Just dropping by to say hello.

Hello.

Outside the leaves are rustling, the sun is shining and the sky is clear.  It's been in the 60's all day - yay for fall!  I have mums and kale to plant and even a few leaves to rake.  Each time I look down I smile.  Green boots will do that to a girl.

Now I am off to make applesauce and hunt down a 4th grade math textbook.  Just thought I'd throw that little nugget of disorganization to let you know that while today is mighty good, it's not perfect.  No day ever is.  And that is fine with me.  I'll take what I can get.

Happy Monday.  I hope your day is more than good enough, too.

We went to Ithaca, New York this weekend to attend a wedding.  It was a beautiful weekend, sunny and crisp just a touch of fall in the air.  We watched the Dartmouth rugby team beat Cornell, walked the campus, drank some beers, visited the farmer's market, hung out with dear friends we hadn't seen in too long and made some new friends, too.  There was a wonderful brisket, apples and honey, noodle kugel rehearsal dinner, a toast by Fatty for his best friend, a wedding mad lib, a beautiful and touching ceremony, a gorgeous bride and handsome groom, another heartfelt toast, a delicious cake, lots of champagne and even more dancing.  I am tired and a bit sunburned.  Other than that, it was pretty much perfect.

I know this has nothing to do with crafts, but I just felt I needed to record this.  My life is full of good things and I am grateful for all my blessings.  This weekend was one of them.

I'm itching to make something.  Anything really.  Well, anything except the one thing I am supposed to be working on.  I should just sit down and get it finished, but I am at a bit of a standstill with it.  I have a deadline and it's soon.  I am trying to be better about my procrastination problem, but sometimes, it just seems easier to wait-until-the-last-moment.  The problem is that when I get to the last-moment, I realize that I shouldn't have waited.  Uh-huh.  On the plus side, I sat down and paid the bills in full swoop yesterday without any procrastinating.  And yes, it felt good.

Also, I keep getting emails asking about camera straps.  I am making more!  I promise I will let you know when they will be listed at least a few days before they go in the shop.  I don't know when that will be.  The girls go back to school in one month and I want to make the most of what is left of our summer.  When I think about how fast time is slipping away from me, I get all worked up and when I get worked up, I really can't do anything at all.  Not a thing.  I am also feeling overwhelmed with stuff.  I feel the need to purge, clean closets and trash out.  The studio, in particular, is a huge mess.  I will probably put together some fabric scrap bags for sale.  Again, no time table.  I'm just wondering if there is any interest in something like that.

We have a busy weekend ahead - school carnival and citywide swim meet.  I think that is why I feel so overwhelmed.  Normally, the weekend is my down time and this one is going to see me coming and going like a crazy person.  If I see you out and about and I appear to be in a daze, take it easy on me.  Next week, I'll find my sanity.

After I meet that deadline, of course.

And I like what I see.

So far it's been a great birthday - some good presents, lunch out with Fatty, lots of phone calls.  I'll be making margaritas later on and eating some chocolate cake.  I'm looking forward to it.

Lecia asked me to write a guest blog post about motherhood.  I was completely flattered to be asked and am honored to share some of my thoughts with her and all of you.

I hope you have a great weekend.  We've got a garden to plant and I have a new computer to figure out.  Fun stuff!

Thank you all so very much.  I am so touched by your kind words and encouragement.  Parenting is hard and it's good to know that everyone has those bad days.  Yesterday was better, not great, but better.  And I have high hopes for today, too.  I refuse to give up even though there are moments that make me want to.  I wish I had time to respond to you all individually.  Please know Iread all my comments and really appreciate the time you take to sharewith me. Thank you.

Good things for today:

- Fatty was home a little later this morning so we got to spend some extra time together.

- Both girls said, "I love you, Mom" on their way out of the car.

- Dinner is mostly made and the house is picked up.

- I have finished 27 of 96 single girl quilt squares - over 1/4 the way done!

Hope you have a fantastic Thursday!

I went to Baltimore this weekend.  I was excited when I boarded the plane on Friday morning.  To say it was fun and good is an understatement.  The women I met were incredible, their families friendly and welcoming.  I stayed with Emily, spent time at Molly's and had a visit from Jennifer.  There was lots of talking, great food, cameras clicking, more talking and then talking some more.  When I arrived, it was like meeting pen pals I had known for a long time.  When I departed, I left behind dear friends.  Thank you, silly old blog, for connecting me with them.  I feel lucky and blessed to have these people in my life.

Good morning!

It's March - isn't that wonderful?  I have a feeling that this is going to be a great month.  To start, Emily is hosting a green week starting today.  You all know how I feel about green.  I'll be posting some green here and on flickr, too.

I am very honored and excited to be a guest at habit this month.  Habit spoke to me from the moment I set eyes on it in January.  Molly and Emily have a good thing going on.  I hope you will come visit me there as well.

I've been sewing and knitting and will share some finished projects later this week.  The studio, which is adjacent to our playroom, is expanding a little after a big toy purge and reorganization this weekend.  My hope is that the girls and I will all end up with a more usable space conducive to creativity.  We aren't quite finished yet, but when we are, I'll share that with you, too. I also have a few more surprises up my sleeve including a giveaway (or two!).  Believe me, you won't want to miss it!

Yes, March is off to a great start, indeed.

I find it funny how my mind works.  On Monday, I saw Emily's photo of teacups and it reminded me of some yellow plates that I have.  And thinking of those plates took me back to my last two houses, my former boss and a very special little girl.

When Fatty and I got married, we moved from Telluride, Colorado to suburban Chicago.  I took the summer off from working to do wedding stuff.  When we returned from our honeymoon, I was offered a part-time job at the darling stationery store where we had purchased our invitations.  It was a wonderful fit - five minutes from home, retail hours and selling a product that I really love.  To top it off, I was working for an incredible woman.  Susan is genuine, kind, generous, supportive and smart.  She had started the business a little more than a year before and needed help.  I happily jumped in for a few days a week which quickly turned into full-time and then into managing the store.  It really was a perfect match.

Fatty and I had bought a small, 1940's cottage-y house and I was decorating it one room at a time.  We shopped the local antiques fair and consignment shops, looking for everything from a dining room table to chandeliers to McCoy pottery to add to my collection.  At one of my favorite stores, there was a set of nine yellow plates that just took my breath away.  I really wanted to buy one, but they were being sold as a set and there was no way I could afford to buy them all when we needed things like a new fence.

A month or so later, for my birthday, Susan handed me a box.  Inside were three of the plates.  She bought the entire set, kept six for herself and gave me the rest.  I was amazed and so very grateful!  She knew I would love them and I do.  I hung them on the wall above the bed in our guest room.  When we moved a year later, the plates were packed up in a box and moved to our new home.

The new house was much larger than the little suburban cottage we left behind.  I was pregnant when we moved in and I was dead set on getting each room painted and the nursery ready.  Many boxes sat for a long time, including all of the ones in the guest room.  I was put on bed rest at 33 weeks and at 36 weeks, I gave birth to a beautiful, but tiny little girl.  Jane weighted 4 lbs. 13 oz. but was otherwise healthy and came home from the hospital with me two days later.  My mom came to help and unpacking boxes was one thing we tackled while Jane slept.  When we pulled the dinner sized (11 inches in diameter) yellow plates out of the box, I realized just how small my baby was.

Those plates were hung on the wall above the bed in our guest room that day.  They were moved to a different guest room when Kate came along.  Five and a half years after Jane was born, we moved into this house.  The plates sat in a box for much longer this time and then they sat longer still, forgotten in a cabinet.  They are still in the guest room, but this time they hang over a mirror.  I put them up a few months ago, after I finished the guest room quilt.  The quilt was supposed to be pinks, greens and aquas, but it just screamed for a little yellow when I was making it.  I listened to my inner voice, added the yellow and didn't think twice - I loved it.

A few months after I finished the quilt, I remember the plates.  And they are a perfect match for the quilt.  It's like I knew, but I had just forgotten, that those plates were meant to be in our guest room.  I also think of Susan and The Custom Stationery Shop.  I adored that job and still miss parts of it from time to time.  I think it was there that I tapped back into my creative side after a few years of focusing on other things and for that I am very grateful.  Of course, the plates always remind me of Jane, as a tiny baby.  I did not realize, until I saw that photo, how tiny she really was.  I chalk it up to being a first time mom, with very little baby experience.  And of course, having a sweet, good baby didn't hurt!  As I type this, I think I need a new photo with Jane and the plate.  Yes.  I really do.

.....

I am amazed at all the yellow I've been seeing from you!  The list of participants is here and here and the flickr group here.  See you tomorrow.