old crayons, new crayons

We've had so much fun melting down old tiny pieces of crayon and creating new ones.
We've been picking up bags of random crayons at the thrift shop every now and then. We even found a crayon maker with a full-sized crayon mold while at the PTO thrift shop last week. And the latest fun came when a friend gave me a mold (ice cube tray) that can handle the hot wax, so we just created a custom-color set of space invader crayons for pal Ez who just turned 4.

windchill below 0

While the wind kicks a chilly lick outside, we're keeping warm. Roan suggested our house slipped off the foundation a little with this wind. So bowls of rice grains and pots of fabric paint will do!

"cut your own pasta" night

Saturday night after Thanksgiving. What's for dinner? Time to make pasta from scratch, divide it into 4 equal parts, get a big pot of salted water boiling, and have each diner cut their shape of choice. Fun! 2 cups flour, 3 eggs.

the weekend out of a nutshell

Spiced pecans,
rice flour play dough,
Twister, Ola walking, Roan's first tooth gone (unrelated to Twister),

and a book (illustrator) I am happy to have found.

vintage arrival!

Heck yes. This was a fun swap. My swap partner packed a picnic basket of goodies for me and it's been so much fun playing and planning with my new/old treasures. Yea! There is also a hand mixer and 2 of the cutest wooden bowls. They've already found a spot and I'll post soon. Thank you, Brandy!

autumn sun, fall ball

I love this time of year. The sun sits just a little lower in the sky and shines in through the windows, lighting--ever so slightly--different corners of the room. The change is subtle, but it's just enough to let us know that it's the autumn sun coming in. Outside the window there's a ballgame--the Fall Baseball Season is in full swing here. A few more cracks of the bat before winter comes to stay. I'm not, though my house location would say otherwise, a die-hard baseball fan, but I do look forward to that sound (wood crack! or metal ping!) when spring arrives.

10-layer-cake

Today I'm helping a friend with the loving task of creating a 10-layer-cake for his daughter. She'll help him decorate the 3 layers that she's happily settled for (after weeks of talking of 10). Tonight, when she's asleep, he'll add the additional 7 layers. Included in these is a layer that he's baked in a spring-form pan so he can hide a dragon in the cake. I love it. Oh, yes, I'll add here that he's British and the recipe he follows for cake is: 3 eggs--weigh them. Then add equal parts flour, butter, and sugar. Add a little leavening (wouldn't need to in Devon) and bake! So I've brought out the scale. This afternoon I'll sneak over the 4 layers I'm making.