Syn's Corner

Swap Day 10 - Fabric!!

2011-12-22T08:09:00.002-05:00

We're getting things done, just not getting them posted ... a big catch up post coming soon. In the meantime, my 12 Days of Christmas Swap gift today ... fabric! I love it, it's a great set of coordinates.

First four gifts in the 12 Days of Christmas Swap

2011-12-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

Each year on the Hyena Cart Forums, I participate in a Twelve Days of Christmas Secret Santa Swap. It's very fun, and I look forward to it each year.

This is day four, and I've snapped a quick photo of my gifts ...

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 8 - Sun

2011-12-08T20:00:00.000-05:00

Truth in the Tinsel - Week 1

2011-12-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

This week in our advent craft countdown, Finn has learned about Jesus being a light sent to the world, represented by the candle, he has learned that Jesus is a prince - shown by the crown. He's learned the roles of Zechariah, Gabriel, Mary & Elizabeth, and about Mary singing a song of worship.

So far, this program is a success, we've remembered to do it each day, and the crafts are at just the right level for Finn to do with my help. It's quick enough to keep his attention the whole time, and he is so pleased to have his own Christmas corner with a garland & lights to hang his ornaments on.

If you haven't seen the E-book yet, you can find it here, and do one of the short versions this year -- there are several options if you do not have time to do all 24 activities/days.

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 7 - Song

2011-12-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 6 - Mary & Elizabeth

2011-12-08T11:09:00.001-05:00

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 5 - Mary

2011-12-07T08:42:00.003-05:00

Truth in the Tinsel - Day 4 - Angel

2011-12-07T08:42:00.001-05:00

Truth In The Tinsel - Day 3 - Zechariah

2011-12-03T20:15:00.000-05:00

Four Months!

2011-12-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

Little girl is four months old (plus a few days). She's giggly and happy, 'chatters' a lot, and loves her big brother.

Truth In The Tinsel - Day 2 - Crown

2011-12-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

Truth In The Tinsel - Day 1 - Candle

2011-12-01T12:43:00.002-05:00

Advent, Tinsel, Crafts

2011-12-01T12:13:00.005-05:00

For the month of December, Finn & I are working through "Truth in the Tinsel", for him to learn the story of Christmas. In addition, he has a Playmobil Advent Calendar from Mémé, with a very festive theme of 'cops & robbers' ... he will love it I know! He's very pleased with day one -- the robber. I was up late last night getting it ready for him, I'd forgotten that it takes a long time to assemble the calendars. We also put out the Christmas in the Woods one that Finn used for the past 2 Christmases, he has offered to open the doors each day for Cate. I'm sure she won't object. If that were not enough, Finn & Cate each have a chocolate calendar as well from the Christmas Party for Pé's work last weekend. I think Dave will be enjoying Cate's.

Number Recognition booklet

2011-07-18T16:31:00.004-04:00

Finn has been wanting to get more familiar with numbers -- he can count quite high, but doesn't know all the characters, especially for numbers which just don't occur in our address or the board games he plays.

Found this booklet today, and have printed it off for him to work on tomorrow.

I was doing so well

2011-07-16T18:59:00.003-04:00

For three whole days last month, there was regular blogging! And then, well, life. It keeps getting in the way

We've had a great start to summer, a trip to the zoo, another camping trip, progress on basement reno project, and a cottage weekend.

Baby duck riding on mama at Mary Lake

Puffball Magnets

2011-06-13T20:37:00.003-04:00

Made them :) Super easy, and very fun already according to Finn. It's pretty straightforward, but if you need a 'how to' ... here you go!

Colour PLAYHouse a success!

2011-06-12T11:40:00.001-04:00

On Thursday, we had 3 families join Finn & I to play with & learn about colour. We did the colour wheel activity to learn out primary colours blend to create secondary colours and we reviewed the concept with the colour matching cards (links shared in last week's post). Here are some of our colour wheels drying in the window. After our indoor activities, we headed out to the park for some swinging, sliding & running around.

Home Improvements

2011-06-11T11:30:00.005-04:00

Now that we've been in the new house for a whole year, we're starting to make some changes ... We painted the foyer & upper hall, they are no longer 'primer white'. Dave ran wiring through the attic to add a light fixture in the stairway, 3 new windows have been installed, and the foyer lights have been replaced (the old ones moved to the new stairway light & upper hall locations). The improvement with the greatest impact though, has to be the new front door. Gone is the bright red door that clashed with the brick & only had a teeny tiny way too high to be useful window. In it's place, that pretty blue door that actually lets light into the foyer and has a deadbolt that turns the correct way! Plus, it has fresh new trim around it, which was not finished when I got that photo (and we've taken all the labels off now too!). Today's project is the back door ...

Colour Day @ PLAYHouse

2011-05-29T19:27:00.006-04:00

Some local & not quite local moms have gotten together to have organized play dates for our mostly preschool aged kiddos ... with a bit ohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giff a learning opportunity involved.

At the first event the last week of May, we had 28 people (10 moms, 14 kiddos ages 2-7 & 4 babies).

At my house this week, I'm hoping for a *slightly* smaller crowd & doing a colour theme.

Some resources I hope to use:

From Mama-Jenn this colour wheel activity

From 1plus1plus1equals1 these color-puzzles, as well as these.

From totallytots, this story & activity

And, if I can get the download to stop crashing ... the colour cards from homeschoolcreations.com

I'm going to have to see if I can edit all of them to say coloUr, instead of color though ... we are in Canada after all!

Campground Reveiw: Turkey Point

2011-05-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

I've been camping at Turkey Point (Ontario) since I was 9 or 10 years old I think. We went every long weekend, every summer, for years. Eventually we all go older and stopped going regularly, but have recently been back a couple times. When I was a child, our family preferred site #47, which I still like, but now we tend to book sites nearer to sites with services as we camp next to my parents, and their trailer. I'll get to individual site reviews eventually, but wanted to comment on the campground as a whole ...and some of the changes over the past 20 years! A new section called 'Fin & Feather' is a nice addition and less busy feeling than the other sections are now. There is no water at this park -- not a big deal for me, but hard on my husband who likes to swim in the lake each morning while camping. The beach is a drive into town away, and not worth the effort just to go for a quick swim. This is a great park for young kids ... bikes are allowed on the trails, and the playground in Walkingstick Woods is big with lots of room to run & climb. Some of the equipment is updated, but a few oldies from my childhood are still lingering. There used to be great evening programs, and these seem to have been replaced with 'movie night'. Not my thing, when I'm camping, I don't really want to sit at a picnic table & watch Disney movies while getting eaten by mosquitos ... I miss Elaine (the park staff that led programs when I was young) and the great campfire/history/campy-filmstrip-programs that we attended in the evenings. Maybe I'm just getting old though, as the one Disney movie we attended did have quite a few families & kids there to watch! This campground does have showers, flush toilets & real sinks at the comfort stations, and also has outhouse style toilets placed around the park if you don't want to walk to the centrally located comfort stations. They've always been clean, though they look a bit tired & 'vintage'. The park staff are quick to act on noise/alcohol violations if you have problems with any of the other campers, and while I don't like to see people evicted, it's nice to know that camping doesn't have to mean putting up with noisy & rude neighbours. As a family, my husband, kids & I will probably prefer to head further away & get to lakes for both swimming & canoeing, but for beginning & end of season trips when the lakes are cold, Turkey Point is great. The park is a reasonable distance for my parents & sister as well, so it's a good place to meet for a trip with them. It's only 80 min or so from home, so the drive isn't bad -- for us, it's all back roads with no traffic.

Again with the blog re-start ...

2011-05-24T09:54:00.002-04:00

Let's see if I can actually maintain any level of regular posting! I have great hopes for this blog this time. Look for some reviews of campsites & gear, as I use this blog to keep track of the info for myself mostly, but if it helps you out too, great :) I'll also be trying to share what Finn is doing once his preschool experience ends, and before he starts Kindergarten 18mths from now. We've joined a local play group with some planned activities through the year, and got our Safari Niagara passes, so we're looking forward to some fun over the summer & into the fall ... I'll also be trying to keep up with regular updates on new.baby.girl once she arrives towards the end of summer. :)

Fall Swapping Season

2010-09-13T21:39:00.002-04:00

Several of the forums I participate on have swaps going on all the time. I may have shared here before about the 12 days of Christmas swap -- that one is lots of fun & I'm looking forward to signing up for it again later this year. Recently, I've participated in a 'Pampering Mom' swap, and my parcel arrived today: It's perfect for me. To fit the budget for the swap, I listed a few books I was missing in various series and said I'd be more than happy to have them in good used condition. What a pleasant surprise to get not one, but both of the books I needed to own the complete O'Malley's series! Along with a bookbag from a seller of great products on both Etsy & Hyenacart - Beneath The Rowan Tree / DaydreamBelievers. We love Lori's designs, and I'm happy to have this great tote for my library books. Things just kept getting better, as a pair of earrings I'd been wishing for were also in the package, along with some velour face wipes (like reuseable/washable cottonballs), and several sample/travel size soaps. I'm also expecting parcels in a couple other swaps -- one that supplies me with knitted goods & I pay the knitter in an equal amount of yarn!, and another that was a crazy mess of requests, offering & matches. I've sent off a baby carrier, and a couple sets of gift bags, and will be receiving many WAHM-made goods in exchange, but not from the same people. In sewing forum swaps, I will soon be sending off a batch of aprons, and a parcel of toddler clothing ... guess I should get back to the sewing room....

A challenge from a fellow seamstress

2010-07-12T08:36:00.002-04:00

SewingMel over at SewingMamas has issued a challenge -- you can follow along at her blog here.

I'll be working thru the planning & execution of starting Finn's fall wardrobe. He's finally at the point where we have very few hand-me-downs in size 4, so it's time to seriously tackle getting the bulk of his wardrobe made.

Tonight I'll begin the planning stage -- taking everything out of the dresser & closet, seeing what fits & what Finn has for fall.

A perfect summer saturday

2010-07-11T19:56:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, Dave took Finn adventuring while I worked on putting up a light fixture, shelves & thread rack in the sewing room.

After they returned, we all went back to the splash pad, had some icecream -- softserve is not a good choice when it's 33 degrees celcius out. (that's 91.4F)

We left the park and went to watch a ship come through this section of the Canal -- Finn loves to see the lift bridges go up, and the guys on the ship waved to him while we were watching.

Wordle again

2010-07-09T16:24:00.002-04:00

Have you played on www.wordle.net lately? Go play, it's fun! I did a couple today ... http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2218733/cj http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2218751/fdls

Did you know?

2010-05-18T23:23:00.003-04:00

That somewhere in this region, someone thought it would be a good idea to send the street sweeper down my street at 11:20pm.

Now, at the old house, this wouldn't have bothered me one bit, the house was further back from the road. New house, closer to road, older windows. More noise coming in those windows. And now, at 11:25pm, it's coming back to do the other side. Fun times.

Good thing -- the street will be cleaner tomorrow. Maybe I stayed up too late ... if I was tucked in bed at the back of the house, I wouldn't have heard a thing.

Huh. Imagine that.

2010-05-13T08:13:00.002-04:00

Montreal. Toronto. Hockey Players. Millionaire Golfers.

Click This.

No matter how it goes from here .... 24. 11. It's a good day today ... have to see if I have a Habs shirt that's not in the laundry already.

Moved In.

2010-05-06T10:59:00.003-04:00

You'll forgive yet another long absence from my blog ... we've been moving.

One thing we're trying to do as we unpack is to put all our books in one room. At the old house we had books in every room on smaller shelves. Now, we think we'd like to have them all together.

However, we don't have bookcases yet -- I think they'll be here tomorrow. Until then, a friend unpacked the books for us, and they are piled in the den/TV room/library.

I must confess, most of these are mine. I read a lot though ... and many of these are full series of books. It's nice to go back and read a series from beginning to end, without having to wait for them all to appear at the local library.

dotCA off to a great start for 2010

2010-02-01T14:23:00.001-05:00

Come shop! http://hyenacart.com/dotCA/

Great new talent ... all Canadian.

A conversation with a small boy.

2010-01-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

(Earlier today, we came up with the idea of giving all my son's diapers to a baby for my son's birthday -- since he'll be 3 and a 'big boy'. He was totally on board, 3 hours ago.)

Just now, the little guy & I were chatting, and he asked me to retrieve an out of reach toy.

Me: I can get that if you tell me what you're going to with your diapers on your birthday.

Small boy: I can't tell you.

Me: Why can't you tell me?

Small boy: It's a surprise.

Right. I have a feeling the surprise is going to be that he's changed his mind.

Craft supplies & ideas

2010-01-14T10:04:00.002-05:00

Now that we're in week two of providing home child care, my meager supply of craft items is quickly being used up.

I've got construction paper, tp & paper towel tubes, some empty kleenex boxes. I've got lots of little photos cut out from magazines, lots of scraps of fabric. There's also empty thread spools.

We've got crayons, glue, pencil crayons.

I've got a laminating machine to make things like these stained glass projects. But we need more ideas ... things that are fun, suited to a wide range of ages (1-4 year olds), and that don't use any expensive materials.

A year of Christmas ...

2009-12-30T15:20:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, it just ended ...

If you aren't sick of Christmas yet, and you want to get your crafting finished before the 24th of December next year ... check out what we're working on at Sewing Mamas - A year of Christmas

Here's a preview of some great tutorials that have been gathered up to help us get a head start on Holiday Decorating for 2010 -- January's theme. Each month has a theme to focus the sewing efforts.

I can't wait to see how many of us can finish this!

STOCKINGS

1. Stockings with rick rack

2. Stockings from quilts,

3. Stocking tute

4. Rick rack flowers

5. Button wreaths

Dare I say I'll write more?

2009-12-23T14:40:00.003-05:00

It seems to be a theme. I post for a few days/weeks, then turn into slacker blogger. But I genuinely intend to post more often! I have a few bloggy ideas in my mind. I hope to post more often going forward. I've been having a great time participating in a '12 days of Christmas' swap over at the Hyenacart.com forums. It's been so fun to open a gift each of the past ten days. I'm just waiting on the last two to arrive in the mail. Finn has been very excitedly opening his advent calendar each day since the first ... it's a winter forest scene from Playmobil. Each day offers an animal or tree or other forest prop, and I believe tomorrow's door will reveal a jolly elf dressed in red. The best part is -- I think I can stash this away for next year and get two years of use from it. Maybe I'll make a decision on a sewn one by Christmas 2011 ... I keep changing my plan, so I haven't started one yet. How are your Christmas preparations coming? We're nearly done -- two gifts left to wrap that Finn picked out this morning, one load of laundry to do so we all have clean clothes to wear to our many family events (Christmas Eve church, brunch on 25th, dinner on 25th, dinner on 26th), and Dave is picking up the last 4 items on the grocery list right now. It's only 2:45 on teh 23rd! I think tomorrow is going to be the first lazy 24th we've had in a few years. Hope to be back soon .... if not ...

Merry Christmas to All!

Not Go Sport!

2009-09-24T17:45:00.002-04:00

Finn's been very interested in basketball lately, don't know why. On a recent trip to the local Once Upon A Child shop, he spotted this lovely little basketball net - more suited perhaps to the crawling ages.

The little net speaks, and at the end of it's program, says "Way to go, sport". Well, Finn just doesn't get it, and every time, tells it "No Go Sport!".

He's quite insistent that we need to take pictures of him playing basketball, so hopefully I'll have some of those to share soon.

Photos from two canoe trips

2009-09-11T10:17:00.002-04:00

One sunny trip, one rainy trip.

There's a moose mama & baby in there somewhere, you'll have to watch them all. One trip was August 9th, and one was September 5th.

Our first trip we had a couple hours of rain, and generally damp camping. The second trip was hot and sunny, great summer weather on Labour Day Weekend. A friend came with us, and you can see her portaging the canoe on one of the short portages. Finn carried his own 5lb pack over a total of 31 portages over the 2 trips, the longest was 1275 meters.

Fun Stuff

2009-09-10T23:00:00.004-04:00

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Go to Widdly Tinks and make shadow people for your family too!

Or Penguins ...

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

What good is a post without photos?

2009-08-25T08:48:00.002-04:00

It's not a very good post. You're right. But, I have miles of photos to organize, edit, resize ... before they can be posted here or shared.

We've been camping twice since my last message, once to Algonquin where Finn tackled the portages - up to 1275m - carrying his own little pack. We've celebrated 2 grandparents' birthdays. I've sewn a great deal, for Finn's fall wardrobe, some baby carriers, both gifts and sold ones. I think I even have a new favourite.

We've also been getting Finn ready to go to preschool. He's had a few practice visits, and will start going on his own one morning a week just after Labour Day.

Photos coming soon. Really. :)

Be bigger Monday.

2009-08-01T21:30:00.002-04:00

That's what Finn told me today. Along with 'go to school in 'tember'.

He's certain that he's not big enough today to use the potty, but that on Monday he'll be bigger and he'll use it. We'll see how that goes. But in preparation, I made him a cute little pair of training pants from great pattern a friend mentioned to me. I'll add a link & a photo tomorrow or Monday, but if you want to have a look for the pattern before then just search for Ladder Hill Design, and the pattern is for the Tinkle Time Trainer.

He's also quite excited to be going to school in September. This week we'll have our test visit to the preschool in preparation for a once weekly class that begins after Labour Day. He'll be the youngest in the group, as he'll just be 2 1/2, and that is the earliest they can go. I'm sure he'll enjoy it, it'll be just like another play date with a bit of structure. I'm looking forward to having 2 hours a week to see clients, ride my horse, maybe meet a friend for coffee now and then.

Happy Civic Holiday, enjoy the long weekend!

The literal interpretations of a two year old.

2009-07-07T14:41:00.003-04:00

Mama: "Finn, I've got the WonderPets song stuck in my head"

Finn: messed up mama's hair "Open up hair, get out of it"

Mama: "No Finn, it's not really INSIDE my head, you can't get it out like that"

Finn: now pulling mama's hair "Open it! Not stuck get out!"

And, just so it can be stuck in your head too ... Click Here ... (get a good giggle from the 'no copyright infringement intended, even though the images and sound totally belong to NickJr.')

Sewing Mama S.W.A.P. Contest

2009-07-04T18:09:00.003-04:00

Almost forgot ... I received 3rd place in the Adult S.W.A.P. (Sew with a plan) contest on Sewing Mamas!

I did most of the sewing for this 6 week contest in 3 weeks due to our vacation timing. I finished the last item on a loaner machine as my beloved Emerald was in for service - warranty work. She never did get repaired and was replaced within hours of the techs at Husqvarna seeing her. The new one is lovely, sounds a bit nicer and the needle up buttons works!

April 29th? Really. Sorry about that.

2009-07-04T17:58:00.004-04:00

Ok, I'm a slacker. Blogging just doesn't get priority these days (months?!)

May ... what did we do in May? I'm not sure ... but I'm certain it was a good time!

Oh, right ... sister-in-law's birthday, mother's day, a long weekend with no plans ... that was May. Then, our vacation - we drove out to New Brunswick and camped all over the province, and returned home to June.

Some other photos from May - I wore a sari to church for Mother's Day - a friend from Singapore was having her son's baby dedication & several of us wore them to help her feel at home as none of her family could make it.

June is over. I have no idea how that happened. The month did wrap up with some great news - my sister had a baby - he's lovely and we're all enjoying having a fresh baby in the extended family.

July started off nicely - a BBQ with friends to get things rolling and celebrate Canada Day.

Now ... you know I'll try to post more frequently as summer progresses. We've got 4 more camping trips planned before snow flies, so there should be lots of photos!

The Mealplan. Um. Yeah. Not so much.

2009-04-29T17:14:00.003-04:00

Well, it started well ...

Breakfasts ONE - ~~Good Morning Muffins~~ TWO - Blueberry Bran Muffins THREE - Smoothie FOUR - ~~Raisen Toast~~ <--so successful, I had this twice! FIVE - ~~Toast with Nutella~~ SIX - ~~Pancakes with Blueberries~~ <-- they had this without me on Saturday!

Lunches ONE - ~~yummy veg bagel sandwich~~ TWO - cheese quesadillas and guacamole THREE - Bagel Melts (used leftover chili) FOUR - ~~Fried Egg Sandwich~~ FIVE - Leftover Lasagna SIX - ~~Leftover chili~~

Dinners ONE - Lasagna (but I did make it this week! TWO - ~~Curried Cauliflower,Chickpeas & Naan~~ THREE - Roasted Veg Chowder (making this tonight) FOUR - Fajitas FIVE - ~~Chili~~ SIX - ~~Spagetti~~

So, too many dinners on my plan. We had leftovers of chili (we might still have leftover chili), leftovers of indian food & leftover pizza from the night our friends brought dinner.

I think my new plan will be to start over on Monday next week, and only plan 4 dinners and 5 breakfasts. Lunch will sort itself out without extravagant planning, and I'm sure leftovers, invitations or restaurants will take care of the other 3 dinners.

Afternoon at the park & continued meal plan success!

2009-04-23T17:52:00.003-04:00

Used up my random, unplanned lunch today - my mother-in-law invited Finn & I for lunch.

After our lunch, we all went to a park near her home, Finn walked 90% of the way there, and rode home in the stroller. He had a great time, swinging, climbing, sliding, running, riding ... all the fun things you can do in the park when you're two.

Ode to the zipper foot.

2009-04-22T15:56:00.002-04:00

Ok, well it's not an ode, because I can't write in any sort of poetic manner. I love my zipper foot though.

Here is my lovely zipper foot.

Emily found it for me and it makes zippers so easy! There's still the odd bit of user error, but at least I don't blame them on having the wrong tools for the job. Last night I put in 6 zippers, and they all look lovely.

Day Two - Meal Plan Success Continues

2009-04-21T21:52:00.003-04:00

Today, toast w/ nutella for breakfast, leftover chili, smothered in sourcream, cheese & green onions, for (very late) lunch. Dinner turned out to be the spare unplanned one, as friends brought over pizza. It was great to visit with them, and luckily it all got arranged just as I was pulling the cutting board out & turning on the oven to start dinner. Easy enough to undo!

Also today - a playdate with Finn's little friend (I even got to play Rockband on the Wii ... I'm not that good), before that we went for a 5km run.

Some photos from our day (oh! and yesterday's beautiful sandwich as well!)

Finn wants you all to know that 'Garg made it' ... his little blue bowl that is. Finn is very careful with it and always carries it with two hands!

Day One - Meal Plan Success!

2009-04-20T21:58:00.002-04:00

Ok, we did it (or rather, I did it). Cinnamon Toast for Breakfast, that beautiful bagel sandwich for lunch, and chili for dinner.

Also got quite a bit of sewing finished for the sale this coming weekend. Details will be on www.shopbabygo.ca in the morning some time, as I need to look up the address/time in my inbox on the other computer.

A project almost guaranteed to fail.

2009-04-19T20:00:00.003-04:00

I'm going to make a menu plan. I'm even going to post it here. You can all just watch and see if I can stick to it!

Now, I'm not going to assign days to meals, I know I can't stick to that! But, I'm going to list 7 dinners, 7 lunches, 7 breakfasts. Starting tomorrow morning, I'm going to attempt to work through the ~~21 options~~ You didn't really think I could do it, did you? Well, neither did I. So, I'm changing plans, 6 of each meal! That gives me one random, spontaneous, oops we're not home, or maybe we'll go out, or you know, something comes up and we get an invite out ... :)

Breakfasts ONE - Good Morning Muffins TWO - Blueberry Bran Muffins THREE - Smoothie FOUR - Raisen Toast FIVE - Toast with Nutella SIX - Pancakes with Blueberries

Lunches ONE - yummy veg bagel sandwich TWO - cheese quesadillas and guacamole THREE - Bagel Melts (use leftover fajita toppings) FOUR - Fried Egg Sandwich FIVE - Leftover Lasagna SIX - Leftover chili

Dinners ONE - Lasagna TWO - Curried Cauliflower,Chickpeas & Naan THREE - Roasted Veg Chowder FOUR - Fajitas FIVE - Chili SIX - Spagetti

Speaking of dinner, do you call it dinner, or supper? That meal you eat in the evening?

Today's Reading: Mo Willems

2009-04-17T15:36:00.003-04:00

Today Finn & I are reading 'Things that go' and 'Knuffle Bunny', along with a whole lot of other books!

I'm not reading any grown up books, as I'm saving all my not-yet-read books for an upcoming roadtrip.

Going to try to stick a blogroll on here ...

2009-04-17T08:31:00.001-04:00

Let's see how badly I can mess this one up! (Matthew -- if you're reading, I could probably use your help!)

Denny Oofing at Deer

2009-04-14T19:08:00.002-04:00

I love toddler-speak. It's such fun to translate!

Today, while watching the deer in the field across the street, Finn announced to me that "Denny oofing at deer". I was lost. Totally. I know Denny is Penny - our dog. At deer was pretty clear. But oofing? What is oofing? After several repetitions, it clicked.

Offing = woofing = barking. And he's absolutely right. Penny would have been barking at the deer if she had seen them.

The deer have been here each evening for a week or so, generally six of them. Tonight there are only three - but it's still early. Perhaps I'll get a photo to share soon.

Potty Time.

2009-03-04T13:22:00.002-05:00

The boy child is soon (hopefully) going to be ready for some potty training. And that means - underwear!

Here's the first batch ... more are cut out, and will be sewn up as time allows.

These are a great use of scraps!

75 Yards Sewn.

2009-03-04T13:12:00.003-05:00

In February, I sewed about 75 yards of fabric! I far exceeded my goals, and I bought no fabric.

Here is a before/after comparison of my fabric shelves.

Bottom two shelves, flannels, fleeces, decor weights, quilting fabric.

And now ...

Cotton Wovens, Solid Knits, Solid Tech Fabrics

Last shelves are the printed knit fabrics, with the bulky knits up on top of the bookcase.

It's not as dramatic a difference as I'd thought!

Still Sewing, Sewing, Sewing ...

2009-02-17T19:01:00.002-05:00

More clothing for the small boy, as well as a sleeping bag, and a couple gifts I won't be showing here!

Sewing Trains

2009-02-08T21:04:00.002-05:00

This is probably the first time I planned a mix & match bit of sewing. A couple shirts and a couple pants for Finn. There's a couple more tops in the planning to go with this train mix.

Trims, Lace & Ribbon

2009-02-06T12:23:00.003-05:00

I am very fortunate to have a friend who knows just where the holes are in my sewing collections! She was given a massive amount of trims, ribbons and lace from a gentleman who's wife had passed away. She skimmed off what she thought she could use, and passed the rest along to me. Finn & I spent a good part of our morning sorting and rolling, and this is what we ended up with.

I think this little yellow bit is my favourite, and there is just enough to trim a 25"square blanket. I'll tuck it away for the next time I need a baby boy gift.

Sewing.Sewing.Sewing. It's StashGame time (again)

2009-02-05T16:55:00.003-05:00

On a forum I frequent, there are 2 Stash Games a year .... points given for yardage sewn, points lost for yardage bought. In September I was honoured to get the 9th place prize! I had just under 450pts. I had no idea I'd make it to the top-ten, I was just playing for fun.

My only goal this time is to get more points than last time! I've got lists & spreadsheets to keep track of it all. Here is what has been stitched up since Sunday at 12:01! (And, yes, I did stay up late to do that one overnight project, it's a fun way to kick things off).

Bamboo Velour yoga pants & a Cotton Velour v-neck for me.

Bike T-shirt for the boy.

Grey Jeans for the boy. Look at the great detail - love these and have another pair cut out in a tan corduroy.

Tops for the boy.

Top for me.

Top & cropped pants for me for camping - lightweight fast drying, no seams on top of the shoulder. Great for both paddling & portaging.

That was 4 days of sewing ... there were a few more odds & ends in there, a small bag, a bamboo terry hair wrap, but they are boring!

A Day in our Life!

2009-01-31T21:54:00.003-05:00

Ok, it's ready. I must admit I had a more exciting day in mind when I took that first photo at 7:28am. We had big plans, tentative to head to an indoor playground, and firm plans to head up to the barn to see our horse in the afternoon.

The snow changed everything. The driveway was a bit snowy, the drive at the barn wouldn't have been possible for my car.

So we stayed home and did laundry. I also never realized what a major role food plays in our day until I was taking photos of it.

Enjoy our day, and if you've made a 'DITL' somewhere, leave me a comment, I'd love to see it! If you haven't ... what are you waiting for?

What we are reading today

2009-01-30T09:15:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd try to share the books we are reading on Fridays.

(DITL is coming soon, maybe even later today, editing and organizing all those photos is taking longer than I'd thought!)

So, today, in the children's lit category - we are enjoying "Found You Little Wombat" by Angela McAllister. It's a sweet little story, with only a sentence or two on each page, a quick read within a toddler's attention span, and the illustrations are nicely done as well.

My own reading, I'm slowly working through "Exile" by Richard North Patterson. It's going slowly, as I don't get hours in a day to read like I used to! I'm only on page 42, and that's taken 3 nights to get to. Hopefully progress will speed up and I'll have a new book to list for next week!

Something new

2009-01-28T14:18:00.004-05:00

Some other Canadian artisans & I have been working on a new project, and it's beginning to come together.

I'm also working on a DITL (day in the life) photo set for a contest on a forum I'm on. Expect to see some great (or very ordinary) photos tomorrow of what we've done today.

Sewing Shorts from old pants

2009-01-26T15:20:00.005-05:00

Some shorts for the little guy, cut from the bottoms of pants that I can't/don't/won't wear anymore. It'll be a while (months yet!) before we're ready for shorts, but I wanted to get them off my 'to do' list. I left the existing hems intact and matched up the new topstitching as close as I could.

Laptop Sleeve for cj

2009-01-25T22:03:00.004-05:00

My sister requested a protective cover for her laptop, and a little pouch to stash power cords and such. I took the measurements, and well, winged it. It worked out pretty well, though I had to use a slightly different sized laptop for the photos.

Today was a busy sewing afternoon, but I didn't get photos of the rest yet.

The rest of the Spotted Box

2009-01-23T11:49:00.004-05:00

I did forget to mention yesterday, that one of the samples in my box was my own! The boxes are completely random, so this can happen. Keep an eye out at babyGO for it to be a FFS (free for shipping) give away!

13. Mini potholder sample from Jekuthiel's Handmade Gifts, it's very cute, and I think I'll put some string thru it and hang it on the Christmas tree next year.

14. Fuzzy crochet scrunchie from Crochet Frog which will come in handy as my hair is long(ish) again, and I'm alwasy running out of gadgets to keep it off my face!

15. Flannel wipe from Princess Julianne's Closet, a very cute print, I may save it for my sis & her new baby, or add it to our wipes basket.

16. Magnet from Flirtbuttons, I love the heart on it and may tuck it away to include with a Valentine's gift or put it on my file cabinet right away!

17. Handmade all purpose cleaner from Picnicbasket Crafts, I'm going to try this out this afternoon - there are bathrooms to clean today.

18. Apple Jack & Peel Laundry detergent from Jenny's Simply Clean, I love the sample size detergents, I like to take them when we travel as they are the perfect size and it's nice to have great smelling laundry away from home!

19. Heart hair clippie from The Little Love Bug, we'll share this with my son's best little girl friend for Valentine's day.

20. Ceramic Coaster from T and Little S Designs, which is on my desk just waiting for the next cup of tea.

21. Amaretto Soap from Breezy Bug Boutique, smells great!

22. 5$ Gift Certificate to Closet on Queen Creek

23. 5$ Gift Certificate to The Melting Pot

This was a great box! You can get your own on the 15th of every month on both Hyenacart & Etsy. Including the item of my own, and our 3 faves in yesterdays post, we received 26 items.

Two days in a row. Crazy.

2009-01-22T10:08:00.004-05:00

So, my Spotted Box. I love the idea of the Spotted Box. It gets complicated for me as a vendor to contribute, as shipping from Canada is so expensive. Also, the first set of samples I sent, back in 2007, was lost in the postal system for a long time. Fortunately, they were insured, Canada Post paid out my claim, and a month later they did finally show up at their destination. As a vendor who contributes samples above a certain threshold, I received a box of my own. This one was the best yet that I have received. I was really pleased, and most of the items are useful for our family!

Go check out some of these great vendors ....

First up, yesterday I mentioned that the little guy had his own fave -

Play dough from Sewing Alley.

My two faves are:

This note card from DFMI Designs.

And, these earrings from Shine - great prices on Swarovski crystal jewelery.

Other samples included

1. Diaper Doubler from Creativitykes Very useful, as our son is still in diapers, and we use cloth.

2. Mini Wipe from 2by2 Boutique We use this size as 'kleenex' when our son has a cold.

3. Breathe Easy Massage or Bath Oil from Scent-sory Creations I'm hoping this is a more natural version of the Eucalyptus bath gel I've used in the past when I've got a cold.

4. Hair Clippie from Social Butterflies I was going to gift all the hair clips to little girls I know, but this one might make its way into my collection.

5. Bath Salts from Glory Be Herbals, these smell great, a patchouli/orange blend.

6. Seeds from fluffnflowers, I'll pass these on to a friend with a green thumb - I'll get to enjoy them that way - if I keep them, they'll die!

7. Sample Curriculum card from Earth*School I've got a couple of these tucked away already for when the little guy is a just a bit older, great ideas.

8. Peppermint Diaper Pail Freshener from Jenny's Simply Clean, this is always appreciated!

9. Button/Pin from Buttered Parsnips This is going to live on my bulletin board, right next to my Spotted Box pin.

10. Knitting Pattern from Megan McDermott I was kinda bummed to see this is free on her website. I was going to include it with yarn for a knitting friend's birthday gift.

11. Toddler Girl's bracelet from Tiffany's Trinkets This will be gifted to a little girly-girl we know.

12. Bow Clip from I Heart Bowheads This is going to be gifted as well, it's sweet, but we have no little girls in this house, and I think I'm too old to pull of a big bow!

There's about 10 more samples, but this is taking far longer than I'd anticipated! Those will be listed tomorrow :)

Well. That was a bad 'resolution'.

2009-01-21T21:12:00.003-05:00

Ok, so you know you don't update (or even look at) your own blog often enough, when you check in and think you've got the wrong blog! I forgot I changed the template. That was silly. Oh well, at least it's not yet been an entire month! So, technically, I am doing 'better'. My son is very funny. That's why I logged on, to let you all know how amusing he can be. At 23mths he's got this crazy vocabulary that surprises us daily. Today, our TV is not working correctly, and he told me 'broken, fix, cu-du (screwdriver), hammer, tool box, help, daddy, door' (Daddy's tools are in a room behind a door). He then headed up the stairs to get Daddy to help fix the TV. I'm pretty certain that no tools are required for this repair - maybe they'll want to smash the silly thing with a hammer though! I also got my Spotted Box today. More about that when I get the pictures off the camera. So far, the little guy is loving the play dough from Sewing Alley, and I can't decide who I should send this great little card to - it's from DFMI designs.

A New Year

2009-01-01T12:35:00.002-05:00

Dare I make a 'resolution'. One I'm sure every person with a sort of neglected blog makes. To try and post more often, more regularly. :) We'll see. Enjoy the first day of 2009! We're going for a walk, a hike or an adventure. Maybe to Niagara Falls.

Balloons.

2008-10-19T22:19:00.003-04:00

My sister was here for a brief visit (mostly this trip was to visit her in-laws), and she made these fabulous balloons for Finn.

A Challenge Met

2008-10-03T21:06:00.002-04:00

I recently participated in a challenge on a sewing forum. Sew a lot, buy no fabric. For one month. There were points awarded for each yard sewn, and points lost for purchasing. I bought no fabric. (I've made up for that in October, and we're only three days in!). Here's a slide show of my projects, about 50 items, nearly 40 yards of fabric sewn.

I also tidied up all my fabric. This is how it looks now. I'll spare you how it looked after a month of sewing & not folding. :) Have a great weekend, I'm off to Marineland tomorrow!

Sewing Giraffes

2008-08-02T09:34:00.002-04:00

This is a very popular fabric, and I had just 2 yards of it, one yard of the Ice (blue/brown/yellow) colourway, and one of the Grass (green, light green, brown) colourway. I know that the green is for something for Finn. To match these great giraffe shorts from JJBB.

But, I wanted something more permanent that wouldn't be outgrown as well. The fabric's too thin to be a bib or blanket, and even those would eventually be less used by Finn. So, I made a shirt for me! And, while I was at it, I delved into my collection of cotton/lycra ribknits for a pair of cropped pants with a very relaxed feel.

I love both these pieces, although I'm not certain I'll often wear them together. I did get lazy and not change the thread colour for the top stitching, so the pants have contrast top stitching in pale blue.

Happy Long Weekend to my Canadian Readers :)

Wordle

2008-07-31T20:23:00.000-04:00

go play! www.wordle.net

Some finished sewing.

2008-07-23T21:51:00.003-04:00

First, finished these for a friend who's baby is due soon. Cushions for her rocking chair, 3 swaddle size blankies, 12 wipes, and 4 travel/mini wipes.

Next, some items to help organize my packing for an 11 day vacation - sharing one large suitcase with a 18mth old is going to require serious organizing! So, we have a packing envelope, to keep shirts nicely folded and wrinkle free, as well as mesh/cotton bags to contain socks, tank tops, small things that get lost in the bottoms of suitcases. These have mesh on one side so it's easy to see what's inside, and pretty cotton to coordinate with the envelope. Finn has a set of bags as well, but I haven't taken a photo of them yet.

Oh, YUM!

2008-07-20T19:27:00.003-04:00

I am all of a sudden very hungry for potatoes. Not just any spuds, but these. Don't they look lovely? I guess that solves the ever present dilemma of what to eat for dinner tomorrow.

Orchid Place Anniversary

2008-07-19T19:09:00.002-04:00

I've been sewing quite a bit lately, but these are the only things I've taken photos of - 12 bibs. How thrilling. They are for the Anniversary sale at Orchid Place on July 22.

I'll try to get photos of the rest of the sewing later - new shorts for Finn and more.

Kawawaymog, Amable Du Fond & North Tea

2008-07-14T12:13:00.000-04:00

We arrived home last night from our Algonquin park trip for this summer. It was a relatively easy trip - except for the paddle home across Kawawaymog (or Round) Lake - Dave ended up walking in the shallows, pulling the canoe while I held Finn as he napped. The wind & waves were just too much for our paddling talents.

It was a good trip, we saw one moose, one deer, several loons, the usual seagulls, a few herons, and I spotted a duck with ducklings along the marsh. We all saw another duck with older ducklings on a dock. The only other 'wildlife' we encountered were the mosquitoes. Not too bad, though we all have bites, the wind Saturday & Sunday kept the bulk of them away.

We camped at a site about 2/3 of the way down the West arm of North Tea Lake, on the North side. We were pleased to see we had our own private beach when we arrived, nice gradual sand entry to the water. The wind on Saturday gradually pushed the waves up the sand until the beach was gone, and on Sunday there was no sign of it at all, the water was right up to the plants & fallen log.

Three hours of rain on Saturday evening caused us to get very cozy in our little tent ... I think 'two man' is right! Two adults plus toddler is quite cramped for anything other than sleeping. But, we survived, Finn thought it was fun to climb on everyone and everything, and did a great job playing with the very few toys we'd brought.

In case we ever forget ... someone remind us ... NO MORE east to west paddles across big lakes. There's always too much wind, it's never a good time, and we always forget by the time we plan the next trip!

Smokey Bear for Finn & I

2008-06-29T15:16:00.002-04:00

I drafted my shirt start to finish last night, and hemmed Finn's this morning ... three whole days before we leave for our first camping trip of 2008.

Sun Protection for the littlest one of us

2008-06-26T19:59:00.003-04:00

We're planning a 3 day trip, to visit with my parents during their week long camping trip, as well as our own 3 day canoe trip, and I thought that Finn needed some sun protection, we got him a great hat at MEC, but solar weave clothing is far to expensive for a little guy who's going to outgrow it very quickly.

So, I ordered some Solar Weave (UPF 50 or so), for 9.49$, and made him a pair of pants & long sleeve shirt.

I'm very happy with how the pockets turned out, they're hard to see in the above photo, so for your viewing enjoyment, here's a close up.

My good friend Stephanie, kindly squeezed me into her customs list, and these are on the way for Finn.

I also made a diaper cover for Finn, but it's in the laundry already, not photographed. It's red for Canada Day - July 1st.

Lots of sewing

2008-06-21T23:08:00.002-04:00

Three baby gifts, a sewn card and a pair of pants for me. I am very pleased with these pants ... I followed all the directions. The pants have 4 pockets, and a real fly with zipper and button. They weren't as hard as I thought they'd be, but I'd have been lost without the illustrated instructions from Ottobre to install the zip and fly. You can see in the detail photo of the blue/green carrier - my new tags!

Ruler Folded

2008-06-08T14:10:00.004-04:00

All my fabric (well, not the fleece, but everything else).

Doesn't it look lovely?

Now, when I'm ready to sew, it's quick and easy to view and select fabric. The real trick will be putting it back the same way, when I'm finished cutting out new projects.

Inspired by this blog, and the many Sewing Mamas with incredible, organized, stashes.

Another Shirt for me ....

2008-05-31T08:53:00.002-04:00

A forum I'm part of is having a challenge in June/July to sew for yourself ... I can't seem to wait till June! I made another shirt for myself last night.

This pattern is great, goes together quickly and logically, and fits well. The fabric is a very soft brown bamboo/lycra blend.

Today we're off to celebrate my mom & my brother-in-law's birthday, and Finn needs to shop for a gift for Mémé -- we'll actually need to tackle shops on a weekend, something I really try to avoid.

Other Sewn Things ....

2008-05-29T14:00:00.003-04:00

It was brought to my attention that I don't update often, so I'm going to review my recent sewing for you .... (you lucky readers). Self-drafted Dress

Self-drafted skirt

Reconstructed T-shirt pants

Some Girly Sewing (gift for a friend's daughter)

Apron for a swap

Shirt & Bib for Finn

That's one of my favorite bibs ... I should make more in that style ...

Run, Ro, Run ....

2008-05-29T11:09:00.002-04:00

In my lovely new running gear ... which I stayed up too late to finish! But, I wore it for my run this morning, and I'm very happy with it, a couple little tweaks to the pattern for the next set and it'll be perfect.

Why do laundry ... ?

2008-03-27T00:00:00.002-04:00

When you can just sew more bibs? I hate the velcro bib chains that come out of the dryer, so I'm making new bibs, and getting rid of all the ones that have hook/loop closures.

These are all simple, serged 2 layers, with snap. And a couple matching wipees w/ the scraps.

And, my newest bag, this one is mine. All mine. I'm not parting with it. It's the perfect size, holds my wallet, phone, camera, dayplanner, note pad, pen and a couple snacks.

It's very soft dark brown corduroy that doesn't photograph very well, with fishy coords.

Outer:

Showing Lining & Inner pocket:

Party Preparations

2008-02-18T10:00:00.003-05:00

Our little guy is going to be ONE on Friday!

I've been sewing like crazy to get ready for his party. A few months ago I got this great custom shirt from BTRT. I then got wool longies to match, and a diaper from JJBB.

Once I had a theme narrowed down, I bought several different fabrics to go with the theme. And started sewing ...

There'll be more photos of the party decorating next week.

Pretty Things

2008-01-26T23:32:00.000-05:00

Unless I sew for myself, I don't have many opportunities to sew 'pretty' things. Finn's sewing is fairly boring ... raglans, pants, simple boy stuff.

I did recently make a jumper for a friend's daughter, and now that I know it's arrived, here's a peek at what I created (drafted myself for the most part).

Another opportunity for me to create pretty things is a swap on a message board I am on. I've made two of these aprons, and will tackle some kid-themed items tomorrow.

They were simple, and fairly quick to put together. I really love the Amy Butler coordinates and was happy to find a project that suited the leftovers I had after nearly finishing a shirt for myself (no photo of that until I find the perfect button for it)

A challenge

2008-01-22T13:42:00.000-05:00

Stephanie has thrown up a challenge ... which I'll gladly take up ... :) And, since I made my last shirt before the challenge, I'll even make a new one for January (working on it now!).

And, I've made another round of spotted box samples. Sixty freebies shipped this morning.

Cup cozies & business card holders.

Whoo Hoo! A new shirt for me!

2008-01-17T10:49:00.000-05:00

I did a quick test of this yesterday, and today fixed the fit. This went together very quickly ... I think I'll make it a bit looser next time, but it's comfy & might be my new wardrobe 'staple' going into spring.

Dark Brown Fabric ... is hard to find

2008-01-06T13:30:00.001-05:00

I love fabric. It's hard to sew without it ... but I do have a decent little stash now, and don't constantly need to buy for each project. I did have to run out yesterday to get some coordinating solids to go with prints I had, in order to sew for Orchid Place's stocking this Tuesday. I had a great toile from Michael Miller, this one in fact, and wanted to make a carrier from it. But, there is no dark brown fabric dark enough to go with it. So I bought a buttery soft cord instead, and made it with a different fabric from the same toile collection.

I also bought this fabulous Cream & Black print, I think it'll be a skirt for me, although the lady who cut it at the store suggested I just stretch it over a canvas and hang it on the wall. It's that lovely. Too bad you can't touch it thru your monitor.

Aside from that, all the other fabrics I got are for fairly specific projects to sew within the next few weeks (or months), either to list at babyGO, or to sew for Finn.

Finn's going to have a great little wardrobe if I can squeak out enough time to sew around homework, housework, and our busy schedule. My Ottobre patterns are finally getting the love they deserve, and Finn is the wearer of some new raglan testers as I made modifications to the pattern, and overalls, which were made almost completely as the pattern was written. A pair of mittens is also completed, and a fleece jacket awaits zipper & hem. I'll be making more raglan tees now that I've got the pattern to a point that it's a good fit for Finn.

Knit fabrics & I will be getting along much better now that I have a serger.

Christmas Was Wonderful

2007-12-29T14:23:00.001-05:00

We spent lots of time with family over the 24th, 25th & 26th, and have spent the days since then playing with our gifts. Dave working on his model train, Finn playing with everything he can reach, and I've been using my new serger & camera.

I tested out the serger by making quite a few wipes, as we can never have too many ... and having finished that, I made these cute overalls for Finn.

Trying Again

2007-12-21T07:47:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try. To write more often. To be more accountable to whoever's out there reading in blog land. So, here goes. Yesterday was our 2nd day with no water this week. The first was a screw up on the part of the city, yesterday was planned, but we got no notice. Put a big delay on our day, as I couldn't shower or bathe Finn until late afternoon. I did get almost all my holiday sewing done. All that is left is the waist band for one skirt, and Finn's sock monkey & mini-quilt. And, if I get enough time, I just might make some cozy velour pants with sock monkey details for Finn, since I bought him a cute brown sweater with red & cream stripes that reminds me of the sock monkey fabrics. I'm going to be taking a break from Orchid Place for the first few months of 2008, so that I can focus on my two final courses at Sheridan College. Once they are finished I will have completed all the course work to be a legitimate interior decorator, and will be working towards making Colour On The Walls a viable business. I'll still be stocking textile toys along with the other creative minds at In Their Hands, and bags and carriers will always be available at babyGO. Last week, I got the fabric gallery together for babyGO, at least for the woven fabrics. I'm happy it's complete, and that I don't have as much fabric as I thought I did! If you're family .... check out Finn's blog ... I'm updating that more often as well!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T14:42:00.000-04:00

I've finished all the samples, and they should be arriving at their first destination shortly. What a relief it was to complete them. I also managed to sew and stock new items at both babyGO and Orchid Place last week, and this week committed to join In Their Hands, check it out! I got a bad haircut, got it fixed, and then got that one improved, so I've had 3 hair cuts in the past 11 days! I think it's all good now, and will hopefully stay that way. I also settled on a name for my own interior company ... I'm very happy to have that firmed up, and can now move ahead with promotion plans and such, and set up to open in February 2008. :) Have a great day!

I'm really going to update this more often. Really.

2007-10-13T14:48:00.000-04:00

Ok, I think I need to be more intentional about this blog. So, I'm starting over. I'm going to try really hard to post more often, weekly at least. I'm going to write about whatever I want. Some of this may duplicate Finn's blog (access to family only!), but hey ... if you read both, you're family ad used to me chatting lots :) I'm going to hopefully update progress on my sewing, both for Orchid Place, babyGO and personal sewing for myself, Finn and gifts. I'll post photos of Dave's train set as it becomes more than 6" of styrofoam on a plywood platform. You'll get to see photos of Penny, Parker & Jesse too. Sewing Update I have 4 of 55 change purses completed for The Spotted Box. I have 10 more cut out and ready to sew. I have fabric for all of them - just need to get back to cutting. There are too many other projects to list right now, so I will only ramble on about projects that are at least cut out! And perhaps updating the blog will encourage me to start and finish projects! Life Update Finn is 7.5 mths old! Crazy. He has 3 teeth, 2 of them on the top, they're sharp - really sharp. Dave can confirm this for you, as Finn enjoys chewing on shoulders. Currently, Dave has taking the little guy out for the afternoon, so that I can have a bit of a break - I have used this break very wisely ... made chili, washed diapers, rescued my desk blotter from my crazy paper eating dog, and as soon as I'm done typing this update, I'm going to have a shower without listening for Finn ... you who don't have sole responsibility for another person 24/7 some weeks will not fully be able to appreciate how wonderful that really is! And, a wonderful has happened! It's finally fall! Cool and a bit of a brisk breeze ... perfect sweater weather :)

2006-02-26T10:22:00.000-05:00

me, Christmas 2003 An old photo I found :) It's meant to be in the profile, but I was just playing around with Hello & Picasa.

Oh Joy Oh Bliss ... 2 point perspective!

2006-02-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it's 2:30 or so now, and I've spent the past 5 1/2 hours on a lovely interior perspective of a cottage. It's worth a big part of my mark in this class, and I really think you should look at it, only I haven't quite figured out how to show pictures. I will, the next 'free' minute I get, which I believe might be in 2014 :) Well, I saved this as a draft, and have figured out how to add photos. So, here is my beautiful drawing (it's not perfect, but hopefully it's good enough). Enjoy! Send nice comments only. Be happy, it's Friday! "Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday" (Unknown)

Jumping on the Blog Wagon ...

2006-02-16T18:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm sitting here, taking a quick 'coffee' (rather, decaf bevy) break, and catching up on the lives of my family, reading blogs & websites, and thinking, I need one! Really, I know you're all wondering how I fill my days. I could detail all the things I've done today, but you'd be bored (I am, that's why I'm typing this). So, I'll figure out how this all works, and get more interesting things, and pictures, links & such set up later. Happy Thursday! "This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays." Douglas Adams (British comic writer, 1952-2001)