simplesparrow

There's a coyote in this town

Noah comes into my room and hangs out on the corner of the bed---

Me: hey.
Noah: hi mom.
Me: what are you thinking about?
Noah: did you know someone saw a coyote?
Me: really. who?
Noah: a lady in the bike shop.
Me: Oh. where did she see it?
Noah: in this town. there are coyotes in this town, ma.
Noah: that's got to be dangerous.

I didn't think it was a good time to tell him that yes, more then likely there are hundreds of coyotes in this town, this rural town of ours.

Humorous moments I never want to forget.

Make it now or pop!

Do you ever get that feeling, when you haven't been able to make something--for whatever reason, that you will probably just pop like a balloon if your creative juices aren't released? I was ready to burst last night if I didn't insist that I would indeed get my hands on some material and MAKE SOMETHING!

A-la Meg.

I have been dying, just dying to make more stuffies. Once I convinced myself that it was OK that I wasn't working on the quilt, and after I put Noah to bed I was rubbing my little crafty hands together with vigor. It felt good. That is (insert here the sound of a record scratch--a loud one) until I sewed the whole thing together wrong and decided that a good nights sleep is always conducive to a positive out-look on life and making stuffies. To bed I went.

I finished her up this morning with a happy attitude. I have a long way to go before I get good at this. For instance, her mouth is all wrong but I do like her nose. I think I took the long road to piecing her together (I kept saying to myself--there must be a better way) And her neck!! That is a scary sight for sure!! That is also why she is wearing a scarf, cute as it may seem--it has a REAL function. I feel like the little old man in the Wizard of Oz who kept saying , "Don't go behind the curtain, don't look behind the curtain!" Or in my case, don't look behind the scarf!! I mean it now. Of course I didn't take the time to read up on stuffed toy making or use a pattern--oh no. No time for that. I need to cut and sew NOW.

I am very pleased with her crocheted bag full of sweet paper posies though. I think I could really get into accessorising stuffed toys. Oh yes, hats-shoes-bags-sweaters-scarves-skirts.....

I seem to be very partial to cats right now when I think of stuffed animals. Maybe it's because I love this furry beast so much.

Beads and Roller Coasters

I love beads. All kinds, all colors. I think I feel much like a child would in a candy shop when I'm in a bead store. I have two small bead shops near me. They are cozy and not overwhelming. My mom and I popped into the bead shops while she was here and I found the silver pendant and the flat turquoise bead. *Love*. Hannah joined us around the kitchen table along with her fishing tackle box full of beads. (given to her for free at a garage sale!) We had lots of fun chatting and laughing while all our heads were down and our hands were busy. Oh yes, I almost forgot, Noah was there too. He made an interesting creation--it was definitely an out-of-the-box type of design :) When he accidentally let go of one end, all the beads slipped to the floor, bouncing and popping all over. It was silent for a moment then he said, "All that work" with a little sigh. Poor thing. The photo above is what I came up with.

My WIP is still the quilt. Some days I wonder if I'll ever finish it. I feel a little detached from it, it's been so long since I picked it up. My hope of getting it finished before we leave for Oregon is fading fast. Which brings me to my next subject---

I mentioned earlier that come September the roller coaster ride starts all over. No dear Manda , I'm afraid I'm not going for number *six* :) and Kristy , I'm not moving to Portland either. But I will be visiting our old home (we lived there for 8 years) very soon. This is September's crazy roller coaster schedule:

Sept. 1st--drive about 6 hrs. south to attend the wedding of my childhood friend's daughter. Stay the night.

Sept. 6th or 7th-- leave for Vancouver, WA to stay at my parents house for a family vacation and to see them and Micah off to Italy on the 10th. They will be gone for 5 weeks! Micah too! Photo opportunities galore for Micah-so happy for him. Get to hang out with Seth and Vanessa, can't wait.

Sept. 16th--Meet up with some favorite blog friends for the first time! So excited about this. More on that later.

Sept. 18th or so--Make the drive back home.

Sept. 29th--Mark and I fly to Italy to join my parents and Micah for the last two weeks of their stay. No kids! Yikes. I've never, ever been gone this long from my children. Ever. Noah told me he thought it was a bad idea.

Oct. 13th--arrive home. Then, then---I think life will start to mellow out.

So that is the roller coaster I will be getting on soon.

Wednesday Images

A bunny for Noah

Do you remember me posting about this little guy here ? I finished him up on Sunday--while I was on the couch all day with some kind of flu bug. It was a brief illness thankfully, all better now. I tried my best to get a photo of bunny with his proud owner--but Noah is going through some phase right now where he says no to all photos. Hrumph. I'm so glad he forgot all about saying no for the wedding photos..whew. He does love him though, and threw himself into my lap with a squeal of glee when I handed him his new friend. The whole time I was stitching him together I couldn't help but picture him with a tie of some kind. I think the bow tie suits him well, yes?

He's made from some vintage wool that my sweet friend Laura sent who was my partner for Back Tack 2 . Thank you Laura! This wool was absolutely perfect. I wanted the stitching to be "rough". I thought that would be consistent with the original design--as in not polished, but like a child would do--not perfect.

I caught glimpses of 'bunny' today a few times flying through the air and then later noticed that he was sleeping with the cat. Noah said he was being snuggly-buggly with our kitty. That's all good. I like to see toys well played with and well loved. I stitched the tie on pretty tight in preparation for any flights across the room and other world travels :)

Thank you for all the nice comments on the wedding photos! I was happy to share them with you. And thanks for being so interested, that's so nice. If you were one of these , I have a package ready to ship to you in just a day or two.

The wedding post

It's all over--time to lighten up

I was a bit overwhelmed once I started sorting through ALL the photos, looking for ones that I thought would give you a good representation of the day. With the time that I had, I hope you enjoy the ones I picked.

The bridesmaids--my beautiful daughter is on the far left

At the alter

The big picture--it's official, we cheer on the happy couple


Brothers--my oh so handsome boys


The very proud and very happy parents

At the reception

This  wedding stuff is all  fine and dandy, but there  are  more  important  things in  life--such as hot wheels.  Yes,  these cars were in his  pockets through the whole ceremony.

Cutting the cake--they  look sweet enough  don't they?

They do  have a wild side though--

Making up is fun--and tastes pretty good too

The groom and mother dance--this is when I started to shed big tears as I tried to take in my sons whole life up to this happy point.

Vanessa's bouquet--stunning

Bouquets brought home from the reception

I had so much fun.  Especially dancing to Love Shack by the B-52's.  It  was a day filled with lots of emotion--but it was all good.  A handful  of  long-time friends  came  and  it was so  special to be with them, share memories and  be completely silly on the dance floor.  We  came home very  full and satisfied with  all  that  took place--and tired too!  Life will get back to normal now  until  September comes--then the roller coaster  ride  starts again. But that my dears,  is for another post.

Some thrifty finds (still waiting for wedding pictures!)

I honestly and truly am not trying to tease you by holding out on the wedding photos. Micah took some photos of course, but most of them he was not happy with---lighting issues. He did allow me (yes, me his mother, needed permission :) to post 2 of his pictures in my previous post. How great is the one of Seth dancing at the reception?? Oh my gosh. And the angle of the one with them both including the 'just married' sign on the car?? So great. I took the one of Vanessa, but after 3 or 4 more I decided I'm not going to think about taking pictures and just soak in the moments to come. Good call I think.  Our friend who did the photography is sending us all the photos on CD and it should arrive in the mail any day now----then I will do the big wedding post! Promise.

For now, here is a couple of thrift finds I'm so very happy about--yes indeed. Love this gravy? bowl and plate. Not positive on the proper name for this, but I adore it anyway. It's vintage Mikasa and the pattern name is Accent 'Mint Green' , so says the stamp on the bottom. Mint green? I don't think so, more like a lovely apple green wouldn't you say? I'm on the hunt now for the creamer and sugar bowl to match. I can only dream of how dang cute those must be :)

And...some vintage strawberry fabric, a nice generous piece too! All those little strawberries with their green tops make me very happy. What to do with it? I've got a few ideas percolating.

Just because I'm thinking about it, I've noticed that I hardly ever post about my thrifting/garage sale adventures. Hmmm, interesting. Just for the record, I am an addict. ADDICT I say. I shop second hand all.the.time. So, anyway--maybe I'll post more about that in the future.

Here is a photo of some of the last roses I saved from the wedding reception. All of the flowers were so incredibly beautiful. Our friend who did the photography also did all the flowers along with his wife. Her family owns and he manages this flower mart . They drove 4 hrs. to do all this for us, as a gift. Wow, I know. Jeff and Renee, can I tell you again for the one millionTH time how much we love you?

My parents are still visiting and I'll be hanging out with them for another couple of days. Mom and I hope to get some jewelry making in tonight. We bought some beads and pendants I'm excited about.

Oh, about the wedding quilt---I didn't finish it in time.  Yes, I'm bummed, but I've accepted it and am moving on.  I'll be seeing them again in September (they  are living in Portland, Oregon) So that is my next deadline. Round two. Can she do it folks??

A quick peek

The whole day was so touching and so beautiful, I was completely full of joy. I'll be back with more pictures and words when I get time. xo.

Winners! and rehersing for the big day

Wow, wow, wow! Thank you for all the blogging anniversary wishes! I say it often, and I don't mind saying it again and again and again---all of you are so nice! Really, just so nice. I have enjoyed every minute of my year of blogging and especially the new friendships I have made. That is the best.

My first 2 winners are Mama Urchin and Rebecca. So send over your addresses and I'll post your package sometime after the wedding.

And because there were just so many sweet comments by all of you, I decided to pull 2 more names for a kind of runner-up thingy..Kristy and Cathi, I have a couple of ribbon gift tags waiting for you, I'll need your addresses too! Thank you again everyone for taking the time to visit me, xo.

Wednesday night was the rehearsal for the wedding at the beach, then everyone came back over to our house for dinner in the backyard. I don't get really fancy, but I do like things to look pretty. Simple, but pretty. Here's a pic. of one table--both vases were thrifted, the white pottery one was a recent find and I LOVE it.

Confession--I decided on these bottles of sparkling pink lemonade because they were so pretty and matched our pink theme--imported from France even, woo-hoo! Of course, we all like pink lemonade but that is secondary to good looks :)

I'm a little surprised that I have had some spare moments to sit down and blog this week. I'm confident though that this will definitely be my last post until after the wedding sometime--then pictures to share!!

Check out this photo I took of Seth tossing launching Noah into the air before we left the beach. I can hear all you mamas out there gasping for breath right now! Not to worry, he has never dropped him--but looking at the photo I'm realizing just how high he is throwing him--yikes. Until next week, cheers!

An anniversary that slipped by

Oh yeah, my blogging anniversary just slipped by without me noticing. It's not like I have much going on that I should forget about it--you know, my son's wedding next week, cleaning the house like crazy for guests, trying to finish a queen size quilt...not much. Even though it's a super busy time for me at the moment, I did just want to acknowledge this small milestone; and as is the custom in the crafty-blog world--to give away a couple of gifts.

I started blogging in July of 2005, soon after I fell upon Bella Dia . Her pincushions had me flabber-gasted...I never knew a pincushion could be a work of art and hers certainly are. From her page I clicked on the links to other making blogs and was swept away into the wondrous world of craft. In this post I wrote all about why I started blogging. So with that said, on to what I'm giving away...

A small handful of crafty things I've made over the months--I'm offering up 2 sets, each with a wool kleenex holder, a ribbon gift tag, one note card of my very first Gocco card design (come to think of it, my only card design that actually ever materialized! ha.) with a small shrinky-dink charm to match. Leave a comment if  you would like to be in the drawing, and I'll pick out 2 names on Thursday evening, say around 8:oo pm pacific time. I'll post the packages sometime after the 12th, when I have fully re-cooperated from all the wedding celebrations :) A small way of saying thank you for stopping by to visit with me---so, thanks.

And because he requested it---some scooter photos featuring...you guessed it--Noah.

Don't even get in his way when he is on this thing--the kid knows no fear and is not very good at looking out for toes...trust me.