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Well – Camps are over and I’ve had 2 weeks now to veg out and recover really, from the heat and craziness of camps. I’ve been having a difficult time getting back in my grove. We’re in that lul of space and time before we need to get serious about school, when I’m trying to make decisions on which homeschool group to join and what to do with each one. When I’m making the choices of exactly WHICH math curriculum to use for Jaia this year. Which Science to use for Rowan, who is now HIGH SCHOOL. And our personal big challenge – socialization – yep – I have one introvert who really does not mind staying at home reading – all. the. time. and another who needs that playtime, that interaction. Me? I’m somewhere in the middle which is why it’s difficult.
There are so many projects that need to be started and finished here in our house and not enough money to make them all happen. Reorganization, painting. I have a lot of ideas and no way to pull them off – at least that’s what it seems like. I’ve started cleaning out the basement. Started being the key word here – but – Blah – I have a few sewing projects simmering. I’ll keep you posted on those.
Digging myself out of my rut here – Jaia and I had to run my husband to the airport yesterday evening (business trip) and we took the “long” way back. Meaning that we didn’t take the jam packed, stopped traffic highway home. I had planned on stopping by “The Fabric Nosherie” to grab a couple yards of fabric for a project I want to start but ended up at an art studio instead. (Fabric store was closed!) Jaia had received a gift card for christmas and luckily she started carrying it around with her! – Let’s stop! I I have my gift card! – was the cry from the back seat as I cruised past the shop.
Yucando – is the name of the store – http://www.yucandu.com/. One of those crafting places where you go in, pick a project and a medium and create to your hearts content. Similar to a paint the pottery store. There’s an hourly studio fee and each piece has the cost separated by the medium you want to use – there was painting, decoupage, and mosaic. Some of the projects you could only paint or decoupage – like the dog J ended up picking out.
She chose her colors..
And got to work…
Jaia had a blast. She loved every minute of it – And while I balked at the general pricing – that dog, only to paint it – was $22.00 – Jaia studied the paint colors and pick the very right ones for her dog and painted that puppy exactly how she wanted to. (maybe I’m just actually cheap though, who knows)
I fell in love with the store/studio itself. If only I could recreate this in my basement!
Project pieces.
A wall of stuff to purchase for your projects. I had a great time wandering and looking at all the “things” that one can use for their projects!
Today we’re at home – doing yard work. And painting hopefully. A friend gave us 3 pressboard shelves that need some love.
Bright Blessings!
The title says it all. Then we are done. Finished. It’s all over! For one more year at least. And then our lives will go back to normal. We’ll plan for school. I’ll finish some projects. I’ll start some projects. We’ll go to zoo and have friends over to visit. It will be calm.
Jaia riding Karoly – a Percheron at Avalon. She got on him all by herself too –
Bright Blessings!
Months ago I bought a cute, small (size 4t) blue t-shirt from the thrift store for my daughter. I bought it NOT because it would fit – I knew it wouldn’t, she’s a size 10 now – but I bought it because of what was on the front of the shirt.
A horse -and a cute one at that.
Now, I bought this t-shirt, washed it, folded it and it promptly ended up in J’s dresser for weeks maybe even months! Well – it was “discovered” 2 weeks ago by a very happy little girl who HAD to try it on – ignoring mom’s statement of “it’s really NOT going to fit you!” – Oh well – do as you must- so she tried it on . Did it fit? NOPE ! belly exposed- super tight – she walks into my room – ” I don’t think it fits mom” – Oh dear girl you do make your momma laugh!
So I helped her wrestle it off and it ended up on my sewing table – which is where I had purchased it for to begin with.
I knew the t-shirt was just big enough to cover this small pillow – maybe 8 inches by 9 inches or something like that – So that’s what I did. I really have no idea where this pillow came from. We’ve had it ever since I can remember – even as a child – so for 30 some odd years this pillow has been floating around one house or another. It was time for some upgrading!
I traced around the pillow –
I sewed. I turned.
I stuffed.
and VOILA! – cute huh? It now holds a place of honor at the head of my daughter’s bed. I really MUST remember to find not so cutesy horse t-shirts for the 14 year old to make into pillows too! She liked this one but it was “too cutesy mom!”
I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th! The girls ended up going with my parents and I stayed home slightly ill with nausea – They had a blast swimming at my brothers and watching the fireworks and I watched a lot more t.v. than I ever do! Anyone else watch Craft Wars yet?
Two more weeks of camp! Then I’ll get back to crafting more!
Bright Blessings!
phone booths
mail box
vines creeping in
checkerboard top table
former baseball field and apparently where they held “concerts” (I think)
barbed wire
execution building –
Those who were executed.
I realize that the whole prison thing doesn’t “fit” with my whole natural momma, salve making, garden growing, sewing , easy going way – But it’s not the prison I find fascinating – It’s more the abandoned building, the structure and the fact that it may or may not be haunted which I find both extremely interesting and also frightening:)
I have more pics but I’ll skip on those and get back to my regular scheduled crafting and barn afternoons!
Bright Blessings!
Well we made it through our 4th and hottest week of camp so far. Only one more week that the girls will be helping with and then one extra week for me. The girls will have a lovely break spending time with friends and my mother -their Grandmother. Thursday and Friday of last week were just brutal – with temps hitting 105 + and now we’re on our 5th straight day of 100+ degree weather. I hope we get a break soon ! This heat is stifling and it’s wearing all of us down. Goodness.
Well, as I posted last week – I visited the Missouri State Penitentiary for all you history and ghost hunting buffs out there. I am one of those who WATCH the ghost hunting T.V. shoes with regularity! Also I love abandoned buildings. They’re so …….. frightening, haunting..etc…The Missouri State Penn has several different types of tours. A 2 hour tour, a 3 hour more in-depth tour and 2 different ghost hunting tours (that I’m definitely going to work up the courage to go do!) I think I took over 100 pictures so I’m going to narrow it down a bit here and post a few each day this week. Before you even walk in you have to sign a release form. And one of the tours you need to wear a hard hat according to their website – THAT will be my next tour. The Missouri State Penn has a bloody history and was opened 100 years before Alcatraz! And closed in 2004 if I remember correctly.
Front entrance
Guard shack at the entry to the complex. Add added in the 1960’s????? maybe.. All doors in the entry way were controlled by the computers in the guard shack by the time the prison closed.
View down one wing of the main building – we did not get to tour this building. Too bad – I wonder what it’s like!
Cell block we got to tour. Pictures to come!
I don’t remember if that red building was another cell block or if it was a factory. At the height of it’s history, the prison apparently had dozens of factories here – where the inmates worked. A busy inmate is one that cannot start anything right? They had a shoe factory, leather factory, saddle factory, furniture factory and many others I can’t remember right now.
Those cages in front – left corner? They look kind of like dog runs? They were exercise cages for the inmates – I believe for the solitary confinement inmates or the death row inmates? Not 100% sure. But I do know they were exercise cages – I THINK they were something like 6 feet by 12 feet but don’t quote me on that.
Inside cell block. Four stories. At one point these cells housed 6 + prisoners.
Looking down from a walkway.
Cell. Towards the end of the prison’s life – these cells were for the more “privileged” prisoners – those with good behavior. They got to paint and decorate their cells however they wanted. Apparently one cell had a 20? gallon fish tank at one time and many cells had hardwood furniture. They would bring up the pieces one at a time from the furniture factory and assemble it in their rooms. I had the hardest time walking INTO the rooms. I could stand in the doorway and take pictures but I could not physically walk in the room .
Toilet in the corner for some semblance of privacy I guess.
I’ll post more pictures tomorrow. I promise that after the camps are over I’ll be crafting again! I have many, many craft ideas – quiet a few of them are horse related 😉
Bright Blessings
Covered In Roses 