angry chicken

casting on right away

I casted on again and made this last week. It's so cold here I have already worn it a lot. I'm on the fence about blocking this type of thing. A wet block is what I am questioning. Maybe a light misting would be better? On big needles and with super soft yarn this grew quite a bit and I liked it better before it grew, but I am still quite happy with it. The details, there aren't many, are here.

I have a shawl on the needles now. It's all stash busting around here, and I mean it. Same with my needlework. No new purchases for a bit. I think I am in a process phase right now, not really too concerned with what I make as long as I am making, so working from my stash is easy. If it's not exactly what I would make for myself, it can become a gift.

Years ago a started a handmade gift stash, where I just make stuff, anything I wanted (this could be 1 scarf or 15 pin cushions) and then just kept it safe it a big plastic box with a tight lid. During the year I pull from it for gifts. I love it. I have hats, baby booties, pincushions, little charms, handmade books—all that. It's so freeing because then I don't have that "why am I making this?" feeling when I start something new. I know many of these items I could put in my Etsy shop, and I do sometimes, but often I just like giving them to friends that would appreciate them.

I have been making bubble milk tea at home, with instant bobba. More on this soon. I also am on a 16/8 eating plan and so far so good. My body has changed a whole lot after 40 (hello jowls in this photo!) and this has made my gut feel so much better. I'm on day 10 I think? I will report back. I don't expect it to help my jowls.

WIP done.

This project was from a kit I bought at For Yarn's Sake at the Rose City Yarn Crawl 2016. I bought another kit at the yarn crawl this year, from the same shop, and couldn't start it until I finished this one. So I did. I have all the info on my Ravelry page for it. The yarn was so fun to work with.

I met a dear friend for dinner last night and we were talking about kids, knitting and British mysteries (as we do) and I told her how I went to bed 2 nights ago at 7:30pm. I didn't actually sleep, I was just in our bedroom, with jammies on and did very little. I wasn't sick or upset. I went down because I was in a good mood. I NEVER do this. I never give myself permission to just leave and read or lie in bed or watch a movie alone for no reason. I need to be either sick, emotionally distraught, or have some type of back/feet/leg pain or a headache. It was so great. People and animals could visit me, but I didn't come back up. I did get some visits, but for the most part, I was left alone.

I'm going to schedule this early bedtime on a weekly basis. This seems both crazy and so obvious it's embarrassing. My hang-up is not just that I want to see my family, but also I feel to get the reward of alone time, I need to be creative with the time—adding oils to my shop, writing a novel, sewing a dress, or coming up with a concept album. I'm not really joking. I feel like I have such little time that when I do I need to use it as an artist, so I don't take the time because I will feel guilty not creating—which I realize it a very important thing for me to do.

I curled up with the trio of MDK field guides and read them and was so happy about these little books and knitting and stripes and fair isle and the awesome ladies of the internet who are still around kicking ass.

Unrelated:

We just found Artrageous with Nate, which is art history, science and history on youtube and we dig it. The episodes are a bit high energy and loud? I think that's just us. We are not a loud family. Well, the dogs are loud.

laurel burch

A couple years ago I was out to dinner with a close friend, exactly my age, who was wearing Laurel Burch earrings. She kept them from the 80s. I had totally forgotten about Laurel Burch but when I was in middle school they were a big deal. I usually stole my mom's, but I had a few paris of my own. Her early work was really expensive and done in cloisonne, and then later her enamel work came out and was much more affordable. I have collected about 5 pairs now, including a pair of cats.

When I wear them, women my age and older always notice, which is pretty fun. These I just bought, which are duplicates of a pair I originally had when I think I was about 13. They have never been worn and I was thrilled to find them. I don't have any of my original pairs, so I have been rebuilding what I remember having. The enamel still really easy to find and pretty inexpensive on easy.

a japanese bakery

We finally made it out to Oyatsupan a bit back. It was delicious. The we went again about a week later and I thought they would have the same items, but they didn't. There were different ones available, which was thrilling. Sadie and I got our Japan fix. This reminded us so much of the bakeries we visited in Japan. The light green item is a matcha bun/fluffy scone-type thing. And there was live music on a weekday afternoon! I love homeschooling, the girls were so into it.

The girls and I are making our way through Downton Abbey. I am trying not to yell, "Thomas!" or narrate my own MSTK3000 the whole time, but it's hard. The the show is so quiet, I have to keep it together so we don't miss anything. I love series so much. We are are only on season 3. I stopped watching it years ago because I didn't want it to end, but now that I finally finished Penny Dreadful, I feel like I can do anything. I also didn't want that series to end, and I knew how it would end, and then it did actually end how I knew it would end and then I was exhausted and sad and had weird dreams for a week.

Pete made Lemon-Roasted Chicken with Arugula Salad and Dilled Orzo this week and it was so good. It was a winner for 4/5 of us.

albums and that whole thing

I have a decent to-do list going right now and I'm trying to hack away at it before adding new distracting crafts and projects. I finally finished the Japan photo album from our trip in October. It's shipping right now. I am so happy. This came together pretty easily. I had most of the photos on my phone so uploading wasn't too bad.

The key for me is to edit ruthlessly before I upload, so that I can use almost all the photos when I start to layout and don't have to stop and make decisions. This makes a huge difference. I have used Shutterfly for years now for our family albums, I make one a year. This is more of an ordeal because I collect photos from all our phones and cameras. I haven't started this year's yet. I usually finish them by now, but the Japan one took the lead.

Over the years I have made about 12 of these books, for trips, ballet performances, and yearly albums. For the trips, I add text. A whole lot, usually. I dictate on my trips (voice to text in Evernote) and then clean it up and drop it in the album later. I dictated during this trip every night, and told stories and little details I knew would be forgotten or couldn't be described and remembered with a photo. The text is such a great addition to these books. I don't do this for this yearly books because that's crazy.

The rain! It's raining here again. I know there is a lot of snow and power outages for people elsewhere, I'll take the rain. But I do wish for some sun. Just a little.

rose city yarn crawl 2017

I had a great time visiting some yarn shops last weekend during the Rose City Yarn Crawl. I only went to two shops, I usually go to about 4, but I still had fun. I spent less money this year which is good for me. I need to finish up my project from last year. I haven't been knitting much this year, I usually go through 2-3 month knitting phase, but this year I have been stitching and doing more needlework.

I took this photo at the Knitting Bee, where Yoth yarn was having a trunk show. Such elegant colors. Really lovely yarn. I also went to For Yarn's Sake and met some lovely designers (Debbi Stone and PDXKnitterati!) and picked up a cowl pattern and some yarn. I am really excited to get started on that project.

I'm almost done with The Girl That Fell From the Sky. I can't put it down. I feel like I have more to share, but I have a distracting headache right now. Unrelated, my brother is telling me I have to watch The Patriot. It's an Amazon series.

hair barrettes

On a lazy day a bit back I gathered up some stray hair barrettes and nail polish and fancied these up. They have held up pretty well. We have been wearing them for about a month. The teal one is painted with glitter nail polish and has held up the best. There is a little chipping on the others. I think next time sanding the surface lightly before painting would help. These all have about 3-5 coats of polish and then a clear coat. I glued the mini pom-poms on with E6000, which is what I use with metal. To paint them, I clipped them to a piece of waxed paper, first. Super easy.

There are ton of fun barrettes ideas here, all of which I want to try. (The comments are cracking me up) And here's a video and info on how to use bobby pins. It's pretty helpful (even though the video cuts off some of what you need to see) There is a way to use them so they lock and you don't need 100. We know bobby pin technique here in the dance/gymnastics house, but this is also good to for everyday hair.

custom birthcharts and our house is having issues

It's snowing right now. Again. We had some sun yesterday, but not now. And we had record rainfall this month. We have some flooding in our house, a broken backdoor, a wet/dry vacuum that now needs to stay in our downstairs bedroom "just in case", an overhead light fixture in the kitchen that is broken, and a leaky shower. So. It's feeling pretty college housing around here. I am procrastinating on my taxes.

We finished Stranger Things, which we loved, now I just need to get through Penny Dreadful.

I have been getting orders for custom birthcharts. They seem to come in waves. I just love making these so much. They are often baby gifts, but are lovely gifts for everyone. My favorite order was for a woman who was 78 —she ordered one for herself.

embroidered earrings

I have been stitching a lot lately. I was working on some pieces when we were in Japan and came home so inspired by I was seeing over there. Instagram has kept me going, especially ant sally who I have mentioned before as a huge inspiration to me right now.

These are stitched and finished as post earrings and I have been wearing them a lot. So much fun! And so quick. They are really satisfying to make. There is some beading in there, too, and sequins on the pair in the back.

I am watching Stranger Things, finally, I know I am very late to this. My middle daughter binge-watched it recently with a friend and is now obsessed and has watched and read everything she can find about series. She is eager to talk about it and it's killing her that Pete and I haven't finished it yet because she doesn't want to spoil it. So, I have 3 episodes left. We need to get on it, I am reminded daily.

I started reading Mothering Sunday and finished My Brilliant Friend, which I had mixed feelings about. I was moaning a lot while reading this. I loved the time, setting, and Italian-ness of it all, but was waiting for a story arc—and there was none. I have since been told that all 4 books were written as one, so the first book is not a "complete" story, and it reads that way. I want to know more about these women, but I'm not sure the story will hold me for all 4 books. We shall see, I am planning on starting the second book soon.

I am almost done sewing a leotard for one of my dancers. The outcome is still dicey. I put in a zipper in the front, (like this style) which I am now going to take out. It almost worked.

some homemade drink bases for winter colds

We can't seem to shake the winter colds since some of us got the flu a bit back. One or two of us seem to always have a sore throat, runny nose, and low energy. Not enough to be in bed, just a low-level crud we are walking around with. After trolling the internet I made these two syrups that have helped me a whole lot. The kids don't like them, but Pete and I sure do.

The big jar is 5 chopped lemons, about 2 inches of chopped ginger, and honey. All the juice from the lemons weep out and make a wonderful syrup. I add a big spoonful of this with some lemon pieces (and a pinch of cayenne pepper) to hot water and stir and then strain it into a mug. Delicious! The pepper helps feels good on my throat. This also is great cold with bubbly water, minus the pepper.

The little jar is a base for golden turmeric milk. I didn't really measure here, but it's probably about 2 teaspoons of this spice mix, with a tablespoon of turmeric and then enough honey to make a paste. I add a teaspoon to of this in hot almond milk (or whatever milk I have on hand) and it's so good, like a wonderful chai with a kick.

washi tape holder

I made this washi tape holder last week for my middle child and it was one of the most satisfying projects I have done in a long time. I found the wood square at craftware house, white-washed it with acrylic paint, and then screwed on the tiny hooks, which also came from craft warehouse. I already had the wooden dowels. She had her collection in jars and was hard to know what she had and if we had dupes. Now it's all organized and pretty. I need to make one for myself although I have only about 5 tapes right now because my children are thieves.

So, does anyone have this little fujifilm INSTAX share printer that you can use from your phone? We LOVE our INSTAX cameras, but there are so tricky to get a good photo from and these little printers print direct onto the fuji film, unlike the whole zink system, so you still get a photo that is exactly what would come out of the camera. I'm so curious if any of you have used it and what you think. I have to say right here that I am a printer weirdo and I have three printers—this would be my fourth. it's kind of a weird thing to collect. I use them all for different things and have never regretted buying one. And this one you can get a cute case for! I don't need this. Wanty!

time for toast

We went over to say goodbye to Happy Knits last week. This Portland yarn shop will be so missed. We picked up some yarn for Lydia and then went over to Oui Presse and got some toast on their homemade bread with strawberry jam. Is there anything better than toast? It was cold out and this was the perfect cozy snack.

I feel like the weather here is echoing the political state of our country—there was an ice storm friday and now snow expected tonight and we have a 3 hour drive to a gymnastics meet which starts at 6pm. What gives? On a Sunday night? In a potential snowstorm? So, I'm not sure how this is going to play out.

Today I am making soup and this One-Pot Curried Cauliflower Rice which I adore. I am still meal planning and still feel a huge difference when I skip it. It's not good—I over-shop for food and then have too much and stress about waste and things going bad before I can use them. I also get in a rut and feel like the girls just eat the same 5 things.

I am stitching up a storm for a book I am contributing to, have sewn 2 dresses, sack-like, which I suspect are not that flattering but very comfortable. I was told by a daughter, sweetly, they should be shorter and I should add a belt. I also am sewing a leotard that involves a front zipper, making a wall mounted washi tape holder, and working on the Japan photo album. So, there's stuff. What I am not doing is cleaning out the garage, which is in a terrifying state.

I have been trying to figure out how to talk to the girls about our political situation and keep them updated and found this really great explanation by John Green on the recent immigration order which was really helpful and clear. Pete has been showing them all Seth Meyers in the evenings which adds some humor to the lunacy of it all.

house plants

I finally made it over to Solabee after seeing some lovely images of it on IG. it's a dreamy little floral shop that sells lovely pots and crystals along with house plants. I have a mixed relationship with house plants. I have a few sedums, succulents, and airplants and over the years I've kept an orchid or two around, but for the most part, I don't have any. My cats pee in them. Also, when I had a lot of plants in college they seemed to get small spiders in them, or would weep and get strangely sappy. I recently bought a deer fern that I have hanging on the wall and I love it so much. It's out of the way and also is safe from pee. I have a pinterest board started with house plants, mostly mounted vertically, which is where I'm at right now.

I asked a good friend about book reviews on you tube, I subscribe to a few for YA books for homeschooling, but for myself, I didn't have a go to channel and she directed me to some really goods ones that have me all excited. Well Done Books, and Savidge Reads are the ones I'm stuck on right now. I'm trying to read a bit in the morning and at night instead of doing my normal internet/phone trip of IG, and the news, which I check a few times a day anyway, so why do I need to check it one more time? So, I have a few real books and books on my phone I can jump into. It's making me feel better when the news is so intense right now. I also have been listening to more podcasts while I work. Music can be hard for me, I feel like I need the perfect music when I work and that search becomes a whole thing, so podcasts are easier. I've been enjoying the Nerdist and Women of the Hour.

I have been reading chapters of Me Talk Pretty One Day to the girls and it's so flippin' great. I need to edit a little bit for the 9 year old and some chapters I just can't read, but it's our sense of humor so much, it just warms my heart. And speaking of warming my heart, my 14 year-old discovered Ghostworld.

portland 1985

We were in NW in between snow episodes and I took the girls to Escape to NY pizza. I have been taking them there since they were little because that's where I always went. It's exactly the same. Exactly. Like the same stickers and posters and all that. And the same pizza. The downtown location is the one I went to the most, but it closed when I was away at college, but the one on 23rd is still there. So much is gone on NW 23rd from when I was little, so I am very comforted that this is still there. And the same owner was still working the counter and I heard him talking to a customer asking her how her Christmas break was and how college was going and it just warmed my heart.

I'm doing a little better, but the flu Pete and I got is a real bad one. And then life on top of that. And I feel like the animals save up all their personal needs for when we are sick. Do they really go to the bathroom that much when I am healthy? I don't think so.

In the Sunday paper I always read Parade magazine. Always. It's comforting and amusing. There was a recipe in it that Pete made and it's been the only thing that has made me feel better. Spicy Thai Coconut Chicken Soup. Delicious and so easy! And on the same page as the recipe was a weird add for dry foot skin or something gross, because it's Parade magazine.

coffee break

This was taken from before all the crazy. Before the weather and the travel and the bad head cold (flu?) I currently have.

A bit of a gripe—I've noticed at very fancy coffee shops, which I LOVE, often my drinks aren't hot. No big deal. I don't like them scalding. But sometimes they are like, not hot at all. Almost room temp. Which this one was. I was going to take it back but didn't want to wait in the very long line again, and also had a suspicion that I would be told they were made that way on purpose and then might be educated as to why. I'm not a fussy coffee person, but I do like cappuccinos (5oz) and for them not to be room temp. I had a barista gig in college and I know that if you use previously steamed milk you can make the drinks faster, but they aren't usually hot enough and this one came to me suspiciously fast.

I think I am feverish as I write this. It's before 7am and I am getting ready to do Delia's hair in Dutch braids before she leaves for school which starts so early. 7:40! for 6th grade!

Random Links:

I can't stop watch this video of the cutest porcupine. The sounds it makes!

 

yummy rice

I got this rice seasoning at Uwajamiya a bit back and it is delicious and so cute! see the little purple flowers? Adorable.

So, the snow has been crazy. Pete was in China all last week for work so when we lost power for 2 days I was cooking outside on the camp stove and trying to bundle us all with blankets as a single mom. We made it to my mom's, who had power, in the 10" inches of snow thanks to my brother and his awesome truck and stayed there with the dogs. It was crazy. Then we came home and then drove to Seattle for ballet auditions in the snowy ice. Once we got out of Portland, it was an easy drive and so beautiful. Snow on the trees, but none on the roads. I felt so free getting out of town after feeling so trapped. Plus, I had a fight with my frozen garbage can lid which didn't go well and at that point I had to get out of town.

Pete came back from Shanghai just two days ago and brought some cute little gifts and amazing stories that involved lots of karaoke (john denver songs are very popular) and eating chicken feet, jellyfish and duck heart. Life has been busy. I have been working on some embroidery projects for an upcoming book I am contributing to and also painting barrettes with nail polish in my spare time. Why have I never done this before? It's so satisfying! I will show the results soon.

 

the oregon coast

These photos are from our beach trip right after Christmas. The tide was so far in there wasn't much beach for walking. There were my favorite fish tacos from Local Ocean Seafoods however, which has the best seafood in Newport, in my opinion.

That trips feels far away, but also close, because we are in the middle of another weather episode here in Portland so things are shutting down again, which always feels like a beach trip to me. Everything slows down and is stuck in molasses. Or, I guess stuck in snow. We have food and power, so that's all good. And I can walk to the store. Having one child in school and two homeschooled makes "snow days" interesting. We have already had a few and probably will have one tomorrow.

• I have been trolling the amazing embroidery work over at ant sally on instagram. I am going to stitch something similar soon—they are so beautiful.

• Sadie and I watched The Fundamentals of Caring on instant Netflix and she liked it a whole lot. I saw it over the summer. Lots of swearing and older teen issues, and very well done.

• I'm between books so that means I pick up what we having lying around which is a lot of YA horror and paranormal. That's the trend over here right now. So, I am almost done with Frozen Charlotte and enjoying it quite a bit. Who doesn't love creepy little dolls that can eat flesh? The middle-school-aged V.C. Andrews fan in me is very excited by this book.

 

and even more holiday stitching

Happy 2017!

I stitched this little Gudetama when we were in Japan. He was the mascot of our trip and I'm going to try and be a little more lazy like him in 2017. He also suffers from chronic depression (seriously) so I will skip that part.

Looking at 2017 I realize we are at the height of activities in the house now with the girls all getting older and doing so much. I just wrote our the weekly schedule and I can't really hold any of in in my head more than 2 days at a time and even then I forget what I am doing. I think have two girls at home and one at school is also a bit crazy making. It is all is working out pretty good, but balancing the time in the car and schedules has been the biggest challenge.

My New's Years Days plans:

I'm going to throw out some stuff today. And do some stitching. And listen to some podcasts. We had a great holiday and New Year's Eve. We all saw Rouge One and loved it, but seeing Princess Leia at the end was so sad. We did a lot of reading on the sofa with blankets and hot coco. I read the wonderful cookbook, Small Victories, I nabbed and devoured Sadie's copy of I'll Give You the Sun, and also read cover-to-cover the newest The Gentlewoman Magazine. All with two very lazy and dogs and a cat here and there.

 

cactus rocks

The two younger girls were a bit bored yesterday and so they found this DIY over on Sea Lemon, went outside and got some rocks, and asked to go to the craft store to get some pots. My only involvement was driving to the craft store. I don't remember what I was doing during all this, but it's pretty great they are old enough to be self-sufficient at crafting and choosing projects. I can't believe how adorable these turned out. They were really inexpensive to make, which isn't always the case with DIYs.

The holidays have been good the last two weeks, but also hard. I hurt my head (I fell) and and foot (on the same fall) and it's taken a bit longer to get back to normal than I thought it would. I figured I'd be fine in a day or two because that's what my schedule would allow. You know how it is. I hear this term self-care and I don't think I really even know what that means on a basic level. I'm not very good at identifying what I even need at a given moment. I know when I am hungry and tired. This is good. But I am a far cry from  when I was in my 20s and just did what I wanted to do. I scarcely remember that time. This might be something to look at more closely and work on for 2017.

more holiday stitching

I finished this little piece when we were in Japan and have I all wrapped ready to be received. Portland is still playing catch-up with all the snow closures last week and many of my purchases have been delayed in the mail. grrr. My cat just barfed. We have 3 cats, 2 dogs, (and 1 fish) and so at some point something gross will happen every day. Usually more than once. It's morning still, there's plenty of time.

Stuff:

• I am teaching long division to Lydia and we found this really funny and very catchy tune on you tube (set to a Lumineers song!) for memorizing the steps.

• I knew I didn't dream that Bert had a nephew and it was the cutest bit on Sesame Street EVER. I die!!

• A tiny doll house in a walnut shell. stop it.

 

holiday stitching

I started and finished this little brooch last night and and am so happy with how it turned out. I used mostly crewel wool and then a little cotton floss for the detailing. It's on linen, stretched onto the clever brooch form made by Clover that I got in Japan. I haven't found it in the US, if any of you know where I can find them, let me know. I should have bought more.

It's been crazy around here—snow, ice, parties canceled, lessons canceled, one of our cars is stuck in a hedge blocked in by ice in a neighbor's yard. But, there is plenty of food and craft supplies in the house and it's been really nice not driving anywhere or 2 days. I've been baking and sewing and made a new sweater for our bad chihuahua. It's been an unexpected break, which I think we all really needed.

I am between books, which I hope to remedy today. I also have some netflix shows I need to catch up on. I'm not sure when this will happen. Now I just want to do more needlework.

favorite kids books, 4th edition

 

 

There has been a whole lot of reading in the house this year. I usually do a family best-of list, but this year I am doing it by kid. We still love our books from the 1st and 2nd edition and 3rd edition lists from previous years.

Above is Lydia's list (9). She tends to like complicated books that are quite a bit above her reading level, so we read them to her and have her read a page or two here and there, so she doesn't get exhausted. She is a pretty big fantasy fan, her favorite series being Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars.

The Littlest Family's Big Day by Emily Martin Winfield: Our love of all of Emily's books knows no bounds, this newest one is just lovely and has a special place on our shelf.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley: Part of a mystery series with an 11-year-old sleuth! We all love these.

Ranger's Apprentice, by John Flanagan: She likes series and fantasy books other kids might find kind of boring or slow paced, but for her they are fascinating and she remembers every detail.

The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander: Another fantasy series she likes.

 

Delia (12) has some strong favorites this year. Most books didn't make the cut, she's pretty critical, but these did.

Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen

Ghostlight, by Sonia Gensler: This is scary, but in a safe way. It's kind of a gateway horror/ghost story book.

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio: Her favorite book right now. She talks about it all the time.

Auggie and Me by R.J. Palacio: She said she almost like this one more than Wonder.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry: Her first distopian and the book she compares all other distopians to, which I have mixed feelings about. I want her to read 1984.

 

Sadie's List (14) She reads a lot of manga, like a whole lot, but also reads non-manga, too (she is always reading) and this list is of the non-manga books that she has really liked. All these books are for teens, except for Nimona, which is for all readers I'd say, but some might not agree with me. The others all deal with teen subjects (sex, drugs, death, pain, love) and do it quite well, with much to discuss. I have read them too, and I wish these books had been around when I was 14.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki: Beautiful graphic novel

The Bargaining by Carrie Ann West: It was totally scary, she said! I didn't read this one.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephan Chboski: Her favorite book right now. Very heavy, but very good.

Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson: This book was loved by all the girls—it was on all their lists. Wonderful graphic novel.

Looking for Alaska, by John Green: So much to talk about with this one.

Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell: Ditto, a lot to discuss

I hope this helps your gift giving! Shop local! Or maybe you need to shop online today. I have linked these to amazon, where I am an associate, so if you use my links, I thank you!

 

gifts for sewers

I made more pincushions this year to give as gifts. I made some last year, too. These are simpler. They are backed with wool felt. I am always looking to use up supplies during the holidays. I bought the coolest fat quarters over the summer that have been made into aprons and bags and these are the scraps. They are heavy—I filled them with a mix of polyfill and crushed walnut shells (in the form of natural kitty litter) so they have a nice heft.

I listened to WTF while sewed, this time the interview with Dan Clowes, who I have never heard speak. I've read all his comics and interviews, but never heard him. It was so great to listen to. Sadie needs to read Ghost World. Wow, that went by fast. It wasn't that long ago I stashed all my comics away.

holiday gifts (that you can buy from me)

I have been getting more holiday orders from my Etsy shop, which is wonderful!

I have little sheer bags I tuck gifts into, and can add a little card (all for free) so please let me know if it's a gift you are ordering. This year, there are more oils than ever to try, many of them are a very price friendly range ($12!) and I also have one-of-a-kind jewelry alters available, which would be a an amazing gift for an arty jewelry lover. There are prints, birthcharts, and enclosure cards available, too. I also have a few PDF sewing patterns, which would be fum to give, or make into gifts for friends and family.

I will be closing up shops mid-December, so order soon and thank you!!

 

matryoshka dolls

It's been a crazy 2 weeks around here. The ballet shows just ended and now we are on to the rest of the holiday season, which should be pretty mellow. My two eldest dancers were in this show and they were both cast as matryoshka dolls. Coincidentally, we have been reading my youngest the Rebecca AG doll books, and noticed Rebecca's doll is a matryoshka. So, we thought it would be fun to get some unpainted dolls and decorate some. They turned out great. These are my 9-year-old's, she painted everything but the face. I helped with that under her direction. The other sets are being painted now-

I painted two sets of these dolls years ago, before Lydia was born .They were red and white. The girls were so tiny then, too little to be crafty yet. It's so amazing to see them paint their own now. I loved my sets of these dolls when I was little. I don't have them anymore, which makes me sad. I remember them so well.

Unrelated: I listened to Kristen Wiig being interviewed by Marc Maron on WTF. Marc Maron, as a host, can be tiring for me. I have to be in the right mood to deal with him. Pete usually listens WTF episodes and then tells me about them, which great, but I'm so glad I heard this one myself. She was so mellow and normal and t was wonderful to hear her path. It was not exciting at all, just a lot of hard work and a love of improv. I just spent 30 minutes writing and re-writing a bunch of words about process, paths, late-blooming interests, and pressure on 20-year-olds to figure it all out lest come across like flakey losers, but I couldn't get it together. I need my matcha.

 

favorite kid gifts, 7th edition

Here's the 2016 favorite kid gifts list.

This year I tried to focus on the toys we have that interest a large age span, ones that I loved as a girl, and made sure we had in the house for our kids. The older girls are now into more room accessories and clothes and that kind of thing, but we still have plenty of younger kid toys around. My oldest two are baby sitting, the baby toys have come out quite a bit this year, and they are still popular! Babies never change. They all love silk scarves, paper cups, and wooden spoons. It cracks me up.

There's lots of great items in my previous lists: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010. Our 4th edition favorite books list will be coming soon.

Takenoko Board Game

Ever year we buy at least one new table top game and this was what we got last year. This video on Table Top is a great way to learn and see how it's played. I know I have blogged about Table Top before—we all love it. This game is really fun and has adorable pieces, which is always a good thing. Who doesn't love bamboo eating pandas?

Newton's Cradle Balance Balls

I had to triple check I had not put this on the list before. These are used all the time. I had them, I remember loving them so much, and got ones for the girls about 4 years ago, when they were a bit older, to minimize the inevitable tangling that happens. These are still working great, despite some pretty serious tangles. They are mezmerizing.

 

Bubber

Okay, this is one of these toys my middle child begged for for a long time, but after all the silly putty, magic sand, slime, goop, and what-all getting lost in the sofa I had had enough. However, we did end up getting this tub of weird malleable foam years ago and she still loves it and still plays with it. And it's called Bubber, which is hysterical.

Kid's Size Pots and Pans

Every child needs pots and pans. My babies and toddlers used the normal kitchen ones, but as they all got older, these mini-ones became very important. My 9-year-old still plays with them mostly for her outside cooking involving lots of mud. Countless hours are spent with these.

 

Old Fashioned looking Scrapbook/Photo Album with matching box by Innocheer

FaCraft Scrapboking Kits

As the girls have gotten older scrap booking and any paper arts have been a hit. I like both of these—one is much more open-ended and allows for more artistic freedom. The pages of the album are black and so there's a vintage feel. It can be a little intimidating for kids that want more guidance. The second set is easier to start, but more of a specific look—both are fun and have made wonderful gifts.

 

Hubsan X4 Drone

Drones are my brother's gig. I know very little about them. There are a ton out there and many are hard to control. This one is great for kids, has a good body, and is affordable, so it has been a big winner in our house. It also looks cool. My 9-year-old is really into these, although the 12-year-old is the master with the controls. I noticed this particular one is discontinued, but you can still buy it, the  upgraded one is out, but I haven't used it, so I'm not sure what the difference is.

Okay! I hope this helps with some holiday gift ideas. I have linked all these up with Amazon, where I am an associate. I love shopping local, and I hope you all can do that, but if online is your jam, I sure appreciate you using my links. Thank you!

japan 2016

Sadie and I are back from Japan and it was amazing. It's hard to sum it up in words. I took a ton of photos and at the end of each day I did an audio-to-text dump in Evernote so I can just edit that and add it to our photo album when we get it printed. I'm so gald I did it every day because it was all such a blur I would have never remembered the details. We went to Toyko, Okayama, Osaka, and Kyoto and were traveling with 3 others. It was such a good group, it was a very mellow mood and we all had a mix of interests which took us to places I think we wouldn't have normally gone, which was fabulous. It was such a gift traveling with Sadie, seeing her in such a different environment, thriving on all the new sights and culture, we will remember it forever.

The food, sights, and sounds were so vivid and strong. The fabric and textiles were amazing, as were the temples and shrines. I had a little bit of a freak out in a few shops, particularly this embroidered patch shop, KYO-TO-TO in Kyoto that we went to twice. I should have bought more patches. Loft was one of my favorite shops, with all the pens and papers I could want and the Sanjūsangen-dō shrine in Kyoto was incredible as was the art island, Naoshima. There are so many other places we went, it's had to list them all.

I had this all written a few days ago and was going to edit it, and then the election happened. And then I had a hard time focusing on anything. But here we are, moving forward, and staying strong. 

 

halloween charms

I made these charms last night with Lydia instead of dealing with my epic to-do list. Sadie and I leave for Japan tomorrow for 2 weeks and writing down the schedule for the other two girls— carpools, rehearsals, gymnastics, and then trying to get food in the house before we go, is daunting. Oh, and pack for Japan. It's a whole lot.

So, a charm break was sorely needed and I am so happy I just chilled out for an hour to make these. The bat was inspired by a you tube video and the others I just made on the fly.

I had an unexpected costume deadline that I have been working on too, so my brain is a buzzy. I'm looking forward to just sitting on a plane for 10 hours with my eldest daughter and two good friends— I can't even wrap my brain around the whole "Japan" part until we get there.

I will be posting photos during the trip on Instagram. Sadie and I have already talked about documenting this trip for her album, she's going to mix it up with journaling, voice-to-text dictation, photos, drawing, and video. I always do a voice-to-text at the end of each day when I travel and then dump that text into a photo album. It's so wonderful for getting in all the details that are so easy to forget, especially when I make an album months after the trip.

costume work

I have been designing/sewing up a storm the last few weeks getting ready for the girls' holiday ballet production. It's been so fun and a lot of work. This is for The Portland Ballet's piece Gift Box, by Anne Mueller.

Some early sketches. We are going with white tights on the men. I am making the headpieces now for the ladies, which I love to do. I will show them soon.

Some pieces in production

Unrelated to all this ballet and costume work we have been watching some great videos on you tube:

Seeker Daily: Topical world issues. Short and easy to follow with a lot to talk about after.

The Kids React to Food series on the Bon Appétit channel: Okay, these are so great. I think we have watched them about 5 times each.

Short science based videos on Life Noggin.

And thank you so much for all your teen reading suggestions. I got quite a few at the library. And I finally read Eleanor and Park. Haunting. And Sad, but hopeful, too. I can't stop thinking about it. I had no idea what is was about until I read it. I love it when I don't know, I feel like I come to books with a better state of mind that way.

halloween peg dolls

We made some spooky peg dolls last week. I never tire of making these. I helped, but it was pretty much all Lydia. We have been watching some scarey movies to get in the mood—The Addams Family, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Sleepy Hollow, Nightmare Before Christmas, and the Corpse Bride. These are good for all the girls, although Sleepy Hollow is pretty bloody and gross and had some torture creepiness that I had to warn them about.

Halloween costumes are being prepared a bit early this year because Sadie and I are going to be gone in Japan during Halloween so I need to get the others ready before we go. Words can't describe how excited we are to go on this trip. All the girls get to choose a big trip to take before college, (with no siblings and taking one parent) and she choose Japan and I could be more thrilled! This is an understatement. It's been hard to even research because I get too excited to focus. We are going with close friends who know Japan well so I will not be left wondering the streets distracted by everything.

books recently read in the house by various family members

Every few months I print out covers of the books the girls read so they can glue them in their book journal and take notes and keep track of what they have read. So many of our books come from the library, it's hard to remember them all once they get checked back in. Bunheads was read by both older girls. It was "okay", the ballet world was harsh and realistic, and because they are in it now, it wasn't much of an escape for them.

Sadie (who will be 14 in a few days) and I just finished Looking for Alaska. Much to discuss here. We both liked it very much. Lots of smoking, drinking, death, and sexual stuff. I'm glad I read it first.

Sadie and Pete have read this, the rest of us haven't yet. They both liked it, Pete got super stressed out, but Sadie kept assuring him it ended okay.

Sadie read this. I read it, too, but a looooong time ago. It's dated for sure, and so very male, but there are a lot of points to talk about. Plus, everone has to know about The Conch. We enjyed these video critiques on Crash Course and Overly Sarcastic.

We all read this, it's sweet and nicely illustrated. The girls are big fans of all her books.

I read Perks of Being a Wallflower last summer for the first time. Sadie read it this fall, and about 100 times since then. It's her favorite book right now. Big topics. I swear it was written about my high school. But it wasn't. But it could have been.

Sadie and Delia read Wings, enjoyed it, but didn't feel compelled to continue with the series.

Okay, there are more, like what Pete, Lydia and I have been reading, but this is what is coming to mind right now-

What are your teens reading?

homemade chile mocha

I found this very short video on making a chile mocha and it looked delicious. It's much more photo-styled than my version, but whatever. I had no whipped cream. It was still delicious. I think the spice mix they they listed would be really good but I made a different one, using theirs as a guide. Mine was spicy! I think it is perfect, but Pete thinks it might have a little too much heat.

Here's my simplified version:

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1/4 teaspoon clove

I added 1/4 tsp of this mixture to 1/2 cuphot milk that had a small handful of chocolate chips melted in it and then topped it with a little water and the instant espresso (I used instant coffee, a heaping teaspoon) Delicious!

jewelry shrines are now in my shop

A bit back I was making paper mache shrines with the girls and had so much fun, I couldn't stop making them. I was debating what to put in mine and realized they would be perfect for displaying jewelry after a close friend suggested using chain to embellish them. I have made about a dozen of these, half of which are in my esty shop now. They range between $18-$40 and I think they would make lovely gifts and are such a nice way to enjoy jewelry when it's isn't being worn.

They come ready to hang (the jewelry is not included, I know it seems silly to have to say this, but you know) I will be adding more soon. They are all one of a kind and hand-painted. I spent forever mixing the gold, it's both paint and dry pigments and glows so nicely. I love how they looked grouped together on a wall. Please check the measurements, the mini ones (like the first one shown) are made from match boxes.

homemade shower jellies

The Lush enthusiasm is still abundent in the house. My daughters and their freinds went to the mall last week and one them bought a Lush Shower Jelly. It was expensive and funny. I'm not sure how you use these, but they loved them and there was much squealing. After a quick you tube search, we made our own. I was thrilled to find small plastic containers at Target, just the right size and very "factory" looking. These are really fun to make and you can use whatever liquid soap you like, so I can be a big hippie about the whole thing. They liked these homemade ones better, mostly because they could afford them but also because the Lush ones smell too strong.

what you need:

• I packet unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cup liquid body soap (unscented if you want to add essential oils)
• essentials oils (if you want to scent your own or add some to your already scented liquid soap)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup boiling water (but next time I'm going to use a 1/2 cup to see if it sets up firmer)
• food coloring
• glitter (optional, but not really)

Pour the boiling water over the gelatin and stir. Stir in the salt and the liquid soap. Pour this into your containers (one batch made 3 of these as shown in the photo) then add 1 drop food coloring, 3 drops EO and a bit of glitter and stir. Pop in the fridge for 1 hour. Done!

The girls keep these in the containers in the fridge, pop them out to use them, and then stick them back in. For some reason I have been finding bits of jelly around the house and on various surfaces. Pete got some on his pants from the sofa? No one is owning up to this.

mini plant shelf and our first back to school

I made this mini plant shelf for my mini plants. This is made from popsicle sticks and white tacky glue. I have a very mixed relationship with glue guns and try to avoid them if I can. The glue bugs me and also creates a thickness which makes it really annoying for model making. I usually use Elieens tacky glue, which dries much fast than Elmers.

There is so much going on around here right now. Fall is coming and for the first year ever, I have a child going to school. My middle one is going a performing arts school for dance. It's 6-12th grade and she is entering 6th. So, that has been a huge adjustment for all of us and will be a moving target when she starts next week. My eldest and youngest are still homeschooled. This big change has been on the horizon for about a year. She auditioned and got in right after Christmas. There was much research, talking, and adjusting to the idea. I'm so proud of her, and of all of us. I won't lie about how I felt I had been punched in the stomach when we first talked about it, but as time when on and I just listened and watched, my stomach started to settle.

I have so much to say about all this and homeschooling, unschooling, curriculum vs not, study groups—all that, but it would take forever to write and really, it's all just about doing what is right for us, our family, and each particular child. And all this changes. The only thing I am dogmatic about it not having a dogma. I'm learning a ton, trying to always keep an open mind, and wouldn't change a thing.

mini theater

I picked up this adorable kit at Collage a bit back and had so much fun putting it together. I have a mini ATC shrine kit from this same company, Coffee Break Design. They are really easy to assemble and painting and embellishing is so relaxing for me. It came with all the stars. I added the background and the Desdren trim in the front. There are so many other kits. I was going to get some more and just froze with indecision. I want to make about 5 more and display them on a shelf.

summer camping

We just got back from camping at Lost Lake and it was so beautiful and so fun. This was our first time there. I know many families go there every year so I was warned it was really busy. It was, but by Monday it was more mellow and we had our pick of watercraft to rent and we made the most of it. We stayed in tents and walked in, which was wonderful because it felt very isolated, but it did aggravate the stress fracture in my foot that I had gotten the previous weekend at the beach, that I was in denial about. I made an unwise shoe decision at the beach (who knew Birks would make hurt my feet?) and the hiking in and out of the campsite with all of our gear was probably not the best for healing. But it was still fun. However, now I am limping. The night we came home Delia fell out of a hammock, or was sort of swung out. I know there was not safe hammock play happening. She has a tough looking mild black eye I'm trying to convince her not to cover with make-up. Sadie has burnt shins and lots of bugs bites, or maybe it's a rash. Summer!

That photo of the pretty design Sadie is drawing—that's her dotting a paper towel. I had forgotten how fun that is and was the perfect fireside activity for all of us while we told very confusing ghost stories. I realized it was better to just listen than ask questions. There was some continuity problems. Crazy Eyes was my favorite. And I'm told it's "totally true."

summer stuff

It's hot again here. Most of the summer in Portland has been pretty mild, which has been lovely. It was crazy hot last night when we went to Oaks Parks. There were no bugs this year. Well, very few. And we did not see anyone throw up, unlike last year.

Along with all the summer fun:

• I need to do a book round-up soon—we all have read some good ones this summer.

• I just read this really great piece in the New York Times—questions asked of college students about intentions, values and goals. I sure wish these had been asked when I went to school. It promotes great discussions for humans, I think, regardless of higher education.

home made bath bombs

We made bath bombs yesterday and they were a huge success. I made them ages ago, before kids, but never made more. Then when I had babies, bath bombs were a bad thing. We got one as a gift and it was so heavily dyed and strongly scented— it was a mess and my baby at the time kept putting her hands in her mouth so she got a mouth full of sour salt and there was a melt down. So I kind of blocked them out of my mind.

10 years later, my middle child is smitten with some Lush bath bombs she saw and was sad about the price and the scents. I told her we could make our own. She hears this a lot and I get mixed reactions—but this time she was 100% excited. They smell much better than the ones at Lush and she added sprinkles and made multicolored ones. My youngest made a bunch too.

There are so many you tube tutorials for these, I found a few but really it was just experimenting with a basic formula.

To Make:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid (I got this in bulk at the Indian grocery store)
• 1/2 cup epsom salt
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 2-4 teaspoons water
• 1 TBL oil (we used light olive oil)
• 10 drops essential oil
• food coloring

Mix all the dry together, we used our hands with vinyl gloves. Then mix the wet together in a small cup and drizzle over the dry, mixing well to keep it from fizzing too much. You have to mix a long time. Then we added the food coloring, and then mixed again for a long time. Now, this is where is gets had to give exact amounts. It was to be wet enough to pack in into a mold and pop out. If it's too dry, it won't do that. So we added more oil or water as needed to it would hold a shape. We used silicon molds, and metal cups. If it crumbled when we tried to remove it, we added a bit more water and tried again, reusing the mix. They all worked great. Then, we let them sit out overnight to dry completely. The girls used them in foot bath and gave them a big thumbs up. Glitter may have been added to a batch as well.

making runes

This last week we have been making runes. Not all of us, the older girls are not so interested, but my youngest wild-child is all over it. I made the top two sets from air-dry clay and then painted them and/or added some chalk for color. Lydia made hers from glass mermaid tears and a paint pen. She painted the bottoms first so the rune letter wasn't visible from both sides. I think some pouches or boxes to store these will be made next. I didn't want to use polymer clay for these, although that would have worked great, I just felt these needed to be made from a natural material. I have some wood ones I bought on esty from England that are pretty great, too. These are so fun to make. You can find what the letters mean with a simple search online. I use a book from a set I got back in about 1985. It was actually my brother's book and set of runes and I don't think he knows I took it them from him and still have them.

Unrelated in every way:

This goes under the category of "Why have I never done this before?"

I was making a family favorite, crisp burritos, which I make with refried beans and realized I didn't have any. And then I thought, what the heck, why can't I make them? So, I opened two cans of beans (I used pinto and kidney) added a bunch of salsa and tossed it into the food processor. Done. I know they are supposed to be fried, but why? They were delicious and the girls didn't notice the difference (I do have one super-taster the house and nothing gets past her, but this did). So easy and no going to the store. Win.

mini cacti and succulents

I always seem to work on these at night, when it's too warm in the kitchen (we don't have AC) and I have the oven on. I just sweat and am constantly putting these little figures in the freezer because they are getting to warm to work with. But, I prevailed. There are so many tutorials on you tube for making polymer clay succulents and cacti (who knew?) and I think I watched about 5 of them and then just mashed them together in my head. They were very fun to make. I need to make a display shelf. I do have people asking what I do with all these figures I have been making. Um, I look at them and play with them, I guess? They make me happy. I also tuck them in gifts for my friends and for the girls' friends.

I have been on a small sculpture kick for the last few months, although I did have a flurry of sewing last week. I have been making small paper-mache shrines, air-dry clay runes, and more small figures. I am now tempted to make a peg doll set of Penny Dreadful characters, like my Downton Abbey set.

a new tote for summer

I wanted a new summer tote and was very inspired by this Nani Iro double gauze that I bought at Modern Domestic. l've been making bags and zip pouches so much this year, but not really for myself. I didn't use a pattern for this, just used the complete fat-quarter that was the size of the fabric. The double gauze is really light so I lined it with a canvas and interfaced it with a heavy-weight cotton. I used a contrasting fabric for inside pockets, which makes me very happy. There no closure on this because I never close my bags. Although I probably should.

I have been sewing a lot, 2 gymnastics leotards, dance shorts, pillows, zip pouches, all that. It's been fun but leotard are so fussy, they can be prefect or just horrible.

Unrelated:

I am watching both Penny Dreadful and Bojack Horseman right now and this is an unholy combination for my psyche. I am enjoying both shows quite a bit.

An incomplete list of books I have recently read.

The summer is moving fast around here. After a very hot May, it's been a very cool July. I'm not complaining. Maybe just a little. It's been too cool to swim most days—that would be my only complaint. I have been knitting, sewing, working on more art prints and some small sculpture, and reading. Finally reading. I just wasn't feeling it with the books I had going. Thank you all for your suggestions. I read a sample of The Rook, and have the ebook on hold at the library but I haven't been contacted to download it yet. The library did provide physical copies of these books, however (except, the Dan Clowes, which I bought.)

Mary Swann, by Carol Sheilds. I had read her biography of Jane Austen years ago and loved it, but had never read her fiction. This was good, but frustrating in a way. It was written in the 1980s and had a dated David Mamet style twist which I found a lttle contrived. But it was a good read despite me yelling at the book occasionally. 

Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff. I did a weird thing with this book. I read it to the middle and then read it from the end backwards to the middle and then started again from the middle to the end. I have never done anything so bold before while reading. I just was getting so annoyed with the main character in the first half (it's told in two parts by two different people, who are married to each other) I had to skip to the wife's perspective to see if I could hang with the book. And it was worth all my craziness and I'm glad I then finished it by reading it like  normal human.

Patience, by Dan Clowes. I loved this, and I love his work. It's a graphic novel and involves time travel.

Killing And Dying, by Adrian Tomine. I also love his work. This is a graphic novel of short stories. I will buy a copy of this.

 

new art print-Postal Restrictions

I'm so excited to have a new art print in my etsy shop. I've been wanting to do this one for a long time. This is a color print illustrating various restricted items to mail to various countries. All this information is real, I found it all on the USPS website. I also offer this in a Black and White version. It's 8" x 11" and all the info about the fancy paper and inks is in the description.

no one lost a finger

We made it through another 4th of July with no injuries. Well, I got one during the archery tournament, a band snap from the bow on my inside forearm that will be a horrible bruise few 2 weeks, but besides that, we are all good.

There was much debate in my brain about what to make for the dessert this year and I decided on these adorable watermelon shaped rice krispie treats with mini chocolate chips, made by the two younger girls. We saw a tutorial on Kawaii Sweet World and they were very popular. My cousin brought something like these s'mores bars which were also devoured by everyone, as was Grammie's stone fruit tea cake (recipe here, originally from Rustic Desserts.)

Thank you so much for the oil orders, I hope they are traveling well in the heat. I'm adding some more new items to my etsy shop, including an art print that I will blog about soon in more detail. It feels good to get some of this creative work out of my brain and out in the world.

lemon curd (again)

Okay, due to some impulsive photo deleting, I am using photos from old post. I wanted to share the easiest and best lemon curd recipe, and searched my own blog making sure I hadn't done this before (I had) but the link to the recipe is no longer good, so I'm just going to type it in here. I made a amazing birthday cake for Lydia, a yellow cake with lemon curd in the middle and a buttercream frosting, but I don't have a photo (again, the deleting) so you have to trust me. It was delicious.

Lemon curd is one of those things I love and can't buy because it just doesn't taste right. But all the recipes are too rich (too many eggs yokes) for me. This one is perfect, doesn't require extra egg yolks, and is lighter. I never use a double boiler either, just a good enamel sauce pan.

Easy Lemon Curd Recipe-

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (and zest)

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup butter 

To make this add the first 3 ingredients and heat it all up and stir a lot until it gets thick. This won't take long. Then take it off the heat and add the butter and stir it until melted. I like to use it this way, hot, over french toast, otherwise you can keep in the the fridge and use it cold.

We went blueberry picking over the weekend and we had fresh blueberries with lemon curd and a little whipped cream on top—delicious.

bend, oregon & surrounding areas

Earlier this month we spent a week in Sunriver and explored the surrounding areas more than we normally do. Usually the girls like to swim so much that it's hard to break away, but it was much cooler this year which was really nice because we were able to do hikes and activities we have been always meaning to do, but hadn't gotten the chance to.

One of the highlights was rock hounding at Richardson's Rock Ranch in Madras. It was so fun. The weather was perfect and the drive was pretty easy, although on the ranch a 4x4 would have been nice. We were fine, but if it had rained at all we would have gotten stuck. We dug for thunder eggs (they provided all the tools) and were able to get them cut open, which was thrilling. The girls got one cut each, the rest we brought home and will need to get cut here. We got about 20. I also bought some amazing rocks that they have imported from all around, not just from their ranch. It was so amazing to see all these beautiful rocks just piled up. I'm sure we will go rock hounding again soon. In the meantime, I need to get the family over to the Rice Museum of Rock and Minerals. I can't believe we haven't been there yet.

Unrelated but very important:

I just now discovered Zinio Library. Multnomah County Library has partnered with them which means, with my library card number, I can view and download magazines with no limit and no expiration. Like, a lot of magazines—current ones. Ones I look at only if I am on an airplane or at the beach. It's been so wonderful to read these on the sofa at home. I feel like I am on vacation all the time. Sort of. I do miss looking at paper, but still. It's pretty great. All the info about how to use it is here. Another super big shout out for how amazing our libraries are!

new oils for sale!

I am so happy to have to new oils for sale in my etsy shop!

These new oils are ones I made a bit ago, for myself, and can't get enough of them. One is a new scent—Earth Perfume Oil, which is a magical blend of rich E.O.'s that is quite bold. There's a full description in the shop, but it's wonderful and sensual. It also fades, as natural scents do, so don't worry about it being too strong all day.

The other is a treatment oil—Thrive Treatment Oil, which I blended a bit back and have been using all spring. It's an uplifting oil for the mind and heart. It's great for an easing an upset stomach, and calming nerves. I like to use it first thing in the morning. It helps me wake up and shed any fuzzy/sleepy brain weirdness.

They are all organic, as always, and also priced fairly. I keep all my prices low. This means I can't sell my oils wholesale (sadly), but I feeling strongly about selling these at a fair price. Beauty products are inflated in price because it gives the illusion they work better— but don't believe the hype! These are amazing, as as wonderful as the big name/popular brands selling them at triple the price.

Happy summer!

treasures

We made a trip to Ed's House of Gems and Paxton Gate, both here in Portland.  We can spend hours looking at and playing with rocks, crystals, and gemstones. We had never been to Paxton Gate before—very fancy! I know I have linked to these sites before, but we also love getting science supplies at Acorn Naturalists and American Science & Surplus.

sketchbook

For about a month now, during the day, I have been working in a sketchbook drawing and using paper college. I've been using these same shapes in my paintings, monoprints, quilts, and fabrics for about 15 years now. I keep thinking I will branch out, but these forms keep coming back to me, which is fine. I've been really enjoying working small, with no worries or thoughts about what these will become, just making them and moving on to the next page. I usually work at the kitchen table while the girls are working on reading or math, so I am near by to help, but also am not all up in their business. You can see more of them on my instagram.

The white pen (I have to use this pen) and grey background paper are key for me here. I need to keep my choices limited.