Farmer's Market: Irvington, Virginia

We went to a wonderful farmer's market in Irvington, Virginia a couple of weeks ago. Irvington is in the northern neck, a coastal area of the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia is a place where tiny ladies and gentlemen still wear hand-smocked clothing and are taught to say "sir" and "ma'am."

We saw a lady making Nantucket baskets,

fresh, ripe corn,

art by Mama Girl,

colorful birdhouses,

and other colorful creations like this wacky fish ladder. One of the signs below says, "I'm On River Time." "River time" means timeless summer days, where you never bother to look at the clock, like summers when you were a boy or girl.

The farmer's market took place next to the Hope and Glory Inn,

which is across the street from the Irvington Baptist Church.

Later we picked up fresh steamed crabs for our yearly seafood feast.

Here is the sign posted at the little vegetable stand next to the steamed crab place.

We bought some tomatoes for tomato sandwiches. My daughter and I will eat tomato sandwiches all summer, and never get tired of them.

New Doll Design For the Shop

I have designed a new doll for my online store, primroses. This 10 inch doll is wonderful for babies and toddlers. It is stuffed with wool so that it is soft and bouncy, and will warm up when your child cuddles it. Its cotton velour jumpsuit is very soft and the first few dolls will be available in soft pink, bright pink, purple, bright green, royal blue, and red. It has a little bell sewn fimly into the inside of the hood, which will tinkle sweetly and gently. Available skin colors are chocolate brown, dark mocha, light mocha, golden, peach, and fair. Sleepy eye colors are black, brown, blue, and green.

Make a Toy Boat Out of Sticks

I made this boat for a little boy while we were on a beach in Sweden. It is made out of some some dry reed sticks which I found on the beach and broke with my hands, long pieces of grass for binding, a green twig from a tree for the mast, and a large green marsh grass leaf for a sail. It floated beautifully.


Here is how to make a toy boat which will last longer. Start with a collection of dry sticks. You can break them or saw them. We found a wonderful cache of bamboo sticks which we sawed. The girl working on the project with me is twelve years old.


We sawed ten raft logs and three cross pieces, and then fastened them together with string.


We bent a green maple twig in half to make the mast, and stuck it through the raft so that it goes around the center cross piece. The mast must be flexible enough so that you can bend it without breaking it.


We tied the mast together on top of the raft with some string so that it won't slide back down.

Find a big leaf for a sail.

Now it is time to launch your boat and play with it! This boat will last a long time. You may have to replace the mast from time to time because it will dry out and break in half.

A Pond on the Porch

We saw this beautiful little pond on the porch of some friends in Switzerland. As you can see, it is made of a plastic storage box, and contains rocks and aquatic plants. There were some frog eggs attached to one of the aquatic plants the family bought, and the lucky children who live here have been watching the tadpoles develop.


Here is a closer look. If you decide to make one, supervise the children when they are around your little pond. This pond is on a table top. It is low enough so that the children can see into the pond, but high enough that they won't fall in.

Stockholm Colors

Outdoor Fun on a Rainy Day

Rainy days don't have to be boring in the summertime. Go outside and play!

We made a dam in the gutter out of twigs, sandy dirt, and leaves.

Then we made a boat out of two layers of printer paper folded in half together. It gets soggy after a while, but it is fun to play with until then. It is also a nice homemade bath toy.


We learned how to make a paper boat from "Curious George rides a bike," by Margret and H.A. Rey. The newspaper boy asks George to deliver his papers one day. And what does George do with the newspapers? After delivering a few of them, he makes the rest into boats.

This is how he did it. "First, he folded down the corners like this:

then he folded both edges up,

brought the ends together

and flattened it sidewise.

Then he turned one corner up,

then the other one,

again brought the ends together

and flattened it sidewise,

Then, gently, he pulled the ends open-

and there was his BOAT!"

Here is our boat floating on the little gutter puddle we made with the dam.


What do you like to do on a rainy day? If you need any more ideas, read this wonderful book about playing outside on a rainy day. It's called "Rain," by Peter Spier. You'll never want to miss the fun of a rainy day outside again.

How to Make a Squash Horn

Early summer is the best time to make a squash horn. You can use stems of zucchini or summer squash. Cut a stem close to the base of the plant.


I was hoping to find a straight stem, but the curved ones work fine, too. Now cut off the leaf, but don't cut off the solid end of the stem. You only want it hollow on the large end.


Use a knife or a vegetable peeler to gently scrape off the prickles.


Cut a slit in one side of the hollow stem close to the solid end. It should be about 1 inch long.


Now put the slit end in your mouth and blow very hard. You may have to widen the slit the tiniest bit if you have trouble getting air into the horn.


We experimented with shortening the length of the horn for different sounds. Now, get a few friends and a few more stems and start your own squash band!

I adapted instructions on how to make a squash horn from a book called "Log Cabin Cooking: Pioneer Recipes and Food Lore," by Barbara Sewell.