the years we don't really many photos for!  

 Not long after our move further into the north end of Seattle. 1977?

To the Coast

A last trip to the beach before school starts has come and gone.  We had beautiful weather and a great time too.  Go-karts and Putt-Putt are just the things to do of course, I got 3 holes in 1!  Kirstin got 2 and Alaina even got 1.  Tucker was jumping fences and swimming in the pond on his rounds in the neighborhood while we biked, luckily for him no porcupines on this trip!  The ice cream man even came by on Wednesday-mmm

Super windy on Friday.  Not only did we watch the kites lit with LED lights that night, and the moon shining behind the fireworks show, but also the International Space Station flew right on over us at 930 too.  What a bright and shiny fast moving object in the sky it was.

Andrew made us a super cool sign.

Outside the Between

Camping on the other side of the mountains earlier this month felt like we were on vacation somewhere very far from home, not just over an hour away.  The smell of the pine trees and the waves of dry heat felt like a world away.  

Our campsite on the Middle Fork of the Teanaway was right on the river.  We put our chairs in the water, and it felt so good as it swirled on by us.  Kirstin  sat for hours in the rock pools they made.  They were very refreshing. Have to mention not only finding crayfish by the log we added and the frogs across the river, small fish, hummingbirds, even osprey flying along the river, were fun to see.  Enjoyed the cute little birds we don't see at home, but not those crazy flying beetle things, which Kirstin managed to backhand, punch and kick out of the air away from her, Alaina didn't have any interactions with them but she loved the little toad she caught.  I was just glad the snake they saw was on the other side of the river!

The trail we hiked on is usually used by horses. Andy even found a lucky horse shoe, which is now hanging over the door of our shed.  Wish I had worn different shoes, as we crossed back and forth over the river over and over again.  Tucker even did some dog paddling, way to go hound dog.

Since I started composing this post, I can't believe the fire that broke out in the area we visited.  May they rise from this burning like a phoenix please. My heart goes out to everyone there, the people, the animals, the land.  It is difficult to realize sometimes how things like this can give people the opportunity to shine, spread light and heal  our earth.

Blue moves North

Blue Elf has a new home in the North, in Edmonds.  He has left his horse behind, but before he ventured off he managed to snap a self portrait of himself to leave behind for us to remember him by.  How did he get his hands on the camera anyways?

I think Blue is going to want a friend....

Crab Happens

We launched at Shilshole yesterday and our fishing did not  compare with how well our crab pots did.  21 crab on the 21st of July!  With 4 keepers, we delivered 1 to my other mother to enjoy!

We got to see an Osprey with a larger fish than we caught, and only 1 harbor seal making me think we should have been fishing off Jeff-head instead.

Once the marine weather burned off, what a beautiful day.  Snow still on the Olympic Mountains, what a magnificent backdrop to a calm day on the water.

As for boating, it is never complete without a happening, such as the bearings in your boat trailer for example. Not only did they stink, so did the algae hatch in the Sound, between the two, stinkeeee, while working on that.  Enough said-Crab Happens!

What a feast!

Kicking off summer at the coast

Summer vacation is officially underway after spending the 4th of July down at the beach.  Ahhhh.  Nothing like great weather, great food, and family just hanging out.  Love that!  New shops in Astoria to check out too.  Finn-Ware is always really cool, along with lunch at the Bow-Picker, oh so good.  Grabbed some sweet peas at the Sunday market on the way home, mmmmmmm.  Already planning out the next trip back.

Summerwear out of nowhere

    

Another drizzly day, perfect for downsizing my knit fabric stash. Who knew less than an hour later I would have new nightshirt all zig-zagged up? The light blue and white striped fabric just created its own design, although it required me to get dressed as I chose to trace around the nightgown I was still in, stitch up the sides and top, then rolled under the hems and done. Now just need that warm weather to arrive.

Light blue and white stripes are so cute!

My life between the mountains and the sea.

Where land meets the sea.  There was a quote I once came across in a summer equinox type book along the lines of, where land meets the sea, is a magical place indeed. And so it is.  Living my life in Puget Sound has influenced me to appreciate what a diverse landscape and eco-system Earth has to offer.  It is a  wonderful place to live and raise a family.  I am not a writer of words so much as maybe a dreamer of thoughts, some of which I am able to bring to life and share.