What, these ol' things?

Just before we left home to head to a whiter Christmas location, I finished a few things.  

I had just learned how to do herringbone stitch book bindings, and with my freshly made sewing frame, I thought I would make my mother a book for Christmas.

It wasn't the best of the best.  I even redid the covers- they were that not good!  And a press sure would have helped, but it turned out pretty nice in the end.  I think they can only get better in the future, and it is one of those things, that I wanted to let the stitching show, since I'm pretty sure that's why it was designed to look nice, but at the same time, I feel like it made the cover look unfinished.  For the future, I think I am ok knowing that the stitching looks nice, even if it does get covered up!  We will see, though, if I find or create other good solutions.

Also, I made these:

Not the best photo ever, oops!

But they are the first two iterations of leather and silver shawl pins- also intended to my mom. (Yes, I made lots of gifts this year, and left my mom's til the very last minute...). 

My dear husband looked at the first one i made and said "you've done better..."

At least he is honest!

So I made a second one, which I thought turned out better. (Mom wondered if whatever she was looking at in the gift box was finished, so apparently, I didn't sell it too well!  When I told her it was two separate pins with a single stick, she believed me that they were done.  Phew!)

Next on my list of things I made...

My daughter's Christmas stocking!

(My mother started it before we got there, and did the top stripes.)

For my first real colorwork, I am super pleased!  I did the name, then designed (with the help of some other patterns) the moose and tree, then got to figure out how to carry that many colors.

It was all good fun.

Now we are home with the new year leas than 8 hours away.

We shall see what 2014 has to bring.

Cheers!

Why I wasn't at my bench today...

I was making this.

It probably doesn't look like anything much at all to anyone right now, because it isn't done.

My friend sent me a text today, asking if I have a sewing frame.  

Many images flashed in my head, forcing me to ask for clarification. 

It turned out as I had thought: he was looking for a sewing frame for bookbinding, and while I didn't already have one, it has been on my list of things to make.  Way,  way down, pretty much at the bottom of the list, but it was there!

So the bambina went in her crib for a nap, and I began on a scavenger hunt, in the truest sense of the word, for pieces to use for this frame.

What I found were some old pieces of threaded rod that I had used with circles of plexiglass (I wonder where those went...) for a show that I did in college.  If I ever find some photos of that, it was pretty damn stunning, if I do say so myself! 

 *sidenote on the display*

People were playing ping pong in the common room, just over the half wall where my work was displayed, (it was college) and a stray ball knocked one of my pieces off of it's stand.  I don't even recall exactly which piece, but I do remember almost having a heart attack when it hit the concrete floor...

Back to today.

I found a strip of wood in the garage that I planed down to be slightly nicer.  I also found some nice plywood that was previously used for a built-in desk, so there were Plenty of screw holes already in it.  Score!

I took my loot down to the basement where I grabbed my (husband's) trusty razorsaw (one of the best Christmas gifts I've gotten him) off the wall and cut away. 

Then I couldn't find the coping saw, so I put my project on hold and chopped some veggies for dinner.

The end.

Stay tuned.

Solder While She Sleeps

I think I have finally started to get back into some kind of real groove of making again!
Between today being my husband's last graduate class for his master's degree, and the wee one's somewhat more predictable napping, I have been able to find a little bit more time to work in my studio.
I really do solder while she sleeps.  And form, cut, file and sand.
Then when my husband or mom-in-law can watch her, I polish.  (It is such dirty work!  I don't want to touch that toddler until I am fully dusted off and showered up.)  

Another great thing:
I am starting to get back to my old(er) design sense.  That feels really darn good.
For a while there, I seemed to be designing based on what I thought people would want, and on conservation of materials…  With the growing cost of precious metals, I freaked out a little bit and tried to go minimal.  Some great things came out of that, but it is nice to get back.

Luckily, I have been able to finish some things for my Etsy shop.

I am working on a little baby bracelet for Christmas.  Hopefully she will be happy to wear it.  Since she constantly puts mason jar bands on her arms and wears them around as bracelets, I'm not too concerned, though.

Since I started this post around 7.15 this morning, my coffee got cold, the wee one woke up, had breakfast and played, and we took a trip out in the frosty winter air to get a new oxygen tank (and some laundry detergent).  Now we are on to playing with a bag of spoons and a sunny, hopefully productive day, now that I have more oxygen for my torch.

Cheers!

 




 

I missed my bench

This little guy has been hanging around for over a year now.

It was looking sad and lonely because it had no pearls before.  

But now!

Here it is.  

Radiating with happiness.  

And Pearls. 

I have been able to do some work at my bench in the past week or so, and it has been great.

I don't have as much time all at once, like I used to, but that's alright.  I was able to do lots of polishing while mom-in-law was watching the wee one.  (That was kind of my option at the time, about 10 minutes after they left for the park, I ran out of oxygen for my torch.  Go figure.)  But a few days later, I got to sit back down at my bench, with a full tank of oxygen, and solder to my hearts content.  

It was a grand time!

I feel like I am finally starting to make some headway with the projects that are piled up on my bench and in my head.
Chipping away a little at a time.

I have also been doing lots of knitting.
Almost every night, we sit down to watch something on Netflix after the baby is in bed.
Husband makes popcorn and beverages or scoops some ice cream, we stuff our faces, and then I grab my knitting and away I go.
My husband even picked up his knitting again.  He started a scarf a bit back, and wants to finish it before he needs it!

Someday, I will post photos of the knitting I have been working on, but for now, it's still a surprise.

Tomorrow looks like I will again have some studio time, and I am thrilled about that!
I love every second of being home with my baby, but it sure would help to have more jewelry ready for the holidays.  Oh, that, and it would also help to really promote my work.  Somehow.

Lots to continue to do while the wee one sleeps.

Up Next:
Finish some fun goodies
Post them to my Etsy shop
Show and tell

Jack of All Trades

Almost all trades.

I wish I was good at everything.  Ever.
I am a tinkerer.  It is what I do.
I am pretty good at a lot of things.  (And Awesome at others!)
But there are some things that stop me in my tracks.  Not for a lack of desire to be good at them.
Rather for a lack of time, or knowing where to begin.

My car.  My trusty ol' Jetta.
She had served me well.  Then came the day when the garage said she needed lots of work.
Since then, she hasn't been the same.
(Yes, she.  Machines and cars, like boats, are regarded as feminine, you need to treat them gently, with care and respect... and a bit of love.)
There was a noise.  They said they were fixing it, while making me terrified that if I didn't have them fix what they said was bad, that my daughter and I would be in a serious accident someday soon.

They "fixed" it.
The noise was still there.  (and other parts were broken)
The garage owner unplugged one little part, and the noise went away.  Plugged it back in, and Ta-Da, there it was again.  "But if that was actually bad, you'd have way different problems."

Tears have been shed over this matter.
Because as of this past Saturday, Jetta D would't start.  And I don't know what to do.
Google has been opened hundreds of times to look up one thing or another in the past few days.
And when I think I may be getting closer to an answer or solution, something else pops up.
So I am learning all I can from the Magic-Answer-Machine and the Owner's Manual (which is kinda sparse in information.)

Looking up codes and images and how-to's.
But when it comes down to it, I just don't know what to do.
It's not about the fact that I have loved that car, even though I have.
It's about the trouble.  The concern of if and when it works.
It's the cost.  And the problem that nothing seems like it has really been fixed, just the issue has been moved elsewhere.
I want to be able to fix my car.
Myself.  Ok, really, with help from an acquaintance who knows what he is doing.

I want to be able to take matters into my own hands
And make it better.
I am tired of paying other people to work on it with no resolve.


I want to use the information that others have set forth for me to find on Google
and be that Jack (Jill) of All Trades.
Be that tinkerer I always thought I was.

 

gift time

Babies, babies, everywhere!

Two more cousins are on their way, and it is a pretty exciting time.  There was a baby shower this past Sunday, which I was out of town for, but I sent these cute little burp cloths along to the momma.

 My mother in law has been making quilts for the new babies, and I have been using the fabric she has left to make matching burp cloths.

I just love these little owls!  

Super cute choice by my mom-in-law.  

I feel like I have been planning, well, Everything lately. 

So much so, that I have planned out Christmas gifts already.

That's not really like me to be that prepared.  

I even wrote on my calendar, counting it out.  

I have one week per person.  Oh boy.

Because, obviously, I am making the gifts.  And I am pretty darn excited about them!  I even have the "packaging" figured out.  Now I just have to get cracking, and get the materials.  (That is surely eating into my plan of "one week per person"!)

But, that is all I can say right now about those gifts.  

Moving on, over Labor Day weekend we took Lily on her first camping trip!  

Pointing: "Dat?"  "That's a tent."  "Dat?"  "Tent."  "Dat?"  "Tent."

Cutest little thing I have ever laid eyes on!

She crawled around in the dirt and mud, picking up all the grass and leaves she desired.  She played hard!  

We came home to our garden overgrown with burcucumber.  It started growing when the beans were coming in, and so I figured it was a bean, since it was crawling like one.  The wide leave should have warned me, but I thought it was just a different kind of bean than I had grown before (I tried two new types this year.) So yesterday, my husband did the research and figured out what it was, then we ripped and tore until it was (almost) all gone.  We uncovered TONS of little cherry tomatoes.  Yay!

Up next:

More garden adventures

Hopes of making some jewelry

Revamp

Summer vacation came and went.
Quickly.
Now it's time to be back on some kind of a schedule.
Some key players in this schedule:

Mommy, Daddy, Baby

Play, Food, Work

and Naps!

(Please, naps!)

Summer was crazy busy.  There was a grad class that took up tons of time and energy.

And a baby who took up tons of time and energy.  (In the best way!) 

She learned to do so much over the summer.  

Pat-a-cake

Stair climbing

Pointing

But now it is back to school.  My husband had his first student day today with a new classroom, a new para, and a new school.  Changes, changes.  

And I picked up one (of many) applications to be a substitute teacher.

I love every second of being at home with my baby, and wish that I could just do that forever.  But I know that my baby will not be a baby forever, and at some point I will need to go back to work.  I do also love teaching, and want to keep my foot in the door, since that is what I want to do for work.  

I feel like everything needs to be revamped, though, as far as my studio work is concerned.  

I need to make the time to make jewelry, and get it out there.

Changes, here we come...

Food Galore

Baby.

Food.

And a little bit of work.

So I had some "things" going on with my car for a while there.  I will just say that I questioned whether I should have trusted the garage I took it to.  But it's back now, hopefully in much better shape than it was two months ago, when the whole process began, but I'm still listening extra carefully to all of its noises, in that slightly paranoid, just-in-case kind of way!

So, in reverse

A little bit of work:

The somewhat unexpected financial situation that came about because of the car (and the fact that my husband is home) had me calling in to my old job to see if I could help out while people are on vacations, meanwhile, making a few extra dollars.  So back I went to make glasses.

I have to say, it's a pretty good job, actually.  It's nice knowing that I am helping people to see, and I like the work I do there, its hands on making, which is kinda my thing.

Which brings me to

Food:

I made an angel food cake for the first time.  It's my friend's favorite, and considering the fact that I get lots of eggs from his hens, I thought it was only right to make his favorite cake. (Of course I shared it with him!)  

It wasn't the prettiest cake in the world, but it did taste good!

I also picked some raspberries from my friend's farm, so I made this tart. 

I cheated.

I know.

But I wanted it sometime before the raspberries went bad, and with the baby around, and the working and everything, well, graham cracker crust (that I got for a key lime pie) it was.

Then we have the food straight from the garden...

There are lots of cucumbers.  And many of me need to be chopped up and made into pickles.  We did relish yesterday, but that didn't even make a dent.  Though it probably should have.  We decided that we didn't need to double the recipe because there were so many cups of raw ingredients, we were sure to have plenty to use and give away.  ** it cooks down **                   Why didn't either of us think of that?

And now to baby.

                           

While I did all sorts of chopping, I tried to keep her in the kitchen with me.  

The little stinker outsmarted me!

My makeshift baby gate really just turned into a fun obstacle course for her- which really, is fine by me. She was happy and occupied.  At one point she would just crawl out, and turn right back around and crawl right back in, over and over!  

Cutie.

And on top of that, she LOVES climbing the stairs now. 

She keeps me busy!

Luckiest mommy ever.

Up next:

Who knows!

(My) Summer Vacation

What will I do on my summer vacation?

Well, it's not really a vacation, per se, for me, but my husband is a teacher, and he is done with school for the summer, so it's something.

The day he finished, we packed up the car and headed north to Vermont, after some sad events.

First my studio pickle pot stopped working.

Then one of my old fish died.

Then I got news that my car needed more loving from the garage than I expected.  And a hard to find part.  

(So we piled our stuff and ourselves into my husband's two door car.  It worked just fine.)

The guys went fishing almost every day, and my mom and I, true to form, spent some time in the sewing room making thing like... New, cute diaper covers. Go figure.

We also took a side trip to Walmart.  Normally I stay far away from that store, but I wanted a nice white crock pot, and google said that was the place to find it.

Wow.

It was a frightening experience. Character isn't quite an appropriate word to describe these people. But scary would work... I should have known better! My line options were 1) wait behind an obese, hillbilly couple with their yappy dog in the shopping cart, as they argue with the cashier about how much money is on which card, 2) wait behind a guy with a full belt of camping gear, 3) wait in any other line that had at least three or four customers with lots of stuff.  

I chose the camping guy.  Three cases of beer, one pair of new boots, a tent, the line that he can't buy cigarettes at and $459 later, it was my turn.  

No thanks, I don't need a bag.  

Thank goodness grandma stayed in the car with the sleeping baby!

But now I have a dandy, new, white crock pot with three heat settings, and it's already set up on my bench.  With my husband home, I got the chance to clean off my metals bench and get reacquainted with what I want to work on.  I pulled out lots of projects that I had started but never continued and set them all out.  

*clap hands together*  Where to begin?

Yeah, it's all tarnished and not so pretty now... But just you wait! 

I, for one, am excited!

Gardens are doing well.  We have a net up to keep the neighborhood bunnies out of our leafy vegetables, and a superb trellis *pat myself on the back* for the tomatoes and cucumbers.

Even the big garden is still under control.  (For now, and I really hope it can stay that way.)

I made more rhubarb muffins and granola bars.  Yummy, but I think I will still continue to tweak the recipes.  I also found, with the muffins, that I liked the way they baked in the silicone liners that were place on a cookie sheet more than how they baked in the regular metal muffin tin.  It was an interesting observation that I want to look into more.

Up next

Parties?

Pizzas?

Pastries?

Jewelry! 

Who knows what will happen next.  It's summer vacation!

Memorial Day Weekend, and then some.

I had a wonderful time last week seeing old faces.

Wednesday I met some friends at the relatively new Indian restaurant The Himalayan Curry & Grill.

We also went into Bella Boo, where one of our favorite Debbies got the wee one two awesome Haba toys.  As it turns out, Bella Boo also sells gdiapers. (I would so much rather buy local than from Babies R Us.)

Thursday I was lucky enough to go back to the school where I student taught last spring!  They had their art show, and I was invited to judge the jewelry.  Talk about hard to do!!! The kids all did a great job, (it helps that they have an amazing teacher!  Hopefully I will be as good as her someday!). It was wonderful to see some of my old students, who were more than happy to watch the wee one while I looked at all of the work.  After that I went over to the big garden, and while my husband tended to the bees, I threw piles of grass clippings over newspaper paths.  Time got away from us, and we had to hurry over to the local high school, where a friend of ours had work in another art show that was going on.  

Friday and Saturday were much more mellow, but Sunday picked right back up.

My husband's band played at FlavorFest.  We started our day out early, at the coffee shop, then headed to the Renaissance Faire, where the event was taking place.  Family showed up, and overall there was a great turnout.  Of course, we had to move the party to our friends house.  That's when it really started to get good! 

PIZZA!

On a charcoal grill.

Photos? Of course not!  I was too busy feeding a baby half of the time.

I had made the dough and rolled it out.  Our food-savvy friends worked on the toppings.

Pizza #1

Apples, Candied Bacon, Thyme, (and a really good cheese that I forgot.)

Pizza #2

Pineapple, Caramelized Onion, Arugula, Coconut Gouda, Coconut White Balsamic

Pizza #3

Italian Sausage, Fennel, Roasted Garlic (and I think more arugula)

Pizza #4

Roasted Red Peppers, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Garlic, Arugula, Mozzarella

It was all delicious.

The grill cooled down, and it got late, so I ended up with two rounds of dough leftover.  

Darn.

Tonight we did pizza on our gas grill, with the little smoker box.

Pizza #1

Pineapple, Onion, Red Pepper, Spinach/Arugula Mix, Mozzarella (my husband's half had sauce)

Pizza #2

I basically just put a salad on flatbread for this one...

Avocado, Beets, Spinach/Arugula Mix, Onion, Red Pepper, Feta, Mozzarella (sauce on half this time, too)

I made the decision, we are having Pad Thai again soon.  The unused half of the noodles in the bag keep falling out and onto the counter.  It's bugging me.  

Don't you like how I decide on my meals?!

Up next:

Still trying to get working in the studio.  Ideas of jewelry bouncing around in my head.  Maybe they will get on paper first?

Showers Forecasted

Well, the bees are here!
Two boxes that looked like this  --->

It was very exciting!  I wanted to go look and see what was going on, but I had the baby, so we stayed at a safe distance.  The guys got the queens in the frames and proceeded to dump and shake the boxes to get the bees out and into the hives.  Then they put the flat feeders on top, poured in a mixture of honey and water, put the lids on, and watched.

We watched as the bees came flying back out, and were crawling all over the outside of the hive.

Well, that doesn't look right.

We called the bee place, and my husband asked them a bunch of questions.
So here's the thing.
They had the wrong size feeders.
They "ordered" the wrong size.  "Only the wooden feeders fit on that size super."  the woman said.

*Shaking my fists...  And my head.*
They had asked now three separate times  "This doesn't look right.  Are you sure it's the right size feeder?"  The response was always "Yes.  It's the right size."

So what should have been a few hour adventure turned into a two day ordeal.   First they had to take the feeders off and again, literally DUMP the bees out of the honey water.  Way too many of which had drowned in it, since they should have never been able to get to the mixture to land in it.  Luckily, masses of bees who looked like they would never make it cleaned each other off, and presumably, went about their business.
But the next day, my husband had to go get the proper feeders.  They had to be painted and then brought up- again to mess with the hives.  It was 4pm by the time everything was settled and done.  The whole thing started at 7.45am, the day before!

But we have bees now!   I hope they are surviving well.  It was looking pretty bad for a while there.
Fingers crossed.

Beyond the bees, I had a pretty productive weekend. 

 This is the nicer of the two diaper covers I worked on.  It's not finished, as it still needs a front waistband, but it's getting there.  Besides, the baby isn't quite ready for the next size yet.

The first one I did, as kind of a sketch, I used an old tank top, the kind with a built in shelf bra.  I was able to use the wide elastic for the waistband.  Smart thinking, if I do say so myself!  But like I said, it was a "sketch", so it's sorta... ugly.

I made these using snap tape that fits the gdiaper liners, because...

gdiapers are pretty great.  

1.  They are cute.

2.  They are cloth.

3.  They are EASY! (On so many levels.)

The Easy part.  Let me describe.  Now, I have no issue with good old pre folds.  

Fold it, pin it, cover it, Done.

But my husband and his mother, both of whom are wonderful, and really the only two others who change the wee one's diaper, seem a bit intimidated with regards to which covers or diapers or whatever to use.  gdiapers are pretty darn straight forward.  (But they can be put on backwards...)

The other reason they are so easy is that the soaker inserts are smaller and not folded, and therefore  so much simpler to wash out.  I chose to kinda copy their style because I wanted to make covers for my girl and I don't feel toooo bad, because I am still supporting them by purchasing the snap in inserts.  Win-Win.

*********************************************************************

 And then there was food.

I made some super delicious rhubarb muffins.

This week is looking like:

leek & potato soup

a big ol' salad

macaroni & cheese

mustard chicken

sesame fish & quinoa

and then parties over the long weekend.

So maybe a pasta salad?

Up next:
Adventures in...  finding adventures.

Busy Bee Week

Tomorrow is Bee Day.

The hives are ready and waiting.

There is so much greatness to the farm.

Bees.

Hens.

Garden.

(Not to mention the bird sanctuary with peacocks, the ponds, pool, and castles...)

The girls started laying already. 

And what pretty girls they are!  Photo soon, i swear!

But we have had some fresh eggs.  Yay!

                

(Oh, and in there was a doubler.)

The eggs aren't the amazingly deep orange yet, but when the purslane starts coming up, and there are spare tomatoes on the vines, im sure they will be!  Gotta feed the girls well :)

I've been trying to get my flower garden up to snuff, and get the weeds under control.  

My neighbors were helping last week to get mulch, and they piled it around for us while we were away.  (They piled it, but didn't spread it. Phew!)  So I even moved the mulch out of the way so i could put newspaper down.  It may sound crazy and OCD, but I've had some dealings with periwinkle in that garden.  It may be nice in some settings- but there, it's just a weed, and im sick of it.  So i used as much paper as possible so any potential remnants of that dont see the light of day!  All it takes is one little dead-looking stem to get some sun, and that stuff takes over, like it owns the place.  

The backyard vegetable garden is going well.  We have harvested some *yummy* lettuce for salads.  And tried a radish.  Spicy and awesome!  We went to the Mother's Day Plant Sale at the Landis Valley Museum on Saturday, where We got a pineapple tomato.  Those are so good!  I can't wait.

Other than that, I'm just working on the day to day stuff.  Hardly a chance to work in my studio with the housework, gardens, baby...  (But I must say, she is AMAZING.)

Onto finger foods- rice puffs.  Yes, we got the organic ones. And i am just waiting, impatiently, to have carrots come up in the garden for her to try.  Snow peas, too.  The frozen peas that I cooked up didnt go over so well.  (Not that I can blame her, I don't care for them much either!)

Recent Recipe Goodness:

Veggie Stromboli

Pad Thai

Veggie Quinoa

Soba Noodle Salad

*We watched Vegucated.

I had been intrigued.  It was a SERIOUS letdown.

They were so excited to have vegan mayo, and oreos, and all sorts of other, prepackaged, extremely processed foods.  

I was on a brief kick of realizing "haha- i just made a vegan meal by accident"

And on top of that, what i make is so much healthier- vegan or not!  But with our fresh eggs, you couldn't pay me to be a vegan.  (But you could try.  Throw some numbers at me.  Lets talk!)

Up next:

Farming highlights

Shiny silver

On the Rise

Right now, Lily is out with grandma.  Probably at the park.  I expect them back any minute now.
Also right now...  My daughter is SIX MONTHS OLD!   Ooh.  I hear her bell.  They're home!!

Also right now.

Bread Is Rising! 

Maryetta's Oatmeal Bread, to be exact. 

From Beard On Bread.

We own it.

My parents own it.

My husband's parents own it.

Everyone should own it!

Two regular loaves.

One with cinnamon and sugar.

Yum!

Also, a week or two ago, I made this delicious (If I do say so myself!) meal. 

Roasted Asparagus & Peppers with Feta.

1 bunch of asparagus
1 large sweet pepper, (or the equivalent)
drizzle (or glug) olive oil over it, and grind some black pepper on
top with crumbled feta

Roast at 400°F about 25-45 min (until veggies are done to your liking.)


And, in other news:

The big garden is just about completely planted.
We need some hungarian wax peppers- of which I am STRICTLY limiting myself to 6 or less.  Sad, but it must be done!

Lily helped with the garden-- so did lots of people!   That helped make short work of the planting.
We have potatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, peas and beans.
Yesterday we got rain, too.  Great for the gardens!

This is how I feel right now.

I love giraffes.  They are just so darn cute.  (Even if they do have freakishly long, black tongues.)

The laundry is clinking away in the dryer. 

The baby is sleeping.

And I can see the grey skies outside, clear as a bell.  

That's right.  More spring cleaning happened yesterday.

Sparkling windows, and the scent of vinegar. 

It's the little things that make me happy.

Vinegar, by the way, is the best for cleaning!  I don't have to worry as much that the baby will try to drink it, and the windows are WAY less streaky than when I would use actual cleaning products.

WIN.

Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend.  

We went to cheer on a friend for her first half marathon on Saturday.  

We are talking about doing a half in June, too.  

Of course, if I am going to run 13 miles, I need to get going with the whole running thing.

So I ran on Saturday, too!  It was pretty great.  

And then we pigged out on some beef chuck roast that was cooked low and slow all afternoon.

I would show you a photo, but it disappeared far too quickly!

Sunday was the window cleaning event (whoop-de-doo, right?)

Then fishing!

Of course, I caught nothing.  The cute little bluegills that I so desperately wanted to catch just looked at and swam around my fly.  They followed it, and were really intrigued, but just wouldn't bite. 

Oh well, there's always next time.

Felt animals are posted on Etsy. 

*love*

Husband is awesome and brought the sewing machine down so I can work on bibs.

A mass posting of those is soon to come on Etsy, too.  I'm just waiting for some better light for photos. 

*Birthday awesome:

Camera Flash from my in-laws

This pen from my guy (I think he really likes me!)

Oh, and he worked on cutting out his knife yesterday, too.  

Yeah, obviously I like him.  I got him a sheet of steel for his birthday!

I hear a baby stirring. 

Off to start another week of adventures, activity, growth, and making!

First step: water the seedlings!  Photos to come.

Life begins to emerge

Warm sun

Water

Life!

Another season of gardening begins.

A very productive weekend is now behind us.
First of all, it's great to have a spring birthday because my mother in law brings me daffodils from her house :)

And, my husband is the best, because he planned to surprise me by having friends over for dinner and then going out to the pub.
Love.

But then, the two beehives were painted, and an extra, top bar hive, was mostly put together.
I planted more seeds in the backyard garden. Spinach, carrots, beets, and swiss chard. Also the herb section: sweet basil, thai basil, dill, cilantro and parsley.

And we went up to the big garden. Lily watched as her daddy and I pulled out all of the old structure from last year, the soaker hoses, and any plastic bits from markers or ties. Then farmer Wayne brought over three scoops of mushroom mulch and tilled it in, along with all of the plant matter left from last season.

"Sugar." he said.

It's going to be like sugar. He will retill on wednesday, when the temperature is supposed to reach 80°, and then again, right before we start to plant.


Today the wee one let me get started on the house chores while she slept in. Laundry filled the line and is almost dry in the warm sun. Nothing like the smell of fresh, line dried sheets on the bed!
Bread is rising, and Lily is sleeping on my chest.
Hopefully this spells a productive week to come.

Up next:
*Finish my spring cleaning (I won't bore you with those details.)
*Sewing
*Polishing

Easter, etc.

So I planned to make my daughter an Easter basket.
I was all pumped to do it.
And then my mother in law showed up.
(Don't worry, she really is a great mother in law!)
She had a basket.
It is handmade, split oak, and really nice. She guessed she got it in 1985.
There were a few toys, and a cute My First Easter outfit
(that she got before we even knew if it was going to be a boy or girl. She was prepared!)

Turns out, it's a good thing she gave her a basket.
As with all of our trips to Vermont, my mother and I have all sorts of intentions to do all sorts of things- such as making an Easter basket for my daughter- and we never get to everything.






We did, however, get to dying eggs!
I have a serious aversion to fake food coloring. (Especially when there's color in something that is, was, and obviously always should be brown- but that's for another day.)

For all of the colors, I boiled water with the ingredient and let it cool before I dipped the already hard boiled eggs. I used way too much water for the amounts of colorants, though.

It was pretty fun to play chemist.  I tried changing the color of the blueberries with baking soda.  It worked, but it wasn't pretty.  Don't try to mess with something good.

Blueberries for blue.
Spinach for green.
Turmeric for yellow.
Paprika for orange.
Red onion skins for red.

I heard that you should try to leave them in the liquid overnight.
I also heard you should use vinegar to get more vivid colors.

...Meanwhile, my husband did the "naked egg" project with his class a while back. You soak raw eggs in vinegar and the shell basically dissolves.

*Think, Catherine. Think.*

So we put some vinegar in some of the jars of dye and stuck them in the fridge overnight.
The eggs in jars with vinegar had bubbly looking shells in the morning, and the color wiped off with the top layer of shell.  Sigh.

Chemistry, you got me good this time!

At any rate, the colors were nice, but brighter would be better. I can live with that. At least I learned from this one!

When I got home, I decided that I just couldn't let go of the fact that I had tried making vanilla sugar from beans that had already been soaked in vodka to make vanilla extract, and the sugar, first of all, didn't taste very vanilla-y, and secondly, turned into a useless clump.
So I had to try to use these beans for something before they went to the compost.
Vanilla simple syrup!
I already had the ingredients right there. Just add water!

And ta-daa!

And then there's the last project I did.
Start some seeds!
I like to recycle, so I used old cardboard egg cartons (thank you, husband, for the idea!), cut up and labeled, and some of last years burpee pots.

Right now they are near a window, and over the heat vent. We just need to set up the grow light.




Up next:
Who knows...

Spring has sprung.

Yesterday we went for a walk down to the coffee shop.  It was a beautiful, blue sky, sunny morning, and we thought it would be fun to see some friends.

Along the way, this is what we saw. ------------------->

It made us think that spring had sprung.

Then a friend of ours said "6-10 inches."
Yeah right, I thought.

We proceded to finish preparing our raised beds in the back yard in the afternoon.  We decided to try the square foot method this time around- especially the idea of succession planting- it seems so reasonable, and manageable.  We are only allowing three tomato plants in our yard.  It is so hard to restrain myself, though!  And the dilemma of what types to grow... tough choices- but I think we are going with Black Krim, Ramapo, and some kind of cherry tomato that my dad had seeds for.
So, we made the grids, and planted lettuce seeds, radishes, garlic and snow peas.

SNOW peas, I said.

and this is what we got.

For all of the complaining I did.  Sheesh.  

But again, I am super excited about the gardens this year.  Maybe, just maybe, we will have watermelons and honeydew at the big garden.  That depends on if I can get some seeds started- soon.  The seeds I have are old, and too many years, now, I have been a slacker at taking good care of the seedlings.  Keeping them properly hydrated, lit, and warmed fell to the wayside, as I was busy with work or school, and just didn't pay enough attention.  

We are definitely planning to plant potatoes, winter squash, onions, and hungarian wax peppers up there, though.  I can't wait.  And-- hopefully, there will be hens again!  I love eating fresh eggs, and especially knowing that the hens are eating well, and therefore, so are we.  Watching them jump for the purslane we brought up to them was so much fun!  You get those Omega-3s, hens  Get 'em!

Up Next:

Odds & Ends

Road Trip

Make an Easter Basket

Dye Easter Eggs

It's an obsession. I can't stop.

Threat again of a winter storm. The warning that was good until 8am today has now been extended to 10pm, with only a grey sky, and not even a glimpse of a snowflake. Yes, I'm obsessed. I just want some real snow this year. Everywhere else got some. (Ok, lots.)

*tie bib*
It's together and clean, but I do need to press it to take a prettier picture!

With a whirlwind weekend, we sure did get quite a lot done.


Friday afternoon I got to work on some of my bibs. Boy version. I only got to do two- bias tape and time ran out! I am really excited about these!!!!!!!
Hopefully other people share my enthusiasm. Since we just started solid foods, I am noticing how it is really helpful to have more bibs than you ever imagined needing (or wanting).




We had a friend in from Albuquerque on Friday night, which spelled another trip to the pub. Of course, we didn't head out until the wee one usually goes to bed. She was all snug on Daddy's chest, and super alert on the way there. She lasted a little while, and then went to sleep. That was great-except she woke back up. (I think it had something to do with talking with his hands!) Anyway, the next day we got some breakfast, and our visitor left. A few hours later, another friend was knocking on the door.
It was time to put the bee boxes together!
So Lily was this time wrapped onto my chest, facing out- She has to witness all of the crazy things her parents do. The boards were glued, and somehow I was the one- baby attached to me- who ended up swinging the mallet to wedge them in place. She was unphased by this craziness and noise. Phew! One six pack, and one roast beef dinner, one trip to the hardware store, and 9 hours later, the boxes and frames were done.

Also, spring cleaning is going well, I do believe. We got some rest on Saturday night, and woke up with big hopes for productivity. Well, it all worked out! We cleaned and organized the mess of a garage. We even figured out how to place our raised beds in the yard. I gave my husband a haircut (new clippers work so well!!) and as a bonus, he ended up vacuuming the whole house. Maybe the spring cleaning OCD won't delay the rest of the things I want to do after all!

Waiting on a snow day

I waited last Tuesday night for snow to come. A huge storm, I thought, how could it miss us?
Well, it did. I'm done believing in weather predictions, they let me down something fierce this year.
But, before my hopes were so painfully crushed by the lack of snow, I did get to work on some earrings. And some felt animals.

Anyway, while we didn't get any snow, the day wasn't a complete bust. I woke up a little earlier than usual, probably from the excitement, and looked out the window to see the sad, grey morning. I thudded my way down to the living room with a glum look on my face, and my husband said, with a great smile on his, "I don't have school today!" What better way to celebrate that than to do our taxes?! April 15, you don't scare me!

That was about the extent of my productivity for a while, or at least that's how it feels.
Thursday, we had dinner at the pub with my in-laws, and Friday night, my parents arrived. They got here just before my husband had to leave to go play with his band at the smokiest bar in town.

Saturday there was lots of time to be had playing with the baby. We went fishing on Sunday, and my mother got to test out our new stroller. They stayed until Thursday morning, and amid all of the playtime, I did get to search some fabric stores with my mother.
We picked out lots of material, and I have a new diaper bag coming my way! (Our design, of course!) I also found some great material for one of my next projects...

Bibs!
I have some drawings done, but it's mostly in my head. So no sneak peeks!
Hopefully I will get the chance to work on them soon. This weekend looks like it may be full with friends and family, but I am really excited to start working on them! (Along with the busy weekend, I started to feel the urge today to get to spring cleaning. That has the power to stop me in my tracks, due to my self-diagnosed OCD.)

Some progress

I went on a baking spree the other day. Well, I tried to, but many things seemed against me! I planned to make zucchini bread, to use up one of the many bags in the freezer, and thought, since I would have the oven on, I should make regular bread, and some berry muffins too, to use the blueberries and strawberries I so happily got on sale last week, and promptly forgot about in the fridge.

Banana Berry Muffins. 

Well, the cornmeal for the bread had to cool, then the dough had to rise, so I'd be baking it in, oh, say, three hours? Then I realized I'd need 3 eggs for the zucchini bread and one for the muffins. Since we only had three left, I opted to make the muffins the next morning so they'd be fresh and warm. So that was all well and good- dry ingredients for everything were all set to go. Then I saw that one of the three eggs had a crack in the shell. Really?! Fine, I'll just use two, I thought. Well, I should have at least added more liquid! We have some pretty dense zucchini bread now!


On the bright side, the muffins were tasty, despite their less than beautiful appearance.

I did get the chance to start to work on some earrings. Just have to finish working on them!
And I started my new project.
Felt animals!
I am quite excited about the little guys.
I have a bunch cut out, and I need to go get some embroidery floss. (I tried to get some yesterday- I was so close- but the store I went to was renovating, and apparently left some things out to get dusty. Not ok for kids toys...)

Still no tapioca plans.
And sometime this weekend, we are going to go to the fly fishing show :)

Off to a slow start

We had a wonder-full presidents day weekend. Full full.
Saturday, the whole family went to the BMAC in Philly. Daddy walked around with the wee one, who happened to be the star of the show, I think.   Only babies under 6 months were allowed in, and I only saw one other baby in there. Since everyone was looking at her anyway, we decided to throw a strand of pearls on her and try to get people to our booth.
Low, I know, but fun and worth it!
I later decided that strand should come home with us, after all, they were the first pearls she had worn! (Call me sentimental, I'll accept that.)
Then Sunday was my first real day away from our cutie. It was tough, but I was kept busy, and knew she was happy hanging out with Pop.

The great thing about long weekends is that they keep going- So Monday, we took a little field trip to New Columbia, PA. Brushy Mountain Bees!!
We picked up two hives and all the tools and goodies to go with them. The bees are scheduled to arrive May 11. Bzzzzzz. So this will be exciting- so I think!

Along with the honey, I am pretty excited about the beeswax, and sense some candlemaking in my somewhat near future. *big grin*


But, after the long weekend, I feel like I got nothing done. The studio is a, um, well, it's a mess. Everything goes up there as a staging ground or something! So in order to work at the bench, sometimes it needs more than just a quick tidy up to get to an empty surface. Well, this endeavor got worse, and will continue to get worse, before it gets better! I bet it would have been cleaned up, you know, if I didn't have to learn all of the ins and outs of our furnace. We ran out of fuel overnight on Thursday.  I was up and about for over an hour before I even became slightly suspicious. Clearly the "cold" doesn't bother me. (61 is wonderfully comfortable, if you ask me.) Rather, it was the surprising lack of noise, I think.
So fuel was delivered but the heat wouldn't come on. 3.5 hours later, with a whole new set of skills, (and a call to my dad, and the help of a good friend and the heating guy) the heat was back on.
Finally, Saturday allowed me to finish cleaning the studio!  (unfortunately for me, fly tying materials all ended back on my bench, so the fly tying table could be used to saw some knife steel...  It's all still there.)

As for making stuff:
I bought some tapioca- it's a first step...

And I used up some stuff that was just taking up space in my life:
Banana chips (stupid inpulse buy in the bulk aisle one day)
&
Peach schnapps (horrifyingly sweet)

I must say, the combo made for some pretty decent banana bread :)

Up next (I hope):
More earrings

Well, that didn't go like I planned.

No new earrings.
No second sweater.
No desserts.

Ok, that's a little exaggerated.
* There really are no new earrings. Though I did manage to fully finish the pairs I had started.

(big thanks to mom for the new needle set!)

* The second sweater is not made. I started it... Then tore out more than half of what I did. Apparently I neglected to look back at what I had done, and one of the button bands was stockinette, the other was, correctly, garter. Riiiiiiiiip, riiiiip, riiiiip... I started to knit it again, but I'm still on the krimpy yarn.



* Desserts. I didn't make anything great, that's for sure.
I saw a recipe for chia almond coconut pudding.
Eh. It was ok, but I'm not sure I'd make it again.it seemed like a waste of perfectly good chia seeds. A LOT of perfectly good chia seeds. I've had the same bag for over a year now, I'm sure (they're dry, and haven't gone bad!) Now, granted, I don't eat or drink them that often, I had barely made a dent in them. This *just ok* pudding put a huge dent in the bag!

just what I was looking for

And by the way, I think chia seeds are what had me running in the summer heat, 7 months pregnant- so yeah, I think they are pretty awesome.



I DID take a little field trip to the public library, though. Picked up a nice little book on bookbinding.
Color me happy, but for the fact that I haven't even gotten to look at it yet. The day after I got it, I felt pretty pathetic with a headache, and a hurting back. (Carrying around 11lbs in front of you isn't the easiest on your back, you know.) And it may have had something to do with the (blizzard?) Nemo/Charlotte with the pressure changes, and the irritatingly disappointing lack of predicted snow.


Either way, I even missed the baby shower because I hadn't returned to feeling normal yet.
So this is what I am sending out soon!

baby gifts.
blue sweater & burp cloths.

Coming up:
Who knows. I just hope I make something decent this week!