october 2

yes, you are a sucker if you don't buy
everything you need for the home at ikea.
case in point, lamps.
here is our new lamp for the buffet.
and i really like it.
i'm a sucker because they also had the floor lamp version, which is almost EXACTLY like the floor lamp version i recently bought at CB2. i don't need to tell you that the ikea version cost half as much though do i?
just as sturdy and well-made i might add.
i'm just saying. next time, check ikea.

october 1

it's the first of october and 98 degrees here.
i've got loads to do today. friends to catch up with. birthday gifts to be made, bought and wrapped for the 7 kiddo birthdays this month. much cleaning to do. laundry. finishing off the first wholesale order i've accepted in ages. i was feeling so ready to tackle it all in my few free hours while lucy took her 2-3 hour nap. however, being as it is. no nap. instead tears. the AC is pumping and the only room it doesn't cool is hers. and the poor thing is just hot and uncomfortable.
after the dreadful waiting period, i make my way upstairs to console and face my destiny for the remainder of the day. not a bad destiny, just not the destiny i had pictured in my head. none of that stuff i thought would get done will get done. not this day at least. but y'know, that's okay. because we read stories, she gets a mani/pedi and strangely enjoys it and then more stories while lucy chats away with words that are only occasionally recognizable. then i remember a trick my mom used to do for us when the nights were just too hot to bear, and i run cool water on a fresh wachcloth. soon it's 4 o'clock and she's comfy & relaxed. i put her in her bed and rub her little cheek and watch as her eyes get heavier and heavier until she's dreaming. i so want to get my camera and catch a picture of this moment - but i know it will wake her, so instead i creep out quietly and rush downstairs to write in my journal. i so love these little reminders she gives me. to slow down and enjoy each tiny moment.

success

a pictorial study of our farm visit, kicked off with a video:


lucy dances with the pumpkins














she gets brave and actually pets the small goats and several attempts at kissing the pig


















ummmm, please notice cute little goat eating my dress














tractor ride farm tour {a big hit among all}














...and lucy and her cousin C ... happy as clams on tractors of their own

thanks for meeting us there sis!

and now, the rain is starting a bit! a perfect setting to get me in the mood to cut A LOT of vintage wallpaper.

hop in the car pumpkins

how about a little trip to the farm?



i don't know about you, but i'm slightly envious of all the fruit pickin' going on around these blogs lately. sometimes when you live in a city, you just forget that you too could take a short ride to do your own fruit and veggie picking.
take note from all those portlanders...it seems they're off pickin' berries every chance they get.
i'm thinking sunday will be a perfect day for some pickin' of our own.

damn pigeons

that's right. while some feel we are to love all god's creatures, i have to draw the line at pigeons {and cockroaches and rats, but that's another story.} while i was having a peaceful little hour of rest, working on this quilt, i was interrupted by the most horrible nails on a chalkboard sound EVER. A pigeon. on the skylight. moving it's creepy little toenails all over the place. then the thing tries to climb up the glass and this makes the first noise sound like a little piece of heaven in comparison. phew, after 3 attempts of climbing and falling, the dreaded little creature takes off. i've still got the eebie jeebies. back to that quilt, maybe that will help take the edge off.

and as of today, this here is our official one-and-a-half year old.
her first sentence was yesterday, when her dad asked what she was doing,
she said "I read books." i love my little smarty pants.
now stop growing up so fast, got it?

finally in the smock

thanks to the angry chicken, i made lucy a few smocks last summer. this summer they are fitting her a bit better.  the ric rac was added to cover some screw-up but i ended up liking it quite a bit. the pattern for this little puppy is out of her book bend the rules sewing. 

{i shrunk the pattern down a bit.}

it's me again

sorry old pal...i really left you high and dry, {AGAIN!} for what, somewhere around 3 months?

summer's been good to us, lot's of trips to the beach, park-hopping, water fun, visits with friends and a long stay at my mom's while we had some work done on our house.

after a trip home you can't help but start thinking about your life...where it's taken you.
i'm quite pleased with where we are. life is good. life is happy.
not all the time, but most.

here are a few pictures of our little one, who seems to help us keep everything in perspective.
it's just hard to not smile whenever she's around. when i think of sunshine, i think of her.


hope you are all well....it's good to be back!