Mama's
(how perfect is that acorn?!)
Ah, and such good acorn hunting this week! I love all of the colors and shapes and sizes individual oak species drop in our neighborhood.
And the terrarium is thriving. The ferns died, but something new is unfurling...
Today baby and I walked on the Appalachian trail. He had been especially observant all morning, waking in a solemn mood, and watching so closely. It felt very important, today, to be in the woods with him, to touch their texture, and witness the first week of autumn.
Ignored
Ready?
Set...
Go!
Guesses what this photo shows?
Reuben is section hiking. A scootin' on the AT.
I can't. stand. the. cuteness.
(Chemo last week was the usual ick, and the couple of days following the usual pukey, but today R is feeling super fine. And rather interested in learning to walk. Thank you for your continued prayer and good love our way!)
"What's that cake I like? Oh yeah, 'varian cream torte!" Marian, my new eater, is in love with this dessert. My family was eagerly passing this recipe around 4 years ago, and we wholeheartedly accepted it into our dessert repertoire. I made a couple of mini ones for the carnival's cake walk last week, and thought it was high time I shared the recipe. I usually top it with chocolate shavings, but molded little chocolate leaves and flowers this time. I just melted a few dark chocolate chips in a wee ceramic bowl in the microwave (just heat a few seconds at a time, stirring until it's smooth), and scraped them into a rubber candy mold I wiped with a bit of olive oil. After I put the molds in the freezer for a couple of minutes, the chocolates popped right out. My girls were crazy about them.Chocolate Bavarian Cream Torte
1 pkg (18 ¼ oz) devil’s food cake mix w/out pudding
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. salt
**I added here ~1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 pt (2 c.) whipping cream, whipped
2 T. grated semisweet chocolate (I melted chocolate chips in the microwave, put the resulting block in the freezer to chill, & used a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls).
Mix and bake cake according to package directions, using two 9-inch round pans. Cool for 15 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Spit each cake into two horizontal layers; place one on a serving plate. Spread with a fourth of the cream mixture. Sprinkle with a fourth of the chocolate. Repeat layers. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight (really helps the cutting & serving).
We had the privilege of helping at the country carnival birthday party last week of two of our best fairy friends. (see that great macrame necklace Audrey is wearing? It was made by her great-grandmother not just in a fit of 60s nostalgia, but in the actual 60s. I love it.)
It was wonderful.
I made a couple more fairy block puzzles for gifts, and the project was just as satisfying as the last time I made them (find my original tutorial here). They're not only pretty but good fun to play with, infinitely adaptable, and a more challenging puzzle for the recipient than they seem at first glance. 
Last week in the hospital, it was Marian's turn to benefit from a little embellishing. 
For this pattern, I just stitched over my pencil sketches directly on the fabric, using a combination of stem stitch, chain stitch, and French knots. 
Lest you think I'm having a scale problem, the wee bunny is just there to illustrate that this Butterfly is Giant-Sized.
Our district scheduled a 2-hour early dismissal on Friday, allowing time for a spontaneous after school gathering in our courtyard. I knew of a nearly-empty kiln being run this weekend (glaze tests), and thought a wee pile of pumpkins might as well be included, so invited friends Becci and Shannon and their crafty sidekicks over to help us make. Becci brought tees and paints for the kids to make puzzle-stamped peace shirts (the school is celebrating a week of peace), 
as well as a coil of silver wire, whipping out lovely wrapped rings while she sat on our steps. The kids made glorious messes of both red clay and fabric paint (handprints were included, of course)
and ran in and out and up and down in a pack for a couple of hours. The mamas just kept making pumpkins. 
It was good.
Our First Friday social was good fun. Lovely friends, fresh-baked bread, and sweet local melons. I love more than I can explain seeing little people rummage through fabric with good crafty intent. 
The pencil topper idea was popular, so popular that I'm happy that I took photos of my pencil toppers beforehand because someone loved them so much that they took them away. Yes! Kidnapped toppers! Ay de mi!
*leaves.
Owl gourds?!! I happen to know a neighbor with a bumper gourd crop this year...
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