Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

Friday, May 10, 2013

100 Outdoor Spring Activities for Everyone!

Spring is here!!! For us bloggers, sometimes its easy to get stuck behind our computers and not venture out into the beautiful weather. Here is a list of my favorite 100 things to do in the spring--some of them are so easy that if you're really wanting to stay inside, you just have to walk out on your balcony and you can complete them!

  1. Walk around the block--without headphones in your ears.
  2. Listen to birds.
  3. Smell flowers.
  4. Stop and really feel the wind around you.
  5. Stay up late and watch the stars.
  6. Fly kites.
  7. Start a garden (or window box).
  8. Go hiking.
  9. Ride bikes.
  10. Look for the first butterfly.
  11. Have a picnic.
  12. Play tennis.
  13. Quit work early and go outside.
  14. Go to the playground and swing.
  15. Grill out with friends.
  16. Get up before the sun and watch the sunrise from a mountain top.
  17. Go barefoot in the grass.
  18. Smell the fresh air.
  19. Get too hot outside for the first time.
  20. Go to the pool.
  21. Look for four-leaf clovers.
  22. Go to a baseball game.
  23. Walk outside at night.
  24. Make a bird feeder and put it on your porch.
  25. Go wading in a creek.
  26. Look for the first firefly.
  27. Go fossil hunting.
  28. Walk to your favorite coffeeshop in the morning.
  29. Stake out a bird's nest (at a safe distance with binoculars) and watch.
  30. Drink lemonade on the patio.
  31. Do yoga outside.
  32. Dance in the rain.
  33. When the flower petals start falling, run through them.
  34. Open all the windows.
  35. Collect small items from outside and make a nature mosaic.
  36. Play a pick-up game of football.
  37. Eat salads outside on the porch.
  38. Go to an orchard.
  39. Play frisbee.
  40. Join a kickball league.
  41. Find pictures in the clouds.
  42. Play in the sandbox.
  43. Put a drop of pond water on a microscope slide and try to identify everything you see.
  44. Drive with the windows down and the music up.
  45. Play beach volleyball.
  46. Hang your laundry outside on the clothesline to get that outside smell.
  47. Sleep in the treehouse.
  48. Sit on a hill and watch a sunset.
  49. Blow bubbles.
  50. Go to a state park.
  51. Play hopscotch in the driveway.
  52. Climb trees.
  53. Make a compost pit and learn how food breaks down.
  54. Go running in the rain.
  55. Write poetry in the park.
  56. Play "Pooh Sticks."
  57. Go to the farmer's market.
  58. Collect leaves and press them for your leaf collection.
  59. Finally learn the names of the birds you hear every day.
  60. Watch butterflies "puddle" at the edge of a mud puddle after a rainstorm.
  61. See a rainbow.
  62. Do a springtime photo shoot.
  63. Play with water balloons (and pick up all the pieces afterward).
  64. Make smores over a campfire.
  65. Hold hands with someone while you're walking outside.
  66. Go to the zoo.
  67. Run through the sprinkler.
  68. Sit under a tree and read.
  69. Go fishing.
  70. Find a butterfly on a flower and watch it use its proboscis. 
  71. Make your own slip-n-slide.
  72. Wear new flip-flops outside.
  73. Make rock pets out of rocks you find on a walk.
  74. Feed geese at a public pond.
  75. Write with sidewalk chalk.
  76. Go sailing.
  77. Play music outside on the porch.
  78. Hug a tree.
  79. Create a tiny "world" out of things you find in nature.
  80. Find the moon each night and keep a moon journal.
  81. Eat outside at your favorite restaurant.
  82. Watch bees in the garden.
  83. Make a birdhouse (don't decorate it--not always safe for the birds).
  84. Wash your car the old fashioned way--with a hose and sponge!
  85. Save the worms stranded on the sidewalk after a rainstorm.
  86. Squish your toes in mud.
  87. Make an outdoor scavenger hunt for someone else.
  88. Play with hula hoops.
  89. Make clover crowns--and wear them!
  90. Play catch.
  91. Make leaf prints with paint.
  92. Ride a scooter.
  93. Go for a horse drawn carriage ride with your sweetie in the evening.
  94. Walk across a bridge.
  95. Make mud pies and decorate them.
  96. Eat ice cream while walking outside in the sun.
  97. Wear bright new hats out in the sun.
  98. Go to a botanical garden.
  99. Play capture the flag.
  100. Go canoeing.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Boston: Blossoming from Disaster

This morning I woke up and looked out on a rainy grey morning. But then I realized that it was less grey than usual. Seemingly overnight, little green leaves have appeared on every tree and bush, brushing the landscape with a hope of sorts: the promise of spring.

And there was one tree off in the distance with white flowers on it. It reminded me that above everything else, we can rise and blossom. And we must.


Today I am not concerned about sharing strong opinions. I am exhausted from seeing the same footage from Boston and thinking about how the victims' lives have changed forever. I know that it is perhaps rude of me to say that I'm tired since I'm not there, but I don't think I'm the only one to have this sentiment. We need to stop seeing photos of carnage and continue grieving so that we, as a country, can start healing.

So, today is about remembering the victims of the Boston bombings and working together to move forward. Here's a great USA Today article with some ways we can help Boston recover.

Let's stick together. Let's stay strong.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring Knitting/Crocheting Patterns

Happy First Day of Spring!!! Has spring sprung where you are, yet? It definitely hasn't here! Our high today is only 37 degrees. Brr!

It's cold, so we have to still wear "winter wear." But it's spring, so we want to wear bright, fun colors! I decided that I would share some of my favorite patterns of things to make to keep you warm, but still be fun and cute for spring!

The middle flower.
1. Crocheted Flower Scarf. This is actually a triangle pattern, but I only did the flower in the middle. I'm going to make a bunch of them and join them together as a scarf! This way, if you wrap it around a few times it will keep you warm, but you can still use it when it gets a little warmer because it's so thin.









Fun starburst scarf!
2. Crocheted Starburst Granny Square Scarf. I love this starburst pattern--it's really easy and I just made a few squares and put them together! Make it in crazy bright colors and it'll really pop. 

Don't have time to make it? Pick your own colors and buy it here.









3. Knitted Fun Fur Scarf. This one is very easy:
Pair a regular yarn (mine is orange) with a fun fur (blue).
Optional: Add any other yarn or fiber you want to knit in (I used a string of multi-colored puffballs.). -->
Grab your size 10 needles.
Cast on as many stitches as you want your scarf to be wide. I think this one is 20 stitches wide.
Knit.
Keep knitting until your scarf is as long as you want it to be.
Cast off.
Sew in ends.
Wear with a fabulous attitude!

Who doesn't love fun fur?!
Not in the mood to make it? Buy it here.

It's hard for knitters and crocheters to get excited about spring because we usually can't wear or use what we make--it's too hot! But this year, we've got it in the bag. It's freezing outside and people are looking forward to spring.

So grab your coffee, yarn, and put in a good movie. Happy knitting/crocheting on this chilly spring day!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi