A Good Weekend

Did you have a good weekend? I had work to do but somehow, it just didn't get done. There was too much fun to be had with the family (and the kids didn't want to go to sleep at night!).

We had fun exploring the Children's Garden on the Michigan State campus and getting very dirty in the process. Well, what's fun without dirt, right?


We also stumbled upon the preparations for an outdoor wedding - someone had a beautiful wedding day! I only wish we could have stayed long enough to spy the bride.

I hope you had a great weekend too...

On the path.

I'm Back!

Honestly, was I going to go a whole month without a blog post? I was very worried for a little while that might just happen. So, unfortunately summer is my absolute busiest time for work and even though I still tried to do some crafting for sanity, I really didn't get much done around here other than work. AND I mean WORK! Wow. What a whirlwind. I worked all day and started up again in the evening. A couple of times I actually had to work until 5 or 6 in the morning! Seriously. Ugh.

Well, enough of that. I can't cry about it because I got paid and anyway, I feel much better now that I have a few big projects all packed up and sent away. Yea! So I'm back in blog-land and feeling good. Shall we start?

Ava, my dear, sweet girl with the screech that could rival the tornado siren here in town, turned one on July 12th. It was so much fun and we all had a good time. As always, the baby dolls are invited to the party.


Here is the birthday girl with her proud mama:


Things are finally starting to bloom and flourish around here. June was such a weird month with hardly any sun, cooler days and lots of rain. Which is good, but when it's not followed by some hot sun, the plants go into hibernation. My veggies in pots are doing that now.





And yes, I have been knitting! Alas, it turns out that Debbie and I can no longer see each other. Remember the ill-fated toddler hoodie? Well, that was from this book by Debbie Bliss. I remember being so excited when I swiped it from the Barnes and Noble shelf, lapping up all of the beautiful pictures and planning my knitting for the next two years. Ah, no more.

I really wanted it to work out. Debbie and I seemed like we would get along so well! Remember this dress I was working on? Well, it turns out that when I finally got to the part where you normally just knit the armholes and finish off the straps the pattern directions really got all wonky. Deb had to be difficult. Even the OWNER of my lys couldn't figure the pattern out for me. Sadly, we have to break up. It's time. I found a new pattern for a cute girl's tank top. And this is what is happening to that stupid dress back:



And finally, FINALLY, today I got to do some baking. My sweet hubby is grilling some great burgers tomorrow so I made up some loaves of french bread (my first try) for the sandwiches. Yum! Apparently, I need to use a sharper blade for the slits - oh well.


I also bought these lovelies at the farmer's market. Aren't they pretty?




So often I will buy something at the FM just because it is so pretty and then I'll figure out what to do with it later. I found a fabulous recipe for Red Currant Pie. So good!





I am also trying to finish a quilt as a gift for someone who loves blue. It's almost halfway there...



I ALSO joined the Sassy Apron Swap for fall. I'm very excited - this will be my first swap! I love aprons and the thought of having someone make me one is so exciting. I can only hope that mine will be as good as theirs. Sign up is still open until July 25th so hurry up and get on the list! Maybe you and I will be swap partners?

I ALSO also (tired of the "alsos" yet?) finished off another bean bag for my shop. See my sidebar for details. Whew!

I'm back on the path!

Playing Catch-Up

Like I said, I refuse to let my various projects get the best of me. Even though I am buried under work and housework, I have found a few moments to whip out some of my WIPs. So, this photo-heavy post should be a good update on what's been going on in my crazy house lately.

Still working on finishing that Debbie Bliss Picot Dress. I just started the arm strap and hope to really get some knitting done on it in the coming weeks. Keep in mind, this is the very same book that the ill-fated toddler hoodie came from. I hope the dress will turn out much better.



These little guys came from this pattern and I highly recommend you knitters out there to try it. Once I figured out the loop stitch, it was such a breeze. I've already knitted three and need to finish these. They just need their loops attached and some lion faces stitched on.


My garden almost bit the dust (or rather drowned) last weekend during the strong thunderstorms. There were a few tornadoes that touched down in our area but none came by our house thank goodness. We did spend a few moments getting comfy in our basement on Sunday evening though. Surprisingly, my deck garden survived and the plants are no worse for wear. There were a few twigs sticking upright in the soil, but other than that, they seem pretty happy.


I have planted some herbs, tomatoes, various peppers and some lovely sugar snap peas that are growing like crazy. I am excited to say that I have some beginnings of peppers growing already and a few flowers on my pea vine. I know, it's Michigan though, so we need a little extra time. This girl's garden is really in full swing.




Finally, an FO. A Finished Object. Yes, I did finish something in these past few weeks and I'm glad to say, it turned out great (unlike my quilt top). This is Ava's dedication dress - a little rumpled from wearing it on Sunday. It's a simple, reversible smock and I'm proud to share it:











On the path...

I'm back!

I've been back for a while, but it seems like I've been gone forever. I did have a nice time in Oklahoma City and the group got a lot of things accomplished for work, but I really did miss my babies terribly. Oh, and my husband of course.

So we celebrated by going to the Frederick Meijer Gardens this past weekend to check out the butterfly exhibit, the children's gardens and play area and the sculpture gardens. This was our first time going and we loved it so much that we have decided that we are definitely coming back when everything is in bloom.


We spent some time in the arid garden indoors and it really made me want to go on vacation. Has anyone trouped to a tropical place with their VERY small children? Well, maybe someday soon, right?

Here are Channy and Ava contemplating the cacti.


Let me tell you how hard it was to take photographs in the butterfly exhibit. The exhibit lanes were too narrow for our double-wide stroller so we had to get the kids out and carry them through. They LOVED the butterflies but it is difficult, to say the least, to try to take steady pictures with one hand and holding a wriggling baby in the other. Here's an example...


So, this is the best butterfly shot I could manage.


We also walked over to the Michigan Farm where Channy ran around petting all the farm animal sculptures. He was having a great time running all over the place like an ant scurries around in circles before it reaches its destination. There was a dinner bell at the farm that Chandler really enjoyed ringing. Ava slept through most of this. I guess the butterflies wore her out.


Come and meet the letter people.
Come and visit the family!


Words are made of letter people...
A B C D, follow me!



Okay, so no one joined me in the Letter People theme song rendition, but those sculptures reminded me of my beloved childhood puppet show (it was your typical high-tech 70s children's show). So, I was inspired and threw out my jazz hands to sing the song with abandon. Joel pushed the kids farther ahead and pretended he didn't know the crazy blond woman trailing behind singing her heart out. Oh well. There were some beautiful and fun sculptures in the gardens, but the letter people were my favorite.

This reminds me that spring is coming and also that I have a lot of work to do in my yard.


Stay tuned for some crafty updates as I get settled back into my routine.

Back on the path...

Getting Ready...

I am so ready for spring! I am back to listening to bruddah IZ on my computer and dreaming about Hawaii. I am thinking warm thoughts, putting on an extra layer and sometimes, just turning up the thermostat. I wonder if my little oscine friends outside are thinking the same warm thoughts.

I have been restless being indoors for so long. That has turned out to be good for getting projects done around the house. I've decided to cut up all of my old baby receiving blankets (they were so small and my children were so large that they only ended up being used for about a week anyway) and make some home made baby wipes. The first couple of wipe sessions have gone well and I know that they are gentler on my babies' skin. Of course, we'll be taking the disposables on the road. I'd like to say that I'm THAT hard-core but I'm not. I can be a weak woman when it comes to diaper changes sometimes. Whatever is easy and quick, right?


Springtime will come on soon I'm sure, now that I've got my seeds started. I planted them last night and have them all snuggled up and thinking green thoughts in their warm, wet dirt beds. That's a grow light shining on them. We don't always get much sunshine here anyway and when we do, the room they are currently residing in isn't always the sunniest. Grow lights rock!


And since all of the stores around here are all out of rock salt, I must tread carefully on that path!