Wool applique bunny

I love to do hand applique on wool
So much fun!
mother hen

Bowl of eggs

I found these wonderful eggs at a second-hand store
 Thank you to whoever spent the time to decorate them!

They are beautiful!
mother hen

Collections - Nancy Drew Books

Collection: A group of objects or works to be seen, studied or kept together. An Accumulation

COLLECTIONS:  Part III - Nancy Drew Books                                       

  

Growing up I loved reading Nancy Drew mystery books.  They were the best!  I'm not what you would call a "true book collector".  I'm not looking for first editions or rare books.  I look for the blue tweed silhouette books with "digger" or "Multi pic" end papers. They are the ones I read growing up.  I  thought it would be fun to collect these great books from the past.  I hope my grandchildren will read and enjoy them (even though the way they are written is somewhat funny today).   It will give them a little glimpse into their nana's childhood!

The Nancy Drew series was first published in 1930 and is one of the most successful children's series of all times.  The original 56 stories were written by various people under the pseudonym of Carolyn Keene.  Over the years there have been different covers, end papers, dust jackets and spines.  You can collect first editions, war editions, book club editions, and more.  Over the years Nancy, her friends and even her cars have changed.  For example:  in books 1-34 Nancy is a smart, flippant blond who drives a blue roadster; in books 35-56 her hair is reddish-blonde and she is calm, collected and drives a blue convertible!   The first 56 books have been updated and reissued over the years. 

Nancy definitely has experienced change over the years.  Here's our Lil' Squirtz change patch to honor Nancy and all the changes she has endured since 1930!   In celebration of CHANGE, Lil' Squirtz has designed this special edition patch.  The triangle, a Greek symbol for change, is simple, pure, and elementary in design - making for a fresh and bold statement.

                                                                                              

                                                                                    

Embrace change - it is the way of life today.

Enjoy your day.

mother hen

this ain't the bahamas mama...!

Found: One Baby Chick. 
Snuggled up with her computer.
Spotted in her vicinity was a massive mound of paperwork.

Wanted: One Baby Chick.
Snuggled up with her children on the Oregon coast. 
Spotted in her vicinity is nothing but her two sandy, ocean kissed kidos!

We have renters!

My husband and I have three wood duck nesting boxes on our property.  Every spring the wood ducks fly in our valley in search of a place to nest.  Our nesting boxes take the place of their natural habitat of tree cavities.   The nest box you are seeing is our nest box #2 which is only about 15 feet from our bedroom window.  It is such a wonderful treat to watch the female fly into the box to lay her eggs while the male is perched on the tree limb standing guard for any danger.  The female will lay one egg everyday for a total of  about 10 to 12 eggs. 

Due to an early spring the ducks are about one month early this year.  We already have renters in box #1 and lookers for box #2.  Sunday morning they were checking out the living quarters before taking occupancy.  She should return soon to begin laying her eggs.  Box #1 already has eggs! After the female (aka Hannah) left, my husband climbed up to box #1 and took these great pictures.

If you would like to learn more about wood ducks, check out these sites:

www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=62

www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Birds/Wood-Duck.aspx

www.nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2009/05/at-pond-wood-duck.html

Another thing that makes me smile!

Enjoy the day.
mother hen

The honey bees are coming

Italian honey bees will be placed in their new homes on April 5

This area in our yard is called "Bee Town"

Happy St. Patrick's Day

happy birthday to mother hen

enjoy your day

Has anyone seen baby chick?

Rumor is she ran away to the Bahamas!

Could this be true?

Color - I love it!

I can't think of any color that I do not like. I have always loved color. In high school I painted my bedroom chateaus green! Loved it!! It took three or four coats of paint to cover it when we sold the house. Personally, who wants boring white walls? Don't get me wrong - white has its proper place. For me, it's white beaded board, beautifully finished white trim work, white appliances (sorry guys - no stainless for this girl, too much maintenance), white tile and porcelain sinks - oops that's enough white for me!

Look around outside and study all colors of nature. Is there anything more beautiful? Different seasons, different colors. Different parts of the country, different colors.

Color is important to me in my personal and business life. Quilts I make are scrappy and full of color. Our house sings of color everywhere - greens, oranges, blue, orchid, I love them all. Lil' Squirtz loves color too. What's not to like about colors with names of blueberry, marmalade, passion ...only to name a few.

Remember - color is on my list of things that make me smile. 

Take a trip to the paint store and grab some color chips and have some fun!  Don't be afraid of color, it won't hurt you. It might even be good for the soul.

Enjoy the day.

mother hen

Pi Day

In honor of my son-in-law and all the other mathematical enthusiast here's a  pie for you!

Spring Ahead!

We love daylight savings time

March is Women's History Month

image from www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/whm/

Here's a  few websites to check out:

http://www.nwhp.org/

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

http://www.womenshistorymonth.gov/photos.html

http://www.harriettubman.com/

Vintage Japanese Kimono Fabrics

Sunday night dinner

On Sunday I like to cook a big batch of something so we can have leftovers for lunch or dinner during the week.  If we are home and and I have time I like to put a big pot on the stove or in the oven.  If we are going to be gone or just too busy I will throw something into the crockpot.  The crockpot is a cook's best friend!  How easy can it be?

Today, I wanted to cook on the stove so the house would smell yummy.  Chicken stew - yum, yum.  I use a lot more veggies than meat, but you can do however.

It is so simple.  First, cut up your veggies.  This time I used onions, carrots, celery,  garlic, red potatoes, turnips, and parsnips. Use whatever you have in the frig.  Saute in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes or so.  Season with salt (not too much to start with), pepper, thyme, maybe a little basil  or sage.  After that is blended well add a quart of home canned tomatoes (or a can of store bought diced tomatoes), a quart of homemade chicken broth (or again, store bought chicken broth, I like to use the quart size organic, low-sodium that comes in a box), a tbls. of tomato paste (I like to have the tube of tomato paste in the frig for when I don't need too much paste, or I will open a small can and glob the remainder of the paste onto wax paper and put it into the freezer until frozen then put in a freezer bag to store back in the freezer until needed).  Then add some chicken (I used skinless, boneless chicken breast), and a bay leaf.  Make sure your meat is covered with the liquid; simmer until meat is cooked.

Remove chicken and let cool.  Cube your chicken  and return to pot.   Now you can add a can of drained kidney beans, or whatever bean you have on hand.  If you don't have any beans, you could add some leftover cooked rice or pasta.  I also like to add some frozen veggies to add a little more color.   In this batch I added some frozen butternut squash, green beans, corn, and peas from our garden.  The color is so pretty!   I adjust my seasoning; adding some more pepper and a little bit of Worcestershire sauce.  Add what you like, maybe some cayenne pepper or curry powder?   Use your imagination; I'm sure it will be great.  Well, that's basically it.  Dinner is ready.

Enjoy the day

mother hen

Shirley Temple

Isn't she cute!

Shirley Temple "wood" paper doll

Shirley visiting her friends on the East Coast

She had to bring out her snowsuit!  

 

Here she is getting ready for Spring   

We're going to get this girl in some Lil' Squirtz outfits!

1930's treasure

Dresden Plate Block

One of the three most common designs in 1920's and 1930's quilts

Hand pieced and hand appliqued with the buttonhole stitch using black embroidery floss