Ellie@Home by Nicole Kapise-Perkins

Hello all. This is just a quick note to let the lovely people that read this know that I will be updating very sporadically; my dear little Toshiba has an evil, terrible, dreadful hard drive-eating virus, and unless I visit my mother's house and pirate her husband's computer, I cannot add new news, creativity and book rants. I am most sorry, but I will pop in whenever I can for this sad computer-less time, and as soon as my compu is fixed, I will be back with a vengeance! Thank you all soooo much for your continued support! Much love, Cole

Greetings all! Still icky-hot here, but we've had a few days here and there where we've gotten out to enjoy the summer days. Yesterday, for example, my troop of children and I headed to my mother's, where my youngest has a lovely backyard to play. He's very into faerie tales and faeries lately, so OF COURSE, we had to make a faerie house. These images and 'instructions' are from the very fun website http://www.fairyhouses.com/  . Check it out! Location Fairy Houses can take many forms and can be created in many different places. Find a quiet place away from roads or busy pathways. The base of a tree or the side of a rock could be just right. Close to the ground is usually best. Sometimes you may find a special place in the low branches of a tree or bush. Look for building areas in woods, beaches, meadows, and especially your own backyard! Use only natural materials to build your house – nothing artificial. Many fairy houses look so natural that...

I've been lax in posting lately, and I'm truly sorry. It's been hot, sticky, and gross, and we've spent our days sitting (melting) in front of fans, trying to stay cool. After watching a dust caribou (that thing was way too big to be a bunny...) roll across the floor I went on a bender, cleaning this place from top to bottom. Now that we can kick back and relax again (my older son quoted Miayazaki's film Howl's Moving Castle as I was cleaning yesterday: "There's a witch on a rampage in here!") I decided we needed some treats that didn't require turning the stove or the oven on. How's popsicles sound to you?       After a four-store search I found popsicle molds, and now we make our own out of juice or iced tea instead of buying sugar- and food-coloring laden ones from the store. The only downside? These will only last about a day-- as soon as they're set my kids dive in...and in...and in. But who cares? They...

We have baby tomatoes! And peppers! AND my morning glory FINALLY has blossoms! Oh, happiness! The tomato plants have taken over the back stairs. I can't find it in my heart to complain :) As my pansies have gone by I've added dill, savory, creeping thyme and monster-sized oregano plants to my herb garden box. Happy is Nicole.