Raising Painted Ladies

 Early in April I received an email letting me know that one of the resource companies that I purchase homeschool material from occasionally was doing a big butterfly larvae order and since it had been a few years since we had raised any butterflies and they were willing to ship them to me I was all over it :)

 Two months nearly passed and one day there was a surprise package that needed to be picked up at the post office. Of course silly me had completely forgotten all about the butterflies by the time we reached June and it wasn't until I saw the red 'live specimen' tags on the outside of the box that I finally remembered that we were waiting for them *grin*.

Our caterpillars were well on their way when we placed their container on the mantle in the living room so they could happily munch away. Only a few days later it seemed they started to hang from the fabric top and spin their cocoons....

and the beautiful metamorphosis from wiggly caterpillar to butterfly began resulting in six pretty orange and black painted ladies. We were all captivated by them as they slowly stretched their wings, pumping blood into them and learning how to make them work. 

 We got this little pop up mesh enclosure the first time we got butterfly larvae a number of years back and it has been fantastic for housing other little creatures besides butterflies that the kids bring home to visit... like frogs, salamanders and so on :)

 It was tempting to keep our little visitors longer so that we could enjoy their beauty but today the sun was shining and it was time to let them take their first big flight.

Each of the children took turns helping one of the butterflies out of their temporary home and enjoying the tickle of its feet on their palms before it flew away.

Butterfly and Flower

See the flower open
Its petals one by one -
Butterfly wings upon a stem
Waving in the sun.
See the flitting butterfly
In shimmering colours bright -
A flower free and flying
In the warm summer’s light.

~ Paul King

Hugs,

Rosina

Bento Box Quilt For A Special Boy

My sister gave birth to her very first little one on May 1st making me a Tante (aunty) for the very first time! Yay, so exciting and to celebrate I want to make him his very first quilt.

I've been looking for the perfect pattern or idea for a boy's quilt for quite a while and when I saw these photos for a Modified Bento Box I sort of fell in love with it *grin*. So much in fact that when I started digging through my fabric stash I had my ipod in hand so that I could consult with her photo to match up similar colors LOL.

So far I've cut all of the center blocks out but since I don't have a pattern to give me exact amounts of fabric to cut I'm sort of just winging it when it comes to how many strips of fabric I will need. I didn't want to cut too many just in case I don't use them all so I may have to stop and do some more cutting before I get to the end but I'd rather do that then end up with a bunch of three inch strips I don't need later.

I had planned to spend the entire morning sewing away but my daughter seemed to have other plans and ended up pulling me into a little sewing project of her own so this is about all I got finished today :) I think I have about a month and a half to finish though so that should give me plenty of time to finish it... should being the operative word as I have been known to be a bit of a procrastinator. I just may end up at the baby shower with bright red blood shot eyes from pulling an extreme all nighter to get it finished in time. Let's hope not though! *grin*.

Hugs,

Rosina 

Soaked Fruity Oats ~ Recipe

Oatmeal is a main staple during the winter months and to keep the children happily munching away on it without growing tired of it I like to spice it up with fruit :) I use steel cut oats which can take considerably longer to cook than quick oats and since I usually don't beat my children out of bed I needed a fast track cooking method!

Soaking the oats the night before provides this. By popping them in a bowl with water right after dinner (so I don't forget to do it) I have soft oats first thing in the morning that cook up in a matter of minutes :) The perfect solution when surrounded by a pack of hungry monkeys as soon as my feet hit the floor each day *grin*.

You will need:

3 3/4 cups of water

1 2/3 cups of steel cut oats

(rolled oats or quick oats can be substituted)

Assortment of chopped fruit

Maple Syrup

~ Serves 4

The night before place your oats and water in a glass bowl or jar, cover and let stand until you are ready to use them in the morning. Like I mentioned above, I like to do this when I'm cleaning up after dinner so that I don't forget and then they get a chance to soak a little over 12 hours :)

When you are ready to make breakfast in the morning, transfer your oats to a pot, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir continuously as they cook for 5 - 10 minutes. The shorter cooking time will provide a chewier texture. Remove from the heat and stir in some yummy maple syrup to sweeten it. I usually use 2 - 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and find that it is sweet enough. Pour into bowls and top with chopped fruit.

Right now we are using an assortment of kiwi, pomegranates, oranges, apples and banana :) After Christmas the pomegranates came on for a super good price so I couldn't resist buying some and since not everyone likes the same fruit I like to have a few different kinds in the fridge.

Nuts, seeds and dried fruit are other delicious additions to your oatmeal to. Oh there are so many different ways to spice up your breakfast... literally! Try adding cinnamon with your apples or a touch of pumpkin pie spice with pumpkin seeds :)

Enjoy making your oatmeal a little more exotic the next time you cook it and don't forget to sing *grin*.

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old

Hugs,

Rosina

PS. Looking for more yummy recipes?? Check out this week's Hearth and Soul blog hop :)

The Snow Queen

Earlier this month we participated in a seasonal handmade exchange and I wanted to share with you the beautiful 'Snow Queen' that we received :)

She is so pretty with her wool felt dress, leafy wings and seashell cap. She's the perfect addition to our little nature table and the kids just love how she sparkles as her wings glow beneath our nut tree :)

Inside the little package was also another shell and this pretty orange wool. Oh my how I love orange and yellows so this is just perfect. Thank you so much Sarah we just love everything so much :)

Now I just need to think of something really special to make with our new wool. Any suggestions?

Hugs,
Rosina

Fall Colors

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry’s cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I’ll put a trinket on.

~ Emily Dickinson

I love the visual plethora that is fall with it's brightly colored crimsons, oranges and yellows. It's a feast for all of your senses. The sound of crunching leaves, the smell of wood fires, the touch of icy wind upon your cheeks, the flavors of pumpkin pies and harvest squash all molded into one lovely eye popping season of stunning color. Here are some of my fall photos from the last couple of days :)

Hubby just can't seem to get enough of the miniature pumpkins even though I keep insisting that they won't be much fun to carve *grin*.

Marveling in mother natures ability to create something as odd yet enchanting as the Purple Fairy Club mushroom.

Munching on the what's left of the grapes after the bear raided them the other night.

Taking advantage of the dry days that are coming less and less and watching the kids roar around on their bicycles.

This time of year just beckons to be explored. We have been keeping our eyes open for woolly bear caterpillars, orange fairy cup fungi and others and the chance to pick wild mushrooms like chanterelles for soups and stews :) Summer has it's own special moments but the cooler months are much more dear to me.

How about you, what is your favorite part of fall?

Hugs,
Rosina

The Pumpkin Patch

I can't believe we're nearing the end of October and that it was already time for our annual trip to Shamrock Farms for our pumpkin hunt!!

As we turned off the road and onto their dirt driveway our truck was flanked by fences topped with miniature pumpkins and gourds :)

Big brother decided that he would be in charge of our wagon and off we went with it full of children *grin*. It was the strangest weather to. The fog had been sitting in the valley all day and it actually seemed quite fitting for a Halloween pumpkin hunt :)

As soon as we got to the pumpkins the kids were off and running in all directions.

I think that the enormous choice of pumpkins was nearly to much for them as they scattered in search of the perfect one.

As we looked for ones that would be good for carving, not to green and without any rotten spots...

Hubby searched for the tiniest one that he could find. Why you might ask... because it would be the CHEAPEST!!! Haha, what a funny guy. Not!

Finally we were loaded with 3 beauties and off we went to have them weighed.

The great thing about Shamrock farm is that it's not just a u-pick pumpkin patch, but there is a bit of a haunted house inside the barn with oodles of scary pumpkins, skeletons, bats and a warty witches room full of creepy things :) The kids always love checking it all out. If you hop over to my flickr page later you can see more of the farm to.

The fun didn't stop inside the barn either! Outside are chickens to feed and turkeys, geese and goats to watch. It's such a fun place to spend a bit of your afternoon and part of our Halloween tradition. We don't actually go out trick or treating but it is my husband's birthday on Halloween so we always have a great party with carved pumpkins and creepy foods. It's so much fun :)

I think I'm going to hunt down some fireworks for this year to. When my youngest two were smaller they always cried when they went off but I think they're old enough to actually enjoy it this year *grin*. How about you. What do you do for Halloween?

Hugs,
Rosina

Road Trip

We went on a bit of a road trip this morning heading down island to Nanaimo. Hubby had to visit the Transport Canada office and have is captain's ticket renewed for the tug boats that he run so we thought we'd tag along :)

I really wanted to make a visit to Kool and Child which is a fantastic homeschool supply store there to pick up some human body books for my oldest son and a couple new printing workbooks for my daughter. I really should make a trip down by myself one day as there are so many things to look at. There's nothing like leaving your husband in the car while you head into what you might as well call a candy store for homeschoolers! LOL.

We squeezed in a little visit to Costco while we were there to. I love looking at all of the seasonal items and you can't beat their prices on books, but I managed to escape with a handful of groceries and nothing else. The kids on the other hand left with full bellies *grin*. How you might ask... well I think they hit all of the food sample gals twice going around the store! LOL.

They must go through a TON of samples during a day because everyone flocks to them like crazy and some people are down right aggressive about getting in front of everyone else just to get a little paper cup filled with tidbits before they're all gone!! Seriously, some people should really eat lunch before they go there :)

I packed along my yarn bag with my granny square project that I've been working on and got a couple of new ones crocheted up on the way home :) I don't know why I never thought to take my crocheting along with me while traveling before. It helps to make the time pass so quickly and I'm getting so much more accomplished!

~ Rosina