Sewing, Close To 1,000, and Carnival Fish

For Mother's Day Eric (and Cordelia) got me the book Sew Anything Workshop by Diana Rupp. Diana Rupp wrote the book as an extension of her sewing for beginners workshop. While I'd call myself a nearly intermediate seamstress I decided to start this book from the very beginning. I am working through even the smallest, simplest projects and going up a bit. So far (sew far) I've learned a few new tips and tidbits that only a pro could teach. I am really excited about the whole thing. So excited in fact that I am making two of everything with the plan to give away some of the projects on this very blog.

You see my daily blogs have been adding up over the years and I am swiftly approaching my 1,000th blog! While I am preparing gifts and such to give away I think I will also give away a copy of this fun sewing book. So keep posted and in about a month we'll have a big blog celebration with gifts and fun. Like a blog carnival....actually not carnival-esque at all.

***Side note***I once went to a carnival in South Dakota and won two fish. My parents let me go with an uncle and they were not pleased that he brought me back with fish. My parents toted those two goldfish all the way back to Montana in a large cup, then a bowl, then a tank. The fish were named Lighting and Shiner (I was young, don't judge me). Anyway they lived long happy goldfish lives. ***End of side note***

A Differet Way of Living

It seems as though it was a different person living a different life, but I did have a professional job not all that long ago. I wore business clothes, rubbed shoulders with executives, mayors, the governor, and other highly motivated successful types. Sometimes I would get really into the whole thing and go crazy with presentations, event planning, and all of that kind of stuff. I felt sort of like I was playing a part. I am not really a highly organized type of girl. Sure I can do it and I can do it well, but I am not that person.

If left to my own devices I'd like to let the weather and my mood dictate my day, but oddly enough those highly motivated capitol hill (capitol of Colorado I mean) types weren't really on board with my way of life.

Each week I'd start out by making a bullet point list of what I was working on for our staff meetings. My bullet points would look something like this:

Old Week in Bullet Points

• Plan for executive meeting.
• Plan for board of director's meeting
• Prepare for budget meeting
• Tax prep
  
• Plan board retreat
• Work with PR Committee
• You get the idea

Now things are different, not quite dictated by the weather and my mood, but a lot more natural and free form. I no longer have a real need to bullet point my life. My boss is much smaller and cuter (though my last boss was petite and lovely).

Current week in bullet points:

• Friends visit. Baby, toddler, etc.
• Thesis, moving along. Soon to be sent off.
  
• Cordelia, stood up independently!
• Summer days, pink lemonade
• Reading
• Sewing
• Planning trip to Montana
• Walking with Bumblebee
• Cleaning

What does your week in bullet points look like?

First Unofficial Summer Day

Yesterday was a perfect weather type of day. Just when things started to get a little warm a breeze would come through and even it all out again. We took Cordelia to the park and she was horrified to feel the grass on her bare feet. Mostly it was a laid back summer day. I even busted out the first glass of pink lemonade because I meant business.

How was your day?

The Girl Who Loved Worms

When I was a young girl, age 4. I was living in the greater Seattle area. Truthfully I was living there with my parents, it's not like I was out there on my own, making my mark on the world. Anyway, it's right around that age that my memory really solidifies. I have many bits of memories before that phase, but right around 4 is when it all came into clear focus for me.

I remember riding a rocking horse during a storm and watching the flashes of light make bold shadows on the wall of my bedroom. I remember the way that my pink tutu felt (like heaven if you must know). I remember when my baby brother Ben came home from the hospital and I loved him so much. I actually recall making my friends wash their hands before they could even look at him. I remember going to the bathroom outside, like a boy...not my most successful venture. I remember eating cat food. I remember my imaginary friends. I remember the hills in Seattle. Then I remember the worms...

I loved worms, still do. I had a family of worms that I would play with. Certainly they weren't always the same worms, but in my 4 year old brain they were. I'm not really sure what it was that I loved about them, but I did. Later I had a worm farm in an aquarium.

Since my early friendships with these invertebrates I have held them in high esteem. When it rains outside I know that they can't resist themselves and the worms emerge from the soil. Since they don't have brains we cannot really expect them to have enough sense to know when to return to the earth. My heart hurts when I see them struggling about on the warm cement. So, it's become my duty to rescue these blind little slimy fellows. A walk after the rain can turn from a 20 minute stroll into a search and rescue operation. I love 'em.

The other day when I mentioned that Eric had spent time rescuing these little guys I told you it was an act of love. Yes, he hates to see anything suffer, but also he know how much I love worms.

Wow, I've written a remarkable amount about worms. I promise never to do it again...unless you really want me to.

PS If this is your 1st time visiting my blog...I'm sorry.

My First and Only Hickey

I remember in high school there was always that person who would show off their hickey like a badge of honor. I was always grossed out by that, definitely not cool. I have always thought hickeys were for weird dysfunctional people who were just desperate for attention, even if it came in the form of ugly purple bruising.

Well today it is time for me to step off my high horse. I have my first hickey at 29 years old. I was given this mark of distinction by none other than my daughter. Here's how the hickey came to being...

I had just fed Miss Cordelia and we were walking around a store, waiting as my mother tried on some new clothes. She was particularly excited about these clothes because she was stepping outside of her style box (they were good finds by the way). I was looking at a display, a bit distracted I'll admit, when Cordelia bit down (toothlessly) on my shoulder. An employee of the store said, "She must be teething." I said something like, "People have been telling me she was teething for 6 months and still there's nothing there." All the while Cordelia was working her magic. When finally got a pacifier into her mouth there it was, my first hickey.

It isn't really that noticeable, but there it is purple and red. Even worse it kind of looks like I did it to myself. Who says you can't still be awkward at my age?

A Few of My Favorite Things

I thought I'd Share a few of my favorite things today...


A husband who told me that he spent a bunch of time outside of his work rescuing worms who were at risk because he loves me and knows that I have a soft spot in my heart for worms. I think I will have to explain that at another point.

Just knowing that Montana is waiting for me. I bet it's so beautiful right now.

Catching up with my brother Ben on his day off, via telephone.

I got this t-shirt at Macy's. I am not huge on mall shopping, but it was just to cool to resist. It was on sale in the juniors department and I got it for a few bucks. If it's not from a thrift store at least it's at thrift store pricing. I made the hair clip myself.

Sitting around last night talking with my youngest brother Sam about our strengths and weaknesses.

The sewing books Sweet Booties, The Feisty Stitcher.Sewing Bits and Pieces, and Fabric Scrapping. I love looking through a cool new project book. I read through them like literature, taking in the details and trying to catalog them in my brain for a rainy day project.

A little girl who is standing up, creeping and kind of crawling (but mostly log rolling).

Our camera, Charlemagne, a Cannon Rebel xsi EOS 12.2 megapixel. Here is a link to a similar camera, not quite the same.

Flowers that are blooming out of every tree around town, it's gorgeous.

What are a few of your favorite things right now?

Things of Beauty

Yesterday was one of those days where I found myself struck by all of the beauty surrounding me. I was once again filled with gratitude for the life that I am living and for the sense to know how precious it all is.

Rain on the window



My daughter


Vaccuum tracks and a happy Bumblebee



Message on the bathroom mirror

What is beautiful in your life?

What We Did This Weekend

Well, this was a quiet and lovely weekend. Lots of time spent with my family, hanging out with my hubby and daughter, parents and youngest brother.

Saturday morning Eric, Cordelia, Bumblebee, and I drove across town to the local master gardener's sale. We met my mother there and enjoyed picking out plants. I got some more thyme and tomatoes, some rosemary, and cabbage. My mother picked a bunch of lamb's ear for a particularly tricky patch of her yard.

Later in the day Sam joined us and we all toured an old historic home. I love looking at older homes. This one was particularly interesting because someone had lived in it until 1997 so there was a mix of old and new, so Wyoming!

Sunday was a bit more laid back, but we did watch the finale of Lost. Anybody else on board with that? What did you think of the finale? I decided that the vague finale was best, I couldn't have been satisfied with any firm answers.

Did you get sucked in or do you have a life? What did you do this weekend?

A Bit of Wyoming

Just a quiet day in Wyoming, clouds creeping over the mountains.

Afternoon

A few photos to share some of our slow afternoon. Quiet, comfortable, full of love.

Afternoon Nap

Enjoying the spring breeze


Looking


Getting another vegan dinner ready

Project: Super Fast Spring Scarf

I know it's not winter scarf season, but it's perfectly acceptable to wear a stylish spring scarf and this project is just that. I saw something like this in a sewing project book somewhere, but for the life of me I cannot recall what book. I just took the general idea and ran with it, though I think you could make a rug using the same technique. The whole project takes under half an hour, just right for people with little time on their hands. There is a lot of room for creativity and you can really use up your scraps and notions.

1) First you will need to gather yarn, fabric scraps, ribbon, or whatever you have laying around. You will also need to get some water soluble stabilizer, it comes in 8 x 10 sheets. I cut the sheets in half lengthwise for this particular project, but you'll see that you can pretty much make any desired shaped with a little careful planning.


2) Lay flat 1/2 of the stabilizer sheets. In this instance I wanted a long rectangle for my scarf shape. Then I piled my yarn on top of the stabilizer, spreading it evenly throughout. You can do this with anything you can sew through.

3) Once you have a good even distribution you will lay the other half of the paper on top. Then pin it all together into a package, like so...

4) Then take your package and sew all over in whatever manner you like. I chose to go crazy and do whatever I wanted since much of my yarn was heavily textured I didn't have to worry about the thread being particularly visible. If you try to do this with solid fabric scraps you could use the sewing as a cool accent, maybe with a contrasting color.

5) Take out all of the pins once you are confident that you've sewn enough that the bits will stay together. Then toss the whole paper package in the wash and the paper will magically disappear. I stood there and watched the water pour over the paper package and it dissolved instantly, kind of cool. You'll be left with a nice unique spring scarf.

Bumblebee Approves!

Awkward, Really Awkward

I think it's safe to say that we have all have felt awkward at some point in our lives. Sometimes it's all in our minds and other times...it's definitely not. I think I hit my awkward stride when I was in junior high.

I said the wrong things at exactly the wrong times, thinking I was hilarious and then feeling the sting when my attempts at humor were not realized.

My body was disproportionate, think child sized torso and adult sized limbs and for some reason my teeth were not quite right, though I can't put my finger on just what it was. I never had braces so it's just one of the great mysteries of life.

I was incredibly self-aware. It must have been painful just to be around my awkwardness. Seriously it wasn't a good scene. Add to that the first hints of adolescent acne and size 11 shoes and you have a pretty good picture of where I was at.

So you can imagine that I was not too eager when school photo time came around. I practiced my "look" in my upstairs bathroom. I decided that I had to wear blue as my blue eyes were the only feature that hadn't been distorted by adolescence. I had to play to my strengths.

Then I took a good look at my forehead and noticed my first smattering of pimples, ugh! I remember thinking that they were less obvious if I raised my eyebrows, creating wrinkles in my forehead. So that's how I decided to take my photo. Now without further ado I present you with this photographic gem....

You may be wondering why I am showing this to you. The answer is simple, because it's hilarious. Each time this photo shows up we all get a good laugh, I think mostly because the "look" was so calculated and the end result is so painfully awkward. So I hope you enjoyed this and maybe recalled your awkward moments, care to share some details of your awkward phase? Don't worry it's quite liberating!

Sickness

Before she was sick

I have a sick baby on my hands. She's been flirting with illness for days, but it's finally settled in and she's sick. She looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to feed her breakfast, she actually gagged and spit it out (so dramatic) and then she smiled. As I am writing this I can hear her little whine in the background, calling for her mom (she's with her dad, not sitting alone crying). She's not desperately ill or anything, just desperately needy.So I am ready for a day of snuggles and nose wiping. I know how important it is to be with your mom when sick and now that's my job!

What are you up to today? I hope you are well.

An Annual and Perennial Event

Without even trying my mother and I have created something of an annual outing. Even before we were living in the same town it would seem that every year we would go plant shopping together. We go to the greenhouses and wander about the aisles looking over the new growth.

parsley

My mom always is drawn to happy looking orange flowers. She loves orange. I am drawn more to culinary plants, mostly because my space is limited and I don't exactly have a place to show off this year, my garden is a container garden on our back porch as we are once again apartment dwellers.

romaine lettuce

I love that feeling of going into a greenhouse and looking at all of the colors and textures as I imagine the possibilities. It's not unlike a trip to the fabric store (we also stopped at a fabric store later). Although it's admittedly a bit warmer in a greenhouse.

tomato

I took my plant loot home and started re-potting, naming the plants as I go (because that's how I roll) and holding a little girl on my hip, her little hands eagerly examining the fresh soil and the textures of the new plants.

I cannot wait to taste my fresh tomatoes and lettuce over the course of the summer. A snip of fresh oregano or basil adds just the right touch this time of year.

Laramie

Cordelia at the hotel


Bumblebee on the a/c at the hotel


Cordelia and I


The Flea Market


Yep, the pants with plants is still there.


Eric eatin' a veg meal, of course


A regional entertainer at the banquet


Moon over Laramie

We just got home from a quick trip to Laramie. Eric had a conference and we decided to bring the whole gang. Packing for our whole family is quite a challenge. Gone are the days of Eric and I throwing a few things into a bag.

We were happy to visit the local flea market, it is huge and has pretty much everything you could imagine. We ate at the local veg restaurant, Sweet Melissa's, and we shopped at the food co-op. In the evening we went to a banquet and Cordelia tried to make some professional contacts...a quick trip, but a nice break from normal life.

What have you been up to?

Guess Where I've Been?

We took a quick trip out of town to Laramie. Haven't been there in 2 years, when my brother Ben and his wife Sara were still living there.

Pants and Plants

Last time we were there we discovered this little display at a Flea Market. Tomorrow I will tell you if it was still there and I will give you all of the thrilling updates about our travel adventures. What have you been up to?

The State of Things

We had some snow this past week, in fact it was several inches of snow. Thankfully it is warm enough that it quickly melted and the flowers all seem to have survived. There is still snow on the mountains in the distance, but it's slowly receding and soon it will be hiding in the shadows right on the top of the mountain. I am getting anxious for spring, or at this point summer. I have seedlings which are ready and raring to go. Container garden season is upon us. Are you planting yet?

Last week our little family was a bit sick with the springtime sniffles, thankfully it wasn't bad and it is all passing quickly.

Eric had his follow up dental work yesterday and he came home with a lopsided face, it was really cute. I laughed at him for a while and kept asking him to smile for me. He said his eyelid was even numb.

Next month we are taking a trip to our beloved Montana! We are so excited to introduce Cordelia and Bumblebee to the homeland. You haven't seen beauty until you've seen Montana in the spring. Oh, my heart hurts when I think about it. I can't wait!!!! Have you ever been to Montana? Do you have a place that you think of as home?

The Bald and the Beautiful

All is well here in Wyoming, life is rolling right along. Can you believe that Cordelia is quickly approaching 8 months old? She'll be walking and talking before too long, but right now her hurdle is crawling. She is really undecided about it all. Some days she just log rolls everywhere, other days she inches along in the army crawl, and then some days she wobbles back and forth on her hands and knees before pitching forward into the carpet. Most times though her motivation is to get to where ever Bumblebee happens to be.

Also, on a side note, Bumblebee has a bladder infection. Just in case you were interested in that sort of thing...

How are things where you are?

Project: Tri-Cornered Table

A few years ago Eric and I were wandering around a thrift store in Denver, looking for something to rescue. We happened to find a tri-cornered table for $3 (why is it that I can remember how much we paid for it). It was pretty cool, just had old fabric around the edges. Well, one thing led to the next and we didn't replace the fabric...until now.

You can see that cats had attacked the fabric, it was that way when we got it and then our cats added the finishing touches.

We removed the ancient fabric, yes it was ancient and also gross.

Next I cut out the new fabric. While I was at the fabric store earlier in the day I called Eric and asked if he had anything in mind. He said "Maybe something that sticks with our mid-century look. How about a mustard yellow?" I love a man with an artistic opinion and my hubby is an artist so thank goodness he has an opinion because I was pretty much overwhelmed by the fabric. You know how it is in a fabric store, too many possibilities. Textures, prints, weaves, it can all be too much for any good decisions to be made. So, I took his direction and found a lovely golden velvety fabric.

After a collaborative effort, a couple of vegan burritos, some Cordelia play time, a little Roxy Music and a couple of hours we had the tri-cornered table revamped and on display.

Mother's Day

I just realized I forgot to tell you about my very first mother's day. So here it is in all of it's glory.

I woke up in the morning to a sweet smiling baby face and Cordelia was there too. Eric and I often write notes to each other on the bathroom mirror and I found this one first thing in the morning.

I was gifted with this sewing book. Wahoo, more to learn in the sewing world.

My daughter and I spent the day together, as is our usual habit. I was hoping she'd crawl, but still not quite there.

For the afternoon my mother came over. We gave her cards and a gift. Then Eric my mom and I went out for coffee (my dad had to head out of town). Then my mom and I bought each other mother's day dresses. She got a flouncy polka dot number and I got a couple of nice dresses that I can nurse in (always a wardrobe consideration now). I also passed on a couple of items because I though, "I can just make that."

Oh and my mom got Cordelia the cutest little outfit, looks old school Parisian. Photos will come fast and furious I'm sure!

Finally we met up with my youngest brother Sam and had a yummy Mexican dinner. Cordelia was definitely over it, but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. Overall it was a wonderful day! I got to feel super special which is always good. I certainly feel like I am now part of a secret society, us mothers like to give each other knowing smiles and reassuring winks. Nice stuff.

Like Father, Like Daughter

You may not know this, but my hubby is a pretty serious percussionist. He has been playing since childhood and right through college and grad school. So it wasn't a huge surprise when I was 8 months pregnant that I felt my then unborn daughter grooving around in utero while we were at a percussion concert.

I have told you how much she loves to dance with Lady Gaga. She also loves to bang on pots and pans and her favorite toys are all sound makers.

A few days ago Eric decided to take it to the next level. He let her bang on the drums and wow, she was in heaven!

For your information, Lady Gaga was playing on the ipod as she was jamming out.