elliemoon

BEST SIX BUCKS I EVER SPENT

batting seam tape, worth more than its weight in gold. my favorite quilter clued me in on this one (you know who you are)::

considering all of the changing pads i've stitched up, this product is like a dream come true. just take your two pieces, stack them and give yourself a nice, fresh, straight cut to work with::

now put them together, lay on a piece of seam tape (grabby side down) and iron::

et voila::

making this natural cotton batting stretch further makes me happy. i think its time for that nesting set of buckets! 

 

 

SIX DAYS TIL THE FOURTH

owen's birthday has snuck up on me again. i always think i have loads of time after cleaning up from kai's. not so. after wasting a full night grappling with stripe sequences and color choices, it's time for some speed knitting::

here's what i have on my side: 1. owen has completely forgotten that he begged me to make him one of these while watching me work on kai's birthday tidbits. 2. it looks nothing like what it will end up being::

meaning, i can feverishly knit while he's around. for instance, while sitting next to him in the dim light of movie night. however, i'll have to remember to be careful now that progress is being made. one moment of consideration and light will dawn. it wasn't that long ago that he asked for it after all!

 

 

THE FARM

my oldest friend nej recently came to visit with her beautiful family. we spent loads of time together. the kids got reacquainted. i got to meet and snuggle with her newest little peanut clara. we had a girls night out! i wish she would come back!! on their last day here we drove out to where they were staying and visited coonamessett farm, one of the most magical places on the cape::

nej's oldest, laila, was born a week after ellie. here they are, munching freshly picked strawberries and discussing the chickens::

speaking of those strawberries, they were amazing. warm from the sun, sweeter than sweet and drippingly juicy::

i dreamt up a handful of things i could do with them, but they were nearly gone by the time we got back to our kitchen. oh well, there's always blueberry season.

 

 

WATCHING AND WAITING

supersedure. that's what all those queen cups were about. it's official now, as i found two full supersedure cells (queen cups) during my last inspection::

a flash will help you see what's really going on::

that's the queen larvae floating in a pool of royal jelly. isn't it beautiful? maybe its just me. supersedure is, basically, the replacement of a queen. all bee "babies" are fed royal jelly for a time but the girls will feed these larvae royal jelly exclusively, which produces a queen rather than a regular worker bee. it seems our queen may still be alive as well, which is not uncommon. luckily i've been advised to just keep a watch for now. i'm not sure i would be able to go in and destroy these gorgeous little cups. i've given them some additional room by adding the second deep and will continue feeding. never a dull moment in the hive!

 

 

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 2012

oh the excitement! we celebrated with our usual dinner party and faux food dessert (see 2010 and 2011). this time i used the new cupcake book. remember when i said it branches out and features more than just cupcakes? i think i told you there's a cheesecake design. lucky for me, the featured cheesecake recipe is a faux food creation. i love cheesecake::

tortilla chips from baked pie crust, pretty clever! and all together::

nachos for dessert! its summertime!! let the games begin! let the good times roll! let there be no stitches, poison ivy or concussions! 

 

 

LITTLE SCRUBBIES

this crochet pattern is quick, pretty, and great for a little pampering. you can find it on judith's blog. if you use an acrylic or coarser fiber, you can make a scrubbie suitable for household cleaning. i went with a soft cotton to achieve a more spa-like effect::

use a variagated yarn and the spiral will really stand out::

i packaged these up with another favorite soap, this time for the teachers. mountain ocean skin trip coconut. it's like a tropical vacation in bar form::

this would pair nicely with a frozen pina colada. a spa with a liquor license, that sounds like a profitable venture. has that already been done? if so, i will need to find the nearest location.

 

 

BUNNY LOVE AND FAIRY HOUSES

though i don't think owen would approve of me calling his "structure" a fairy house::

but that's how the girls and i see it. we're in charge of protecting it. meanwhile in the clover patch::

magic in the back yard. and ellie's eating it up::

not literally though. it just looks that way.

 

 

THE ANATOMY OF A SKATEBOARD

thanks to this ultimate rice krispie treat, i now know the function of trucks and where they are located on a skateboard. mine were made of biscotti. we re-celebrated kai's birthday with big b's parents over the weekend. he had a very lack luster dessert on his actual birthday. luckily my favorite cupcake creatress has a new book out, the delivery of which helped lift me out of my bakers block! this new book branches out a bit and includes pies and cheesecakes and things. that being said, i don't know how i missed the fact that rice krispie treats are like edible modeling clay. another potentially dangerous discovery::

and after the final assembly, which was remarkably painless and stress free::

i may never go back to cake decorating again! we'll see. i love the old school look of this rice krispie skateboard. such a cool idea. and it was pretty yummy too. that's a nice way of saying "i ate all the leftovers, by myself, for breakfast the next morning".

 

QUEEN CUPS

they are expertly constructed. they are really quite beautiful and extraordinary. they are yet another example of the amazing capabilities of the honey bee. they are queen cups, and here they are, on the frames in our hive::

my heart sank more than a little upon discovering them. i believe our queen is still alive, but she is not working to her full potential and these queen cups are proof that the worker bees have noticed. these cups can be a precursor to swarming. it truly is amazing stuff, but not the kind of happenings you want to find in your hive at this point in the season. my bee mentor, claire, has told me not to worry, as all cups are empty. i'll be going in today, weather permitting, to do some rearranging and a slow, steady, full inspection of every frame. fingers crossed.

 

 

BETTER SOIL

7 cubic yards to be precise::

lots of digging and dumping, but in the end? the fertile soil is 2 feet deep (in most places) and our garden has almost doubled in size. we'll add some more next year as well. so refreshing after continually trying to amend the cape cod "dirt", which is mostly sand and rocks with a little clay interspersed for good measure::

no offense cape cod!