Running in place…

True to my word, I’ll make no real appology for NOT blogging in simply forever…. Just busy with life.  Real busy!  Running as fast as I can and not really seeming to actually GET anywhere.

With a whole lot a  this..

A bunch of this…

Supervising these…

Driving to this….

And this…

I’ve actually been helping out my Lawyer Husband with a bit of this as well…

Plus Halloween, a couple of Birthdays….

THIS was the year that my youngest started 1st grade… that’s three in school FULL TIME, and me at HOME FULL TIME.  So, why hasn’t there been any extra time?  Just constantly running around, one thing after the next.  And, oh… I realized that I never put the Christmas wreaths away in the store area last year.  They’ve just been sitting in my studio for 11 months… so at least THOSE will be easy to find this year.

“…it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.  If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.” 

- The Red Queen – Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There   (Lewis Carroll)

I’m trying to  run fast… really, I am!

I will do it by myself…

Every time I run across this letter, it amazes me and makes me giggle.  This year it is just a bit more hysterical, since I have my own 9-year-old girl.  I’m sure she probably thinks she can do it herself as well.  Thanks Mom, for saving things like these to remind me how completely insane I was as a child. 

You dont have to do any thing for me … 

… except help me with my obvious lack of punctuation, oh and my spelling…. maybe provide food, water, shelter, clothing.  Yea, just the basic necessities.

Oh and wash, dry and fold my clothes, make me breakfast, lunch, dinner & a few snacks, pick out my clothes, dry my hair, style my hair, help me with homework.  Take me places like the doctor and dentist, and to and from whatever lessons my little heart desires.  It would be cool if you, you know, paidfor those things too.  And maybe braces, summer dance camp, private school.  You can entertain me when I’m bored, cheer me up when I’m sad, and comfort me when my friends are mean.  You could buy me a car, pay for the insurance and gas.  Make sure I get home alive from each and every night out.  In the future, I might let you send me to college and law school.  Maybe even help me purchase my first house.  You can help me figure out how to raise my own kids, and pitch in and give me a hand when they are on my last nerve. 

Just a few things, but other than that…  I CAN DO STUFF MYSELF!

…. sorry Mom!

Totally sweet… and Raggedy!

A very, very sweet friend of mine who knows of my love for all things Alice, sent me this lovely present.  She’s a primitive style Raggedy Ann dressed as Alice!  I am so thrilled to bits that I can hardly contain myself.  She also sent the lovely little white rabbit trinket box as well. 

The Alice in Raggedyland is made by a lovely lady named Julie G. Marcotte.  Her work is amazing!  She makes raggedys of every sort, bakers, nurses… you just have to see it to believe it.  Her craftsmanship is stellar and when you hold one in your hand, you can truly feel and see the love & care that clearly goes into each and every stitch.  Take a peek for yourself please!  She sells on eBay and from her website, has patterns, does custom orders, etc…  If you are a collector… I swear to God… you will have found heaven!

www.myraggedydolls.com

The funny thing is… Raggedy Ann was my very first love.  I had several dolls which sat in my nursery when I was a baby. As I got old enough to hold things, I played with them.  My second birthday was totally Raggedy Ann themed… right down to the cake.  AND I WAS Raggedy Ann for my second Halloween… like I really believed I WAS her!  Several years ago I wrote a whole blog post about it …

http://wildthymeoriginals.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/my-first-collection/

Anyway.. it’s a lovely combination of my first obsession and my current obsession.  And my friend… she is really, truly an angel!!!!!

Ribbon Work for my lovely German Friend

I can finally show the ribbon work I was messing around with a few weeks ago, as my surprise has made its arrival in Germany.  It’s done in shades of burgundy, rust, burnished orange, and antique gold, with avocado and forest green leaves.  The flat broach is shown as a hat.  The bear doing the modeling is already sold to another collector, and is on layaway.  She truly enjoyed the dress up game though!

Vintage style flat rose with pin broach back…

 

The same piece against a fabulous pair of crocheted gloves from my own collection…

 

Lace collar with pin-on rose.  This rose features vintage stamens in the center, and is more shaped like a natural flower…

And both pieces modeled by a full sized mohair bear….

What a Cool Surprise!

We received a copy of the brand new Student Transportation Handbook for the Hudson City Schools.  I casually leafed through it while drinking a cup of coffee… nothing new.  No eating on the bus.  Remain seated.  No too loud.  All the usual rules.  I place the booklet on the table and resume my caffeination.  I glance at the back cover…. and see some child in a green shirt.  Actually, it’s the shirt I noticed first.  It’s one of my favorite colors, sort of a Granny Smith apple green.  I have a couple of shirts that color, and so does my daughter.  When I see that color, I just buy it.  I look at the child’s face… it’s MIRANDA!  Looking beautiful, but with just a tinge of glum.  I can totally read her face.  It’s the initial delight of, “Oh, someone with a big fancy camera is taking my picture!” mixed with a bit of, “OMG… I’m on the BUS!”  She HATES the bus with a passion!  Truly, at least 80% of the time, she begs me to drive her in.  Ha ha…if they only knew.

Why I’d probably suck at homeschooling…

I’m one of those moms who utilizes each teachable moment I find.  I try not to bore the kids to death, but if we are doubling a pancake recipe… I think it’s a good time to talk a bit about equivalent fractions… that kind of thing.  Of course, I always encourage reading.  Especially when the 9 year old reads to the 6 year old and we all discuss… it’s perfect.  When Miranda grabbed an old copy of Aesop’s Fables off the shelf, I was impressed and happy. 

A note about this book… it’s a 1947 edition.  A lovely hard cover book in it’s own little box. 

I thought I was gonna get maybe 20 minutes to do finish folding the laundry while my kids learned witty life lessons about foxes, crows, cheese, and flattery.  Wolves in sheep’s skins, geese laying golden eggs, etc… They’d be reading… We’d be discussing the moral to the story and seeing how it fit into our everyday human lives.  A great teachable moment.

I leave them with the book.  I commence folding.  A few minutes later I hear snickers and full blown belly laughs coming from the family room.  “Wow, they are really enjoying this book,” I think to myself.  We have a real hit on our hands.  I smile at the profound intelligence of my sweet little children. 

Ten minutes later I enter the family room.  They are still on the Table of Contents.  Their faces are flushed.  They stifle the giggles.  I must see what’s so funny.  I grab the book.

Here’s a close up of the next page…

There are a total of nine fables that begin with the word ASS!  A word my children clearly know the more modern meaning of.  A word that even the 6 year old can read….  Thus the giggles.  The three of us spend the next twenty minutes coming up with our own morals to the ASS stories….

If your ass casts a big shadow, you should stop eating cheesecake.

Stay away from ass eating thistle.

Be the master of your own ass.

It wasn’t quite the teachable moment I thought it was going to be.  It was good for about half an hour of solid belly laughs though!  My kids were thrilled that they got to say the “A” word as much as they wanted.  

Thanks Aesop.

One of my Favorite Photos

Now that I finally have a new printer/scanner/copier…. I just wanted to share one of my all time favorite photos.  My sweet baby girl, Miranda, when she was about three years old.  I’ll always love this photo of her with her little crown of clover.  It’s one of those simple days from her childhood that I’ll never forget… even without the photo.

Colette is now available!

Colette is now available on eBay through Sunday July 5th.  For more photos and a full description, just click here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=260437822793

What a difference 28 days makes.

Hugo is growing SO fast!  I think the length of his legs has doubled in size since we got him.   He went to the park yesterday where we ran into two families who have “grown up” Bostons!  I love the fact that so many Boston owners are so passionate about the breed.   Here’s my guy at 11 weeks!

Colette to be available on eBay soon! Sneak peek…

I’m hoping to have this little girl on eBay later this week.  Do check back for more photos and a link to her auction when she’s all set for her big debut!