Baby Steps

The sewing machine is still on the floor by the front door. This goes to show you that I haven't made much progress on the sewing front and that I still have many gaps on the organization front. Currently, since there is a bunch of random stuff on the desk in the office/playroom, I have no good place for the machine. I have to figure that one out.

But I did make banana bread today from my old bananas instead of letting them turn totally black and go to waste. To many of you, this may sound like nothing. For me, it is a source of pride and satisfaction.

I also plan to make some homemade mayonnaise from a recipe I found in an awesome UK mag that I found at Barnes and Nobles called Country Homes and Interiors. It seems as if British country style is quite different from good old American country style. Can we say "homes from the c18 overlooking the ocean"?

Does anyone crochet? I can just barely knit (but I enjoy it), but I'd like to be able to crochet a hat for my daughter. She tried on a crocheted hat the other day, and it was so cute.

I'll let you know how the mayonnaise turns out.

Sewing Machine

The sewing machine has left the garage! It's sitting in it's Styrofoam packaging near the front door in our living room (had to take it out of the box b/c the box seemed to have mouse poop on it).

Next step, review the user guide.

Meme from The Thirty-Something Bride

What is your current obsession?

Dreams of Homesteading.
Cooking new things in the kitchen.

Coffee or tea?

Tea (black or earl grey--with cream and sugar)

What’s for dinner?

Apps at the place where I got married (seared ahi and fried calamari)--kids were at a b-day party!



What would you eat for your last meal?

boiled peanuts with beer, sweet potato chips, yellow tail sashimi with lots of ginger, homemade mac and cheese, port and chocolate

What was the last thing you bought?

Fairy garden. Flowered watering can. Candle.

What are you listening to right now?

My husband's sleepy breathing.

What’s the best gift you have ever been given?

Hmmm. Pearl earrings. Bracelet with my grandmother's picture (from TSB!). Down payment money for condo (and other such financial gifts from parents).

What is your favourite ice cream flavour?

Old-fashioned homemade vanilla.

What do you think of the person who tagged you?

Love her so much. Think she's amazing and stunning. She's family.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

Just an hour? If I could beam myself somewhere, maybe Italy. Maybe Sri Lanka. If I can't beam myself, I'll just take some time at the bookstore.

Which language do you want to learn?

Welsh

What’s your favourite quote (for now)?

Shame you fall down no one push you. (Amy Tan)

What is your favourite colour?

I gravitate towards green and browns.

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?

My cotton knit J.Jills skirts are the most comfortable. My brown leather boots are the coolest.

What is your dream job?

Writer of books (that people buy).

What is your worst habit?

Spending more money than I should. Oh, and flaking on thank you notes.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?

A composter. Or maybe something from the Sundance catalog.

Do you admire any one’s style?

Yes, I admire the style of people who are fit.

Describe your personal style?

It used to be kind of hippyish. Now it's really just frumpyish. Gotta work on that.

What are you going to do after this?

Get in bed and read a few pages of The Master and Margarita for my book group.

What are your favourite movies?

Grease, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Cool Hand Luke, Bridget Jones's Diary, When Harry Met Sally, Apocalypse Now (any many more . . . )

What is your favourite fruit?

Blackberries picked while hot from the sun. Good cherries. Good strawberries. Rhubarb (not a fruit?)

What inspires you?

My children. My mom. My husband. My friends. Good literature. Music.

Your favourite book?

I just don't know. Jane Eyre is way up there . . . but I have some more recent favs, too.

Do you collect something?

Not really.

What is your favourite smell?

Gardenias. And my kids just after they wake up.

What are you most proud of?

My kids. Some of my professional work.

How many times do you press the snooze button before you get up?

My alarms do not have snooze buttons. They just call, "Mooooommmmyyyyy, Come iiiinnn heeeerrreeeee . . ." until I arrive.

Cats or dogs?

I have a dog. Used to have a cat. Used to be a TOTAL cat person but am now a bit doggish.

What’s your biggest fashion mistake?

You mean from today? Probably everything.

What do you look forward to coming home to after you’ve been away?

Kiddie-poos who say, "Mommy!" and come running. Or a quiet house is good, too!

Complete the following:

Love is…

higher than a mountain; love is thicker than water . . . (Sing it!)

Which phrase do you feel embodies your spirit?

See quote from above.



TAG! (If you want . . . )

Back to Basics Log

Today's back to basics activities:

• Planted seeds with kids for late summer garden (even though kids put all of the bok choy seeds in one spot and then covered them so I don't know where they all are).
• Cooked up squash given to me by a friend (I usually steam, but this time I sauteed, and it was SO much better).
  
• Made homemade orange sorbet from fresh-squeezed OJ (good, but a little soupy).
• Knitted a bit more on my husband's scarf.
• Watched Breaking Away (hello, IU!)
  

On another note, the house guests left today. They arrived less than 48 hours after we returned from our trip to Alaska and stayed for four days. Two adults, two kids. There was camping involved. Lots of eating. The kids HAD A BLAST (which included taking everything out of the playroom closet so they could make a "kids' world apartment"). As soon as their cousins left today, my kids--who had ignored me for four days as they played with their cousins--started immediately climbing on me and demanding that I play with them (which was bothersome because I was trying to watch the last set of the Wimbledon men's championship).

Maybe having house guests is easy.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

• If you give Mom an hour to sleep, when she wakes up she's probably going to ask for some tea.
• If you give her some tea, she's probably going to want to sit and read.
• If she sits and reads, she's probably going to want a couple of hours to write.
• If she sits for that long, she's probably going to want time to go on a hike.
• If she goes on a hike, she's probably going to want to take nice long shower.
• If she is all nice and warm and clean, she's probably going to want to sit down with some lavender lemonade.
• If she has a tall glass of lavender lemonade, she's probably going to read for an hour while she drinks it.
• If she's sits down to read again, she's probably going to fall asleep for an hour.

So be careful if you offer mom an hour to do ANYTHING because she's going to want another hour.

Meet Tiki

Isn't she cute? These are early pictures. She's grown quite a bit since these were taken. Getting a little fat, to tell the truth. Gotta reduce her cricket intake.



























You can see in the last pictures that she's molting around her head. Looks like she has a bad perm job.

Alaska