Disclaimer: I typed this at midnight, without my glasses on. I will check for spelling errors tomorrow.
Hey there!
First of all, I just wanted to thank you three for commenting on the bus ride post. I know that my son is 15, and there are lots of 15 year olds out there doing things with a lot more responsiblity than just aking the bus into town, but for him, it is a huge deal, and I wanted him to be successful at it. Thanks for your support!
The hike was great- I did 6 miles, the kids' did 11 miles!!!!! We ate lots and lots of yum balls.
Yum balls.
First of all, let me start with the disclaimer that this is one of THOSE recipes- it is more of a concept, an idea, and it is easy to run with it. THe quantities of ingredients, and even the type of ingredient is a very rough estimate here, ok? They will taste different depending on the type of nuts and fruits you use- I just use what I have, and what works for our particular dietary needs and allergies. If you have a question about the "why" of any ingredients, let me know.
Yum Balls-the ones I made yesterday were made of the following:
I use my big food processor for this recipe, and it works best to do it in stages, so you don't burn out the motor.
I filled the bowl of the processor about halfway with almonds and cashews (3/4 to 1 lb. of nuts total I am guessing). More almonds that cashews. Grind till chopped very fine but not into nut butter. Put them in a large bowl and set aside.
Next, put in your processor about 1/2 lb. pitted dates, and 1/4 lb. unsulphered apricots. Puree' till they clump up in a large mass and are galumphing around the processor bowl. You may have to stop it and mush them around the bottom again a few times- you want them really smushed into a thick paste with no super big chunks. Leave them in the processor.
Next, I added about 3/4 cup white sesame seeds (for calcium), 1/2 cup rice protein powder, about 1/4 cup raw honey, 1 to 2 TBSP vanilla (Covers any telltale taste of the protein powder- cinnamon works, too.) and about 1/4 cup (probably a little less) oil*. Blend this for a bit to mix it up, and then add some ( 1 cup?) of the nuts, and a generous 1/2 cup coconut**.
Here is the tricky bit- You just kinda play with how much of each thing to add- if it is oily, you need more nuts, cocnut, or sesame seeds. If it is dry and flakey, you may need more oil. What you want is a pliable, stiff, sticky but not too sticky dough. Most of the time, my processor wimps out, and it isn't mixing all the way, so I end of dumping it in the big bowl the nuts were in and kneading it by hand to finish the mixing process. Yesterday it seemed stickier than usual, so I kneaded in more protein powder. It will stick to your hands a bit, don't sweat it, you can lick it all off when you are all done!
Then, in a tupperware, dump about 1 cup of coconut, and/or some more of your chopped nuts, and/or sesame seeds (my kids like a mix of the three.). Take a walnut sized bunch of the delicious sticky dough, roll it into a ball, and drop it into the coconut mix. After rolling 15 - 20 balls, put the lid on the tupperware, and shake and roll them around so they are coated in the coconut mix. Keep going till it is all in balls. This makes a generous amount of yum balls(think I got about 5 to 6 dozen yesterday). You want to leave the extra coconut mix in the tupperware with the yum balls- it doesn't always stick to the balls so this way, they are always covered, and you get lots of coconut in each bite.
After the yum balls are done, you can reuse the coconut mix by either just making a new batch, and rolling them in it, or what I usually do is use that coconut to put IN the next batch, and grind fresh nuts to add to it, and to roll in. Sometimes the kids just scoop it up and eat it right there!
Variations. You can use dried cherries, raisins, or any other fruit of your choice. You can add ground flax seed ( I grind a bunch of it at a time and keep it in the fridge, so I can just add some to this without having to overthink it) , sunflowers, and use any nuts at all. We avoid peanuts, but have used all the other nuts I can think of. Sometimes I make them very cinnamon-y and skip the vanilla. Sometimes I add a tiny bit ( a teaspoon at most) of Torani's caramel flavored coffee syrup. A little goes a long way with that stuff, but it goes well with the vanilla.
*I like to use a lot of nut oils here- sunflower, almond, walnut, etc. Flax seed oil or safflower work well, too. Olive oil is not a good choice for this recipe. Ask me how I know!
** I buy Bob's Red Mill's unsulphered, unsweetened coconut. It is already finely grated, so works well for rolling in.
Do ask any specific questions, hopefully I got it all down accurately.
Let me know what you think- and did no one else think the momsense video was funny?!?
LB
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Bus ride
I have been wanting to train the Fine Young Man to take the bus to the high school by himself all year, but just haven't got around to it. Well, the brakes on the van are squealing and sound like metal is rubbing on metal, so I have been doing my best not to drive it. So today, the three of us walked the probably 1 mile to the bus stop, and rode into downtown. Once we were down there, I instructed my FYM on where and how to get back on it for the ride back, and then the Young Miss and I set out to do some errands.
First we went to the bank, and deposited all the monies and checks from the Piano Girl Recital. We also got a bunch of coin rolls so we could work on that here at night while watching the telly. Then we had lunch at Qdoba, an okay fast food chain. We both had mango chicken salads, with no cheese or sour creme, so we at least ate healthy. But I wasn't very impressed. For one thing, I just really have this problem when restaurants charge me for guacamole when I don't get sour creme and cheese, but that is just probably me being cheap again.
Then we hit the grocery store, stocking up on everything we need to make some healthy snacks for our group hike tomorrow. We are headed for Wallace Falls. A friend of mine will pick us up at 8 am. So don't count on a blog post till later tomorrow.
There is an optometrist in the grocery, so we stopped there to fix my blue glasses- I woke up this morning, put them on, and the arm-thingy on the right side just broke off in my hand. So they were nice and put a new screw in for me.
Then we headed to the bus stop, and yes, when we got on, the FYM was on the bus. Yay! I know he is fifteen, but he is such an absent-minded professor when it comes to some things, that I was a tad concerned. We walked the mile home, and are all now complaining of tired feet! Wonder what tomorrow will bring!
Taking the bus made for some interesting conversation about how to be safe out in the world. I have never been one to give my kids the generic "do not to talk to strangers" line, but rather to go with your gut and your sixth sense- you know, the one that makes you want to cross the street when you see a particular kind of person walking behind or in front of you, etc. We ran into an obviously mentally-challenged man who repeated every word he said, a young drunk man who was drinking right out of a bottle in a brown paper bag on the bus, and the kind of young men who all sit together in the back of the bus being loud and obnoxious. We got to talk about all kinds of safety issues with just one bus ride. It kind of freaks me out, but I have to let go to him a bit, and give him some freedom and some control over his own life. He is so much more sheltered than I was at fifteen, but then, a lot of the responsibilities I had at that age were forced upon me. So all is good in the end. He will be fine.
The who trip only took an hour and a quarter longer than if we had taken the car, and we all got some reading in, so that blows my main excuse for not riding the bus. I also got at least 3 miles of walking in. I do think I need to track how far we really walk to and from the bus stop, so I can count that much walking!
Ok, time to go make some yum balls (ground nuts, dried fruit, honey, coconut, sesame seeds, and protein powder all rolled into balls and rolled in more coconut. A good source of protein for hiking!), and then scrounge up something for supper.
TTFN,
LB
First we went to the bank, and deposited all the monies and checks from the Piano Girl Recital. We also got a bunch of coin rolls so we could work on that here at night while watching the telly. Then we had lunch at Qdoba, an okay fast food chain. We both had mango chicken salads, with no cheese or sour creme, so we at least ate healthy. But I wasn't very impressed. For one thing, I just really have this problem when restaurants charge me for guacamole when I don't get sour creme and cheese, but that is just probably me being cheap again.
Then we hit the grocery store, stocking up on everything we need to make some healthy snacks for our group hike tomorrow. We are headed for Wallace Falls. A friend of mine will pick us up at 8 am. So don't count on a blog post till later tomorrow.
There is an optometrist in the grocery, so we stopped there to fix my blue glasses- I woke up this morning, put them on, and the arm-thingy on the right side just broke off in my hand. So they were nice and put a new screw in for me.
Then we headed to the bus stop, and yes, when we got on, the FYM was on the bus. Yay! I know he is fifteen, but he is such an absent-minded professor when it comes to some things, that I was a tad concerned. We walked the mile home, and are all now complaining of tired feet! Wonder what tomorrow will bring!
Taking the bus made for some interesting conversation about how to be safe out in the world. I have never been one to give my kids the generic "do not to talk to strangers" line, but rather to go with your gut and your sixth sense- you know, the one that makes you want to cross the street when you see a particular kind of person walking behind or in front of you, etc. We ran into an obviously mentally-challenged man who repeated every word he said, a young drunk man who was drinking right out of a bottle in a brown paper bag on the bus, and the kind of young men who all sit together in the back of the bus being loud and obnoxious. We got to talk about all kinds of safety issues with just one bus ride. It kind of freaks me out, but I have to let go to him a bit, and give him some freedom and some control over his own life. He is so much more sheltered than I was at fifteen, but then, a lot of the responsibilities I had at that age were forced upon me. So all is good in the end. He will be fine.
The who trip only took an hour and a quarter longer than if we had taken the car, and we all got some reading in, so that blows my main excuse for not riding the bus. I also got at least 3 miles of walking in. I do think I need to track how far we really walk to and from the bus stop, so I can count that much walking!
Ok, time to go make some yum balls (ground nuts, dried fruit, honey, coconut, sesame seeds, and protein powder all rolled into balls and rolled in more coconut. A good source of protein for hiking!), and then scrounge up something for supper.
TTFN,
LB
Thursday, June 07, 2007
See what I mean?
What was it I was just saying about missing adult company and conversation?
I just went in to kiss the kids, and the Boy asked me, "Mama, wouldn't it hurt of someone cut off your eyelids?" Umm, yeah, I think it would. Sigh. My Dude will be back soon.
LB
I just went in to kiss the kids, and the Boy asked me, "Mama, wouldn't it hurt of someone cut off your eyelids?" Umm, yeah, I think it would. Sigh. My Dude will be back soon.
LB
I'm bored
I am so bored. I miss my Dude. I love the kids, but frankly, they wear me out. I don't have any grownups to talk to, and I don't feel like doing any of my chores- yeah, I know exactly where my kids get this tendancy from! Ok, so I don't want to do anything productive. I could be doing something creative, like sketching, or working in the studio. I could be reading, or writing. I could even be sleeping, but the bed seems so lonely. Funny, his snoring drives me nuts most nights, but I sorta miss it. Only sorta. I miss the idea of his being upstairs snoring, and being able to hear it down here in the living room. Ok, so I don't miss the snoring, but I miss him being here.
Not much else to say at the moment. I am going to go kiss my big babies, and head off to bed, minus my sweet snoring Dude. Talk to you tomorrow.
LB
Not much else to say at the moment. I am going to go kiss my big babies, and head off to bed, minus my sweet snoring Dude. Talk to you tomorrow.
LB
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
For Pamela
Pamela has asked on several occasions, "What is a meme?" Here is as good of an answer as I could find.
TTFN,
LB
TTFN,
LB
Feeling Much Better Now, and Some Homeschool Talk
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the well-wishes yesterday. They help!
The headache really peaked about 4 pm yesterday, but I didn't let it stop me. We headed over to my Mom's, so the kids could spend the evening with Gramma and their cousins while I went to my Classical Ed. meeting. I got home around 10:30, and thought my head was going to explode. There *used* to be a bottle of hydrocodone in my Mom's medicine cupboard, so I didn't bring mine last night, and the bottle was *GONE*! My little sister loves the stuff even more than I do, so I will be having a talk with her soon about sharing. ;-)
Update: My sister says she is innocent, so that means the Blind Mama must have put it somewhere. What a good waste of head-helping drugs!
So I lay on the couch, my head throbbing, watching the interesting pictures in my eyelids and trying not to barf; listening to Piano Girl breathing deep in her sleep, and finally got to sleep around 3 am, only to be woken up by my Mom coming in to turn the heat on (It's June for heaven's sake!). Fell asleep again about 3:30, and then woke again to Mom turning the heat off. Sigh. After about 2 hours of sleep for me, we all got up at 7 am and walked the Boy Cousins to school. The head feels a bit better, back to the manageable headache stage, but I am plum tuckered out.
Mom's Dr. appt. went well. I so love her Dr. He handles her crabbiness so well, and doesn't take offense. He is one of the few people I know who can make jokes about her (lack of) humour to her without her becoming offended. I had to advocate for her a bit with the ladies behind the front desk- I didn't go into the blood lab with her last week (you can bet I will from now on, regardless of her insistence that she is fine alone), and they had her sign a paper without reading it to her. Wasn't a big deal, but they made it one, focusing on which form she had filled out instead of just getting that I wanted the words "Blind lady-tell her what she is signing." written across the top of her charts. We finally got it straightened out, and I think it is good practice for me to be an advocate for her without making anyone wrong.
The good news is that her cholesterol is down quite a bit. It was so high in January, I was constantly worried about heart attacks or strokes. Dr. says it is still high, and wants me to focus on buying/making her healthy foods. If it is not even lower in 4 months, he is going to increase her Lipitor script. She hasn't been experiencing side effects, but gets crabby just having to take it, so she may be willing to work with me a bit more on the diet/food end of things. Her thyroid levels are also in range for the first time in 6 months, so that is good too! I guess the last 6 months of forcing her to get into the routine of taking her pills daily has paid off a bit.
Back to last night:
Even though my head was exploding, I really enjoyed the meeting. We had a guest speaker from New Albion Academy come and talk to us about keeping a classical eye open when shopping for curricula. It's funny, I think every woman in that room could have sat and listened and discussed forever, had we the time. The most intriguing discussion for me was the topic of the trivium (Grammar, logic, and rhetoric) as subjects, not developmental stages of learning (per Sayers or the WTM, for example). It was a fascinating subject, and gave me lots to think about in the ways our school has been successful in the past, and also some insight into why it isn't going so well now.
Two things I heard again last night that seem to be a recurring theme (I think the universe is trying very hard to get this message through to my cute little brain!) lately, is that "The teacher is the curriculum." and "The best teacher is an enthusiastic student." I remember getting this message when I read A Thomas Jefferson Education a few years ago as well. At that point, I promised myself I would read the same books the kids did, and teach myself latin alongside them. I held myself up to this ideal for a very short time, and I can really see where this has harmed our student/teacher relationships, and stifled much of the success and joy that used to be a part of our school. Time for me to poop or get off the pot as my Mom would say.
Anyhow, I think this talk will help me focus when attending the WHO convention next weekend. And for anyone local who reads this, and is planning on attending, I could use a ride this year!
So we are home now, and I am going to get a bunch of stuff done before I crash. If the strawberries and peppers are still alive, I will put them in pots, and it is on my chore list to tidy up the living room. The kids are going to mow the lawn, and mop up whatever that sticky stuff is. I don't want to know what they did to make it sticky, I really don't. I just want them to clean it up!
Oh, Papa Dude, if you are reading this, I want you to know how much I appreciate you and I know how hard you are working for us- sorry about last night, thanks for hanging in. We should both know better than to try to have a conversation when my head is exploding. Love you.
I plan on being in bed by 9 tonight, as we have piano lessons bright and squirrelly tomorrow morning. If the kids don't go right to sleep it won't be my problem- I have the whole bed to myself, and I am going to sleep right in the middle tonight! So only 8 hours to go till I can sleep.
TTFN,
LB
Thanks for all the well-wishes yesterday. They help!
The headache really peaked about 4 pm yesterday, but I didn't let it stop me. We headed over to my Mom's, so the kids could spend the evening with Gramma and their cousins while I went to my Classical Ed. meeting. I got home around 10:30, and thought my head was going to explode. There *used* to be a bottle of hydrocodone in my Mom's medicine cupboard, so I didn't bring mine last night, and the bottle was *GONE*! My little sister loves the stuff even more than I do, so I will be having a talk with her soon about sharing. ;-)
Update: My sister says she is innocent, so that means the Blind Mama must have put it somewhere. What a good waste of head-helping drugs!
So I lay on the couch, my head throbbing, watching the interesting pictures in my eyelids and trying not to barf; listening to Piano Girl breathing deep in her sleep, and finally got to sleep around 3 am, only to be woken up by my Mom coming in to turn the heat on (It's June for heaven's sake!). Fell asleep again about 3:30, and then woke again to Mom turning the heat off. Sigh. After about 2 hours of sleep for me, we all got up at 7 am and walked the Boy Cousins to school. The head feels a bit better, back to the manageable headache stage, but I am plum tuckered out.
Mom's Dr. appt. went well. I so love her Dr. He handles her crabbiness so well, and doesn't take offense. He is one of the few people I know who can make jokes about her (lack of) humour to her without her becoming offended. I had to advocate for her a bit with the ladies behind the front desk- I didn't go into the blood lab with her last week (you can bet I will from now on, regardless of her insistence that she is fine alone), and they had her sign a paper without reading it to her. Wasn't a big deal, but they made it one, focusing on which form she had filled out instead of just getting that I wanted the words "Blind lady-tell her what she is signing." written across the top of her charts. We finally got it straightened out, and I think it is good practice for me to be an advocate for her without making anyone wrong.
The good news is that her cholesterol is down quite a bit. It was so high in January, I was constantly worried about heart attacks or strokes. Dr. says it is still high, and wants me to focus on buying/making her healthy foods. If it is not even lower in 4 months, he is going to increase her Lipitor script. She hasn't been experiencing side effects, but gets crabby just having to take it, so she may be willing to work with me a bit more on the diet/food end of things. Her thyroid levels are also in range for the first time in 6 months, so that is good too! I guess the last 6 months of forcing her to get into the routine of taking her pills daily has paid off a bit.
Back to last night:
Even though my head was exploding, I really enjoyed the meeting. We had a guest speaker from New Albion Academy come and talk to us about keeping a classical eye open when shopping for curricula. It's funny, I think every woman in that room could have sat and listened and discussed forever, had we the time. The most intriguing discussion for me was the topic of the trivium (Grammar, logic, and rhetoric) as subjects, not developmental stages of learning (per Sayers or the WTM, for example). It was a fascinating subject, and gave me lots to think about in the ways our school has been successful in the past, and also some insight into why it isn't going so well now.
Two things I heard again last night that seem to be a recurring theme (I think the universe is trying very hard to get this message through to my cute little brain!) lately, is that "The teacher is the curriculum." and "The best teacher is an enthusiastic student." I remember getting this message when I read A Thomas Jefferson Education a few years ago as well. At that point, I promised myself I would read the same books the kids did, and teach myself latin alongside them. I held myself up to this ideal for a very short time, and I can really see where this has harmed our student/teacher relationships, and stifled much of the success and joy that used to be a part of our school. Time for me to poop or get off the pot as my Mom would say.
Anyhow, I think this talk will help me focus when attending the WHO convention next weekend. And for anyone local who reads this, and is planning on attending, I could use a ride this year!
So we are home now, and I am going to get a bunch of stuff done before I crash. If the strawberries and peppers are still alive, I will put them in pots, and it is on my chore list to tidy up the living room. The kids are going to mow the lawn, and mop up whatever that sticky stuff is. I don't want to know what they did to make it sticky, I really don't. I just want them to clean it up!
Oh, Papa Dude, if you are reading this, I want you to know how much I appreciate you and I know how hard you are working for us- sorry about last night, thanks for hanging in. We should both know better than to try to have a conversation when my head is exploding. Love you.
I plan on being in bed by 9 tonight, as we have piano lessons bright and squirrelly tomorrow morning. If the kids don't go right to sleep it won't be my problem- I have the whole bed to myself, and I am going to sleep right in the middle tonight! So only 8 hours to go till I can sleep.
TTFN,
LB
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Sigh. It finally got me.
Well, the low-level headache I have had for the last 6 days has finally decided to turn into a migraine. I have given in and am tucked up in bed, and will only be going out to take the Boy to school and pick him up. If I knew the bus schedules better, I would just have him do that, but it takes too much energy to look them up.
I will try to post later, but right now, I am just curling up with my favorite quilt, two cats, and some hydrocodone. The Boy is sitting over at Papa's desk, supposedly writing the second draft of a paper. Gotta shake this, as I am spending the day with Gramma tomorrow. I know from experience that a headache and a needy elderly lady don't mix. Think calm, healthy brain thoughts, ok? The last thing I need with the Dude away is one of those scary-daddy migraines from two winters ago!
LB
I will try to post later, but right now, I am just curling up with my favorite quilt, two cats, and some hydrocodone. The Boy is sitting over at Papa's desk, supposedly writing the second draft of a paper. Gotta shake this, as I am spending the day with Gramma tomorrow. I know from experience that a headache and a needy elderly lady don't mix. Think calm, healthy brain thoughts, ok? The last thing I need with the Dude away is one of those scary-daddy migraines from two winters ago!
LB
Monday, June 04, 2007
Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan
Funny how life gives you what you need if you are open to it. This morning I was over at In a Minute Ago, and read this perfect quote for today:
"A dream is a dream
A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."
Sharon was writing about how she plans, manages her time, and gets things done. She is writing from her perspective as a fiber artist, but I think her suggestions work for whatever it is we are trying to accomplish. For example, I think she hits the nail on the head (for me, anyhow) with this paragraph. It really spoke to me- I really struggle with focus these days.
"Women are particularly good a multitasking and often during the child rearing stage of life they have trained themselves to be so good at it that they forget is how to focus. There are times to multi task and times to focus on getting what ever it is you want to achieve done. Some things are easy to multi task such as putting a load of washing in and letting it run while I attend to mail but other things are single task activities such as designing something. This sort of task requires me to focus on the task at hand, in a sustained manner in order to actually get it done."
Why this blog post struck a cord with me on this particular morning is that the kids and I are planning out the next three weeks of our lives today. We each made a list (thanks, Amy) of everything we needed to do around the house, in categories of chores, school, and self (self-care,bedroom maintenance, and personal goals). Then we made a schedule page, and penciled it all in. So at the moment, our days are scheduled from 7 am to 10 pm. Sounds drastic, but we need this focus right now. We have a lot of work to do this summer, but still want to have some fun- planning our lives seemed the easiest way to go about it.
Another quote from Sharon's blog:
"Mile by mile, life’s a trial.
Yard by yard, life is hard.
Inch by inch, life’s a cinch."
Gotta go, I am determined to be a mom, a housewife, a teacher, and an artist today. I will try to post a photo of the day later.
LB
"A dream is a dream
A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."
Sharon was writing about how she plans, manages her time, and gets things done. She is writing from her perspective as a fiber artist, but I think her suggestions work for whatever it is we are trying to accomplish. For example, I think she hits the nail on the head (for me, anyhow) with this paragraph. It really spoke to me- I really struggle with focus these days.
"Women are particularly good a multitasking and often during the child rearing stage of life they have trained themselves to be so good at it that they forget is how to focus. There are times to multi task and times to focus on getting what ever it is you want to achieve done. Some things are easy to multi task such as putting a load of washing in and letting it run while I attend to mail but other things are single task activities such as designing something. This sort of task requires me to focus on the task at hand, in a sustained manner in order to actually get it done."
Why this blog post struck a cord with me on this particular morning is that the kids and I are planning out the next three weeks of our lives today. We each made a list (thanks, Amy) of everything we needed to do around the house, in categories of chores, school, and self (self-care,bedroom maintenance, and personal goals). Then we made a schedule page, and penciled it all in. So at the moment, our days are scheduled from 7 am to 10 pm. Sounds drastic, but we need this focus right now. We have a lot of work to do this summer, but still want to have some fun- planning our lives seemed the easiest way to go about it.
Another quote from Sharon's blog:
"Mile by mile, life’s a trial.
Yard by yard, life is hard.
Inch by inch, life’s a cinch."
Gotta go, I am determined to be a mom, a housewife, a teacher, and an artist today. I will try to post a photo of the day later.
LB
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Sunday Update
I posted an update about how the benefit recital went over at Piano Girl. To be honest, having invited 400 people, I was hoping for a ton more people to show up, but was amazed at who did.
People who have loved me (and my family) for the last 26 years. Many friends from high school, family members from both sides, and from my homeschooling community came, and that was so fantastic. It was great to see everyone, and to delight in their support of my Piano Girl. Thanks again to all who showed up and showed support. I love you guys!
Our Papa Dude left at 5 am this morning, and will be gone until next Monday, so I get to practice my solo-parenting-of-two-hormonal-crabby-mouthy-teenagers this week. We will be focusing on character lessons a great deal. The house is a mess, and we start a new school term tomorrow, so I have a lot of cleaning to do today. Wish me success in enrolling the kids in the idea of working together as a threesome to get it done quickly and efficiently! If I can get the house looking ship-shape today, I can spend some time in the studio tonight- I still haven't even started the 15 fabric postcards I wanted to have done by tomorrow night. Sigh. I also seem to be in the middle of a several-days-long headache as well. Hasn't hit migraine levels yet, but just won't go away. I think it may be allergy-related. Thank goodness for hydrocodone!
TTFN,
LB
People who have loved me (and my family) for the last 26 years. Many friends from high school, family members from both sides, and from my homeschooling community came, and that was so fantastic. It was great to see everyone, and to delight in their support of my Piano Girl. Thanks again to all who showed up and showed support. I love you guys!
Our Papa Dude left at 5 am this morning, and will be gone until next Monday, so I get to practice my solo-parenting-of-two-hormonal-crabby-mouthy-teenagers this week. We will be focusing on character lessons a great deal. The house is a mess, and we start a new school term tomorrow, so I have a lot of cleaning to do today. Wish me success in enrolling the kids in the idea of working together as a threesome to get it done quickly and efficiently! If I can get the house looking ship-shape today, I can spend some time in the studio tonight- I still haven't even started the 15 fabric postcards I wanted to have done by tomorrow night. Sigh. I also seem to be in the middle of a several-days-long headache as well. Hasn't hit migraine levels yet, but just won't go away. I think it may be allergy-related. Thank goodness for hydrocodone!
TTFN,
LB
Friday, June 01, 2007
Yay! I found some!
Update on the table cloths:
I found some! Party City came through for me. They still cost me more than if I had been able to get them at Costco, but at least I know of a source now. Plus, we got them in nice bright green, instead of the white they sell at Costco. How fun is that?
I found some! Party City came through for me. They still cost me more than if I had been able to get them at Costco, but at least I know of a source now. Plus, we got them in nice bright green, instead of the white they sell at Costco. How fun is that?
Freaky Friday
Ever wake up feeling mentally great, but physically ill at the same time? That is me this morning. I am in a great humour, but feel a summer cold coming on. My nose is runny, my head really hurts, and I have a tickle in my throat that I know will be a cough soon. Darn it! I need my voice tomorrow- couldn't the cold wait till Sunday morning to kick in? I will be running to the store to get some Cold-Eze soon.
Everything is ready for tomorrow's recital, except for the minor detail of disposable table cloths. Last year, we bought those long rectangular plastic tablecloths, and cut them up and taped them together to cover the large round tables in the fellowship room at the church. This covered the tables, but looked really tacky, and took time to do.
When we were at the church yesterday, the kids' Godfather (GF) showed me the kind they used, and told me they had them at Cash N Carry (a really wierd store where you buy things in even larger quantities than at Costco) or Costco. We found the CNC store, and they had the tablecloths, but they were $5. each. We have to cover nine tables, I just can't see paying $45. for something I am going to use for 2 hours and then throw away. (I know, I know, I am cheap, but you knew that!) So I went all the way back to my Mom's and drug her to the Costco (she has the membership card, we haven't shopped there in years) near her house, only to find that they didn't have the round tablecloths there. Sigh. I know it isn't a big deal, but I just want everything to look perfect. We shall see what I can come up with today, without it taking up my whole day. We left the house at 8 am yesterday, and did not get home till after 9 pm- I do not want another day like that!! Wears me out just remembering it!
Once I actually get my sick bumm out of bed, I have to get down into the studio today. I have got to get those fabric postcards started. I couldn't get to sleep last night, so was looking at this great blog, FaeryDi's. I watched her Flicker slideshow- she has some great examples of fabric postcards there. So I have some inspiration, now to get down there and do some stuff of my own.
Ok, that is the plan for today. That and listening to the Piano Girl practice for several hours (lucky me!;-). She sounds great, but needs a bit of finesse on just a couple of spots in a couple of pieces. I hope we see you there tomorrow!
TTFN,
LB
Everything is ready for tomorrow's recital, except for the minor detail of disposable table cloths. Last year, we bought those long rectangular plastic tablecloths, and cut them up and taped them together to cover the large round tables in the fellowship room at the church. This covered the tables, but looked really tacky, and took time to do.
When we were at the church yesterday, the kids' Godfather (GF) showed me the kind they used, and told me they had them at Cash N Carry (a really wierd store where you buy things in even larger quantities than at Costco) or Costco. We found the CNC store, and they had the tablecloths, but they were $5. each. We have to cover nine tables, I just can't see paying $45. for something I am going to use for 2 hours and then throw away. (I know, I know, I am cheap, but you knew that!) So I went all the way back to my Mom's and drug her to the Costco (she has the membership card, we haven't shopped there in years) near her house, only to find that they didn't have the round tablecloths there. Sigh. I know it isn't a big deal, but I just want everything to look perfect. We shall see what I can come up with today, without it taking up my whole day. We left the house at 8 am yesterday, and did not get home till after 9 pm- I do not want another day like that!! Wears me out just remembering it!
Once I actually get my sick bumm out of bed, I have to get down into the studio today. I have got to get those fabric postcards started. I couldn't get to sleep last night, so was looking at this great blog, FaeryDi's. I watched her Flicker slideshow- she has some great examples of fabric postcards there. So I have some inspiration, now to get down there and do some stuff of my own.
Ok, that is the plan for today. That and listening to the Piano Girl practice for several hours (lucky me!;-). She sounds great, but needs a bit of finesse on just a couple of spots in a couple of pieces. I hope we see you there tomorrow!
TTFN,
LB
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Busy day
Well, we have a busy day planned today. First off, I was up at 3 am, to make sure the Papa Dude woke up, and said goodbye to him. Crawled back into bed for a couple three hours, and now I am back up- way earlier than my body wants to be.
Today we head over to the east side of the lake. First stop is Gramma's house. The kids will stay there and do a bit of school while I take her to the Dr.'s for a blood draw. Then we will visit for a bit. We will stop by the B. family's house and feed/water their chickens, and gather eggs. Then I stop in at Crissy's to pick up the banner.
We will get lunch somewhere, then head to Unity of Bellevue, where Piano Girl and her piano teacher will have a lesson- one last run through before Sat. While they are busy, the Fine Young Man and I will get to look after her little son, Abe, and also deliver some eggs.
Then we head back over to our neck of the woods, and I have to get the strawberies and peppers planted in their pots. I also have 15 fabric postcards I need to make before Monday (which I haven't started yet, sigh.) and also get some more school in.
Busy day. I do have a picture to post for today too. I have to go use the FYM's computer for that.
TTFN,
LB
Today we head over to the east side of the lake. First stop is Gramma's house. The kids will stay there and do a bit of school while I take her to the Dr.'s for a blood draw. Then we will visit for a bit. We will stop by the B. family's house and feed/water their chickens, and gather eggs. Then I stop in at Crissy's to pick up the banner.
We will get lunch somewhere, then head to Unity of Bellevue, where Piano Girl and her piano teacher will have a lesson- one last run through before Sat. While they are busy, the Fine Young Man and I will get to look after her little son, Abe, and also deliver some eggs.
Then we head back over to our neck of the woods, and I have to get the strawberies and peppers planted in their pots. I also have 15 fabric postcards I need to make before Monday (which I haven't started yet, sigh.) and also get some more school in.
Busy day. I do have a picture to post for today too. I have to go use the FYM's computer for that.
TTFN,
LB
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
About Picture of the day #7
So Dy and Pamela want more info on the motorcycle picture.
The beautiful man holding the bike up is Mr. R. He is one of the Dude's new co-workers. He is a delightful man who loves to ride. He was at our house at the beginning of May, and offered to take me for a ride.
I hadn't been on a bike since before Piano Girl was born. If I did one of those "7 things you don't know about me meme's", #1 would be that I absolutely love being on the back of a motorcycle. When I was young and dating, that was one of my first questions when seeing if I wanted to go out with someone..... "Do ya' have a bike?"
Of course, now that I am grownup and have kids, I rarely get the chance, but when I do, man, I am so in heaven!! I swear, I am so not the person I used to be. She is hiding in here, but deep.
I was thinking just Monday, how different my life would be if I hadn't had children. I am glad I did, and I am also glad I had a bit of time before I did, to be a bit wild. Sometimes I miss the chick who wore leather and loved dudes with Harleys. Not too often, but sometimes. Now she just shaves her head and works in the studio.
So there you have it. Why LB is wearing her Dude's leather jacket, sitting on the back of a stranger's bike, with a sh*t-eating grin on her face.
LB
The beautiful man holding the bike up is Mr. R. He is one of the Dude's new co-workers. He is a delightful man who loves to ride. He was at our house at the beginning of May, and offered to take me for a ride.
I hadn't been on a bike since before Piano Girl was born. If I did one of those "7 things you don't know about me meme's", #1 would be that I absolutely love being on the back of a motorcycle. When I was young and dating, that was one of my first questions when seeing if I wanted to go out with someone..... "Do ya' have a bike?"
Of course, now that I am grownup and have kids, I rarely get the chance, but when I do, man, I am so in heaven!! I swear, I am so not the person I used to be. She is hiding in here, but deep.
I was thinking just Monday, how different my life would be if I hadn't had children. I am glad I did, and I am also glad I had a bit of time before I did, to be a bit wild. Sometimes I miss the chick who wore leather and loved dudes with Harleys. Not too often, but sometimes. Now she just shaves her head and works in the studio.
So there you have it. Why LB is wearing her Dude's leather jacket, sitting on the back of a stranger's bike, with a sh*t-eating grin on her face.
LB
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Piano Girl Update
Just FYI, there is a new post up over at Piano Girl. There are only 4 days left until the concert evdent of the season! If you live near us, I hope you join us. If not, there are a couple of ways to help. GO check it out if you haven't been there in a while. We thank you for your support.
Now back to your regular blog posts.
LB
Now back to your regular blog posts.
LB
Garden update
Well, after reading about everything that KathyJo and Ernie are up to on their new farm, I started feeling bad that I haven't got my garden in yet, so I really focused on that this weekend.
We had our garden party last weekend, and came home with tons of plant starts that needed to get into the ground. Got a bunch in this weekend.
In the ground now are large and small pumpkins, green zucchini, pattypan and yellow squash, green and lemon cukes, watermelon, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, chard, and a few basil plants.
We only got in about 30 toms instead of the 45 or so we had last year. This year we are focusing on the squashes- should have tons of those! I am hoping the melons grow this year. I had only one watermelon last year- it only got as big as a softball, and never ripened.
Going into pots tomorrow are strawberries and peppers. Also need to plant the celery and cantelope starts.
Still need to get in beans, greens (lettuces and spinich), radishes, carrots, and beets. All the beds are worked up, though they need some horse doo asap.
I could have easily killed and had for supper one of the Girl's chickens. She has been getting out of the run and sleeping under my blueberry bushes. I would not mind this, but she ate all the tender little white flowers off 2 of the bushes. Now, the deal is, I haven't had to share my blueberries with anyone in my family- they all know how much I love them, and the bushes are always my birthday presents. So to have her dingbat bird eat the flowers off was just untolerable. Good thing I don't have a gun, because I just might have used it on this bird!
We have baby plums this year, and my baby fig tree has 13 figs on it!!! This is the first year it has given me fruit! I love figs as much as blueberries, so this is very exciting.
I have seen a few baby pears, but not as many as I was hoping for.
Tons to do in the garden, but thought I would give a bit of an update as to what is done.
TTFN,
LB
We had our garden party last weekend, and came home with tons of plant starts that needed to get into the ground. Got a bunch in this weekend.
In the ground now are large and small pumpkins, green zucchini, pattypan and yellow squash, green and lemon cukes, watermelon, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, chard, and a few basil plants.
We only got in about 30 toms instead of the 45 or so we had last year. This year we are focusing on the squashes- should have tons of those! I am hoping the melons grow this year. I had only one watermelon last year- it only got as big as a softball, and never ripened.
Going into pots tomorrow are strawberries and peppers. Also need to plant the celery and cantelope starts.
Still need to get in beans, greens (lettuces and spinich), radishes, carrots, and beets. All the beds are worked up, though they need some horse doo asap.
I could have easily killed and had for supper one of the Girl's chickens. She has been getting out of the run and sleeping under my blueberry bushes. I would not mind this, but she ate all the tender little white flowers off 2 of the bushes. Now, the deal is, I haven't had to share my blueberries with anyone in my family- they all know how much I love them, and the bushes are always my birthday presents. So to have her dingbat bird eat the flowers off was just untolerable. Good thing I don't have a gun, because I just might have used it on this bird!
We have baby plums this year, and my baby fig tree has 13 figs on it!!! This is the first year it has given me fruit! I love figs as much as blueberries, so this is very exciting.
I have seen a few baby pears, but not as many as I was hoping for.
Tons to do in the garden, but thought I would give a bit of an update as to what is done.
TTFN,
LB
Anna Quindlen article
Funny how the universe works. Everything is so interconnected.
My Fine Young Man and I were playing with PianoGirl's music teacher's son (let's call him Abe) this morning. He is 21 months old, and in the year I have known him has really grown- he has learned to walk, to talk, to play, and interact. Today we were joyfully playing "I'm gonna git you", the FYM and I taking turns, one of us running after Abe, the other "protecting" him from the one doing the chasing. We had a hilarious time, and I was struck by the memory of playing this game with the FYM and then with his sister. My how my kids have grown! How amazing they are! My 15 yr old boy, scooping the baby up and planting kisses all over his face, was once my baby.
Then when we got home, I hit the computer, and was visiting my usual blogs, when I found this, over at Frieda's blog. Thought you might enjoy it. As Dy would say, "Kiss those babies." They don't stay babies forever.
LB
Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author:
All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.
Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories.
What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all. Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far a long, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow.
I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.
Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking? But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less. Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be.
The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.
My Fine Young Man and I were playing with PianoGirl's music teacher's son (let's call him Abe) this morning. He is 21 months old, and in the year I have known him has really grown- he has learned to walk, to talk, to play, and interact. Today we were joyfully playing "I'm gonna git you", the FYM and I taking turns, one of us running after Abe, the other "protecting" him from the one doing the chasing. We had a hilarious time, and I was struck by the memory of playing this game with the FYM and then with his sister. My how my kids have grown! How amazing they are! My 15 yr old boy, scooping the baby up and planting kisses all over his face, was once my baby.
Then when we got home, I hit the computer, and was visiting my usual blogs, when I found this, over at Frieda's blog. Thought you might enjoy it. As Dy would say, "Kiss those babies." They don't stay babies forever.
LB
Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author:
All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.
Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, have all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories.
What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me, was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all. Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far a long, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow.
I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China . Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.
Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the, "Remember-When- Mom-Did Hall of Fame." The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?". (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking? But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less. Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be.
The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.
Monday, May 28, 2007
The long awaited wedding meme from the gal who didn't have a wedding
OK, I promised that I would do this meme on our anniversary, which is today. Not sure how it will work, to answer a wedding meme when we didn't have one, but I will do my best! You may want to get a cup of coffee or tea- this could take a while!
1. Where/How did you meet? We met in 1986. I had just started a new job at an immunodiagnostics lab- we made cells and supplies for path labs, and shipped them out every week. I was in the lunchroom, filling out my W-2 forms, when in walked the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He was wearing a white lab coat, jeans, and a flannel shirt. He had piercing blue eyes, and long hair pulled into a ponytail. He sauntered up to me, looked at what I was doing, and told me I should claim x many deductions. He then poured himself a cup of coffee, and sauntered back out of the lunchroom. I said nothing out loud, but thought to myself, "Who the hell was that nosey, beautiful man?"
2. How long have you known each other? Almost exactly 21 years to the day.
3. How long after you met did you start dating? I will try to make a long sordid story much shorter than it is: We didn't really date- we worked together for about 2 years. He was married when I met him, and I became good friends with his wife, too. We ate lunch together, and I played softball with he and his wife, etc. We often worked in the same lab, so we got to know each other well.
Then, after 2 yrs of working at the lab, I decided to travel to Europe. I stayed with not-yet dh and his wife before and after my Europe trip. Shortly after I got home, 2 things happened- I started having seizures, and his wife left him for someone else. Not-yet dh and I became platonic roommates for the next two years. During this time, I supported him as he worked on emotional healing, and he supported me as I worked on physical healing. I was also dating. It is wierd now, that dh knows all of my dating past. During this time, I fell so madly, deeply in love with him, but didn't think anything was ever going to happen between us.
I was dating a guy whom I knew was my second choice, but I was trying to make it work with him. It was a long-distance relationship, and he was not supportive or helpful when it came to my health problems. I broke it off with him, and decided I was never going to be happily married to anyone.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged? After being platonic roommates for 2 years, not-yet-dh and I became not-platonic, but he was still scared of commitment and love. In May 1991, he went on a month-long trip to see his 9 siblings in Southern Cal. While he was gone, a very nice man asked me to go out. He was VERY interested in me. To be completely honest, although this man was very kind and handsome (and rode a motorcycle), I knew I was never going to love him, as my heart was already taken with not-yet-dh. But when he asked me out, I said yes, just to make N-Y-DH jealous. Luckily, it worked. When N-Y-DH called home to check in and heard I had a date, he asked if I was going. I asked him if there was a reason I shouldn't go out with this nice man, who was obviously taken with me and not afraid to show it. There was silence on the phone line. I went out, and only had an ok time. My heart really belonged to N-Y-Dh.
5. How long was your engagement? After going out with this man twice, it was very apparent that he was serious about me, and wanted a relationship. I didn't go out with him again, not wanting to lead him on, but didn't tell N-Y-DH. I decided to be brave and be true to my heart. When N-Y-DH came home from his trip, I met him at the door with a piece of paper on which I had written 2 pages of what I now refer to as my vows to him. He burst in the door, insisting on talking first, and started shoving a piece of paper at me.
Turns out, most of dh's brothers and sisters are on their 2nd (one on her 3rd) marriages, and have children, and are very happily married. They showed him he could have a happy life after a divorce, and made him realize how much he wanted me (I still say knowing someone else was bringing me roses and telling me how beautiful I was helped a great deal here.) to share his life.
6. How long have you been married? Right then and there, we exchanged vows, and pledged our love. It only took me 5 years to marry him! 16 years today.
7. What is your anniversary? It was May 28th. We got pregnant that very night, lost that one, and were pregnant again at 3 months together. In hind sight, I probably would not have done it this way, but this is what happens when you are a "fertile Myrtle" like I am.
8. How many people came to your wedding reception? We didn't have a wedding- were never even going to actually get married, but did get legally married when I was 7 months along with the Fine Young Man. The health insurance we had at the time was going to demand a heel poke of the baby to prove paternity every time we made a claim (sucky insurance!!), so we found a justice of the peace, and he came to my mom's house. My best friend from high school, her husband, her mother (who was like a mom to me), our future kids' Godparents, and my mom were our witnesses, and the two of us, stood in my mom's dining room for the "ceremony".
When the J-O-T-P asked us if we had vows to say, I basically ran off some of the ones I had written down, and then when he turned to dh, he said, "Ditto." We still say that today when one of us says I love you.
We don't celebrate this day as our wedding day, but I do remember it was sometime in February.
9. What kind of cake did you serve? No cake, but it would most likely have been white, with coconut. And fresh flowers dripping down and around it. In other words, this is what it will be if we get our anniversary party some day.
10. Where was your wedding? Exchange of vows took place in the 16 X 20 ft A-frame log cabin we were living in at the time. Pseudo wedding at my mom's house.
11. What did you serve for your meal? No meals.
12. How many people were in your wedding party? See # 8.
13. Are you still friends with them all? Yup. Love them, love them, love them.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? Nope.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day? Honestly? Just knowing that all my patience with this man, not pushing, etc. had paid off. At one point, I thought I was going to have to settle, or to never be married, and then to have him decide he wanted me, was so wonderful.
16. Any funny moments? Just both of us standing there, in the doorway, trying to talk at the same time, and get the other to listen to us declaring our love.
17. Any big disasters? Although I guess (honestly, I am not sure it would ever have mattered- we have always been committed to each other) I am glad we ultimately got legally married, it really made me mad that we had to- I felt forced into it with the whole insurance thing.
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Just before we did the legal wedding thing, we went to Port Townsend, and stayed at this beautiful B & B, where they had a tower room, "dripping with lace" as the brochure stated, and there was a big clawfoot bathtub in the room. It stormed and was beautiful to watch from the tower. THere were these cute teddy bears and teddy mooses on all of the beds, and dh bought me one. The Fine Young Man still has Randy (for dh thought he was a randy-looking fella of a bear) on his bed.
19. How long were you gone? A weekend.
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Well, we were really too poor to have a wedding, even if we had wanted to. What I want to do, is at 20 years, have a huge anniversary party, and do it up right. An off-white (I look sick in pure white) simple dress, lots of dancing, and 400 guests.
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on? THe right side, due to neck injuries, I have to sleep on this side, and that way, I can still spoon with dh.
22. What size is your bed? Queen. Dh has been saving these gorgeous redwood planks, and someday will make me a king-size 4 poster bed. Someday.
23. Greatest strength as a couple? Humour and devotion. We have been through some tough stuff, but we are committed.
24. Greatest challenge as a couple? Starting right off with kids was hard. Making time for the two of us, and making our relationship important has been hard in the past, but I notice the more we do this, the closer and stronger we are together.
25. Who literally pays the bills? As Jess said, "Whoever gets the cut-off notice! haha." This has been an issue in the past, but at the moment, we are both working together on them, and that makes it easier.
26. What is your song? Don't have one. There are many songs we both love, and when we have our huge anniversary party, I am going to play them all!
27. What did you dance your first dance to? n/a
28. Describe your wedding dress: When we met with the J-O-T-P, I was wearing black (maternity) slacks, my teal silk shirt (still have it, don't fit it), and a floral blazer, which didn't button over my little baby belly.
29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? n/a, but they would have been roses, probably the Peace variety.
30. Are your wedding bands engraved? We didn't have rings (always had the story we couldn't afford them and didn't care anyhow) until our 8th anniversary. Dh surprised me with a beautiful ring- Celtic designed 4 strand unbroken braid to represent the four of us. Not describing it well. I found the site, but couldn't find our rings, but you can get the basic idea from looking here.
31. How old were you when you got married? I had just turned 26, and dh was 36, almost 37.
1. Where/How did you meet? We met in 1986. I had just started a new job at an immunodiagnostics lab- we made cells and supplies for path labs, and shipped them out every week. I was in the lunchroom, filling out my W-2 forms, when in walked the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He was wearing a white lab coat, jeans, and a flannel shirt. He had piercing blue eyes, and long hair pulled into a ponytail. He sauntered up to me, looked at what I was doing, and told me I should claim x many deductions. He then poured himself a cup of coffee, and sauntered back out of the lunchroom. I said nothing out loud, but thought to myself, "Who the hell was that nosey, beautiful man?"
2. How long have you known each other? Almost exactly 21 years to the day.
3. How long after you met did you start dating? I will try to make a long sordid story much shorter than it is: We didn't really date- we worked together for about 2 years. He was married when I met him, and I became good friends with his wife, too. We ate lunch together, and I played softball with he and his wife, etc. We often worked in the same lab, so we got to know each other well.
Then, after 2 yrs of working at the lab, I decided to travel to Europe. I stayed with not-yet dh and his wife before and after my Europe trip. Shortly after I got home, 2 things happened- I started having seizures, and his wife left him for someone else. Not-yet dh and I became platonic roommates for the next two years. During this time, I supported him as he worked on emotional healing, and he supported me as I worked on physical healing. I was also dating. It is wierd now, that dh knows all of my dating past. During this time, I fell so madly, deeply in love with him, but didn't think anything was ever going to happen between us.
I was dating a guy whom I knew was my second choice, but I was trying to make it work with him. It was a long-distance relationship, and he was not supportive or helpful when it came to my health problems. I broke it off with him, and decided I was never going to be happily married to anyone.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged? After being platonic roommates for 2 years, not-yet-dh and I became not-platonic, but he was still scared of commitment and love. In May 1991, he went on a month-long trip to see his 9 siblings in Southern Cal. While he was gone, a very nice man asked me to go out. He was VERY interested in me. To be completely honest, although this man was very kind and handsome (and rode a motorcycle), I knew I was never going to love him, as my heart was already taken with not-yet-dh. But when he asked me out, I said yes, just to make N-Y-DH jealous. Luckily, it worked. When N-Y-DH called home to check in and heard I had a date, he asked if I was going. I asked him if there was a reason I shouldn't go out with this nice man, who was obviously taken with me and not afraid to show it. There was silence on the phone line. I went out, and only had an ok time. My heart really belonged to N-Y-Dh.
5. How long was your engagement? After going out with this man twice, it was very apparent that he was serious about me, and wanted a relationship. I didn't go out with him again, not wanting to lead him on, but didn't tell N-Y-DH. I decided to be brave and be true to my heart. When N-Y-DH came home from his trip, I met him at the door with a piece of paper on which I had written 2 pages of what I now refer to as my vows to him. He burst in the door, insisting on talking first, and started shoving a piece of paper at me.
Turns out, most of dh's brothers and sisters are on their 2nd (one on her 3rd) marriages, and have children, and are very happily married. They showed him he could have a happy life after a divorce, and made him realize how much he wanted me (I still say knowing someone else was bringing me roses and telling me how beautiful I was helped a great deal here.) to share his life.
6. How long have you been married? Right then and there, we exchanged vows, and pledged our love. It only took me 5 years to marry him! 16 years today.
7. What is your anniversary? It was May 28th. We got pregnant that very night, lost that one, and were pregnant again at 3 months together. In hind sight, I probably would not have done it this way, but this is what happens when you are a "fertile Myrtle" like I am.
8. How many people came to your wedding reception? We didn't have a wedding- were never even going to actually get married, but did get legally married when I was 7 months along with the Fine Young Man. The health insurance we had at the time was going to demand a heel poke of the baby to prove paternity every time we made a claim (sucky insurance!!), so we found a justice of the peace, and he came to my mom's house. My best friend from high school, her husband, her mother (who was like a mom to me), our future kids' Godparents, and my mom were our witnesses, and the two of us, stood in my mom's dining room for the "ceremony".
When the J-O-T-P asked us if we had vows to say, I basically ran off some of the ones I had written down, and then when he turned to dh, he said, "Ditto." We still say that today when one of us says I love you.
We don't celebrate this day as our wedding day, but I do remember it was sometime in February.
9. What kind of cake did you serve? No cake, but it would most likely have been white, with coconut. And fresh flowers dripping down and around it. In other words, this is what it will be if we get our anniversary party some day.
10. Where was your wedding? Exchange of vows took place in the 16 X 20 ft A-frame log cabin we were living in at the time. Pseudo wedding at my mom's house.
11. What did you serve for your meal? No meals.
12. How many people were in your wedding party? See # 8.
13. Are you still friends with them all? Yup. Love them, love them, love them.
14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony? Nope.
15. Most special moment of your wedding day? Honestly? Just knowing that all my patience with this man, not pushing, etc. had paid off. At one point, I thought I was going to have to settle, or to never be married, and then to have him decide he wanted me, was so wonderful.
16. Any funny moments? Just both of us standing there, in the doorway, trying to talk at the same time, and get the other to listen to us declaring our love.
17. Any big disasters? Although I guess (honestly, I am not sure it would ever have mattered- we have always been committed to each other) I am glad we ultimately got legally married, it really made me mad that we had to- I felt forced into it with the whole insurance thing.
18. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Just before we did the legal wedding thing, we went to Port Townsend, and stayed at this beautiful B & B, where they had a tower room, "dripping with lace" as the brochure stated, and there was a big clawfoot bathtub in the room. It stormed and was beautiful to watch from the tower. THere were these cute teddy bears and teddy mooses on all of the beds, and dh bought me one. The Fine Young Man still has Randy (for dh thought he was a randy-looking fella of a bear) on his bed.
19. How long were you gone? A weekend.
20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? Well, we were really too poor to have a wedding, even if we had wanted to. What I want to do, is at 20 years, have a huge anniversary party, and do it up right. An off-white (I look sick in pure white) simple dress, lots of dancing, and 400 guests.
21. What side of the bed do you sleep on? THe right side, due to neck injuries, I have to sleep on this side, and that way, I can still spoon with dh.
22. What size is your bed? Queen. Dh has been saving these gorgeous redwood planks, and someday will make me a king-size 4 poster bed. Someday.
23. Greatest strength as a couple? Humour and devotion. We have been through some tough stuff, but we are committed.
24. Greatest challenge as a couple? Starting right off with kids was hard. Making time for the two of us, and making our relationship important has been hard in the past, but I notice the more we do this, the closer and stronger we are together.
25. Who literally pays the bills? As Jess said, "Whoever gets the cut-off notice! haha." This has been an issue in the past, but at the moment, we are both working together on them, and that makes it easier.
26. What is your song? Don't have one. There are many songs we both love, and when we have our huge anniversary party, I am going to play them all!
27. What did you dance your first dance to? n/a
28. Describe your wedding dress: When we met with the J-O-T-P, I was wearing black (maternity) slacks, my teal silk shirt (still have it, don't fit it), and a floral blazer, which didn't button over my little baby belly.
29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding? n/a, but they would have been roses, probably the Peace variety.
30. Are your wedding bands engraved? We didn't have rings (always had the story we couldn't afford them and didn't care anyhow) until our 8th anniversary. Dh surprised me with a beautiful ring- Celtic designed 4 strand unbroken braid to represent the four of us. Not describing it well. I found the site, but couldn't find our rings, but you can get the basic idea from looking here.
31. How old were you when you got married? I had just turned 26, and dh was 36, almost 37.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Aack!
Aaacckkk! I am here, guys. I am alive, but I have been busy. We have had illnesses ranging from the vomity flu to lice, to the cold that will never end (is that you, Pleghm?). We are also at one week till the benefit recital, my husband has been traveling, the kids have been being teenagers, and my mom has been my mom.
I am hoping to post the wedding meme for Dy and everyone, as Monday is our 16 anniversary, and I have over 200 pictures to download and post.
I will try to be better here, but who was it, oh yeah. Amy told me she always knows when I am busy living my life because I don't blog about it. 'Bout says it all.
TTFN,
LB
I am hoping to post the wedding meme for Dy and everyone, as Monday is our 16 anniversary, and I have over 200 pictures to download and post.
I will try to be better here, but who was it, oh yeah. Amy told me she always knows when I am busy living my life because I don't blog about it. 'Bout says it all.
TTFN,
LB
Friday, May 04, 2007
Mornings
Mornings. My favorite time. not.
It is 8:12, here in the lush Pacific Northwest.
One kid (and her waist-length hair) is in the shower, taking water away from the fishies. The other kid has been getting out of bed when an adult walks into the room, and then crawling back into bed for the last 20 minutes. He is now in his pajamas, scooping out the litter, with a scowl and an attitude.
And me? Well, I would love to still be dozing in my bed, half-listening to NPR, with a sketchbook, and a pencil, and a pot of plain green tea which I didn't brew sitting on the table near the window.
Gotta run- the 15 yr old just finished the litter and is back in his room, and I gotta go save some water for the fishies.
On to my morning. The one I am living right now.
LB
It is 8:12, here in the lush Pacific Northwest.
One kid (and her waist-length hair) is in the shower, taking water away from the fishies. The other kid has been getting out of bed when an adult walks into the room, and then crawling back into bed for the last 20 minutes. He is now in his pajamas, scooping out the litter, with a scowl and an attitude.
And me? Well, I would love to still be dozing in my bed, half-listening to NPR, with a sketchbook, and a pencil, and a pot of plain green tea which I didn't brew sitting on the table near the window.
Gotta run- the 15 yr old just finished the litter and is back in his room, and I gotta go save some water for the fishies.
On to my morning. The one I am living right now.
LB
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Pecan Delite Surprise
Hey Dy,
Since you posted your yummy sounding recipe, I will post mine. It is even more vague than yours.
It came from the food bank, and at one point had a piece of paper with a recipe on it near the bag of ingredients. They include crust, filling and pecans. I added coconut milk to the crust ingredients, and put them into the oven. While that was cooking I cooked down two big granny smilth apples, then mixed them with cinnamon.
Then I opened the filling bag. Sugary caramelly yummy stuff. I added the creamy part of the coconut milk.
After about 10 minutes, I pulled the pan out of the oven, poured the apples on top of the crust, and the caramel filling on top of the apples. Then I cut open the bag marked pecans, and poured them onto the filling.
Cooked about 25 minutes. I just pulled it out. THe caramel apple part reall did brown up nice, and the dough part cooked up and through it, kinda like a puff pastry.
I served it with the fatty part of coconut milk, whisked with caramel syrup (the clear kind you put in coffees). It is as close to whipped cream we get around here.
The kids are still dong math, and starting to collapse around me. I may actually turn to tube on, or read to them.
LB
Since you posted your yummy sounding recipe, I will post mine. It is even more vague than yours.
It came from the food bank, and at one point had a piece of paper with a recipe on it near the bag of ingredients. They include crust, filling and pecans. I added coconut milk to the crust ingredients, and put them into the oven. While that was cooking I cooked down two big granny smilth apples, then mixed them with cinnamon.
Then I opened the filling bag. Sugary caramelly yummy stuff. I added the creamy part of the coconut milk.
After about 10 minutes, I pulled the pan out of the oven, poured the apples on top of the crust, and the caramel filling on top of the apples. Then I cut open the bag marked pecans, and poured them onto the filling.
Cooked about 25 minutes. I just pulled it out. THe caramel apple part reall did brown up nice, and the dough part cooked up and through it, kinda like a puff pastry.
I served it with the fatty part of coconut milk, whisked with caramel syrup (the clear kind you put in coffees). It is as close to whipped cream we get around here.
The kids are still dong math, and starting to collapse around me. I may actually turn to tube on, or read to them.
LB
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Tidbit #11, Girl humour and Boy Birthday
The Piano Girl/Young Miss was scrambling eggs this morning, but got caught up with chatting instead. I came over and reminded her to stir the eggs, so they didn't become rubber. They turned out yummy perfect. The Fine Young Man asked her recipe. The PG/YM replied, "Salt, pepper, and a tich of negligence." Good one!
We're on our own, the Dude just left for Nevada? I think it's Navada for a company wide meeting. Work continues to be a challenge for him, but is providing the opportunity for all four of us to have breakthroughs in the area of family community. He is committed to having this business be a success, and is working hard. I am so proud to have him be my Dude.
We spent the whole weekend celebrating with our FYM his fifteenth birthday. Lots of good stuff there, and three whole days in a row with Papa Dude.
The kids and I have recommitted ourselves to the Green Dragon Academy. As it stands, I am finding it hard to fit it all in, and I would rather just be dedicated to my life's work. I am also being an enthusiastic teacher, and bringing that to my school.
I have discovered I feel calm and feel loving when I get time in the studio daily. Luckily for me, the kids' window cubbies are in the other part of the basement, so I can monitor independant study time ( I live for the day when it does not have to be monitored, and is done joyfully.) and make art at the same time. I make myself available, and have a couple of chairs pulled up to the woodstove for impromtu tutoring sessions.
I have been working in the studio, but haven't taken pictures. I want to be there more. I need to take pics, and let you see what I have been doing. It really is my happy place.
I have pictures from three different nature study fieldtrips I have yet to load up and show you!
I am leading my Classical Ed group meeting tonight, so will have to cart kids to Gramma's later, and fit in a giant double shopping trip. I also need to teach Classical Writing and light a fire under the FYM in regards to his reading of the Illiad (should I let him skip the introduction?).
So I am here, and alive. I miss talking to you, but the good news is the Dude gave me a headset for my phone! Yay!
LB
We're on our own, the Dude just left for Nevada? I think it's Navada for a company wide meeting. Work continues to be a challenge for him, but is providing the opportunity for all four of us to have breakthroughs in the area of family community. He is committed to having this business be a success, and is working hard. I am so proud to have him be my Dude.
We spent the whole weekend celebrating with our FYM his fifteenth birthday. Lots of good stuff there, and three whole days in a row with Papa Dude.
The kids and I have recommitted ourselves to the Green Dragon Academy. As it stands, I am finding it hard to fit it all in, and I would rather just be dedicated to my life's work. I am also being an enthusiastic teacher, and bringing that to my school.
I have discovered I feel calm and feel loving when I get time in the studio daily. Luckily for me, the kids' window cubbies are in the other part of the basement, so I can monitor independant study time ( I live for the day when it does not have to be monitored, and is done joyfully.) and make art at the same time. I make myself available, and have a couple of chairs pulled up to the woodstove for impromtu tutoring sessions.
I have been working in the studio, but haven't taken pictures. I want to be there more. I need to take pics, and let you see what I have been doing. It really is my happy place.
I have pictures from three different nature study fieldtrips I have yet to load up and show you!
I am leading my Classical Ed group meeting tonight, so will have to cart kids to Gramma's later, and fit in a giant double shopping trip. I also need to teach Classical Writing and light a fire under the FYM in regards to his reading of the Illiad (should I let him skip the introduction?).
So I am here, and alive. I miss talking to you, but the good news is the Dude gave me a headset for my phone! Yay!
LB
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Paypal link up over at PianoGirl
It took almost a week, and several tiring phonecalls, and nasty emails from both the Dude and I, but we now have a PayPal button in the sidebar over at the PianoGirl blog. We are now accepting donations! Get your name on our glorious banner. Head on over, make a donation, and become one of Piano Girl's KEY supporters!
Now, about this blog- sorry for another week of now posts. I have been working hard, and really living life fully. When I am truly integrity in all the areas of my life, blogging really slips to the bottom of the list. But I am here, happily plugging away, smiling while I do laundry, taking care of my kids and my mom, supporting the Dude in his new job by hugging him whe he is home, and not grumbling when he is not, trying to get some school in now and then and planning our summer term, teaching Nature Study, helping the Girl with her egg-selling business, and occasionally getting in the studio. I am still very busy, but doing more family related things, which feels good. I am behind in gardening, and school planning, but hope to focus on some of those later this week.
We are also preparing for the Fine Young Man's 15th birthday. His actual birthday is Monday, but both the Dude and I have evening plans we couldn't change, so the Boy lucks out and gets a 3 day celebration this year. I'd tell you our plans, but it wouldn't be a surprise for long, would it?
I'll talk to you soon,
Now, about this blog- sorry for another week of now posts. I have been working hard, and really living life fully. When I am truly integrity in all the areas of my life, blogging really slips to the bottom of the list. But I am here, happily plugging away, smiling while I do laundry, taking care of my kids and my mom, supporting the Dude in his new job by hugging him whe he is home, and not grumbling when he is not, trying to get some school in now and then and planning our summer term, teaching Nature Study, helping the Girl with her egg-selling business, and occasionally getting in the studio. I am still very busy, but doing more family related things, which feels good. I am behind in gardening, and school planning, but hope to focus on some of those later this week.
We are also preparing for the Fine Young Man's 15th birthday. His actual birthday is Monday, but both the Dude and I have evening plans we couldn't change, so the Boy lucks out and gets a 3 day celebration this year. I'd tell you our plans, but it wouldn't be a surprise for long, would it?
I'll talk to you soon,
Monday, April 16, 2007
Nature study at the zoo
Here are some fun photos I took while we were at the zoo the other day. What I thought was very cool was that my almost 15 yr old had as much fun as the 5 year old. I wish I had taken a picture of the two of them holding hands, but my camera battery had died by then.
Here the three boys are, playing in the wolf den in the northern trail exhibit.
Here are some superb rolling down the hill photos. I love this one.
And this one. I love that the little one is still figuring out how to roll down. Cracks me up.
And isn't this priceless? I ran to the restroom, and when I came out, this is what I saw. My fine young man, and JP. They are talking to a man underneath the grate who was busy installing a cooling system for the merry-go-round at the zoo. He was great- took the time to explain to the boys just what he was doing. Not exactly nature study, but definately homeschooling.
Here is a group picture of 4/5's of our group that day. KP was busy drawing.
Whenever we go to the zoo, we spend tons of time in the reptile house. The kids love it. Y'all know how much I love turtles, right? These are yellow side neck turtles.
These are Gila monsters. They are fun to watch climp up rock walls. Young Miss reminded me to tell you they are poisonous.
These are baby egyptian tortoises. They are very small.
While we were on the northern trail, we were actually able to see the bear brothers! This is the first time I have seen them outside in many years. The picture isn't the best, but wanted to include it anyway.
Isn't this elk regal looking? I may try to draw this guy from this photo.
That's it for the zoo trip. We were at the beach for low tide today, and I took pictures. I will try to get them in the computer soon. Nature study is fun but exhausting!
LB, ready for bed at 6 pm
Here the three boys are, playing in the wolf den in the northern trail exhibit.
Here are some superb rolling down the hill photos. I love this one.
And this one. I love that the little one is still figuring out how to roll down. Cracks me up.
And isn't this priceless? I ran to the restroom, and when I came out, this is what I saw. My fine young man, and JP. They are talking to a man underneath the grate who was busy installing a cooling system for the merry-go-round at the zoo. He was great- took the time to explain to the boys just what he was doing. Not exactly nature study, but definately homeschooling.
Here is a group picture of 4/5's of our group that day. KP was busy drawing.
Whenever we go to the zoo, we spend tons of time in the reptile house. The kids love it. Y'all know how much I love turtles, right? These are yellow side neck turtles.
These are Gila monsters. They are fun to watch climp up rock walls. Young Miss reminded me to tell you they are poisonous.
These are baby egyptian tortoises. They are very small.
While we were on the northern trail, we were actually able to see the bear brothers! This is the first time I have seen them outside in many years. The picture isn't the best, but wanted to include it anyway.
Isn't this elk regal looking? I may try to draw this guy from this photo.
That's it for the zoo trip. We were at the beach for low tide today, and I took pictures. I will try to get them in the computer soon. Nature study is fun but exhausting!LB, ready for bed at 6 pm
Unveiling the fundraiser
Ok, I have an announcement to make.
I have started a blog for the Young Miss, all about her adventures in the music world. Beginning now, until she is physically there, it will focus on getting her to Interlochen. We have come up with a community fundraising idea to earn money for her entrance fee, plane fare, and necessities. I am working on dates and times right now, and will update those as soon as I can. I will also be posting photos of the Piano Girl soon. But head on over and let me know what you think. And by the way, if you live locally, and want to buy some eggs, let me know!
LB
Edited to add that it would probably help if I put in the LINK!!!!
The blog belonging to the best pianist in the world.
LB
I have started a blog for the Young Miss, all about her adventures in the music world. Beginning now, until she is physically there, it will focus on getting her to Interlochen. We have come up with a community fundraising idea to earn money for her entrance fee, plane fare, and necessities. I am working on dates and times right now, and will update those as soon as I can. I will also be posting photos of the Piano Girl soon. But head on over and let me know what you think. And by the way, if you live locally, and want to buy some eggs, let me know!
LB
Edited to add that it would probably help if I put in the LINK!!!!
The blog belonging to the best pianist in the world.
LB
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Tidbit #10
By the way, I thank those of you who delurked to comment yesterday. Thanks for reading! It made my heart happy and keeps the urge to blog strong.
LB
LB
The Bees Knees
We just got home from spending the evening at the World Rhythm Festival.
I couldn't believe it at first. Papa Dude came with us, stayed with me the whole time I was in the drumming circle, and even danced with me tonight! I certainly do love this transformed man. He calls me up on the spur of the moment and asks me to go out, calls my mom to make childcare arrangements, brought me flowers last week, and then to top it all off, he dances with me. I am swooning. He is just the Bees' knees.
I guess you have to wait till tomorrow for a post with pictures in it! We have frozen pizzas in the oven and I think we will watch a late movie and sleep in tomorrow. Sigh. Life is good.
LB
I couldn't believe it at first. Papa Dude came with us, stayed with me the whole time I was in the drumming circle, and even danced with me tonight! I certainly do love this transformed man. He calls me up on the spur of the moment and asks me to go out, calls my mom to make childcare arrangements, brought me flowers last week, and then to top it all off, he dances with me. I am swooning. He is just the Bees' knees.
I guess you have to wait till tomorrow for a post with pictures in it! We have frozen pizzas in the oven and I think we will watch a late movie and sleep in tomorrow. Sigh. Life is good.
LB
Friday, April 13, 2007
Tidbit #9 Comments and cleaning
I know there are several of you who read my pitiful little blog, but my dears, only about 3 of you comment. Maybe I scared you off with that last picture of myself? Maybe I need to comment more on all y'all's blogs more often in order for you to comment here? Maybe I need to get one of those site meter thingies, so I can keep track a bit more? I guess what I am asking is, "Could ya' comment once in a while?!" Let me know you care. Or that you don't. ;-)
OK, we went to the zoo yesterday for nature study and had a grand time- I will post photos later, but right now, the laundry pile is huge, and the living room looks disgusting, so I am off with wild CD's in hand to rock out and get some cleaning done. Guess I will get out of my jammies, first.
LB
OK, we went to the zoo yesterday for nature study and had a grand time- I will post photos later, but right now, the laundry pile is huge, and the living room looks disgusting, so I am off with wild CD's in hand to rock out and get some cleaning done. Guess I will get out of my jammies, first.
LB
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
How do I choose?
It's time for the Annual Homeschool Blog Awards.
How do I choose when more than one of my blog homies are nominated for the same award?! For example, Amy and Dy are both nominated for the funniest blog. Sigh. I read both of these ladies' blogs daily. I consider both of them to be dear friends. And I think they are both a hoot. How do I choose?!
LB
How do I choose when more than one of my blog homies are nominated for the same award?! For example, Amy and Dy are both nominated for the funniest blog. Sigh. I read both of these ladies' blogs daily. I consider both of them to be dear friends. And I think they are both a hoot. How do I choose?!
LB
Catch-up post
Oh heavens, I have let 3 days slip by without keeping in touch with you!
Monday I left the kids at Gramma's and had a delightful belated birthday lunch with one of my dearest friends. She has so been there for me since I was in high school. During that time, when things were tough between my Mama and myself, she was there for me. When the kids were born, she started giving them books on every holiday, and hasn't stopped yet. Now that they are older, she takes them out for their birthdays,too. We ate a delightful lunch of quiche and salad, walked around the stores at Country Village, and all in all had a great time. There are ducks, chickens, and rabbits that roam around the shopping area, and if a certain child had not confiscated my camera from my coat pocket, I would have taken pictures for you.
But as it is, I will content myself with showing you a picture of the treasure I found while we were there. Yes, I am wearing fuzzy yellow slippers, yes, I am chunky, and yes, it is a silly pose, but it looks better than the one where I am being serious. This is much more "me", and it shows the coat off to the best effect. It has bright blue roses and bright green polka dots, made out of silk brocade, from Istanbul, and was very reasonably priced, and will be a treasure that I can wear for years to come. Finding amazing wardrobe pieces is finally happening for me! Woohoo! Also, if you click on the picture, you can see my short-short hair, and the crabapple and other new blooms in the shade bed here. This is my fave sitting place.
The Papa Dude said I could post a picture of him. Here he is, lounging on the bench he and the kids made for me a few years ago. He is watching the kids look for eggs. I chose this picture even though the Dude is slouching, because you can see our new cherry tree in front. We call this the "Sexy Bark Tree". It has this smooth, shiny, gorgeous bark that just calls out to be touched and rubbed. I love this tree, and the man who bought it and planted it for me.
This is a closeup of one of the two little dogwoods we have in the front cottage garden. Papa has called them "showy" (in the way one would refer to a lady of ill repute), but I think they are pretty.
Here are the kids, looking for eggs. I tell you, the Girl was hot, and the Boy was not. If he found one egg to every 10 she found, he was lucky! If they had been snakes, we would have been in the emergency room, praying hard! We had an abundance of eggs this week, what with our chickens, and the 30 or so we are chicken-sitting, so the kids and Gramma dyed over 4 dozen! There were tons of eggs to hide and find.
Here's one, hidden in plain sight, in the dogwood, that both kids walked by a gazillion times. I kid you not, a gazillion times.
Back to the catch-up. The kids stayed overnight at Gramma's, the Dude and I had a silly 3am argument, and got little sleep. On Tues, we had lunch with the kids's Godfather. He treated us to yummy Indian food. We had a fabulous time. When we got home yesterday evening, the Dude and I made up. (We let the kids watch a stupid movie very early in the evening while we did so. If we had had otter pops, they would have had those too!;-)
There, I posted! Now off to do some Classical Writing, and then go see Gramma.
TTFN,
LB
Monday I left the kids at Gramma's and had a delightful belated birthday lunch with one of my dearest friends. She has so been there for me since I was in high school. During that time, when things were tough between my Mama and myself, she was there for me. When the kids were born, she started giving them books on every holiday, and hasn't stopped yet. Now that they are older, she takes them out for their birthdays,too. We ate a delightful lunch of quiche and salad, walked around the stores at Country Village, and all in all had a great time. There are ducks, chickens, and rabbits that roam around the shopping area, and if a certain child had not confiscated my camera from my coat pocket, I would have taken pictures for you.
But as it is, I will content myself with showing you a picture of the treasure I found while we were there. Yes, I am wearing fuzzy yellow slippers, yes, I am chunky, and yes, it is a silly pose, but it looks better than the one where I am being serious. This is much more "me", and it shows the coat off to the best effect. It has bright blue roses and bright green polka dots, made out of silk brocade, from Istanbul, and was very reasonably priced, and will be a treasure that I can wear for years to come. Finding amazing wardrobe pieces is finally happening for me! Woohoo! Also, if you click on the picture, you can see my short-short hair, and the crabapple and other new blooms in the shade bed here. This is my fave sitting place.
The Papa Dude said I could post a picture of him. Here he is, lounging on the bench he and the kids made for me a few years ago. He is watching the kids look for eggs. I chose this picture even though the Dude is slouching, because you can see our new cherry tree in front. We call this the "Sexy Bark Tree". It has this smooth, shiny, gorgeous bark that just calls out to be touched and rubbed. I love this tree, and the man who bought it and planted it for me.
This is a closeup of one of the two little dogwoods we have in the front cottage garden. Papa has called them "showy" (in the way one would refer to a lady of ill repute), but I think they are pretty.
Here are the kids, looking for eggs. I tell you, the Girl was hot, and the Boy was not. If he found one egg to every 10 she found, he was lucky! If they had been snakes, we would have been in the emergency room, praying hard! We had an abundance of eggs this week, what with our chickens, and the 30 or so we are chicken-sitting, so the kids and Gramma dyed over 4 dozen! There were tons of eggs to hide and find.
Here's one, hidden in plain sight, in the dogwood, that both kids walked by a gazillion times. I kid you not, a gazillion times.
Back to the catch-up. The kids stayed overnight at Gramma's, the Dude and I had a silly 3am argument, and got little sleep. On Tues, we had lunch with the kids's Godfather. He treated us to yummy Indian food. We had a fabulous time. When we got home yesterday evening, the Dude and I made up. (We let the kids watch a stupid movie very early in the evening while we did so. If we had had otter pops, they would have had those too!;-)There, I posted! Now off to do some Classical Writing, and then go see Gramma.
TTFN,
LB
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Happy Easter!
I'm bushed, too tired to write a whole entry, but thought I'd post some pics for the Easter Holiday tomorrow. Here's one for the littles who may see this tomorrow over their mamas shoulders. It reminds me of Dy's babies.
Here's a fun one for fellow chicken lovers. Do you know that they don't just dye the chicks because people might think it's cute? They do it to tell different batches of babies apart, etc. You can read all about it here.
This one was too cute not too include. Does anyone know how rabbits came to represent Easter?
And it may be a bit irreverent, but I couldn'tr resist these last two. Maybe it's because I am so tired, but they both just cracked me up.
Especially this one:
And last but not least, here is an Easter book recommendation. If you have never read this book, it is worth the two bucks it will cost to buy it at Amazon. The Easter Pig
We found this book when the kids were just little tykes, and it has been a tradition ever since for the Easter Pig to leave something shiny in the bottom of the baskets.
Happy Easter everyone!
LB
Here's a fun one for fellow chicken lovers. Do you know that they don't just dye the chicks because people might think it's cute? They do it to tell different batches of babies apart, etc. You can read all about it here. 
This one was too cute not too include. Does anyone know how rabbits came to represent Easter?
And it may be a bit irreverent, but I couldn'tr resist these last two. Maybe it's because I am so tired, but they both just cracked me up.
Especially this one:
And last but not least, here is an Easter book recommendation. If you have never read this book, it is worth the two bucks it will cost to buy it at Amazon. The Easter PigWe found this book when the kids were just little tykes, and it has been a tradition ever since for the Easter Pig to leave something shiny in the bottom of the baskets.
Happy Easter everyone!
LB
Friday, April 06, 2007
Sunshiny Day
It was a beautiful, warm spring day. One of those billboard thermometer thingies said it hit 77 degrees. We made the most of it and spent some time out of doors.
Got up on time, supervised chores, kids did a bit of school, got the Boy to school on time (We forgot to go yesterday, we were having so much fun with Gramma!), paid an insanely high amount of bills, ran the same bills around to be paid, did some Spring clothes shopping at Value Village (I actually found some pretty things in my size that will work for everyday, but look a bit dressier than jeans and a teeshirt.), came home and saw Papa for about 10 minutes before he left for class tonight, then took the kids to our fave fish n chips hangout, and we read and they did more school work while we waited an hour (Friday night and all) for our yummy fish, then we went for a walk (my third walk is as many days, yay for me!), came home, washed and brushed, and they are both tucked up in bed before 9:30. Cool! I am off to the tub for a bath, then off to bed with me, too.
We will not be sleeping in tomorrow, as Papa is due somewhere at 10 am. We want to get some family time in. The kids and I only saw him for about 30 minutes today, so we still haven't really connected since before he left on Tuesday. I think I will fix a nice brekky complete with sausage,eggs, and bacon, and then when Papa leaves, we will head over to Gramma's. She needs a grocery store trip, and then I am hoping we can talk her into coming down here to spend the day with us. We love it when she is here, and she is so happy once she gets down here. It is so much better than her being alone and bored, and not even knowing it was so warm and sunny outside today. She was hinting about weeding again. With her and the kids helping, we may be able to get the potato/tomato bed done. I also need to get the bed for the peas done this weekend- they need to be planted very soon.
I am hoping to spend some time in the studio this weekend as well. Now that it is tidy, I have a bunch of fibers to experiment with, some more painting to do, and some fabric triangles to cut out.
That's it for now. I hope you have a great weekend!
LB
Got up on time, supervised chores, kids did a bit of school, got the Boy to school on time (We forgot to go yesterday, we were having so much fun with Gramma!), paid an insanely high amount of bills, ran the same bills around to be paid, did some Spring clothes shopping at Value Village (I actually found some pretty things in my size that will work for everyday, but look a bit dressier than jeans and a teeshirt.), came home and saw Papa for about 10 minutes before he left for class tonight, then took the kids to our fave fish n chips hangout, and we read and they did more school work while we waited an hour (Friday night and all) for our yummy fish, then we went for a walk (my third walk is as many days, yay for me!), came home, washed and brushed, and they are both tucked up in bed before 9:30. Cool! I am off to the tub for a bath, then off to bed with me, too.
We will not be sleeping in tomorrow, as Papa is due somewhere at 10 am. We want to get some family time in. The kids and I only saw him for about 30 minutes today, so we still haven't really connected since before he left on Tuesday. I think I will fix a nice brekky complete with sausage,eggs, and bacon, and then when Papa leaves, we will head over to Gramma's. She needs a grocery store trip, and then I am hoping we can talk her into coming down here to spend the day with us. We love it when she is here, and she is so happy once she gets down here. It is so much better than her being alone and bored, and not even knowing it was so warm and sunny outside today. She was hinting about weeding again. With her and the kids helping, we may be able to get the potato/tomato bed done. I also need to get the bed for the peas done this weekend- they need to be planted very soon.
I am hoping to spend some time in the studio this weekend as well. Now that it is tidy, I have a bunch of fibers to experiment with, some more painting to do, and some fabric triangles to cut out.
That's it for now. I hope you have a great weekend!
LB
Thursday, April 05, 2007
The FAT group
The Fiber Art Traders yahoo group I recently joined has a logo. Now if I can figure out how to put it into the sidebar on it's link, I will be so proud of myself!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Long awaited chicken post
OK, the long awaited post on chickens. Probably mostly pics, I will have the Young Miss do an entry on what kind they are, and care, etc. as she is the one who does all that, for they are HER chickens. Here is a view that shows where the chicken yard is in location to my root bed. You can see my clotheslines in the front, too. This pic was taken before we weeded the root bed today. It looks so good! The big tall tree behind the green coop is our apple tree and is as far as the run goes in the back. Now that they are fenced in, we aren't having to interrupt our day every ten minutes to herd chickens back to their area. It is so much nicer this way!
This is a little homemade coop Mr. B. made that started the whole chicken adventure. This is where the "Dots" (Gold and Silver-laced Wyandottes) live. Young Miss has 3 left from the ten she originally started with (the infamous wild dog incident took the other seven.), and this is where they bunk. 
These are the new girls, and their hutch. It started as a rabbit hutch and had a few additions. THey have a ladder they climb up to get to the hutch. The day we rescued these girls, we were up till 10 at night, (one of us with a 102 degree fever), buiding this run. We needed to have this separate run so the two groups of chickens wouldn't peck each other to death. They are just now starting to be able to be out together the whole day without pecking each other. I think two weeks is a fairly short time for them to have come that far!
Here are the "Dots", from left to right: ChickieBoo, Goldie, and Lucy. Lucy is the siver-laced, the other two, golden-laced. ChickieBoo is my pal, and lets me hold her, but I don't do it as often as I used to, cuz once she pecked my tooth when I was holding her, and it scared the bejiggers out of me!
The new girls on the block from left to right, fromt row: Ida, AnnaBelle, Virginia, Mavis. Agnes is the one in the back. Ida is bossy, but funny. The others I am still getting to know. I can't remember what breeds they are, but they are close to five years old. They lay huge eggs, and this morning, we had 3 double yolkers in a row! How cool is that? I should get a better pic of them, now that they are all in the big fenced area together. See the squash there in the front of the fence? They hadn't gotten to it yet. What I think I love the most about these chickens today, is that they eat huge piles of weeds in a very short amount of time. Good birds!
We were at the feed store yesterday, and the man working there said they would have baby chicks probably next week. We have a big cardboard box ready to use as a brooder, and the big chickens don't need the lamp anymore, now that it is warmer at night, so we will probably set them up in the garage when we get them.
I am not sure what all else to tell you about the chickens. Do you have any specific questions, that I can have the chicken expert answer for you? She would love that. That's all for now, I gotta get myself off to bed, so I can be at the dentist by 7 am!
TTFN,
LB
This is a little homemade coop Mr. B. made that started the whole chicken adventure. This is where the "Dots" (Gold and Silver-laced Wyandottes) live. Young Miss has 3 left from the ten she originally started with (the infamous wild dog incident took the other seven.), and this is where they bunk. 
These are the new girls, and their hutch. It started as a rabbit hutch and had a few additions. THey have a ladder they climb up to get to the hutch. The day we rescued these girls, we were up till 10 at night, (one of us with a 102 degree fever), buiding this run. We needed to have this separate run so the two groups of chickens wouldn't peck each other to death. They are just now starting to be able to be out together the whole day without pecking each other. I think two weeks is a fairly short time for them to have come that far!
Here are the "Dots", from left to right: ChickieBoo, Goldie, and Lucy. Lucy is the siver-laced, the other two, golden-laced. ChickieBoo is my pal, and lets me hold her, but I don't do it as often as I used to, cuz once she pecked my tooth when I was holding her, and it scared the bejiggers out of me!
The new girls on the block from left to right, fromt row: Ida, AnnaBelle, Virginia, Mavis. Agnes is the one in the back. Ida is bossy, but funny. The others I am still getting to know. I can't remember what breeds they are, but they are close to five years old. They lay huge eggs, and this morning, we had 3 double yolkers in a row! How cool is that? I should get a better pic of them, now that they are all in the big fenced area together. See the squash there in the front of the fence? They hadn't gotten to it yet. What I think I love the most about these chickens today, is that they eat huge piles of weeds in a very short amount of time. Good birds!
We were at the feed store yesterday, and the man working there said they would have baby chicks probably next week. We have a big cardboard box ready to use as a brooder, and the big chickens don't need the lamp anymore, now that it is warmer at night, so we will probably set them up in the garage when we get them.I am not sure what all else to tell you about the chickens. Do you have any specific questions, that I can have the chicken expert answer for you? She would love that. That's all for now, I gotta get myself off to bed, so I can be at the dentist by 7 am!
TTFN,
LB
The rest of the day
Well, this is a bit backwards, but we will start with the mural I am working on in the studio, cuz that is the way the pics got uploaded. Here is what I have done so far. The leaves on the right are still wet- they will darken up a bit and match the others a bit more when they dry. Mama and I drank some wine, listened to music, and chatted while I worked on this after supper tonight. And supper was great! Roasted beets and carrots (overwintered in the garden, and not tough at all!), bread, sheep cheese, salami, olives, and organic wine (I mixed mine with pomegranite juice.)
Here is a closeup of one of the leaves. I will be decorating all the leaves, this is the only one so far that has any special touches.
Here is another closeup, just for fun.
And now for the earlier part of the day. It was gorgeous, and we ended up outside, weeding. We got the whole root bed done. Here is the Fine Young Man, actually caught in the act of weeding. Most of the time he was chasing bugs or swinging sticks around.
While we were weeding, the Young Miss tended to her chickens. Here you see her putting fresh straw in one of the runs. I think there is a chicken or two on the far left of the pic if you enlarge it. I promise a chicken post next post!
Here is my fave pic of the day. My Mama does not like her pic taken, but actually allowed me to get this one, maybe cuz it just shows her back. Here she is in all her glory, showing that even though she is blind, she still can get all the roots of any ol' weed, any ol' day. Man do I love her. We have had such a good day. She is staying the night again tonight, which I am grateful for, ad Papa Dude is away, and I have a dentist appt. at 7 am tomorrow. She will get the kids breakfast and supervise morning chores, and then when I get back, we are attacking the big potato/tomato bed. This is the biggest bed I have, so it should be interesting to see if we actually can get the whole thing done tomorrow.
OK, that's all for gardening. Now to start working on the chicken post.
TTFN,
LB
Here is a closeup of one of the leaves. I will be decorating all the leaves, this is the only one so far that has any special touches.
Here is another closeup, just for fun. 
And now for the earlier part of the day. It was gorgeous, and we ended up outside, weeding. We got the whole root bed done. Here is the Fine Young Man, actually caught in the act of weeding. Most of the time he was chasing bugs or swinging sticks around.
While we were weeding, the Young Miss tended to her chickens. Here you see her putting fresh straw in one of the runs. I think there is a chicken or two on the far left of the pic if you enlarge it. I promise a chicken post next post!
Here is my fave pic of the day. My Mama does not like her pic taken, but actually allowed me to get this one, maybe cuz it just shows her back. Here she is in all her glory, showing that even though she is blind, she still can get all the roots of any ol' weed, any ol' day. Man do I love her. We have had such a good day. She is staying the night again tonight, which I am grateful for, ad Papa Dude is away, and I have a dentist appt. at 7 am tomorrow. She will get the kids breakfast and supervise morning chores, and then when I get back, we are attacking the big potato/tomato bed. This is the biggest bed I have, so it should be interesting to see if we actually can get the whole thing done tomorrow.
OK, that's all for gardening. Now to start working on the chicken post.TTFN,
LB
Cleaning Day
Papa had a commitment last night, at the same time that I had my Classical Ed. meeting, so I dropped the kids off at Gramma's house, then picked the whole lot of them up at 9:30. Papa was already asleep, so I couldn't show him my new haircut (I took a pleasant hour before my meeting to get my hair cut short-short, and have fish and chips while reading the newest Quilting Arts Mag- a delightful and restorative break!). I tucked Gramma into the Young Miss's bed, which she freshly made yesterday, and tucked the YM up onto the couch. The Fine YOung Man was crabby, but I kissed him anyway, and crawled into bed.
I was awakened at 6 this morning by the Dude kissing me goodbye and rubbing my shorn head with a giggle. He is headed to SPokane on a business trip, so I won't see him for a couple of days (but hopefully he is reading this blog, like he promised!). We got up for real at 8, had sausage, eggs (anyone want to buy some fresh eggs? We are inundated with tons of eggs!), and english muffins, and though it isn't noon yet, we have been folding laundry, doing dishes, making beds, etc. Gramma is as I type this, sitting on the Boy's bed foliding lundry and supervising his room cleanup. Amy- Some of the garbage consisted of : 4 dirty glasses, a bowl that was obviously holding sugar at one point, grape stems, desicated orange peels, and 6 shriveled apple cores.
The Fine Young Miss entertained Gramma with her piano practice, and we are getting ready to have homemade cherry pie for lunch (the kids and I made it on Sunday, and it calls to be finished off!).
Sigh. I will try to upload some pics later tonight. Right now, Mama is calling out for more hangers. Gotta clean while the motivator is here! Guess schoolwork can be home economics today, hmmm?
TTFN,
LB
I was awakened at 6 this morning by the Dude kissing me goodbye and rubbing my shorn head with a giggle. He is headed to SPokane on a business trip, so I won't see him for a couple of days (but hopefully he is reading this blog, like he promised!). We got up for real at 8, had sausage, eggs (anyone want to buy some fresh eggs? We are inundated with tons of eggs!), and english muffins, and though it isn't noon yet, we have been folding laundry, doing dishes, making beds, etc. Gramma is as I type this, sitting on the Boy's bed foliding lundry and supervising his room cleanup. Amy- Some of the garbage consisted of : 4 dirty glasses, a bowl that was obviously holding sugar at one point, grape stems, desicated orange peels, and 6 shriveled apple cores.
The Fine Young Miss entertained Gramma with her piano practice, and we are getting ready to have homemade cherry pie for lunch (the kids and I made it on Sunday, and it calls to be finished off!).
Sigh. I will try to upload some pics later tonight. Right now, Mama is calling out for more hangers. Gotta clean while the motivator is here! Guess schoolwork can be home economics today, hmmm?
TTFN,
LB
Monday, April 02, 2007
Update: From the Studio Depths
Well, today was another day where I was in the studio as much as I could be, when not doing laundry or looking over schoolwork with the kids. I was organizing some more- kind of the second layer approach. When I first took over this space, I just shoved everything on a shelf or in a cupboard, but there was no rhyme or reason to it. I could never find what I was looking for, and I don't think I have been spending as much time down here due in some part to this lack of organization. I have been reading the book, Organizing Your Craft Space, by Jo Packham, which I happened upon when the kids and I were in the craft store the other day. I had seen the book before, but it didn't have much impact on me, other than to induce drooling over the amazing studio spaces in the photos! But now that I have my own studio space, I found it extremely inspiring.
In the book, they show studios where the artist primarily works on one art, whether it be mosaics, rubber stamping, collaging, or quilting. I got lots of ideas, but what was missing was a section on organizing a studio where you do many arts! I have a small space down here, but am doing my best to keep it organized. I think that may jumpstart some creativity in its own right.
The studio looks much better now, and I am ready for a day of labeling. When I get that part done, I will take pics. I also will have something fun to show you- I have been painting the cement wall today. Just kinda happened. My mom gave me her acrylic paints and brushes- a big box full. That's what started it. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always, always, always wanted to paint a mural. Guess I can finally have my way with a wall. :-)
While I was getting the link for the book above, I found this one too, by the same outhor. Looks like a good read as well.
I have begun to think about a name for the studio. Something with a turtle in the title, as they are significant to me. I'll let you know when I have a couple for you to help me audition.
Ok, just wanted to let you know I was alive and fairly well. Neck is still constantly achey, but I can now function all day and work through it. Maybe later this week, I can get back into the garden.
TTFN,
LB
In the book, they show studios where the artist primarily works on one art, whether it be mosaics, rubber stamping, collaging, or quilting. I got lots of ideas, but what was missing was a section on organizing a studio where you do many arts! I have a small space down here, but am doing my best to keep it organized. I think that may jumpstart some creativity in its own right.
The studio looks much better now, and I am ready for a day of labeling. When I get that part done, I will take pics. I also will have something fun to show you- I have been painting the cement wall today. Just kinda happened. My mom gave me her acrylic paints and brushes- a big box full. That's what started it. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always, always, always wanted to paint a mural. Guess I can finally have my way with a wall. :-)
While I was getting the link for the book above, I found this one too, by the same outhor. Looks like a good read as well.
I have begun to think about a name for the studio. Something with a turtle in the title, as they are significant to me. I'll let you know when I have a couple for you to help me audition.
Ok, just wanted to let you know I was alive and fairly well. Neck is still constantly achey, but I can now function all day and work through it. Maybe later this week, I can get back into the garden.
TTFN,
LB
Saturday, March 31, 2007
A Question From the Studio Depths
What kind of adhesive can I use to secure eyelash and other fun yarn to edge of cardstock with a thin sheet of angelina on top? I have been using Aleene's fabric glue, but it isn't sticking to the angelina. Advice?
LB
LB
I'm here!
I have had an epiphany: I can still blog even though it isn't on a promised topic. In other words, Kathy Jo and Dy, you will have to wait for the chicken post.
I am at the moment listening to Regina Specktor, boppin' around my studio, puttering and putting away (2nd round of organization planning-got to get this place ready to host an art workshop this summer!), and creating a bit as I go. The Amazing Papa Dude is up in the kitchen with the kiddos, putting dinner together. Gotta create while the opportunity is here!
Will touch base again tonight or tomorrow.
TTFN,
LB
I am at the moment listening to Regina Specktor, boppin' around my studio, puttering and putting away (2nd round of organization planning-got to get this place ready to host an art workshop this summer!), and creating a bit as I go. The Amazing Papa Dude is up in the kitchen with the kiddos, putting dinner together. Gotta create while the opportunity is here!
Will touch base again tonight or tomorrow.
TTFN,
LB
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Resting
Well, I am glad you liked the gardening post. I was hoping to add pics of my other garden beds- all weeded and ready to plant, of course, but the universe had other plans for me I guess. My neck went out yesterday, so I have been spending most of my time in bed, on the heating pad, with my body full of vicadin and motrin. It is still sore today, so more resting is on the docket. I will try to post photos soon- I have a whole boatload of chicken photos!
Talk to you soon,
LB
Talk to you soon,
LB
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