Making Monday, #2

A glance at what I'm working on and what I've done...

Bean Burgers and Summer Squash:

Granny Square Pillow cushions:

Peas are sprouting in the garden!

Blueberry Orange Muffins:

Making Monday

I need to embrace the fact that I'm really horrible with remembering to take enough pictures for my blog posts.  You'll have to content yourselves with a poor phone photo of a finished dishcloth sans the dreaded "weaving in the ends". 

It is a little wonky on that >>> side, but whatevs.  There are many more things in the works: 

• Our raised bed has been built and filled with good soil.  Which by the way, wheeling a wonky wheelbarrow filled with dirt down a steep hill is an AWESOME workout for the triceps and thighs. 
• Peas, carrots, onions, spinach and lettuce are in the ground!  Sweet potatoes will go in next week.
• Thyme is planted next to the oregano and rosemary in the front yard.
• I'm crocheting throw pillow covers for our sofa.  Hope to finish the first by the end of the week (I'm forever the optimist).
• Speaking of yarn, Michael's was having a sale and I bought 10 skeins of cotton yarn for dishcloths.  I usually keep some cotton and needles in my bag for work meetings and such.  It is easy to transport and pick up and keeps me from getting restless in long meetings.  I keep a stash on hand for gift baskets for teachers and family members.  I need to whip-up a stack of receiving blankets or bibs or hats because so many people I know are having bebes.  
• I'm still working on the same blasted embroidery piece.  I don't think I'll ever finish it.  GROAN.  When and if I do finish it will rock.

Next update I swear I'll have more pictures.... if I remember.

Dear March, I Love You

Dreadful February is over.  February is my least favorite month and thank goodness it is short.  Thankfully the last few days were awesome and I love ending on a positive note.  I've had a pretty rad 1st day of March as well. 

There's been reading (finished TWO books yesterday), family time, friends, coffee, thrifting, yarn shopping, hair dyeing, knitting group fun, book organizing*, and general peace and happiness.  I even spent some time with Hope but I have no photo documentation (Hope forbade photos because her "hair was weird").

Just a tidbit of what I've been up to:

Playing outdoors with Atticus.  He is learned to say "bird" last week and enjoys watching and listening for birds and tonight he said "moon".  He stretched his little hand up to wave to the moon. 

Thrifted finds:  a cardigan, a lizard brooch, and a board book.  Not pictured: clothing for Atticus and Hope.

More thrifted finds!  A scrapbook that will be my wedding album and a small book nest that will be decoupaged in the near future.  Not pictured: a cap and thrifted print for Sam.

Yarn!  I found this delicious purpley tweed yarn -- love the flecks of turquoise and gold with the purple!

New eye makeup, a brow wax, and a box of hair dye can make a mom feel like a million dollars.

Tomorrow -- a hair trim, some tattoo touch-ups, lunch with my honey, and a bit of reading before the weekend begins.

Happy March to all!

*bookshelf organizing will be discussed in a later post -- I want to go all nerdy on it.

Snot Induced Idleness Leads to Super Creativity Powers (sorta)

I've been home ill with a sinus infection since Wednesday.  I finally went to the doctor on Thursday and I didn't go into work Friday and I'm out today.  You should know that I am the worst sick patient ever.  I love being busy; I hate seeing the house a mess and lying in a heap of blankets for days and staring at the ceiling or television is a literal hell.  During my snot-induced loafing I thought about why I hate being leisurely while ill.  It comes down to two things:  

1. I am going to die:  As in, Life is only here for a bit and we are quickly hurdling towards demise.  Therefore I should spend my time doing worthwhile things in order to eek the most I can out of my wee slice of time on Earth.  Of course, "doing worthwhile things" translates into making lists, buying books, and knitting most of the time.  I'm an Existentialist with embroidery patterns and cookie recipes. 
2. I have Mom Guilt:  When Sam -- who is hardly ever ill -- is sick or the kiddos aren't feeling well I send them all to bed, make pots of tea and stockpots of homemade soup, and dispense as many cuddles as tolerated.  When I am sick, I feel like I'm slacking on my "mom-duties".  I don't want to clean, or go to the grocery store, or -- the most guilt-inducing of all -- play with the kids.  Then when Sam is at work and the kiddos are at school (like right now) I feel like I should "do" something.  Laundry? Re-organizing the freezer?  Dusting?  On Friday, I decided to heave myself out of bed and tidy the house.  I spent 20 minutes loading the dishwasher, folding clothes, and making beds.  Then I had a huge coughing fit, felt utterly drained, and slept for another hour.  In other words, it is okay for Sam and this kiddos to be ill and rest, but I feel like the ultimate slacker-mom when I am ill and rest.  

My Not-So-Inner Feminist and my Inner-Reasonable-Person (she is buried deep) surfaced on Friday after I overdid it and decided to Take It Easy.  I finished the last 400 pages of Our Mutual Friend.  I did a little bit of embroidery.  I watched Downton Abbey.  I napped extensively.  I let Sam handle dinner, and Atticus's bath, and playing with the kids.  In fact, Sam took Atticus to the doctor (he has a little ear infection, but we caught it early on) morning and I stayed home and played Bejeweled on my phone.  

By Saturday night I was going insane.  I had to do something.  So I knifed and buried my Inner-Reasonable-Person and decided to organize my Craft Lair.  You can see the awfulness of my Craft Lair here.  Atticus helped.  He had great fun putting skeins of yarn in a laundry basket and then dragging them out again.  I diagnosed the problem with my craft lair.  I didn't have places to put things.  Well, I have places, but none of them good when there is a curious toddler afoot.  I let Atticus get into things as long as they aren't dangerous or impossibly messy to clean.  Therefore yarn and embroidery hoops are forever scattered around the house.  I needed a place out of the grasp of Atticus the Future Fiber Artist.... hummmmm......

Bingo....

Diaper boxes on top of the Craft Lair dresser!

Well, that worked, but was completely unattractive.  Then Creativity slapped me silly and I had an idea.

1 Diaper box + rolls of faux wood-paneling (rescued from the library trash) + thrifted pillowcases =  ATTRACTIVE YARN STORAGE.

I whipped these up in the space of 10 minutes and had all my yarn tidied away neatly.  I spent the rest of the evening working for 10 minutes and then resting for 50 minutes.  I got it done and when Sam came home from the tattoo shop sometime after-midnight the Craft Lair was a-sparkling.

Ohhhh.... ahhhhh....

They aren't perfect, but they look a heck of a lot better than undecorated diaper boxes.

Organization for the win!

A place for everything!

Accomplishing this really raised my spirits and it really didn't take too long or too much effort once I had a place for all my supplies.  Huzzah!

Photo Friday: Crochet Edition

Finis!

A is for Autumn

Back in April I saw somewhere on the blogosphere an "alphabet" challenge.  Basically folks blogged a topic for each letter of the alphabet, Monday-Saturday, through the month of April.  I thought it sounded interesting.

I've recently felt a bit lackluster about blogging and so I thought I'd try this alphabet challenge through the month of September.  So as long as the babies aren't sick and the computer stays alive I should be blogging most of the week.  I also decided that I would make this a very positive blog experience; the each letter of the alphabet will reflect something I like.  This means no P is for Palin or F is for flooded library or J is for Justin Beiber.

Let's get started.

A is for Autumn



Autumn is my favorite time of year with Winter as a close second.  Autumn is a strange bird in Georgia; it may come early, or late, and -- sometimes -- not at all.  Today is September first which in my brain signals the start of Fall.  The temperature may be up in the 80's, but things feel more autumnal.  This morning I woke up and looked out my window.  A grey day, drizzle, strewn leaves, and a quick crisp breeze jingling wind chimes.  Yup... Autumn is certainly on her way to Georgia.

But why do I love Autumn so?  Well, I present to you my top reasons for loving Autumn:

Weather:  I hate hate hate summer.  It is so blasted hot and humid.  I love the cooler temperatures that allows me to...
...Wear cardigans:  it may be because I'm a library girl, but I adore a cardigan especially when paired with textured tights, a skirt, and something I've made with...
...Yarn:  Yes, I knit and crochet year round.  But being indoors on an early evening with a cat curled up beside me and a pile of yarn to work with is delightful.  It is one of my favorite quiet evening pursuits along with...
...Reading:  Of course I read everyday, but Autumn reading is something different.  Out come the thick classics, ghoulish short story collections, and frightening books.  On the weekends I find myself with a large stack of books and an equally large mug of ...
...Something hot to drink.  Pumpkin spice lattes, pots of Earl Grey, warm milk, or a peppery chai accompany me on my reading binges.  The cooler weather begs for the warmth of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  The spices also show up in my ...
...Baking:  maple scones, pumpkin bread, ginger infused cakes, or just plain loaves of home made bread turned to cinnamon toast scent my kitchen with the essence of autumn.  Of course all of this baking means more...
...Walking: Walking for exercise and pleasure.  This summer it has been too hot to take Atticus on long walks.  Now I envision donning him in tiny nerd cardigans and taking him on long walks to look at Autumn leaves.  Autumn leaves have the most amazing...
...Colors:  orange, brown, rust, yellow, and deep purples scattered with hints of green make up my autumn palette.  Gone are the garish, bright colors of summer and in with the warm, comforting colors of Autumn.

Helloooooo, Autumn!

And its May

I read a paltry amount of books, spent far too much money, and spent very little time at home. It was wonderful hanging out with my college friends, workish friends, and new friends. Even so, I am quite glad it is May. There are many changes coming up this month and plans for new things.

All through April I've been making plans for May. Primarily because I knew that in May my roommate and partner in crime Nicky would be moving out and that the library would be going to summer hours. Both of these things mean that I will be spending significantly more time only with Hope or by myself when Hope goes to grandma's.

So what are my grand plans for the month of May? What will I do with an entire month full of less work and less going out?

• My first goal is to plunge headlong into my role as Georgia Gypsy Queen secretary. I just found out today that I was chosen for the position. For those of you who aren't familiar, the Gypsy Queens are a national tattoo promotional sisterhood. Part of my duty is to construct a GAGQ newsletter. I already have plans in mind and would like to publish the first one this month.
• Not surprisingly, my second goal is to read like a motherfucker. I have a towering pile of books to read and am itching to spend a day in the sun reading. It would be most kick-ass if I could manage to read 10 books this month to make up for my lack of reading last month.
• Fix up my apartment. Alex and I broke up in September and a few weeks later roommate Nicky moved in to help me out with Hope. She is leaving next week, and this will be the first time that it has been just Hope and I living alone since 2002. I just signed a new lease on my little townhouse apartment and am completely ready to spruce things up. I have plans to repaint the downstairs and upstairs, jazz up the kitchen, get up some more bookshelves, and generally work on making it look less like a college student apartment and fool folks into thinking a real grownup lives here.
• Teach myself to sew. I can knit. I can crochet. I can embroider. Hell, I can make you some pasties! But the SEWING MACHINE scares the bejesus out of me. I'm going to conquer that damn thing this month. I have plans for skirts and aprons and owl pillows that must not be delayed.
• Tame my Netflix queue. I having an insanely large Netflix queue. 491 movies. Did you know that that is the maximum number of movies Netflix allows in a queue. I have DVDs like Wristcutters and Sweeny Todd (new), Akira (anime), the Legends of Horror films (old b-horror movies), and In the Realms of the Unreal (documentary).
• Plant a small garden. I am already so poor that I've had to cut out buying meat excepting on the rare occasions when chicken is on sale. Produce is INSANELY high as well. I'm clearing out some containers and preparing to grow my own veggies. Let's pray I don't kill the poor plants.
• Learn to crochet a shawl. I tend to only crochet blankets as there is very little effort and thought in crocheting a square. I've pulled out some patterns for shawls and have a terrific sparkly mohair yarn.
• Thrift store smack down. So far I haven't used a credit card all year (go me). I would like to continue my giant "fuck you" to Corporate America by buying most of the things I use at home from thrift shops. And by thrift I mean the Salvation Army and Goodwill, not overpriced-hipster-I-paid-$100-for-my-vintage-sundress place. I will be totally slumming it and hunting for furniture, curtains, and decor from the unwanted bins of rubbish.

Ya think that will keep me busy enough during May?

Transformers Knit Too!