Archive for March, 2008

Do the laundry. Do the dishes. Spring clean anything else. I don’t wanna sweep, mop or dust. Anything.

I want to go to the fabric store and get more patchwork fabric.

I want to go thrifting.

I want to find my blasted keys!!!

Pfew. Twenty minutes later. Found them.

Look what I found, look what I found! A 1940’s ABC book for the kids.

A cute green pressed glass bowl. Now… where should it go?

And a vintage cake tin.

To match these that my mom got me for my birthday last year.

Oh, and I almost forgot this beauty!  A Texas belt buckle.  Oh ya baby!

Glad I found my keys!

Wildflowers have begun to appear along the roadside here in the Texas Hill Country. With the arrival of the wildflowers comes the “don’t pick the blue ones” that I bellow to the kids. The ‘blue ones’ are bluebonnets and since they are the state flower they are protected. But for my flower picking babe, she doesn’t understand that concept. So as long as no one is looking, a few ‘blue ones’ get picked. Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone.

Every morning when I walk outside I notice something new that has bloomed. Even one little geranium in the garden has begun to bloom. Patiently waiting for a deer to come along and rip it’s flower off. Poor little thing, if he only knew.

All of the flowers on the bushes have begun to bloom. The oak trees have dropped their leaves, are polenating (aaaachooo), and are getting their new leaves for the season. And the Japanese Maple has begun to get it’s leaves. I just love the deep red of this tree.

With summer right around the corner, the thoughts of long days spent at the lake arise. Just a short walk from our house is the lake. Where we bask in the sun until it sets. Fishing. Swimming. Boating. Relaxing. Living.

To accompany the bare feet of little ones, new lake side clothes are in order. So today I whipped up a new dress for Makena.

And some pants for my little surfer dude.

Also, don’t forget that today is the last day for the piano bench contest. You can submit fabric ideas for the piano bench by midnight. I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday! Thanks everyone for your contributions so far. You’re going to make this a very difficult decision for me!

We’ve got a new addition to our household. I’ve been anxious to tell you about it but wanted to wait for the right time.

We adopted him from my grandfather’s house. He’s right around 100 years old and had been a gift for my mother when she was a child in the 1960’s. Now that we have children, my Papa wanted it to go to a good home. Right now the kids are playing Chopsticks, or rather haphazardly tapping on the keys.

I just adore my Mema’s milk glass collection and my Papa graciously passed on a few pieces to me as well.

So what do you think? I think he definitely needs some new fabric to replace his vinyl seat. I’m going to have a contest to recover the piano bench seat. I’ve got a few things in mind but would love some suggestions. Here’s the rules: In the comments section, leave a comment with the link to your choice of fabric. Hey, you need a good excuse to shop for fabric right?!?  Just don’t forget to come back!  You have until Sunday night to leave a comment. If I happen to select your fabric, the winner will get a surprise from Austin!

Has anyone seen the show? I think I’ve only caught a glimpse of it once but how fun would that have been when we were kids to go and compete on a show such as this. It brought me back to my elementary school days and Nickelodeon and what was that kids show where you got slimed? Gosh, anyone remember the name?

Anyhow, back to my dad. Remember when you were a kid and thought your parents knew everything. Well, somehow my dad does. At least he’ll always come up with a good answer or story to tell. That is what a daddy is for right.

Case in point. This weekend we took the kids and their cousins fishing down at the lake. We were stockpiled with the essentials: princess fishing pole (check), worms (check), beer (check). Out we went to catch whatever we could. Anything really. I hate to brag but I’m a pretty good fisherwoman. As a child, I spent countless hours on lakes, creeks and oceans fishing well into the night and early morning. Thanks Daddy.

So back to the lake fishing story. My hubby and his brother took all of the kids down to the lake to catch some fish. They had been down there for about two hours (with no fish caught) when I came down to check on the situation. I was down there for only a couple of minutes, threw my first cast and immediately caught a large fish. Although I like to fish, let me tell you that I don’t touch the fish and I don’t touch the bait. Ever.

Now here’s when my dad and all of his knowledge comes in. We looked at the fish and had no idea what it was. So, who do we call? My dad… he knows it all. He immediately identified our fish.

All of this to tell you that he’s got the answers, or he pretends to have the answers. Thanks dad. If you have questions about photography, he’s your man. If you have questions about photoshop, he’s your man. If you have questions about traveling, he’s your man. If you have questions about short cuts and back roads, he’s your man. If you have questions about camping/fishing, he’s your man. He’s a man’s man.

All of these pictures he took while we had our visit a couple of weekends ago. He’s my photography man!

There is a sleepy little town in Texas. One which I refer to as home. One of the many homes of my childhood. Where coyotes howl at night, children play, time slows down and music of yesteryear fills the historic downtown. There are chocolate shops and western wear stores.

It’s very quiet in this little haven. So quiet, in fact, that you can actually hear yourself think. Think about life. Family. Children. The past. The future. And everything in between.

We drink Dr. Pepper made from actual sugar cane. We ride on Paw Paw’s tractor. And we are drawn to the scrap metal pile like magnets.

We sit on the front porch and watch the sun come up. We also watch the sun go down. We notice the little things, things that time has almost forgotten.

We talk about the family home that was built in the 1800’s. The beautiful vintage wallpaper that was covered with wood paneling long ago. The hardwood floors that are hidden under the carpet. The once two room house, now consisting of eight.

It’s good to go home.

As I woke up this morning, poured my cup of coffee and began to shuffle around the house I realized that I was the only one awake. Miles had gone off to work of course, but the kids were still asleep. The sun was just beginning to rise so I took some time to myself to do none other than… check some friend’s blogs. And as I made my way over to Misty’s blog I saw that I was the lucky recipient of the You Make Me Smile Award.  Thanks Misty, you know how to make a girl’s day. You are so so sweet. If you haven’t met Misty, stop in and say hello, she’s a fabulous writer.

In other news, there are several swaps going around blogland. I participated in Stefani’s Book Swap. We swapped mommy books, kids books and handmade bookmarks.

Out with the old.

In with the new. Susan was the most incredible swap partner. She put my little old stack of books to shame with this huge pile of books. And look at those bookmarks! Too cute. Susan, I still owe you one! And you can’t take no for an answer.

Oh the mailman has been too good to me lately. Actually, Ruth was very good to me. A while back she posted some pictures of the most recent issue of Marie Claire idees. I immediately went online to try and find it here in the U.S. to no avail. If anyone knows a good way to get this magazine here, please let me know. Ruth knew I loved the magazine so we organized a swap between ourselves. Here’s a sneak peek inside the magazine. One word. Fabulous!

She sent over this great magazine, a beautiful handkerchief from Liberty of London and this fabulous poster. I had seen this poster around a few times in magazines but never knew where to find it. It’s a nice reminder to help me go about my day.  It now has a new home in my kitchen above the cookbooks (Oh, and don’t judge me by my cookbooks… in retrospect I should have weeded some out before putting them out there for the world to see… of course you can have a Beers of the World book right along with a Weight Watchers cookbook.  Geez.).

Story goes, this poster was part of a three poster series that was created during WWII by the King of England. He knew invasion by Germany was iminent so created several of these types of war propoganda posters. However, it was never actually released to the public. Fifty years later, one copy of this poster was found in the attic of an old bookstore. The shop owner found it and hung it in the store window. The poster created such mayhem and requests that they are now produced for the public. I love it. Thank you Ruth!

In true fashion for the You Make Me Smile Award, I must pass it along to five individuals that truly make me smile. Ruth, Susan and Misty… of course you make me smile. Actually, all of you make me smile! Thanks for hanging around with me in this thing called blogland. Here we go…

• Sarah
• Chris
• Marjorie
• Beki
• Claudia

Happy Good Friday friends!  Hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend!!

Three year olds are so stinkin’ cute. It’s when their vocabulary explodes, their coordination improves and their drawing takes form.

People are drawn by crayon, marker or pencil.

Letters are written to friends and sent in the mail.

This letter arrived from Makena’s boyfriend Gage. Supposedly, Gage was watching Little Bear and Little Bear had written a letter. Mid-show Gage turns to his Daddy and says “Daddy I want to write a letter to Makena.” A few minutes later, a letter was written and delivered to the mailbox. So sweet this little Gage is!

Along with their new drawing skills, smiley faces are practiced… with marker, on the deck.

There is something about repurposing vintage items.  The whole idea of taking something that is old and making it new again really appeals to me.  I have to admit that I have become a fabric snob.  The feeling of soft linens, that have been washed more times than I can imagine.  That have spent time basking in the sun on a clothesline to dry.  Carefully pressed, then ready to use.  How many countless nights these pillowcases caught the dreams of young and old alike.  That tooth anxiously awaiting arrival of the tooth fairy.  That road trip that wasn’t the same without that pillow from home.  Pillows thrown on the floor for a sleepover with friends.  Pillow fights.

Finding a pillowcase at a thrift store and turning it into a beautiful spring dress for my babe really gives me a sense of accomplishment.  Of course, she doesn’t have the same imagery running through her head that I do.  But, she is creating her own memories in these sweet little dresses.  Running and playing in the yard.  Catching the scent of a rosemary bush as it trails behind her on summer star filled nights.  These are the memories of her youth.  And this is the dress that will hold them.

Geraniums are not deer resistant.

I woke up bright and early to go look at all of my beautiful newly planted (by the moonlight mind you) geraniums.  As I was wiping the sleepy out of my eyes, it all came into focus.  Devastation.

We have somehow created a buffet for the deer and they keep coming back for more.

Needless to say I have plucked the sole survivors out of the ground and they have been transported to the decks, far away from harms nibble.

Down a long highway, past an old wooden bridge in a little town is home.  It’s a place I know very well yet explore like a child every time I’m there.

We are on the road, my friends, for a weekend away.  Up to North Texas, the land of my childhood.  The places where I played hide and seek.  Climbed trees.  Searched for rocks with my dad.  Watched airplanes with my Papa.  Lived.

The memories come flooding back when I go home.  The same memories that I hope for for my children.