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!

When I'm bored...

....or, why I'm glad paint is inexpensive....

I painted my Kitchen/Dining room, (again). When we bought the house, there were these funky coppery 50s tiles in the kitchen. I love them. The walls are nearly the same cinnamon-y color now.

These pictures found a home.

This painting feels right at home.

The wall, the tile, the cabinets, and a reflection of the cook~book~ends.

Out with a bang!

Well, my friends, I am one lucky ducky.

I received this beautiful journal from a girlfriend for Christmas. I sat down this afternoon to write in it, and reflected on the year past. My life. My blessings. Wow. I have so much to be thankful for. While my life is no where near perfect, I am happy. I have what I want, and I want what I have. It's a great place to be.

I also made my New Year's resolutions, all resembling the resolutions I've made for the last several years....hmm....

I decided to make small {feasible} changes to benefit my health. You know...finally lose the baby weight {from the baby that is now, ahem, 3 years old}, eat more healthily, etc. I've come to the conclusion that the easiest way to begin, is with baby steps. Step one: take the cream out of my coffee. So far, so good. Until tonight. It seemed only fitting to have one last hurrah...thus, this is the beverage of the evening. Good bye delicious mounds of foamy whipped cream. I will miss you. My thighs, however, bid you adieu.

Heaven

I've been thinking a lot about Heaven lately. I'm not sick. Just dying. Eventually. Like the rest of the world.

My kids ask about it...they want to know what it will be like. Well, I know that it is wonderful. WONDERFUL! W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L!!

We talk about how great it will be there. That we'll get to meet Noah, Jonah, Mary and Joseph, King David, et al. How it will be better than any place on earth. They'll get to meet grandparents they didn't know here. It will be awesome! Beautiful! Delicious!

And you know, those are the terms in which I've often thought of Heaven. How great it will be (and it will!). But the One MOST IMPORTANT REASON for wanting to be there, was usually left out of those thoughts. Am I kidding me?! Jesus will be there! We'll be able to sing His praises. He. is. there. That's why I want to be there. That's why I want to want to be there. That is why I want my kids to want to be there. Not because it is some magical land of wonderfulness. But because the Saviour of our souls is there, waiting for us!

I get so caught up, sometimes, that my focus shifts from the reason I'm here. The Reason for this Glorious Season. Christmas. CHRISTmas. Jesus Christ was born. And died. For me. (and for You!) HE is in Heaven. But the best news of all is that He paid the price of admission.

May you not lose sight of the Reason.

Merry Christmas!

Does anyone have a paper bag?

She has a boyfriend....I mean, a "special friend". A little more special than some of her other boy friends, but not as special as her girl friends, who are also special friends. (Initially she labeled him "boyfriend," but I think my eyes spoke a language that made her do a quick down grade.)

She's FIVE. I realize that this is likely nothing to get worked up over, but perhaps you've noticed by now that I tend to be dramatic. REALLY dramatic.

He gave her a gift today. Thank goodness. Because up until she walked to my waiting arms this afternoon, I was unaware of any unrelated special males in her life. I asked why this boy was giving her a gift. Did he give everyone a gift? No? Um. Are you his girlfriend? Yes? Is he your boyfriend? Whaaauuuh?! *nervous laugh on my part*

Well. Hmmm. I was hoping to deal with this in 5 years. Is it too late to start home-schooling?

Twice IS Nice

I was driving by a local thrift shop yesterday evening, and spied this lovely little table. I stopped and peeked in the window, and the price sticker? Eighteen dollars! The store was closed, so I had to spend the evening and night wondering if I would make it in in time to snatch it up. Whew! I did. It's mine and I love it.

I thought I would wander through the store a bit, and happened upon these beautiful sisters:

I'm not exactly sure where they're going just yet, but had to share them with you. Aren't they wonderful? They fit my home so well...they feel sort of Courier and Ives. Oh! And they were marked down from $40 to $20, for the pair!

Merry Christmas to ME! And you, too!

It's Boookay...

My favorite way to pine away the hours (or half hour) on Saturday evening? This. And of course, this, too.

Am I completely lame? I do believe I am. :)

Tree

yarn on fabric stretched over canvas

Brilliant Jane

A present to me {from me} arrived today.

So, I'll see you in 20 hours.

so much to do....so lots of time....

I'm sitting here wishing that I had some clever project to share. I don't. I have tons of things rolling around my brain...but I'm not clear on how to convey those types of things with you.

My bedroom is so awesome {in my mind's eye}. You should see the bedding! {but you can't...since it isn't tangible.} And the paint color is perfect. Perfect green? Perfect brown? Perfect red? I'm not positive, although I'm pretty sure it's not the current color.

And the end table....my husband is going to make me the perfect little table...he just doesn't know it yet. After which, he'll make the little nook bench...and I'll make the cushions and pillows.

My kitchen keeps telling me it wants to be brown. Like coffee. Or chocolate. I hate when it does that! Can't it just be happy where it is?!

You should see my house once I'm finished with all the projects I want {my husband} to do. :)

I think I should seek contentment this Christmas. I found it awhile ago, but it got lost under that imaginary bedding. Stink.

A bedtime funny....

her: Dear God, thank you for my mom and my dad and my brother. Amen.

him: Dear God, I forgive you for all my family. Amen.

crackle crackle

I was busy switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer when I heard it. A quiet, little, crackly kind of sound. I froze. No sound. I tried to reassure myself it was nothing. Certainly not a mouse. Went back to the task at hand, pivoting from one appliance to the other. There it was again. Crackle crackle. Oh no. This time there was no denying the noise. I stopped. It did, too.

I am mentally running through the possibilities. A mouse, a bat, a rat--dear me, we'll have to burn the house down. (I lean towards the dramatic. Sometimes.)

That's when it hits me.

The sound. It isn't coming from a rodent. It's coming from me. My ankles. Every time I moved, my ankles crinkled and crackled. Well isn't this wonderful? Hello, thirty. I didn't think you were coming until May.

{wip}

(in very poor lighting)