Writing and illustrating children's rhyme

Flying in the sky.....

I was up very early this morning as next week we start school and my time/schedule will change. One of my favorite things to do is to tend for my flowers ... I love to be outside and hear the nature singing.

I was *lost* on my own world when I heard a massive bird's call .... I looked up to the bright blue sky to see many, many geese flying in a *v* shape .... so coordinated .... I smile and told Josh , who was working outside with me , "How marvelous, isn't it? I wish they stay and visit with us"..... and then to my delight ....they landed on the pond... not one ... not few ... but all of them!

Rebecca brought me the camera and with my dirty hands , I managed to take few pictures.

It is evening now and outside is so tranquil..... I hear the birds ... they are still here..although think they are Canadian and are just passing by , I still hope they will greet me in the morning!*grin*

Where my heart is centered ....

When we first moved to this farm, I almost fainted when I saw that the floors were covered with red velvet color carpet. I had very small children ,many in diapers in fact, and I could not imagine living in a farm house with carpet floors.... the kitchen was very tiny and if you look at the roof on the picture above you will see that the division was for a wall that we removed and that side where you see my stove was the dinning room.
Our table alone measures 9 feet long , did not fit there...after all we are a family of 9!

Much has changed and my home is more and more like me ... I like simple things because I take pleasure in the most simple aspects of life .... I like comfort because I enjoy being home , spending time with my family in many ways....

Almost everything I have has a use .... This stove is an authentic Majestic Stove from 1920. It belong only to one other person .... she had it for 85 years.... it is always warm during our winter months ...it is the center of my kitchen.*grin*

I can many fruits and some veggies... part are storage in this small cabinet....

This solid Oak cabinet belong to a fellow that lived in town.... when I learned that his father had built and he had it for over 90 years and he was auctioning , I told him I would be honored to have it.

Some parts of our kitchen still need home improvements...I will get there some time!*grin*

This is the backing room... is next to the kitchen and it faces the pond.... the table you see is where I do most my small paintings and writings .... I love here....grin

Side view of baking room... I have 3 old rockers here ... children loves to read while the fire is on...this other stove I have is gas and cooks fantastically ... it produces an incredible amount of heat.

Yes.... it is here that my heart is warmed up too!*smiles*

Pumpkin blessing....

This picture was meant to be my last one from this post...sigh... it is my Ben, caring for a rabbit that does not belong to us....

My flower garden is in full bloom..... is so beautiful to sit out side and look at it ...grin

Pumpkins.... yes, pumpkins.....in my front door? I known I did not plant any! That is what I said when I first spotted a small pumpkin vine... well.... I think the last year pumpkins that was sitting outside , felt off and self seeded the ground.

I haven't counted how many are there but they are quite few...*grin*

I like to say that it is a blessing because we did not plan and yet it by my door!

The Brasilian way of making coffee or tea....

My dear mother in law had a birthday last week. I want to send this filter to her that it has been in the making for almost 3 weeks. I had next to my sewing machine and then I took to the shop to make the handle... It could had been done much sooner but .....oh well.... so many other things got in the way .
The clothe is egg shell linen cambraia. You can only get this in Brasil or Italy.The wire is 3 tones and the handle is cheery wood.

She did mail her a set of crockery but this little tea/coffee is something I wanted to make for her for while....

it is ready to be shipped.... Although Judy loves coffee , I have a feeling she will use this filter for her loose tea

Wooly boots

Raising sheep is so wonderful to me. I love the way they never fail to say *good morning* or *hello* to me whenever I go for my pasture walk. They serve me well with their wonderful wool .... so many things I do with it and want to do it. I love, love farm life .

Today I want to show you something that I made and plan to use this coming Winter. It is a pair of wool boots. It is so incredible warm and comfortable I don't know how to explain. It does not itch at all, just very very comfy.

I first made a flat felt by layering the wool... first layer was horizontal , the second vertical then I repeated several times to achieve a thick , layer.... I think I did this 8 times. Sorry , this is not a tutorial as I hardly remember to get my camera when I am working.

You can look at you tube for videos that says * wet felting* or search on line... is not not hard to find.

Okay, after I wet felt I end up with a relatively thick wool sheet. I am missing pictures for the next step...sigh... I made a pattern by stepping on a piece of paper and draw the bottom of my foot and the side of my foot/leg. Well that second one is hard to explain , but here You will find some instructions , I think, and also this is where I bought my sole. I highly recommend this artist , this soles are perfect and so easy to finish the boots.

Once I had the boots on shape ( they were bigger at this stage) , I added lots of soaps and hot water. Felting begins here . I squished and rubbed as much as I could then I rinsed with cold water . I repeated the same thing over and over until the wool felted and shrunk. It is a *feeling* type of thing but is not difficult at all.

Final rinse. I wasn't sure if the wool was going to be next to the skin so I left my boots a little larger . I thought perhaps I would wear some socks . It turned up that I don't need socks at all ... the boots are very comfortable .

The boots were placed on my clothes line to dry. it is important to *shape* like your feet , then remove the boots very carefully so the shape will maintain during the drying process.

I was thrilled when my soles arrived. The artist made then from rubber and leather . I loved it!*grin*'

She included an instruction and everything I needed to finished this pair.

I can not wait until a cold day that I can wear it . I think I will make a second pair... my children already asked me about it!!

I will leave you with a picture from my porch. It is so very lovely here . I love to sit here and watch the animals , while I draw or sip on a cup of tea.... It is one of mine and Mark favorite place to be.