This bag I made for myself, to try out an idea...I bought the Parisian themed fabric while in Japan, thinking I would make something to go with my bathroom theme...then decided it would make a great bag! Notice the hot pink lining for pizzaz.
I made this for my Mama for her Mother's Day gift. I'm horrible at documenting my work, but the very knowledge of the fact that there are some people reading this who like to see my projects sometimes reminds me to take a photo (even if it's just a crappy one on my phone cam). This bag features a zipper, one strap and two interior pockets, one of which is perfect for glasses...all elements that I knew my mom would appreciate in her handbag. She proudly totes it and is a great promoter!
Top: for Aislinn, a little crinkle cotton knit nightgown with lettuce edging at hem and sleeves.
Bottom: for Ava, a tangerine stripe cotton knit crossover dress with contrasting floral trim at neck. (I intended to do a lettuce edge here too, but this knit didn't have the stretch and recovery for it to look nice.)
The garden is coming along quite nicely. So far we have planted lettuces, sugar snap peas, two varieties of tomatoes, basil, a pepper plant, various beautiful herbs, and the strawberry bed is really looking promising this year (for the first time ever!) I have covered the bed with net tulle to keep out the birds and chipmunks, so perhaps this year I'll be able to make some jam. I checked yesterday and should have picked the five that were nearly ripe, because the rainy weather caused some of them to prematurely rot. Oh well. These two will be shared among the children.
What fun can be had at a sheep and wool festival? Well, if you are a color and texture loving person like MK (MK's summary of the festival is here ) and me, you'd have loads of fun petting delicious skeins of yarns and bundles of rovings (pictured), fingering woven, knitted and crocheted textiles, admiring skillfully crafted spinning wheels and looms, and patting angora bunnies, goats, sheep, llamas and my favorite, alpacas! There were a pair being sold for $1500, and it was sure tempting...(I think I've mentioned here that is one of my dreams, to have an alpaca farm. I am doubtful of it actualizing, but it still remains an interest.) I saw so many beautiful colors and patterns, my eyes could scarcely drink them in, and choosing my favorite yarn would be impossible. The two skeins I came home with, however, are a gorgeous deep, dark varigated purple/black/indigo wool/camel blend. This fiber "blooms" when washed and tumbled without heat, which means the fibers open up and get very, very soft almost like felting. It is my intention to make a shawl, poncho or some kind of wrap for myself...I'll try to remember to post it when it is ever finished.
Last week I had coffee with my cousin at Donna's and liked the waiter so much, I decided to return this weekend...Well, the food there is really good and the location is pretty too. I have never eaten at a restaurant alone before. It's been one of the things to do on my list of things do to now that I'm single. I'm not sure if sitting at the bar to eat counts as dining alone, but I've got to start somewhere. The bartender was really nice, and since I was the only one keeping him company (even though it was an insanely busy night there) we made pleasant conversation. I also got to see some of the behind the scenes stuff which was fun too. Like the worn out waitress who had the table of 15+ people who had a bill of over $300! She said she didn't even know how many were at the table, they kept coming and going. The disappearance of the white wine "special" and the impailing of the bartender's hand on the snapped stem of a wine glass. (I saw three glasses break while sitting there.) I was able to keep an eye on my favorite waiter too, but wasn't feeling bold enough for anything beyond that. After my delicious roast beef sandwich and pinot noir, I took myself duckpin bowling. I'm a horrible bowler, in fact, for the first few rounds I accidently was hitting the reset button instead of the clear lane button (so that lowered my score a bit). I bowled two games at 77 the first and 66 the second, I couldn't even break 100! And these were duckpins people! I think the swirling colored lights and strobe effects for rock'n bowl were impairing my performance... then I ended the evening with Inge and Greg playing some games and talking until the wee small hours of the morning. (Thanks again you two for putting me up! or was it putting up with me?)
Next morning at the Christian Life and Witness class, I sat next to my friend Nancy and when it was over, she remarked, "You're a fun date. No pressure at the end either." I have to agree, I was a fun date. I'll have to do it again sometime.
I guess she was punchy after having been up until 8:45pm while the kids attended DC4K and I attended DivorceCare tonight. I had the children change into their pjs in the car before we headed home, in hopes that one or all the children might doze off during the thirty minute car ride. I even told the boys to keep their voices quiet, so L could fall asleep. But before we had even pulled onto I-70 she was grabbing shoes off the seat next to her, flinging them behind her whith a flourish, and laughing hilariously. The boys didn't find this very funny, since they both got hit with sneakers. When she ran out of shoes she started hurtling their shirts and pants back at them, and laughing with the most evil flair. Finally, all that was left were the underpants, and she grabbed and flung them too, while hollaring "Underwayah! Underwayah! Underwayah! Ha Ha Ha Ha." I couldn't fight it any longer, I was concentrating so hard on stifling my laughter, that I missed my exit and had to back track a bit to get to I-695. Needless to say, no one fell asleep on the way home.
*"Semper ubi sub ubi" is a little play on Latin words meaning: Always where under where. It makes little sense on paper, but when spoken, kids learning Latin find this phrase very amusing.
I started my free trial offer of Netflix last week. (I watched Office Space last week, totally hilarious btw!) What a great idea! This is so much better than schlepping three kids into the Blockbuster only to have them argue and complain about the movies I suggest and having their heads filled with all sorts of suggestions from movie covers and posters. I'm super exited to be getting the first dvd of season 1 of THE MUPPETS! It should be arriving tomorrow...I'm not sure who will enjoy it more, me or the children. Netflix also has a huge selection of obscure movies too, like 321 Penguins episodes and old movies I've been looking all over for such as Hot Lead, Cold Feet. Best of all no late fees!
We only have one bathroom in our cute little abode. Oftentimes it happens that two or three of us need to "go" at the same time, which is a source of minor frustration for the boys especially. The other day while I was having my turn in the lav, I heard an impatient knocking from D. Instead of waiting a mere two minutes, he "went" right out the kitchen door. I guess that Prettiness was impressed by this skill of relieving oneself in the open air, so she also tried it. Unfortunately this was her first attempt at peeing while squatting and made quite a mess. Just about an half hour ago, without telling me she needed to go, she slipped out the kitchen door and had another "go".... this is a difficult skill to teach a two-year-old, and even I am not 100% accurate but that may be due to lack of practice (it's been a while since I've been camping). Perhaps I should just put her little potty outside during the nice weather.
Simply gorgeous weather today, by the way. It reached the upper 80's and was sunny with the perfect amount of breeze. I would have gotten up early and enjoyed more of the day outside, but I spent a late night catching up with MK until 1:30 am. I did manage to get to the park and walk three miles this morning. Then I had to catch up on the sewing work I've procrastinated all week long. But really it's been an enjoyable day. Tomorrow's forcast: back to the 60's. Gotta love the weather in Baltimore, if you don't like it, just wait five minutes. A week and a half ago, it snowed!
*The lovely cluster of red tulips is blooming right outside the wonderful fence my dad built last year to protect my garden from the very hungry white tail deer that like to graze here.
I spent a good chunk of the weekend at the Fresh Start Seminars this weekend. I attended this last year and was, to put it mildly, a tad overwhelmed. It is a lot of information to absorb in a short period of time. Last year I found that I was somewhere in the vacinity of "Depression" and "Acceptance" on the slippery slope of recovery. I am glad to say that this year I find myself on the brink of the final stage of "Forgiveness". I say on the brink, because I haven't actually told M that I have forgiven him. I'm not quite there yet, but I believe that I no longer hold the wrongs he committed against me against him. Sometimes I even pray for him, although I confess it isn't on a regular basis.
So, I've been pretty busy lately. Some of you have expressed disappointment in the reduction of my posts. All I can say is, "Get a hobby people!" No, I'm kidding. I appreciate that some of you enjoy reading these bits of my thoughts and daily life. Thank you for continuing to check in.
The pace of my life recently seems to have sped up and I can hardly keep up, but I am enjoying spending more time in my sewing studio in the evenings as well as more time outdoors as the weather warms. Some of the work I have been doing is for my cousin's handbag business which I am pleased to say is growing. (Check it out, buy one for Mother's Day.) I expect that as the children get older that I will be spending even more time sewing. It is the one job that I continue to enjoy and feel I am really good at.
On the second Sunday of every month, my sons, instead of having regular Sunday school, attend a presentation by missionary(ies) that our church sponsors. Every time they attend this "Second Sunday" they are supposed to bring their lanyard. I think this was instituted last year sometime, and prior to the change in the regular schedule I recieved a note in the mail explaining what this "Second Sunday" was all about and to make sure my children bring their lanyards with them on that Sunday. What the heck is a lanyard? I didn't bother to look it up, probably some minor crisis erupted in the house that I needed to attend to at that very moment I read the note. My children came home from their first second Sunday with a bright yellow lanyard hanging about their necks with some laminated tags dangling at their bellies, but really I didn't know that was what that thing was called, so for a few months, being still clueless I failed to send my children to church prepared.
Last week as I rounded the exit ramp on I-83 on our way to church, I realized, "We forgot our lanyards!" but we were running late already. Upon depositing the boys in their class I had a brief exchange with another mom who also had forgotten her child's lanyard, and I admitted that had it not been for Second Sunday, I wouldn't have known what a lanyard was.
On Friday night, I spent the evening in my sewing studio working and listening to the poems of Billy Collins on a cd that I had borrowed from the library. It had been quite a while since I had laughed so heartily, but it was his poem The Lanyard which really touched me. I could easily relate to the imagery of ricocheting through the room...I've often found myself lost in the dictionary after looking up one word and then just continuing to read like it was a novel. I couldn't decide if the tears I shed while listening to The Lanyard were because of my own feeble attempts at offering my mother tokens of my appreciation, or because now I am the recipient of such things. Perhaps it is equally both.
Wanna learn how to make one like Billy's? Here's how.
While I sit here tapping away at the keyboard, there is another tapping/scratching going on in the house. No, it isn't the children, they are snuggly nestled in their beds, I believe we've got ourselves a mouse in the house. I can't be certain, since the scratching and chewing(?!) sounds seem to be eminating from the dryer duct. The really weird part is that today it was about 83 degrees and I just had the dryer going about an hour or so before I started to hear the noises. It's not like the rodent needed to warm up, it's pleasantly balmy out tonight... The real question is how to let the little critter free. It's obviously trapped in the vertical ducting. And the other questions are, how adventurous am I feeling tonight? and can I sleep with all that noise right outside my bedroom door?
In other critter creature news, today K received part II of his birthday gift from me, two Fire Bellied Toads. One is bright green and the other is brown. K hasn't named them yet, but I'm hoping he comes up with something a little more interesting than "Browny" and "Greeny", which I think he was considering on the way home from the pet shop.
Alright, I just detached the flexible ducting from the verticle tube and lowered it to a cardboard box...maybe the mouse will just crawl out now and I can set it free... I guess I have to wait this one out. I don't want it running around freely.
update: I think the mouse is actually trapped between the walls! So what now? Just let it starve to death? Gross! And I just whacked a ginormous spider that scurried by. That one was big enough to charge rent! Oh, what a night.
Seven years ago today, I faced the closest thing to my own death in the birth of my first-born son, K. It was a fairly easy pregnancy, however towards the end there were some concerns about the level of amniotic fuid, and the large size of the baby. I needed monitering regularly for the last few weeks to make sure he wasn't under stress. My doctor decided it would be necessary to induce labor at 38 weeks (2 weeks early). I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am eager to deliver, a little nervous about the procedure, but anxious to see and touch my son. I was hooked up to IVs, and various other equipment and then I just had to wait...the contractions would slowly increase to push the baby down and out...Twelve hours later I was told it was time to push. After three hours of pushing and complete exhaustion my son was laid on my chest, but I was too weak to support him. Then they weighed him 9lbs 5oz! It was another hour before I was "patched up" again and then I was told to try and nurse him right away, I wanted to, but wasn't sure how to do it. A nurse helped me. In the lobby many relatives were waiting to meet this new person for the first time. I wanted to sleep and not be bothered by anyone, but allowed them all to come in in groups of twos and threes. It was overwhelming. Too weak to move, I was gurneyed to the recovery room as midnight approached; I hadn't slept or had a meal for thirty-six hours and was famished. My mother procured a grilled cheese sandwich from the cafeteria which I nearly swallowed whole and after sending my newborn precious son to the nursery, promptly fell asleep until about 5:30 am. I woke with a start, panicked that I hadn't nursed him enough but when I called for him they told me he was still sleeping. I was bed-ridden, still catherterized, because the staff decided I shouldn't have to get up for a while...they were right. Moving was the most excruciating experience (worse than the labor itself) and I was petrified at the thought of sneezing or coughing. The post-natal pain gradually decreased but lasted for months.
But that was seven years ago, today I am totally healthy, and fully functional. I have a very active and healthy son who can ride a bike without training wheels, can read, write, do addition and subtraction and is creatively expressive and thoughtful. He is, and has been since his birth, an easy going, mellow child- totally worth the effort and the pain. I am tremendously thankful to God for bringing this child into my life, and for his brother and sister (and that their births were virtually effortless compared to his).
Happy Birthday, K!
Today, K finally got the bicycling thing down! We've been working at it off and on since last Spring and it's just completely frustrated him. It warmed up enough for me to actually want to be outside, and I got my bike out, filled the tires and rode around the parking lot while the boys rode their scooters and Prettiness pushed a stroller around. Without prompting, K took his bike out too and tried riding it with the kick-stand down. When I suggested I hold on to his seat and run alongside, he was hesitant. I was patiently persistent, and finally he agreed to try. Once he got moving I didn't need to hold on, but I was giving him confidence, like Dumbo's feather. After a couple minutes, K said, "I know you aren't holding on anymore," so I stopped running. Just like that, he got it. I've never seen him prouder.
I had a good time in Philly with Tif again. We missed the First Friday galleries, because we couldn't find a place to park that was close enough. We drove around for about an hour looking...it was really, really cold Friday night. Tif said, "The artwork is good, but it's not that good," to want to walk ten plus blocks in booger freezing cold weather. I was disappointed though, I drove up early with the sole purpose to see the galleries. Then we walked to the Standard Tap for some warming pub fare, but discovered there was an hour wait. We were too hungry to wait, so we walked over to a place called "Azure" where we ended up waiting almost an hour anyway. At least the food was really good. But we did get to meet up with a some fiber artists on Saturday and check out their wares, and I realized that I need to nurture the creative/artist part of me more. (Apparently there are lots of fun things I can make with drier lint that I never knew about.) Just being in the city helps to recharge that creative spirit within me.
Apparently it's contagious, and even though L's fever has subsided, she's not 100%. Now I've got "it" and thought today I was on the mend, but alas...none such luck, at least not yet.
K and D have managed to entertain themselves pretty well while I am sick, and have discovered one of my favorite childhood pasttimes, playing in the woods. Today they returned from their adventures covered in mud with huge smiles on their ruddy faces. Sometimes they dig for bottles and things, today, they were stacking tires. I guess even today people use the beautiful woods as a public dumping ground.
We've found some pretty interesting things in the woods adjacent to our property. As a kid I used to play in an old rusted out VW convertible halfway down the hill. The story was that it was a getaway car for a robbery. The theives came up the driveway thinking it was a through street and when they got to the top, just gunned it into the woods. (At least that's how I remember it.) There was an old swingset, the tacky metal kind, but the ladder was procured by mom to be a climbing support for some peas or something. Many, many old milk (and other) bottles have been collected too. I like to line them up on the window ledge and let the southern sunlight dance across them.
Nothing warms a bed on a cold night better than a feverish two-year old. L came home last night from her dad's with a temp over 101. So to pamper her a little, I granted her wish to sleep in my big comfy bed with me (and Pooh Bear, Doggie-dog, Meow-meow, and Bunny). There was hardly any room for me, but I managed to find a spot.
It's snowing again, just heavy flurries, no accumulation expected, and we are watching Sesame Street. I usually let the kids watch more T.V. or movies when they are ill, it's a special treat.
I'm not dissappointed to have our plans cancelled today. After a very busy week, and an even busier weekend, I'm still recooperating from all the activity.
