our first cucumber from our garden

fresh and delicious!

52 books :: book 30 & 31 :: From Dead to Worse & Dead and Gone

I am all caught up again with the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris! I just finished Dead and Gone, which is book number nine.
From Dead to Worse didn't appeal to me as much as Dead and Gone. That last one was a really good one...
The last book, so far, in this series is Dead in the Family but I don't have access to that one yet. I was hoping to finish the whole series soon, but I might have to wait.

In the meantime, I noticed that I am ahead of my reading schedule by a few weeks. My older daughter wants me to read the Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket. I also have the Revolutionary Road waiting for me.
I am not sure which I will start next, so I will leave that blank for now. You will find out next week!

Books read: 31/52
Pages read: 9507

52 fridays ~ week 26 ~ bench

The theme this week is bench. This one was taken at the park, while my kids played, I read Dead and Gone, book number 9 (I think) in the Sookie Stackhouse series (True Blood) and enjoyed the beautiful sun.

my garden :: flowers

black eye susan

cucumber flowers - aren't they such a beautiful yellow?

hydrangea - my backyard one is blue, the front yard is pink..

flowers from the bean plant

summer tote bag

I made this summer tote at the request of a homeschool friend. She had asked me to make her a purse, leaving me to design it, her only request being that the fabrics might have a Little House on the Prairie-feel. 

I found these fabrics and thought they looked pretty, the flowers, the light plaid, and stripes. I used a darker green for the lining. The tote has 2 inside pockets, with 1 split in 2 with a seam for lip balm/cell phone. 

She picked it up tonight and said she loved it!  

my little drama girl and her new haircut

Notice her hand? If you could hear her, it would be something like "ah" with a teenager tone...you know what I mean? She is my little drama girl completely, but with a sweet heart still.

And she loves pickles.

my garden

This started out as our family garden, but really...I am the only one taking care of it, watering it, weeding it. I am discovering that I love it, so I don't mind. I am also pretty much the only one that gets so excited to see the "baby" vegetables coming out!

So I figured it would be ok to post about my garden on my corner. I will still do a few updates on our homeschool family blog too, but not as often.

I really like taking pictures of these little babies too, so our vegetable patch has become a new subject for my photography passion!

green peppers

cucumbers

52 books :: book 28 & 29 :: Definitely Dead & All Together Dead

I am catching up on the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. All the copies I had requested at the library came at once, so I decided to try and read them quickly.
I finished Definitely Dead on Friday and All Together Dead today. Both were entertaining, but I am wondering how much new characters the author can introduce!
Anyway, with the nice weather here, it is great to have light summer reading like these.

Books read: 29/52
Pages read: 8836
Next book: From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

52 fridays ~ week 25 ~ favourite shoes

The theme this week was our favourite shoes.

That was an easy choice! I love my running shoes.

52 books :: book 27 :: The Story of Science: Newton at the Center

The Story of Science: Newton at the Centre by Joy Hakim is a science book that, in my opinion, would appeal to anyone. It is part of a series called The Story of Science.  You can read more about the series, along with samples at this site. There are also teacher's guide, if you would like to use these books for your homeschool or other educational setting.

Here is a brief explanation of the series:

"If you think science is difficult, these books are meant for you. They focus on the quest to understand the universe, from Thales to today's cosmology. Reading them you'll meet Pythagoras (a great mind, but a strange man), Archimedes (he could do everything), Isaac Newton (not very likeable), James Clerk Maxwell (a shy Scotsman who did the math that led to the electromagnetic revolution), and Einstein (who not only brought us relativity, but confirmed the atom and laid the foundation for quantum theory). Quantum theory? Relativity? What are they? Read these books and you'll find out."

The first book in the series is Aristotle Leads the Way which covers the ancient world. Then, Newton at the Center and finally Einstein Adds a New Dimension. I really like how the books follow the natural flow of history, combining it with science discovery. The books are full of illustrations (a lot of paintings and works from that time period), maps, and diagrams.
I will be adding this series to our home library and using it in our homeschool. I think it would appeal to children age 10 and up.
If you have the opportunity to borrow this series from your local library, I would highly recommend it.

Books read: 27/52
Pages read: 8189 (I didn't read the whole book, it has 431 pages)
Next book: Definitely Dead - I am going to finish the series for the next couple of weeks now, they all came at once from the library holds!

ladybug ~ nature photography

pages

I have been adding pages. So far, I have a photography and me, fabric and me, and my 2010 challenges. I really like this newer option on blogger. On other blogs that I visit, I find it helps keep things organized. You can find them below the main blog title page. I will be adding more as time goes on. I hope you will find them useful.

(self portrait from last week's challenge - this one  didn't make the cut)

bees ~ nature photography

I don't particularly like bees, and I would be the first one to run if one was too close to me, but I do like watching them and taking photographs of them. Especially when they are busy on the thistle, and not paying any attention to me.

i ♥ my fourth baby

photo taken by Celeste (6)

Orion is now over 1 year old and is such a sweet dog. Most people comment on how gorgeous and big he is. He is over 80 lbs, and when he stands on his back legs is as told as me.
But most people don't know how sweet and gentle he is. When we adopted him, he was the last puppy left from the litter, no one wanted him it seemed like, but we feel like we got the best of that litter! He can still play like a puppy, but he is quick at listening, and is so calm for husky...
We all love our Orion.

52 fridays ~ week 24 ~ "moustache"

...the theme this week was "moustache"... I had no clue what to do with this until a couple of days ago. My girls were playing with their ello set and I noticed this piece, and thought right away of using it for a moustache.

New Design Options on Blogger.....

Please excuse the mess that you might see over the next few days on my little blog here...I am trying to find the right layout using the new "design" options of blogger.
Hopefully I will find a setting that I like :)

52 books :: book 26 :: Dead as a Doornail

Dead as a Doornail is book #5 in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I enjoyed this particular one a lot more than the last one (Dead to the World). As I mentioned last time, I will continue to read the series, but in a little while, after a pause from it!

Books read: 26/52
Pages read: 8044
Next book: The Story of Science: Newton at the Centre by Joy Hakim

52 fridays ~ week 23 ~ "sewing room"

The theme this week was a photo of yourself in the place where you do your sewing or favourite hobby. My sewing machine is set up on a desk in our basement.

traveling threads ~ may & june

traveling threads for may

and for june, the last month of our year-long traveling threads quilting bee.

This was my first quilting bee, and it was wonderful to participate in. I am looking forward to be part of more in the future.

2 km :(

Blah...I have not been consistent with my running over the last 2 weeks at least, and now I am paying for it! I had got to the point where running for 30 mn (about 5km) was not a problem, then I stopped running for a few days which turned into a couple of weeks. Now I could barely keep going for 2 km! My body felt so heavy and I felt like something was sucking up my energy dry. This very short run was horrible, and I never want to feel this way again, especially since I know that it is all my fault.
I am pretty much writing this post for myself, but pressing the publish button to hold myself accountable. I love running and not sure why May saw me stopping...so no more! June is here and will be the re-start of my commitment to running and being healthy. I have to get back to drinking smoothies every day and maybe even start taking a multi-vitamin again?
I have added a little widget on the right of my blog that logs my mileage. I included the distance that I ran during the month of May, which was 21 km.
Wish me courage and consistency if you would like to drop me a line :)

Pin it for the planet :: this week!