Chappell Hill Lavender Farm

Today was our first field trip of the new school year and Alex has been excited to go all week long.  The drought has caused wide-spread damage all across Texas, and sadly we have seen and heard about the significant loss of crops this year, although we have been very lucky to still find some wonderful fruits and vegetables at our local farmer's market.  We were thrilled to hear that lavender was finally in bloom at the Lavender Farm in Chappell Hill, Texas, and Granny and "Grandma" Cheryl wanted to cut some fresh-from-the-farm lavender and asked Alex and I if we'd like to join them.  What a treat!  It's a two hour drive from Austin out to Chappell Hill, but we had nice weather (thank goodness for air conditioning in August) and we got to see some beautiful country along the way.  We arrived back home with plenty of little lavender goodies and a few pictures to share.

Yes, they are really sharp scissors, and yes, he almost cut off a finger (on the grannies, not himself)

Alex putting his first cuttings into the basket

Of course he brought his backpack with all of his science tools (so he could look for bugs, of course)

I think the conversation went something like this: "Are you sure we have to do this?  Do you think anyone is watching?" "Yes, granny, wave your arms like this.  Come on, fly like a butterfly!"

Lavender is already hanging to dry at home this evening

Zippered Backpack Purse

This purse kicked my...ahem.  Excuse me.  Let me start again.  Lovely though it is, this pattern was an exercise in patience.  And required a great deal of assistance from my mom to keep my sanity.  I'll just say we're glad it's done.  Though I do think it came out pretty decent in the end (minus some unfinished edges on the inside that still bother me when I allow myself to think about them).  While I may come back to it at some point, I have shelved the pattern for now and am moving on to less confusing things!

Painting