WEEKEND FUN

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

~Margaret Mead

Saturday was the opening day of the Farmer's Market in Leslie. Violet, Kaley, and I got up at the crack of dawn to peddle our wares in order to raise money for the Leslie Creative Learning Cooperative. It is a school that a group of families in our community are forming. We decided that it would be a great opportunity spread the word of our school, and earn some funds.

We had a really good time and it was so good for our kids to be a part of such an awesome community project. I am excited about all of the possibilities. Violet and I made play dough the night before. I used a recipe that my mother had made for me since I was three. we made bright colors with food coloring. I rolled them up in little balls and put them in Ziploc bags. The kids had their own little table and sold all of the play dough, not to mention a bunch of lemonade.

We had a nice variety of things that each of the families contributed. Violet and I took play dough,

tea, and fresh mint from the garden.

The other families contributed baked goods, plants,

chicks (Toni and Steven hatched themselves!),

crocheted washcloths, bird houses,

kambucha, and eggs.

There was a nice variety of vendors and a great turn out of patrons from the community.

I bought a beautifully made pitch fork handle from the sweetest man. This I am thrilled to have as I unloaded the whole truck load of mulch in my previous post with a pitchfork that had a broken handle.

There was also a group of musicians that showed up and played some old time blue grass music, which really added to the ambiance.

Directly after the market, we headed to Mountain View for Violet's ballet rehearsal. Oh my goodness it was so cute. If you want a sneak peak of the recital you can watch the video.

CHRONiCLES FROM THE GARDEN: 3

"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful."

~Abram L. Urban

Violet and I picked up another load of mulch today from the sawmill. It is funny if you ask a couple of fisherman, who are about to embark on a mission to the lake, to help you, how quickly your truckload of mulch can be unloaded. he he he.



We planted more zinnias. Violet decided that this one needed a rock so a fairy could sit underneath it. When I was a little girl, my Grandmother and I would put out little paper parasols (like the ones you put in drinks) out in the yard at night. Then we would sit on the porch swing and wait for the fairies to come and sit under them. I of course would always fall asleep before the fairies would come and play. I recently bought a package of parasols and thought that Violet and I would try the same thing.

CHRONiCLES FROM THE GARDEN: 2

"Take thy plastic spade,

It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,

They are thy colours."

~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782

Yesterday, Violet and I spent all day out in the garden. We had a great time and got a ton done. We spent most of the day mulching the perimeter of the row garden and my flower bed, with a load of mulch that we picked up from the sawmill. It is going to make a big difference in keeping the weeds down. Organic gardening can be such a challenge when you are battling with Bermuda grass on a constant basis.

First, we laid down feed sacks, old blankets or sheets of plastic. Then we put the mulch on top of it. On the one end of the garden, which I am turning into a flower bed we planted dahlias, zinnias, purple day lilies and a pot of chocolate mint that I picked up from Rosewood nursery in Mountain View. We also mulched the strawberry patch with straw from the feed store. Violet and Kalin's Mama gifted me with the plants last year. They make pretty pink blossoms, and are really doing good this year. I want to get a few more to add to the bed, but they are hard to find.

Violet was a such a big help. She really worked at it all day with me raking and unloading mulch, hauling rocks, planting, and running errands. Before we headed out to the garden we watched a few videos on Mary Jane Butter's website to gain some great inspiration. She is truly a remarkable lady. We decided to tie on some aprons to wear in the garden, in the true Mary Jane spirit. Violet decided to turn her mushroom apron into a garden apron. I tied on an old vintage apron that Mimi gave me. It had lots of pockets. Perfect for filling with bug repellent (a must in the Ozark Mountains...yikes the multitude of insects are emerging quickly), cell phone, gloves, lip balm, and a package of Emergen-C.

After the work was done I picked a salad to take to my woman's meeting that night. I also picked mint and lemon balm for iced tea. The drive out to my friends farm was so lovely. It had cooled off a bit and the mountains were bathed in golden light from the setting sun. Another wonderful day in the Ozarks. The only thing that would have made it better, would be to have you all here to enjoy it with us!

To make your own herbal tea:

Pick a couple of good sized handfuls of herbs. Mint, lemon balm, lemon grass, and chamomile are good ones. Fill a two quart sauce pan with water. Bring to a boil. Turn off burner. Throw in the herbs and let them steep. Sometimes I boil the herbs a bit for a deeper flavor,especially if I

have lemon grass in the mix.

CHRONiCLES FROM THE GARDEN : 1

"Let books be your dining table,

And you shall be full of delights

Let them be your mattress

And you shall sleep restful nights."

~Author Unknown

So what does one do when they are sick in bed (with the flu) for a week. Yes, a week. Read. Luckily I had an arsenal full of mysteries. Thank you Mimi. The first two were Susan Wittig Alberts herb mysteries, and the later, was the first in the new tea shop mystery series. During the down time my Amazon purchase arrived. The contents of the box were also assimilated. A copy of Mary Jane Butters new Outpost book, and The Prairie Girls Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler quilt and 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl. Both lots of fun.

Violet who was also under the weather was delighted that the Amazon box contained the Star Wars Clone Wars movie which she purchased with her birthday money. Imagine how delighted her Mama (devoted Star Wars geek) was upon hearing the request to order said movie. She apparently loves Star Wars as much as I do. Wahoo!! One of my first memories, as a child is watching Empire Strikes Back in the theater with my parents and sister. There is something so magical about those movies for me...not to mention how fun the toys are to play with. My nephews love coming over to play with my Ewok Village (a Christmas gift from my honey) and action figures. It is wonderful watching them being played with.

Once we were feeling better we decided to start some seeds.

We planted them in egg cartons.


I just cut the lids off and used them as the trays. We labeled them with a sharpie,


filled them with potting soil,


and then we were in business. I gave one to Violet and let her choose what she wanted to start from my seed stash. She decided to do half flowers and half veggies and herbs. It felt good to sit outside on the steps and soak in a little sunshine. A couple of days later the moon flowers and zinnias started to poke their way up through the soil.


We also filled this neat little gadget (from Mimi of course),

with nesting material for the wild birds. We stuffed it with straw, yarn, and wool roving. The birds can feather their nests in style.

NEW HORiZONS

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back."

~William D. Tammeus

Thursday was Violet's very last preschool story time. I have been taking Violet since she was two. It is amazing to me how quickly time passes in the world of parenthood. I remember when Violet's was an infant, complete strangers would come up to me and tell me how quickly time goes, and that I should enjoy every moment. At the time it was hard to imagine her beyond the difficult newborn stage, but I have to say they were right. It is so important to savor every moment. Violet is growing so quickly before my eyes. I realize how imperative it is for me to not only relish these moments, but also use them as an opportunity to teach. It is my responsibility to infuse her with lessons on humanity and decency...to teach her what is good in this world and how to reflect that as she builds relationships beyond my reach. Life is so precious. I hope in remembering this, it will help her in the slow evolution we all make as children, young adults and adults.

Well thanks for keeping up with my nostalgic thought process.


Violet and I had a really great day on Thursday. It started with a most magical encounter with a newly hatched butterfly. It hung out with us for a while and then ever so gracefully floated away into the woods.


Mrs. Jan and Mrs. Lenora had a bunch of fun stuff planned for the story time group. Mrs. Jan lead a variety of finger plays, rhymes, and songs.

The children even went on a "bear hunt" honoring the groups request. Pepper the pig made a special appearance as well.

Mrs. Lenora, had a fun sunflower project for the kids laid out.


Then the kids grazed the snack table. They had the table fixed so cute with lots of yummy finger foods.

We had a great time. Thanks Mrs. Jan and Mrs. Lenora. They work so hard to provide this wonderful service to our little community.

After the library Violet was still hungry so we headed over to Woods.
After that we followed the day up with a walk around the square and stopped in at Nancy's Antiques.

We had fun checking out all of the new stuff she had out. Love this table of little dutch girl stuff.

JUST A QUiCKiE

I actually had more than a few minutes on the Internet this evening. After checking my fav blog spots...piggies pleasures, and soule mama(she is such a constant source of inspiration, I love this entry of her sewing with Adelaide. Gotta do this more with Violet)...I checked out the crafty crow which led me to this site and a tutorial for a hungary caterpillar bracelet. Violet and I want to make one. So I ask you ? Where is Auntie Lizzie and a package of shrinkie dinks when you need them? We are huge fans of The Hungary Caterpillar and Eric Carle. If I could cash in a wish....I wish we were sitting in Auntie Lizzie's newly decorated kitchen geeking out on shrinky dinks.

...and one more totally cool site I have been wanting to mention for a while The Toy Maker has a bunch of really awesome free stuff on it. I want to print some of them out for Violet's Easter Basket.

Until next time...Thanks for keeping up with my stream of consciousness