Crazy Busy

We have so much going on this month I'm going a little crazy.  We are moving house September 1st, I'm trying to prepare for homeschooling, working on things for my Etsy shop, and two days ago I started a part time job.  I haven't had a job outside the home in over 10 years. Oh, and trying to fit in time for summer fun before it's over.   I see people who handle two jobs, a home and family, hobbies and a social life all with grace....I'm not one of those people, I prefer a much slower pace.  I'm sure I will find my groove and things will get easier once we settle into our new home but at the moment I'm feeling a bit frazzled, excited about all the changes and our new place, but still frazzled.  

Maybe a relaxing day at the beach is in order.

Ahhhh Camping

We went camping this weekend, it was our first camping trip with our son's Cub Scout group.  He had a ton of fun, the people are really nice, they planned lots of games and activities all with a space theme.  Some nice people came with big fancy telescopes so we could see the moon up close plus some binary stars and a cluster, it was pretty cool.

Really I'm not a big fan of camping.  I don't like coming home covered with mosquito bites, sleep deprived, the packing, unpacking and extra laundry. It was all for the little one, being home schooled we need too find other ways to get him some social interaction (the idea that home schooled kids end up socially stunted is a fallacy, but that's another blog post.) and as I said he had a blast!

It's not without it's good points too though, I do love a good campfire, hot cocoa, s'mores, nature (minus the mosquitoes) and watching the fog roll off the lake in the morning with the sunrise.

How was your weekend?

Cabin Fever

I have horrible cabin fever. Every year around January....February, March and April I get sick of Washington State. The grey grey days with just a tease of sunshine every once in a while. This year spring is slow to start again, it's beautiful and sunny today as was yesterday but we had snow nearby just last week. Bleh. I long for summer weather, skimpy clothing, sandals, picnics and other outdoor activities.

How is the weather in your area?

On another note but still having to do with cabins, I found this listing on Craigslist for a rental house on beautiful San Juan island:

800 sq.ft. (feels bigger on the inside, sort of like the Tardis) newer cabin in the middle of the island. Quiet, and sunny, this one bedroom cabin offers parking for 2 cars (or 6 Smart cars or 5 Smarts cars and one motorcycle/scooter or 1 really big truck/2 Smart cars or 1 boat and 1 car/truck and a scooter AND a bicycle - the possibilities are endless!) propane fireplace/heating (a real one, not one of those HeatSurge Amish plug-in fireplace things) , newer gas range (perfect for stir-fry - veggie OR meat!)) and lots of windows to let the sun shine in and birds fly into. Native front lawn abuts the woods (great for Sasquatch watching from your front porch) and small raised garden (3x6-ish) is already planted for spring. Separate storage unit (6x12-ish) for boxes, bikes or even small boats. Fresh artesian well provides the best island water you've ever tasted and awwwsome water pressure. Water and sewer is included in the price of rent (that'll save you what, $200/mo. - can you believe it?). No dogs, but small domesticated cats (no, a housebroken ocelot does not qualify) are negotiable. 1 year lease @$850/month.

Even though we are not looking to move at the moment, and its quite small and out of the way (browsing rentals is a hobby of mine) I almost want to live here just because of their add.

Plowing Forward

The plan for the start of year was to hit the ground running, I was optimistic, it was GOING to happen! So far.......not so much. We started off the year by passing around a cold, now recovered. Still I can't seem to get motivated. The inspiration is there, I've even written down a few ideas for new embroidery projects and paintings, I just can't seem to get past looking at my supplies and sorting out the bits that I need to get started.

I did do one creative project, I made my husband a rustic little book for his birthday.

Just a little something for when inspiration strikes, a thought, small sketch, or poem.

I had no idea what I was doing, as is how I approach most of my projects. With supplies in hand and a bee in my bonnet I jumped in feet first. I watched a couple videos on making books, got a bit frustrated along the way, but I like the way it turned out.

He seemed to like it too.

Happy Birthday Honey!

That time already?!?!

Summer started late this year with a really grey June, and already school is sneaking up on us.

I don't have an exact date yet but it's somewhere around 4 weeks from now.

This will be our second year using the K12 program (online home school), we used it for kindergarten and really enjoyed it.

It's a lot of fun to get the school supplies. We got 2 big boxes from UPS, inside those boxes were a bunch of smaller boxes.

The little one helped me open them so that we could discover all the goodies together, and it's a good size pile of goodies this year.

Now I just need to figure out where to put all this stuff.

Oh, and make the most of the last 4 weeks of summer vacation.

Break time!

We are all done with kindergarten. YAY! Actually we finished last Friday.

In January we decided to take our little one out of the public school and start homeschooling, I'm very glad we did and will be doing it again for first grade. We have since found a few home school groups in our area that have regular activities and play times, and our little one loves it.

It is not always easy or fun, there were even a couple days where I just couldn't do it so we decided to take the day off. Anyway, kindergarten is done and I am happy to have the summer off for a much needed break.

Hi again Bloo!

4 Oh!

Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday I turned 40. I am way more comfortable with the idea of being 40 than I thought I would be...who knew.

It was a really nice day. I'm not into having a big party for my Birthday, I much prefer just a quiet dinner with my family so that's what we did. We went to a little pub in town with a nice view of the channel.

We had some seafood.

Then came home and had some chocolate cake and ice cream.

Also my husband made this sweet recording of our son for me.

Perfect.

Time Flies

My baby boy turned 6 on Monday. They always say "it goes by so fast". They say it because it's true.

The contrast of feelings is interesting to me, I'm so proud of him, and love to watch his personality develop, it makes me happy to see him learning, and changing. At the same time, it breaks my heart that he's growing up, and before I know it he will be a teenager. He won't want my kisses and hugs so much ....SOB! I really did tear up writing that bit.

So, all I can do is treasure every moment..... and take lots of pictures.

Check out this one, it's his daddy.

His daddy isn't really bow legged, or have big red eyes that take up 80 percent of his head....but I imagine you probably guessed that.

Moving my needles

Last year I made a quilt for the first time. I never made a quilt before, but I decided I needed one for all the picnics I plan to take (more on that later). It was fun, more fun than I thought it would be. Still, I don't think I will ever progress out of the crazy quilt stage for I hate to measure and be precise.

Anyhoo, I decided to do a little embroidery on the quilt. Just a little initial here, and a bug there. I hadn't done any needlework for quite some time, but once I got started I couldn't seem to stop. It went from a simple lady bug on the corner of a quilt square to wall hangings and then cuff bracelets. I'm having a lot of fun.

All of my most recent projects have been inspired by gifts from my fabulous parents (hmmm, seems to be a theme lately).

First, these beautiful gloves that my mom bought on the Champs Elysees, on a trip to Paris with my dad some time around 1958. On a side note, she came home from Europe with child... my eldest brother....ahhh Paris.

and the result:

and

Second, this lovely barrette that my father bought for me around 1987 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He said he walked around town all day trying to find just the right gift. I think he did a great job, I love it and still wear it often.

I'm not completely finished with this one

I'm partial to a black background, can you tell.

Third, the fabric from this apron. It was my grandmothers. I can picture her wearing it, some time in the 40's making bread in her sweet little kitchen back in Minnesota...brrrrrr...she probably spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking just to stay warm. =)

I like how this came out, but I may give it another try.

I need to get back to painting some time soon, but for whatever reason I'm currently paralyzed by the blank page...all the more reason to just get painting...maybe after one more embroidery project.

Simple Things

Some days it's the simple things that make me smile.

Like daffodils on my sink

The bubbles created when refilling my dish soap

And making chocolate chip banana muffins with my little one

Serious Yum

Happy Tuesday!

Breathing Space

Just Past Pull & Be Damned is a little beach we like to visit. It's usually quiet, this weekend we were the only ones there.

At home I find it's hard to relax most of the time, it's difficult to sit still without thinking about something that needs to be done.

Here, we get a little reprieve from household duties.

There are interesting creatures to be found.

Treasures to collect.

And little boys can throw sticks and stones with reckless abandon.

Duffy's Birthday

Today is my friends birthday. Do you have one of those friends that is more like family than a friend, one of the first people you call when something exciting happens, someone who you can call in an emergency and you know they wouldn't give it a second thought before coming to your aid. She is all those things and more, and I hope her day is great!

Also I hope she likes what I made for her.

Happy Birthday Duffy!

A Day For Visiting Family

Last week my family took a trip over to Port Townsend, Wa to visit one of my brothers. It's a fun little town to visit, if you are ever in NW Washington it's worth a side trip.

Port Townsend is full of artists, and my brother is one of them. He has always had an interest in archeology, and has found his own little niche. He specialises in antique bottles. Most of what he finds come from digging up old outhouses. It may sound gross, but it's not....really! What he is looking for is anything from the early 1900's or earlier. At that time all the garbage went down the hole in the outhouse. So much time has passed that by now it's all just dirt. Along with the bottles he finds all sorts of bits of dolls,toys,pipes,various household items, guns (someone got away with something) and pieces of broken china and pottery. He saves all these little bits and bobs to make mosaics.

His work has a ton of personality, from the simple designs like this girl on the moon
(sorry, I didn't get a good close up of the little doll)

To this skull and bones.

Notice all the little details, the fork in the eye, the little doll ear on the left the horse teeth, and he's smoking a pipe.

Some day I hope to help broaden his market but for now his stuff is for sale around Port Townsend in the coffee shops and gallerys.

After touring his work we had a lovely breakfast and a walk on the beach where we found 2 of these large red jelly fish.

Homeward bound.

Ho Ho Home Schooling

Last Thursday was akin to Christmas (too cheesy? sorry). We got 2 large boxes delivered to our doorstep. In each of those boxes were smaller boxes, all filled with a bevy of school supplies. Text books, fiction, practice paper, shapes, white boards, a blow up globe etc etc. Everything you could need to teach a kindergarten student Math, Phonics, Language Arts and Science.
Yes, I do realize that it's January and the school season started several months ago. You see we sent our little one off to kindergarten with all the other kids at the start. He was very excited to go, and we were excited for him. At first he was very happy to be there but it didn't take very long for it to deteriorate. He's a bright, spirited little boy with lots of energy...not a teachers easiest kind of student. He wasn't good at sitting still, had trouble with disturbing the other students while they were doing their work, and would throw a fit at least once a week. In our local school system it's a 6 1/2 hour day for kindergarten. The teacher did the best she could with him (as far as I know anyway), but she and the principal both said he was immature and hinted that he should do kindergarten again. So, instead of waiting out the school year to see how things progress, watching the little light in my child grow dimmer day by day, we decided to take a different approach.

Technically what we are doing is not called home school. It is actually an online charter school through the state of Washington where kids can do everything at home, and meet periodically with one of their credited teachers to check progress and such. He can move at his own pace. The state of Washington requires a person to be certified to home school, which I am not (yet) and this offers me a way around that. Also the curriculum is all set up for you, the web site has each day's work laid out for you. You can do more if you want, move ahead, or take more time. They have a set amount of time that is required but it's flexible and you can schedule days off for vacation and such.

One common question we get when we tell people that we are teaching our child at home is "but what about his socialization?" As far as the social aspect of this goes there are at least 3 home school groups in our area, plus the charter school has a long list of people using the program that you can schedule field trips with, or co-op teaching, or whatever. Plus sports, art, music classes. There are plenty of ways to give a home school child socialization.

We haven't been at it long, but so far everyone is happy and we like the program. If any of you are interested in trying it for yourself, you can find information here ---> www.k12.com. It's available in states other than Washington.

Wow, I'm not usually so wordy.

Christmas Debris

Well, this is my living room floor....the debris of Christmas day. It's still there, and I may or may not get around to cleaning it up today.

I never feel completely ready for Christmas day, and I always end up thinking that next year I will have everything done a month early so that I can just rest, enjoy my family and the holidays. Well, maybe next year I will.

Even though a lot didn't get done, our 5 year old had a blast and that was the most important thing on my list this year. After present mayhem we had a lovely brunch with the parents, and a really restful day.

I hope you all had a really enjoyable Christmas too!

Happy Birthday to Mom

My mother had a birthday on Sunday.

We a turkey dinner, and cake with ice cream

I knit her a mini scarf

My parents are some of my most favorite people, I talk to them every day, most days several times a day. My mom is sweet,thoughtful, and beautiful inside and out. She is my sounding board when I'm excited, or frustrated, and always the first person I call when there is news to spill. I can't imagine life without her.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I'm A WOW Nerd!

Yep, I'm a total WOW nerd. WOW stands for World Of Warcraft and it's a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, or mmorpg for short. I have been playing mmorpg's for years but WOW has held my interest for way longer than the others. My husband and I started playing this game back when it came out in 2004, and since then several of our friends started playing with us and we have met and gotten to know a nice little group of people.

Although not traditional, it's another way for my husband and I to spend some time together (yes we do other things to like go to movies, have dates, go for walks on the beach, etc etc) and it's a way for us to keep in touch on a pretty regular basis with our friends. Sometimes we have a hard time finding time to actually get together to do things...with a house full of kids it's not always easy to coordinate time.

Over 11 Million people play WOW.

I'm sure not everyone would think playing a game like this with their husband would be quality time, but hey...don't knock it till ya try it.

The little one in front is my character...the one in the back is my husbands.

On the Farm

I am by no means a farm girl, but had fun this morning helping to get hay for my father in laws horses. We started bright and early...up with the sun.

The sun is still working it's way up by the time we arrive at the farm.

The horses are very happy to see us, and apparently kinda hungry.

Need to watch out for these things.

This is Rose, she is such a sweetie someday I may have to steal her.

The barn

Happy Sunday!

What a neat find!

A few years ago we got a big pile of books from my father, my parents were moving from a house into a condo and needed to get rid of some things. The other day I was looking through some of them trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of.

I was looking at this one

Hey, my Grandmothers name is on the side



On the inside cover my Great Aunt has written her name. The top one is her handwriting. The second one with the date isn't her handwriting.



But that's not even the best part, check this out!
And notice her initials and the date are in the bottom right hand corner.



My Great Aunt Irma passed away several years ago at the ripe old age of 104. She was a real feisty ol bird with lots of interesting stories of her youth.
Needless to say, I won't be getting rid of this one.