Enjoying the Garden

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We finally have a break in the weather. From the heat and humidity, we’re enjoying a preview of autumn with highs in the 60s and lows going into the mid-40s in some areas nearby. We’ll be back in the mid-80s in a few days, but for now, I’m loving the crisp, cool air in the morning and early evenings. Then pair that with the earlier sunsets. Ah, late afternoons in the fall… It’s my favorite time of the day. Ask my husband, he might say, “Yes, my wife loves the sun in her eyes when the sun sets.” It’s all about the lighting and how everything looks to me when there’s that slight tint of peach-orange sunset. I could just drink it up.

The other day, the lighting was just beautiful, and I wanted to capture some colors around and in our garden beds. Enjoy and happy Labor Day!

Acorns and Projects

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We’ve lived in our home for four years this summer and never have we seen or heard so many acorns falling from the red oak that lives just off our patio. I have no idea why it’s happening this summer, maybe because we had it pruned last winter? Maybe it’s the weather? Our daughter’s room is also on that side of the house, and she woke up this morning startled from the knocking sounds. The patio has shards of split acorns, fragments of acorn tops and toppled potted plants from the squirrels. I bet it’s one reason our little woodland friends have left our vegetable garden alone this late in the season, too.

Almost every morning, I’ve gone outside to assess the garden, the lawn and landscaping and after walking around bits of acorn shells get embedded in my flip flops. But, now and again, I find whole acorns and of course, I pocket them. It reminds me of picking and collecting pine cones everywhere I went. (Heck, I do that now with the kids when we’re at the park.) I’m fascinated with the little acorn shapes, and more curious about what I might do with them. Right now, they’re sitting on our dining room buffet. But maybe…

…maybe I’ll turn them into something later this Fall.

Nature Craft – Acorn Fairies at Blissfully Domestic

Harvest Napkin Ties at Martha Stewart

Something similar to this Acorn Necklace at Heather Donohue Crafts

Checking out Upcoming Craft Shows

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I’m going through some major writer’s cramp lately. Maybe it’s the start of school, maybe it’s me overextending myself, as usual, or maybe it’s Typical-Me expecting to write earth-shattering, life-changing posts all the time. Could be topic overload too. Could be burn-out or fallout from attending the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show. Everywhere I turned, incredible displays were in my face.

Display for Prima Products

Tell you what, I have a backlog including a couple of craft locations and restaurant visits. I just haven’t felt the initial inspirational spark to start writing. Look at that journal I saw from CHA… I’m pretty sure that was a Donna Downey sample. So beautiful. Talk about inspired writing… sheesh.

Before the school year and activities completely swallow me up, and before I get even further behind, I wanted to share these events to anyone interested out there!

  • Coming to Chicago in September Renegade Craft Fair
  • Also in September, Craft Social. While not a craft show per se, it’s a blast of an evening with make-and-take projects, light eats and lots of friendly faces. Check out the social from last spring.
  • Urban Craft Uprising is out in the Pacific Northwest and is taking applications for their Winter show. I visited the Summer show while I was in Seattle.
  • Keep a lookout for Indie Jubilee next year… I missed their inaugural show this past summer while I was away.

T-Shirt Quilt in Progress

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I’m happy to report, some significant progress has been made on the quilt over the last week. With the quilt taking shape, I was starting to ask myself, why did I start with this project? Couldn’t I have started with a smaller quilt? I suppose my “starter” projects were the craft aprons I made almost two years ago, or the baby blankets I’ve sewn now and again.

Last week, I got over the “still-cutting-fabric” hump, and am piecing the shirts and borders together now. I’ll have to return to the cutting mat later this week (hopefully) for the sashes between the columns. I picked a “coal grey” Kona cotton as the border – good neutral with the rainbow field of colors.

Now I feel like I’m in the “I’m-almost-there” or “Am-I-going-to-get-through-this” stage? (Do a lot of quilters/DIY-ers go through this?) And it’s not like I’m NOT enjoying myself. I actually love the listening to the sewing machine late at night, or when the kids are playing with each other. There’s this peaceful, rhythmic drone, except for when I busted the sewing needle one time because I didn’t take out the pins as I was sewing (which I normally do). It was an awful THUNK sort of sound, but just a small delay changing out the needle and I was up and running again.

It’s just that this project has been in the making for a long time. I’m learning to be patient with myself especially when I have to get friendly with my seam ripper. Thank goodness, it’s only happened three times so far.

Summer Reading

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I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve read books that don’t rhyme every other sentence. I mean, I do read from time to time, but mostly it’s with the kids. And then there’s my long relationship with craft books and other DIY manuals, but not a lot of fiction.  Abby is an avid reader (we are so proud of her), and right now she loves mysteries. She would rather read than play soccer, I think.

Ollie on the other hand is still in the picture book stage, and once in a while we borrow graphic novels from the library (think comic book) like Teen Titans or Iron Man, to satisfy his superhero cravings.

So, the last two summers I signed up for the reading club at our local library. If the kids signed up, why shouldn’t I? It definitely forced me to pick up books I normally wouldn’t even give a second thought, and in one case, I was introduced to a historical fiction/mystery series that I’ve come to enjoy. Unfortunately, since I’ve only read them during the summer months, my husband pointed out that it may take me sixteen more years to finish (eighteen books in the series – I’ve read 2).

Here are some favorites:

Food Books for Kids

picture from taliajenea.blogspot.com

Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing Minds (Elffers & Freymann) * The pictures are clever, creative and well done! Makes you want to take a closer look in the produce section.

picture from www.jamakimrattigan.com

Dumpling Soup ( Jama Kim Rattigan) * In this book, the family celebrating New Year’s with dumplings and relatives is so much like our our family. If you go to the author’s site, you’ll find a recipe!

By Amy Wilson Sanger: Yum, Yum, Dim Sum (board book) and First Book of Sushi and Let’s Nosh * I love the colorful collage images

Mom’s Historical Fiction Picks

Picture from www.ameliapeabody.com

The Ape who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters (The Amelia Peabody Series) * A slow start for my second book by this author, but I’ve grown fond of the characters. I really should start with the first book next time. Set in 1900s Egypt, follow the Emerson family through archaeological exploration, mystery and murder.

Picture from www.ameliapeabody.com

The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters (The Amelia Peabody Series) * My first Amelia Peabody book, but number eight in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between protagonist, Amelia Peabody, and her archaeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson. In 1900, The Emerson family gets caught up with a mysterious criminal to find a lost queen’s tomb in Egypt.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan * Take a (fictional-with-a-bit-of-fact) look into the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, his choices, and relationship with Mameh Cheney. I’ve studied FLW’s work and biography, so I knew how the story ended. And even then let’s just say, without spoiling it too much, I had a slightly difficult time getting through the tragic ending.

Anyone out there have favorite summer reads from this year to share?

Did I Hear My Kids Singing?

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Alright, my kids really don’t perform in front of people. With the older one, it’s definitely not her style, she doesn’t enjoy it (she’s quite talented when it comes to drawing, though). I still have a chance for a fine arts performer with the little one… maybe. But the other day, my husband and I were sitting at the dining room table and all of a sudden we heard Ollie’s little voice singing to the tune of Smash Mouth’s “All Star”:

Somebody once told me the world’s a macaroni/so i took a bite out of a tree
It tasted kinda funny so I spitted out a bunny/and the bunny started pooping on me

Apparently, it was his older sister’s creation and she lovingly taught it to him. Precious. I can only imagine what I have to look forward to as their music tastes develop.

Unrelated updates

  • Some of my recent article postings at Craft Critique can be found here and at this search results page.
  • I’ve finally restarted my t-shirt quilt and am happy to report it’s shaping up nicely. Pictures soon!
  • The garden has survived the crazy 90+ degree weather we’ve been having. We’ve even had a few tomatoes.  Unfortunately, I haven’t put as much time into the garden as I would like because of the heat, rain and vicious mosquitoes. (Sounds like we live in the tropics or something.)
  • Lastly, the compost barrel is working out nicely, but I’m afraid to look inside it. I just open the hatch, dump my scraps, latch it back up and run.
  • School starts next week for my daughter!
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