A Very Full Day Indeed

Thursday was a rather full day.  We went from violin lessons straight to swimming with friends and ice cream and then were off to an outdoor performance of As You Like It.  What a fun day!

First Embroidery

 

My mother-in-law spent some time with the boys on Saturday, and our youngest son was able to get a crash course on cross-stitching from her!  He's been working diligently on this wee dolphin ever since, and as soon as he finished it, he popped it in a box to send to his pen pal!

Fiercly Beautiful

We were able to check out this amazing Viking Ship that docked in a nearby town.  It was beautiful in the golden light.

Oh, Tasha

Today is Tasha Tudor's 103rd birthday. 

Opalescent

First Things First

Our daughter had two little friends over yesterday and their first order of business was to set up a tea party!

To Love What is Beautiful

School Supplies for Our Pretty Little Girl

 

We've been buying school supplies little by little for our sweet daughter.  She will be in seventh grade this year and will be going to public school for the first time.  She chose some really lovely notebooks and I think the pencil case is just darling.  I wish that I had a need for another zippered pouch...  If I did, I would surely get a unicorn one just like that!  The amazing Rifle Paper Co. sneakers were a generous gift from my sister and her husband (the boys each got a pair as well, but they chose basic black!).  Aren't they beautiful?!

Summer Roses

Sophia

My husband and I started watching the Russian miniseries, Sophia, on Amazon Prime today...  so far it is wonderful!  I love the costumes and sets!

Lace on the Table

 

I found this pretty lace breakfast cloth at an antique shop for only $10 on Saturday.  What a great find!

Country Mice in the City

 Today was a dear little parishioner's brain surgery.  Father John needed to go to the city to to be with her and to sit with her family during the surgery, so the children and I tagged along.  We did a little shopping, ate out twice, and spent several hours at the Science Museum.  Maleah has a long way to go, but, God Willing, she will receive complete healing.

The Last Peaches

I think this was the last peach picking day of the year.  Boo.

Dormition Roses

Our Dormition roses have brought me joy each time I passed them this week!

Vacation Church School

 

Our church held our first ever Vacation Church School this week!  It was a lovely and busy time and I'm already looking forward to next year's!

A Field of Sunflowers

Joyous Feast!

 

In giving birth thou preservest thy virginity, 

In falling asleep thou did not forsake the world, O Theotokos. 

Thou wast translated to life, O Mother of Life, 

And by thy prayers, thou deliverest our souls from death.

:::::

The Learning Basket for Dormition can be found HERE.  

Green

Maudie

 

I can't stop thinking about a movie ("Maudie") I watched the other night...  and not just because Ethan Hawk looks just like he belongs to my husband's band of brothers, either.

Summer Nature Table

Rain and Bouquets

 

This has been the summer of downpours, but there are sunshiny bouquets indoors.

Damson Preserves

I often wish that we had fancier grocery store options here, but honestly, Walmart's been pulling through for me lately.  Now they're stocking damson preserves straight from England...  officially living my best Miss Read life across the pond.

Knitting Away

 

I'm up to ten repeats on this Shale Baby Blanket... I took last week off for Cousin Camp, so I'd like to get to fifteen repeats by Saturday night.

Specimens

The children found several insect specimens today.

Vignette

Joyous Feast!

Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, 

Revealing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they could bear it. 

 Let Thine everlasting Light also shine upon us sinners, 

Through the prayers of the Theotokos. 

O Giver of Light, glory to Thee!

:::::

The Learning Basket for Transfiguration can be found HERE. 

Quiet Moments

The Mother of God of Tenderness

Our daughter received this beautiful icon beading kit from her Auntie Claudia last week!  It was such a wonderful project and she had such a good time working on it.  We will get it blessed on Dormition.  Kits just like this one can be purchased at ArtFire.

Reading

Invisalign: Week Three

Dying Fabric with Avocado

 

One of the things that I have wanted to try is natural dying.  I read about using avocado pits to dye fiber with and was immediatly enamored with the gorgeous pink hues that are often achieved.  My husband loves eating avocados and eats one nearly every day.  He was happy to set the pits aside for me starting a few months before Cousin Camp.  In the end, I collected 76 pits for this project.

We began the process the night before by soaking everything that we wished to dye in a tub of water.  The next morning, we dumped the pits into a pot of water, brought the water to a boil, and then let it simmer for about an hour.  Once the water turned deep red, we knew that it was ready.  We strained the pits out of the dye bath and put in a handful of cloth, pulling out a scrap every ten minutes to see how lengthening time affected the color of the cloth.  Unfortunatly, there was not much difference at all.  I made a quick trip to the store to buy five fresh avocados to use for a second attempt at creating a dye bath.

We followed the same process to make the dye bath with the fresh avocado pits and skins, and were happy enough with the resulting dye, that we began dyeing our fabric.  The resulting color was a beautiful rose gold, which my sister, Kate, used to sew two dresses with (one for her daughter and one for mine).  I love the color that resulted in our dye and will definitely try this process again.  I will have to find out the best way to keep the avocado pits and skins fresh longer so that I can try to get wider variety of color for our second attempt!