Muddy Water

We enjoyed a day with our friends at the Mud Park!

Hammer in action...Great job James!

SWING

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside-

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown-

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Robert Louis Stevenson

Camping

McGrath State Beach...

Last weekend our family was blessed with living in nature for two days. Our campsite was at the riverbank's edge with a view of the Pacific Ocean. We were pleasantly surprised at dusk when we heard the first "ribbit" sound! Hundreds of frogs made music for our ears all night. We were unable to locate even one of the little guys in the orchestra. When it was dark and time for bed, James shed some tears, I first thought he was afraid to fall asleep listening to the frogs, but he told me, "I want to see the frogs."

On our way to the coast we drove through Encino, a scorching 107 degrees on Sunday! The coast was a balmy 71 degrees, cooling even more in the early evening. The campfire gave us warmth and much anticipated S'mores! Oh how Julia, James, and Mama enjoyed the camping treat.

Fishing with Daddy was so much fun!

The walk to the beach was some distance, but lovely along-side the estuary.

McGrath State Beach at the Santa Clara Estuary is, "One of the best bird-watching areas in California." The birds were plentiful and a joy to observe!

A Red-Winged Black Bird, searching for crumbs, was spotted under our picnic table.

Julia and James enjoyed "fishing" in the salt marsh and "grilling" their catch on the tree grill. We chose this spot #143 for the open view and this tree. These little purple berries were found on this tree, which I'm sure the little birds just enjoy.

Julia thought camping was more fun than she imagined it would be and James thought that it was going to be more fun, but he still liked camping.

Sweet Little Magpie SKIRT

Handcrafted

Inspired by a sewing mama found on the Soule Mama blog, I made this skirt using my dear sewing machine. I relish in the memories this little Kenmore has brought home...a table cloth, sofa pillows, a duvet cover, the curtains for our little ocean apartment when newly married. After having little ones, there seemed no time to take on a project. Last year I did attempt and successfully made a beautiful colonial dress with apron for Julia. Though, with the hours and frustration involved with following a pattern and the children wanting to play outside, the dear little sewing machine found its way in a kept spot. Now Julia and James are a little older and they have a shared desire to learn how this machine works. James is really interested in the "gas peddle" and wants to know how fast it will go! So we take on this new venture and we will create with our hands and see where it will take us. The skirt is so simple to create without a pattern, which suits me well. I have a stack of beautiful material just wanting to be put together, oh I just love fine printed fabric! This inspiration for making skirts and the desire to journal our family life was the beginning of the Sweet Little Magpie blog, the name and water color drawing distinguishing our sewing projects.

Summer Days

A summer day with Daddy, friends....at the arcade....the enjoyment of eating funnel cake for the first time by the seashore. They will have such fond memories.

Thank you to our photographer friend Jennifer!

The Beach

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Child's Gratitude

A Child's Gratitude––A mother, who remembered a little penny scent-bottle as an early joy of her own,
Vol 2 pg 56, Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason
took three such small bottles home to her three little girls. They got them next morning at the family breakfast, and enjoyed them all through the meal. Before it ended the mother was called away, and little M. was sitting rather solitary with her scent-bottle and the remains of her breakfast. And out of the pure well of the little girl's heart came this, intended for nobody's ear, 'Dear mother, you are too good!' Think of the joy of the mother who should overhear her little child murmuring over the first primrose of the year, 'Dear God, you are too good!' Children are so imitative, that if they hear their parents speak out continually their joys and fears, their thanks and wishes, they, too, will have many things to say.

Bracelets

Julia made these precious bracelets for her dear friends in our nature study group.

She ....worketh willingly with her hands. Proverbs 31:13

Hummingbirds

James was inspired to draw a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird sucking nectar after seeing one through our front window. We recently visited Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, where there were many bird feeders hanging from tree branches, attracting so many kinds of birds. It was such a great place for bird watching! Julia and James purchased hummingbird feeders to attract those tiny little birds to our home. The two feeders are hanging from our grapevine trellis where we can view the little birds from an arms length distance.

Tint and Shade

JAMES - blue
JULIA - red

My friend Naomi shared on her blog the tint and shade project she did with her children. Of course once Julia and James learned of the painted circle project they wanted to try one of their own. Using a paint pallet, choose one color to place in five differing areas. Next, using white for tint and black for shade, add to the color to make tints and shades of that color. Save one of the five as the original color, add black to two areas and white to the remaining two areas on the pallet. I traced circles with a pencil first on watercolor paper and we cleaned our brush well before using the next tint or shade. The children had so much fun painting!

Living Books

A living book... The ideas it holds must each make that sudden, delightful impact upon their minds, must cause that intellectual stir, which mark the inception of an idea. (School Education, Charlotte Mason Vol. 3 p. 178)

Hans Christian Anderson's original story of The Little Mermaid (translated by Neil Philip) begins like this:

Far out to sea the water is blue as the petals of the loveliest cornflower and as clear as the purest glass; but is deep, deeper than any anchor can reach. Countless church steeples would have to be piled one on top of the other to stretch from the sea bed to the surface. That's where the sea folk live.

...So beautifully written where a child's imagination can delight in the rich language of the story being told! Sadly, the Walt Disney version begins like this:

Ariel was sixteen, the age when a mermaid was supposed to be thinking about marrying a merboy and settling down. But Ariel had other things on her mind.

(Honey For A Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt p. 44)

Books

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away.
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a human soul!

Emily Dickinson

God's Creation

If we give our children regular opportunities to get in touch with God's creation, a habit is formed which will be a source of delight throughout their lives. Karen Andreola

Fried Green Tomatoes

In the corner garden patch of our patio we have a tomato vine that thrives. Last year was the first we planted this heirloom Beefsteak variety which gave us an abundance of perfect tomatoes. The not so perfect with holes were tossed to the adjacent soil. What a blessing when this Spring we noticed many tomato vines sprouting near our garden patch box and in between bricks. We plucked a few to give away, replanted three in differing areas, and weeded the remaining. Once again this little corner has a thriving vine nourished with rich soil, unrestricted root space, warmth, and plenty of water. Of our two other tomato vines, one is mediocre the other is quite stunted. We have yet to enjoy a red ripe tomato this season as they are still green. Why not fried green tomatoes? Julia and James love to cook and try new recipes. Julia suggested that we use egg, milk, and flour. James would sprinkle the Kosher salt and crack the pepper. We also added seasoned bread crumbs and fried with olive oil. Delicious!