So how cool is this?

I just added a little thingy to the side bar of the page. This really cool gal is making these grocery bags out of heavy-duty rice bags that would normally be added to the landfill. Instead, she has sewn them into durable FUNCTIONAL shopping bags. AND! Proceeds go to benefit an Orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Read more about it here. Be sure to order a bag, or 7.


---editing to say, that her shop is closed until March 1st, will put the widget back up then---

impossibly {?} early

We have had the incredible fortune, for the last 3.5 years, to have a dear sweet elderly couple living directly across the street. They notice when we go somewhere for the day, when a new car is in our drive, when the kids climb too high in the maple tree out front. They plant WAY TOO MANY cucumbers each summer, and gladly share them by the bucket full. Conversations are always lively and full of memories of yesteryear.

UNfortunatly, they have decided it is time to make a move to warmer climates. Nearer their children, grand and great. Alas.

They thought I might like to have some of their old terra cotta planting pots. {Oh yeah!} And my husband an old, but completely useful and thrilling, piece of...tool....what would be the right word?...man stuff, whatever. He's over the moon. Me, too.

I mean, it's horrible to lose them as neighbors, but I can't help but feel like they will always hold a special place in our hearts, and that these wonderful things will keep those memories fresh.

Plus, I started my garden in them. Impossibly early? Yeah. I'm sure it is. I don't care. I have new pots.

I would pay a million dollars for a starbucks right now.

Snow day

When the weather outside is frightful...

...get out the construction paper, tape, and markers.

I'm invited

I received this very lucrative invitation today. If the lure of 5% cashback on my purchases wasn't enough to entice me, surely this pleather key chain would seal the deal. It's even made in China.

I've been doing a lot of praying lately. A lot. "Give me the patience to deal with this....let me respond out of love and not anger....please, give me the grace to get through the day.....could you please make them just be quiet??!!?" ...and so on.

It seems just as soon as "the boundaries" are set, the kids become boundary hunters. Is that boundary still there? Yes? Oh....if I keep pushing it, does it move? No? If I shout about it will it change? Huh. You mean there are still consequences to my actions? Right. How about now? Did anything change in the last two minutes? Oh. Gotcha. But what about this boundary? Is this one still the same? Man! What kind of racket is this?! I have to follow the rules?

Never, ever {EVER!!} pray for patience.

Sigh.

I'm just kidding of course....but be ready if you do pray that prayer....because the only way to LEARN patience, is to walk through the moments that allow you to practice patience. Thank the Lord! He is willing to shoulder the load. I could never do this in my own strength.

A metaphorical refurbishment project

Because this girl is mine, full of genetic grace, we have a lot of clothes that look like this:

Sometimes, we throw a bunch of stained goods in a batch of dye. I didn't have any on hand, and thought that this particular stain would be perfect for a strategic applique. We found the perfect piece to patch, and began:

The results pleased us both, and said spiller wanted to wear the renovated shirt "straight away."

Sure thing! That was last evening. Just before dinner. So before I could take this picture:

This happened:

Daddy didn't know that red Koolaid is contraband in these here parts.

Here we go again. This situation holds so many metaphors for my life. Spiritually. Daily motherhood-ly. Etc. Etc. Etc.

one year

One year ago, I pressed "publish post" and began this fun little adventure. How appropriate that my first post was about the passage of time. It goes so quickly. And here I sit again, marvelling at the speed at which it travels from present to past. I've not yet figured out a way to slow it down. {I'm still working on ways to remain mentally in the present.}

I wanted to do something special for you to mark this "occasion"....but time got away from me, and I didn't pull anything together. Sorry. One of these days I'll do something fun over here. Hopefully sooner than later....we'll see if I can manage to wrangle some time.


For now, thanks for joining me in this journey!

God bless.

Round and round and round

Not much going on upstairs today. I give you:

these things....what are they called? I think it's finally happened. My brain is beginning to atrophy.

Baklava.

40 flakey layers of deliciousness.

Two Silhouettes

1. Print out side profile photo on card stock.
2. Trim around outside profile, allowing for corrections--looks best if you increase shoulders, just ever so slightly.
3. Place backwards on contrasting paper, adhere with a thin coat of glue--or double stick tape.
4. Frame. Voila!

PSA

Coffee = Good

Cheese = Gooooood

Coffee + Cheese = Not so good

Mail of the best kind...

Got this fun bunch in the mail:

This is my favorite kind of washcloth, made by my favorite sister in law:

She said she chose a "manly" color so my husband wouldn't be afraid to do the dishes. (snicker)

The latest

I was asked the other day about my favorite medium...hmmm...

I thought about it. Do I have a favorite? Sure. What day is it? What way is the wind blowing? What do I have right here, right now? My favorite medium is which ever is the closest at hand when the mood strikes. Flaky? Perhaps.
Yesterday, I had yarn, a needle, this fabric that I'd stapled to a frame, and a little boy who's current favorite animal is the giraffe. So, yesterday's favorite medium was textile. Tomorrow? It will depend upon the wind.

armed and {very} dangerous

A weapon from my arsenal.

You would not believe the damage I can do with this bad boy.

Thinking of Spring

It's so lovely here today. The snow is melting away {for now} and I'm starting to get ahead of the season.

I can just imagine spring blossoms....flower boxes....galoshes....

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue.

Therapy

"Good things happen when we act nice."

So says I to the kids after lunch today, while handing them two of these lovelies. Conversely, when you yell at mommy in church as she's removing you from the sanctuary...

Wither I goest this night?

To a Jane Austen Book Club discussion of Mansfield Park.

"I purposely abstain from dates on this occasion, that everyone may be at liberty to fix their own, aware that the cure of unconquerable passions, and the transfer of unchanging attachments, must vary much as to time in different people.--I only entreat everybody to believe that exactly at the time when it was quite natural that it should be so, and not a week earlier....." (Jane Austen, Mansfield Park)

Sweet, plain, immovable Fanny Price.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve was spent snuggling in a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor in the living room. We moved a tv into the room so we could watch Blue's Clues movies until the ball dropped. (My kids didn't know that we celebrated with the East Coast...shhhhh).

It was a lovely evening. So sweet to get "midnight kisses" from my babes. They honked on horns and had a little loudness competition--taking turns yelling "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" at the top of their lungs. After which, we settled in for a living room slumber party sleep.

It was sweet. And perfect.

Hopefully '08 will follow suit.

Cheers!