The Lego Train

I love the Lego train.

I have stepped on it many times.

The Lego train sprouts up everywhere.

Right now, if I am thirsty sitting here at the computer it will bring me a drink direct from the fridge.

Please note: ever since I have been writing this blog I don't have time to vacuum the carpet.

OK, well that is not true. I just realized the only people who may read this blog know me well enough to know I don't vacuum the carpet very much anyways.

Not Your Sk8ter Dude

I was going to make a post about the Lego train that Eric has been building all over the house (right now it is a drink employment system) but then decided it was time to say a little something about my oldest because I haven't really said much about him other than he does things that drive me crazy. And I know that is not very enlightening to anyone who has teenagers living in the house.

Jordi wants to draw comics for a living and will be going to College next year to major in Art. He spends a lot of time in his room with the music blaring while drawing and ventures out to eat and tell me he needs another B ink pen or that he has a band concert that night could I attend? (That really happened, I'm like Dr. Evil, I need the info.)

So I was looking for a picture to post of him and of course there isn't one because he hates having his picture taken, something about the camera stealing his soul. He recently posted some of his drawings on deviant art so if you would like to check it out go to: http://www.vins-mousseux.deviantart.com/ . I made a comment about the strange name he chose and he said "Well, it's better than everyone else who is Sk8ter Dude, I would rather be associated with sparkling wine than be a sk8ter dude". Well Ok then.

Leaning Tower of Leftovers

As the mother of a teenage boy, I constantly marvel at the things he does. Or should I say, I constantly remember doing the very same things he does that made my mother marvel/scream. Like the leaning tower of leftovers I found when I opened the fridge the other day, and I want you to know those containers are empty. Not a thing in them, well just the goldfish carved out of a carrot from the Thai restaurant that I couldn't bear to leave on the plate because it was so impressive.

While I was taking a picture of the fridge, Eric walked by and said "You sure take a lot of pictures of the refrigerator lately". Blogging will do that to you.

New York City Rick Rack

Last November I had the chance to spend one precious day in NYC. After my very calm and uneventful bus ride into the city at 6:00 a.m. (the ride home was a whole different story involving a broken down bus on the NJ turnpike and some Borat like characters) I had a fabulous NYC bagel, a walk up 5th Ave to the Metropoloitan Museum where I took in the Rembrandt exhibit, some more people watching and then a whole 4 hours to look and shop in every fabric and trim shop on 38th st. Heaven.

I found one that I could afford and spent my time fondling every spool of ribbon and the marked down zippers and crazyl little iron on patches and finally made it to the back of the store where they had every color of rick rack hanging from spools on the wall. We don't have all those colors of rick rack in Georgia! And it was all cotton and they had all the sizes and some was really wide and then they had the really tiny stuff. I bought 5 yards of medium size gray rick rack.

So when I was sitting on my broken down bus on the side of the NJ turnpike looking through my stash of newly purchased trims and waiting for my friend to pick me up, I wondered, "Why did I buy medium size gray rick rack? Of all the color choices? Why?"

Well, I finally got my answer today when I needed medium gray rick rack to complement the hankie I used on this purse I'm making for a custom order. If you are patient, your rick rack questions will be answered.

Leave the Eclipse Photography to the Professionals

I thought I might get a nice picture of the eclipse with my fancy new camera yesterday. No such luck, I guess I need a bigger one of those lens thingys. I did manage to rack up my heating bill by leaving the door open many times going in and out in and out though.

Airplane Obsession

I was collecting all the airplanes that Eric has made lately and putting them in a pile to take a picture so I could blog about how he wants to be a pilot or airplane engineer like his Dad when he grows up. And how nice it is when your child wants to emulate you, not only do you have that interest in common, it shows how he looks up to you and has listened and paid attention to your interests and passions.

Then I ran across the little note about what girls like. It put that whole growing up thing in a diferent light! OK, grow up and be an Aerospace Engineer like Dad, but don't forget to throw a few comploments your Mom's way either!

From Bright Star to Nani

My husband has owned 5 boats during our 19 years of marriage, and strangely enough they keep getting bigger. This past August we traveled to Boston to purchase our new boat, a Freedom 40 Cat Ketch named Bright Star. Since all the boats in my husband's family traditionally have been named "Nani", (my Mother in Law's nickname) and since sailors stand on tradition, we named our new boat Nani as well. Actually, we named all 4 of our past boats Nani, we just never went through the process of changing the name, taking the old one off, and putting the new one on the boat.

So Friday night, complete with champagne poured on the bow, we christened our new boat Nani. She's definitely a keeper.

And, um, I did drink some of that champagne, which explains the lack of pictures of the actual event.

Bathtub Alien

I recently completed a digital photography course where I learned all kinds of new things. We touched a little bit on photoshop so I couldn't resist playing around with the blur function. I like the blur, it hides how messy my house can really be. Unwanted spiderwebs or un-picked up legos in your photo? Bring on the radial blur.

What I was Doing When I Should Have Been Doing Just About Anything Else

Yesterday my youngest son (who is too young to have a girlfriend) came to me and said he was pretty sure he needed a present for Shelley on Valentine's Day. Since it was last minute and I didn't feel like going to the store, I suggested he could make her something or I could make her something. Strangely enough he thought it would be nice if I made her something and since I really was looking for something to help me procrastinate, I jumped at the task and whipped up the cutest little heart purse. With black velvet piping because she really likes the Georgia Bulldogs and could it be red and black.

When I showed it to him he got a funny look on his face and had a little melt down with incoherent rantings and a few tears. I figured out that he didn't know if he liked it or if she would like it. That is when my oldest walked in the door from school and I asked him if he thought I was good at picking out presents for girls.

He said "Eric, when you need a present for a girl, you go to Mom. You and I don't know what is good about it, but trust me she knows". So Eric lightened up, came out from underneath the kitchen table, we wrapped it and all is well in Valentine world. Eric has a cute little stuffed puppy from said 3rd grade friend and she has a handmade denim and velvet purse with velvet buttons and cherry lining.

Ramen Noodle Puppet Show

So my trusted friend Mary came over last weekend to find out all the trade secrets on how to sew up a ramen noodle change purse. As usual, we couldn't just sew up a ramen noodle change purse, we had to have a puppet show in the light box. Mary likes puppet shows. She even has a puppet theater in her sailboat. You can ask her about it when you see her next.

I Spy

So last week on a whim I stopped by my local thrift shop because I just had this feeling there was something in there for me. Sure enough, tucked away behind some LIFE magazines was a shoe box of buttons. I held my breath while the lady called the booth renter to find out the price for the whole box and when she said $12 I knew it was my lucky day. I had the best time sorting out the buttons and when I got them all organized there was a pile of stange stuff left on the table. It looked exactly like a page out of an "I Spy" book, so I took a picture of it for you. Only I'm too lazy to come up with what you should find in this picture, just find what you like.

Happy Friday.

Frequently Imagined Questions (FIQ)

Well, since no one has asked me a question yet, I came up with a list of my own.

How long have you been sewing?
I was born holding a potholder, it seems I made it in utero.
What is felting?
Felting is a fancy way of saying shrinking, we've all done it at some time or another. But ALERT! Leave this to the professionals or you may find your washing machine drain plugged up with felt goo. (See previous post)
Do you have any silly names for your children?
Yes, I'm glad you asked! The list includes: snickerdoodle, wiggly pie, wiggeldy pie pup, crazy bumpkin, snickersnacker, doodlesquat, well you get the idea. Mostly anything with pie or oodle.
How do you do it all?
Do what?

If these are too obnoxious for you, ask me a question!

Hunky Husband Makes Way for More Felting

Well, I've been using my toploading washing machine to felt my wool sweaters for about a year now, and you can imagine my distress when one day the water started backing up into the utility room instead of draining out as it normally does. We checked out the washer and it seemed to be OK , we ran a snake through the lines and there didn't seem to be any blockage near the house, so finally we called the plumber. His diagnosis was roots had grown into the drainage pipes due to the drought.

Alex volunteered to do the digging so he started at the house and followed the pipe out to the end. When he finally reached the end, he pulled out a HUGE plug of matted wool and a few tree roots.

I have now found a nice laundromat not too far from home where I will be doing all my felting in the future. One more lesson learned.

Early Work

I recently learned how to scan pictures into the computer (I'm not sure if my old college roomates are too happy about this) and in looking through all the old boxes of photos ran across this one of my "early work".

I used to crochet a lot.

I remember the penguin was very popular around Christmas with a red or green hat, and the Easter egg had a little chick that popped out. My Mom's "Woman's Day" and "Family Circle" magazines usually had some crochet pattern in that sent me running to the 5 and 10 cent store for more Red Heart acrylic yarn. And thank goodness for that indestructible acrylic yarn, because some of those critters have come home to roost. About a year ago a friend of the family presented me with the 3 mice that I made when his first child was born. I made them when I was in about 6th grade and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the old 6th grade me.

Of course if you don't have any dates or play any sports you might as well take up crocheting.