Work-in-Progress Wednesday

Remember the yo-yos? Some of them have been turned into a springish garland.

A new taggie for my nephew's 1st birthday.

A little spring outfit for a friend's new baby girl. These are the bloomers.

This is the matching smock top. I love this pattern. http://www.themayfly.com/weblog/2007/02/happy_smocket.html

It can be used as a dress when the babe is small and then as a shirt when they grow bigger.

Today We Are

Outside.

Watering the peas.

Riding.

Painting.

There might have been some illegal burning before 4:00PM. I'm certain there was some compost rearranging and garden digging. I was told that someone escaped from the POW camp/dog pen in the afternoon. Others of us might have spent their time inside watching fictitious court dramas.

And Now I Know What's Missing in My Boys' Lives

Tricycles! This picture was taken a few days ago. That's Jack riding Sarah's new (old) trike, Jon riding Sarah's old trike, and Sarah riding her scooter car. And this game went on for at least an hour. And then it resumed the following day. And the day after that as well.

Trying to Get Back in the Groove

Between jet lag, illness, and trying to resume our normal living schedule, I haven't had much time to do anything, much less blog. Well, that's not totally true. I've spent any bits of my free time in awe over at Pinterest. Good gracious, that Pinterest is a time-sucker!

Here's a few images of our week, thus far:

Pretzel dots. Have you had these? Addictive.

2012 has been deemed "The Year of the Cupcake" at our house. We're on the hunt for the ultimate cupcake. This is attempt #1. Not too bad.

Rather pathetic Valentine's Day decorations. The red hearts were recycled from a pad of sticky notes that Sarah got a hold of.

Knitting a present for a friend, due to have her

baby in just a few days.

Fashion Statement

This is a skirt, circa. 1970ish. It was made entirely by hand by my Grandma. Each yo-yo was formed, stitched, and joined by hand. No machine stitching here at all. The fabrics were, undoubtedly, pulled from her voluminous stash, and must be at least 40 years old. And the darn thing was actually worn! Seriously.

I was gifted this beauty by my Mom's friend during my recent trip home. She borrowed this incredible item from my mother, the lucky original owner, to wear for Christmas many (many, many) years ago. You see, this was evidently a coveted piece of clothing. So fancy that it was carefully tucked away, only to be worn for special holiday parties. Can't you just picture it all in your mind? Long-haired young women with yo-yo skirts, making fondue and appetizers for their Christmas guests. Probably listening to Perry Como singing Christmas carols. Maybe their guests were clad in bell-bottoms. The men sporting leisure suits and sideburns. The polyester would have been plent-i-ful.

I have painstakingly started deconstructing the skirt, as I cannot imagine myself wearing it in its current state. And since I'm hardly 22 anymore, I don't think it would fit anyway. I'm not sure what I'll turn these yo-yos into, but I'm excited to have raw materials that were made by my Grandma to create into something new. I'm pretty sure Grandma would approve.

ETA: There is very little poly. in the yo-yo fabrics. My Grandma must have preferred natural fibers. She was an eco.-visionary.

Vader

This is Vader. As in Lord Vader. Or Darth Vader. Though some people in this family insist upon calling him "Anakin." I guess it's all the same in the end.

Look how good he is! Just laying at Sarah's feet, sleeping, while she watches a movie. Don't let it fool you though. He had just finished nipping her arm and she was retreating to the chair where he couldn't reach her anymore. But in this picture, it all looks very idyllic, don't you think?

Vader really is a good puppy. He's remarkably calm and he seems to learn quickly. Just tonight Bill was able to teach him to fetch and return with amazing success. Not perfectly, but pretty good for a puppy. He is sleeping in his crate all night, just going out when Bill gets ready for work in the morning. Then it's back in the crate until I get up. Only 1 potty accident inside since I've been back from Oregon too.

I think he's a great dog for us.

The First Half of Our Weekend

The finished tree. It wouldn't win any awards, but we like it. Though Jack keeps complaining that it's too small.

Madeline putting the tree-topper in place. This was a wedding gift from Eileen Dozler. We will treasure it always.

Decorating. It got a little wild.

See the child in the lower, right-hand corner? That's the reason things got a little wild.

J&J Treeland, where we've cut our tree the last 4 years. This is the first year it didn't snow on us. Kind of a disappointment. Check out Jon's sweet hat.

Jack, cutting the tree. Naturally.

Had to stop at my Amish friend's house to drop off some elderberry syrup.

We made a lovely day trip to pick out our Christmas tree yesterday. The weather was mild and sunny. We dropped off some glass jars and syrup in Amishland, found Jon's winter coat at THE best kids resale shop in Appomattox (yes, the very place where "our nation reunited"), drank coffee and looked at books at "Baine's Books and Coffee," knitted up a storm while riding about the countryside, visited the coolest model train display at "Bevell's Hardware" in Blackstone, and walked through the Blackstone city park's Christmas lighted village.

And let's not forget the Victoria parade on Friday, complete with "Uptown Coffee" drinks and music. And those crazy Shriner's, who drive their little cars. Even Sarah says, "Those Shriner's creep me out!" We agree, Sarah.