A Beautiful Day

We had a lovely day today and I expect another tomorrow. LB and I read books and played and cleaned and played and talked and laughed out loud. I worked on some cards, the Molly dog played on the deck and Brennan continued to pretend that any object in front of her (including her old burp cloths she is forever dragging out) is a dog. Tim has gotten to ride his bike to work for the last two days and rode around on his lunch breaks as well. We are definitely digging the nice weather. In case you hadn't heard, today was the official start of the Derby Season in L'ville. There was a gigantic celebration downtown tonight, a yearly event called "Thunder Over Louisville" (referred to simply as "Thunder" by the locals). There have been flybys and practice formations over our house for the last two days in preparation for the air show. I think there were something like 60 aircraft involved in the show. The big capper of the night is a huge fireworks display. It goes on for 30 minutes and is allegedly the largest in North America. One of the bridges is closed, as well as parts of the interstate. Apparently, there is a shower of fireworks off of the bridge. So, anyway, we had a late dinner on the deck and watched the show. Although we aren't downtown, we have a perfect view of the fireworks from our house. I made a blackberry cobbler (I'll post pics and a link to the recipe tomorrow) before dinner and, after LB was in bed, Tim and I enjoyed a little cobbler with soy milk outside. A lovely end to a lovely day....

I wanted to share a few pics with you from our day:

Works in Progress-

This is some of the laser cut paper that I was using today. I typically don't cut sections out, as it is a big pain, but I wanted some individual butterflies and didn't have any others.


This is part of a small set of "thank you" notes that I am making. I think I need to do more sets. They seem to fly off of the virtual shelves.





These are some recently quilled items. I used one on a birthday card today. I hope to get it photographed and in the shop tomorrow. I have yet to decide what to do with those remaining. I was going to add a new heading for the pics of Tim, LB and I, but then I got all deep and philosophical and realized that we are works in progress as well. Mmmhmm...go ahead, bask in the glory of my evolved state.LB was loving the braids today, for some reason. She usually tries to take them out, preferring instead to have her usual comb-over style that she is constantly brushing out of her face. I can't believe how grown up she looks in these pictures!The second pic is of her Pippy impersonation. Perhaps this would be a good idea for a Halloween costume. We could paint some freckles on her and gel out her braids. She already dresses like Pippy half the time. The child would like nothing better than to wear mismatched pajamas every day.I need to photograph all of the silly faces she makes on cue. She added a new one yesterday, "pouty." She has been doing "cheesy smile," "angry look," "thinking face," and "surprised" for some time now. It's adorable, even if you're not related to her.

The first outdoor photo is dinner on the deck in the aforementioned mismatched pajamas. As you can see, she likes to wear a little dinner as an accessory to her ensemble.She's watching the fireworks quite seriously. It took her a while to decide that she was enjoying them. I thought Molly might freak out, but she handled it like a champ.

















I tried to get some pics of the fireworks, but you see how well that turned out. You can see our bat box in the first one.The second one is as good as it gets. I guess it does a nice job of representing our view, but the fireworks were amazing and I was hoping to capture some of it for you.

Mother's Day Gift Guide-Part Two (I'm baaack.)

Alrighty-O. Yes, I really said that. You aren't imagining it. I'm in a goofy mood. I'm back and I've got more suggestions for Mother's Day gifts. I've decided to do four installments of five items. This is in part because, as I discovered yesterday, these are difficult decisions and it takes time. I was also thinking that large gift guides can be overwhelming. This way you can slowly absorb the ideas and perhaps one will stand out to you. Before I get started with the guide, I have to slip in a "Brennan of the Day." Yesterday she was playing with the grass from her Easter basket. She grabbed a handful of it, held it up to me and said, "This is God's hair." I have no idea where that came from.

Mother's Day Gift Guide-Part Two



"Green Teapot II" is from a new etsy seller (joined this month) who also happens to be from my old stomping ground of Pensacola, FL. Back to Earth is full of absolutely beautiful work. And wouldn't it just thrill you to be his first buyer?

Don't you just love, love, love this clutch from Fiaz Co? It looks almost like it has been hand painted. The inside is lined in a robin's egg blue silk. Handmade. Need I say more?

For the mother who sews..."Alexander Henry Camden Fair Red, Yard Set." Fabric Worm is full of gorgeous, colorful and sometimes quirky fabrics that I would love to get my grimey little hands on. If you aren't crazy about this set, there are tons and tons to choose from.

This is quickly becoming a gift guide for me. I can't help it. A girl loves what she loves, and I totally love this needlefelt art. Deebs Fiber Art shop offers the "No.379 Lone Tree Too" both with and without a mat. Add a frame and you've got a truly unique gift.

The "Twisted and Textured Silver Dangle Earrings" are handmade from 99.9% pure silver by Beadz N 'Thingz. I think they look light and springy, but would work just as well with a sweater this fall. And just think, you can impress your mother with your knowledge of handcrafted fine silver.

Be sure to check out the comments for yesterday's post. "Meltem" is offering a freebie with a $50.00 purchase in her shop this weekend.

Books Worth Reading

I know you all are just dying to know what I've been reading lately. I mean, I'd almost decided to start my own book club, but then I felt sorry for Oprah. I wouldn't want to ruin her thing. So, anyway, I finally read Virginia Woolf's "Orlando: A Biography." I don't know why I hadn't read it before. I love Virginia Woolf, but I guess I was distracted by all of that anthropology stuff or something. Anyway, we've been going to the library a lot lately, both to be environmentally friendly and also because we are attempting to be more fiscally responsible. It's given me a chance to check out some things that I hadn't thought about in years. I'd always meant to read "Orlando," so I finally made the time. It was as wonderful as I expected it to be. If you aren't aware of the plot, the story follows the life of Orlando, who begins his life as a man, decides he will not die, and, at the end of the book is a woman. The book is meant to be a fictionalized biography of a friend of Woolf's, Vita Sackville-West, but has typically been considered simply a novel. "Orlando" takes on time, class, history and gender, allowing Woolf to comment on her own time without facing too much criticism for broaching such controversial topics. I know, I know. It sounds like work. I promise it is a good read. If you haven't yet read it, please do. Let me know what you think.
Okay, so now for a children's book. If I haven't mentioned it before, we spend a LOT of time reading around here. We are fortunate to have a child that loves books as much as we do. Since Easter is upon us, I thought I would share a book about bunnies, a "Thunder Bunny" to be exact. LB loves it. I think that her Auntie Paige bought it for her a year or so ago. Rather than illustrations, the pictures in the book are all collages created by the author, Barbara Helen Berger. The book is beautiful. Thunder Bunny is born blue, as you can see from the picture, and doesn't quite fit in with the rest of her family. She discovers that she comes "from the blue" and leaps to the sky to prove it to herself and her family. LB likes to quote this line from the book, "I am a thun, thun, thunder bunny!" It's a quick read, making it a perfect bedtime story.

Brennan of the Day: Tim's sister got him a musical card for his birthday back in January. He came across it today and LB has been playing with it ALL DAY. The song is "Mr. Roberto" and the chorus is recorded in the card. Brennan believes she knows it and has been singing, "They don't want to get Mr. Arato." Again, I say, "How cute is my baby?"