Monthly Archives: November 2013

Enjoying the Fall Weather


Today was my favorite type of fall day where the sun is warm and there a cool breeze to remind you that winter is on its way. Lydia and I decided to spend some time enjoying the great outdoors by exploring an area close to where we live.


We started by walking down a path in a natural prairie area. This grass was taller than us, imagine what it must have been like for explorers and settlers to walk for miles in grass like this.


After awhile we came to a clearing where the grass was laying down and we were able to sit and soak up some of the warm afternoon sun. We didn’t stay long because we could see a wooded area that Lydia was anxious to explore.


We had just started walking in the wooded area when Lydia saw something at the edge of the trail, she called me over to look.


She had found mushrooms growing on a fallen log. I wanted to know what type of mushroom they were and if they were poisonous. We didn’t touch them just to be safe, but we looked at them really closely so we could try to identify them when we got home.


A bit further down the trail there was a small path that led into this natural shelter created by fallen trees.


We spent some time in the natural shelter pretending that we were lost in the woods and we were going to make this our new home. I wanted to move sticks to make rooms and a bed with a leaf pile for a mattress but Lydia said that it was best for us to make the rooms with our imagination and leave the area undisturbed.


At the end of the trail we found this log and sat down for a rest before heading home.


Lydia said her favorite part was discovering the mushrooms.


Do you like to spend time in nature?

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Stella Makes Knitting Needles

My friend Stella made her own knitting needles and wanted to share her tutorial:

Follow these steps to make your own.


First gather all of your supplies. You will need a 1/8 inch wood dowel seven inches long, sand paper fine and course grit, wax paper, glue, and two beads that fit on your dowel.


First have an adult cut the dowel in half and use the course sand paper to sand one end of each needle to a point.


Sand each needle with the fine grit sand paper until it is very smooth. You don’t want anything that will catch on your yarn.


Once your needles are smooth rub each needle with the wax paper. This gives them a nice finish and helps the yarn slide on the finished needles.


Put a small amount of glue on the blunt end of your knitting needles and carefully place your bead. The beads I chose fit on the dowel perfectly so I didn’t need much glue.


After your glue dries your needles are done!


Here is an action shot,  knitting a scarf.

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