hurrayic

Enjoying

Good morning, Monday even if I'm not ready for you...

Hope all of you have had a productive weekend. 

Right now, I'm enjoying...

Seeing the bright cheery color of a new knitted project...

Gobbling up a make-shift lunch.  A favorite around here...a little cheese, black beans, green chilies atop corn tortillas, broiled for a minute or so then topped with avocado, salsa, sour cream and black olives!

Thinking how this month's calendar page was fitting for our home improvement project ~ a little 'destruction' in order to rebuild ~ Not sure if that was the artist's intent, but that's one interpretation. (I'll share some more progress soon)...

Liking a not-so-little spool (1/2 lb!) of red & white baker's twine that arrived in the mail a few weeks ago...

Embarking on a new little hopefully life-long 'project' for this year.  Will share later.  Stay tuned...

Wondering if I should make something with these or simply look at them.  Like jewels.  And wondering if I'm not alone in that line of thinking... (tell me I'm not alone)

Hoping that winter's weather will be more consistent and settle into a rhythm again.  Perhaps a little snow, please? 

What are you enjoying today?

Green Giveaway

For the past several years, Sew Mama Sew has hosted a Giveaway Day.  And for the past several years, I have not participated as a giver.  This year, I thought why not?  I was unable to make any handmades this year specifically for the giveaway (very busy with other handmades), but I figured that some fun supplies are always appreciated. Another plus?  I get to destash a few items...

I'm giving away to 1 winner...

1 skein of Alchemy yarn in Juniper
a small stack of fat quarters with green prints
a small stack of green felted wool squares made from recycled sweaters
    (all are from a pet-free, smoke-free home)

In order to be counted in the giveaway, simply suggest a good family-oriented movie recommendation (new or classic or foreign) or a music album in the comments below.  I'm always looking for suggestions.  Thanks! Oh...and leave an email in your comment so that I can reach you if you win.

Just a few other Sew Mama Sew (and Hurrayic) guidelines:
Only 1 comment per person/household please.
Comments will close promptly on Friday, December 16th at 5pm PST (8pm EST).
I'll post the winner by Sunday, December 18th.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond.
If no response after that time, a new winner will be chosen.

To see and participate in lots of other lovely giveaways, visit Sew Mama Sew!

~~~~ Comments closed! Thank you for the wonderful response. 

Come back Sunday to see who the winner is! ~~~~~

Moments ~ part 1

Happy December!  Yes, it's here already.

A few moments from our trip... the 'clean restrooms' sign was a misnomer for sure!

Thankfulness

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth ~ Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (1914)

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hoping for a wonderful time to spend together with family and friends
Enjoying the bounty that God has graciously endowed upon us
Being thankful to Him for all we have 
And eating some turkey too!

I'll be away for a few days to enjoy the holiday... See you next week.

Enjoying

Happy 3rd Monday!

Trying out a didn't-have-any-apricots-let's-substitute-nectarines cake from chocolate & zucchini via a handmade life via kat ate that. 

Finishing the sewing project from last week:  bunting with homemade bias tape for the youngest's birthday.  (btw the tape makers didn't arrive in time so I made it myself with 4x the ironing!)

Celebrating the youngest's 11th birthday with his choice of dessert: vanilla ice cream with bananas foster.

Sleeping outdoors in the back yard.  (not me of course)

Watching the wise teach the young.

Sharing a picnic lunch in the park.

Being surprised by this creature's arrival.

Exploring the 'unknown'...

What did you discover this weekend?

Enjoying

Happy Monday! 
RIght now I'm enjoying...

the colors of a quick sewing project and learning to make my own bias tape ~ waiting for a larger bias tape maker to arrive (the one above made tape that's too narrow) ~ hoping it gets here before the 11th!

a few handfuls of sungolds from our back deck

the constant creations with all things Lego which have a tendency to pop up all over the house

being surprised by the colors of this melon

a wonderful and very needed lunch and swim date with a lovely friend

making good use of overly ripe bananas

this little bee's tireless working

his 9 cent t-shirt found at a local thrift store...9 cents! (camera shy for sure)

the recent evening and morning rain that cooled things off (temporarily ) and showered our poblanos with little wet kisses

watching a family of ducks paddle away

the straggling remains of an impromptu dinner with friends from the night before and using a tablecloth (usually tucked away in a drawer) for the occasion ~ btw an tablecloth not only adds festivity to the room, but can also hide lots of pencil marks and smudges very quickly

What are you enjoying today?

UPDATE: several of you asked what kind of watermelon we ate.  Not sure, but  I googled a quick search and these two might fit the bill: Golden Midget or Royal Golden. 

Enjoying

Dare I say, Happy August? 

Summer has been so so full so far.  Yes, we will most likely continue to wear the hot sticky summery weather, albeit trying to peel it off in layers as we do sunburnt skin or blow it away with a multitude of fans.

Or maybe we'll run through our sprinkler (with shoes on mind you, we have have sharp grass) or even break down and buy a kiddie pool to soak our feet.

August is always a transitional month for us.  It means enjoying the longer lighter days and squeezing in moments, events, projects, visits that we had hoped to accomplish 'over the summer' while beginning to prepare for the arrival of fall.  (Or, Autumn, as I like to call it ~ sounds more romantic.)

Turning my thoughts toward homeschooling again (although that's really gone on somewhat during the past 2 months anyway, just on a lighter schedule) and entering into both an old rhythm while hopefully engaging a new one can be both exciting and tiring.

Transitions can be difficult.  I find myself wanting another month (besides August) before diving into the schoolyear and all that it usually brings.  I suppose changing my attitude would be beneficial. 

August is sort of like visiting a dear friend or family member and getting down to the last day of the visit, knowing full well that you'll be leaving the following day. 

Rather than enjoying the day that you're in, being thankful for the moment, you mope around or worry, grow anxious or focus on how sad you might be before you really need to.

So, I will try to remind myself to enjoy the moments of August while preparing for the routine of Autumn with all its rigors and lessons, its unexpected surprises and disappointments and yet...unexpected joys too! 

Enjoying:
a free steel drum concert in the park
2+ hours of uninterrupted knitting out-of-doors
cherry & nectarine cornmeal galettes
a free haircut from my husband
'like eating a truffle' cake recipe (more on that later)
being surprised by a deer just outside our back fence
a homemade mediterranean meal with felafel (from this cookbook)
buying a new reliable phone (!)
shucking sweet white corn
the beautiful slant of sunlight in our bedroom (more on that later too)

So... Happy August to you!

Thrifting

As I should be decluttering and cleaning out stuff, I thought it only appropriate to visit some local thrift stores of course...and bring home MORE stuff.  Reasonable, yes?  When the kids visit camp in the next week or so, I will declutter. 

But for now, here are a few goodies I found:

a pair of 'mid-century modern' style Danish candleholders (29 cents!) & a tarnished silver creamer/sugar set  (I actually like the tarnished look ~ lots of interesting colors and textures on the metal's surface)

a brown & green quilted comforter and vintage green sheet (the comforter is HUGE! & looks like it was never used)

and a blue & cream plate (transferware? not sure ~ I just like the simple design)

Have a wonderful long weekend! 

Oh, and Happy July!

 

A Little Sewing: A Monster

One of the very first blogs I ever visited (after realizing what a blog was) belonged to Hillary of Wee Wonderfuls.  So naturally, when I saw her book, I was interested in trying out a wee wonderful of my own. 

There are so many lovely dolls and toys in the book.  I love her color combinations and the folkart feel.  I also like her odd little creatures. 

My youngest does too!  He thought the monster, Koji, was very cute.  I can understand why he was drawn to it: humor and mischief wrapped up in one funny little toy. 

 
I chose a kelly-green baby-wale corduroy (it looks minty in these pictures) for the body and used a thrifted sweater (multi-striped) for the spikes down Koji's back.  For his eyes, I used another thrifted sweater and added a simple French knot for the blue centers. 

Here's the ham with his monster!

 

A Little Felting: Bears

Some of you may remember these.  Several years ago, I began making felted purses (cats & bears) from thrifted fulled sweaters and little bits of embroidery.  I made several for a lovely friend. Soon afterwards, I gave a few of them away to other fellow bloggers in a giveaway.  At one point, I thought perhaps I'd try to open an Etsy shop for all kinds of handmade goodies. 

That was 3 years ago! (whew!)  Life stepped up in various ways, and the purses (actually a lot of crafting) were put on the back burner.  Recently, I began to finish a few of the them that I had begun and that were gathering dust (not literally; they were covered) on the shelf. 

I do hope to begin an Etsy shop.  Baby steps, of course.  But for now, I was just glad to add a few finishing touches to some of them.  Still have several more to finish.  It lifts the spirits a bit.