Links~So SEW!
It’s been busy around here! The daily blog has been put on the back burner for a bit- have you missed me?
I’ve managed to get caught up on reading and thought I’d share some links with you:
Recipes:
Penne Rigate with Spinach and Garlic Cream Sauce from Posy Gets Cozy
Pistachio and Lemon Bites shared by Cream Puffs in Venice
The Pioneer Woman Cooks Pots de Creme
Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Loaves from Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen
Photography:
Di at Designer’s Block shares Fairy Tale photography by Eugenio Recuenco
Terry photo-documents the importance of first impressions at Bent Objects
I may just have to learn Photoshop now! PhotoJojo has provided a link for Mac keyboard “skins” (covers) that show keyboard shortcuts to make things easier…
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Thanks to coupons at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and Joann’s, I’ve made some affordable and oh-what-a-treat purchases this week to see me through the rest of the summer and into the beginning of the school year. I found Amy Karol’s (find her at Angry Chicken) “Bend-the-Rules Sewing” book…aprons, coasters, purses, and lap quilts, here I come!
I also picked up Therese Laskey’s “Softies” so I can make some cool characters for my toddler and my students (I love the robot and ice cream sandwich!)…
Some edge punches by Martha:
And a much-needed desk caddy (on a lazy Susan):
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I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend as much as we did!
Channeling Captain Random
No, no clear path to follow in this train of thought today…random, random, random!
* My morning routine is seriously going to have to change once we get back to Oz this summer: up with toddler (today at three!), having coffee, reading blogs/news/emails, making breakfast, starting a load of laundry (and folding the load left in the dryer overnight), unloading the dishwasher, making beds, straightening up bathrooms, opening the blinds to let the sunshine in, vacuuming, getting dressed… then going down the to-do list of errands to run or complete. I’m thinking those things aren’t going to happen once I’m back to teaching! My solution? My family’s least favorite words: “delegate” and “distribute responsibilites.” That’s going to be a rude awakening…
* I haven’t finished reading A New Earth yet. I’m having to complete it in stages due to my mommy routine with the toddler, our preparations for moving, and the time required to really think about Tolle’s assertions. I’ve skimmed through it once, and am now going chapter by chapter, downloading the Oprah podcasts after each one to help me rethink the material. Some of it can be a bit difficult, but it’s challenging in a positive way, and feels, at least to me, relevant. I’ve recognized bits, pieces, even huge chunks of myself in the book in regard to Ego: my material possessions, my job, my role in the friendships I choose, and the goals I’ve had for my physical health. Tolle describes the imbalance of the world’s resources as a result of the “egoic entities” (corporations, governments) whose only goal is to acquire more, have more, take more… And he offers an exercise on familiarizing yourself with your “inner body,” (page 52) by focusing on the “feeling of aliveness” in your hands, or just your feet, “going there with your attention to noticing it.”
It’s a good read. A good think.
* I love encountering new-to-me-terms or phrases. In the latest blog from Cakespy “Donut Speak,” the author(s) try to determine which term or spelling is correct: doughnut or donut. There are arguments for and against either, but what caught my eye was the following quote: “Kenneth G. Wilson, in The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, says: ‘Doughnut is the conventional spelling, ‘donut’ a variant used in advertising or signs and as eye dialect.’” Yes, the emphasis is mine. Eye dialect. As a teacher, I flood my classroom with environmental print year after year. Students add to it, and often greet me in the morning with “Teacher, teacher, guess what I saw? That big yellow thing at McDonald’s is really the letter M!” and the like. “Quik-Mart” instead of Quick Mart. “Sammies” instead of sandwiches. “Drive Thru” instead of Drive Through.
Eye dialect. I like it.
*Mama Luxe at An Army Wife’s Life shared a link to Military Wives’ Best Tips for Dealing with a Spouse’s Deployment which I thought I’d pass along as well. I’ve lived in military communities for the past five years, but am aware that there are large civilian communities that might only vaguely understand the enormity of what “those Army wives” (or members of other military branches) go through each time a spouse is deployed. Yes, there are “Army husbands” too!
It’s not easy, and yes, it may be that our own family will experience at least one more deployment in the next two years. If I start getting weepy a year-and-a-half from now, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
* I’m anxiously awaiting my teaching contract in the mail. Not knowing which school I’ll be at or which grade I’ll be teaching has pushed me to either extreme of the pendulum swing that mostly encompasses my job: contemplating which scrapbook papers I want to use for my lesson plan book cover, and reading blog articles such as “The Surge Against First Graders,” reposted at Schools Matter. Parents might find the lesson plan book cute, but they should also follow the links in “The Surge” article. Really.
* Are there any colleges or universities that require Ethics in Education as a class? Seriously, I’d like to know.
I’m off to crochet!
Sleepy Time
My sleep habits:
*Long-gone are the days when I could stay up for forty-eight hours, and still be productive and pleasant. Like twenty years ago long-gone.
*Toddlers and teens need extra sleep. So does this extra tired mommy of a toddler and teen. Unfortunately, there’s a conspiracy working against me: if I get to bed by nine, the toddler wakes up at one…two-thirty. Three-forty, four-fifty, etc. If the toddler only wakes once, upon my return to bed my husband’s shake-the-house-and-rattle-the-china-in-the-dining-room snores kick in, miraculously.
My Daddy Snores
*I haven’t been able to sleep in for years. Many friends and family can actually *sleep* extra hours each weekend or when they’re on vacation, but not me. If I have to be up at five each morning during the week for work, I’m up at five on Saturday and Sunday. If I’ve been out of bed, dressed and productive by seven each day throughout the school year, so too will I be up and puttering around the house accomplishing something, anything, during summer break. After two-and-a-half months of summer vacation have finally settled themselves into my routine, I will sleep in once or twice three days before school starts again, and yes, then find myself dragging as I set up my classroom and attend professional development meetings. Murphy’s Law lives at my house.
*I run through my mental checklist before bed each night: did I lock the doors? Set up the coffee pot? Start the dishwasher? Make sure the door to the litter box is open for the cat’s evening activities? Brush my teeth? Blow out the candles? Check on the toddler?
*During both of my stay-at-home-mommy years, I’ve ended up resorting to afternoon naps with the then infant now toddler. Naps are only for students when I’m back to work.
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Here’s a pretty little sleep mask by HeadtoToe:
Though my twisted sense of humor also finds the “nightmare sleep masks” made by FreakyOldWoman entertaining:
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Show and Share Thursday: Bear With Me
Thankfully, these don’t growl:
I mentioned in a previous Show and Share Thursday post that my husband has a thing for bears. Consequently, so do I!
The first bear figurine to mark our relationship was the one with our favorite animal posed at a computer desk. The reason I purchased it was because one of the first photos I’d ever seen of my husband had been of him sitting, leg crossed over, at his computer:
One of the first holidays we celebrated together was Christmas (in Alaska), so naturally the snow globe had to join our technically proficient bear.
When we married, we wanted a bear family that matched our own (little did we know that cub number 4, our toddler, would arrive two years after we were wed!), so we adopted the bear couple, a standing bear for my stepson, the pair of bears playing (it’s actually a napkin ring!) for my two children, and the extra bear because he was too cute to leave at the store (it’s probably what guaranteed the toddler’s addition to the family!):
My husband had this bear tucked away in his bachelor belongings:
…and we purchased this bear family on the road trip from Oz to the Bordertown last summer:
We hadn’t found a new bear to add to our collection for quite a few months, and then lo and behold, Polly sent us the cutest coaster set/figurine that I’ve turned into a candleholder:
We are always on the lookout for a new bear to add to our collection~ yes, we’re “beary” happy when we find just the right one!
~Sky Manor shares a recipe for Teddy Bear Bread
~ Author Jez Alborough has written some of my favorite teddy bear books (kids love them too!):
~ Here are the lyrics to The Teddy Bear’s Picnic
~ What are polar bears called when they’re caught in the rain? Drizzly Bears!
~ Bear activities for kids at DLTK’s Growing Together
Catching My Eye
It’s been a mish-mash kind of week: domestic goddess duties at home; the start of our relocation planning; strange encounters with rude people; filling out teaching applications; juicy news from friends and family; photo-journalism at home; longing for the same types of proof that spring has arrived that my favorite blogs have been publishing (alas, we get flowering shrubs here in the desert, not tulips or crocus or snowdrops); and a return to watching what I eat and making time to get on the treadmill.
I’ve been able to do a bit of exploring as well and have found some ideas and items to add to the online version of my Inspiration Binder. Here’s some of what you’ll find in the “flagged” column on my read feed:
(Art by Tammy-Fleetwood-Moody)
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I thought I was good at patriotic decor influences until I came across Karnas Hus. Nope, I don’t understand a word of it, but thanks to the author’s photographs, I “get it.” Interesting to see our nation’s colors and symbols used so beautifully in a country style cottage home… in someone else’s country.
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Casa Sugar did a quick review on the following book:
and I want it!
Not just because it has a wonderful illustration of “nasty urchins” on the cover (though that is certainly what grabbed my attention first) but because I love trying to identify flora I’ve not encountered before when we move to each new state. What are “nasty urchins?” Nasturtiums, of course, though I’ve had several kindergarten students throughout the years ask me “Teacher, teacher, when do we get to take the nasty urchins home to give to our moms?” at the end of our Seeds/Things Grow units. Nasty urchins go home right before Mother’s Day, by the way, just so you know.
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I’d like to go shopping at The Cottage. Soon. Here’s their blog with close up photos. I’m liking vintage looking (and truly vintage) furniture more and more…probably has something to do with the movers “giving our furniture character” each time we relocate.
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Di at Designer’s Block featured a beautiful French getaway recently, so I followed along, and found my own dream getaway-girls’-only cottage (sorry Honey!). Rock walls, clean lines, simple furnishings, twinkle lights…I can feel my stress melting away. I’m not entirely sold on the pink walls though, but there are some nicely photographed decor ideas to tuck away for future inspiration…
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I don’t like green beans. Never have. Ask my mother. She’ll tell you all about how I would constantly try to mask the flavor and texture and smell and existence of said beans with mounds of catsup as a child. It never worked of course, insert dramatic gagging followed with tons of eye-watering begging please-don’t-make-me-eat-this here. As a result, I didn’t like anything that remotely LOOKED like green beans…. meaning *asparagus*. Then Smitten Kitchen goes and writes up (and photographs) a Spring Panzanella, and my goodness… I might have to be brave… risk revisiting the childhood trauma/drama for a taste…or two, or three… It looks THAT delicious.
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Scribbit reminded me that I’m missing break up again this year. Remember folks, I’m an Alaska Girl…
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Inspire Company has a new online magazine- once you get there, keep clicking “next” to see each wonderful, crafty feature! I’m going to find some time this weekend to make a cake like the one outlined in the Creativity Journal (number 6).
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What’s been catching *your* eye lately?
Big A** Book of Crafts
Yes, that’s *really* the title of the book! While wandering through B&N last week, I found this thing staring at me from the Art/Craft section and of course, HAD to pick it up. I had a few additional errands to run so I did a quick flip-through of the pages, found the photos and patterns interesting, and decided to buy it.
Mark Montano is the author/craft compiler, while photos are by Auxy Espinoza. The projects are all about being affordable (in some cases, CHEAP) and creative, but after several popsicle stick projects and Mark referring to crocheted blankets as “knit,” (I know, I know, I’m being…(k)nitpicky), I had to put the book down and leave it alone for a few days.
After a second looksie, I’ve found several projects I’m hoping to make in the next few weeks: magnets, photo art, possibly a screen room divider, though that one might have to wait until we’ve moved. The “Urban Corsage” will probably end up being Dear Daughter’s new favorite gift to make and give:
…and I’m going to be on the look-out for the perfect fabric to make wall panel art with, since my husband’s military plaques and awards will be moving to his office once we relocate- Mark’s examples are gorgeous:
While there are some fabulous looking projects in this book, (it’s over 350 pages, by the way), there are a few train wrecks as well (the “Bronze Baby Sculpture” made out of a plastic baby doll, spray paint and glue for instance), so be warned.
Cynic that I can be, after Mark’s misidentification of crochet/knit projects, I’ve been wondering how many other goofs he’s made. I think I need to put the book down again for a bit.
123 Book Meme
Meme rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people (I’m just inviting my readers- if you take up the meme, post back here so I’ll know and can come take a peek)
I have two books stacked on top of each other, so I’ll give you the meme-required-info from both and you can try to figure out where my brain has been for the last week:
Book number one:
“Suddenly, like a striking snake, she reached out and grabbed my hand in a fierce grip. “
Followed by:
“At once she twisted it behind my back and held me so that I could move neither forward nor backward but only cry out in pain: ‘Anne! Don’t! You’re really hurting!’ ‘Well hear this,’ she hissed in my ear. ‘Hear this Mary. I am playing my own game and I don’t want you interrupting. Nobody will know anything until I am ready to tell them, and then they will know everything too late.”
Book number 2:
“After a neuron fires, a neurotransmitter swims across that synapse to a nearby neuron, and when it finds the lock and binds with it, that new neuron starts to fire.”
Followed by:
“Not all keys fit all locks; there are certain locks (receptors) that are designed to accept only certain neurotransmitters. Generally, neurotransmitters cause the receiving neuron to fire or prevent it from firing. The neurotransmitters are then absorbed through a process called reuptake; without reuptake, the neurotransmitters would continue to stimulate or inhibit the firing of a neuron.”
I signed up for Oprah’s webclass too, so I’ll be buying A New Earth and catching up on my reading each evening before next Monday- or trying to, since I’ll probably be having too much fun spending time with Shannon visiting!
Barnes and Noble Magic
I’m still smiling from an encounter that occurred yesterday afternoon. Daughter and I went to the Science Fair to retrieve her board and reports (she got second place, not bad for a district/city this size!), and she asked if we could go to Barnes and Noble so she could buy a book she wanted with one of her holiday gift cards. Friends know that twisting my arm to go to B&N is not a difficult task, so before we knew it, there we were, inhaling the Starbucks coffee aroma as we walked through the book aisles.
Our toddler is at that “change diaper, Mommy, ucky” stage, so potty-training is right around the corner. Since our other children are ages seventeen, sixteen, and thirteen, any and all potty books have gone the way of all good things, passed on to other friends and family or sold at a yard sale years ago. Consequently, I made a beeline to the childrens’ book section while Daughter headed straight for young adults’. After looking through the selections available without finding what I was hoping for, I headed to magazines, Daughter on my heels (she found the last copy of Hacking Harvard), to see if the British versions of some of my favorite magazines were available.
The home decor/design/crafting magazine aisle was packed for some reason, and I found myself on the far left of the stands, just waiting for an opening. Scanning through the group of customers, searching for a way in, I saw a woman, magazines in hand, on the far right of the magazine stands, also looking for entry. After several customers looked right at me, then went back to flipping through their magazine without scooting an inch, I continued to stand my ground, as did the lady at the opposite end of the stands. Finally, people shifted and then left the area completely, so Right-Side-Lady and I made our way in. I quickly found the magazines (too many!) I was hoping to, while Right-Side-Lady replaced some of the magazines she had been looking through. She seemed worried about crossing my line of sight, so I laughed and told her “no, you’re fine” and she told me she forgot where she had found one magazine in particular as she wanted to put it back in its proper place. We continued with some small conversation, finding relief in communicating with another apparently rare, polite person. She asked where I found Country Living, so I grabbed a copy for her, and we chatted on. She mentioned she was just looking for color inspiration, at which point I mentioned that I had run across a blog that had linked to Pantone, which had recently published a “fashion color report” that provided color samples for the home decor and fashion we’d be seeing this year. Right-Side-Lady introduced herself as Rosie, and told me she was a weaver and spinner- I had noticed she was wearing the most wonderful shawl/wrap- and we continued on with some chit chat, very relaxed and pleasant. Before she left she gave me her card, invited me to her workshop and made it clear that it would be for a visit, not for shopping.
Shannon is visiting at the end of the month, so I was thrilled to email her yesterday with the B&N story to ask if she’d like me to contact Rosie and set up a time we could visit. Affirmative! So this morning, I found the Pantone color reports online, and printed out the Spring 2008 and Fall 2008 color palettes to mail to Rosie (apparently she’s not online) along with a card asking when a good date during Shannon’s visit would be to come out to her workshop. Looms, weaving, textiles, color… it all sounds wonderful and as charming an experience as meeting Rosie was yesterday.
Rosie left B&N before we did. Even though my arms were full of magazines, Daughter and I decided to look through Valentine cards and stationery, and we eventually wandered toward the craft and hobby section. And there it was:
You *make* them! Fairy Tale Dress-Up Day will never be the same again. My poor family. My poor colleagues. My students are going to LOVE this (and my friends are laughing their tushes off, I’m sure!).
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