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Happy Birthday Mr. H

Yesterday was Mr. H's birthday. He chose to spend it on the lake with his family in his our NEW (to us) BOAT. It was the first real outing for our boat (which Mr. H bought and picked up on Mother's Day weekend).  It's 1960 something Besimeyer (sp?) v-drive and that's all I know about that.

It also goes very fast. So the kids and wimps like me hung out on my parent-in-law's boat.

I've got some actual crafty content coming soon but my uninspired phase isn't quite over yet. Hope you are having a relaxing weekend.

Now my sister has a personal tailor (and a bird update)

I don't have any brothers and only have one sister. She is eight years younger than me and has bright red, beautiful hair. When she and Biscuit are out and about I think everyone assumes she's a young mother and I'm just along for the ride.  They look alike those blue eyed, red headed girls.

And I guess they both like the long top/short dress over pants look.  Laura (my sister) found this great print fabric on sale for $10 at Urban Outfitters (it was a curtain) and I had presciently purchased a pattern I knew she would like so we had a little sewing weekend when she came into town Saturday.

Or, rather, I had a little sewing weekend. Laura is not a sewist. She did cut out the pattern pieces and then handed it off to me to stitch while she amused Biscuit.  Mr. H unfortunately spent the long weekend attached to the couch (he's sick, not lazy).

Speaking of daddies attached to couches. When I picked Biscuit up from school today she was playing doll house and had several dolls standing on dressers and tables and one man doll lying across the couch. Needless to say, that was daddy. He wasn't feeling good.

Which brings me back to Laura. Hopefully she doesn't get sick because this coming weekend she's running her first marathon! Rock'n'Roll Marathon in San Diego. If I ever do another marathon (I ran two several years ago) San Diego would be it. I'm sure she'll do awesome!
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no natural segue available
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So my neighbor is back in town and I mentioned the chicken that moved in. Turns out it is a wild hen that tried to adopt her flock but was an outcast. Word is that her eggs are almost certainly not fertile (rooster doesn't like her any more than the rest of the flock) which is a shame since the other neighbor and I had already agreed to split the (EIGHT) chicks we were expecting (8 eggs so far).  Now I'm just going to wait 2 more weeks to be SURE they don't hatch and then remove the eggs. After that, we can start eating the eggs. As soon as we can get her to lay somewhere more convenient than between the air conditioning ducts.

And, speaking of birds, the four baby birds we found in a nest in the front yard are suddenly gone. And the nest is quite damaged. That can't be good :(

All you have to do is wish hard enough

Long time readers will recall that Mr. H and I have a long running disagreement. I want chickens. He doesn't.

Well look who I found behind our air conditioner this evening.

I am not even kidding. 

{Yes, chances are this is my neighbor's chicken and has just escaped but the neighbor is out of town so I guess we're hen sitting.}

"Sick" and Sick

Last Thursday I stayed home sick (where sick=exhausted, burnt out, grumpy and in need of time with the kid).  Luckily I had a light day and I have an extremely understanding boss. Also, I believe this was the first time in my 10 year working career that I've taken what might be called a "mental health day" so I'm trying my darndest not to be wracked by guilt. (Thank you, dad for the work ethic and never-get-sick genetics that have completely prevented me from using my several MONTHS of accumulated sick leave).

ANYWAY, since we were home with no plans I thought we might try a little potty training.

The best part of this video is what she's "reading." It's the Worst Case Scenario Guide to Parenting. This might be on the only parenting book in our home and I actually picked it up seeking potty training advice. Specifically advice for, "my child has underwear phobia." I'm thinking that a passionate fear of underwear may, at some point, be an issue with the potty training gig that she seems otherwise entirely ready for.  And, yes, I realize she is still young at two and a half so I am really not stressed (yet) and thoroughly enjoyed spending 3 hours of my day off kickin' it from my seat on the edge of the tub while Biscuit regaled me with stories of snakes and counting and telling me that she had peed and I took video footage for posterity. Eventually she did pee and we moved on to other activities.

In related news, the video includes a sneeze/cough which has since progressed to full blown illness so Biscuit will be home tomorrow, sick for reals, with her father who apparently also needs a mental health day.

Button monogram tutorial

Button monograms are fantastic for a decorative pillow or, in this case, to embellish a tote bag. It's easy!

Start by sorting through your buttons--it's a bit easier if the buttons you choose are similar in size.  Then lay out your monogram on your fabric.

Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, use a tiny dab of glue to tack the buttons in position (it doesn't have to be fabri-tac but I had some on hand and it worked great!)

You really need just the smallest dab of glue and put it on the edge (away from the buttonholes). Like this:

When gluing the buttons, pay attention to keeping the holes in the buttons straight--it looks tidier.
Once all the buttons are glued down (and dry), it's time to sew.  Look, they don't fall off!

To sew, double over a coordinating thread (I matched my fabric since I couldn't match all my buttons) and put in a knot. Start at the back and stitch on the first button.  Just stitch it down tight to the fabric (since it's non functional) and then move on to the next button without cutting the thread.


What the back will look like since you aren't tying off the threads between buttons.

And that's it.  Your monogram is complete. I made my sister a pillow like this just because her name starts with L and cursive L's are the prettiest letters (don't you agree?).  She still has that pillow on her bed several years later so I guess she likes it.

Here's where the M ended up.  A library tote for Matthew's third birthday (I hope it's boyish enough....)

Art for the house

I typed "house" into the search criteria at Etsy and came up with a whole bunch of cool prints (and a few originals) in my price range. Amazing the interpretations of a house.

Thought you might like to see a few of my favorites (all images from Etsy)

"Coming Home" by SeaSprayBlue (sold)

We have very few walls (and a boatload of windows) in our home. The one main wall with room for hanging stuff is getting pretty stale now that we've been here nearly 3 years (!) with the same photos up.

"The House Next Door" linocut by LeanneGraeff ($20)

I was thinking that I'd like to start collecting a few prints to (re) fill that big wall.

"Peculiar Neighbors" by atwhim ($15 large, $7 small) (LOVE this one)

I'm thinking that having a theme to my little print collection might make it more fun.  So (obviously) I'm thinking "house" or "home"

"Home Sweet Home Print" by JennSki ($25)

"Where the Heart Is" by AliciaBock ($35)

"Ain't She a Beaut'?" by ToxicGuineaPigs ($12 but they are currently on vacation)

So which of these are you liking?  Is this a dumb idea? It seems like a fun way to blow $100 worth of PayPal funds (not that I currently have $100 of PayPal funds).

"Brownstone Neighborhood" by SweetBabu ($23)

If none of those are of interest. You can always have a custom portrait done of your (favorite) home.

"Custom portraits" by Artitecture $($25)

I think that's enough for tonight. Biscuit had her school open house followed by tantrum of the century (turns out she really IS two!) so I'm pooped but the laundry pile is quite likely to take over the house. I best stop bloggin' and start foldin'.

Is it the weekend yet?

Clay (redux)

The snail plate is out of the kiln.  The green isn't at all what I expected (or wanted) but I love the little snail.

It's really tiny. And sort of looks like an ashtray.

Speaking of ashtrays, I was looking at the back flap of the "Goodnight Moon"' dustcover and noticed that in his headshot, illustrator (Clement Hurd) appears to have a cigarette in his hand. That SO wouldn't happen these days. Take a look at your copy and let me know what you think. Pen or cigarette?
[update: (2 seconds later) it's a cigarette. and it looks like I'm not the first person to notice this. check out this first thing that comes up in a google search. geez!]

Thanks for all your nice comments on the stationery Mother's Day gifts. I am working on a way to get sets on my etsy site but I need to use a different printer. I discovered my inkjet ink is very susceptible to smudging while you write on the sheets that have a colored background. I'll keep you posted if I list them on the site. In the meantime, I'll make a few sets of imperfect-but still quite nice-notecards for folks I owe gifts.

Mother's Day gifts and cuteness

This scene nearly killed me with the cuteness. After a picnic lunch in the shade Biscuit took her nap outside. Of course all the bears were present.

Our tree is dropping hundreds of beautiful flowers so she woke up covered in blossoms. Weather that allows for an outdoor nap and some gardening made for a lovely Mother's Day.

And here's a quick shot of my mom's present. Photo of yours truly and Biscuit and a set of personalized notecards.

These are the six card designs. All are flats with rounded corners and are about 5x7 inches. Such a fun project!

It's a mop, it's a worm, it's ASPARAGUS CROWNS

We're heading out of town for an overnight trip to see grandma and grandpa but I didn't want to leave you in suspense on the asparagus. Weird, eh?

Honestly, if they weren't labeled, I would have had no idea which was asparagus and which rhubarb. This is the rhubarb crown (still in it's package--it looks like a turd or a worm)

Happy Mother's Day!

Worse for the wear

This is my new fig tree. What? You couldn't tell? For some reason I thought for $14.95 my fig tree would arrive larger than a broken in half pencil. I thought it would also be alive (or closer to alive). Before I diss my source on the internets I'm going to try to revive my tree and, if he doesn't revive, I'll test their customer service.  Then I'll report back.

Remind me tomorrow to show you what asparagus crowns via mail look like. You'll be shocked and amazed!

Despite these mailorder setbacks, Garden 2008 is off to a promising start.