Water trough, Water play.

We installed one of these, in our infant/toddler yard today!

The temperature outside was 31 degrees Celsius, so a little water play was welcome!

I was inspired when I saw this on Pinterest one day.

You can read more about it and get some great ideas for outdoor play HERE.

We didn't have the means to assemble a trough quite as sophisticated as this one, but then I remembered this piece of cut PVC pipe that we have.

My co-worker and I put our heads together to figure out how to fasten the pipe on the bank.  We found a spike that we hammered into the ground.  The PVC pipe has two small holes drilled into the end.  We tied string onto that and wrapped it around the spike to hold our trough in place.

We brought the hose over and ran just a drizzle down the pipe.  

Simple, Free and oh so much Fun!

The children took care of the rest!

I wondered if they would be most interested in the hose but they were not.

We provided them with ping pong balls which they rolled down.

We got lots of practise taking turns and using "our words".

Making soup.

Collecting and Pouring.

Oh, what fun.....mud making!

 After a quick change into clean clothes all the Mommy's and Daddy's were soon coming to pick up their littles.

What a great way to spend the afternoon!

Replenishing.

What replenishes your soul?

For me it is time spent with family.

This morning my daughter invited us over for Apricot Upside Down Cake....for breakfast!  What's not to love about that!

And tea.  For me.  And freshly roasted coffee for others.

An Iphone visit with my far away daughter and her hubby.

Time spent with a little girl we all love.

She's making me cold tea for a hot day!  Yum!

Time spent in the garden.

Harvesting goodies.

Picking plums and apricots and apples.

Gorgeous tomatoes that taste so sweet.

Beauty and Bliss.

Soul Food.

When time slows down.

I got to spend the day with my grand-daughter.  Her Mom and Dad had an appointment in another town and were going to be gone until supper time.  Her Daddy dropped her off at the daycare, where I work in the infant room, which happens to be on the same University campus where my daughter works.

Handy dandy.

I asked  little girl what she would like to do.  

It seemed like she really didn't need to go anywhere or do anything. She was happy right there.  I love that about her actually.  The simplest things bring her so much pleasure.  We didn't need big plans.

We watched a squirrel run up and down the tree, collecting pine cones.  She enjoyed that so much that I suggested that we go for a walk right there on the campus, which is park like in some places.

We started off with an impromptu picnic at the pond.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but she is actually on the top of a hill.  We played tag running up and down chasing each other.  There is nothing like the pure, delightful laughter of a child, I think.

Along the paths were so many colorful flowers.  We knew the names of some and not of others.  I think it's time to dust off my book of flower names.

"What color do you like, Nanny?"

She insisted we share the wild strawberry.  She's sweet that way.

We had to find just the right patch of grass so she show me how she can do a somersault.

Here she is singing her own rendition of "We are on top of the world"

I think it is a made up song, but she was pretty convincing.

She was doing a show for me. On a University campus. Not a care in the world.

We found some very tart crab apples.  She loved them!

Two hours later we made it home.

Inspired by all the flower gardens we had to get right into painting.

I want to be a Nanny who doesn't rush, but can take the time to explore, to listen, to wonder, to follow her lead.  

I love it when time slows time down.

Wet Felting - Sunflower Centerpiece.

My favorite middle child recently had a birthday.  What a great reason to do some crafting. I've had a hankering to do some Eric Carle art.  He is just so fun and inspiring isn't he?.

He recently put up this little lady bird on his website.  

Isn't she just so sweet?

I decided to make her a card.

I used a page of free art painting my grand-daughter and I had done recently.

Cut out the shapes.

Fastened everything down with some Mod Podge.

And ended up with a colorful flower card!

Then I decided to do a little felting.

I had the idea to make a centerpiece.  I love how ideas evolve sometimes.  I did not know exactly how this was going to end up.  I started with a vague idea and just let the creativity flow.

I used some wool batting as the base of the centerpiece and then added roving.

Once it was felted I needled in some definition with yellow roving. I also cut around the edge of the centerpiece to create more definition of the petals.

I decided to paint some little friends to live on the sunflower centerpiece.

I used Mod Podge to create a little sheen.

They look at home there, don't you think?

The final step included a quick trip to the Thrift store for a candy dish.

This is a candy dish right?

My daughter sent me the finished product as it looks on her coffee table.

Happy birthday my girl.  Hope you can feel the love!