Get thee an Etsy shop NOW!

My mother has been painting silk scarves. They are simply STUNNING. OK, maybe not an Etsy shop (she doesn't have much interest in running a shop) but a boutique for sure. They are just gorgeous.


So we dodged some tornados Monday. Apparently, 7 tornadoes touched down in Hall and Jackson County. Where was I? Flapping my yap with my mom on the phone while Scott was frantically trying to reach me to tell me about the tornado sirens going off and the tornado headed right for us. I remember telling my mom that the rain and wind were getting worse...

I've been hooking up with a lot of people from high school lately on the time suck known as Facebook. As I have mentioned previously, high school was not a fun time for me. I didn't fit in with anyone, had no tight friends and no dates really, and it made high school hard. At the time, I was pretty ok being in my own little world and I didn't really want to be a part of the 'popular' crowd but it would have been nice to have a group of friends to hang with. Of course, 20 plus years later and it seems so silly. I mean, what was so wrong with me then? Meh. It has been fun to 'see' folks again via Facebook, but I still don't plan on attending any reunions.

Touch-A-Truck!

Our city does an annual event called Touch-A-Truck where the kids can explore all sorts of trucks and other vehicles: a fire truck, a tractor trailer, a police car, a cement truck, a big tow truck, etc. Its always lots of fun, although it really should be called Honk-A-Horn because its non-stop. Lulu got to meet a female police officer (she is really into COPS and law enforcement lately). The girls also got to sit in the back of a police car. Hopefully that will be the last time for both of them!

 

 

 

 

Sunday, we went to the Oakwood Pool. It was pretty chilly so I think we are done with the pool for the season. The girls had a good time and I did a few cannonballs for laughs.

I am still working to fill my shop to the gills. I have discovered felting and hand-beading, so look for that to make an appearance in some form in the shop. I will also be adding more kids hats.

My blog is so lame.

Scott showed me this blog last night, which includes a very cool video of some freaky Andalusian trail of death:

http://neath.wordpress.com/2008/08/10/el-camino-del-rey/

It really serves to remind me how lame-o my blog is.

I am looking forward to the Bigfoot press conference today. Allegedly, some guys stumbled on a Bigfoot gathering in Clayton, Georgia not too far from here. What is a group of BigFoots (BigFeets?) called? A den? A covey? A pride? A joke? That's it - a joke of Bigfoots.

Tomatoes and Blueberries

Sometimes, the best meals are the simplest. I used some of the cooked tomatoes, added some half & half and made a delicious tomatoe bisque. A crusty loaf of dense whole grain bread, sliced and topped with melted cheese was perfect dipped into the soup. Simple and wonderful.

We finally made it to the neighbor's house to pick blueberries but no doubt we should have been a week ago. We picked enough to eat but not enough to make into jam. The bushes were being fiercely protected by a large and menacing European hornet. They are the size of a small hummingbird. I watched in horror as this thing DEVOURED a yellow jacket like corn on the cob. My mother-in-law was stung by one a few years ago and it was a nasty, nasty sting. Needless to say, I really didn't want us to hang around too long.

I want to say that the weather is just starting to change. Its been breezy the last two days and it just feels different. Its still hot - in the high 80s, but its tolerable. While we've had a great fun this summer with the kids, I do look forward to fall.

I am gearing up to start stocking the shop for fall. I have lots of new hats, a lot of great funky designs. I am hoping this fall/winter is at least as good as last year.

Tomatoes Everywhere!

We picked every last ripe or nearly ripe tomato this morning and made a batch of marinara. Yum! We still have some tomatoes on the vine but everything else has pretty much given up the ghost. Boo hoo.

I was working on a second 5 Hour Baby Sweater since the first one turned out so well. I need another skein of the faux mohair and I cannot get it locally. Looks like a trip to Hobby Lobby is in the cards tomorrow....shhhhhh. I am also trying to write a crochet sweater based on the 5HBS design.

Tomorrow hopefully I can start going to the gym again since we are all over the stomach virus. I hope I didn't jinx myself.

Oh, and after Fern decided to use the ENTIRE TUB of my new Lollibomb body butter, I ordered a new tub. This time, I picked Frosted Donuts. The time before, it was Birthday Cake. You should really try her stuff: http://smellpretty.com. Besides smelling heavenly and delicious, her stuff works wonders for dry skin.

Ballerina and Lipstick

 

Yesterday, Fern felt good enough to play dress up. This involved a tutu, some jewelry, and some make-up. She did her own lipstick.

I think we have turned the corner on the stomach flu. Hooray! Perhaps we can do some sort of family activity today. I've been promising another trip to the pool. I wouldn't mind going tubing again. We are still trying to find a cheap tent so we can start camping with the girls.

I've been poking around on Facebook (aka Crackbook) the last two days. I've run into a lot of folks from high school, summer camp, and other places.

We have acquired a new vehicle! Its a 1986 Crown Victoria LTD. It belonged to Scott's grandmother. We've managed to survive with one vehicle for a while, but it will be nice to have the option or going two different places. Thanks Bama and Packy J!

Stomach Virus

I know I've been MIA lately. The stomach flu is making its rounds here. Lulu is the only one who hasn't had it. Between being showered with assorted bodily fluids from both myself and my family and doing endless laundry, I haven't done much making. I am working on a second sweater like the one in my previous post, and that is about it.

Lulu started first grade today. She is excited that school is starting again.

I am sort of taking a break on etsy until I can get caught up on stuff around the house and get my family healthy again. Orders will ship, but I won't be listing anything new for a while.

I finally conquered the Five Hour Baby Sweater!

For two years on and off, I have tried to knit this bastard. I started out knitting the version with the lacey yoke. The lace was flipping me out and causing me to gain and lose stitches when I was not supposed to. So I poked around on the internets and found a version where some brilliant lady had revamped the pattern to eliminate the lace and replace with ridges. If I could find her, I would kiss her.

I know its supposed to be a baby sweater but I took a chance with some bulky weight yarn and size 13 needles and dove right in hoping it *might* fit Fern. (Gauge? I don't need no stinking gauge!) You know, it fits perfectly. I would say its a 5/6. We even picked out the cutest buttons. Now, its not perfect and if you look closely you will see flaws but hey - its my first knitting sweater. And I cannot wait to cast on for the next one.

Speaking of other projects, I am working on a baby dress from a vintage pattern book. So far, I have crocheted the bodice, but its pretty clear that I won't have enough of this hand spun and hand-dyed yarn to finish. My options are a) knit a skirt, b) use fabric to make a skirt to attach to the bodice, c) find a nice coordinating yarn to knit the skirt and some details or e) frog the whole damn mess and toss it back the stash....

Lastly, I had been promising the girls that we would do some tie-dye. I think they turned out pretty cute as I used a clearance kit from Wally-Word.