scenes from Saturday

Saturday afternoon was a little stitch-in @ my Mom's house. Mom wins the prize for actually finishing something (Yay!) and it's beautiful!!

Nancy was working on a Halloween design:


Betty worked (amid a few cursory remarks lol) on this birdie beauty:


Now I'm afraid to post my abundant amount of stitching so as to not be a show off but okay, here it is.


Mind you, I haven't stitched in 3 months and apparently just sitting down with needle and thread was a stir enough that I couldn't muster much but the tree. Part of it. The design is by Little House Needleworks. I changed the colors and well, it will be sweet when it gets more progress.

My Mom's house is always decorated so cosy-like so here are a few snapshots of displays in a bathroom.

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The week-end has been quite relaxing even though wicked hot and humid but it is summer so ... see you again in August! That's tomorrow, right?

30 years ago today ...

... I was away at music camp with my church's youth group. Our music director's wife woke us girls up very early that morning to watch the Royal Wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. We were huddled together on a couch, all in our little gowns, watching history and dreaming of being a princess. The dress Diana wore was stunning and the wedding remains one of many beautiful memories in my childhood. No one knew what the future held for the Royal couple and Diana in the end but their beginning looked like a fairytale even though the Royals are just real people like you and me ... ok, so I don't have a personal servant who puts the toothpaste on my toothbrush (and I really wouldn't want that) but there's nothing wrong with fairytales as long as you know where you are in real life!

If you follow my blog, then you surely know I was up early once again for the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. I even had designed a special sampler, A Royal Wedding Souvenir, for the occasion. Today through the week-end, that pattern is on sale at the webshop. Click HERE for details.


Happy Friday and may every frog you kiss become a Prince!

it's me again

Maddy, the cat of the house. I've been sleeping of course but the crazy boys that live in my house are playing with blocks and play money so I decided to be the banker. The game seems very strange to me, as do the boys, but they pet me and I like that :)

come on get happy

Ok, so the bacon wouldn't curl up on the sides - turkey bacon never does. Breakfast this morning still made my kids smile, even laugh - ok maybe at their silly Mama who has hit the mid-summer wall with them around at every turn ... but I'm still loving having them around. Really. I am. Really. Did I mention that Vacation Bible School starts soon? 3 hours/5 days ... to. my. self.

This was Ben's plate (above) - Zack had a cyclops version because he only needs 1 muffin. I wanted to make the egg nose bigger but that's all the egg Ben will eat ... at least he'll eat that much!

Have a happy day and SMILE!!

morning here

Just about 9AM in the East and not much happening yet. There's been quite a lot of excitement over the new cereal with its toy. Some things never change but at least Zack eats the cereal ... and well, Spongebob does bring a smile to your face. Yes?

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It's Floatie day at the pool so we'll be schlepping more stuff than usual -- looks to be a sunny, warm one here. Hope something makes you smile today!

crazy quilt

In my last post I mentioned the crazy quilt that my great-great grandmother made in 1884. I received numerous emails requesting pictures so I took 70 pictures of it over the week-end at my grandmother's house. It's stunning and the condition is very well considering the age of it. Here are just a few of the gorgeous closeups as well as the entire piece.

Also took some pictures of a few quilt tops that my great-great grandmother made but didn't finish. Beautiful colors!

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The sun is out and I had planned a pool day for the boys but there's thunder clapping all over the place! We'll have to wait and see what happens. Might have to be a play tent/movie afternoon instead. Hope your Monday is a cosy one inside or out!

mad about hats

me, 1976

Ben's first word was hat. Everyone and everything was referred to as hat by him. When he was a baby, he was against wearing hats (and socks) and as soon as you put it on his head, he'd pull the thing off. We have pictures of him when he was two and three years old, holding a hat rather than wearing it and upon seeing certain pictures, the vividness of the memory comes flooding back as the camera clicked to his taking the hat off! Later on, he grew mighty fond of hats and would protest if you asked him to take a baseball cap off. He became very attached to winter hats and still is. Ah, he's my contrary child. Always and still.

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Zack is on the fence with the hat. When he was a baby, he would humor you for awhile and wear the handmade knit hats for a short ride in the stroller on a chilly day or a fast photo shoot but quickly decided that he rather put socks on his hands for fun and didn't have time for hats. As he's gotten older and wants to hang out with Daddy and big brother, he will make a mad dash for his baseball hat so he, too, can wear one. And of course we are mired in play hats from construction to colonial ones which he can put on any chance given whim. Oh and he loves his Krispy Kreme paper hat very much :)

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We have a beach hat that my mother bought for Ben when he was Zack's age, or maybe a year younger. This hat is the best hat ever. Its brim is ideal for summer sun and has weathered many childhood days on both boys heads now. I will be sad when no one can wear it! I bought a baseball cap for Ben from Baby Gap (ages ago it seems) and Zack still wears it. So fun to see both boys wear the same hats (and clothes!) as if time stood still. Each boy is his own little dude though, that's for certain.

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My maternal great-great grandmother was a milliner in Missouri in Webster County. My grandmother has the mirror that was in her grandmother's millinery shop as well as a crazy quilt that was made from scraps from the hat materials. It is dated 1884. My grandmother is named Mary Frances for her grandmother. My great grandmother had a fine collection of hats which my grandmother let me photograph this morning to share with you here. These are from the 50s and 60s and when I asked where Mama would wear these such hats, I was told to town, to church, anywhere; it was part of your clothing back then. These are such lovely items and their boxes are just as charming.


***I kid you not ... as I was just about to publish this post -- Zack walked in the room with an empty Spongebob fruit snack box on his hat and said, Mama, How do you like my hat? Sooooo, looks like hats are here to stay!

::sew cool::

I can't tell you how many times I've watched this simple craft video and finally, this morning I made the beach tote!!! I had put aside the towel and washcloth for the project a few weeks back and managed to get the energy to find a button, thread, needle and handle rope sometime after breakfast today. I had hoped of cross stitching but nope -- maybe another day. Sewing was all I could muster but it's a start.

Bag came out pretty nifty if I say so myself. It's too girly for Ben to carry to the pool and too big for Zack to heft around his shoulder with all the 100 things he takes for swimming SO it's mine -- all mine. It was treated for its first outing this afternoon.

Oh and yes, it's hot here too. Just in case you were wondering.

from the cat

It's hot here. Just look at me. I can barely sleep in all this heat. The air conditioning is cranked and the living is easy. For me. Mama Kitty and those 2 crazy boys of hers that interrupt my sleep all. the. time. went to the National Air & Space Museum today. Something about the moon - first stepping on it - July 20, 1969 - Neil Armstrong somebody - not me. They had a great time but I think sleeping rocks.

summer living

When my oldest (now 12) was a little lad (he prefers to be called a youth now), the nearby movie theaters offered free summer kids films every Wednesday morning during the summer months. In the beginning it was just a chance for moms, with their babies/tots/kids to get out to see a movie, G rated - who cared, just to get out of the house. This worked for several years until the kids were too old (they thought) for such silly kid movies and realized that it was just a chance for moms to chat and eat popcorn together. I've missed a few years and now that my littlest (almost 4 1/2 but he's still my baby, ok?) has to experience the fun too! You can imagine how excited that makes the now 12yr old. I agree the choices (now mostly PG) are somewhat lame nowadays and they aren't free anymore - you have to pay $1 - imagine that? :) But this morning I decided we were going anyway. The movie was Marmaduke and it was a cute movie, certainly worth a dollar. Everyone enjoyed it; my oldest giving it only 3 stars to be contrary. Getting up and out of the house before Noon took away several stars.

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After lunch and a trip to the library, we came home to more air conditioning and would you believe both boys took a rest? It was only for about 5 minutes mind you but see what this heat is doing to them? It's like I'm living with 2 old men. Get up, I said - do something - it's summer!!! They think I'm crazy. This is the witching hour where they roam the house wondering what to do and waiting for dinner to be ready. I'm not one to sit idle, just ask anyone who has ever met me, so I decided it was time to vacuum. Yes, I like to just be still too ... I did that sitting in the movie theater! So, now I have a clean house and even put up some summer accents to make me feel like I'm at the beach. Or an aquarium.


It is only Tuesday, right?

summer sunlight

In summer, the song sings itself.
~William Carlos Williams

in a word, Potter

I took Ben to see the midnight showing of the last (sniff, sniff) Harry Potter movie last night. We got there 2 hours early and had a blast. It was quite a memory for us as you can imagine. Excellent movie!!! I ironed on a transfer for my tote bag and put it on his shirt as well. Ok, off to wake up more. Enjoy the week-end!!

Bastille Day SALE!

French patterns are on sale for one day only ~ July 14, 2011 ~ Bastille Day!
Visit website for all details.

a really good book

My number in the library queue finally came up for The Peach Keeper and yesterday after dinner, I started it, and shortly after 1 this morning, I finished it. Couldn't put it down! Loved it from beginning to end. Predictable after a point but such a wonderful read soooooo if you're in search of a book to read and devour, try this one!

This morning was the weekly Farmers Market so you know I bought some of these babies. Love peaches!!!

a whole lot of swimming going on

We've been fortunate with very sunny, breezy, yes HOT, days lately so we've made the most of it and been poolside most afternoons. It makes for tired boys, especially the little one, and quieter evenings spent enjoying books, movies, and bowls of ice cream with caramel sauce and blueberries. Doesn't get much better than that!

ah, summer ...

::library visit
::pool
::free slurpee day @ 7-11
::delicious dinner (see below)
::tuckered kids
::happy mama


CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI BRAID

adapted from a pampered chef recipe

2 crescent roll packages

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie one from the store to save time!)

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh broccoli

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1/3 cup mayo
2 teaspoons dried dill

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1/3 cup slivered almonds



Preheat oven to 375.


In a bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, cheese, red pepper, mayo, dill, salt and garlic powder. Mix well.



On a pizza stone or pizza pan, fan out the triangles of the crescent rolls. Scoop mixture on widest part of circle. Flatten to smooth. Wrap the ends of each triangle of crescent rolls over the mixture and tuck inside. This will create a wreath/braid of sorts.



Bake for 30 minutes.

To the Beach freebie finish

Look! Michele B. finished the To The Beach freebie from last week already ~ it was a delight seeing her photo in my inbox this morning. Beautiful!! The materials she used are listed below.

32 ct Antique ivory linen

WDW: Pebble, Cinnabar

GAST: Mountain Mist, Sea Spray, Bayberry

DMC:3892, 950