Master Franklin Has a Birthday

 Dear Friends,

Oh my, can Frankie really be seven already? He loves African animals lately, so we made him a rhino cake with bananas for horns (so creative, I know). The ice cream topping melted quickly, so the photo doesn't look its best, but at least Frankie liked it!

Frankie wanted to go to the zoo to see the African animals, but we went to a nature center instead, since it was supposed to rain. The day after his birthday was nice and sunny, however, so he finally got to go see everything in its animal glory. I think that a person could do worse than be in love with animals!

Here are a few photos from his special day, for you to enjoy:~

 

Seven Times One

Jean Ingelow

THERE’S no dew left on the daisies and clover,
There’s no rain left in heaven.
I ’ve said my “seven times” over and over,—
Seven times one are seven.
I am old,—so old I can write a letter;
My birthday lessons are done.
The lambs play always,—they know no better;
They are only one times one.
O Moon! in the night I have seen you sailing
And shining so round and low.
You were bright—ah, bright—but your light is failing;
You are nothing now but a bow.
You Moon! have you done something wrong in heaven,
That God has hidden your face?
I hope, if you have, you will soon be forgiven,
And shine again in your place.
O velvet Bee! you ’re a dusty fellow,—
You ’ve powdered your legs with gold.
O brave marsh Mary-buds, rich and yellow,
Give me your money to hold!
O Columbine! open your folded wrapper,
Where two twin turtle-doves dwell!
O Cuckoo-pint! toll me the purple clapper
That hangs in your clear green bell!
And show me your nest with the young ones in it,—
I will not steal them away;
I am old! you may trust me, linnet, linnet!
I am seven times one to-day.

Love, 

Marqueta

A Merry Independence Day Weekend

Dear Friends,

How nice of you to stop by! We hope you had a wonderful, not too toasty weekend~ Ours was actually quite cool, with temperatures in the 70s!

We had the special opportunity of blessing little Rebecca this weekend. She in turn had the special opportunity of wearing her great-grandmother's blessing dress, and a bonnet made from her great-great grandmother's handkerchief. Since she shares the name Mabel with them, she was truly an heirloom baby!


On Saturday morning, the children held their annual Independence Day Doll Parade. They went all out this year, decorating the floats and making gowns for "Miss Merry Hearts" and "Miss Nature".

Elsie Dinsmore portrayed Betsy Ross (although she lost her cap somewhere en route)~

And Sheriff Woody served as Grand Marshall (Shown here with the Modesty Cheerleaders)~

In the afternoon we decided to picnic in Wolverine Canyon, even though it was a bit breezy!

We went for a walk in the woods...

. . .And grabbed some dogwood blossoms to "play with". . .

(And horsetail)


(And sagebrush)

(And mushrooms)

(And sticks)

And saw pretty butterflies. . .

And waded in the creek to cool us off when we were done.

May you have a wonderful, blessed week, dear friends. Even though our house may look like it was hit by "Hurricane Frankie", we hope there will be plenty of time to clean when autumn comes!

Till next time,

Love,

Marqueta

******************

"Oh, sacrament of summer days,

Oh, last communion in the haze,

Permit a child to join.


Thy sacred emblems to partake,

Thy consecrated bread to take

And thine immortal wine!"

~ Emily Dickinson

Valentine's is Coming~

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for visiting us today~ we welcome anyone that might be new here and hope you enjoy your stay.

We are grateful that February is such a short month, since it is such a wintry one! But in fact, it's hard to believe that the month is almost half over. Tomorrow we'll be celebrating Mr. Lincoln's birthday with a little tea party, and then Valentine's of course marks the middle of the month. The dolls have already begun sending their cards out, so we'll have to get busy and send some in return~ Tasha's "Kitten Post" will be busy, indeed!




We've been enjoying (or trying to enjoy) lots of snow storms lately, but thankfully we have not had the amount that other parts of the U.S. have been blessed with! :)

It's never too cold to play with dolls~ although we think that Kathleen's toes will be quite chilly!

The backyard~

And beyond the backyard~Wolverine Canyon is out there somewhere!

I don't think the poor chickens found any bugs outside today~
At least they could take a few dust baths!

We finally managed to finish the china shelves Mr. Graham made last February (hee hee), complete with curtains to hide the more prosaic items on the lower shelves~

All this pretty china came from thrift stores~as did the tea cup fabric!

We've been having fun getting ideas for Valentine's parties in the 1909 February edition of "The Mother's Magazine", although we're not sure we would survive inviting twenty children over for tea, as one article suggests! There are so many fun and interesting things in these old magazines; we grab them up when we find them at an economical price. :)

May you find joy in the tasks that each day brings, and find time to celebrate the little things that add up to mean so much.

Love,

Marqueta

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"A novel and exciting auction was held previous to the supper. Each girl had provided a valentine of some sort. These were offered at bargain prices to the young men by Madge's brother Bob, who cheerfully offered his services as 'auctioneer', gratis. No one was allowed to bid after one valentine had been knocked down to him, and many and laughable were the bids--a pound of candy, an escort home, constant and undivided attention one, two and three months, and proposals without number, and many too nonsensical to mention, appealing only to those directly interested."

~from "A Journey Through Valentine's Land", Mother's Magazine 1909