Wednesday, March 27, 2013

little crochet dresses

729a

My mother has always been gracious in passing on to me her childhood dolls.  Little teeny dolls with even teenier dresses crocheted by her grandmother.  Her grandmother would sew, knit, crochet whole wardrobes for her dolls.  Elaborate little wool pantsuits complete with beret and little socks.

731a

Dresses, with bonnets and ribbon adornment.

734a 

I think of all the thoughtfulness and how she lovingly sat and made each piece.  I display them on little shelves here and there, when I think of it I walk by and blow the dust off. Although as you can see in the above picture that system isn’t very efficient.

I went to an auction recently where no one was buying any of the handiwork items.

Little dresses, doilies, edged hankies.  Of course I had no trouble buying it except from the person who is playing the part of my husband (we have a legal contract).  And truthfully he is always generous in his emotions when dealing with my love-of-old-stuff gene.  He has his own old stuff gene that has less to do with handiwork and more to do with old signs and clocks.

It’s just all that love and sentiment in each item.  It is kind of heartbreaking!

These things are from that sale:

736a

741a 737a

742

It’s been quiet around here lately.  I’ve been restless, the kind that you are too fidgety to read a book so you rewatch Mad Men in time for the new season next month. 

It must be affecting me because I set the table last night with only vintage Butterprint Pyrex and I put my hair up in a twist.  Geek alert?

 

Friday, March 8, 2013

a little color

The washed out colors of winter have worn out their welcome.

17a

It is good to have some color in the house.  The daffodils make me happy.

29a

Sawyer’s pink cheeks. I seriously can’t kiss them enough.

10a

Speaking of baby cheeks. 

20a

And babies in general.  I bought a small box of these little guys, you can see by his face he’s happy to be in his new home.

24a

39a

These big clothespins were on clearance at Michael’s.  That is why I bought a whole bunch.  Because you can’t have too many big clothespins…especially when you need them to hang your big underwear on the line haha.

37a

Remember my last post and the snow covered lawn table?

This is from this morning, and the snow is still coming down.

March 8, 2013:

36a

Spring, come soon!

Monday, March 4, 2013

seeds of growth

Things outside haven’t changed much in the last couple months. 

Cold. Snow.

Shoveling.

Talk of more snow.

February 9, 2013:

10a

March 4, 2013:

7a

It doesn’t upset me exactly but I think my innards are starting to realize it’s March and I miss the sun and being frolicky outside. The snow is too high for the younger kids to walk in, they have a little cabin fever.

8a

We bought a large lot of  old outdoor stuff at the auction last Friday.  But I am thinking of hanging these on the barn wall instead of trying to use them and eventually harpoon my feet upright in the snow.

My brain has been full of thoughts of spring and the garden.  I want it to be magnificent this year but don’t I say that every year?  I like this stage of dreaming about it so just go with me on this. It will be great, right?  I ordered starter potatoes and planted everything that can be started indoors.

2a

4a

If the snow ever melts (it will, right?) I will plant my favorite cool weather crops and before I know it things will be growing out there in that artic land.

It just seems too good to be true!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

another front entry pictorial essay

21b

20a

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

thoughts to think

Have you seen The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?

I think I would recommend it to you. I love films that make you think.  This one makes you think about aging and travel and about outwardly being who you are on the inside.

I struggle with that last one. 

I wrote somewhere on this blog that I often feel like an outgoing person trapped in a shy person’s body.  It seems like all my adult years I have spent trying to change that.  It’s hard!

Anyhow that movie set my wheels spinning about a whole bunch of stuff.

Not all bad exactly but just when I was about to think how gloomy a day it was out I realized what I was looking at out the window was a fat robin.

18a

Such a welcome sight on a gray winter day.

16a

Just a few more weeks. 

Tonight I am making Guinness Beef Pie from What Katie Ate.  I never buy beer and felt like a teenager trying to act cool and nonchalant putting Guinness in my cart. As if I need a reason to buy beer?

Why am I such a dork?!

 

Sunday, February 17, 2013

around the house and a black eye (gasp!)

1a

10a

29a

5a

8a

9a

27a

26a

15a

So I’ve been waking early each day with the baby.  He is ready to get up at 5:35 everyday. And I mean ready as I stretch out each possible minute before I go in and get him.  If you asked me at 5:36 if this was a stressful way to start each day I would surely announce YES. (I might also follow that with a sarcastic retort—I am very good at those.)

Once I’ve had a good cup of tea and an egg and I’m dressed and my make up is on and the fires are stoked and the chickens are fed and the children have been dropped at school and the kitchen is clean after the breakfast rush then I might tell you it is a relief to wake early and get the day going.

This past week was marked by the splendor of Valentine’s Day.  My kids were very excited about the hoopla.  Henry had a party at school where the kids made snack bags with cereal and tasty bits.  He ended up with a nasty bug. (Norovirus?) He was so shocked by his illness.  In his world his life is full of exciting things around every corner.  He didn’t like vomiting.  He did good making it into a plastic bowl for the first one but then accidentally wacked the bowl over on the ottoman.  It managed to go in every tuft and crevice.  Is that TMI?  It was pretty gross.

That same night Sam took an elbow to the eye during a basketball game.  That’s all—no fighting or wrestling a bucking bronco.  But he looks like a cool dude.

It is windy and snowy today. How is it where you are?

 

Saturday, February 9, 2013

And Today I Shall Blog

Today we watched an old version of Northwest Passage.  We watched it with much enthusiasm as this is the film my husband and I most talked about when he was deployed.  We couldn’t imagine that there would come a day when the temperature would be cold and blustery and we would snuggle with our children and watch Northwest Passage.  This was a book we both read and speak of often.

18a

And now gah we have watched it!  It was a dreamy version..too stately and pretty.  And short.

They never did even venture to find the northwest passage but oh well.  It was cold and snowy out and our kids sat amongst us and watched.  The snow has fallen and we have a lot of it.  Like 36” and drifts almost as tall as me.

11a

This is our car. Guess we aren’t in TX anymore!