Fifty Things to Do Before You Are 11 3/4

Borrowing a great idea from Ali today -
The National Trust in the UK has come up with a terrific list of things to do before you turn 12.

So here's what we have accomplished so far (

1. Climb a tree

2. Roll down a really big hill

3. Camp out in the wild

4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone
6. Run around in the rain

7. Fly a kite

8. Catch a fish with a net (o.k., this is with a pole and not a net, but she did it on her own)

9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Throw some snow

12. Hunt for treasure on a beach

13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree

19. Swing on a rope swing

20. Make a mud slide
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
22. Take a look inside a tree
23. Visit an island
24. Feel like you're flying in the wind

25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones

27. Watch the sun wake up
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Get behind a waterfall
30. Feed a bird from your hand
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn

33. Catch a butterfly in a net
34. Track wild animals

35. Discover what's in a pond
36. Call an owl
37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it

42. Go wild swimming

43. Go rafting
44. Light a fire without matches
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try bouldering
47. Cook over a campfire
48. Try abseiling
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river

We're coming up on 11 3/4 faster than I'd like to admit, but they're well on their way.

If anyone out there can explain how to play conkers, I would appreciate it. I know it has something to do with nuts on a string, but that's all I got.

Travels Around Town

It's been a couple of days of fun outings for my fam. 

Yesterday the three youngsters and myself went to the apple orchard. 

We didn't end up picking any apples, but we did have a great time in a corn maze, took a tractor ride and met some sweet animals.

 The Youngest got her first taste of fresh apple and loved it.

That hunk of hair is always in her face right now, teen years here we come...

On Friday my mom and I went to the Idea House at Bachman's, which is a local flower and plant outfit.
I clearly need to bring a stroller along when I go places, my photos have been suffering from blurritis.

This was my favorite idea, though I think I would use shorter nails, I could see getting snagged a hundred times a day in my small house if the art stood 3 inches out into the room

What's on your weekend to-do list?

Two Lives

I have been listening to this song on a loop for the past day.
No one does heartbroken like Bonnie.
Beautiful.

Great Night

Last night was an extravaganza of great community.
First we went to the kids' school for a garden party and hootenanny.
Yep, a hootenanny! There were lots of kids performing some great solos and ensembles, and though the sing-along that I was expecting never quite happened it was still super fun.
The Younger got up and played Old MacDonald on the keys and at the end he asked if I would help him lead a dancing song called The Bubble Dance where the kids act like bubbles, dragons, horses, bunnies, the possibilities are endless.He was fearless in front of a great big group of people, I was (and am) so proud of him.
(So bummed out that I didn't think to bring the camera...)
After we got home I trotted down the alley and borrowed a bike rack from our great neighbors and drove across town to Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles.
Mr. Michael is an amazing man who takes in donated bicycles, refurbishes them and gives them away to whoever asks for one.(You'll read in that link above that Mr. Michael has been a catalyst for multiple people finding work and homes due to having reliable transportation. What a guy!)
He just wants some basic info, boy or girl, your height, what kind of biking you like to do, and then you wait your turn and get a free bike!
Our bikes were stolen at the beginning of the summer, and that sucked, I won't lie, but we got on Mr. Michael's waiting list and Tuesday our name came up.

Since we've been dealing with some pretty big medical bills around here we didn't even think about replacing the bikes. It was such a stroke of luck that I heard about Mr. Michael and now we'll get a nice Fall-worth of riding in before the snows fly.

As a super-bonus he had a matched pair of bikes for us! 

So I present the Beautiful Bronze Bandelin Bicycles.

I can't get enough of the fact that, despite occasional crappy circumstances, wonderful people are everywhere and the world can be filled with joy.

Creation Station

Last Saturday I spent a few beautiful hours in a Saint Paul park making art and teaching a little knitting.

Even though the skies were threatening bad weather, the rain held off and just like Fall in Minnesota it fluctuated between "Glad I wore a sweater" and "Hm, it's pleasantly warm"

We had painting, mosaic-making, story collecting, nature mobiles, and knitting. 

My not too great photo above shows half of my friend Rachel who came up with the idea of this fun happening called The Creation Station. 

Such a wonderful time, I met lots of great people, and taught a few folks a new skill.

The very best thing there was this wall installation

Before I die was the brainchild of Candy Chang, an artist who " is an artist who wants to make cities more emotional. She believes in the potential of contemplation and collective wisdom in public space to improve our communities and ourselves. " (from her website.)
We were all giddy about art-making and thinking of the things that were missing from our lives and there are some beautiful entries up there: visit every continent, be a doctor, be a mom, find peace in my reality, but my favorite one was from a passer-by who wrote in the upper left corner - make my mom happy. 
Not a bad way to send a Fall afternoon.

Flora

This dolly has been a labor of love this past month. I am not a huge fan of tiny needles, quick and dirty is more my style.

I alluded to the hair project in the last couple of Yarn Along posts, and finished it up last night.
Since this doll would be for The Youngest, I didn't want long flowing Waldorf-y hair for her to choke on.
I wanted it to look more like an old-timey china doll with painted on hair.
First, I had planned to knit a wig, and it was mostly finished, but it wasn't really ringin' my bell.
Then it hit me, I could needle felt the hair on.
I had stuffed the doll with some undyed alpaca roving I got at Yarnover a couple of years ago (the alpaca's name is McRaney) and I thought I could use that for hair.
So, I opened her seam, pulled out the roving, re-stuffed her with some other fleece bits I had hanging around, and got to needling.
The color is a little washed out, but it is super soft.
All in all, I'm happy with the results.

So, without further ado, meet Flora.

The Youngest will still have to wait a little while before she spends much quality time with Flora, since I'm pretty sure the hair won't stand up to the level of sucking and gnawing that's going on here, but soon enough I'm sure they'll be the best of friends.

Quiet Time

The Youngest and I took a walk through my very favorite spot in Saint Paul this afternoon. It's so quiet there,  I imagine it's just the same as it was 100 years ago.