Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover

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The Curious Nature Guide

The Curious Nature Guide, Explore the Natural Wonders All Around You

Written and illustrated by Clare Walker Leslie

(Storey Publishing, 2015)

I first noticed the cover of this book while on vacation with some girlfriends in Coupeville, Washington. Hidden amidst a crowded display of books, toys, and souvenirs, the cover popped out and caught my attention. I wanted that book. But I resisted.

Fast forward to post-Christmas gift card shopping. As I perused my local Indie bookstore, Inklings, guess which book again popped out and grabbed my attention? Yes. The same book. And it was on a display of favs and book suggestions by staff.

I did not resist.

The Curious Nature Guide is a beautifully illustrated guide book written for children, teens, families, and others who love exploring the outdoors. I fell in love with this colorful edition.

I enjoyed this book so much, I used it as a reward. At the end of the day I would carefully read each page and inhale every photo, drawing, and illustration. Reading this book was almost as good as being outside.

While vocabulary will be difficult for young readers, they will love hearing it read aloud. The Curious Nature Guide contains nature information, suggestions of things to look for and do, maps, charts, plant labels, and more.

NO. It is not overwhelmingly encyclopedic.

The Curious Nature Guide is a nature journal filled with inspiration of both the exploring type and the creative sort. I want to go out and investigate the outdoors AND sit down with my art supplies and recreate what I find AND grab the camera to capture my nature.

Two thumbs up for The Curious Nature Guide, Explore the Nature Wonders All Around You.

Happy exploring!

I’d love to hear what nature exploring you like to do.


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Gigantor and the Tiny Chair ~ A Haiku of Proportions

GIGANTOR

if there is a chair

find it and recline therein

size does not matter

 

CREAK. GROAN. WOBBLE.

 

What is your favorite chair?

Share a photo in the comment section.

Does it fit you well, or are you like Gigantor and size is not an issue,

just comfort?


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Hugh’s Photo Challenge: Week 11 – Rust

Rust

evocative form

contemplation of purpose

usefulness transformed

 

Haiku by Angie Quantrell, 2-4-16


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I Love Hand-Me-Downs

I’m not above totally enjoying digging through a bag of my sister’s hand-me-downs to pull out new-to-me favorites.

(That would be a literal hand-me-down, as I am older but much shorter than she.)

I also thrill to the seek-and-find treasures I discover at local thrift shops. In fact, the sweater (Mr. Roger’s style cardigan, come in the house-trade the coat for a sweater style) I wear all the time is my best ever purchase from Goodwill.

Seriously. I think my family may be a tad bit exhausted of seeing me wear the same old sweater. Every. Single. Day.

But it is the best sweater! I know I look more granny-like wearing it, but it is comfy, broken in, not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

I’ve had this sweater for over 5 years, conservative estimate. It appears to be well made and may last for another 15. Score! I think I paid $1.99, maybe $2.99.

My husband and I enjoy keeping clothes long past the expiration date (yes, we are THAT couple). One of our favorite games is counting back to find out who is wearing the oldest outfit.

“I’ve had this shirt since Chelsie was 3,” I said.

“Well, I bought these sweats when we were in England,” replies the hubby.

“But I had this dress for Easter when we were in Wapato,” I counter.

And on and on goes the battle.

It is our game. And our life. We are not ones for top of the line, current fashion, get rid of the old and buy new all the time. Some of you may be saying, quietly in your heads, “YES, we know! Go get some new clothes!!!” Maybe you are even yelling that, hoping we will hear.

It’s OK. We are happy with our little game. I think, at heart, we are children of the depression, though we are not really old enough. We use every little thing until it is beyond use. And then maybe we can still find a use for the scraps that remain.

I’m thinking that’s being a good steward of natural resources and God’s providence. Recyling, repurposing, reusing.

Besides, it’s fun.

I’d love to hear where you find your favorite clothes. Are you a scavenger like me? Let’s share tips.


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TJ’s Household Haiku Challenge – Calendar

blank pages stretch on

 

imagine, dream, plan, journey

 

possibilities

Angie Quantrell 2016


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Two-Year-Old Giant

I’m too big

to sit on a tiny bristle block chair

to sleep on a little bristle block bed

to kiss ducky good-night

I’m too big.

The bed and the duckies

2’s do have an idea of how big they are, and it’s fun watching them figure it out to be certain.

What am I too big for?

Nothing, I hope. Living as a child-at-heart is so much better than an old fuddy duddy.

What are you too big for?

The chair


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Adding Text to Images

grapes Haiku

I’ve been playing this morning.

For quite awhile, I’ve been trying to figure out how to add text to my images, as I’ve seen so many other talented photographers and writers do. Using my computer programs has given me a total of zero successful moments.

But thanks to Sue Vincent and her post “Looking good -10 simple tips for adding images,” I have now found an online program that helps me add text to my images. Thank you, Sue!

I chose an image I took in the Napa Valley. Of course, these grapes could have been growing in my own Yakima Valley, as our vineyards are abundantly heavy with weighty vines each fall. But the Napa picture was right on the computer, waiting for some attention.

I used pixlr.com/express/ as my first foray into visual + words experiment. This program is quite simple to use and the options are wide and varied. Best of all? FREE.

Oh, I do believe this is just the beginning of playtime for moi.

 


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Never Use Scissors as a Tool

Mabel, expressing her disappointment. “I can’t believe you did that, mom.”

I’m embarassed to admit that I misused the scissors this morning.

The cat food container was stuck closed. It was very tightly sealed.

The food dishes were empty.

The (in their minds) gaunt kitties were starving.

The husband was already gone, so help was not available except for the above mentioned wasting-away gray girls.

What to do? What to do?

The not-intelligent thinker in my head suggested that I use scissors to pry up the lid.

Not the round-tipped kid scissors. No. Let’s try the pointy-tipped very sharp scissors. Yes. Those will help tremendously.

I didn’t need to be told twice, but grabbed the pointy-tipped scissors and began trying to pry up an edge on the food container.

Just as I was thinking This is not a good idea. These scissors could slip off of the metal and poke me. the unthinkable (apparently not unthinkable, as I had just thought it) happened. The scissors skidded off of the metal tin and slid right into my face!

Yes. Berating myself, I immediately felt blood running down my cheek.

Yes. I stabbed myself on the face.

As Hermoine Granger said in one of the Harry Potter movies, “What. An. Idiot.”

I am forever grateful that God saved me from my poor choice and protected my eyes, nose, and lips. He did not save me from crumbled pride. How humiliating to admit the error of my ways.

I am grateful that the small puncture and slice wound is tiny and the rest of me works quite well.

Warning from one who used scissors improperly: DO NOT use scissors as a tool. They are for cutting. Not prying, digging, scooping, or any other chore. Cutting. Period.

When was my last tetanus shot?


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Mr. Rogers Lives Here

Yes. It’s true. We are a family of Mr. Rogers’ mini-me’s.

I just caught myself making the correlation between one of his daily rituals and a habit of ours.

As soon as we enter our home (sooner for my husband), we remove our outside shoes and don slippers. Coats come off and I add a sweater to keep me cozy, as our indoor temperatures never get above 66 in the winter.

This process is reversed as we prepare to leave. Away go the slippers and on go the outside shoes. My sweater is tucked away and a jacket or coat is worn to protect me from the elements.

Do you remember what Mr. Rogers did each time he came inside at the beginning of his show and and reversed at the end of the show?

Mr. Rogers removed his outside shoes and replaced them with indoor shoes. He also took off his outdoor jacket and put on an indoor cardigan, all the while singing about the beauty of the day in the neighborhood. Yes. That song.

Mr. Rogers was so organized. He didn’t just toss those shoes and jacket on a couch or floor. He tucked away the shoes and carefully placed the jacket on a sweater in the closet. I may occasionally toss my sweater on the washer, but I also have a designated cupboard right by the door for jackets, and shoe racks for both of us.

You have no idea how many times I compare myself to Mr. Rogers when I change gear as I am going out or coming back inside the house. I think his habits were ingrained in my subconcious as I watched his television show. Maybe that was one of his purposes, to model tidiness, organization, and care for our belongings.

And this is a good thing. We are a shoes-off household. Not only does this habit keep icky germs and gunk on shoe bottoms out of the house, it also provides a cleaner environment for my babies to crawl around on and plenty of (mostly) dirt-free floor space for playtime. Mr. Rogers’ transfer of clothes and shoes fits perfectly with our efforts to keep as much of the outdoors, well, outdoors.

That Mr. Rogers was ahead of his time, yet many considered him a fuddy-duddy. I disagree. He was a great role model.

Sitting here in my cardigan sweater and indoor slippers, just humming a certain melody.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, isn’t it?


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Gingerbread Party – Not for the Faint of Heart

Never fear. Nana had the grands over for a wild and seriously crazy evening of decorating gingerbread cookies. That is not an understatement.

For the past few years, I have decorated gingerbread houses with the grands. But this year, with 3 boys and 1 girl, six years old and younger, I thought gingerbread cookies would be much easier. I was right.

But we still made a big mess, gobbled too many decorations, and spread icing far and wide. One nice thing about decorating cookies instead of houses was that we could eat our work instead of letting it sit around and petrify into cement.

I’m not so sure the parents agreed. But like any good grandparents, we played, made memories, fed them too much sugar, and sent them home.

Here are a few photos from our Gingerbread Party. Notice the series when Gage decides he is GOING to have his plate and cookie (Nana had to decorate his, as he can’t eat cookies yet). Of course when we are all watching his actions, Donavyn chooses that moment to look at the camera instead of eating the icing and candy off of his gingerbread boy.

 Tips:

1. Make the cookies in advance. Definitely. I used giant cookie cutters and made 1 girl and 3 boy cookies. The extra dough was used for normal cookies.

2. Sort candy into individual bowls. That way, each child gets the same things to put on their cookies. Or, I mean, the same amount of sugar to eat.

3. Give each child a cookie sheet as a workspace. Escaping candies and sticky knives stayed right where they needed to be.

4. Forget the fancy icing. Just buy a tub of white icing. It spreads so nice and easy. The icing in the gingerbread house kits is horrible and making a glaze icing that doesn’t spread is frustrating.

5. Enlist someone else to take photos. No way could this Nana help everyone, keep Gage from eating stuff, and take photos. Even with assistance, taking pictures of our completed cookies was the hardest part!

6. Have fun! Eventually we will get back to the houses. But for now, keeping it simple makes more sense. And next year, when we have 5, I think I will have to adopt yet another helper for crowd control.

Happy December traditions!