::Summer's fullness::

Summer seems so very full just now. Open and ripe and
beautiful. Find a moment to drink it in, this sunny
weekend. Join me in a little celebration of summer's
fullness...

Evening walks.

There is something about the quality of light
on summer evenings that I dearly love.
And its kind of magical how a bit of last minute
inspiration, can change the dinner, shower, bed
routine and see us setting off on a little adventure.

Both of my little boys are always avid collectors
of all sorts of treasures on our walks. But on our
most recent walk, I watched with delight and
realised how much they had both been inspired
by "Enid Blyton's Nature Lover's Book". There
was lots of extra careful looking and we came home
with well above the usual stash of treasures.

I only recently discovered this book, a facsimile
edition of a 1944 publication and purchased it
for my big boy's birthday. It is a beautiful book,
with lots of lovely B&W 1940's illustrations and
some colour plates. It centres around a series of
nature walks, that 3 children take, with their
neighbour, through the seasons. Each chapter
describes one of their walks.

What shines through is Enid Blyton's love of
Natural History. Although I am not a big fan of
her other work, I love the interesting information
that she weaves into these stories, and the simple
unpretentious way that it is done. The children
try to guess which botanical families the flowers
belong to, and why they got their names. They
listen to the different parts of bird calls and identify
nests. Above all I think they become keen observers
and it is this passion that resonated with my boys.

::Still life::

Things are rather busy in our house at the moment. Full

of all the preparations and red tape involved in starting a

little business venture. I dearly believe in what I am doing,

but there are times, particularly over the past week where

I have longed for a bit of rhythm and stillness.

I know that this flurry of activity will settle down, but it

makes me realise the things I value in life, that less

is so very much more. -And that so often simple things

are just exquisite, when you take the time to stop and

breathe them in......

Easy little aprons.

Should you ever find yourself in need of a
few little cooking aprons in something
of a hurry, then you might like to try
this simple, easy idea.




You will need some new t-towels and about 1.5 metres of
cotton tape (mine was 20mm wide).

First you will need to fold the top down to give you the
length you want. The average T-towel is too long
for 3-4 year olds I found.




Fold two triangles in the top corners.




Then carefully run the cotton tape under each triangle,
leaving a loop at the top. Pin, then make sure that the
little head you have in mind will fit through the loop(!!)

Now all you need to do is sew, across the top, then up
one side of each triangle to secure the front. Make sure that
your stitching goes through the layers of t-towel and also
through the tape to secure it.



And in no time at all Voila! Lots of little aprons.




If I was only making one or two of these aprons I think it
would be easy to get carried away embellishing the front.
A little pocket or a square of coordinating fabric
with a bit of embroidery perhaps. What fun!





Its a kind of satisfying sight, a bundle of little aprons ready
to go. I think they would also make nice little gifts, perhaps
with a wooden spoon tucked into a pocket and a few little
metal cookie cutters.

::Dailyness::

Work is love made visible.



And what is it to work with love?




It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved
were to dwell in the house.



It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath
of your own spirit.

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from
your heart..........

Kahlil Gibran
~The Prophet.