As you can see, she has little bits from everywhere. A walnut shell from a nearby tree, a beeswax wreath she made in German, sticks and chestnuts from walks around the city and even fairy kisses (flattened marbles) from the soup pot in her play kitchen. A combination of these things make such a pleasant and inviting scene. So lovely that the rainbow gnomes are still celebrating and dancing around their colorful tree, completely unfazed that they are standing in the bitter cold.
We have been blessed with beautiful gardens in Portland. On both the West and East sides of the city, public gardens are plentiful and well loved by the locals. These gardens feature regional plants such as roses and rhododendrons to name a few. When given the opportunity to visit the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, we were thrilled and intrigued by what we might see.
The children became desert detectives as they scoured the garden for various plants and wildlife. What was so beautiful to see was how enthusiastic they both were about the stunning landscape and the names of the different cacti. This particular plant is an octopus cactus.
Samantha fell in love with this dainty flower called the Red Fairy Duster. As we gazed at the branches full of fiery red flowers, she swore she saw a fairy flutter by. With her tiny fairy muscles she pulled a duster loose and went quickly on her way.
Jasper, being the tactile child that he is, needed to touch everything that was near the trail (including a cactus with tiny splinter like spines....ouch!). This is the bright red fruit of a Queen of the Night Cactus.
Although Jasper enjoyed the plants immensely, this little quail was the highlight for him. He talked so sweetly to it and even shared his lunch. We also saw the quail's friends the hummingbird, the round-tailed ground squirrel and a cactus wren. What a fun experience this was for all of us. We walked away with a deeper appreciation of the natural world and many new stories to tell.
Those of you that are vintage fabric fanatics, you are going to love this find. I have this need to visit antique districts anytime I am away from home. While browsing through historic downtown Glendale, Arizona, I stumbled across these lovely feedsacks. Did I happen to mention that they are in mint condition with the labels still attached?
After talking with one of the locals, I found that the Southwest Flour and Feed Company had been located in Glendale for nearly a century and had just recently been shut down. For those of you that don't really know the history of feedsacks, they were introduced in the mid 1800's as an alternative to barrels. Originally the sacks were made of unbleached cotton but later (mid 1920's) were available in prints as housewives everywhere were using them to make clothing and bedding.
When the man of the house went to the mill to get feed for his farm, his daughter usually tagged along to pick out the bag fabrics so that the mother would have the most desirable fabric to sew with.
The biggest challenge at first with the feedsacks was to remove the label. Women would soak the fabric in kerosene or rub it with unsalted lard and then wash it with lye soap. But later a more gentle glue was used to adhere the label for easier removal. Many people associate feedsacks with the Depression although they actually were used well before this time and up until the late 1960's.
Enough with the history lesson!! I do thank you for reading this whole post as I am truly passionate about my vintage fabric. What are my plans with these feedsacks?... Maybe I can make a shrine out of them....or maybe not! All I know is that I don't have the nerve to cut them up, so for now I will probably show them to everyone I know and then store them away for save keeping.
This morning we arrived in beautiful Arizona. The sun was doing what it does best in this part of the country. At 68 degrees, we quickly shed our woolies, coats and tights and spent the entire day outdoors. I believe we all realized today the power of light; its ability to give you incredible joy and an abundance of energy.
Samantha spent her first moments becoming reacquainted with her shadow. That was after she dug out her flip flops that had been strategically placed on top in her suitcase. 
Jasper was so enlightened by the sun that he just started running with a sweet giggly grin. And yes, he is wearing his socks. Hum....
What a blessing it is to be here on this adventure together. Thank you Father Sun for sharing your winter getaway with us. We will see you again tomorrow bright and early. Until then...
