Finally Finished!

I finally finished my "April Diane Designs" price tags at long last, and my kids' clothes are ready to take down to the shop! I called today all excited to take them in, but they told me I need to come in on Tuesday...so, Tuesday it is. It feels sooo good to have these all done and ready to go, what an accomplishment!

A group shot of my wee creations: Two months' worth of designing and sewing.

Close up shot of the tags

My Daughter is a Genius!

So Sarah brings home this letter today that reads:

Dear Parent,

We would like to invite you and your child to participate in our Gifted and Talented Education Program (GATE.) Your child has been identified using a series of assessment tools. We use the Exercise in Divergent Thinking and the Exercise in Divergent Feeling tests and we look at STAR test results for students that score in the advanced level in English/Language Arts, Math or Science. We are confident that your child will benefit from participating in our multi-level program...and on and on it goes.

So, it appears that Sarah is very smart, just as we suspected of course! I want to find out what these "divergent thinking and feeling tests" are though...I went to college and I have no earthly idea of what that even remotely means! I was involved in GATE when I went to school and I remember loving the language/English side of things, but since I was mathematically challenged they kicked me out of the program. It seems unfair, but it sounds like they have changed things since then and hopefully Sarah will love it. She excels in all subjects, (lucky her), so I'm sure she will do fine. She gets to go on an all day field trip up to HSU for special workshops in Math, Science and Language Arts in November. She's thrilled about it and can't wait to do the dry ice experiments class. Who knows, we could have a future scientist on our hands!

Fire and Light

For the past 2 years Ron has worked at the annual Fire and Light Seconds Sale. Fire and Light glass is made locally from mostly 100% recycled glass. When Ron works the sale he gets paid in product, (firsts!) I am so appreciative of him putting the time in to get me gorgeous dishes I couldn't acquire other wise - thanks honey! Here are some pics of the dinner set for 4 and beautiful plum bowl we got this year, (can't wait to invite people over for dinner!):

The plum bowl looks so beautiful on my black side board...the picture doesn't even do it justice!

We also got the large Zen bowl the pumpkin is sitting in (see post below), at the sale.

The Many Reasons I Love Fall

Fall is my absolute favorite season of the year! Here are some of the many reasons why:

Sarah and my birthdays are in October

I love watching the leaves change into beautiful colors of red, orange and yellow

Pumpkins: carving them, decorating with them, etc.

The weather here in Humboldt County is beautiful in the fall, (usually)

The kids have loads of fun with Halloween, dressing up, etc.

Here are some fun fall pics. I think Justin shares in my joy of fall!

Gown for Baby Rickstrew

I designed and made a baby gown for a baby shower for a friend of mine, (Tracy.) I made a pattern from a vintage baby gown I had been given for Sarah when she was born. The pattern was easy to make because there are no arm holes or sleeves since it's one piece. The little flap that closes at the front was a bit tricky, but other than that it was pretty fast and easy. I found some super soft flannel with a beautiful vintage print and did an embroidered R monogram on the front. Tracy loved it!

Grandma's Blackberry Buckle

When I got married my Grandma gave me her old recipe cards. She moved out of the farm house and into a smaller house some years ago and had a big estate sale. I got her antique lunch box tin she used to store her recipes in. She told me she used to carry this kind of a lunch box to school when she was a girl. It's missing one handle, but I think it adds to its charm.

One of the recipes I've been wanting to try is her Blackberry Buckle. She used to make it for us when we were kids and we loved it. Her farm had loads of blackberries growing on it, and we kids used to go pick bucket fulls so we could have cobbler. I made the recipe the other day and it was delicious and brought back good memories. Here is the recipe:

Blackberry Buckle

Blend and add:

1/4 c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder (sifted)

1/4 tsp. salt (sifted)

1/3 c milk

Spread in greased pan and cover with 2 c. berries

Mix 1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Cut in: 1/4 c. butter

Sprinkle over the berries

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 min.

(Double recipe for 9X13 pan.)

Thrift Finds

I absolutely love to go thrift store shopping! I haven't been for a while, so in the spirit of fun and economizing, Justin and I went on a thrift store adventure the other day. I found the cutest hand embroidered vintage tea towel, (also known as the modern day kitchen towel), and an adorable vintage hand made butterfly hankie which I plan to use on a little girl dress in some way or another. Justin found this vintage metal ambulance which had been very well loved. He wouldn't leave the store without it, so what's a mother to do! My stuff was $5 and Justin's ambulance was $15, which was a bit of a splurge, but he plays with it non stop so it was worth it.