Sewing and Gardening in New Hampshire

It seems like cheating to buy a beautiful flower at Wal-Mart and have it there growing before my perennials are even an inch out of the defrosting earth yet. Three dollars of beauty. I hope this ranunculus lasts all summer.

Orange and peach are my favorite flower colors.

Instant azalea also.  Our azalea from last year hasn't even begun to return to life yet. I gave it some water today. This one must have traveled by truck from somewhere in the south.

I sewed another lens case this morning. I'm still working out the kinks in my design. I'm using all my imperfect ones.

Ubi, our dog, has a mystery illness. Tom suspects lyme disease. She has discomfort in her limbs and can't jump up or go down the stairs. Her vet appointment is tomorrow. Now that I have read a little about lyme disease in dogs, I think I should have taken her in last week. Wish us luck. This might be why I've been feeling low. I've been carrying her around figuring out whether she has symptoms or not and watching her every move. I hate taking dogs to the vet when there is nothing wrong but I should have been quicker to go to the vet this time. Lyme disease is talked about so much that somehow I overlooked and dismissed it almost completely until reading about it today. Ugh.  Fast forward to tomorrow already and fix my little dog.

Raking away the seed heads now. Purple coneflower.

The yellow tulips bloomed today.

I spent most of the day sewing one thing, a notebook with an antique button and lacy handkerchief.  So it should sell for about 100 bucks.  I wish.  But it is nice.  This is my first sewing with antique items. I'd like to incorporate some recycling and upcycling concepts into my sewing.
A couple of pockets.  Not that hard to sew but somehow very time consuming.

Sewing and gardening were nice ways to spend the day. I will likely be doing more of this in the days to come since the Toyota dealership called to say the new steering rack they put in my vehicle is defective. The new one won't be in for days, meaning I'll have to use a rental car. On the bright side, it's all under warranty. On the other hand, I don't like driving rental cars around so much. I miss my own mama-mobile.  

A totally regular mom day

It was an OK day but not that great, sort of like Spring is a nice change from winter but it really isn't as cool as summer.  Like these tulips, my day was just going along getting things done but not experiencing anything particularly colorful or enjoyable. Just working.

Cleaned house. Did laundry. Dropped the car for another repair service. Got groceries. 

Eventually got out to enjoy some flower gardening.  The large hawks were overhead again. Oh yes, there are two now. They are quite vocal. We think they have decided to nest in the woods across the brook. We are being extra cautious with our cat, who is about bite-size to these big birds. I suspect they might go the slow doves around here and any of the big fat toads and such creatures on the forest floor. Anything but my cat, please. Interesting to us that the birds are curious to peer down on us from tall trees as we work in the gardens.
Small annuals. It's a shaded spot but everything that has been planted here has grown well. The previous owner had hostas. I put in perennials. Everything was sort of bushy and visually inappropriate for the location, a raised bed at the front door. This year I'll try colorful, blooming annuals. More coming in a couple weeks after all danger of frost has passed.

Ellie lost a baby tooth for the first time today. She jumped with joy at this event. Then she walked around drooling for a while before figuring out it was ok to close her mouth and proceed as usual. She drooled on her clothes and this photo was taken en route to the bath tub.

The Summer Wind

Unusually hot day, in the 90s, here in New Hampshire at the end of April. Ellie and I set out for errands and a new destination.

The big pool. After months of delay and deliberation, we joined a fitness club. There are 4 pools, including this indoor pool with splash play ground and a water slide. 

All I could think about was the revival of the outdoor courts. Why they would choose to carry heavy bags of clay and prepare the courts on the hottest day of Spring is beyond my knowledge. Coincidence of scheduling? Maybe they want a nice tan? Maybe they want the clay to go on dry and soak up some rain tonight?  I signed up for a ladies tennis league. Can't wait to have some fun out there.
I picked up Julia super early from preschool so she could come home and play in the backyard. It's fun at preschool but also tiring and a bit stressful.  Coming home early seemed a good idea for a super hot day.  She wasn't happy with the sun so she was hiding under her hat. She won't let me put up the shade screen on her window.  And she complained at the sound of the air conditioner.  "Turn off the fan, mama," she said.  I hope she adapts to summer routines soon.

The sand box was the coolest place to be.

BlackJack is testimony to this fact. He is thrilled with the shaded, cool sand.  He rolls about. He only gets up to chase a blowing leaf. 
In the wind. The crazy wind. sends Julia and the dog and the cat all running for mama's protection. Such strong winds today as the warm air blows away and a storm front comes through, taking us down to 30s tonight and 60s tomorrow. That's Spring for you.

An Almost Quiet Day

Today the kids were at preschool so the house was quiet. I was up to my usual mom day of laundry, sewing and photo-uploading.

Here is an old photo of me (in the yellow dress) with my cousin Amy (in the blue dress) and our Great Aunt Polly. Actually I guess it was Amy's Grandma Polly and my Great Aunt Polly. She died when I was still young so my memories are faint. I recall she was able to stand on her head. She lived in a high rise apartment in San Diego, which was very exotic to my perspective. She had a gentle manner to children and a funny laugh. I can't recall anything she ever said because I was young. I only remember the way she had about her.

In the sewing room, new fabric arrives by post. Don't know yet what to sew with this print, named "Scandinavian Kitchen."

I sewed a slew of mermaid purses because all my others sold out.

All through the day, my quiet, rambling thoughts were routinely interrupted by a haunting, moaning, screech from the sky. We often get hawks overhead but this one was insistent. He saw me out in the yard a few times but paid no mind to me. Eventually, his calls won my full attention and a photo shoot.
I believe he is a broad winged hawk. Follow this link at All About Birds to check it out.

More on Broad Winged Hawks:

Google's Images

Wikipedia's Explanation

What Bird

Sunday at Home

It was just a thought. If I got all the play dough toys out and a couple new colors of dough, that perhaps I could sit next to Julia and do the crossword while sipping my iced latte. Unfortunately it didn't fly. She said it was imperative that I do several dough related tasks. I never got back to the crossword. 

Ubi got her Spring hair trim and wash.

BlackJack was happy not to need a hair cut or shower. He spent half the day in the loft over the garage. We suspect he is on the lookout for mice who might sneak in there through the garage. Clever cat. 

During Julia's nap time, I did laundry, cleaned the sewing room and entertained Ellie. All I could sew was this dress. It was already sewn. I just added the mermaid scraps for interest. My first embellished clothing item. 

We made apple crisp. Ellie helped peel and core the granny smith apples.
A taste of summer. Even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

The Sunny Simple Good Life

The sun and vibrant gold clouds promised a good day. It was summer sun. The temperature rose up to the 80s. Bright light everywhere and Mama is feeling groovy. How do you like my new window decorations in the kitchen? I've only tried to find something nice for this window for over 2 years. Nothing has worked out but this might be the thing that works. I love the colored glass. I'm sure there is some reason why you can't plant herbs in glass candle jars but I'm going to try it and see what happens.

We got out the bikes.

Riding in the driveway was such a big hit with the girls that we decided to jump in the SUV and take the bikes to the lake trail nearby. 

When we got home, Julia napped for 3 hours. Moms like it when this happens.

It was a good time to try out my new lens. I ordered it after reading loads of reviews on the other lens I got for my birthday gift.  This one was quite a bargain at 80 bucks and the reviews suggested I couldn't live without it.

Oh yes, it is love. True love. This is a prime lens. That means it only has one frame size. You don't turn a knob to decide where the edges of the picture will be. You have to walk closer or back up until your subject fills the frame. Then it will autofocus for you. Not having to zoom around lets the lens work better.  The glory... many glories... many, many great reasons why this cheap little lens is my new favorite.  For starters: it's fast. My other lens with the macro and wide angle options was completely unable to take this picture of Ellie on the swings. It was all blur. But when I change to the prime lens, the picture works fine.  Better than fine. 
Another reason: soft portraits. How soft is Julia's hair and complexion in this simple photo? Look at the out of focus sunset light in the background, twinkling into circles as it blurs out of my frame. Good complexion, good around the eyes, nice skin tones.  This isn't just the light or the camera or the photographer - it's the lens.  A cheap lens, the Canon 50mm prime lens, 1.8, autofocus for my old digital rebel body.  
Not that I don't need my other lenses too.  But if I had it all to do over again in life, I would have gotten this prime lens stuff going at the very beginning.  Get one.  You have to have one.

Anyway it was a really nice, simple day. 

A New Eclectic

When your goal for the day is to walk by the ocean, chances are you will have a good day. 

I went to walk, to refresh, to let go of stresses and revive myself before the weekend (i.e. endless multi-tasking for the benefit of young children).

Today's beach house photo sets the imagination to wander.

Ocean sounds, fresh air, soothing colors: soon I felt relaxed and ready for some photography. I love the way the lines on this rock lull my mind, which ultimately finds rest on the horizon.

Or this weathered wood near the sea side. Colors and textures near the ocean are stark, often standing separated from any other color or texture. 

You aren't really walking along the sea shore if you don't touch the surf. The water was a pleasure to look at but instantaneously pain inducing cold.

After a long walk (in flip flops, not the best choice of footwear), I was mentally refreshed. Couldn't even remember what my stress was in the first place.  The perfect thing to do then, on route back home, was to take a new back road instead of the highway and stumble upon a super-inspirational, fabulous shop.  Christine's Crossing it was called, in Rye, NH.  Such a delight for women to find these places of good taste in our local region.  
It was one-stop shopping: beautiful eclectic home dec, antiques and unique comfortable clothing. The antique button section alone took my breath away.  Oh what I might sew with my finds...   

It is more than a day off if you use your day off for inspiration. 

We've got to draw on all sources, all our experiences, all our interests. Think outside the box. Piece and pull it all together to find the way forward into a new eclectic. 

Mama gets it going

Get these kiddos off to preschool so they can play in a total kid zone.

Transitioning from kid-morning to mama's-side-job, I sewed this notebook. This is my first foray into "pop art" on top of functional, simple items. I'm encouraging myself to expand my artistic freedom and play with the materials.
The brook flows behind our house. A cold, Spring wind blows. Still no color to the landscape. Many buds. No leaves. We wait. 

How appropriate that these two little squares of relatively expensive fabric should arrive just as I was sewing a purse with other fabric by the same designer. I think it's Anna Maria Horner. See her blog on the sidebar over there if you are interested. She's a mama who's fabric art took off into fame and fortune. Well, she says not so much fortune. Anyway she's a good example of a modern mama who's also a retro girl. 

Ubi is not impressed with the fabric dancing in the breeze. She is giving me sign language for "my ball is stuck in this tree."  

Baby sweet pea flowers enjoying their afternoon on the patio.

More sewing. And laundry. Should I call my day "tons of laundry?" or "busy sewing"? Meanwhile, I am procrastinating on taking a walk for my health and baking an apple pie.

Watermelon is a much easier snack to make than apple pie.