*tsk*tsk*

i know i said i’d be here more…and i hate it that i haven’t kept my word…

but i get distracted so easiLy…i am too busy noticing things Like the way the sun Looks when it’s coming through the window in my front room….

fooLing around with a new Lense….

taking baby beLLy pictures….aren’t they beautifuL??? so vintage and soft Looking….sigh. baby beLLies are so LoveLy….

finishing up some handmades…

the girL quiLt….

aLL done.

stitched up with Lots of Love…

and of course i can’t forget this guy….

my scrabbLe buddy.

he pretty much needs to be fed constantLy…

but he’s so entertaining…

and then he has these “requests”….as if i can “make” anything…

but i try anyway…

so i have not dropped off the pLanet friends…i am onLy caught up in the swirLing tornado that is MY Life…bLessed. crazy. sad. frustrating. funny. beautifuL and very distracting…(in a good way).

xo.

{heLLo may}

isn’t this a pretty LittLe card? i found it on pinterest yesterday and was gLad. it Looks Like something i wouLd Like to create if i had the time…

and this pretty LittLe may day basket…it was Left on my porch yesterdaymorning  by a dear friend….i wouLd Like to get my act together enough {someday} to Leave such sweet things on the doorknobs of my peeps.

i am proud to report that i have started a quiLt for my girL. {inspired by pinterest}. it is very simpLe because as noted….i don’t have room on my pLate for anything more compLicated than those compLicated things that i cannot do anything about…{i won’t mention any names or anything…but YOU know!!!}

i am much farther aLong in the process than these pictures…which is a good thing.

but it’s kinda fun to Look back and say WOW!!

…i gave the queen of the may the fLowers from that may day basket….wanted to give her something besides aLL my compLaining….

….i Love thee, Lady most worthy of aLL Love, mother of MERCY, powerfuL with God….

and just because i was taLking about pinterest….here’s one of those totaLLy siLLy e-cards that tickLe my funny bone on a daiLy basis….{and because this one is soooooo me…}

happy wednesday, friends.

 

 

a collective effort

it started with the idea to make the grammie a quilt.

a colorful mish-mash of fabrics from our stashes.

(those sunflowers are from my garden!!)

for a little woman who had a passion for her garden in her stronger days.

then it turned into a lesson in using the big machine for the girl-child.

those two were my mother’s ideas. she is the patient one.

notice her hands are helping. not mine.

i’m just the picture taker. sans wedding ring and with chewed fingernails *gasp* more bad habits

so i worked on my half alone because there are certain things i won’t do with my children.

teaching them to tie their shoes is one of them.

another is enduring painful lessons wherein i teach something that i really like to do for fun and recreation-but somehow leads to frustration and sometimes even tears on their part-because-well-frankly i don’t really know why-maybe that’s just not my forte.

besides that’s what nana’s are for. don’t you agree?

there was some hand stitching to be done.

a block which read: with love to the woman who taught us to work with our hands.

and the binding. which i really enjoyed sewing with some pearled cotton thread.

two things which ARE right up my alley!

it is now complete. tied with a rainbow of  silk ribbon bows. washed and ready to be delivered today.

because sometimes weekends are for giving…even when you’d rather be taking. a break. or a nap with a newly made quilt that you worked so hard on….

see i’m really not the one with good ideas….i told you so.

ps. tongue in cheek: i did add a small piece of our lady of guadalupe fabric(just in case the little grammie wants to have a “reversion” back to our beloved Catholic faith anytime soon…that was a good idea, huh? *wink*wink*)

frivolities

little. tiny. useless. houses.

but they sure are darling, aren’t they?

i have a whole little. tiny. useless. neighborhood. planned already…

originally found here.

i found that they photograph well too….no bad side!

star-spangled

so i have this mini-flag-quilt.

i use it for a centerpiece.

i let my mom “borrow” it the other day to take something breakable home.

i firmly said to her, “i expect you to return it promptly.”

it’s a little game we play.

well, return it she did….

with a nasty little note.

i know what i will be doing in my free time this week….

lacking a conclusion

i gather the lace tablecloth into a ball.

little bits of crumbs fall back onto the table.

even lace has holes.

pieces of the weekend come spilling out of my heart.

a heart overflowing with happiness for healing and grace freely given.

it is late monday but i can feel the love that is still here.

i recall the taste of a glass of shared orange champagne.

smiling  i think of the way it tickled my tongue.

two spoons and one serving of tiramisu.

a movie with my mama.

venturing out again. together. alone.

she holds my arm. a sign of her fragility. and vulnerability.

shadows from her fall lurk around every corner. and with every step.

all of life is so fragile.

we are bones. flesh. blood.

i remember: even lace has holes.

holes are the weaknesses.

things fall through.

yet the delicate fabric of who we are is durable.

and we can soak up so much goodness.

the goodness that is:

::falling asleep to the sound of rain.

the downpour a soothing symphony to the places that ache.

::sunday holiness. awe. praise.

early morning mass.

adoration. contrition. thanksgiving. supplication.

Spirit Food.

no crumbs there.

only Wholeness. and Completeness.

and strength in HIS Flesh and Blood.

i pause and ponder:

how is it that we so quickly outgrew that stage of fitting in just one pew?

my loves are sprinkled throughout the small chapel.

how does such a small chapel contain so much love?

because love is not something that can be contained.

it manifests itself in so many different ways.

and when i am not looking it slips right through those holes and sinks down into my deepest. darkest places…and resides with me.

even in my crumb-iness…

there is an echo of voices and i snap out of it.

stories are being read by my girl and my mama.

they fumble. trying to figure out where they left off last.

so much of life is fumbling and trying to figure out where you left off last….

the read aloud: the swiss family robinson.

so many interesting things to make small talk about.

there is a catch in my throat.

i had hoped these days would come again.

days where we’d hear and feel all of these things again.

will it all fall through again?

maybe. probably.

yes, definitely.

i take those words and set them aside for now.

life has too many holes and crumbs to think about.

and after much fumbling myself:

i leave this post without a conclusion…

making home: the color orange

it is still lingering here and there.

the color orange.

like in that curtain on the door that goes out to the laundry room.

the paisley print is vintage. from the fifties. my grandma gave it to me. and i actually first made it as a witch cape for sophia when she was 4. i always wanted to do something more with it. and voila! now it is a curtain!

and there it is again on a little seasonal side table in the dining room.

i like how it adds an element of warmth.

the table and the color orange.

my mother will totally disagree with me.

she is a beige person.

thankfully that is one quality of hers that i did not inherit.

i am not afraid of color.

i even added a bit to my hair recently.

highlights.

they make me feel young again.

i promise i don’t have orange hair.

i am not that brave.

thank you alice, for reminding us to look at the little things that make a house a home.

well…

the owls are finished. this one was completely designed and sewn (mostly) by my very artistic girl. who is hogging  learning to use my sewing machine.

we’ve been devouring copious amounts of halloween candy pomegranates.

i am really surprised that all of the sugar vitamin C  hasn’t kept this terrible flu/cold bug from hitting us.

i am teetering on the edge of becoming its’ next victim.

you know how life is on the edge. your eyes are burning. no they are not. you are achy. but not too achy to play florence nightingale. you keep taking the strongest stuff in the house because you refuse to succumb!

you’d rather discuss butterfly watching.

and watercolors.

or finish rolling that ball of yarn so you can start a pair of handwarmers for yourself  for once.

but sadly, there just aren’t enough hours in the days.

i say days because it seems that lately i just can’t get my act together.

this is a season of “too many targets”, as fulton sheen says.

aiming at perfection in too many ways.

instead of THE only way that matters.

so in an effort to get through this season i am letting the winding down happen.

naturally.

beginning with ignoring my two-year blog-o-versary that just passed.

i went back to that first blog and noticed that the more things change. the more they stay the same.

briefly, the same-ness:

i was still shuffling clutter around. dealing with too much halloween candy. and thinking about the very controversial presidential election/voting issues.

the changes?

i don’t need here so much.

i am content to lurk in the blogosphere and soak up the good things.

but no longer do i compare myself to others who seem to have it together more than i.

this community is beautiful. wonderful. and i wish i’d had it when my kids were younger.

maybe i would’ve had more time?

however, not all that glitters on the internet is gold.

i don’t feel guilty anymore for lack of posts.

i am perfectly at ease just laying in bed next to warm toasty bodies instead of uploading and editing pictures into the wee hours in the morning.

i have come to terms with my gifts as well as my shortcomings and imperfections.

i am a better photographer.

a horrible knitter.

sometimes i have nothing to offer this blog.

and, well….

well, that is ok too.

case closed!

giving them what they need

time to create. imagine. play. breathe fresh air and take long walks in search of baby pine trees and new flowers we’ve never seen before. making friends with wee small creatures. firsthand sightings of jack rabbits and chipmunks. blue jays. woodpeckers. and mountain chickadees. some old friends. others new.

during this little “break” i finished a few projects that have been in the WIP basket for a while.

yes, in a step towards organization i actually made a basket for all of the WIP’s and have committed to working on them one by one. vowing not to start anything new. but adding it to my “list” in my home-keeping notebook if it is a project i can’t get out of my head. (like some black sock knit fingerless gloves for myself)

i am so glad to have finished that rag doll. she was so important to my girl and once i got started i didn’t want to stop. the days for snuggling with rag dolls are not long enough and before i know it she’ll be on to other things.

however, chances are, if you give a girl a rag doll, she is going to want clothes to go with it… so i have been busily working on hand-sewn outfits. blouses and petticoats. (nana made the skirt). not easy. so tedious. and such little stitches. but i have to admit: i love hand sewing. i think this is really my forte. it is very soothing to me. and not much is involved. just fabric. needles and thread. ( i did create a little pattern for the blouse i made though. so as to avoid it not fitting properly. that can be so frustrating!)

so there was a little tooth tucked away in a pocket of my purse. it has been there for weeks. i am ashamed to admit this publicly, but it is sometimes like this for fourth children. they wait patiently for mama to do the things she once leapt up enthusiastically to do for the first and second child. and mama, in order not to fail completely, comes up with this clever pillow. hoping that forgiveness will come…and it does. luckily the fourth child is pretty forgiving.

i am thinking about school. still not sure what i’m gonna do. the clock is ticking though. i hear it. yet i put a pillow over it to cover up the incessant ticking. why? when this is my 11th year? and i should be a pro by now. why am i so insecure? and unsure?

because i don’t let God. that’s why.

and because giving them what they need is so much harder than giving them what they want.

not these two. but the bigger ones.

it’s exhausting really.

and one should not have to think such exhausting thoughts in august.

laugh often

at yourself.

and then use a good. free. photo editor.

joining nadja, i did this self-portrait thing.

you should try it too.

focus on your assets (because we all have them).

mine: lip gloss and new haircut.

the sun and its damaging effects is a lot like a good piece of cheesecake. all is fine and well in the moment. but later it’ll bite you in the butt. or in my case: the forehead.

don’t i look younger? though. with this short little cut.  it’s amazing what a new hairdo will “do”.

i had something else in mind. but my sister-in-law/hairdresser nora, sat me down. let me tell her what i wanted and then proceeded to tell me “that’s fine. but i am still going to do whatever i want.”

ok then.

so it was shorter than i intended. but so perfect for summer.

and eating good cheesecake.

and it is a breeze to wash.

and these days i am all about easier ya know.

today in the shower i didn’t even shave my legs all.the.way. i cheated and measured right about where my capris would “show”.

i wanted to hurry up and get out.

i had a lot on my mind.

like how i desperately needed to get to the library. and to the store to buy more borax.

i love borax so. much. it makes things so white. and clean.

i really am this boring interesting in real life.

oh. and speaking of love: there was this desert flower. it was blooming in my grandma’s front yard. all yellow and bright like the morning sun.

and these grilled pita. veggie pizzas. so easy. and so good.

and of course if one is truly living well there has to be sewing.

red work to be exact.

i have great plans for more roses like this one. but i can’t say them out loud. or they’ll never happen. so that’s all for now.

and. finally. for that sweet minnesota mama. and because i pretty much had all of the “blonde” cut off of my own head:

so there was a blonde. and she went to see a ventriliquist perform. he didn’t “notice” her in the audience and began telling dumb blonde jokes (as part of his act). everyone laughed but she became offended. stood up. and told him how she felt. upset that everyone stereotypes blondes as dumb. and stupid. he apologizes profusely. and she says to him: “shut up. i am not talking to you. i am talking to that jerk who is sitting on your lap.”

i am still laughing at this one.

my cheeks hurt. and i am outta here.

i hope your days too are filled with lots of meaningful conversations. good food. creative endeavors. and any(or even all) of  the millions of beautiful things and moments there are to be had.

xo.