My Favorite Recent Pics

Matt put this costume together for a show he was doing and Nora Lee wanted to try it as well.  

The Summer Garden

We have five different kinds of grape vines.  This is the first year we had edible grapes from two of            the vines!

We are growing zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and hot peppers in these beds.  Our produce this season has been a little lackluster.  I let an entire bed of volunteer tomatoes grow and didn't know that volunteers don't necessarily taste like the plants they came from - learned this the hard way.  The tomatoes are fine but last year the cherry tomatoes were sweet like grapes in the most decadent way!

We have harvested one or two zucchini and one yellow squash this summer but we are used to a huge abundance in previous years.

The closest tree is a lowquat tree which is looking happy but has still never produced any fruit after about 4 years.  The further tree is an apricot tree which is lovely but the squirrels get every single one, every single year.  Sigh.  

We added these five smaller beds a year or two ago and its been good for things that don't like such intense and constant heat, like cucumbers and lettuce.  Our cucumbers are growing for the first time but some of them are not very tasty.  I'm hoping for more overall success for the next planting season.

This is our garden path leading into the backyard.  This year we officially will register as a homeschooling family and will establish a school in our home.  We've decided to call it The Garden Path Schoolhouse.

This little apple tree produces beautiful sweet/tart apples.

Our fig tree is happy and producing!  I've eaten only one fig this year (first time!) but there are more on the tree.

           Basil and Lavender

Roller Skating

One of our homeschooling groups rented out the roller rink last night and we went skatin'!

Some of the teens are in a rock band and played in the middle of the skating rink while we skated.  They were awesome!  Matt said, "I would actually go to see this band." This was such a delight since that's not the case for most teen bands!

Matt, Nora Lee and I skated for several hours and had a blast.  

Unfortunately on the last song the three of us were skating together and took a bad fall.  I got the brunt of it while hitting my face into the floor. I was delighted that all of my teeth were in tact.  I have a split lip but it's already on the mend.

Not pretty!

Cowboy Festival

We attended the Cowboy Festival at the Gene Autry museum this weekend.  There was square dancing, music, gun slingin' and BBQ.

Nora Lee and I square dance

Nora Lee learns how to pan for gold

Harry Potter's Birthday!

We have a favorite shop here in Los Angeles called Whimsic Alley.  It specializes in all things fantasy such as Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.  It's a place where you can buy any number of special things related to the fantasy worlds you love.  They also have events, and we've always wanted to attend one.

This last weekend, we got to be a guest at Harry Potter's Birthday party!  They held it in the Great Hall which even has candles floating near the ceiling.  There were games and prizes, face painting, pizza, salad, cupcakes, butter beer and it was attended by Luna, Ron, Malfoy, and of course, Harry.

We had a blast!

Nora Lee prepares at home

Matt and Nora Lee waiting in line to be let into the Great Hall

Butter Beer!

Harry enters the Great Hall thinking he has detention but really it's his surprise party! 

Nora Lee shows off her costume for the costume contest.

Nora Lee and Malfoy pose mid-spell

Harry and Snape

Nora Lee and the birthday boy

Hedwig face paint

Nora Lee returned home and immediately began mixing potions

Craft Fair

Last Saturday me, Nora Lee and four other homeschooling families bought a booth at the Topanga Craft Fair and sold handmade items.  Over the last few years I've been learning more about crafting.  I've been particularly drawn to knitting and sewing and have been transforming worn out clothing into something new.  I'm looking forward to learning jewelry making, sewing with a machine, and crochet work.

Up until the craft fair, I had only made things for people I love and I wasn't sure what the general public would think of my work.  The day was a huge success!  It was so fun to spend the day with our friends and watch as they sold things they had made.  The fair was quite small, but we all still sold enough to feel really excited!  All of a sudden, I felt flooded with enthusiasm for selling my crafts!

At the fair I was asked if I had business cards and if I had a shop on Etsy.  The answer at the time to both questions was no, but now it's yes!

My shop is at www.etsy.com/shop/SaraJeanHandmade

Here are some of the things I've been working on lately.

Harry Potter comfort doll

Our booth

We had two tables at our booth.  This was Nora Lee and my section.  She sold all 12 bookmarks that she made!

Charlotte and Aurora wearing headbands I knitted

Nora Lee's 6th Birthday

On December 29th Nora Lee turned 6 years old.  We had just returned from spending Christmas in Florida and planned to have a low key family birthday and then to celebrate with friends two weeks later when everyone returned from their holiday adventures.

Nora Lee's request on that day was to go to Whimsic Alley, a fabulous Harry Potter/fantasy shop in Los Angeles.  They have goodies from Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hobbit, etc.  They have amazing toys and candies and put on fun events throughout the year, such as a Harry Potter Yule Ball.

A few weeks later, Nora Lee invited a handful of her friends and their families over to our house for a celebration.  Her desire was to play games, have snacks, cake and ice cream, and a talent show.  This last request worried me, a talent show?  Do people do talent shows at birthday parties? Would people want to perform?  I realized that even if Nora Lee and Matt were the only two acts, that would be just fine.  When the time came, almost everybody performed!  It was one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time.  Nora Lee did a magic show, Grandma sang "Once Upon a Dream" from Sleeping Beauty, Dario did magic, people sang songs.  It was such an important lesson to me to trust and let go.  If I would have put the kibosh on the talent show idea out of fear, we all would have missed this incredible sweetness.  Nora Lee and I had been inspired that morning to make bags of popcorn and so when the show was going on, people even had a snack!

Nora Lee's excited, the party's about to start!

Matt is explaining the "dress-up relay"

The relay in process