a penny for your thoughts

The air is heavy today, which is a change from the dry blowing wind we have recently had.  When it’s dry and the wind blows the air gets dusty and it smells like a far away brush fire.  I like the heavy air better, even though it makes my hair half curly and half straight.  Which really means it’s just a big mess.

Maggie and I went to the first real sale of the season yesterday.  We weren’t the only ones looking forward to a sale as I think half the population of all the counties in north Texas were there.  We didn’t get our thrills there so we went thrifting.  

 

Good news: I found a like-new set of Holly Hobbie sheets.  This is my second set of double sized crispy clean HH sheets.

Bad news:  Samuel is the only one with a double size bed.

 

It’s actually a 3/4 size bed, which is shorter and wider than a twin.

I also found this shiny Pooh Bear nursery toy box.  I would like to use it to hold my collection of vintage infant and toddler patterns in my someday sewing room. That someday sewing room sure makes me buy a lot of stuff.

My youngest was recently pretty ill, he is doing much better.  We have been worried about him, but today he played and built this Lego hotel all by himself.  So this is a happy picture sent out through the air waves to my family back home. 

 

Good news: Henry is doing really good!

Bad News: He is smiling because I called my mother (whom my kids call Nanny)  Nanny McFanny.  Oops, it looks like it’s a keeper. Sorry Nanny!

two tall guys and a cherry pie

I’m not certain why I love President’s Day so much.  It seems to be a combination of reasons, My great grandmother was a Lincoln though I don’t think we are related to Abe…it was enough to spur a love for that awkward tall guy with the stove pipe hat.

There’s been so much said about these two, it almost doesn’t matter what’s an exaggeration or not.  Did George chop down the cherry tree?  We don’t know but it makes a good reason to bake a cherry pie on a cold and windy February day. 

These are stencils from an old patriotic stencil book…

You can enlarge them onto card stock and use a craft knife to cut out.

By George, I hope you are having a splendid day--

a sunshiney day

Happy Valentine’s Day a day late.  There’s still lots of love so being late is just fine.  In fact there is enough love to last the whole year through.  Valentine’s Day intrigues me, the early years it’s all about the do-you-like-me-circle-yes-or-no vibe.  Those were good times, weren’t they?

We were all kind of busy yesterday and the day kind of slipped by. 

February is a good month

*it’s almost spring

*Valentine’s Day + President’s Day ( I love George and Abe)

* pink and red

* Texas weather is good…like Thursday is supposed to be 85 degrees kind of good

* it inspires me more than March, but I’m not sure why

* writing lists makes me happy

* I made four cakes today

* and the house smells really good

*we had some squadron people over on Saturday night- one of them left yesterday for Afghanistan.  I wish I could talk about this person as it is an inspiring story but just will say bless our troops as they are amazing people

  

*there was game snobbery, and Sam (my precious son Sam) beat the military guys.  And they were getting miffed and talking smack, and Sam (my precious son Sam) just sat there quiet as ever.

* this is an edited post as I had shared something about Sam that perhaps he wouldn’t want you to read

* so instead I will just say boys and men are dorks

* but you already knew that, right?

simple summer dress

This dress is just what I wanted to make but I didn’t even know it.  It’s really more of a frock than a dress, I like the fluidity of it…it’s delicate yet the perfect thing to wear on a summer day in which you find yourself running through a grassy field barefoot.

Molly is a bit of a twig and is kind of lost in it, I think I will have to add some elastic along the shoulders and bodice top.  And truthfully I think the pattern recommended this but the directions were in French. I kept making up my own translations that usually ended with a très bien! 

Hopefully there will be more of these in the near future, as I think I am in love with these patterns.  The groovy kind of love that makes you whistle and sing even while doing housework.  The patterns are from Citronille. The one above is here and  I have this one and this one  sitting here within the reach of my ever loving heart.

We had a realtor here yesterday who saw my sewing stuff and  immediately we spoke rapidly of sewing and sewing stuff then we would talk a little about the house then more rapid sewing talk.  I never meet people like that, it was like finding a  long lost relative.  I wanted to hug her when she left, but I refrained.  

It’s Sunday and a beautiful one at that, I hope the sun is shining in your heart, mes amis… 

puffed heart food

Puffed wheat is really a nice segue (I had to look that word up b/c I thought it was segway like the two wheeled thingy but I think segue looks much more romantic if words can look that way) from yesterday’s post about Faye. 

For a time I lived with my grandparents and for breakfast we ate puffed wheat or puffed rice.  I didn’t like it so much.  Gram let us put a teaspoon of sugar on it but usually it was sugar Twin which wasn’t sugar at all.  It was chalky and stuck to the back of your throat and made you want to act like a cat contemplating a hair ball.  So we ate it with milk.  Nowadays it seems kids would just say “I’m not eating that”   but in our house there was no room for finicky nor disrespect. 

The irony is now I like puffed wheat and rice.  And Golden Grahams.  And granola.  All mixed together sometimes.

Anyhow using puffed wheat as a substitute in Rice Krispie type of treats is a good way to use them up if you have a large amount sitting in the pantry and you are moving to Boston.  (high five)

This is different than the Rice Krispie recipe just in case you are using them.

Puffed Wheat/ Rice Bars

3 TBSPN butter

4.5 cups mini marshmallows

4 cups puffed wheat (which is unsweetened and usually in a bag not a box)

1 cup puffed rice (also in a bag near the puffed wheat)

2 tsp butter flavoring (this is my secret ingredient , is it bad for you? I’m not sure but it makes them taste good.)

In a large pan melt butter and add marshmallows. Remove from heat and add puffed cereals and butter flavoring. Stir well .  Spray a piece of wax paper with nonstick cooking spray and use it to press mixture into 13x9 pan.  Sometimes I press in M&M’s or dried cherries.  Let them cool then cut into squares…or hearts if you love the people that are eating them.

Tootles, friends!

faye: a brave girl

Thanks for your comments on my mish mashy last post.  It’s just been a whirlwind of stuff lately. 

The buyer on our house retracted their offer which, yeah made me cry a bit.  And soon after I felt ridiculous, there’s worse I could be worrying about.  Happily just a short bit ago we received official word we are going to Boston.  No more maybe.  I’m thrilled…Boston is among my favorite places.  Being so close to our families in Connecticut and the ocean? After being far away so much I can’t even believe it!

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And now for Faye, a brave girl indeed.

Unbeknownst to me, my Gram was old.  And though she passed away years ago I am still learning from her. 

She was brave and courageous and loving and kind.  In perfect measure, like a symphony as it builds and crescendos then delicately winds itself away from you in the most beautiful of ways.  That was my Gram.

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This is a $1 wooden frame from the craft store embellished with paint, craft paper and glitter.

The silhouette is from a larger one I have on the wall of my Gram, using a wallet sized picture I took with my digital camera and glittered…

hearty things from my heart and from my hands

I miss my kids this morning.  After a week of surprise days off we kind of got into a routine of making messes and having a grand ol time. 

The time building up to these surprise days off was really intense with sick kids and showing the house.  My husband was hearing bits and pieces about where we will move next and each day my heart was going really fast and then really slow and I would be really happy then get really overwhelmed.  There are many pros and cons to being a military wife and unfortunately for my family we are in the midst of one of my cons.  So as you can see how graciously I accepted the gift of snow and ice knowing no one would be looking at our home and I could cook foods that make the house smell like garlic for days and use crafting glitter with ill abandon.   My family thinks of me as an over reactor (you think?) but people want to walk in your home and envision themselves living in it and not look at your mountain of laundry and think cowabunga these people have a crud load of kids.

And guess what? We received an offer on our house, one that we are still in negotiations with.  Truthfully I am a wreck and trying to keep busy with little projects here and there.  I just want this to work out very badly!  Like really, really, really, bad.  

                                                             Knitters hide your eyes, I used synthetic fleece

I made Molly these fleece mittens in celebration of where it looks like we will move… and for Valentine’s Day.  We have received word that we will move here, it’s my dream assignment  just writing that gives me a lump in my throat.  Though he won’t have orders for another month or so which makes me want to wait to believe it but I can’t stop myself.   We have learned the hard way that the military can switch things around at the last minute.

Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite days.  It’s not just about being in love with your significant other but to me it’s about love in general.  It’s a good reminder to love each other…to love life…to be thankful for the love that rests within your warm heart.

I have rediscovered my love for paper ephemera, which is a good thing as I have bins of clippings and  stickers and papers that truly looks like a bin that should be headed for the recycling center.  Though I dappled in scrapbooking years ago it has always been the unconventional use of these things that makes me the most creative.

This is this year’s card to Ken (you know-- that guy that I said I would spend the rest of my life with before I realized that he makes weird snortle noises while he sleeps and has severe ocd about keeping the cars clean—yeah, that guy and of course I would still have said yes even with the snortling/ ocd).

I took a picture of the silhouettes of us that hang in the living room and printed them wallet size on our printer.  Then cut and glittered  and glued them onto cardstock.  I tried to make them kissing but our noses kept getting in the way, kind of like in real life.

Do you ever get on the phone and start talking and then realize you were doing all the talking so you say…so, how are you???

Umm…how are you?

There is no sense of normalcy

When the weather takes a turn towards ice and snow I have come to understand how these friendly Texans deal with it.  They hunker down and wait for what ever is happening outside to turn in some other direction.  In this case we have been waiting for a long time- today is snow day #4.  There is no plow scraping by or scattering salt and sand.  We have been sitting in our house, amongst these four walls that seem to be getting closer together with each passing day.

I have lost my sense of normalcy.  It took some deep thinking to realize today is indeed Friday.  Friday?

It’s silly how much we haven’t done this week.  Getting dressed seems like work.

We have been playing games and having a Lego extravaganza. 

All day, building and searching for a certain piece.  Hours and hours.

Lego has a website, and also stores scattered about the US.  But usually if it’s a good deal we buy them off ebay.

When we lived in Europe I was pleasantly surprised at how many adult Lego collectors there were.  You can design your own building and download it to their site and they will create the pieces for you.  Isn’t that totally awesome, ja?

I feel like when I was in 8th grade and a visiting friend would look at my room and say you still play with dolls? 

What? Huh? Dolls?

It’s nice I can blame the Lego stuff on my kids but between you and me I am very fond of the colorful bricks…and snow days for that matter.

G’day friends…hope you are having a happy day wherever you may be!