a new path

yesterday morning i felt a little glum. we had spent our entire saturday tending to house rearrangements and hadn't really set foot outside but for the occasional shaking out of a rug or a dust rag. we accomplished a lot, but i woke up sunday feeling a bit depleted and uninspired. luckily dan saved the day by expressing a strong desire to take a hike. i did a little looking around online to see if there might be a new path out there for us to step on, and found one. it is in fact quite close to us, closer than the usual destinations. 

we arrived at patricia ann byrom forest preserve just a short while after tristan fell asleep in the car. so we hung around a bit under the pavilion by the parking lot, reading the postings.

and relaxed on the rocks, doodling

there were fantastic views of fox mountain across the way

and there was foliage in various stages to admire

eventually tristan woke up, but took some coaxing to get in the spirit of a hike. 

he liked sitting on this dragon egg.

he was the first to spot this massive hornet's nest. and while i was snapping a photo of it, warned me of a big black snake that slithered by and disappeared into the woods. 

he's got an eye for nature, that boy!

as does she

and we set out for a hike on a steepish path through a sweet 

forest in the blue ridge mountains

just when tristan had had about enough walking, we came upon a creek. 

nothing like a creek to kindle a kid's joyful spirit!

some horses passed by with their people

we snacked, chatted, relaxed, and explored the creek

tashi completed her "doodle"

and then it was time to head back

but the beauty never ends in the blue ridge. nor do the surprises.

and all that rearranging we did on saturday? it had something to do with this:

tashi has been wanting to move into the downstairs guest room/office/playroom for 

some time. so she is there! and tristan, after four and a half years in our room, 

now has his own room. he's pretty happy with it, and slept in it for the first time last night.

big changes around here! 

it's all still a bit of a work in progress, but coming along! 

photos of tashi's room once she is set up!

hand made (or assembled) for the holidays

aside from all the baking of biscotti, cookies, granola, and granola bars that's been going on around here lately, and aside from all the blanket & bib sewing i did for the holiday market, there were a few precious handmade gifts that found their way under the tree, and there are even a few yet to come! i blogged a while ago about the tiny trinkets tote i made for tristan. gratefully, we managed to make a few more things.

for tristan, tashi found some like-new hard cover copies of winnie-the-pooh and the house at pooh corner at a thrift store, sans dust covers. so she made her own dust covers. pretty sweet, eh? she has been reading the books, chapter by chapter, to her little brother, who is loving it. and my heart melts.

i put together an outdoor exploration kit for tashi and tristan, inspired by this book, also thrifted.

i had all sorts of ambitions about what i would make for the kit, and what i would find for the kit, which didn't entirely play out. but i think it turned out pretty well regardless. 

firstly i wanted to make an outdoor collection bag for both tristan and tashi. i managed to eke out tristan's on christmas eve, and i still owe tashi hers. i will either make a tashi-sized version of the same bag, or another bag altogether. 

this one is amy karol's simple tote, from bend the rules sewing. i apologize about the quality of the phone photos, taken late on christmas eve!

here is the kit, with all its stuff!

a couple of magnifying glasses. . .

a few guide books (to add to the bird, herb, night sky, and stone guides we already have around the house):

 some notebooks & pencils, for sketching out and writing down observations. . .

a sunprint kit, bird alphabet coloring book, and few books about the mysteries of nature for tashi to read to tristan. they had a successful first session of exploration, though tristan was determined to find bugs, and there are very few aside from stink bugs this time of year. he will learn a lot from exploring the outdoors with tashi, and they will learn a lot together. more heart melt-age.

every time we go to the toy store downtown tristan spends the entire time playing with the little table top sand boxes. so we made one. i found this wooden box for $1. we scooped up some sand from our outdoor sandbox. and we found this collection of cast iron space toys to add in. moonwalk anyone?



of course sand gets on the floor. so the wooden box sits in this bigger cardboard box, which helps.



i picked up these cloth napkins for the family, made from recycled cotton. and then i made some napkin holders with pearly snaps. i came up with the idea for the napkin holders, though i'm sure there are dozens of similar and/or identical patterns all over the internet! oh and the hedgehog and tree stump? they are salt and pepper shakers, found at a favorite local crafty store, o' suzannah. need an owl or a hedgehog or a spotted mushroom? visit o' suzannah!







in addition to owing tashi an outdoor exploration bag, i owe her a pillow, promised at her birthday, to match her new bedroom decor (comforter, rug, and lamp, none hand made!). and so a ruffle pillow from sweetwater's handmade home is in progress. it should only take an hour or two to assemble, but i must admit, a post holiday laze has taken over me. so i have all the fabrics picked out, and only the front and back fabrics cut out!

finally, here is tristan, working on his hand art kit, gifted to him from aunt nari. googly eyes, pom poms, crayons, and glue = true love.

by the way, part two is coming, where i show off the amazing things my mother knit for all of us!

did you make or gift or receive anything handmade for the holidays?