Monday, October 18, 2010

mondays ...

a lovely but busy weekend has come to an end ...

it was a great weekend for friends ...

small and tall ...

cherubs were either at sleepovers or had sleepovers ... the house was full of kids who moved through the pantry like a swarm of locusts ... leaving nothing but brownie crumbs and empty chip bags in their wake ...

but it's all good ...

but it couldn't truly be a great weekend without some fiber fun ... friday night began with a meet-up of some of my UW fiber friends ... we enjoyed some Blue C Sushi for dinner and then carried on to a fiber exhibition hosted by former grads of our UW Certificate of Fiber program ...

saturdays ... well ...

saturdays in our household are almost always about soccer ... and this weekend was no exception ... and quite often soccer/autumn in the northwest means layers for warmth and for wet ... but, alas, we have been blessed with the most beautiful fall ... sunny skies and crisp cool air ...

jeff and i had friends in for dinner saturday night ... one of those impromptu events that almost without fail turn out to be the best nights of all ...

the bolognese sauce was simmering in the crock all day long ... it just needed some good friends to truly make it a worthy meal ... so we placed a phone call, put out an extra loaf of crusty bread, added a can of tomatoes to the pasta sauce and presto dinner for 8 rather than 4 ...

now lest it appear that our weekends are all about food ...

we did manage to get in a hike yesterday ... the cherubs were exhausted from their respective busy weekends so we left them home listening to music and playing scrabble ... while we met up with a friend and headed outdoors to hike and take some photos ...

but now, back to reality, the happy valley arts and crafts fair is rapidly approaching ...

and the heartfelt studio should be buzzing with activity ...

scarves and gauntlets, bags and buttons ...

the fiber is flying ...


have a great week ...

Monday, October 11, 2010

aaahhhh ...

i'm enjoying a lovely quiet monday morning ...

the house was full of kids and friends all weekend ... which i love ... i truly do ... there's nothing i like more than having a house full of laughter ...

 but come monday morning, i do enjoy the quiet as well ...

it was the kind of weekend though that "fills you up" ... friday night, my wonderfully talented friend suzanne (check out some of her recent work) was in an art marathon and auction ... there were so many incredibly talented people all under one roof ... and the art ... ahhh ... if only our "final bid" was not so many other people's starting bid ...

and sunday, we enjoyed suzanne's work again and that of so many local artists at the sammamish art fair ... where i picked up this little guy for my garden ... check out denny's yard art at http://www.yardart.homestead.com/ ...


so this morning, i finished painting my dining room ceiling and love love love how fresh that makes the house feel ...

it's one of those gorgeous fall days ... crisp ... sunny ...


the colors are fabulous ...

and last night, the last i saw of my eldest cherub, was when she walked through my bedroom on the quest for a towel and, on her way out, she blew me a kiss and told me to have a good night ...

sigh ... all is well with the world ...

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

can it really only be 8:00 in the morning ... really? ...

already we've had one trip to the junior high to drop off eldest cherub for badminton ...

a quick trip to the elementary school to pick up "forgotten" cello ... thus missing carpool this morning which meant another drive to the high school to drop off youngest cherub at orchestra practice ...

a dash into the local grocery store to pick up large quantities of food for the burst of teens coming through the door on this short wednesday ...

really ... 8:00 in the morning? ...

lunches made, dishwasher loaded and running ...

multiple emails sent ...

two new evites in the inbox tended to ...

alas, there are still three hungry pets awaiting breakfast and one doggie wanting his walk ...

and really all i want to do is sit here in my studio and work ...

i've got a few new things up my sleeve ...

i found these beautiful safety pins at a local vintage shop ... can't you see them with lovely felted charms dangling? ...


and, on a more positive note, i did get to see the lovely sun rise this morning ... it's one of those amazing autumn days ... crisp ... sunny ...

enjoy your day ...




Tuesday, October 5, 2010

i am thankful ...

well more reason to give thanks today ... and to celebrate ...


yesterday my temporarily retired groom and my eldest cherub were headed to an appointment, i was just about to head out the door to a boy scout meeting when the phone rang ...

"i have been rear-ended--AGAIN" said my groom ...

for those of you in the know, you know that this is the second time for my groom in less than a year ... the first time, his car was written off and we found a two-year old replacement ... same car but all those things we had commented on "oh it would be so nice to have seat warmers" had been taken care of in the newer updated model ... so it was not a complete loss ...

but, alas, aside from a mild case of whiplash, all is well ...

cars can be repaired ...

and clothes washed (eldest cherub was just about to sip from a smoothie when the impact came at which point the smoothie flew from her embrace and coated the interior of the car) ...

and to be honest, with a 14-year old daughter in the household, there are times when i have not been counting my blessings recently ... but last night i was just thankful to have everyone home, safe and sound ...

in one piece ...

so give your loved ones an extra hug tonight ...

and does anyone know where we can find a slightly used Hummer? ...

ps  happy birthday mom ... i love you ...

Monday, October 4, 2010

she's back ...

so my knobby knees were shaking ... although the years have lessened any great risk of the knobby knees doing any damage ... they are considerably less knobby than in days gone by ...

but, not being overly techie or really in the least bit techie (why is it that EVERY time i go to use my Zune, the battery is dead?), i was most distraught to have my laptop "retire" and what my cherubs reassuringly referred to as the "black screen of death" appear ...

i'm accustomed to sitting at my desk in the studio, tapping on an icon and magically what i need appears on the screen ... thanks in part to my temporarily retired groom of course ...not unlike how a tasty warm meal often magically appears on our kitchen table at the end of the day ...

so we headed out last thursday to try and find a new laptop and met with some success ... here we are ... back writing again ... now i'll probably never make great friends with my laptop, but we have reached an agreement of sorts ... i won't make disparaging comments about the laptop, and the "black screen of death" won't visit my doorstep again ... well for a few years anyway ...

so a cup of tea and thee ... that's where i stand or sit now ...


my desk looks something like this ... covered in buttons ...


not to mention the pile of felted sweater sleeves ...



awaiting their turn to be reborn into gauntlets ...

looking ever so pretty ... with a heartfelt flower and a lovely button ...

much nicer than living on an old clothes hanger at value village ... tossed aside just because a tiny hole appeared where some hungry moth took up residence ...



ah i've got my work cut out for me ...

but it is monday and i am working with "new equipment" ... so bear with me ... and hopefully that harrumph noise coming from the bobbin case of my sewing machine is nothing more than some woolly bits gathering ...

have a great day ...