Snowballs in Summer

Oh how I love my snowball tree with it's tiny white flowers clustered into the most perfect little fluffy balls. They truly do look like snowballs and when the wind blows and the leaves rustle the tiny blossoms flutter as they dance to the ground covering everything in a carpet of tiny petals.... oh so heavenly :)



Speaking of lovely things I am completely smitten with this adorable Little Square Scarf. Is it to early to be thinking of winter and making gifts for Christmas?!

Actually in my case I'm going to say no *grin*. I need all the time I can get to complete my list of handmade treasures I want to make this year and working on this while camping would be a wonderful treat while sitting by the campfire. Even if you don't know how to crochet check out her tutorial as she has done an excellent job showing through photos the entire process step by step so even a crochet newbie can make one of these! Oh I just love it :)

~ Rosina

Build Your Own Bird Blind

Anyone who has met our family will know that we are without a doubt crazy about nature! One of my children's favourite hobbies is to watch the birds that come and visit our feeders throughout the year. So what sort of craft do you make to keep a couple of bird brained nature lovers happy? Why you construct a simple bird blind of course for hours and hours of bird watching fun that keeps you up close and personal while incognito.

You will need:
A large cardboard box
A small cardboard box
Masking tape or clear packing tape
Exacto knife
Scissors
A glass
Brads

Start by finding the largest cardboard box that you can. A great place to get a box if you don't have one handy at home is by visiting your local grocery store and asking if they have a banana box or another large box hanging around in their stock room that they could spare. Quite often I have gone asking for boxes for school projects and I've never been turned down yet. Once you have your box, carefully open the top and bottom flaps and then cut vertically down one of the side seams so that the whole thing lies flat on the floor, then cut the box in half and stack the one layer above the other creating a large square. Now grab your tape and tape up the center seam where you are joining the two box halves together on both sides of the cardboard and any other spots on the box that appear to be weak. It may take a couple of strips of tape layered side by side until you have a good six inch width of tape to create a nice sturdy seam that is going to stand up straight when you set your cardboard upright.



Now that you have the backbone of your bird blind built you will want to put in some viewing holes. Place your bird blind on the window sill where it will be used for bird watching and have each of your children stand right in front of it so that you can mark exactly where their eyes meet the cardboard. Take a glass and use it as your template for drawing nice uniform circles. Using your exacto knife carefully cut out the circles slightly within the lines.

With a rambunctious four year old that wants to be just like big brother and sister I thought it was pertinent to create a way to cover up some of the viewing holes while they weren't in use to keep him from startling the birds as he bounced around behind the blind. To do this we used a smaller cardboard cereal box and using our glass again we traced out more circles to be cut out as covers for our viewing holes.

Using the tip of your scissors poke a hole above each of your viewing holes on your bird blind and through the top of each of the viewing hole covers. Then place a brad through each of the covers and in turn through the holes on your bird blind creating little flaps that swing open and closed over your viewing holes.

We had fun drawing on ours so that they looked like eyes looking back at us. We also thought it would be neat to use our bird blind as a bulletin board (see very first photo) for our nature drawings as well. So we taped up a bunch of our bird drawings from out of our nature journals and photos from bird articles in our local newspapers so that the we could try and spot different species as we watched our feeders. The entire project from start to finish took us about an hour to complete and it is amazing to be able to sit less than a foot away from the feeders watching unnoticed as the birds munch away on their bird seed. Don't be afraid to get creative with your bird blind either. Take it outdoors on a nice day and have your children cover it with branches and leaves to really camouflage it or let them paint it to blend into the surrounding shrubbery. Set it up near a place you know the birds always gather at, bring along a couple of lawn chairs and some snacks and have fun!

If you decide to make one let me know. We'd love see how you make your bird blind special :)

~ Rosina

Hermie: Who is in Charge Anyway? ~ Review

I recently signed up to be a book reviewer for Booksneeze as I thought it would be a great way to feed my reading obsession without spending any money *grin*. In return for receiving free material I have to share a quick blurb about each one on my blog and as it happens this time they sent me a DVD for children :) If you're a regular reader of my blog and you're not interested in this just skip it and watch for my next blog entry tonight as it's going to be a fun little project to complete!

Hermie: Who is in Charge Anyway?
A Lesson in Growing Up With God ~ By Max Lucado


This movie is one of many DVD's in a series called Hermie & Friends by Max Lucado and the first one that the children and myself have actually seen. It's a wonderfully cute story about Freddie the Flea and his conversation with God as he wants to know what makes him special.

The children were immediately engaged by the animation and fun 'bug' characters as God showed Freddie little flashbacks of his friends and how they weren't always the strong or courageous friends that the thinks they have always been! The message of the movie is very clear, that God has a special plan for all of us no matter how big or small we are and in the end God shares what his very special plan for Freddie the Flea is :)

My 6 and 4 year old absolutely loved the movie but it was definitely a little babyish for my 11 year old. Out of all 3 children my 6 year old benefited the most by understanding the message and getting the most out of the plot. There were a lot of flashbacks in the movie which I believe are snippets of previous movies and it seemed a little distracting to be bouncing around so much especially when you haven't seen any of the previous movies but the saving grace was the trivia game at the end. In the bonus section you can play and see how much you actually remember from the movie and my 6 year old aced it :) All in all it's a cute little movie and I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. ~ Rosina

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Market Day

I had planned to get back and finish off our camping weekend earlier today but I did a little visiting today with a really neat French couple that live here and I ended up bringing home a huge bunch of a delicious heirloom lettuce (she gets the seeds from her family in France) similar to a butterhead lettuce but even more tender and a giant handful of baby leeks that I transplanted into my garden this evening :) I sure hope the leeks take because they will be so good in soups and quiche this fall!

Okay so back to our weekend *grin*. On Sunday before we packed up the camper to head home we wandered down to the pier to check out the weekend market :) It's pretty much a big arts and crafts show with just a handful of bakers and such but it's always fun to see what people are making. On Saturdays one town further south is an AWESOME farmers market with produce, meats, baking, preserves and so much more. I wish this one was like that but I guess there just isn't enough interest or supply to make it a true farmer's market.

As we were walking by one of the bakery stands the fellow called Hubby over saying that he had noticed that he was wearing a special shirt for Father's Day (one of the ones the kids made him) and that he had something for him to.

Out he pulls this little red box and tells him to open it and for the kids to watch very carefully. I thought for sure that something was going to jump out at him as he lifted the lid and I think Hubby did to as he was a little hesitant to open it *grin*.

Inside were three little mice puppets that he popped up and wished Hubby a very special Father's Day wish with. The kids loved it :)

Before we left we grabbed a giant bag of kettle corn to share for the ride home and watched them make a batch. The drum is so incredibly hot that the fellow is wearing welding gloves to protect his hands!! I can't imagine how hot that job must be during the dog days of summer.

To end our day we shared cake and fresh strawberries with my daddy and gave him silly music cards :) I hope everyone had a lovely Father's Day weekend to!

~ Rosina

Where Have We Been??

We've been camping!! Our very first trip of the season :)
We didn't venture to far from home as it was our maiden voyage after ripping our travel trailer completely apart to replace rotten flooring and walls, but it went fabulously. No mishaps or trouble. Everything seems to be in tip top shape *grin*.

A lovely little campsite surrounded by tall trees and oodles of trails to wander.

One of the paths took us right along the river and it was so nice to enjoy the cool shade of the trails. The weather was absolutely beautiful and truly made you appreciate the reprieve from the heat that the forest provides.

My mini explorer :)

We spent 3 whole days exploring, playing, wandering and just plain old relaxing.

I don't know how many little birds nests L found as she wandered around in the bush behind our campsite. This little one was tucked in the hollow on the backside of a rotting stump :)



No eggs in it but perhaps it belonged to our little friend above that seemed to have adopted us as he followed us from stump to stump watching our every move *grin*.

I just love that we are able to spend many hours outdoors year round but in summer we actually get to pick up and move outdoors... unplugged and loving it :) No phones, no tv, no computer or emails to pull you away from more important things like family togetherness. Early nights, good books and deep sleeps. It really can't get any better than that!

Oh and check out my new paper lantern solar lights I picked up for Hubby :) He loves solar lights and I thought these were so cute *grin*. They even twinkle in the dark so it looks like they actually have candles flickering inside of them. So pretty!

I've got more photos of our Father's Day and outing to the Market but I'll have to share that tomorrow as my pillow is calling me :)

~ Rosina

Stenciled T-Shirts for Father's Day

Father's Day is June 20th and a perfect day to celebrate the Super Hero in your family or in our case to celebrate our 'Super Daddy'! *grin*

I'm crazy about stenciling t-shirts and have done quite a few for the kids and a few school ones with our school name on them for when we go on homeschool outings so I thought what would be better than having each of the kids make a special shirt for daddy :)

If you have never made a t-shirt using freezer paper it is super simple and you can even check out a tutorial I did on it back in 2008 that shows you all the steps from start to finish! All you need is a t-shirt, some butcher's paper or freezer paper as it is also called, a craft knife, acrylic paints and a fabric medium to set the paint permanently on the shirt or you can buy fabric paint that is all ready to go.

I did all of the cutting for the youngest two as they aren't ready to wield a sharp blade yet but the painting was all theirs :)

I had ran across quite a few handprint shirts in the past and thought that it would be fun to have one of them stamp their hands on a shirt...

but I wasn't sure how to tie it into the father's day theme besides it just being a cute shirt with his kids' handprints on it *grin*. Then I came up with what I thought was a pretty smart tag line....

Handpicked by:
L

I love it!!! That has got to be the sweetest saying and I know Hubby is just going to love getting it from his little girl :)

My oldest son is totally into camping so he made his camping themed and I set it all up for him on my printshop program so we just had to print it out and he cut and painted :)

They're all outside hanging in the plum tree right now while Hubby is down working on his tugboat. I'm hoping that they completely dry by the time I have to bring them in so that we can heat set them tomorrow and wrap them for Sunday. I'll make sure and show you the finished shirts after we have them finished :)

What are you making for Father's Day gifts this year?

~ Rosina

Coombs Country

Today we took a little trip to Coombs, home of the famous goats on the roof :)
They actually have real live goats that live on the roof of their market! The roof is covered with sod and they graze up there all summer long. The kids get a real kick out of watching them and they sell the most comical sticker warning of falling goat turds! LOL.

I just love perusing their flower market with all of the annuals, herbs, vegetables and more. So colorful :)

Then there is the food portion of the market with it's fresh vegetables, many of which are local from here on the island or the rest of BC.

And oooh the fruit. You could nearly taste the peaches as they smelled so good!

There is so much to catch your eye....

And tempt your pocketbook *grin*.
These quilts were just begging me to take one home :)

Of course after all of that window shopping you work up quite an appetite and you must have lunch at their fabulous restaurant where they have fresh breads, pizzas, sandwiches, and we even had some delicious halibut today.

I made sure to leave room for dessert though!
So many sweets. There are cakes, tarts, cookies, sticky buns, all cream filled or sugar topped. It's calorie laden pure bliss *grin*.

Thank goodness we did a lot of walking at Costco after lunch! Oh my that place is huge and heaven forbid you forget the coffee until you get to the till and have to navigate clear through to the opposite end of the store through the throngs of hungry shoppers clamoring to get free samples.... yes this did happen to us! LOL. One super perk was that I picked up some 100% SKAL certified organic pj's for the kids at a bargain of $12. What a find! I love that more and more organic clothing is becoming available without having to pay an arm and a leg for it. Keep on requesting it everyone. The more we demand it the more options and price savings we will find :)

Hope you all had a lovely afternoon to :)
~ Rosina

Welcome To Our Garden

Remember those cute gumboots we were planting flowers in?
I thought that the perfect place to put them would be to hang them right on our garden gate *grin*. Don't they look super cute there? A perfect flower filled welcome to our vegetable garden and the kids just love seeing them every time we go to water or plant. Plus this way the slugs will never be able to eat the blooms either!

Hubby returned home this morning after 2 weeks away for work and we are overjoyed to have him with us again. So if I'm just a little bit scarce the next couple of days you'll know what has happened to me :)

** Just wanted to add a note and say hello to all of you visiting my blog today :) I've had quite a few emails about how I hung the boots and if they have any drainage so I thought this would be a great place to put some more info in case you would like to know to :)

There are drainage holes in each of the boots so that excess water can escape after watering. I used my husband's power drill and drilled four or five 1/4 inch holes through the soles and then for hanging the boots I drilled another hole on the backside of the boot up at the top and hung them on the fence using those little cup hooks you can get anywhere they sell screws :) If you can't find the little cup hooks you could also use a regular nail and just hammer the end crooked so it turns up a bit on the end to prevent the boot from slipping off. Have fun making some! **

Have a fabulous week everyone!
~ Rosina

Our New Stainless Steel Popsicle Mold

I have been meaning to share about our new popsicle mold with you for a couple of weeks now and I'm so happy to finally have some photos to show you :)

I'm continually purging our household of plastic storage containers, dishes, glasses, and whatever else I can find so you can imagine my excitement when I learned that there was an alternative to the standard plastic popsicle molds! We use ours pretty much year round, even in the winter but I had shelved it after the big BPA blowup hit the fan. I had actually been freezing popsicles in little narrow glasses that I had found at the goodwill but it was a tippy balancing act to maneuver in the freezer *grin*. So hooray for the new mold!

The new stainless steel set comes with 6 individual popsicle molds, lids and a super handy metal stand for setting everything into the freezer. Each lid is equipped with a little silicone ring where you slip your wooden popsicle stick through and it holds it snuggly in place so that it doesn't slip or sink inside the mold as it sets. The lids are also concave shaped inside so they act as handy little drip catchers to when you eat them. This is a really good thing for my 4 year old *grin*.

Now what I really love about this set is that can take out as many of the individual molds as you need and you don't have to run the entire set of popsicles underneath the tap just so you can get 1 loose! Actually we didn't even need to run these ones under any water at all, they just popped right out after being in our hands for a couple of seconds. I can see a whole lot of popsicle goodness in my future and here's a recipe for you :)

Orange Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles

1 cup orange juice
1 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries

Whiz it all up in your blender, pour, freeze and enjoy! This recipe filled all 6 of our molds with just a pinch to spare :)

~ Rosina

My Little Farmer

Well actually he's really not so little anymore :)
He's the man of the family while his dad is away at sea and he takes his role and the big shoes that go along with it very seriously.

Oh my goodness he is such a BIG help to his mama!!
This year he has taken to splitting the firewood. I never even had to ask him. I think it may have been the lure of being able to swing the big splitting maul *grin* but whatever it may have been that called him to the firewood heap we now have 8 cords of wood drying in the woodshed :)

Lately he's been by my side in the garden planting the vegetables and weeding. I think next year I may turn the garden over to him and let him make all of the plans for what we will do as he shows so much interest in it and has plenty of ideas for what we should be doing! You know that old saying about 'backseat drivers'? Well I've got myself a big ol' backseat gardener! LOL.

Don't worry though he's enjoying his youth with gusto. Between the fishing, bike riding, tree fort building, camping, swimming, sister teasing and general boyish mischief he's having a really good time :)

Case in point, he's taken to setting booby traps lately and he is dead set on catching mama in one of them but so far I've outsmarted him every time *grin*. Actually it was just my good luck last night as he had rigged up a heap of boxes in the bathroom tied to the door knob just before he and the others went to bed knowing that no one else would go in the bathroom anymore but me. What he didn't count on was little brother making an emergency trip to the bathroom and he was the one that got bombed by the box wall! Haha, foiled his plans again *grin*.

Oh how I love my boys and my pretty little princess girl to :)
~ Rosina