B is for Bike.

M is for Missing ... K & J!

K is coming home on Tuesday night! Wa-hooo! I haven't laughed once, not once! since he has been at camp! Boo hoo hoo. Well, maybe once... I miss his silliness, having his friends around, his singing, talking about the news with him and the cello! He broke his right middle finger at camp, not sure how that will affect his cello-ing. His hand is taped up like a sharp shooter.

Tonight N & M were singing a song, well, 2 songs, not at all similar to each other though sung at the same time ... for J! They miss him the Most they say. He is both of their [?] best friend and their favorite brother. I can write this because I know that tomorrow they will say that K is their favorite ... what a fickle family of favorites. I miss his sweetness, his spontaneous kisses, his imagination and believe it or not his whistling! I also miss reading to him.

We've saved a few weeks worth of the funny pages for them both to fight over!

I don't miss the extra laundry, which I am getting 100% caught up on -- now that I've rinsed my last tie dye ever. School starts Wednesday for J! (C & I are really happy for him. The new school will be fantastic!) I'll just drop J & N off and take K & J's bags from camp directly to the Soap Box Laundromat and let Joyce work her magic -- then I'll come home and incinerate the boys' shoes. :P

House Update: My goal was to have the house "landed" before school starts. Every room.

GARAGE: Getting more and more there. H Bike, huge fan, wire equipt., tie dye materials, clay etc. now have a place to call their own. The entire space is now overrun with school supplies & donations, and of course the tub/misc. stuff to sell. Tie dye and clay are neat and tidy and put away. Still need to move and sell or donate the tub, then I can park INSIDE the garage. Huge sofa-holding-cardboard boxes are gone. Donation stuff needs to go.

DINING ROOM: Almost useable for working in. Will have Project party to celebrate the landed room. Sewing projects are in boxes, fabric is folded and tidy, do-dads are in boxes. To mend pile needs attention and to be done, at night.

LAUNDRY ROOM: So close! The floor is visible (a flood helped). Must iron all the wadded up stuff and fabric for quilt edges. Moved it into the family room, which violates a new rule: All laundry stays in Laundry Room -- didn't want to get dye on it as I rinsed out the tie dye. Amazing amount of clothes, table cloths, towels, getting rid of lots of it actually.

MASTER BEDROOM: Perfection. Simple. Empty. Clean.

ENTRY WAY: Clean. Counter useable for the "don't forget as you go out the door" spot! L------ville is up and looks fun, complete with new architecture, touched up buildings, stars and N's new fort. :)

I is for I Spy quilts!

This is a picture of my very young and stylish mother blowing out the candles on her birthday cake almost a year ago. It was a significant birthday and seemed to call for a special token or gift to mark the occasion. With the exception of my grandmothers, she is the one of the best ever.

I had been thinking about what I/we could do for her for about 6 years, meanwhile I kept special but worn out clothing that she and my father had given the children... one day the idea came to me: an I-Spy quilt. Finally all the velour pjs, alligator swim trunks, torn elegant shirts for boys had a place to be.

My parents, like many others', are IMPOSSIBLE to give gifts to, for any reason. My mother puts up with handmade goodies but really hates it when I spend my time making stuff for her. Really. I knew this project wouldn't be a hit with her. Her idea of domestic abuse is crafts, canning, sewing, decorations-- anything not Idea related. She enjoys travel and that includes traveling light. She and I are on the same quest to rid our lives of clutter. However, I like to make cool significant/useful things (Duh.) and although I rarely give them to people (topic for another post) this one, even though it would be coolly received, is what I had to do.

Here are the pieces on the dining room floor, not sewn yet...planning, arranging... (Late night photo shoot)

KISS principal in action. Keep It Simple Sister.
Each square is 6"x6". I'm not the most clever quilter...

Once the top was finished, a cool woman in Provo (Who taught me all about "Religionists" in the process! That was cool and helped me understand some men in my ward.) quilted this for me. She had a lot of fun and drew with the stitches things/patterns that supported the fabrics.

Voila, the finished product! What surprised me is that although my Mum left it in the apartment in SLC and my Dad didn't see it for maybe months, S, K, J, N and M LOVED it. Really. They loved watching me work on it, they all helped with it, they loved learning about the process and they adored the finished product. Gama didn't want to not take it and seem ungrateful (though she might not have really wanted to take it), but all the children wanted to keep it!

To make an I-spy quilt you need a lot of one or 2 squares of funky fabric. Gama's quilt is 12(6"squares) x 12 = 144 different fabrics. You are left with a lot extra... that's where the next idea hatched from... Christmas 2008 everyone gets their own quilt, that is it. No toys, no books, no clothes, no skies, no i-pods, no cash, no nuttin'. (I am filling their stockings with cool goodies from NYC!) This might not be what the economy needs but it is what we need. Less stuff, hopefully more meaning.

My bestest friend Ashley liked the idea and so we are making more together. We will make 9 quilts, plus possibly one for her beloved nephew and maybe the start of a few (smaller ones) to donate. Last night while the men went to priesthood meeting she and I snuck into my ward building, hung out in the primary room, turned the volume off and got to work. With laser like focus, we sorted all the fabric that we have cut so far, divvied it up for each child. We are short about 50 fabrics, although between the two of us I think we have them. They too need to be washed, pressed, cut, sorted.

The clock is ticking... These need to be assembled and quilted, and paid for (Gasp) and then the edges need to be bound. We meet every Wednesday and hopefully work on our own during the week.

I am also really excited about my idea for the Beehive Bazaar this year -- hope Noelle and Molly are too. Heidi and I want to have a space together, full of cool and a bit random things. More about that another time.

Right now I'm off to make Ratouille for Russell. Enjoying the rain and looking forward to Conference. Grateful for the time to write in a quiet house.

Did you hear Brother Anderson's talk Saturday morning? He spoke about Hadley, that is N's friend! He was riveted to the television listening to the Conference Talk!!! Whoa. At the end of the talk he said, "Hadley did a really cool thing!" She did. We had tears streaming down our cheeks at the end of the talk.

Bows for a Boy Birthday.

Bow & Arrow Set
Willow Tree Toys

S is for 72 hours.

Someones' 42nd birthday is just around the corner... This is the birthday of the 72 hour kit since C is anxious that we are not as prepared as we should be.

I've found some very unusually practical things for his backpack. A huge match that is a lighter, a mini saw, elegant paper soap, a cast iron dutch oven for weight-lifting and cooking with weird ingredients (7-Up/ketchup)... but in dark times how are we going to cook the rabbits that we are raising, in case of an emergency? (True: our end-of-the-world neighbors did that. Their rabbits were part of their food storage.)
Wouldn't this be lovely? http://www.greenergrassdesign.com/to_go_porcelain_table_grill_by_evasolo.html

F is for a Fish (Plate) tale.

Here is a fish plate tale. No wait, here is the tale of the souvenir fish plate that Rona received from her friend.

Rona has a d-i-l that took a trip to Mexico. Instead of bringing back a lovely, garish piece of silver jewelry the gal brought Rona a stinkin' fish plate. This is an oft told story... Jump ahead: R's stylish pal went on a trip and found this lovely fish plate and told Rona that she brought something back for her, so fantastic that she'd have to open it in front of her beloved M-F a.m. class. It was in a huge diaper box. It was a BIG cool thing! She was so excited. Rona was counting down the minutes until her friend arrived.

Then she opened it! Wow. What a disappointment. Almost as bad as when her d-i-l cut her grand daughter's hair, wacky short... Rona was cruel, but not vicious, that day.

Everyday there is a story, or she relays the latest celebrity news. Weird celebrity baby names, what to do/say on dates, her whacked out cravings. There is never a dull moment. Latest: Prevention magazine says to wear rings to look younger, gives your hands interest, makes you look hip. R is all over that and was wear a great (!) big piece of starkly bling on her hand for the class. Another health tip: get some sleep. The more you sleep the thinner you will be.

L is for Love this!

H is for Happy, Happy Father's Day!

There are some great fathers about this family. Here is a shout-out to two of them! Big kisses and hugs! Bapa I wish I could give you the kisses in person. Soon? I'll figure out the printer too! Promise.



Meanwhile, C is happy (seen here as a beast of burden, with emo-style hair [S's pal's commentary]... just what every Dad wants for Father's Day: his very own riding lawn mower. Seriously. Here he is rockin' to the Flobots while happily mowin'& a growin'...

W is for Wrap. Wrapity wrap wrap.

Getting things done, wrapping long over-due gifts. This was a wedding gift for a couple that was married a long while ago (6 months.) This afternoon I 'm wrapping 2 baby gifts. Drives me nuts that I procrastinate/forget about gift wrapping/giving/mailing. What is the point? As with everything else in life: JUST DO IT, damn it.

This was a package I sent to my brilliant art-school pal Jillian. Groan... she is married and now has 2 children in the time it has taken me to send one, (multiple) gifts. And these are people I care a lot about! Jilly especially. M helped me decorate the package for Roman, Jilly's son.

G is for goofy Gift ideas from our pal Valerie!!!

First, a brief intro: The following read by a funny 12 year old may be dangerous to your health. K read this to me last night at the Target parking lot and I was laughing so hard it was scary.

"It does NOT say 'you IS!'" "Does TOO! Look!" As he read the Valerie's article in a dry disbelieving way, laughing and practicing his delivery, I was busting up. Good thing we were parked. We went to Target to find some cool gifts for his favorite teachers and friends... wound up with mini tubs of Play-doh. Thought they could use some holiday dough! (His to/from cards do not(NOT) say that.)

Really, I can't write to the DMN paper. I look forward to Wednesdays too much. Actually, at first I was disappointed because the lead article, not her column, was about old Mountain Fuel and Utah Power recipe books. I agreed with Valerie! Those books were pretty cool. Most of the recipes that she chose to print were kinda odd though, for example the Corned Beef Cheese Ball that calls for canned corned beef.

Delight your neighbors with fun, clever gifts

By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007 12:14 a.m. MST

"Neighbor gifts" are already showing up on doorsteps and desks. Many ideas have been passed around numerous times, often with an added twist.

For instance, the two-liter bottle of soda pop lends itself to lots of tag lines: "May your holidays bubble over with fun!" or "Pop, pop, fizz, fizz, oh what a great neighbor you is." Or "May your Christmas be merry and Sprite" or "We're soda-lighted to have you as our neighbor."

Last year I received another variation: "Seven Up-Lifting Thoughts," with seven thoughts listed that were, indeed, uplifting.

seven thoughts listed that were, indeed, uplifting.

If you're not into soft drinks, here are other simple ideas:

• Windshield scraper: "Amid snow or sleet or hail or slush, Merry Christmas from all of us!"

• Almond Joy candies: "Here's wishing you joy at Christmas."

• Long-handled grill matches or gas lighter: "To a matchless friend, may your Christmas be bright."

• Cake mix and wooden spoon: "Not a creature was stirring. ..."

• Muffin mix: "You're getting muffin for Christmas!"

• Ice cream scoop: "Have a cool yule!"

• A box of Ho-Ho cupcakes: "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas."

• A can of nuts: "I just go nuts at Christmas."

• Small jars of spices or spice blends: "Seasonings Greetings."

• A scented candle: "Scenting you holiday greetings!" or "May your Christmas be bright!"

• Holiday washcloth: "We wash you a Merry Christmas!"

• Bubble gum: "We chews to wish you a Merry Christmas!" or "May your holidays bubble over with fun!"

• Frozen cookie dough: "Here's a little extra dough for Christmas" or "We've done the mixing, so you can cut up in the kitchen."

• Flavored butter or a jar of jam: "Spreading cheer this time of year."

• Dried or frozen pasta: "Have a pasta-tively happy holiday!"

• A hunk of cheese and grater: "To a grate neighbor from your cheesy friends next door."

• A basket with herbal tea, cocoa mixes or bath items: "For when you feel like a basket case."

• Hershey's Kisses in a wire whisk: "We whisk you a Merry Kiss-mas."

• Oven mitt filled with candies: "We ad-mitt you're a great neighbor!" or "Thanks for your helping hand" or "Merry Christmas from our pad to yours."

• Chex Party Mix: "Santa always Chex his list."

• Juice pitcher filled with candy canes: "We pitcher you raising a little cane during the holidays."

• A loaf of bread: "We're not loafing around! Merry Christmas!"

• Ready-to-bake pizza: "To someone with pizzazz."

• Oranges (or a chocolate orange): "Orange you glad we're friends?"

• Homemade divinity: "May your holiday be divine."

• Tins of flavored popcorn: "Just poppin' in to say Merry Christmas" or "Merry Christmas from your corny neighbors!"

W is for Willow Tree Toys. Wow.

Some lovely children are getting lovely toys this holiday season from Willow Tree Toys. Insomnia has its up side to be sure ... interruption free internet shopping.

The barn pictured above is not something we are getting. FUD has generously given us a few awesome open-able play architectural structures. This one is just so beautiful. I would want it as a focal point in my family room. The "blue sky" [a dreamy eventuality] plans for a studio/pavilion in our backyard looks slightly similar to this.

J is getting an archery set for Christmas from Willow Tree Toys.

This season is not about getting stuff, although I've done tons of that while decorating the house for the home tour on the 15th... more about that next post. Each of the children is getting a gorgeous snuggly blanket and about one thoughtful toy/item. Many of the items are from Germany. Long before the China + Lead in the toy scare I decided that we have enough. And, as FUD puts it, I decreed 2007 as the year of the "Toy Reduction Act". NO toys for Christmas is cruel and unusual. A few toys are fine. I love toys, it is in my blood. In keeping with the TRA and my heritage I thought I'd steer my shopping towards Willow Tree Toys, HearthSong and my favorite, Magic Cabin Dolls. On Tuesday night S and I went to a sale of German toys, and exquisite blankets that fit the bill.

S & K aren't so much into toys these days. Brilliant, yet bonkers, K is working hard to avoid a lump of coal...

G is for Great Gifts, ahhhh.

Recently we were invited to a wedding of a very clever, funny, young man (who likes to ski, a lot). We have known him for a long time and are happy that he has found and married the wonderful young lady of his dreams. Hearing that he was engaged I kept my antennae out for a perfect gift for him/them. His word is "spatical". This is what I found, the "free-loader fork". A simple invention to help yourself get more of the good stuff, on the other person's plate, where you know it tastes better. It is a fork with a telescoping handle, dishwasher safe.

Could there be a more perfect wedding gift? The first thing you learn as a married person is that your plate is not your own. I gave them two so that they could steal more equally.

N is for Nuts, as in, "This place is nuts."

Check out this craft site: http://www.craftbits.com/

My favorite is the Shrinky Candy Jar gift? 'Eh. This is American ingenuity at its best: take a lovely bag of candy, put it in a hot oven, melt it, bag, candy and all. Take it out, shape it, put a ribbon on it and presto! you have a GREAT! gift. Ugh. No thanks. I am laughing as I type, "Oh, really, you shouldn't have! Really."

Sisters Skinny that is one for you! Great diet tool, gross out your friends with melted plastic in their favorite candy!

Today is C's 41st birthday. If you are reading this and you know where we live, drop by for a mini disco tonight, alright alright! 6:30 - 9:30 FHE lesson is on: man is that he might have joy.