What I Did Today

Today was one of those truly rare Saturdays in which we had absolutely no obligations.  So very nice.  I got a call from my parents at about 10:00 in the morning asking if I could help them with a little sewing project.  They needed a pair of handy dandy bags for their sleeping pads for camping.  We headed upstairs sometime after 3:00 in the afternoon and got to work with all the fabric and cords and gadgets my dad brought over. 

I originally cut the bag for a pretty snug fit.  My mom decided we needed an extra inch or two.  We rummaged through my stash and found a perfectly complementary home dec fabric.  I think it makes the bag.

I did not have a heavy duty thread so I did some extra stitching to strengthen the seams.  I did parallel stitching for the sides and used a triple-stitch on my machine to reinforce the bottom circle piece.  My favorite part was having my parents hang out in the studio with me.  They cut fabric and ironed and chatted and ripped seams and collaborated and cheered me on.  It was awesome!  I love being with them anyway, but all working together on a sewing project was over the top for me.  We made a great team.  And Mom and Dad, you are welcome to my atelier anytime (I could use an apprentice or two).  ;>

Snow in the Morning

Another post about snow.

 

Kicking snow.

 

And sitting on snow.

 

And “gardening” snow.

And looking at snow.

And smiling in snow.

Snow in Spring?

 

I have lived here for twenty-three years and I have never seen a March like this. 

I think we have seen more snow in the past week than we saw all winter. 

At least it’s pretty.  Happy Spring Break to us.

Nightgowns

Here are just a couple of quick pictures of Alyx’s birthday nightgowns.

  

I realized I gave you a peak at them and thought you might be curious to see the finished products.

They have already gone through the wash a few times, so ruffles and trims do not lay as flat as I would like.

However, Alyx is perfectly satisfied with how they turned out.  ;>

Memory Dear

En route to a little getaway a couple of weeks ago, Sean and I happened across a very picturesque little cemetery.  We like cemeteries.  We are weird, I know.  There is something so peaceful and paradoxically life-affirming about them.

This one caught my eye because of the foundation of its little chapel.    The building actually rests on boulders and small slabs of rock shimmied under the floor.    I’m sure that was a perfectly fine foundation at earlier points in history, but I for one am grateful for modern building codes.  I kept imagining the building rolling down the hill on all those rocks if it just had a decent push.

I loved the architecture, the windows, the way the floor was raked inside so people sitting at the back had a decent view of what was happening at the front.  I love old things that still serve a purpose; that are still loved.  This building seemed loved, appreciated.

While so much about a cemetery is peaceful and calming to me, my heart aches when I see grave markers for babies (especially when rosebushes or trees have been planted to honor the life lost).  I cannot help but cry.  Every time.  I believe the child goes back to God and waits patiently for its parents. So, I do not cry for the child, I guess.  I think I weep for their mothers, because I know it would break my heart to lose a child. I hope the reflection makes me more grateful, and more determined to cherish my children every day.

This final headstone continues to puzzle me.  There were no dates chiseled on the marble, just the words: “To Memory Dear”.  And I have not been able to stop wondering if Memory is the name of the person; or if Memory is that thing poets say will allow us to have roses in December.  After all it is the thing we hang onto when someone we love is gone.

Last night, as I was washing the dishes, I thought about my grandmother and the moment I found out she had passed away. I miss her so much sometimes. And my grandpa too.  But I have the most wonderful memories of them.  Memories that I hold onto very tightly sometimes.  Because they can make me laugh or smile through my sadness.  I am so thankful for “Memory Dear”.

The Hem

My current labor of love is Alyx’s belated birthday dress.  I realized fairly quickly I could not pull off the dress I wanted to make in the time I had left.  So it will be late, but it will be fantastic.  Case in point: the hem.  Handmade piping pieced from a wee scrap of fabric, and custom bias tape made from another wee scrap of fabric.  Just look at how lovely it’s turning out.  I have been hand-stitching the hem so it will be virtually invisible (impossible on the sewing machine).  Lu has been sick and still on my lap for hours at a time, so I’m getting very close to finishing this step.  I am sad she feels so crummy, but grateful to have something calm and relaxing to do while we snuggle.

Google

Google and I maintain a love/hate relationship.  They have the fastest search engine on the planet and continue to improve upon perfection.  Do you go anywhere else to get driving directions or browse images?  And yet, when I check those little personalized border ads in my gmail account, my stomach does a little flip-flop as I realize they are scanning my personal conversations.  It feels very Big Brother to me.  It creeps me out.

But I love Picasa (a Google product for editing images) and Piknik (Google’s beefed up image editor).  Last month I almost swore off Google entirely.  I was editing some pictures in Piknik and read the disappointing notice that Piknik would be discontinued in April.  That did not make me a happy Piknik-er and I wanted to call down the evil cyber-gods to punish Google for their evil deeds.  I was going to change my email account, homepage and browser and most definitely my image editing software.  Google was about to be a small footnote in the history of MyLiege. 

My problem is my vindictiveness doesn’t run too deep.  I have no follow through when it comes to really showing someone who’s boss (Google, in this case).  Before I knew it a month had gone by and I was still editing images in Picasa, and quite frankly forgotten about my perturbation.  Then quite by accident I stumbled onto the new, updated, larger-than-life Picasa 3.9.  I shouted “I love Google!” at the top of my lungs in spite of near-sleeping children upstairs. I shouted it again and again.  I grabbed my monitor and tried to pull it in for a big hug, but the cord was not long enough.    It was begging for a kiss. 

Sean calmly came downstairs to see what the racket was while muttering under his breath something about Google being Big Brother and taking over the world.  He just couldn’t understand.  This was monumental.  A pinnacle of joy in my life – Picasa had integrated the best of Piknik!!!!!!  Can you believe it?  Amazing!  Glorious!  Fantastic!  I will never be sad or lonely or frustrated or angry or unattractive ever again.  Google has transformed my life!  After all, doesn’t everyone want a Big Brother looking out for them.  Google is harmless, really.  They’re just trying to make my pictures pretty.

Cake Boss(es)

There is some sort of tradition around here that for the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet every year each boy has to make a cake of his own creation for dessert.  The theme this year was something about Knights and the Roundtable.  Erik and I decided on a shield (I did not have the energy for a castle – at all).  Once I cut the shape Anna mentioned that it looked like the CTR shield (which stands for Choose the Right).  Erik, who originally had dreams of golden lions embossed on a deeply colored fondant background, happily ditched his hopes in favor of something he could execute without much help from me (because, as we all know, it is much more fun to be master of one’s own frosting).

So we covered it in green icing (I only helped a little), and piped the silver details.

Viola`!  One very proud little boy.  (Incidentally he won the award for “Cake Most Focused on Core Values”.  Love it!)

A couple of days (and episodes of Cake Boss) later, Djeryd decided to jump on the cake-making bandwagon.  This was created for a little church meeting for the youth in our ward (his little group was in charge of refreshments).  This is his version of Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life.  Sean helped a little, but this is 90% Djeryd.  The tastiest bit was the strawberry Jelly Belly path (yum!).  I think my favorite part was the spaghetti noodle “iron rod”. 

I am so proud of both my boys for not hiding their beliefs, or their talents.  I see some great cake in the years to come.  And some great boys.

In the Studio

Lu’s birthday is coming up.

We’re having a party on Saturday.

I’ve been working on a few things for the birthday girl.

Two down . . .

one to go.

Pants Are Over-rated

So this is what Lu decided to wear on a cold, blustery day in February.  Perhaps a better parent would have made their child wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt.  But you see, I am also raising Anna, and I have learned to choose my battles when it comes to clothes.  So while I did not make Alyx put pants on, I did insist she wear a hat.  ;>