sometimes...

sometimes when things are hard,

you need to find a new way to look at them

sometimes when you are having fun at play

life throws you a curve ball (or in this case a snowball)

sometimes when the day has been rough
you need to sit with a friend and create
sometimes when life feels crazy
you need to take a break and watch from the sidelines
sometimes to get things done
you gotta get dirty

dinner

homemade beef, barley & potato soup

crusty bread with oil & balsamic vinegar

lemon meringue pie

supper is all ready

now, i just have to survive my kickboxing class

really, i would rather just eat

won't you be mine?

i baked cookies

the girls decorated
the girls got little valentine gifts
and kinder surprises
in the package i made each of them a new pillowcase
i had the fairy fabric in my stash and just needed to use it for something
all three pillowcases sewed up in an hour
fast, easy and economical
tonight the big cheese is taking me out for dinner!

how nice....sushi! yum!

now you see it, now you don't

this is my thrummed mitten that i have been working on

until recently it looked like this

and now it looks like this (below)

i was really frustrated with my progress, for a number of reasons,

and decided to pull it out and start over
a friend said i should just keep moving on

but i had completely lost my motivation for the project

probably the biggest reason was it was really hard to get on my hand (too small)

but i had also dropped a stitch, made my thrums way too big,

accidentally knit the cuff too long etc

so two nights ago, i took a deep breath and started to unravel

i feel much better now! feels like a clean slate

last night i began re-working my thrums

and this is what they are suppose to look like

wispy, ends tucked together and rolled a bit in the middle
mine are probably still a little bulky but not as bad as they were

so here is to my new start!

today when i couldn't find my children
i found one cuddled up here
and the other cuddled up here
guess when it is cold, there is not better place to be
then snuggled up under quilts and blankets!

full moon

today was one of those days when you wonder "what's up?"

school went well overall and the girls finished up early

i got a noon kickbo class in,

which is a treat because it usually doesn't happen

but all three of the girls seemed to be getting under

each others skin today

all day

just before supper i had heard enough of the whining

and said out loud, to no one in particular

"is it a full moon or something?"

i stopped and then thought "why not check?"

so i made my way over to the calendar...and it was!

so bizarre! not sure i really believe that the moon has that much "sway"

but it was pretty funny and coincidental

here comes mischief

you know it is a good thing that God gave us this girl

life just wouldn't be the same without her

she makes me laugh more often than i can think of

and gets into "clever" mischief

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today the big cheese and bugsy had just left

the phone rang and i was talking to oma

i came back into the kitchen about 10 minutes later

to find boo-boo under the kitchen table

i said to my mom "oh, it looks like someone is up to something"

at that point the culprit looks up and gives me her charming smile

until I actually get close enough to see what she is doing

------------

this is what was keeping her busy

she had found a marker and coloured all 10 of her finger nails

at this point i thought it was permanent marker

i had to look away several times because i couldn't help myself from laughing

this is her drowning her tears and soaking her nails

and this is the result of ten minutes of soaking and scrubbing with a dish brush
so much for water soluble markers...should write staedtler about that

latest project

here is the quilt top that was in the box a few weeks ago

i pulled it on a couple of nights ago and decided that i really wanted to finish it

so i started on the last set of borders and got them on that evening

i think it turned out really well

it is a lot brighter than i usually do, so it was a nice change

the quilt was put together by sewing light and dark strips together

then cutting them in opposite light/dark triangles

then four triangles are sewn into squares

the quilt is for our trailer, remember we live in the north

would you use wool batting and flannel

or

cotton batting and minky?

will show more when it is quilted and the binding is on...might be awhile though!?

snow day

we awoke to find our world blanketed in snow, yet again

it really makes for a peaceful morning, a nice start

these pictures are taken from our deck door

other than homeschool, we pretty much had a snow day

we shovelled and stomped, made a sled run

the girls made a snowman

changed into dry clothes

we read books

drank mocha's

played a family game

cuddled in warm PJ's under homemade quilts

a good day that way

just no crafting....but lots and lots of thoughts of what i want to do

pay it forward

Renee started a paying it forward exchange

when i read her blog, i thought it was a great idea and joined along

if you haven't seen the movie pay it forward the concept works like this

when someone has done a good deed for you

rather than doing something nice in return to that person

you pay it forward by doing something nice for someone else

how it works on my blog is i will send handmade gifts to the first 3 people who also commit to pay it forward by posting in the comments that you'd like to join

(leaving a comment won't commit you!

only if you say specifically that you want to join)

these gifts will be made especially from me with the intent to be something special

they will be sent out within the next 6 months

in return you post a pay it forward promise on your blog

or if you don't have a blog through your email

and then send out your handmade gifts within your 6 month time frame.
if you'd like to play be sure to mention what colours you like

along with your email, if i don't have it

want to join? i'd love to make you something special!

lucky mommy coupons

my very sweet girls decided to make some coupons for mom

okay, maybe they didn't come up with the idea by themselves

their sunday school teacher gave them the idea

but it is still sweet, nonetheless!

i got coupons for:

hugs

kisses

dusting

sled ride

tea and a walk with a friend

i feel pretty blessed by my little group of girls

______________________

tonight i plan to sew a red dress for my oldest

for a wedding in the summer

will keep you posted

_____________________

updated: i went into my sewing room tonight to sew that red dress

but landed up being responsible!

what's up with that? i do that all day don't i?

and continued working on the curtains for the living room...

sigh! blah! yuck! boring!!

yes, i wanted to have them done in december

no, i didn't even start them till january

goodness, why didn't i snag my mom to do them while she was here?

guess i will have to wait to reveal the dress