I'm almost finished with some more kitten girls...just need a bit of sun so I can take some pictures! I'm also thinking about doing another tutorial...but what would you like to learn? If you have something in mind, please leave me your ideas in the comments!
Despite what the White Queen says about jam in Alice Through the Looking Glass, " The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today", you can see that indeed it is jam today here at The Nest. Strawberry jam and Strawberry-Orange marmalade to be exact. I used my brother David's recipe for the jam and just winged it for the marmalade and they both came out delicious. I love to see those jars of preserved fruits and veggies start filling my pantry shelves ...it both satisfies my nesting instincts and warms that thrifty part of my soul. These are the first of this growing season but I hope that the weeks to come will bring pickles, tomato sauces, herb vinegars, and of course more jam!
Here's a little garden pixie ready with her watering can. I know I'll spend plenty of time lugging mine from the rain barrels to the garden eventually but for now we've been getting plenty of rain so that's still mostly in my future.
I've been swamped with commission work but I did get to make a few more felted sweater bunnies who, as you can see, are having a grand time reading about their cousins.
Have you noticed that there just do not seem to be enough hours in the days lately? Or is it just me? I can't seem to keep up with half the things that need to be done. My house is a mess, I'm behind on custom orders, my shop is understocked... but the constant siren song of my garden keeps pulling me away from work and out to play in the dirt. Now I know that the end result will be good for both body (yummy veggies) and soul (lovely flowers), but I still feel slightly like I'm playing hooky every time I give in to the pull. I just love to walk my garden paths drinking in the sunlight and checking on my baby plants or their more established neighbors. It's very healing on some level to connect through a garden. In my heart I know that everything will get done eventually and before long our lovely Spring will turn into the heat and humidity of the southern Summer so I guess I need to take advantage of the time outside while I can.
Go out and enjoy some garden time today!
In Honor of Earth Day I thought I would share with you one of my new favorite shops. Kootsac on Etsy makes marvelous reusable bags that are perfect for packaging bulk purchases and produce at the grocery store. I get all kinds of ooohs and ahhs at the local Earthfare when I show up at the register with these brightly colored and light as plastic bags. They come in a variety of sizes, are extremely easy to care for, are very strong, and help keep plastic out of landfills and waterways. What more could you ask? Go and get some today!
In other Earth Day news, many members of the NaturalKids Team are having sales today... including The Fairies Nest where all items purchased today will recieve free shipping! You can find a complete list of participating shops here.
