Summer Stories

Our backyard is a bit on the big side.  It is home to an old and dying oak tree, a lush vegetable garden, and a thriving flower garden.  Having that ol' oak tree around reminds me of the mighty oak that stood in the yard of the home I grew up in.  The sun would set and cast a glow in my bedroom that made me feel so warm and cozy.  Sonoma County can get pretty warm in the summertime, so I'd open my big window and hope for a breeze to come rustle up those leaves.  I spent most of my summers (until I could drive, anyway) with my nose in a book.  I remember the summer I read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, and Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I was all of about eight years old, and found myself transported back in time by these books.  It was like magic, opening those paperback books.  I thought about each of the girls and the dresses they wore, the dolls they might carry.  My aunt had made a Holly Hobby dress when I was five, and at eight, I wished it still fit.  Instead I would settle for tying a make-shift pillowcase-turned-apron around my waist and pretend I had chores to do.  Funny how chores are so intriguing when they aren't real....  Anyhow, while my Baby Girl is a few years shy of enjoying all those lovely books, she is ready for her own prairie dress and bloomers - minus all those hot layers.  I stopped making just one of anything years ago, so this dress and other color variations will be listed in my Etsy Store.  Prepare for The Cute.....