current faves

I am fickle, I follow fads.  I "get way into" something, and then because I max out on it...I "get way over it" fairly quickly.  This happens with music around here a lot.  Remember this song?  After playing it 500 billion times I am not loving it as much anymore. (that song frustrates Emma because the "they always forget numbers 7 and 8 when they count")  So anyways, here are some of my current favorites which may or may not be considered the same next week.

Dad, are you still drinking yours?  I am sure that these don't work as well as just eating bucket loads of spinach- but something tells me these are more palatable. Found these at Costco.

There really isn't any cream that can undo what the years of ballet have done to my feet, but this one is nice none the less.

Swedish yarn (like Cindy, I heart all things Swedish right now).  It is acrylic- blah, but a lovely shade of apple green. Working through a pair of fingerless gloves- hope to share them soon!

Yummy, yummy, so yummy coffee from a very yummy local coffee shop. Every time I open the cupboard where it is stored I take a huge whiff of it!  Good thing I drink decaf because I am pushing 3 cups a day!

What are your "can't live withouts" right now?

mending

My sewing machine has been in the shop twice in the last 2 weeks (I have a newer model, but have had a couple of quirky issues with it.)  I've missed it.  However, the break did us both some good.  My machine now weighs about 10 pounds less because all the lint and dust that has been cleaned out (sorry Mr. Repair Man :)  He gently reminded me that things might be helped if I did that myself- and a bit more often. I used the time away from Singer to recover from my "Last Minute Christmas Sewing Freak-out" and found a new desire to jump back in.  It was a joyous reunion.  Hannah was excited to see that it had returned to it's rightful place on my sewing table because I have been promising to make her some new jammies with the flannel she picked out at the fabric store.  Inspired by this post- I decided that we would work on them together.

 

I let her push the pedal and I did the steering.  This process reaffirmed what I already knew about Hannah.  That is- she basically has two speeds, major lolly-gager or crazy fast.  We struggled for a while to find our rhythm, laughing a lot! She also had some very specific requests as to the color of her thread (red top-stitching, and pink bobbin), length of her pants (she wanted her slippers to show), and the tightness of her waistband (we had to readjust a couple of times to get it just right). After chatting, teaching, some learning, and lots of giggles, she had her pants.  We used this pattern- so simple.  Because I didn't want to bore or worse frustrate her- simple was good.

She wore them for 2 days (and nights).  Then, the requests started coming in for more.  Laurel's are blue, longer, and with some zig-zags.  Thankfully, for the last 2 days we didn't have much reason to wear anything other than our softy flannel pants and slips.

Frankly, after last week (our first going back to school since the Holiday break) most of us felt like this doll- worn, ragged, and with our stuffing hanging out.  We spent much of the weekend mending.  Its always nice to give and receive a little more of each other during these quiet times.  Recharges the batteries a bit, you know?  Hey did you also know about this?  The popcorn is on deck and I have a very cozy companion who is sure to appreciate the romance of Jane Austen (as opposed to others that dwell here- you know who you are :)

winter daydreaming

This was the scene coming down the hill into town this morning. 

 

Quite beautiful I know, but also losing it's novelty (by the way, I do not recommend being the photographer and the driver. simultaneously)  My seed catalog arrived the other day.  Fantasies of growing a bigger better garden than last year are hovering about in my mind. I know my space, my sun, and my soil all a little better this time around.  The planning has been in early stages for a couple of weeks now. (below: how I spent the my time this afternoon while the girls napped)

I am a complete novice.  The only things I have learned about gardening have come from this book. It is a quick easy read with lots of helpful charts and drawings.  I am a chart/drawings kind of girl. So now, the only things standing in my way are about 6 inches of crusty snow (with more on the way) and temperatures that are about 30 degrees too chilly. Is it too early to have spring fever?