simplesparrow

offerings

Hannah brought home this gorgeous bouquet of daisies from an obliging field yesterday. I don't photograph every bouquet that comes into the house, but this one needed to be remembered. It just bursts with summer joy, with warm afternoons and crystal clear skies, the smell of cut grass and the clicking of crickets. Next to my small bowl of beach stones I cannot help but be reminded of the simple and peaceful offerings of nature that feed my soul.

A few years ago my son Nathan wrote me this sweet message on a heart rock. I was so touched when he gave it to me. There was no special occasion, just because. During our spring break I decided to frame it. The frame is perfect I think. Found at Michaels unfinished, I painted it my own mix of blue and covered the cardboard backing with fabric and glued the rock in place.  Now I have the beauty of nature combined with a loving offering from my son. Double the goodness.

Owls in the house

Noah is in love with owls. He wants to read about them, talk about them, ask questions about them, watch documentaries about them, sleep with them (he has a stuffed toy owl).

As I looked through the many books we got from the library, I became fascinated with them also. I was quickly enchanted with their cuteness too. My particular favorite is the burrowing owl. With their long skinny legs and quirky expressions, they are very comical. My first experience with an owl was in fact a burrowing owl. I was visiting my grandma in New Mexico and while playing a round of miniature golf I spied a hole under the concrete with several pairs of big yellow eyes peeking out! I guess they are common in that part of the country, but we didn't have them in southern California. Another reason grandma's house was so interesting.

Noah's enthusiasm for these special birds has inspired some collages I made over the weekend.

I also did a small collage that has nothing to do with owls, and everything to do with my quirky imagination. All 3 are in the shop.

I'm finding that doing my own artwork is immensely satisfying. I am very fond of these three pieces, but also anxious to grow in this skill. I think there are more collages in my future.

By the way, back to the subject of owls and also birds of prey, Noah highly recommends these two youtube videos:

Owls in the orchard. Very, very charming. and Birds of prey are cool. The tune is going to stick in your head, just warning you. Have fun watching these with your little ones. Mom approved :)

parenting, making and hot cocoa (in otherwords, a random post)

{parenting}
thank you so much for all the encouragement on micah's photography. i was thinking, you just never know what bend in the road life holds for your children. naturally, as parents you can see many things early on--such as talents and strengths, as well as challenges. sometimes though, you are completely surprised. For instance, when my oldest son was about 15 yrs. old, he took a serious interest in learning to play the piano. and that he did--all we could do was hold onto his coat-tails as he became an incredible and obviously very gifted piano player. he is now focusing on composing, and the results so far are beautiful. we never knew. (although i like to think it was all those hours of classical music i played while he was growing up..it must have helped some, right?)

my boys, 1991. seth, holding nathan and micah on the right. nathan is one of micah's best models!

likewise with micah. when he was around 15 (that seems to be the magic number in our family!) my dad gave him his old video camera. it had the ability to take still photos and micah started experimenting. we quickly saw that he had a great eye, so we flooded him with encouragement and my parents (i'm so very thankful for their generosity) provided him with quality equipment that would do his talent justice. it's very clear to us now that micah has a bright future in the world of photography. we never would have guessed. bends in the road you just don't see coming.

{making}
for christmas, a couple of small gifts--a special box for noah and a crochet hook roll + new hooks for hannah. noah loves to collect little things--just odd ball things that a 5 year old would treasure.

i thought a special box for those things would be right up his alley. the box was very simple. i bought it from michael's in their wood section. the animals on top were already painted and ready to go. first i white-washed the box with a thin coat of watered down acrylic paint. i lined the inside with some felt and hot glued the animals on top. on the underside of the lid there is a painted wooden cloud that says, "noah's special things". that's it. i'm going to remember this the next time i have a small person gift to give. so fast and simple. hannah's hook roll will be paired with some new yarn that i was tempted to keep for myself! (i shall resist though)

{hot cocoa}
i'm putting together a couple sets of mint hot cocoa to give as gifts this year. i've been making this all month and the kids love it. here is a recipe for how we do it...

in an 8 ounce cup add:

1 teaspoon cocoa powder, rounded
2 teaspoons sugar, rounded
1-2 drops peppermint (or mint) extract

fill cup 2/3 full with boiling water. stir well. add a generous splash of half and half, stir. top off with homemade whip cream and crushed peppermints. yuuuum-my!

squeal with me!

my son just got artist of the week on iStockphoto!! Micah , you rock! (i always knew you would) xo.

Amy was right

She said this might happen, and she was right. Noah prefers a dishtowel.  After my friend read the dishtowel post, she was so kind to bring over a scrap of furry black fabric for me to make a tail out of. I thought it was perfect. It could be used for so many different animals--mouse, cat, cougar, lion, etc.. No matter that the color was not just right for each of these animals--he was using a kitchen towel for crying out loud!

When I proudly presented him with the tail, he checked it over, tried it on and climbed up the post in the kitchen (I guess he was giving it a test-run) "Sooooo...how do you like it?" I said with a giant smile. He, with a not so giant smile, shrugged his shoulders and handed it back to me. "It's too long" was the reply. "What?!! It's perfect. Look, it makes an awesome black panther tail, no?" (trying to appeal to the 'boy' in him) He simply insisted that I hang on to it and said he preferred the dishtowel.

He has since found out that it makes a perfect whip to whack his sister with. Great.

Noah starts school

Meet Mr. Rocket---yep, that's a beard, by special request.

Most of you know that we home school. We started 15 years ago when my oldest was 5. When Noah was born I realized that I would be home schooling until I was a senior citizen--well, not quite but close. Learning with a 5 year old is so fun. Really fun. I love seeing the world all over again through his eyes. Such as what he did with these shapes he cut out. And then having him state that the rocket needed a beard. O.K., one beard coming up...how does this look? "Great" he said, "Get the glue."

Our school year got off to a slow start, with our late summer trip to Oregon/Washington and then being in Italy for 2 weeks. So I'm working hard to get the ball rolling here at home and adding one more little student to the mix. I'm excited to get started on some sewing plans in hopes for a shop update in time for Christmas shopping. So far nothing yet. Once the school year starts for us crafting time is slim pickings around here for me.

So that's what I'm up to. Hope all is well with you and that you're having a super week!

There's a coyote in this town

Noah comes into my room and hangs out on the corner of the bed---

Me: hey.
Noah: hi mom.
Me: what are you thinking about?
Noah: did you know someone saw a coyote?
Me: really. who?
Noah: a lady in the bike shop.
Me: Oh. where did she see it?
Noah: in this town. there are coyotes in this town, ma.
Noah: that's got to be dangerous.

I didn't think it was a good time to tell him that yes, more then likely there are hundreds of coyotes in this town, this rural town of ours.

Humorous moments I never want to forget.

Wednesday Images

A bunny for Noah

Do you remember me posting about this little guy here ? I finished him up on Sunday--while I was on the couch all day with some kind of flu bug. It was a brief illness thankfully, all better now. I tried my best to get a photo of bunny with his proud owner--but Noah is going through some phase right now where he says no to all photos. Hrumph. I'm so glad he forgot all about saying no for the wedding photos..whew. He does love him though, and threw himself into my lap with a squeal of glee when I handed him his new friend. The whole time I was stitching him together I couldn't help but picture him with a tie of some kind. I think the bow tie suits him well, yes?

He's made from some vintage wool that my sweet friend Laura sent who was my partner for Back Tack 2 . Thank you Laura! This wool was absolutely perfect. I wanted the stitching to be "rough". I thought that would be consistent with the original design--as in not polished, but like a child would do--not perfect.

I caught glimpses of 'bunny' today a few times flying through the air and then later noticed that he was sleeping with the cat. Noah said he was being snuggly-buggly with our kitty. That's all good. I like to see toys well played with and well loved. I stitched the tie on pretty tight in preparation for any flights across the room and other world travels :)

Thank you for all the nice comments on the wedding photos! I was happy to share them with you. And thanks for being so interested, that's so nice. If you were one of these , I have a package ready to ship to you in just a day or two.

The wedding post

It's all over--time to lighten up

I was a bit overwhelmed once I started sorting through ALL the photos, looking for ones that I thought would give you a good representation of the day. With the time that I had, I hope you enjoy the ones I picked.

The bridesmaids--my beautiful daughter is on the far left

At the alter

The big picture--it's official, we cheer on the happy couple


Brothers--my oh so handsome boys


The very proud and very happy parents

At the reception

This  wedding stuff is all  fine and dandy, but there  are  more  important  things in  life--such as hot wheels.  Yes,  these cars were in his  pockets through the whole ceremony.

Cutting the cake--they  look sweet enough  don't they?

They do  have a wild side though--

Making up is fun--and tastes pretty good too

The groom and mother dance--this is when I started to shed big tears as I tried to take in my sons whole life up to this happy point.

Vanessa's bouquet--stunning

Bouquets brought home from the reception

I had so much fun.  Especially dancing to Love Shack by the B-52's.  It  was a day filled with lots of emotion--but it was all good.  A handful  of  long-time friends  came  and  it was so  special to be with them, share memories and  be completely silly on the dance floor.  We  came home very  full and satisfied with  all  that  took place--and tired too!  Life will get back to normal now  until  September comes--then the roller coaster  ride  starts again. But that my dears,  is for another post.