happy mother's day!
Happy Mother's Day! Were it not for this cute young woman pictured here - my mom - I would not have had the chutzpah, interest or skill to be doing what I'm doing today. She was ALWAYS going to the fabric shop, which meant we were always going, too. My favorite spot would be the curtain tassle rack. I would hold them upside down and pretend they were muppets - near.....far.....near......far. Good times!
My mom made my sister and I shirts with appliques, furry bean bag chairs and matching puppy puppets, schoolbags with silhouettes and monograms, halter tops and prom dresses...the list goes on and on! She took cake decorating and ceramics classes, too! She was (and is) very creative, and I'm soooo lucky to have had her example. She is not only extremely talented, but she isn't afraid to experiment, learn something new, or take a tip from a good friend - these 3 things are what I cherish most about my mom. They serve me well in the context of my business and in all of life: experiment, learn & listen. Thank you, Mom - even though I picked all of this up a little late in life, it still got through!
See that little broken, brambly wooden stick on the bottom of each pic? That's my prized point turner. My mom gave it to me a few years ago when she was purging some sewing supplies, and I've grown quite attached to it. It's an unassuming overachiever - no other point turner has worked better for me. Anyway, it cracked in half when I walked on it one time (what? don't you keep yours on the floor?!), and then it's been broken another time or two. Now there's not enough of a grip left to hold onto it. And along came this whittler...
myohmyohmyohmy, the menfolk in the house ventured to the interior of the grocery store...and this is what they returned with. It was soooo good for about the first 5 little bites, then the sweet-sweet-sweetness took over. That will last me until this summer's trip to the boardwalk fer shur.
Azaleas that anchor the steps coming off our front porch.
Forsythia that borders the west side of the porch. They were just 
Man oh man, I cannot remember the name of this tree! I'll have to see if I saved its info tag from last year. 2 of these anchor each of the corners of the porch - they're about the 4th plant I've tried there. The scale and color contrast should work this time!
Periwinkle that's here and there. The former owner of our house had kind of English garden thing going. It was pretty, but it was soooo overgrown. The whole frontyard was periwinkle with a slate path. My sister helped me rip it all out when we moved in 5 years ago. We planted grass and reused the slate to make a backyard patio. Much better to have grass when kids are running wild in the neighborhood! 
Peanut Man had an inservice day today, and I happily, cheerfully, gladly took the day off from my professional, dress-up gig. My officemate asked me earlier this week if I thought about all the "fun" they had in the afternoons after I left (I work til 12:30) - I said, "Not even for a second." They are fabulous co-workers, but my head is just not there when I'm not there.
Ha! Do you know what they're reeeeally doing? These 2 innocent-looking goobers (Scout and George, formally*) are actually very busy shedding - with every. fiber. of. their. being. To make sure no surface goes unhaired. And as one of the vacuumers around here, I can vouch for what a spectacular job they're doing! I filled up an entire vacuum bag in one go-around yesterday! Ack!!
Found these scrumptious fruit and granola bars online and thought you might like to know about them! I googled "natural fruit bars," and 
Peanut Man loves to draw as much as he loves to jump, read and build Legos. His teacher this year lets her students read or draw when they have free time in class. At first, I was a little put off by the idea of kids' drawing over reading, but I think that was my own hang-up b/c that's "the way we did it." I don't know about other people's kids, who might spend too much time in front of the TV and their only reading time is in school. But that doesn't apply to Peanut Man - this guy enjoys reading (one of his Grandmas is a librarian) - he will blow through an entire series in a weekend if allowed.
An early morning hike doesn't get much better than this: gorgeous blue sky (my husband's favorite color), crisp, cold air, two dogs running, busy birds chirping, and the 3 musketeers bounding along a lakeside path. We've been doing Sunday morning hikes for about 5 years now - pretty much our version of church. We've never found ourselves more centered, more uplifted or more enlightened than after a walk in Mother Nature's woods. Truly, our hearts and souls are overflowing with a very conscious and contagious joy. Anyone can read from a book on a pulpit, but the awesome beauty and simple complexities of a forest burgeoning with life will re-align your sense of good and righteousness more than any word on a page. Give it a try. Let yourself be humbled by the wonder of it all, and let me know how clear-headed and energetic you feel afterward!
Saturday was sooo pretty here - we were outside all the live long day! Peanut Man rec'd a clover seed kit from my in-laws and a-plantin' he did go! We have some bunnies who live under our fence - maybe they'll get 'lucky' with this clover patch even if we don't!
This year daylight savings was a delightful surprise. As I sat in my sewing room on Sunday, thinking of what I was going to get accomplished with one less hour (as if!), this cute little clock caught my eye. I was so psyched to realize I had made it an entire span of DLS (from Fall-back last year til now) without changing it! Ultimate procrastination. Niiiiiice.
Did some doodling this week, too. Nothing big. Just putting the pencil in my hand felt great. Too computer-y all the time. Ick. Have to get my mind's eye and my hand to re-connect. Thinking of taking a drawing class this Spring - for the heck of it.
Sort of like a baguette shape. Pay no mind to the fabric or thread - these aren't good and they're not here to stay. This was rendition #4. I installed a recessed zipper, and since I don't work from patterns, it was a challenge to get it to both look good and function. The first 2 just kept pulling up the fabric each time I would tug on the zipper slider. No good. I love this bag style lots, lots, lots, so we'll have a meeting of the minds when my machine gets back.
Checkout the new feature on Scoutie Girl, the "
You may remember that Peanut Man 
The expression on his face in the last pic says it all.
Every Friday at 10am, I'm sitting in a Marketing meeting for my dayjob. I perform such a specific set of tasks that most of the meeting borders on the immaterial, except to fill in the strategic foundation for why I'm doing what I'm doing (actually that does sound sort of important). No matter, I doodle like mad anyway! I try to keep one ear open so my mind doesn't wander too far into The Land of Fabric Design Possibilities. A major challenge fer shur.
I kid you not when I tell you that an 
We're heading to the Sunshine State to visit my parents tomorrow. Cannot wait!! The weather is supposed to be glorious, and I'm ready for some sun and warmth! No make-up, no business-professional clothing, no computer! I feel my neck loosening as I speak. Short and sweet tho - we'll be back on Monday. Don't get too crazy while I'm gone!
Such is life, yes? Which is which has a lot to do with your perspective. This Bugger's up to 500+ jumps in a row. He doesn't count when the pogo hits the ground - he counts when he's in the air.
Peanut Man is taking an art class where the students make (any guesses?)....giant paper mache creatures! He opted for a dragon that's about 6 ft. long with a wing span of about 5 ft. I think we're lucky the wings aren't to scale, and that they're currently detachable. Getting it home in our fuel-efficient car should be interesting. Big dragons, big messy hands and big yawns. A perfect evening!
While making breakfast one day last week, I heard the Peanut Man and George romping and wrestling in the dining room. Then I hear nothing but the Peanut Man laughing hysterically, to the point where he's barely taking a breath. And that makes me laugh, even tho I have no clue what's taken place in the next room. He's yelling, "Mom, mom, you have to see this! [laughing, breath, laughing, tears streaming] George looks just like Princess Leia!" [more laughter, less breathing] So I go check it out, and sure enough the big galoot is sporting 2 flipped-inside-out ears that bear a striking resemblance to the good princess. Better still, he's just sitting there looking at us, waiting in a wired-up but confused state, wondering what the big whoop is, "Nothing to see here folks, let's get a move on, grab a toy, c'mon now, we're still playin'!" As we're making up what he's thinking, he gets up and starts tearing around the house at 50 mph, no brakes...and the harder we laugh, the faster he goes! A look-alike contest gone haywire for sure!!
My aunt and uncle celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past weekend by renewing their wedding vows. It was very sweet - you could tell the sentiment meant so much to them. Matt & I (pictured here doing 2 very different versions of the same dance) were very moved by the whole occasion. We've been married for almost 14 years, been a couple for 21 years and known one another for about 25. Still a long way to 50 years!! But, holy cow, I feel so lucky every day that I wake up next to this man! And I strive to be the kind of person that makes him feel the same way. It's all good! 
We were going out for a walk last night, and I thought I'd snap a few pics for our Christmas card before we set-off. Both dogs were told to sit and stay - Scout (on the right - a rescued pooch from WV) will not move a muscle until she is released, ever. She's unbelievably obedient! George (goober on left) just turned 1 in October. He's a rescued pooch from NC, and this is his first real snow (if you can call it that). He was having no parts of sitting and staying - he's very wiggly and lanky and wormy - and strong! He was desperate to bound through the snow - he just kept pulling and snaking backwards to get away. My batteries were dying, and I was a little "excited" as I was telling my son to get him to sit, he kept yelling, "It's okay, Mom! Just take the picture....It'll be fine, Mom! Really, it'll be fine." In that instant, I realized, "He's absolutely, positively right!!" And it's just that sort of wisdom (at 10 yrs old!) that shines through now and again and levels a situation like nothing else can. I'll keep that nugget in my pocket as I stumble through this busy season...it'll be fine! (And I really like this pic b/c that's real life, take it or leave it.) Thanks JD.
...and back to routine! Yahooooo!! This big guy will be heading back as king-of-the-hill this year - a big 4th grader! I don't know how that happened. I must have looked away briefly while he aged 9 years. Oh my.
