Happy Halloween

Oh my, he carved his own pumpkin at 5!  Darn those handy little pumpkin cutters!  See the concentration?

The attention to detail?

Happy Halloween folks! 

(Pictures of the results to follow, now that I have managed to find the candles in the maze of unpacked boxes in the basement.  I imagine they will look better after dark, so I will throw up some of the lanterns and of the kiddos in costume too....)

Wordless Wednesday

Done

Well, it's done.  I have my auction item finished to be sent of with my MIL to Florida next week.  I like it.  I hope it is reasonably attractive to women with a variety of tastes.  Cal's face is, in case you are wondering, supposed to be "scary for Halloween" and not (I hope) a distinct distaste for my sewing abilities.

Laurie, hope this brings you guys BIG MONEY! ;-), or at least that it goes for more than five dollars.....

I Have...Hmmmm..

I wanted to name this post "I Have Sewers' Block."  As I was typing it out, all I could think was that it sounded as if my sewers were blocked up and that is an entirely different sort of a post.  

What I am trying to say is that I am having trouble with a project and I can't seem to get anywhere with it.  I mentioned that I am to sew something for an auction.  Having never done anything like this before, I suppose I am feeling a bit of pressure and my brain is not responding well to this.  I am pretty sure I have changed my mind about what I am going to sew at LEAST 10 times.  I have started something and put it aside because I am not quite happy with the direction it is going.

Clearly, Ellerie is more inspired these days than I am.

I think my trouble is that a sewing project usually comes to me from some bit of inspiration.  some fabrics that I see together or a shape or texture or something sweet or beautiful, or sometimes a known need; but often I have someone in mind when I am planning, so my creation flows out of some desire to please that person.  I don't know the people who will be bidding on my work, (nor do I feel completely confident that my work is worth bidding on!), so here I am typing my psychoanalysis rather than actually sewing.  OK.  Deep breath here.  I need to just dive in, don't I?  Wish me luck..... something will come.  Won't it?

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!! 

Kathleen at Grosgrain is such a talented and generous artist.  She does weekly giveaways of fabulous clothes and this one I am entering because I LOVE these simple reversible skirts SO, SO much!  She is also in the process of opening an online store, so if I don't win I may just have to pull out my wallet.  ;-)  Since there isn't much in there, I am crossing my fingers..... 

TGIF

and for:

1. boys that appreciate the beauty of nature.  Even in the midst of being rushed to get ready for school this morning, Cal stopped at his east window and called me "Mama, look, isn't it beautiful?  I see blue and yellow and orange!  And there's the moon!  It's a crescent moon...LOOK Mama!"  Priceless.  I hope he always takes the time to look.

2.  one round of leaves raked.

3.  Tate being happy and good in preschool and full-on participating without a hitch.  I was worried about that little rascal, but apparently he is only uncooperative with ME!!

4.  good sleep last night.  Have to say though, it's getting tough to leave my toasty nest in these dark, cold mornings.....

5.  good hugs around my neck from baby girl.  The boys did NOT get hugging at this age (or they did not want to do it.....), but she is a cuddly dear when she wants to be and a total riot when she throws kisses!

6.  My Kreative Blogger Award from Toni.  I am so sorry I haven't posted just about that yet, but I want you to know that I do greatly appreciate it and am highly flattered, especially since I feel these days that I can barely keep up with any sort of creativity or even postings!

7. just in general (and as always) family and friends who love and support me. I couldn't do it without you all.  

Happy weekend, friends!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A few weeks ago, one of the new neighbors walked over to our back fence while I was out with the kids hanging wash.  She offered us several bags of books, puzzles and toys that she was cleaning out from her granddaughters.  Well, her granddaughters must have been almost as old as me because everything was from the 80s.  Cabbage Patch Kids puzzles and Rainbow Bright, Tom and Jerry books; it was hysterical!  Our favorite though was the very unartistic, uncreative, but oh-so-fun, paint with water books.  

I could not believe how many of these pictures were left.  My kids tore through them all in two sittings!  I think it would have been one, but I managed to convince them to save a few for another time.  I love the simplicity of these pictures and they just have that great retro feel.

I took pictures of several of them that I wanted to remember for later crafty inspiration.  I love this little American Indian girl and her teepee. 

It kept them busy for a lovely thirty minutes or so and I even did a couple myself.  Ah, nothing like putting brush to paper to get those creative juices flowing!  Tee-hee!

A sweet gesture from a new neighbor and a good time had by all.  Even if some of the colors no longer worked and pictures were fought over, this right here is a simple joy of childhood and it felt good to join in.

Wordless Wednesday

Artfulife Giveaway

Head on over to see Summer at Artfulife.  You won't regret visiting her blog and if you leave her a comment, you'll be in the running to win this Halloweeny Treat! (If you click on my sidebar button it will take you directly to the giveaway post.)

Sunday Is....

....raking leaves.

...kicking off your church shoes.

...tic tac toe in the sun.

....keeping up with your brothers.

....Mama playing, for once.

Saturday Is...

... building a fire and roasting marshmallows with Grandpa.

TGIF

And for:

1.  3 dollar flowers from the market over a week ago that STILL look almost this lovely.

2.  friends and family that love and support me even when I am a mess.

3.  still hanging laundry out occasionally... in WNY it seems like a miracle this late in Oct.

4.  pretty leaves everywhere I go.

5.  coupons.

6.  Feist- The Reminder album

7.  Garnier Fructis Melting Masque.  (Seriously, for all my yammering on about wanting to use more natural products, I do not even CARE what is in this stuff.... never have I found such a great conditioner for my incredibly thick and stressed out hair for less than three bucks... and I had a coupon- see #2)

8.  A very sweet email from Stefani at Blue Yonder.  She called me poetic; SHE, who really should be officially published she is so talented at weaving a post, called ME poetic... just from a comment on her last post.  I really got to get myself to Texas to meet that girl!

9.  The glimmer of hope I feel knowing that the old house will soon be closed on and we can begin to move forward from this mess.

Blessings to you all!

Random Bits

This is how I found the little bird yesterday when I checked on her at nap time.  She covered herself up and sat right there in the corner and fell asleep.  

I think it is because she likes to frequently play THIS game:

Otherwise entitled, "let's pretend to read/sleep/hide and seek/wrestle in Mama and Daddy's bed."  Here she is reading her Golden Guide to Birds that was my grandmother's. She points at her favorites, makes a lumpy sort of noise that sounds almost entirely UNlike "bird" and then looks to us for approval while making that questioning "ueh?" noise that babies do. 

This is what I saw when I looked out my kitchen door yesterday into the garage.  I thought he was practicing building a campfire, but he claims no-just a structure.  Why they have toys, I don't know.  (If you can't tell, he's just building with sticks).

This is the quick bag I finished up for Calvin last night.  It was lovingly (ahem) dragged through the mud on his farm field trip today.  It turned out really cute, but I put it together very fast and some things were done awfully sloppily.  I was almost hoping he wouldn't want to take it..

Almost.  Secretly, it made me feel good that he wanted to carry it and even pronounced it "cool."  Although I am not certain it was anything I did.  He liked the corn.

Wordless Wednesday

Somebody Has to Win

This INCREDIBLE Lizzy Anne original is being GIVEN AWAY over at Pigtails and Snails.  She is giving away the pattern as 2nd prizes, so wish me luck or go drop in your own entry.  I am happy to boost my chances because somebody has to win.... 

One For the Calendar

So I am doing a RARE post about food.  I've mentioned that kitchen tends not to be my favorite room in the house.  And why I felt compelled to bake bread and make homemade potato soup on an almost 80 degree (yup, that's what I said), October day, I will never know.  But I did and it was good, so I thought I would share it with you.  The focaccia was from this recipe, but I only used rosemary as I didn't have any fresh thyme handy.  You can see the potato soup recipe hiding in the background.  Torn out of a Country Living magazine, you can find the recipe here.  It is SO, SO, SO good, but seriously not healthy (hello fat and cholesterol!).  I made it with low fat cheese and skim milk instead of whole and substituted light sour cream to try to help a bit.  Still tasted great, but I've made it the heart stopping way before and I have to admit it WAS a tad better.  

The bread was just what I was hoping it would be; delicious crisp crust and soft and fluffy in the center.  Mmmmmm.... I think I might try it with sun-dried tomatoes and basil next time.  Oh, and see that little tear out of the bottom left corner? I couldn't wait until the soup was done.  Can you blame me?

TGI.....S?

Well, I missed Friday, but here is my thankful list:

1.  A lovely visit from my Mom yesterday.  The kids and I enjoyed seeing her so much and I was bestowed with some "new" clothes (thanks Mama!), a frozen turkey breast, and a helper so fantastic with a slow pitch that I was able to clean out my van... no small task!

2.  Sunshine, sun sunny sunshine and gorgeous fall weather!

3.  A miscalculation on a self-made pattern for a raglan sleeve t-shirt that ended up leading to this green cardigan for Ellerie (made from a cut up sweater of mine that had a big hole in it).  Granted the neck is a little tight and the sleeves are so long they should fit until she is 4, but I still love that it goes with everything and was FREE!

4.  My new quilt rack (sorry no picture) that is serving as towel bars in my bathroom that was previously without towel bars.  Oh happy five dollar find!

5.  This quote that was in my brief devotions the other day by Jeremy Taylor:  "They have not taken away my merry countenance, my cheerful spirit, and a good conscience; they have left me with the providence of God, and all His promises..... my hopes of Heaven, and my charity to them, too, and still I sleep and digest, I eat and drink, I read and meditate.  And he that hath so many causes of joy, and so great should never choose to sit down upon his little handful of thorns."    Oh, I do so want to possess such a spirit.  

6.  The hope for some sewing this week.  We still need so many curtains all over the place.  I have some gift sewing that ought to be done and I have been asked to make something (or things) special for an auction to raise money for a great organization (GTD) run by my SIL's boyfriend. 

Happy weekend everyone!
 

Wordless Wednesday