Ahhhh Spring!

It's a beautiful Spring day outside and for the most part, I've been stuck inside. I was supposed to go to the Sustainability Seminar and it is a perfect day for it. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning with a rumble in the jungle, if you know what I mean. I did start feeling better around 1 so I decided to take the boys on a walk around the neighborhood just to get out of the house because this is the chaos that is our house right now...

I love the signs of springtime! Here are a few of the little beauties in the neighborhood...

and my personal favorite...

I love ranunculus, they're like roses on steroids.

And now the boys are tired, they're plum tuckered out...

Sustainablility Seminar

A friend from high school that I recently reconnected with via facebook put my onto this organization called the Regen Co-op. Among a long list of other things, once a year they hold a sustainability seminar (happening this Saturday). It happens to come at just the right time, at least for me. I have been mulling over (and over and over) the thought of my own little Victory Garden and being more self sufficient as far as growing our own veggies and such.

The co-op's seminar this year has quite a few sessions that I'm interested in.

Natural Building, Good Soil, Good Irrigation, and Greywater Recycling have really piqued my interest. I'm also really interested in seeing the urban garden. I've driven by it everyday since we moved in and everytime I saw it I wondered whose it was, who tends it, etc. Now I know.

It's amazing how this is all going on in my immediate neighborhood and I never would have known about it if my friend hadn't mentioned it. I mean the co-op is literally down the street from me.

Anyway, if anybody reading this is in the SoCal area and is interested, as the flyer says, it's free and open to the public.

Also, if you're interested in starting your own veggie garden and would like a sure fire way (at least I've been told it's sure fire, don't know yet, but I'll let you know soon) to have a thriving veggie garden, check out this site. I'm giving it a try and will update you on how it goes.

Love...Tuesdays?

Don't you love life's serendipitous moments? Having been ill all weekend, I didn't have time to go do any shopping (just normal stuff like shampoo, toothbrush, etc). So I decided to do it after work today. I normally would go to store A but decided instead to go to store B, slightly out of the way but I just like going there more. So on the way home, I'm driving along this road and lo' & behold...a yard sale on a Tuesday, weird, I know. And it is HUGE!!! So hearing the siren call of other people's cast offs, I stop and dive right in. Seeing as how I had just come from shopping, I didn't have much cash on me so I went straight for the books, you can never go wrong with the books. And I found me some lovely treasures

The first were these...

There's actually four books there, 2 sets of 2. They were a bit pricey at $3 a pair but considering they're still wrapped I figured it was all right. And I'm sure Little Chestnut is going to love them.

Then I got two for me...

I love Dr. Seuss and the Edna Ferber, well, I couldn't resist it. So, that's why I'm loving this Tuesday. If I hadn't been sick I would never have come across this awesome yard sale. Serendipitous, no?

P.s. I just might have to go back (they said they'd be there till Saturday), it was so big I only got to go through about a 1/4 of the stuff.

I need this!

I hate being sick on my day off! I spent the day in bed hacking and coughing while watching a bunch of dvd's. Today's watch list:

• Mamma Mia


• Wanted


• Da Vinci Code


• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

That last one reminded me that I want to track down a piece of their costuming, this piece...

I want to get my hands on it and turn it into a pillow, it looks like it's half way there, just needs to be sewn shut, right? Or maybe a tea cozy, I mean it needs to have a function other than being an atrocity, cuz as a hat it sure isn't making it.

It's so hideous that I feel I need to have it. I will not, however, be looking for any collector cat plates.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

I gotta tell you, I don't have many items of clothing that are green. It basically boils down to two different pairs of khaki green cargo pants, both in the laundry. So finding something to wear today was a challenge. Hmmm, green ribbon in my hair, nah, they never stay in. Hunter green parka, nope too hot. Ahhhh, yes, green gauzy scarf, perfect. So that was my green today, see...

Oh, and these...

just to add some class. Actually, I only wore them long enough to snap a picture. My boss wore them all day...hee hee!!

I need some help...

Does anyone out there know who this fabric is made by and /or where/if I can buy some more? Anyone, Anyone?

This piece came in a bag of scraps I bought and I LOVE it. I want bolts of it but I have yet to find any out there. For all I know it could be decades old. If anybody out there knows, please tell me. PLEASE!?

My Band(s)

I've seen this meme or as I like to call it, exercise in time wasting, on a couple of blogs and all over Facebook. I starte doing it and couldn't stop. So, first, here are the rules of the game then all the "bands" I came up with...

Here are the rules.
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”or click this. The FIRST random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to "Random quotations"or click this. The last FOUR or FIVE words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click this. THIRD picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

This one came out a little hard to read but the title is "Unless We Fail To Try" by Pargny-sous Mureau.

I told you I couldn't stop. There's something wrong with me.

Two weeks down

and it is killing me!!!  My addiction to sugar was a lot stronger than I thought it was!  And there's still a month left until I can eat any sweets.  Somebody better give me a HUGE Easter basket full of goodies!  For now, I leave you with what I miss the most...

Love Fridays

This week has gone by so fast I didn't realize I hadn't posted anything since last Friday. That's all right, it may have been a fast week but it was also uneventful.

I'm loving this Friday because of the awesome weather the last two days. It's been beautiful...in the low 70's and sunny...my favorite kind of day.

This is the view from work, ignore all the ugly power lines and industrial buildings but look at that green and blue. I love it!

Normally it's brown and, well, brown. Brown dried up grass and brown smoggy sky. But there are days, two times a year (during spring and fall) when the days are like this. It reminds me that living here is a privilege and I should take full advantage.

I also got a couple of projects done today. The first is another pencil roll, another very late Christmas gift for L.

L. reads my blog but it's ok, she already knows it's coming. Now she'll see how awesome it is and she'll maybe come over to get it and we can go see a movie...maybe Watchman. Just a suggestion.

Anyway, here's some more detail of the pencil roll...

All rolled up and ready to go.

Open.

I made (from left to right) a few pockets for normal pens and pencils, pockets for a 6 pack of highlighters (all my highlighters are at work so let's pretend that the pens and batteries in the pockets are highlighters), 2 miscellaneous pockets and one flapped pocket for milk money.




Here's the pocket up close. No, I'm not giving her that milk money (it's actually my phone bill money).

The other project was another zippered pouch, slightly different in design, slightly better made than the first. This pouch was actually designed to be long enough to be used as a pencil case. I made it from more vintage sheets in my favorite color...purple.

For more reasons to love Fridays, visit Tinnigirl and check the list. Oh, and be sure to wish her luck on her craft fair stall.

Love Fridays

I'm really loving this Friday cuz I actually got stuff done. Normally, I wake up on Fridays telling myself that since this is my day off I'm going to work on some projects, get some stuff done. 6 out of 10 times it doesn't happen. There's all sorts of reasons why, the biggest one being that I'm LAZY.

Today, though, I got a bunch of projects done. The only one I took pictures of, so far, was my felt Make-Along project....

It's a bag for taking aand bringing home the Valentines that kids pass out at school. It didn't start out as that. It actually didn't start out as anything. I started cutting up the pink felt and this is what it told me it wanted to be. Now I have to find a child to give it to.

If you want to see all the very amazing things people have been making with felt this month, check out the flickr group. And if you want more reasons to love Fridays, go over to Tinniegirl and check 'em out.

Lent

It’s that time of year again…Lent. Technically, Lent (or Lenten) is a Catholic practice, and I, though not Catholic, think that fundamentally, Lent is a worthy practice. I say fundamentally because the form of observance that the Catholic church has officially chosen, I have some issue with. Here’s a snippet from the American Catholic Church’s website about Lent…

”Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In addition, all Catholics 14 years old and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent.

Fasting as explained by the U.S. bishops means partaking of only one full meal. Some food (not equaling another full meal) is permitted at breakfast and around midday or in the evening—depending on when a person chooses to eat the main or full meal.”

To me this seems a bit tame or wishy washy, even. They say fast on those two important days but here’s our definition of “fasting”, some food is ok, just not too much. And then abstain from meat, but only on Fridays. It’s contradictory to me. Here’s another snippet from the same website about the reason behind giving things up for Lent…

“Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over to Christ and his way of life. That always involves giving up sin in some form. The goal is not just to abstain from sin for the duration of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever. Conversion means leaving behind an old way of living and acting in order to embrace new life in Christ. For catechumens, Lent is a period intended to bring their initial conversion to completion.”

So, if that’s the case, why give up meat only on one day a week? That’s not exactly “rooting” something out.

My view of Lent, and please remember it’s strictly my view and I’m not Catholic, is that it should be about sacrifice. The Bible tells us that Jesus fasted and was tempted but didn’t take the bait and that He is the ultimate sacrifice, having given his life. So asking people to give up meat once a week seems very pale in comparison.

Having said all this, I come to my point. I do practice Lent (everyday not one day a week) because I believe that sacrifice is a very good way to not only “root” out certain behaviors or bad habits but it’s also a way to instill good behaviors and habits. Last year I went veggie for all of Lent and that introduced me to a lot of different foods and recipes that I normally wouldn’t ever try that I still eat now. About 3 years ago I gave up French fries because I ate them with at least one meal a day and up until about 6 months ago I ate French fries maybe once every 3 or 4 months. In the last 6 months, though, I’ve had a huge fry fixation.

Soooo, for this Lent, fries are on the list of sacrifices along with breakfast on the run, ignoring my household chore duties, Starbucks and places like it and buying fabric for no reason. But the biggie is sugar. I once tried to give up sugar completely for Lent but everything has sugar in it when it’s the thing you’re giving up. So, I’m giving up sweets and adding sugar to things (like coffee). Let me tell ya, that is huge for me cuz I have THE biggest sweet tooth. But I’m also Ms. Wilhelmina Power so I know I can do it.

I'm a lucky girl!

I recently participated in an apron swap on swap-bot. The requirements were a) half apron, b) tea themed 3) throw in a couple of bags of tea. Here’s what my partner sent me…

How freakin’ lucky am I? My partner, LibrarianLee, sent me a full apron, a super cute full apron, a teabag holder, a small zippered pouch and a credit card holder. Then I got a card in the mail yesterday and she apologized (apologized!) for making the wrong type of apron and said she’d make another (the half apron it was supposed to be) if I wanted. I was so tempted to email her and say yes but that would just be wrong. (she says, trying to convince herself) I just feel very lucky to have been her partner. I mean, really, look at the pocket…

You probably can’t tell from the picture but the little polka dotty fabric is actually not dots at all, they’re little hearts!!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE this apron…I wasn’t sure if you picked up on that or not.

p.s....

I’ve finished the blanket from the last post. I am in love with the colors and am tempted to make one for myself even though it wouldn’t match anything. There are a couple of wonky spot but as far as I’m concerned they just add character. Anyway, here’s the finished product…

And the back of it…

I’m really not good at the whole pricing thing. Whenever we have a yard sale or do a booth at a craft fair I’m constantly underpricing things, at least according to friends and family. So before this little blanky is in the shop, I’ve gotta do some research on how much to charge. If anybody out there has any formulas for that kind of thing, please let me know.

quilt top

More than likely it's a "blanket top" cuz I don't know how to actually quilt other than by hand and that's just too much for me right now. But this is the first of some blankets I'm making for the shop that has been neglected for way too long. I'll let you know when the items get posted, I like to do them all at once rather than one at a time, makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

new addition / Love Fridays

On Friday, we brought home a new family member. He has brown eyes and gray hair. He's very sweet, hardly ever speaks. He's not too tall, let's say medium, yeah, he's of medium build.


Here's a picture of the little guy...

Isn't he cute? My sister has been wanting a dog of her own so when Petsmart announced their adoption weekend we decided to go. We both fell in love with this little mutt (part Schnauser, part who knows) instantly. He was so calm and quiet among all the chaos of other dogs barking and jumping and when we took him by the cats there was nary a peep outta him. So we adopted him right then and there. I'm guessing they thought he looks like the dog from Lady and the Tramp cuz they named him Tramp, plus they found him wandering the streets. It doesn't really flow off the tongue for me so I keep calling him Champ, which I like much better anyway.

He's super sweet and curious but has a propensity for chewing on power cords, which we're trying to train him out of. Since he was a stray he's not trained at all. He's managed to go...ahem...#2, exactly once outside. All other times have been in the house. But he has managed, each time, to make it on whatever we've put down as our "just in case" measure. So he actually has my dog beat. My dog who is too phobic to use a doggy door by himself and who can not seem to keep his little butt on the puppy pads I put down.

(gratuitous Jasper shot...)

Speaking of...I think Jasper is liking his new playpal but as soon as I'm home he's all "I'm too good for that mutt." and "How dare he think he can just play with me!" My dog is such a snob.

Sasha is not having anything to do with him, she's been holed up in a corner and only comes out when she knows for sure he's not in the room.

and tentatively at that. Poor girl.

Is this your sparkling moment?

I have something to tell you. I’ve been keeping it to myself because first I wanted to savor it then I felt there were more important things going on so I waited until now to tell you that I won something. I won a book from Alicia Paulson’s blog, Posie Gets Cozy. She had 4 books to give away, three titled Roots and Recollections: A Century of Rockywold-Deephaven Camps by Megan Thorn and one called Ordinary Sparkling Moments by Christine Mason Miller. I won the latter.

It just came today in the mail and, really, it's a beautiful book. Sorry about not having any pictures of the beautiful pages but here's the cover...

I was flipping through the pages, and one page really caught my attention. It had this paragraph that seemed to just sum up alot of what I've been thinking lately...

"There are times in life when we are called upon to give, and times when the world needs us to receive! We must offer ourselves in both arenas, knowing they each feed and inspire the world. We give. We take. We ask. We receive. And in all of these exchanges, we contribute."



There are so many Australian families in desperate need and ready to receive. Are you ready to give, to contribute? If you are, you can go here and find out the way to contribute that best fits you.

Australian Bush Fires and a Winner!

Have you heard about the terrible fires that are tearing through Southern Australia? They're being called the worst bush fires in Australia's history. The death toll, at last update, was nearing 200. The news here had a 15 second blurb about the fires yesterday morning and I haven't really seen much else about them on our local news. Living in a state that is super prone to brush fires I would think that we'd be hearing more about these fires, but no. I did a quick search for how much land has been burned because here in California, whenever there are fires that's basically what they focus on, but with these fires, the number of lives lost is just devastating and unfathomable.

There is a way you can help. Actually, many ways. If you go on over to the Meet Me at Mikes blog and read her last 6 or so posts she has so much information on ways to help that I'm not going to repeat it here. But, really, there are tons of ways we can help from an ocean away. So please, pick one or ten and just do it. And for any of you Australian's that might read this, I'm praying hard for those who've lost homes and loved ones to these fires.


Now, for the winner of my little give away...



So, my dear, if you'll email me at snnglbuny2 (at) gmail (dot) com with your address and color preferences I'll get it to you tout de suite!