She’s the stepdaughter of my husband’s cousin. And it was such a pleasure walking around our little town square and park and laughing about the wind and commiserating on the folly of long hair, wind, and lip gloss.
Thanks, Paige. It was super duper fun.
Go rock the world.
There are times when I listen to myself with my Mother’s ears. And cringe.
My dream for my 30’s? To actually speak and sound, if not eloquent, at least passably articulate.
Like, totally.
I thought it might be fun to post conservation type tips every once in a great while and maybe drum up some conversation about simple things we can do to limit our footprint and help extend our budgets and make use of our natural resources in a better way. And how is that for a run-on sentence? I know. I’m awesome like that.
No matter where you live, you get rain. Even in the Middle Eastern deserts, they get rain two days a year. In many countries water is turning out to be as controversial and mishandled as any other valuable resource in the past. People who live in third world countries with plenty of rainfall seem to be those who never get it’s benefits. That is an entire discussion all on it’s own, but it made me look at my water differently.
I live in the Midwest United States. We get rain. Gobs and gobs and tons and tons of it. Our ditches swell and the sump pump in our crawl space does double and triple duty come spring.
I have never tried to make use of that water. It just flows down off our house, down our gutter, and out to the ditch. It comes and then it’s gone.
And then we get our summer water bill and get all frustrated.
Hmmm. It got me thinking and then I dismissed it for a while thinking, Surely it isn’t that much water to make a noticable difference in our water bill come summer.
And then I heard the numbers put forth in this video.
1/4 inch rain falling on an average family home yields approximately 200 gallons, people.
That is completely nuts. But in a totally cool way. So much for me thinking it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
I am new to this whole thing and I haven’t constructed a rain barrel yet, but I very much would love to hear feedback.
Do any of you have a rain barrel? If so, does it work well? Anybody else think rain barrels are for hippy chicks and their long-haired boyfriends? If so, I want to hear from you, too.
Just a few samples of Monday’s shoot. This little girl looks so much like my older sister at that age…it’s just cahraaaazy.
And I am IN LOVE with this dress. And the skirt. And everything else in their shop. Sigh.
Stop me. Or I will go crazy and blow the whole wad.
Seriously, have a great weekend. Be safe and have fun. Or not. ‘Tis up to you.
See you Monday.
A few months ago my mother asked me to make her a bag.
I worked on the design, carved a new stamp, and mixed the ink.
But the design just wasn’t coming. Everything I have come up with up to this point is either too sweet or too modern.
She is basically a perfect mix of the two and throw in a good dose of agricultural guru.
So this week is going to be me pushing through to get it done. She asked me the other day, “How is the bag coming?”
And I very sheepishly told her I was stuck.
This is me getting unstuck.
Starting with some hemp and moving on from there.
We shall see what comes of it all.
In the meantime, Anna is putting me to shame with all the super-faithful and on-time stitching she is doing.
Her first quilt, no less. She picked out each fabric and arranged the squares exactly as she wanted them. I stood over her nervously (because I have seen a sewn finger, people, not pretty), while she did every single piece and row herself. I am so proud. When she was born, I hoped she would want to do little, homey things with me. I didn’t want to assume, but I sure did hope.
And she does. *happy mommy sigh*
I can’t wait to see the finished product. She keeps giggling and jumping around with excitement. And all I can think is, Did I hop around and giggle this much when I was seven?
Monday of this week brought with it more snow. Big surprise, right?
Oh, and another photo shoot for my favorite, local children’s clothing boutique. I love working with clients who care about their products and have a true passion for what they do. For these ladies, their love for vintage and sharp prints make their brick and mortar shop pure delight.
The shots above were from this last spring when I stopped in to gaze at the sundry sweetness they offer in their shop.
I will soon be posting some of the shots from our Monday session and another link to their online presence. Their new spring designs are fresh and versatile and so carefully stitched.
So, more info on all their new developments coming in the next few weeks. If you live in the Midwest, they are located in Lebanon, Indiana, east side of the town square.
Who doesn’t need to find the perfect, little sundress or smock for their favorite little lady? I can almost feel the grass between my toes.
Sometimes the battery is just dead. Needs more juice or something.
I have been dry for awhile.
I will be spending this week regrouping, thinking, planning, and resting. And shoveling. Outside the snow continues to fall.
There is anticipation for what will come of this short sabbatical.
My mind needs a good dusting of the cobwebs. Perhaps creativity will then be freed to flow again.
Have a blessed week.
We had all three of our babies at home with a midwife in attendance. I wish I could describe it as beautiful. I mean it was great because we got several great babies out of the deal, and there was some wonderment over the whole thing. It was miraculous, but I am not sure I would say it was beautiful. It was birth. It was what it was.
But I have never heard an account of a birth like the one I read today. It is absolutely hilarious.
Go here. Read and die laughing.
I did.
We are trying to live small. Which means bright pink hand-me-downs for Bear. He totally owned it in a “whatchoo lookin’ at” kinda way.
And then our zany friend, Ally, who has none of the uptightness of, say, me…went out to the back forty and came back with a crock of clean snow. Made the kids slushies. They loved it. It was daring. ‘Cause they know what Mom says.
The irony of the whole thing? Ally used lemonade mix to flavor it.
So, my friends? My children have now, officially, eaten yellow snow. They may now cross that one off their bucket list.
Eat Yellow Snow. Check.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:1-7NIV
Love never fails.