Thursday, July 30, 2009

Finished for Friday: The end of an era


I'm afraid I have a somber FFF today. I did have needlework done but my mind and my heart are heavy with the passing of my old beloved cat Nina.

This picture was taken in better days. She lived over 18 full, wonderful years and despite her serious face in this shot, she was an incredibly loving companion.

Although we have the pair of mischievous kittens to keep us busy, there is a hole in the house that Nina used to fill, and I will miss her a lot.

Animals can be such a quiet blessing to our lives, and it's hard to say goodbye, even when you know the time has come.

I do want to see your projects and accomplishments this week. Thank you as always for joining in. Have a wonderful weekend and cherish those you love - whether they have 2 legs or 4, or maybe fins.

Vintage Thingies Thursday: Dwarf

I'm not sure how old this little garden statue is, but he's heavy, unlike the resin statues Disney has been selling in recent years. This is Bashful from the movie Snow White and he's lived in various places around the yard. Here he is gracing the front porch with some of my animal planters.

A few weeks ago I let Wasabi Girl and a friend pot a bunch of flowers and they had fun finding all my empty pots and filling them. I might not have put something quite so tall in that duck, but it's cute.

Vintage Thingy Thursday is hosted by Coloradolady. Please visit her to see all the vintage goodies this week.

Please join me tomorrow for Finished for Friday!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Today's Agenda, by Hestia


5:30 am Wake up. Begin wrestling with brother race around the big King size bed until the sleeping humans begin to move. Attack their toes when you see them move under the covers.

5:45 am begin chewing on cords to the lamp on the bedside table.

5:50 am rustle papers to drive humans nuts

6:00 When humans finally get out of bed, jump tackle their knees, attack their bare toes, and climb the back of the fuzzy bathrobe.

6:01 Begin dancing under the feet of the humans until they start to trip.

6:15 Start racing around the house. Jump on each of the small humans' beds. Attack their ears for no reason.

6:30 Try a swipe at the big cat. Cower in fear when she snarls and swipes back with her huge paw.

6:35 Steal a sock and take it to another part of the house.

6:45 Jump up on the counter to investigate the noisy coffee maker. Pretend you don't understand when the humans shout and push you off.

6:55 Climb the screen door.

7:00 Climb the ficus tree

7:05 Jump up on the table to investigate the human breakfast. Pretend you don't understand when they shout and push you off.

7:10 Spill the water dish all over the floor.

7:15 Jump up on the piano and begin chewing on some sheet music.

7:20 Jump up on the laptop and type pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp

[repeat activities from 5:45 am over and over all day.]

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Sunday comic

Lit and Laundry

related [litandlaundry.blogspot.com]
Lit and Laundry

Drama Girl has finished her last performance and I think we've all survived, although I'm wondering now if the symptoms I've had all week were in fact Swine flu. At least one cast family has it.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Finished for Friday: Garden Quilt


This little quilt has a long history. I made most of these blocks during a workshop at Asilomar led by Jean Wells. I bought about a hundred different fabrics during the course of construction.

Once home, I got distracted set the blocks aside temporarily and turned to other projects.

That was a few years ago. In the interim, I took the blocks out, made a few more, and scattered them around the margins of my design wall. They looked so pretty up there.

You know what happens when you have something in plain sight for a long time? You don't see it any more.

But thanks I think, to the cold medicine I took this week, I finally got the urge to take them all down and assemble them into a quilt. Not as big as I was first planning, but if I were to wait any longer for the urge to make more blocks, it would just never happen.

So hurray for mush-brained creativity! I've already filled the space on my design wall with another work in progress.

Lit and Laundry


What have you been up to this week? Link up and let us know. Be sure to visit all the other players and give them a pat on the back.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Calling in sick

Sorry I'm short on posts, I've got a bad cold/sore throat and I'm loopy on cold medicine. Back soon!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Adventure Week Recap

And I get all the laundry

related [litandlaundry.blogspot.com]
And I get all the laundry


So far Drama Girl hasn't shown signs of lice, but I'm keeping an eagle eye on every hair on her head. It's frustrating because we've worked so hard on the costume team to be sure nobody shares hats or scarves or costumes. *sigh*

Wasabi Girl had a good time, but the flu hit her camp hard and a lot of campers had to go home early. Poor Jungle Boy was stuck in his tent for a few days at his camp. I'm glad my husband was there with him.

I'm glad everybody's home now so I can take care of them.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Finished for Friday: Costumes

This week's finish is something I don't get to keep. I've been working with a team of moms to get all the costumes done for Drama Girl's play "Fiddler on the Roof." I'm sure there will still be some little emergencies to sew here and there, but they are finally all done, and that is a huge relief.

Lit and Laundry

What have you checked off your list this week? Have you seen the new Harry Potter movie yet? Tell us about anything you've done, and grab the code for my logo from the sidebar. Don't forget to visit the other participants and give them a pat on the back!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wordful Wednesday: HP6



July 15 is a day that has long been circled on our family calendar. Drama Girl and I are going to the theater first thing in the morning.

Will you be seeing it?



Wordful Wednesday is hosted by Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

It's Adventure Week

Everyone is having adventures this week. Here is a well-prepared little scout off for a week of scout camp at Catalina Island with his dad.

This little beauty with the matching pink luggage and pillow is off for a week of Bible camp in the redwood trees. (Yes, her Bible is pink too).


Meanwhile, back home, this brave actress is in the final week of rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof. Here she is practicing the bottle dance.

As for me, I am having adventures at my sewing machine creating dozens of costumes for Drama Girl's play.

It's going to be a fun busy week for everyone, even though we're not all together. Thinking about all the adventures ahead makes my Monday. To see more happy Monday stories, visit Cheryl at Twinfatuation.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Finished for Friday: Worms Alfredo

This week I finished up another block in my Halloween series. I'm getting nervous that I might not get the whole quilt done before Halloween.



"Worms Alfredo" is something my kids would say about my cooking.

Lit and Laundry


I also read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in anticipation of the movie opening next week. I had forgotten a lot of that book so I'm glad I picked it up again.

I also made an impassioned plea to the school board to continue funding for our local tutoring program. I'm not the most comfortable public speaker, but this is something I have worked for and I feel very strongly about. They did not take another vote on it this week, but I'll be there when it comes up again on the agenda.

What have you been working on this week? Grab a button from my sidebar for your post and be sure to sign in on Mr. Linky. Please visit the other participants and give them a big pat on the back. Thanks for playing along!


Vintage Thingies Thursday: Lefton China


As promised a while back, I was able to dig out some more of my Lefton China to show you. The large teapot is a musical teapot; it plays when it is lifted up. Fun stuff. The cups have buffet dishes that go with them, that I didn't fit into the picture. All of the pieces are handpainted.

Vintage Thingies Thursday is hosted by Colorado Lady. Visit her and check out all the great vintage items bloggers are sharing today.

Don't forget to join me tomorrow for Finished for Friday!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

When Scamper Went to Live on the Farm

I'll admit I'm a bit naive. Occasionally a little gullible. I have my over-trusting moments. But there is one story that my kids will never let me live down. They enjoy being wiser than their dear old mom, because she is obviously living in La-La Land sometimes.

Scamper was our family dog when I was little. Great little dog. I remember his silky coat and playfulness.

Scamper went to live on a farm one day.

I used to think wistfully of Scamper. Romping about in the wide open spaces. He must have been so happy there! Chasing squirrels and barking at sheep or whatever livestock they had on that farm. It wasn't until I was in my mid-30s, on the phone with my sister one day that the truth came out.

You're not going to believe this, but Scamper never actually went to a farm. The truth was so horrible that my family actually lied to me. My sister thought I knew. She joked about it.

I'm still traumatized. I told my kids about it one time and they think it's absolutely hilarious that I actually believed the farm story well into my adult life.

I'm sticking to my guns and hanging on to those happy fantasy memories. Good old Scamper.

I bet he loved to run around the barn and chase the chickens.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

The Perils of Laundry

I confess we are one of those families that does not park their cars in the garage. Sure, we used to, years ago, but like many Americans with kids, our posessions have somehow overtaken our "extra" space. I hate it, and wish we could park indoors, but having the garage as an extension of our living space gives me a dedicated corner for my sewing, and a place for the kids to keep their computer. My husband has his office area in the garage too, and it's worked out fairly well. Just take a left at the Christmas decor and past the laundry hampers and you'll find his space.

Sundays tend to be my sewing days. I throw in load after load of laundry and settle in with my sewing machine for some quality therapy time. Yesterday was no different. Head down, thoughts in my quilt, I hardly noticed what was going on around me.

Then my daydreams surfaced a bit and my mind started to reflect. "Gee. The water splashing into the big sink from the washer sounds just like a fountain, doesn't it?" I finished the seam. More splashing. The mind interrupted the sewing again. "Gee. I've never actually heard that fountain noise before, have I?"

I looked up, and there it was. A waterfall of water gushing over the rim of the sink. Splash!!

I can't move very fast since my surgery, so I did the most logical thing. Yelled for my husband. Luckily, he was just around the corner from the camping equipment, somewhere near the Christmas lights. "It's OVERFLOWING!!"

It's amazing how slow and helpless you feel when you see your garage being doused with gallons of water. It's amazing how quickly you can grab even "the good towels" to try to stop the creeping wave from advancing. It's gratifying to know that when you call for the kids to come right now, they will show up and form a chain to quickly pass boxes and items from the danger zone to dry ground. Bless them, they were a huge help. Even more astounding? when you post about it on facebook and your neighbor happens to read it and calls to ask if you'd like to use her washer and dryer. My husband was quite impressed with the power of social networking.

No huge harm done (although I'm not sure those are good towels any more). Looks like my Monday will be spent waiting on a plumber.

I think I'm going to need an extra day of quilt therapy this week.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Finished for Friday: Patriotic Quilt

Here is another mini-quilt that seems appropriate for this weekend. I also read "Lord of the Flies" on my Kindle this week, after Drama Girl picked up a copy to read from the library. I thought it would be fun to read the same book at the same time. She didn't finish it but I couldn't put it down.

Lit and Laundry

Tell us what you've finished this week. I love to see everyone's accomplishments. Grab the button from my sidebar if you'd like and sign in to Mr. Linky below. Have a great weekend and enjoy Independence Day!


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