Vista Grande Fire (and an Uninvited Guest)

There has been a lot of unwelcome 'excitement' at Casa deRosier recently. I was working upstairs in the afternoon of Monday, June 2 when I smelled smoke. This was the view out the window. 

 

I checked the Watch Duty app and learned that it was a very small grassfire about 3/4 mile from us. We watched as the smoke increased, then became concerned as it went to a second, third, and then fourth alarm.  

We learned from our previous wildfire experience that it is smart to evacuate early, while you still have time to grab a few things, and before the roads are clogged with everyone trying to get out at once. Steve and I quickly packed our medications, a change of clothes, and food for the bunnies. At this point, we could see flames. It was shocking how fast the fire was moving, aided by the strong wind. We were loading the bunnies into their carriers when a firefighter banged on our door and said it was time to leave. 

As we were putting our things into the car, we heard a plane overhead. And then we were covered with fire retardant. It was all over my arms, running down my hair, and even in my mouth. It was inside our car, since the doors had been open. Fortunately, it did not get on the bunnies, who were waiting patiently in the garage in their carriers. 

Just like our last evacuation, we drove over to Ken and Sheena's house a few miles away first. Ken washed our car while Sheena got us towels and drinks and Devin cooed at the rabbits. Sheena snapped my picture after I'd wiped off most of the fire retardant. 

My shoes were five days old. Sigh. 

Once our next plans were in place, we headed to Suzzi's house in Sacramento. At this point, the fire had grown to 62 acres and was at the back fences of our across-the-street neighbors. 

And then, great news: forward progress was stopped. The evacuation order was lifted just as we arrived at Suzzi's. Hurray!

The bunnies had been in their carriers for 2 hours, so we set them up in a bathroom. Suzzi cleaned the interior of our car while Steve cleaned his backpack and I showered and changed clothes. It felt so good to have the fire retardant off me. 

Then we ordered a pizza and watched about the news. It was surreal seeing our house and our neighbors.

 

I saw a Facebook post from our fire department and learned that there were 110 personnel who fought the fire: 1 air attack, 1 helicopter, 2 air tankers, 2 dozers, 2 water tenders, 2 hand crews, and 22 engines. Wow. I am incredibly grateful to every single one of them. 

We loaded the bunnies back up and arrived home at 10:15 pm. It was dark (obviously) so we had to wait until the morning to see what the neighborhood looked like. Here's the view from our driveway. 

This is the end of our court. 

We walked along the fire access road behind our neighbors' houses, which are a lovely shade of pink.  

All of the grass that wasn't burned is pink, proof that the fire retardant totally did its job. 

 

It was fascinating seeing what was pink and what wasn't. It was very easy to tell which direction the wind was blowing during the fire. Most people's houses had one or two pink sides and two or three normal sides.

The mailboxes have two pink sides, plus a pink top. 

The trees and other vegetation are pink as well. That includes my garden. Disappointing, but anything that saves homes and lives is infinitely more important than my veggies. 

Once we finished looking around, it was time to clean up, starting with our solar panels. We thought it would be a simple matter of spraying them off. It was not simple. It took three hours with both of us scrubbing to clean the panels to the point that we couldn't see any pink and they were able to work at full capacity. 

  

Next, we tackled the windows. We'd heard from neighbors that the firefighters told them not to bother trying to clean the stucco. If you get the pink off, you've also taken the paint off. 

We spent all day long cleaning... until Steve noticed an uninvited guest in our backyard. Yep - a rattlesnake. Because of course there would be a rattlesnake. 

While I waited for Animal Control to arrive, I looked up the Spanish word for rattlesnake. (Es un serpiente de cascabel.) Might as well turn this into a learning opportunity! The snake was not happy to be picked up and rattled menacingly on his way into the red bucket. Sorry dude. I'm a fan of snakes, but you can't have deadly venom and live in our backyard. That's the rule. 

I'm incredibly grateful to firefighters, Animal Control officers, and everyone else who works hard to keep the rest of us safe. Thank you for all you do!

Edible Flower Crafts for Kids

I love flower crafts. I've made a lot of kid-friendly flower crafts over the years, including quite a few that are edible. I've gathered them all here in one place. Below that, you'll find affiliate links for some fun flower-themed picture books. Enjoy!

Edible Flower Crafts for Kids

• Black-Eyed Susan Candies - Create eye-catching candies that look like black-eyed Susans. Kids will love making (and eating!) these treats. 
• Ice Cream Flowerpots - These fabulous flowers are a lot of fun to make. Pre-freeze the ice cream and have kids make their own flowers for a fun summertime party activity. 
• Fondant Daisies and Roses - Making beautiful daisies and roses from fondant is surprisingly easy and very kid-friendly. Use them to decorate cakes, cupcakes, or other homemade goodies. 
• Conversation Hearts Bouquet of Flowers - This edible bouquet makes a wonderful gift or a unique centerpiece. 
• Candy Roses - These beautiful roses are made freehand - no mold required. And I promise it is ridiculously easy! They make a wonderful topper for ice cream. 
• Glazed Flower Rolls - There are a lot of possibilities with this recipe. Make plain flower rolls to serve with dinner, or add a flavored glaze for a sweet breakfast treat. 
• Jelly Bean Bouquet - This miniature bouquet is one of the most popular crafts on my blog. It's really easy and is absolutely adorable. 
• Pineapple Sunflowers - Dark chocolate and pineapple is a fantastic flavor combination. They come together to make stunning edible sunflowers. 
• Sweet Tarts Flower Cupcakes - Decorate cupcakes with delicious Sweet Tarts Hearts for a fun springtime dessert. It's a great choice for Mother's Day! 
• Sunflower Seed Brownies - Whether you make sinful brownies or a healthier version, decorate them with cute little sunflower seed flowers. 

Flower Books for Kids

• The Tiny Seed - Kids love this classic book by Eric Carle that comes with seed-embedded paper you can plant. 
• Mrs. Peanuckle's Flower Alphabet - Read about 26 types of flowers, from asters to zinnias, in this colorful book.  
• Planting a Rainbow - Featuring the paper collage artwork of Lois Ehlert, this classic book follows a mother and child who plant a beautiful garden with all the colors of the rainbow. 
• The Big Book of Blooms - Learn fun and amazing facts about some of the most interesting flowers on the planet. 

Public Art at Sacramento International Airport (SMF)

As I mentioned in my last post, I made an unexpected trip to Idaho last week. I flew out of Sacramento, my favorite of the three major airports that are essentially the same distance from us. I arrived ridiculously early for my flight, which gave me the chance to take my time and enjoy the public art in Terminal B. I've seen it before, of course, but I've never taken the time to stop and appreciate it. 

This is Leap, by Lawrence Argent. It's 56 feet tall and is instantly recognizable to anyone who has flown in or out of Sacramento. 

Behind the ticketing area, there are two large wood and steel murals on either side of the elevators and escalators, called The Baggage Handlers. Artist Christian Moeller included the faces of six airport employees whose important work occurs largely behind the scenes.  

At the top of the escalator, you'll find A Fragment of the Universe, a glass mosaic by Joan Moment. The colors are beautiful and the patterns mesmerizing. 

Beyond the floor mural, there's long display showing the different uniforms the Sacramento Kings have worn over the years. Apparently it's not officially artwork, as there is no mention of a title or artist, but it adds a lot to what would otherwise be a long, empty wall. 

Next is As the Crow Flies, by Lynn Criswell. Embedded into the floor are 21 silhouettes of birds native to Northern California. Above each hangs an empty bird cage. When Trevor was little, he loved trying to match the names of the birds to their silhouettes. Too bad this is in a high-traffic area just before the tram instead of in a place where young bird lovers can entertain themselves while waiting for a flight. 

  

Flying Colors by Suzanne Adan is a whimsical glass mosaic featuring stylized birds. It would make a fantastic jigsaw puzzle. 

Acorn Steam by Donald Lipski is stunning. This enormous artwork of wood and Swarovski crystals honors Sacramento's oak trees and their importance to the indigenous people. 

This is called Your Words are Music to My Ears and is by Po Shu Wang and Louise Bertelsen. You can play the instrument to entertain your fellow waiting passengers, but not in the way you think. Check out the video that explains it. 

There is a lot more artwork at SMF in the other terminal, at International, and outside that wasn't accessible to me on this trip. My favorite is Samson. You can read about it, and all the other public art at SMF, on their website. 

Have you been to an airport with a lot of fabulous artwork? Let me know about it in the comments!

Watermelon Crafts for Kids

Summer is just around the corner. Get ready with watermelon crafts and recipes that kids will love! I gathered all of my watermelon-themed tutorials into one place to make it easy for you to pick the perfect activities to do together. At the bottom, you'll find affiliate links for some fun watermelon-themed picture books. Enjoy!

Watermelon Crafts for Kids

• Crayon Melt Watermelon - Enjoy the intense colors you get with this unique craft activity. 
• Construction Paper Watermelon Self-Portrait - This project is perfect for the kid who LOVES watermelon!
• Watermelon Felt Coaster and Festive Treat - A little sewing, then a little snacking. 
• Decoupage Watermelon Flower Pot - Technically, you could use it to grow watermelon...
• Clay Watermelon Necklace - This darling pendant is fun to make and to wear. 
• Watermelon Paper Plate Wreath - Fans of finger painting, this one is for you!
• Peanut Picnic Ants - Oh no! The "ants" have found the watermelon at the picnic. 
• Handprint Watermelons - Turn your handprint into a watermelon. It's lots of fun to do!

Watermelon Recipes for Kids

• Watermelon Ice Cream Cones - These cute treats look just as good as they taste. 
• Watermelon Cookies - These cookies are packed with flavor and totally adorable!

Watermelon Books for Kids

• The Watermelon Seed - What happens if a crocodile swallows a watermelon seed??
  
• Watermelon Party - Based on a true story from an animal rescue!
• This Watermelon is Not Round - All about kindness and appreciating our differences. 
• One Watermelon Seed - A deceptively simple counting book that's lots of fun. 
• Runski Punski and the Watermelon Shoes - Watermelons as shoes? There might be a few problems.
• Watermelon Watermelon - A catchy sing-along book!

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I will be taking at least the next week off from blogging as I travel to Idaho, following health problems with my dad. I appreciate your prayers and good thoughts. 

National Scrapbook Day: Before, During, and After

Along with all the scrapbook challenges, there were dozens of games going on during the National Scrapbook Day event at A Cherry on Top. I played along with most of them. Not only was it a lot of fun, but I won a prize for one of them! I also won a bunch of Cherry Points. 

One of the games asked us to take three sets of pictures of our workspaces: before the challenges started, in the middle of the action, and at the end of the weekend. I thought it would be fun to share those photos with you. 

I always do a thorough cleanup before NSD. Here's my scraproom the day before the event started. 

My desk pretty much never looks like this. 

Here's what my room looked like in the middle of the day on Saturday after I'd been scrapping for a day and a half. There are in-progress layouts on the desk to the right of the door and on the counter under the window. There are two groups of layouts on the floor. The ones are the far right are done and ready to be scanned. The ones to the left are ones I started for specific challenges but hadn't finished. There are piles of paper on the floor behind my chair. 

This is closer to what my desk usually looks like. In the photo, you'll see piles of sticker books, rub-on packs, paper scraps, and the first stages of the layout about our bonded buns. That little notebook between my paper trimmers and the layout is what I use to record the supplies I use on each page. I've used the same system since 2008. 

I took this picture on Sunday afternoon. All of the completed layouts are off the floor, scanned, and in albums. One incomplete layout is on the floor, because I still hoped to finish it for a challenge (yet it's still not done now, 2+ weeks later). The in-progress layouts that were under the window are now piled on top of the remaining ones on the desk to the right of the door. There are still papers on the floor, but fewer than before. 

This year, I did a really good job of cleaning up between projects, so there wasn't too much on my desk in the after photo. That's the layout about Picnic Day. I'd pulled a bunch of different yellow and blues papers, which you can see underneath the stack of photos. No green papers - I hadn't decided yet to use green on the layout.  

I'm glad this NSD game inspired me to photograph my work area, as that's something I rarely do. I'm also thinking that taking photos I knew people would see might be what led me to do a better job cleaning up between projects than I usually do. Win-win!

Standing White-Tailed Deer

Native to North, Central, and South America, the white-tailed deer is one of the most widely distributed land mammals in the world. They are crepuscular, consume a wide variety of plant materials, and are highly adaptable to different habitats. White-tailed deer can sprint at speeds of 40 miles per hour, sustain speeds up to 30 miles an hour, and jump 9 feet high and 30 feet forward. 

The white-tailed deer is culturally important in the US (and beyond). It is the state animal of Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, the state game animal of Oklahoma, and the wildlife symbol of Wisconsin. It appears on the flag of Vermont and is the mascot of the Milwaukee Bucks. Bambi is a white-tailed deer (in the Disney movie - in the Austrian book that inspired the film, Bambi is a roe deer.)

Read on to learn how to make a family of white-tailed deer that stand on their own. Affiliate links below. 

 

Standing White-Tailed Deer

Materials:

• cardstock (tan, cream)
• microtip scissors
• colored pencils (I used Ohuhu)
• craft glue

Steps:

You will need four basic shapes to make an adult male white-tailed deer: a body, legs (2), ears (2), and antlers (2). If you want to make an adult female or a baby, you don't need the antlers. Cut the body parts from cardstock, then use colored pencil to add details: a black nose, a black eye, black hooves, black shading on one ear, and white shading around the nose, under the belly, under the tail, and inside the ear. If you are making a fawn, add white dots all over its back. 

For the adult make, fold the legs in half, then glue them to the back of the deer's body. Adjust them until the deer can stand on its own. Glue one ear to the front of the deer and one to the back, then glue the antlers in place. Use the same steps, minus the antlers, for an adult female or a fawn. 

Ohio Star Paper Quilt Craft

Have you heard of the Ohio Star? This classic quilt pattern has a very interesting history. Kids studying the Civil War or Ohio state history will enjoy making their own version of the Ohio star, using paper instead of fabric. This tutorial makes 9” squares. Affiliate links below. 

Ohio Star Paper Quilt Craft

Materials: 

• cardstock
• patterned paper or construction paper
• paper cutter or scissors
• craft glue

Steps: 

Cut a 9" square piece of white cardstock to use as a background. Cut the scraps into 3" squares. 

Select 2-3 pieces of patterned paper or construction paper that go nicely together. I chose a green polka dot, a pink with swirls, and a yellow stripe. 

If you are only making one quilt square, you will need one 3" square of each color. Set aside the one you'll be using for the center. Cut the other two along one diagonal, then cut each of the resulting triangles in half. Here are the steps: 

Be as accurate as possible when cutting. A paper cutter helps immensely, but you can do this with scissors. (Use a ruler to mark the lines!)

Set aside four white squares. Cut the other white squares into 4 triangles each, just like with the colored papers. 

Arrange your squares and triangles in place. When you find a pattern you like, carefully glue them down. 

This is the finished design. 

Of course, I couldn't stop at just one quilt square. 

I love how they look assembled into a 9-square quilt! So pretty!

If you want to simplify things, use a single color with white. It's still really pretty. 

Two colors with white is nice too. 

There are tons of variations you can do with the Ohio Star. It's a beautiful and versatile design and makes a really fun project for kids. 

GeoGuessr and Seterra

One of the most difficult (yet simultaneously most interesting) classes I took in college was Geography 10: The World's Regions. It took place in a large lecture hall… completely in the dark. All lectures were slide shows, where the professor taught us to look for clues in the photos to help us identify where the photo was taken. Tree shapes, soil color, architectural styles, and a zillion other things are all clues to a mystery location. It was absolutely fascinating and I loved every minute. That is, until it came time to study for exams. How do you take notes about tiny details in 150 different pictures from an hour-long slideshow in a room so dark you can't see your notebook? This was 1991, so we couldn't take notes on a laptop or take a video on a cellphone. The tests were conducted the same way as the lectures - the professor showed a slide and we had a minute to make our best guess where it was. Repeat, repeat, repeat. There was a single bank of lights on, so we could actually see to write. It was challenging, but I got an A, so whatever I did obviously worked. 

I didn't think much about that class until a number of years ago when I first discovered GeoGuessr. If you're not familiar with it, the concept is that you are dropped in a mystery location somewhere in the world on a Google Street View map. You look for clues about your environment and then you guess where you are. It's essentially exactly the same thing as we did back in that geography class. 

When I started playing GeoGuessr, it was relatively unknown. This educational and fun game has grown significantly since then, booming during COVID. Now it even has its own World Championship. It's not too often you find something equally popular with classroom teachers and esports players, but that is the case for GeoGuessr.  

If you're looking for other fun geography games, I recommend Seterra. Acquired by GeoGuessr in 2022, Seterra is packed with games and quizzes based on countries, capitals, flags, rivers, lakes, and so much more. There are so many games based on the United States that I have barely explored the rest of the world. Try this fun game about US landmarks and let me know how you did! 

Underwater Scene: Paint Markers on Aluminum Foil

When I reviewed the new Ohuhu Nahuku Acrylic Markers, I was impressed by how well they color on paper, plastic, and metal. Ohuhu sent me a different set, the Kakaako Acrylic Markers, to try and I was eager to see if they performed as well. I'm happy to report that they impress me too. I'm not surprised, as Ohuhu's products are consistently high quality and a pleasure to use. Affiliate links here and below. 

The Kakaako set includes 30 double-ended acrylic markers: 15 basic colors, 9 metallics, and 6 fluorescents. Unlike the Nahukus with their brush nibs, the Kakaakos are what I think of as a traditional paint pen. To activate the paint, you shake the pen, then press down on the round or fine tip until the color is flowing. These pens are made to color on a wide variety of surfaces, including: paper, plastic, glass, ceramic, rocks, wood, fabric, and more. I decided to test "and more" with a more unconventional surface: aluminum foil. 

I cut an 8" square of aluminum foil, then colored the background with patches of color from four different blue pens. The paint dries fairly quickly, but there is enough open time that you can fingerpaint if you want to. I used my index finger to soften and blend the background in some places. I intentionally let the foil show through in many spots. You can't tell on the scan, but it's super shiny in real life. 

I used the round tip to add a sea floor, kelp, coral, and fish. Then I went in with the fine tips to add a bit of detail. The paint layers nicely if you let the base coat(s) dry first. 

Here's a look at the full color palette and how each looks on white and black cardstock. You can also see how the coverage is with a single coat. 

Just like the Nahukus, I definitely recommend Ohuhu's Kakaako Acrylic Markers but once again feel that using them on paper would be a waste. Try them on a wide variety of surfaces, including aluminum foil!