some of the simplest things make me so very happy

My clothesline has finally been restrung!! I love the smell of line-dried clothes and the feeling of crunchy towels and blue jeans. And the sunshine is the best-ever stain remover (I am always spilling and sloshing mess on myself). I also dug in my compost/leaf pile yesterday afternoon, starting to prepare the garden spot for planting (ha! more stains!). My compost tumbler is history, though. It was the most wonderful gift from my very best friend ever, and it worked great for many years. Only problem was it was made of biodegradable "earth-friendly" plastic, and it eventually started to biodegrade, I suppose. I emptied the rich black contents of said composter and mixed it into the leaves from last fall in the hopes it will speed up the decomposing process, but if not, no biggie, they make great mulch, too. I promised my husband that the compost will not be ugly or stinky. I'm going to use the back 1/3 of where my garden was last year for the compost, and focus on growing fewer things but taking much better care of them. Now all I need is a container with a lid to contain kitchen scraps. Surely I can find something around here that will do the job...

This morning

I woke before the sun rose, but just barely. I stitched patches on the knees of several pairs of DH's work jeans. Just because we got him some new pants that have reinforced knees doesn't mean he can't still wear the old jeans just because he has worn holes in the knees. I called the pediatrician and set up an appointment for little one's physical exam prior to the surgery to have her teeth fixed. I also called the hospital and answered all their questions and got her pre-registered (I think they call it). And I managed to do all that, and more, before noon! I love getting up early, I get so much more done than if I sleep too late. I also put the old netflix dvd's in the mailbox, and put The Magic Flute at the top of the kid's cue. They are big into opera right now, and really like that "Pa-pa-pa-pa-gay-nah". I just hope the movie comes with english subtitles so we know what's going on.

photos

2 new aprons for me!

I did manage to begin two new aprons on Friday, and finished them early Saturday. One of them, I just don't like. I don't know what's wrong with it, other than I made it too big. The colors look nice together even if I did run out of the bias binding tape I was hiding the raw edges with. The other one I just love, though I'll admit it is the ugliest apron ever! DH requested that I never wear a certain comfy old shirt ever again. Instead of throwing it out, I turned it into an apron. Ha! But it's perfect for an apron, the all-cotton fabric is so soft and worn that it's perfect for wiping up spills and catching drips (which is an apron's entire purpose in this world). And the shirt was given me from my Gramma. I really like how it turned out, and I didn't have to hem it because the shirt already has a hem. The only parts that went to waste were the collar, sleeves, and a few very small scraps. If it had long sleeves, I could have made them into the ties, and not had to find a matching fabric to use instead. So now I have it in my head to go to the thrift store and purchase old shirts with the intention of turning them into aprons. And yes, my sewing machine is indeed sitting right here beside my computer on a tv dinner tray. *sigh*

Oh, and I also managed to snap a few photos of my dafodils and some other things I have made (but no photos of the aprons, yet). I just need to remember to transfer them from the camera to the computer and upload them.

This weekend's featured website

...is that of an online friend of mine from one of those message forums I cannot go to anymore. I met her in real life when we visited Nashville last year, and she's one really amazing woman! humblebee designs
I especially want this purse she made:

a link a day...

Might as well continue with the new tradition... groovy green Someday I'll get around to reading more of this one, it makes me feel less out there, if you know what I mean.

and in other news...

my yearly March sunburn came just a bit early this year. Not so bad, just a pink nose today after spending the majority of the past few days playing outside, probably back to lily white skin with more freckles by tomorrow when the rain gets here. I don't know why I can never think of getting out the sunblock until after I get one minor overexposure. Littlest one just looks sun-kissed, and oldest child who has never had a sunburn (yes, the one with auburn/red hair) doesn't seem affected in the least.

I think it's safe to say that Spring has come to the Southern part of the US!! Wooohooohoooo! But I'm still afraid we started sprouting our seeds indoors too soon. It's time to move them outside, and we usually have one last frost at the end of March or beginning of April...

I fully intended to take photos of my dafodils while they are busting out, just keep forgetting. Trust me, my yard is awash in yellow blooms. After reading a bit of that groovy green article linked above, I kinda wish they were an edible bulb instead. Well, you can always eat daylilies (uh, if you were hungry enough), and i have tons of those, too!

I think I'll justify getting out my sewing machine by cleaning off the kitchen table, and set it up there where I'll have to put it away in order to feed the family. I really must create something today, even if it doesn't turn out so great! I spent a good bit of time the day before yesterday figuring out a new skirt pattern using a coffee filter to draw it on. I wanted to make a circle skirt, but not out of one, or even two pieces of fabric, so used the circle of the filter to figure out how to do it from triangles.

One of these days, I plan to post my 101 things you can do with coffee filters (besides brew coffee). Still my favorite is to paint them with watercolors, and after they dry, cut flowers or snowflakes from them and hang them in the windows, but the girls and I have come up with, as I said, probably 101 nifty ideas! Little one really loved the fairy I made using one coffee filter and a tiny piece of a pipe cleaner (oh, that's not what they call them anymore, but I can't spell chenille), really should have taken a photo before she got destroyed. Though you never know, I might find her someday sitting on a shelf somewhere safe.

another really cool blog

Tie One On Well, if I'm not gonna be creating cool things, at least I can read about the cool things other people make. In actuality, I was trying to figure out how to make myself an apron like the one Mary Poppins wore, and stumbled upon another blog I want to read whenever I get some spare time (HA!) At issue is my inhumanly large bosom, and I can't seem to find aprons or patterns with darts in the bib part. I suppose I just need to purchase another 20 yards of that cheap muslin and start experimenting.... *sigh*

and more insanity...

If you like to sew, you really must check out this super cool blog! Plus, if I post the link here, I can go back and keep reading more and more whenever I get the time, because I simply cannott sit here reading this lady's blog all day long. :D

inspired, or just insane?

I was browsing around etsy this morning, and found quite a few skirts I really really want! Problem is, my sewing machine and all my fabric is put up for the time being, until I can get the "junk room" cleaned out and a king sized bed in there. Yeah, sure, I could set up my machine on a folding tv dinner tray... but... then it will just sit there for months before I put it away. And my littlest one likes playing with the sewing machine, all those wonderful knobs and switches and things. So, can I justify purchasing some really fabulous skirts from these other mamas even though I'm perfectly able to make similar items myself?
This one, in particular, I just love, and I think I could justify buying it to use as a pattern to make more of my own skirts from it! And just dig the colors in this one! And that one is made with that spiral pattern I wanted to try (I managed to make Barbie a spiral skirt, but never translated that into human dimensions). I now have 15 favorite sellers, and I keep running across more... Oh, no! I just can't stop.... I think I'll have to set up my sewing stuff to get it all out of my system. Now that my fabric is organized by fiber content, finding matching material won't be such a chore, and I'm much less likely to go out and purchase more if I can use what I already have!

chimp woman no more!

Yesterday I shaved my legs for the first time in ?three years! I wouldn't bother except my hair is very dark, very long, and very thick, and my skin is lily white, which makes for a not-so-attractive body/self image. So I got over my reluctance to the pain and itching involved and just did it. I also ran a little experiment. On my left leg, I shaved against the hair growth, up my leg, as I have always done. On my right leg, I shaved with the hair growth, down my leg instead. The left leg was much more closely shaven, and had much fewer spots where I had missed some hairs. The right leg was slightly less red afterwards, but had more cuts and was quite prickly, and had many spots where I just could not remove all the hair. So to heck with DH's advice to shave the direction the hair grows, it just doesn't work even if it did irritate my skin slightly less that way (it felt the same, just appeared less irritated). The next thing you know, I'll be swimming in the public pool at the Y... NOT! Okay, well, maybe, with the kids... :O

fabric, fabric, fabric

Yesterday I managed to fit almost all of my fabric into six 45-quart storage bins. I chose the clear ones that pull out like drawers and are stackable, making two stacks of three drawers. I feel like I really accomplished something, but the issue now is do I purchase three more bins, or do I get rid of some of my material? I don't want them stuffed too full to the point where I have to dig through them to find what I need, or I won't use them as intended, and I still have two other unmatched bins full of fabric, plus one bin full of scraps and remnants. I think I'll do both, get three more bins, *and* give away some fabric. That way I can hopefully organize all my notions and supplies in matching drawers to keep everything looking neat. Mostly all that's left now is to throw a bunch of junk away, or donate it to the thrift store. Problem is I first have to go through it all to find the few things I want to keep... bleh! Once that is done, we are getting new beds!!! The tax refund came Friday.

ever wondered

what to do when a child touches a magnet to your television screen or computer monitor? link I can't really be angry with her, I did the same thing when I was little. Fortunately, it was the new tv I gave DH for his birthday last year, and it has a built-in degauss thingy. I kept reading all the comments at the above-linked website, and as he was about to go downstairs to fetch a cordless drill and some magnets, I decided to try unplugging the tv first. No more pretty pink spots on the screen! :D