TreasuresInTerraCotta

The garden continues to provide a bit of a focal point most mornings either watering or harvesting or searching for bugs.  Not to mention providing cucumbers, jalapenos, bell peppers and lots of tomatoes.  I haven't bought any from the store in months now.  If I could just perfect growing limes, garlic and cilantro I could make salsa any time!  Every year I probably end up with hundreds of garden pictures, but I just can't get enough of them.  They never fail to make me happy or to surprise me when I look back and see the changes. I feel like I have finally started to make progress on the learning curve of Gardening.  The soil in my two bed areas is rich and deep.  I know what grows well in our area.  I've started doing things without realizing that I'm doing them.  I'm getting volunteer plants.  And the garden is producing. So it's time to branch out.  We dug a new garden bed in late June and planted a few seeds when the r...

Our summer has been full of little things.  In fact, I started keeping track of all the "little things" because it felt like we weren't doing anything!  We didnt' take any trips.  We didn't have any company.  We didn't spend a fortune.  We stayed home.  We took little trips around town.  We tried to stay cool. And I downloaded Picasa and learned how to make these cute collages. Here's my first attempt. We borrowed a couple science books from the library, kept a list of interesting ideas on the refrigerator and bookmarked fun science from the internet.  Not to mention simply enjoying the world around us and the crazy nature of Southern Arizona. Most of the kids around here are back to school already or will be later in the week.  We'll start in less than two weeks, so sadly, we are starting to wrap-up summer...and trying to cram in all the stuff we wanted to do.  Stay tuned for more Summer Recaps. 

The kids are all ready for summer fun!  My sister found this  Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial at MADE  and we decided the six cousins needed matching shirts for all the sumer fun we have coming up in July.  We picked up shirts in various shades of blue, dug out some old fabric paint, bought a humongous roll of freezer paper and then the debate began.  What should the stencil be?  There was much discussion, second-guessing and internet searching for clip art while trying to find something that was: ~easy to cut ~visually appealing ~gender-neutral ~summer-y ~and fun We finally settled on a simple camp fire.  All of the kids (except the 2 year old) painted their own shirts.  Each one is slightly different but they are all adorable.  (I'll post more pictures when we get the kids all together.) I wish we had done this craft earlier in the summer so the kids would have had "camp shirts" for all the out-and-abo...

There are times when you are preparing for something and you don't even know it.  Those are the times when you start hearing the same message repeatedly from all directions.  Bible reading, blogs, devotionals, friends in passing and the news of the day...they all seem to say the same thing. This is the message I have been hearing and reading and seeing before my eyes for several years now.  And I am convinced that there is a scriptural truth embedded in it.  If you water it, it will grow! For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And does not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth It shall not return to me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11 (NKJ) Kanab, Utah But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, ge...

Our garden is growing tomatoes!  We have to pick them a bit before they are perfectly ripe or the birds and groundsquirrels and rabbit will eat them.  But that's not trouble since the boys like to go out and harvest tomatoes every day.  As soon as the tomatoes have started to turn orange the kids (and the cousins and the friends) want to pluk them from the vines. We leave them on the counter until they turn a nice red.  My favorite use for them is salsa.  My favorite recipe is a variation on the recipe for Tableside Guacamole from the Flying V Bar & Grill at Ventana Canyon. Salsa Fresca 3-4 roma tomatoes, diced 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped fine 1 handful cilantro, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper Juice from 1 large or 2 small limes Mix all ingredients together. Serve with tortilla chips, on tacos, with veggies, etc. Most recipes also call for 1/2 a re...

It is an unwritten law of the universe:  If you have a truck people ask you to help them move. Akin to this is:  If you have a sewing machine people ask you to make costumes. I have certainly used my machine to make plenty of costumes for the kids and adults around this house.  So when my 13 year old friend asked me to help her make Bubble Skirts for the Taylor Swift concert I was game.  I ended up with three adorable skirts, but in the process I actually made five skirts!  First I tried to copy a design I had on hand, but I quickly realized I needed more of a tutorial.  I finally found two that, when combined, were exceptionally helpful.  But in an effort to make the learning curve shorter for someone else (and to remember what I did when I try to sew another one) I thought I would write a tutorial of my own.  Supplies: Fabric for the outer skirt Fabric for the lining Matching/coordinating thread Elastic (3/...

I have had this craft in the works for months and it is finally compleated.  Adorable Emily over at Jones Design Company showed me how to make a book page canvas in one of her many tutorials .  Her finished product looked something like this, with pages from many different sizes and colors of books, which I plan to copy some day. I started with an inexpensive canvas from the craft store, a Bible bought at the thrift store and a large V for my monogram printed from Word. I had Mod Podge, black acrylic paint and brushes on hand. Then I started to disassemble the Bible (please don't think me irrevrent!) and cut up the pages (eeekk!) and arrange them on my canvas.  I used some pages from 1 Thessalonians that contain our family verses, but I also added some other favorite and encouraging verses from Philippinas and Ephesians and elsewhere. I cut some small and some large and filled in the gaps and did some overlaping.  Then I used Mod Podge to glu...