Thursday, June 30, 2011

Signs of Summer

~A quintessential summer day. Join in if you like and share what summer is to you.~

The first blackberries of the season. Kaiya came in with a pocket full of them yesterday... those shorts may never come clean.

PS Don't forget to enter the Meltdown Monday giveaway!


Monday, June 27, 2011

Meltdown Monday Giveaway

Comments on this giveaway are now closed.

No, I've not forgotten, it is Monday, after all. Today has been a very busy day, lots of moving things around and room upheavals. And, of course, with that comes children frustrated, not knowing where to be, what to do... And in the end we are all beyond tired and exhausted. It's so nice to just sit and rest. And bring you the Meltdown Monday giveaway, of course!

Today's giveaway is this pretty flower garland, about three feet long. crocheted wool, looped around mulberry paper flowers. you can read all the specifics here.



OK, so to enter leave me a comment. You can let me know how your Monday is going or, better yet, tell me how you beat the dreadful Meltdown Monday or just say hi. Whatever.

For additional entries;
(leave a separate comment for each entry, if you don't, they count as one)
Tweet this (include @thiscosylife in your tweet)
Share on Facebook
Blog this giveaway

I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday July 3rd and announce here, on my blog.


PS: If anyone is interested in participating in a Monday Meltdown giveaway, here on my blog, contact me here. Whether an item from your Etsy shop or just a little something you would like to give away to brighten someone's Monday, it's all good!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Almost Forgot...

I nearly let this Sunday squeak by without drawing the winners for this past Monday's giveaway.
Well, I am exhausted and ready for bed, so, without further ado......

The winner for the sun gnome is;
Taisa

And for the sun necklace;
Stacey

I will email you for your addresses in the morning ladies!


PS: If anyone is interested in participating in a Monday Meltdown giveaway, here on my blog, contact me here. Whether an item from your Etsy shop or just a little something you would like to give away to brighten someone's Monday, it's all good!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

I'm Lovin'...

~Garden Veggie Patties from MorningStar Farms. I bought some for (not) grilling out on solstice and ever since I'm kinda hooked. Oh, the guilty pleasure of convenience foods!

~Pinterest... why have I resisted thee?Link
~I don't know which I like better, this one, or this one... either way, makes my girls and my heart sing.

~This I haven't tried but I think I really want to. I read a review, someone really stinky (umm... honestly I didn't use to be... having kids and all that... yeah) said it really, actually works. Any thoughts?

~Sigh... I wanna live here.

Tomorrow I will draw a winner for the little sun gnome and a sun necklace, so get your entry in!

And have a happy weekend!

Friday, June 24, 2011

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Signs of Summer

~A quintessential summer day. Join in if you like and share what summer is to you.~










Splashed around in the creek yesterday. Caught some water bugs, made rock towns, went adventuring, got nice and wet and muddy. You know... summer stuff.

What says summer to you? Join me if you like.
Please leave a link to your post, not your main blog.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Solstice Part 2




LinkSun gnome from Painting Pixie. Wooden mocking bird from Mama Roots.

So it's officially summer! Yay for that, let the fun begin! Now I seriously can't wait to go swimming.

Also, River is finally feeling better, after four very long days of a high fever and some serious crankiness. As soon as her fever broke her whole torso was covered in this pink rash, which doesn't seem to itch a bit. Seems to be roseola. Just glad to see her back to her sweet, mischievous self. Thank you all so much for the well wishes!

PS Don't forget to enter to win a sun gnome of your own!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Solstice









Suns were made to adorn the house. Good things were cooked and eaten, despite the storm preventing us from firing up the grill. Marshmallows were roasted and smeared onto hands and faces. Fireflies were caught and bats were spied. And a favorite summertime story was read before bed.

It was a beautiful solstice. I hope yours was, as well.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Meltdown Monday Giveaway

The comments on this giveaway are now closed.

Another Monday, another meltdown. This week's meltdown brought to me by River, the littlest among us. She's awfully sick, has been since Friday evening. She's been running a pretty hot temp on and off, currently off, thankfully and is so very cranky. Right now she's eating a banana and coloring with her big sisters and is relatively content, but it really doesn't take much to set her off.
This week's giveaway is inspired by the summer solstice (tomorrow!). I actually made the first one of these little suns (above) for a seasonal swap but I'm going to make one more for one of you lucky readers (and for anyone else that wants one, you can find them in my shop). And just to spread the warmth around I will be giving away one of the sun necklaces I blogged about yesterday, to a different reader. Two giveaways this week!



OK, so to enter leave me a comment. You can let me know how your Monday is going or, better yet, tell me how you beat the dreadful Meltdown Monday or just say hi. Whatever.

For additional entries;
(leave a separate comment for each entry, if you don't, they count as one)
Tweet this (include @thiscosylife in your tweet)
Share on Facebook
Blog this giveaway

I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday June 26th and announce here, on my blog.


PS: If anyone is interested in participating in a Monday Meltdown giveaway, here on my blog, contact me here. Whether an item from your Etsy shop or just a little something you would like to give away to brighten someone's Monday, it's all good!

And here's a little sun ditty for you!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A Solstice Sun


As you must know, Summer Solstice is almost upon us (at least, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, that is)! As I was digging through the blogosphere this morning, looking for some inspiration for our solstice festivities I stumbled upon a couple of posts here, sharing some really great ideas. I particularly dug the little crocheted sun necklace she had made. As she didn't know how to write up a pattern for it I just kind of fooled around with the shape, giving it some pretty groovy rays. I so love how it turned out! I've made two already and plan to make a few more for me and River and some to give away. Let's all get sunny!
I've written out the pattern if you'd like to make a few, too, just to look festive. Please note, I've never written a crochet pattern, only knit, so if anything seems wonky, sorry.

Any worsted weight, sunny yellow yarn. I used Cascade 220.
Size E/4 (3.50mm) crochet hook

Ch 3 st. and join them together with a sl st. Ch 1 and sc 6x into circle. (6 st)
Rnd 1: *sc 1, sc 2x in next st.* repeat ** to end (9st)
Rnd 2: *sc 2st, sc 2x in next st.* repeat ** to end (12 st)
Rnd 3: *sc 3 st, sc 2x in next st.* repeat ** to end (15 st)
sl st into next st
Link
Now we're going to make the sun's rays and the neck cord.

*Ch 3, sl st into 2nd st and chain 2. Skip a st and sl st into the next st.* repeat ** all the way around making 8 rays.
For a child's necklace chain between 110-120 st, for an adult's I used 130-140. Reattached with a sl st down by the other end. Weave in all ends. To get it to lay nice and flat I spritzed it lightly with water and weighted it with a heavy book. However you decide to do it, I do recommend blocking.

Oh, and I do have a winner for the Monday Meltdown giveaway and it is...
Colle!

Colle, I will be emailing you shortly.
If anyone is interested in participating in a Monday Meltdown giveaway, here on my blog, contact me here. Whether an item from your Etsy shop or just a little something you would like to give away to brighten someone's Monday, it's all good!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Signs of Summer


Playing in the dirt, all of us. Have you gotten your hands dirty today?

What says summer to you? Join me if you like.
Please leave a link to your post, not your main blog.





Wednesday, June 15, 2011

On the Road Again... Or Not



On this day last week, my car quit I as we were picking up Kaiya's new glasses. I really was sure it was the alternator, as I've dealt with bad alternators in the past (different cars). But when we took it to be repaired our mechanic was sure it was just a bad battery and replaced that instead. Well, as the girls and I were leaving the grocery store today my radio cut out. Crap! I knew it would die shortly and, fortunately, was able to get back into the parking lot and drift into a parking space.
And I have to say, I was super grateful for this wonderfully mild weather we're having as the girls and I had to sit with no air as we waited for their dad to come and pick us up (no, taking all three girls back into the store, with River already asleep, was not an option). But really, this day could have been better.
So, I guess we are home for a while. I'm OK with that. This has been a really productive week so far and I could use more time at home to get some more planted in the garden and finish getting orders knitted and out. The girls have been having fun playing with their little toys, animals and little wooden things. It's been nice to see them play together, relatively harmoniously, even including little River some. I was reading on someone's blog, just the other day, how their days were so full and every day on the calender was filled in with some errand or activity. Our days are also full to the max, but funny thing is, there is hardly ever anything on the calender. Home is where it's at for us. Here there are always chores to be done and projects in need of completing. Toys need knitting, gardens need weeding and animals need a constant supply of fresh water in this heat.
No, it's not so bad to be without a car for a bit (I say on the first day). I'm looking forward to seeing how much I can get done and caught up with. So, here's to stranded!

PS: If you've not entered the Monday Meltdown giveaway do so now!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Melt Down Monday Giveaway

Comments are closed on this giveaway!
It's Monday again. Really, I have mixed feelings about Mondays. On one hand I love the 'fresh start' feeling, like a mini New Year every week. And I kinda like the feeling of getting back to work (which makes the insane assumption a mama is ever not working, but let me fool myself, OK?). But, on the other hand, it's Monday! I gotta get back to it and there's always a lot of meltdowns on Monday. I like to call it 'Meltdown Monday'.
So, to counter 'Meltdown Monday' and give this day a boost, I am offering a little giveaway. Who knows, I may go a bit mad and make it a regular thing. But don't bet on it.
Seven little gnomes all in a row. If you really just have to know all the details you can check them out here. But, right now I can sense another melt down coming on (perhaps my own), so I'm not going to write them all out here. You get them all, or you can give them to a kid in throws of a Monday meltdown and brighten their Monday.
OK, so to enter leave me a comment. You can let me know how your Monday is going or, better yet, tell me how you beat the dreadful Meltdown Monday or just say hi. Whatever.

For additional entries;
(leave a separate comment for each entry, if you don't, they count as one)
Tweet this (include @thiscosylife in your tweet)
Share on Facebook
Blog this giveaway

I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday June 19th and announce here, on my blog.

And now I will go back to refereeing . Oh,happy Monday!

PS: If you would like to be part of a Meltdown Monday giveaway on this blog contact me here. You know what they say, misery loves company.
Link

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Around the Herb Garden

This evening brought a truly awesome, albeit brief storm, thoroughly drenching the gardens. Lightening cracking, thunder booming, and best of all, heavy, soaking rain. Ahh!
I must admit, I still have only a few vegetables planted and am thinking I will do myself a favor; set out just a few more tomatoes, my pepper plants (sweet banana, jalapeno and sweet pepper) and not worry so much til time to put in the fall planting. My mama is right (yes, I said it), River will be older next year and (maybe, hopefully) not so hard to keep an eye on while we're outside and I can plant my big garden then. For now, I am enjoying my herb garden in the front of the house. Everything is getting so big and beginning to give off spicy wafts into the hot air. It's heavenly. So, let me give you a tour of what's growing now.
Below, you can see oregano in the front and back there in the wheel barrel is sweet mint. Tonight I went to pick the top off of a stalk of the oregano and the whole piece came up by the root. I couldn't bear to just toss it aside so I transplanted it in the back. This stuff lays down roots crazy fast! So, if you need oregano...
Cilantro. Confession, I really don't care for cilantro. I guess it's alright in some dishes, mostly blech. But I couldn't not plant it. It's growing really well from seed... for an herb I rather detest.
Not an herb (the herb garden is littered about with flowers) but those daisies got a nice cool drink of rain.
Cinnamon basil. I haven't tried this variety yet. I'm looking forward to tasting it.
Chervil, I mostly planted it for my mom. She has a recipe that calls for it, not that she can find said recipe now.
Tarragon gone wild.
Fennel, can you even see it? I have watered this plant and watered it and it is still drying up... I don't know. I hope it makes it.

Inspired. These didn't so much grow the traditional way, but I've enjoyed making them, all the same.
OK, thanks for coming along my little herb garden tour. More should be growing soon. Won't you show me yours?