December 1st!

Here we are, once again, happily kicking off the Christmas season in the Sadler household. I ignore decorations, songs, parades and twinkling lights until the calendar turns to this wonderful last month of the year. Now it is finally time to sing and play all our favourite seasonal songs, bake a few Christmas treats, enjoy outdoor displays and, one of my favourite things, make crafts! Not that there is ever enough time for such delights. But we will make time! It's a good thing I get to hang out at the Glanworth library where I have to get a weekly craft ready to go. Here are some we've made in the past many weeks, starting with Halloween!

In early November we made these charming little toilet-roll owls.

I wasn't the only one charmed by them!

We also made little animal booklets...

...and funny little paper-plate puppies... 

and cotton-ball polar bears!

Along with crafts and plenty of books, we also have a set of puzzle blocks, perfect for stacking...

...higher...

...higher...

...until it is irresistible to...

...knock them down!

 I hope your December is filled with fun and a little mischief, too!

All the best,

Judy Ann

A Bit of Catch-up

It's been unusually busy and difficult in our family these past many weeks so, once again, blogging has fallen to the wayside. It's too bad that at stressful times when I likely need the lovely distraction of creativity most, it is also when I have the least time to indulge in its soul-refreshing nature. Ah, well, with a little luck and a lot of organization, there will be time again.

Something I'm always grateful for is our little Glanworth library where so much good stuff happens. We recently received the gift of a beautiful picnic table from local wood craftsman and library supporter, John Pieterson. 

It fits in perfectly to our rural setting, doesn't it?

It also encourages kids to play in our spacious backyard, so nice.

Meanwhile, inside the library, reading and crafting continue to flourish!

A simple craft such as this one, colourful cut-out circles that can be glued onto paper to create cheerful caterpillars, is perfect for kids to lose themselves in.

We had our first canine visitor since our renovation. We were tickled to meet Chloe, 

our new library neighbour.

Jeff and I have managed to find an hour here and there for hiking, really great for body and soul.

 Oh, and one more thing that's good for the body and soul, fresh-baked bread. Mom hasn't felt well enough to make bread for a while, so I've happily made it for her.

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann

Continuing with Creativity

At the lovely little Glanworth library, we are picking up where we left off last November when we closed for renovations: Saturday morning crafts are back!

We started with an easy, but fun craft making bracelets and necklaces.

It's important to choose perfect beads!

Sometimes we just need a little help from Mommy.

Finished!

 Happy Crafting!

 Judy Ann

Reaching for a Cute Baby

I love this photo of a sweet baby looking at her mom with adoration, and already smart enough to enjoy a good picture book. 

Enjoy your day,

Judy Ann

More Partying in Glanworth!

Our grand opening celebration on June 23rd fell on a school day so we weren't able to have any children's festivities. We decided to make up for this by hosting another party last Saturday. We had so much fun! Our face-painter, Lynn, got warmed up by painting her own arm.

When I saw her creation up close, I knew she would do a great job on the kids!

And she did! She painted charming butterflies,

cute bees (with shoes!),

cheeky flowers,

cute kittens,

and creepy dragons, too!

Jim made funny balloon creations to the delight of the kids!

We also had a bike decorating contest. If you look closely at this beautifully-festooned bike,

 you will see that our bike-riding artist used copies of book covers on the streamers. Very creative!

 She even used a very familiar book cover!

We were happy to see a decorated wagon as well. Great job!

My favourite musician

and his friend provided the toe-tapping music.

Our Glanworth Community Association members each received a commemorative photo of the library, framed with a piece of the ribbon used in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Lovely!

It was another wonderful celebration hosted by a terrific community. 

How lucky we are!

Happy reading,

Judy Ann