Beachcombing

A misty, chilly trip to the shore while visiting the Pacific Beach "Greats". This is the beach where Daddy grew up! Plastic bags from Grandma in hand (she says, "You never know when you might find something you can't live without!"), we patrol the sand in search of treasure. We come home with some broken shells and, oh joy! oh rapture!...a PINK golf ball!

My biggest kid. =)

Literally combing the beach...

Venturing farther into the surf...

and farther...

TOO FAR!!!

A Sunny Bank

What a treat to be able to walk down to the creek on a hot summer afternoon for an icy dip!

Pea Harvests

...and so does her sister.

Food Is Pretty

I'm no photographer (I'll leave that to Mr. G.), but I just had to share some pictures of our tasty supper with you. When I was "working" ;) my favorite lunch was a vegetarian sandwich like this from the little nearby café.

Here's how I recreated it:

Spread mayo and pesto on fresh ciabatta rolls. Layer provolone cheese, sautéed portobello mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, and just~picked organic spinach from the garden.

Serve to a hungry family outside in the grass on a warm summer evening.

A Fun Fourth

A celebratory pie made with berries found hanging out in the freezer.

And fireworks with Daddy at dusk. All in all, a very happy independence day. We hope yours was, too!

Prima Ballerina!

This is Raegan's third ballet performance; she is an iris in the ballet Paquita.

She has learned so much over the last three years, and performed beautifully! She couldn't be more excited about dancing on the "big stage" in front of an audience with all her beloved little ballerina friends.

Can you tell that she's in raptures over the beautiful flowers her proud Daddy presented her with?

What fun to be a part of such a lovely art! Worth all the fuss beforehand... ;)

Letters From Honduras

Beautifully embellished letters arrive faithfully from our friends in Honduras, whom we have the privilege to serve in a very small way. What we receive in return is worth so much more!

There's just something about a handwritten letter. And these with their lovely borders always make our hearts happy.

How precious is this little guy? His sweet mother is the writer and artist. Looking forward to our next treasure in the mail!

Mother's Day At Swanson's

My sweet family took me to Swanson's Nursery in Seattle on Mother's Day for a sunny afternoon of plant shopping. We brought home so many beautiful treasures for our garden:

~Himalayan Honeysuckle

~Bridal Wreath

~Peony


~Spriaea

~Jacob's Ladder


~Toadflax

~Japanese Maple

Happy Mother's Day!

The Shirt Says It All

And they're scratch 'n sniff...

Dad's Buttons Go To Australia

I got a request last week to send a wholesale order of the antler buttons to a lady who is opening a store in Australia in the fall. How exciting to have a little bit of our handiwork halfway around the world! I hope they arrive safely; I've never packed up a bunch of cards to be sent so far without bending or crumpling. I used a large amount of tape and cardboard!

Hoping the Aussie customers enjoy their bit of the Pacific Northwest!

So Sweet Lilacs

Out of Africa

It's a very fortunate thing to have a sister who is working on her PhD, and takes trips to exotic places such as, oh...Cameroon, Africa. And brings back wonderful treasures like elephants and crocodile bottle cap openers carved from ebony wood, and beaded necklaces, and beautiful fabric.

Here's the fabric sewn into a cute little bag by my talented mama with an antler button made by Dad. It looks like an elephant's tusk, don't you think?