hey there! hello?

I just read over at (in)courage that...

today is National Delurking Day!

which means if you read here and have never commented,
or maybe don't comment often, today is your day!
want to say hi for the first time? or just the first time in awhile?

I'd love to meet you!

I'm off to leave some comment love out there in the blogosphere.

January 11 is International Thank You Day

So THANK YOU

to everyone who has ever taken a moment
to leave a comment here.
It really means a ton to me, truly.

and THANK YOU for having your own awesome blog that I love.

and THANK YOU for inspiring my creativity and
making me take on new ideas.


Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Monday, Monday OR a tiny bit of boring reality, maybe just keep scrolling past this one....

Source: tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

My day went something like this:

grilling ( griddling?) up chocolate chip pancakes on a whim since the boys woke up and got dressed so easily...

Logging and pocketing and stamping books for the school library for as long as I could until Will decided he had had enough of that ten by twenty little space. ( he made it two hours, I commend him. Yes, I said commend.)

Packing and sweeping and sorting and otherwise cleaning up all the Christmas mess, ahem, decorations. It's so much work putting it all away. It's work putting it up but at least you're excited to do that...

Planning a tea party-ish mini- menu for Old Ladies' Club* tomorrow with only what I have in the house. ( * Me and Mum and Nana and Neighbor and Sis-in-Law, playing with yarn in a very old lady-ish manner, aka, baby hats and doilies, haha!)

Library Trip! The highlight of the day, which included Will"s quote of the week, while clinging to his book choice: "This is going to be the bestest thing of my LIFE!"

The singular Joy of getting all the way to the self checkout, scanning all my items and then realizing I did not, in fact, have a card on me with which to pay for those things. Ahh, the humility....

Continuing the battle against The Laundry and The Dishes... ugh..... Sometimes I wish I had no (eco) conscience so I could just use paper plates. everyday.

And now, a bloggy break. Phew. Before dinner, jammies, bedtime stories and the nightly request for eighteen glasses of water....

I thought it was going to be a Library trip, a walk, light housework, some lazy reading, and some girlfriend time after that. Boy was I ever wrong? Do you have those days too, or is it just me? it's so hard to tell in this world of picture perfect blogs!
You know you can think of one blogger you would just love, just once, to blog that they set dinner on fire, or had to send the kids to timeout seven times today? You know you can, haha! Of course, all those perfect crafty mamas do help me set my bar SO much higher....

Well, that was a thrilling post, wasn't it? Haha! Sorry. If you made it this far, I also commend you!

Happy Birthdaaaaaaay!

Today is my lovely friend Jill Marie's birthday.



She is a master jam maker,
triathlete,
geo-caching,
dog loving,
super Auntie,
photographer extraordinaire.

And I just love her to death.

Happy Fortieth Birthday Jill!

this is the big one to me.

In five weeks, my little baby boy, is headed off to kindergarten.

And our lives are going to change. Schedules, routines, traditions a little I think. I'm trying to not think about it a ton, really.

So to me, this has been the big summer. The last one before change. The big one.

And we are living it up. Staying up late, sleeping late. Going places, doing things, seeing people.

We made a summer list, a la Meg ( How do I love you Meg, let me count the ways....) and we've been ticking them off one by one. ( in no order really...)

Camping



of course the afghan has to come!

Fresh-water Fishing



You would not believe how exciting sunfish can be, haha! And determined to live! We had one jump right out of the bucket!

Fireworks



from the best vantage point, Uncle Regis' apartment! No bugs, AC and dinner to boot.

Barnstable County Fair



Honestly, I have no idea how families can afford to let their kids ride the midway. Holy expensive! But worth every penny (sixteen bucks!?) for the one ride we took together on this ferris wheel. I wanted them to see all the lights from the top.

Free Concerts.



At the town wharf. Right by the ice cream shop where I worked as a teenager. Perfect.

Plus lots of visiting, campfires with s'mores, beach time, a trip or two to the movies. It's been a loaded few weeks.

( All photos by my phone or Harry's camera....insert grumble here.... Must. get. mine. fixed. soon. )

And I'm still awaiting the arrival of Countdown Calendars! I found a photo of my tiny contribution. Want to see? It's here. I'm on page 39. Just a page, but I'm thrilled. Keep an eye out, I'll be giving one away to a lucky reader when they arrive.

Do you make a summer list? Do you have must-do's for the season?

a whole lot of nothing...

sitting: at the dining room table.

eating: kettle brand cheddar chips, mmmmm...

listening: to some of my favourite playlists on 8tracks.

making: friendship bracelets. yes, really.

smelling: one rose that's filling the room. it's almost citrus-y

wanting: about a million more rose bushes. okay, a half dozen would do...

wondering: why camera chose now to quit. with vacation a few days away....

loving: the cool of today.

...washing laundry, fixing lunches, making plans. catching up....

And somehow it all seems like a lot of nothing.... hmm...?

What are you up to today? Is it cooler where you are?

news and such....

It's not too late to join!

It's a great goal for you or your whole family!

I'm really embracing exclamation points today!

Clicky clicky for more info on the challenge, and how we're using it help our community. As always, your prayers for our goal are always appreciated!


In other news...


(photo credit for killer photo.)

It's National Donut Day...

I figure 99/100 + Donut Day probably cancel each other out.

Maybe.

right.....?

rainbow-y

I couldn't help notice the resemblance of my bracelet and William's donut....





pardon the crummy phone camera photos... ;)

it turned out more like a rant....

This isn't a where-did-the-summer-go?-why-I-haven't-posted?-apology post.

Just saying...



I really didn't intend to take a well, summer long break, it's just I have this thing going on right now. That kind of sucks and it's been going on for almost a year and there's no end in sight and it's really ruining everything about my daily life I had come to love...



It's......a job.

Yep, I said it. work. I got a job out of necessity and damn I hate it.

It messes with my baking. It leaves me no time to crochet. I hardly have energy to pick up the camera. Honestly, I upload ALL my photos to Shutterfly, at the end of each month, and I hadn't ordered prints since April and do you know how many shots I actually wanted? a hundred. One hundred shots in five months. I usually keep a hundred shots in one beach trip day, AND! That includes two family vacays and a beautiful mountaintop wedding.

Oh, look I did make something recently...



So I guess I just have to say posting will be spotty for as long as this crappy situation continues ( read: the economy...) But I'll try to be around. I do have some fall projects in mind. And you all KNOW how I love Halloween. And know that I'm still reading all your blogs, even if I don't comment a ton.

beautiful seedling favors...



Wow, this is a dead-end post.... I guess I will apologize after all, Haha!

2009, in photos

hoo-boy, I just tried to pick out some photos month by month for the year and had to give up. I had to make mosaics, there's just too many!

so here they are!

January, February, March:



April, May:



June, July, August:



September, October:



November, December:



Oh all those photos! That's a whole lot of baking in there! And crocheting, thrifting, a little sewing, traveling and gardening and a love in each and all!

And how about my to-do list from last year? Well...I did make Harry an apron. And blog a little more consistently. But as for the rest...oh that's shameful...I'll just tack them onto the 2010 list, the more the merrier!

I hope everyone's holidays were merry and bright!

Mail call!

Hmmm. A Package for me?

Who's it from?



Oh! Of course! I was the proud winner of a very generous giveaway from Miss Torie Jayne! ( Go see her, she has the prettiest photo-filled posts! )

Ooh this looks good already...



Yay! Cookies! From the Fancy Lady!



And more?



Check out this beautiful box! That little tie there.



Pretty cards. And...



More cookies! Each tied with a little pink bow! ( I'm so goofy, I'm almost as excited about the free ribbon as the cookies, haha! )





Mmm. What diet?

If you want some of these for your own, Visit The Fancy Lady's etsy shop. And her website is offering free cupcakes. Really. Go See.

paper cups.

Sorry folks, not a whole lot of words today. The Zzz monster's got me by the jammies, lack of sleep from sick babies has caught up to me. Something better tomorrow.....

oh crap.

I really wanted to show you a nice shot of my parent's yard at sunset,

and some chocolate-y goodness I concocted over the weekend,

but my camera is in the car.

with my keys.

......

tomorrow then?

little differences

Who would've thought that moving two chairs the tiniest bit yesterday would make such a difference in my morning. The light was all different from my seat. Perfect to see the jasmine in the bottom of my teacup. (thanks again Matt!) So nice I had to drop the early morning clean and pick up my new yarn instead. It started my day out great.



Oh and Mum sent over some new donuts from a test recipe. That didn't hurt things either.

Today's agenda: Cleeeeaning for the big visit, working on a scarf for Uncle Regis, oh and applying for a job. Wish me luck people, this could be a very good thing. And pray it doesn't interfere with the big visit, haha!

Bad Blogger...

I've been so busy with birthdays, Renovations and other mom duties, I've had nothing crafty to post. I'm itching to do something other than my ripply blanket! How often do I only have one craft project going? Um, almost never!

So here's something found on here we are together for now...

Four (odd) Jobs I’ve Had: Gift Wrapper, Photo Repairer, Pizza Maker, Auto Photographer

Four Places I’ve Lived: My Family Farm, My Crummy First apartment, Casa Modesto (now) and does the craft store count? I practically live there...

Four Places I’ve Vacationed: Maine ( Okay all of New England), Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Montreal,

Four of My Favorite Dishes: Sushi! Steamed Mussels, Fresh Salads, *Rare* Steak!

Four Sites I Visit Daily: Facebook, My Google Reader, Youtube, The Weather Channel

Four TV Shows I Love: Grey's Anatomy, Lie to Me, The Office, Bob Ross!

Four Places I’d Rather Be Right Now : Maine at my favourite Campsite, The Beach with a book, A tearoom with some crochet, A tiny waterfront B & B with Paul!

Okay, your turn, let's see your fours!

party all week

Thank you so much everyone for all the nice birthday wishes. I've been having a great week with dinners out and lunches on the water, thrifting and girls' night and, oh my, now a little getaway with my hubby. (Off to see Matt and Jill!)

Let me tell you, I spent the whole day crocheting under a tree. I'm rippling now, in green and blue for Harry.

I was thinking it would give me something to do on the very long drive, but I don't have enough yarn! What to do? Grab some of the stash and make up something new of course! One can never have too many afghans.

The boys played like angels all afternoon and I got to pick some gigantic pumpkins and butternut squash from the garden. It almost makes me worried that tomorrow will be terrible to make up for all today's pleasantness. But let's not think like that...

I'll be back in a few with stories of New York. And some photos of my new kitchen maybe? And how about a few more nut-so ideas running around in my head?

Happy holiday weekend all!

Hello!

I'm back from vacation but more of that later, there's much more important things!

See this!



Do you know what it is?

Guess!

That's right! The first zucchini of the summer! Hooray!

I think it looks like a smile...





And this, a whole bowl of Asian peas for dinner tomorrow. Yippee!

I have a ton of photos to share from vacation, and lots of links and places to share.

And a question. I was clicking about all vaca and in the yard this afternoon and in wonder at all the colours at this time of year and I thought would anyone be interested in doing a color-study week, like a rainbow week, Monday:Red, Tuesday: Orange, etc? (Pardon the run-on sentence, people who know me in "real life" know this is how I talk when I'm excited about something.)

So what do you all think? I could make some cute rainbow-y logo and you could mention it on your blog? I'd be mighty obliged. We could start Monday. Or another day, let me know.

survey...

photo credit

I just had a tooth out.
The dentist is one of two of life's strangest places to talk.
I can't decide if it's more awkward to try to answer questions with two people standing over you while your mouth is stretched to it's limits,

or to try and carry on pleasant conversation when your feet are in stirrups?

stirrups anyone?
Originally uploaded by t_dot

what does three weeks off do to your google reader?

It backs up with 343 unread items!

And makes me wonder how many separate windows I can have open before this machine crashes on me. Just for the record, It's apparently more than eleven, that's how many I have right now!

Here are a few things I missed, that maybe you did too, that I thought were noteworthy.

*These supersweet birdcages at Nest Decorating.

*Yummy, sprinkly, chocolately banana snacks that would brighten up any playdate. (Or evening on the couch watching Grey's I think.)

*This springy bag has me dreaming of smelling flowers and long walks without ten layers of sweaters on. See her cute blog, too.

*Tub paint!

*I love the prints in this etsy shop. Faves are this and this. Of course, being from a fishing town, it should read: A seagull with a french fry!

*Since my wardrobe needs some updating for spring, I think I could pick up some big tees on clearance and try out this great pintuck look!

*And if you don't read doe-c-doe, get over there. Her photography makes me smile. And drool usually, she gets the best thrift scores!

I'm really liking all the brights of my dishes here. What's inspiring you today?

Okay, I'm rotten.

I know. I promised a two hundredth post complete with giveaway, and then I disappear for like a week.


I have so much to say. Should we start with some photos? Just a few faves I came across from the past hundred and ninety nine. I had to mosaic them because there were too many!

And has everyone heard of this giant bloggy giveaway carnival going on? I don't know how long they're going on, but go see, There's over a thousand!

And all my squares have been cut, counted, enveloped and posted off. I had so much fun digging through the stash and remembering every project I bought each fabric for. Every now and then while I was sorting them, a pretty colour combo would pop up like this.

Of course, it's sale time at the local quilt shop, so all that cutting made space for a few new things, hehe. I'm thinking spring skirt for that yellow.
And I've started getting squares back! Hooray! I just love getting mail, and getting fabric in the mail is like Christmas everyday! And I joined another swap hosted by Amy at commonplace.

It's almost Valentine's Day, too! I'm already seeing so many great projects around, I don't know if I'll have time to make everything I want! I have to make some of the sweet crochet hearts from Bella Dia again, this time in cotton to be used as washcloths. Little melt-n-pour heart soaps with them would make a nice little party favor for the annual valentine making party. Which I really should schedule....put it on the to-do list.

And then these sweet little heart pockets. And Amy's (at vintage fern) little heart wreaths.

Okay, how about the giveaway, you're thinking? I'm still up in the air for the contents, So I have to say it'll be a mix of fabric, beads, yarn, goodies, trinkets, doodads, and sparkly bits, customized a bit to who it is who wins. It'll be a big surprise. Leave a comment to enter yourself. I'll pick a winner Sunday night.

Okay, I'm off to do my favourite thing lately: Bake to keep the house warm!

(new eight cup pan! thrifted.)