Friday Fill-in #55

1. The last compliment I got was from my good friend Dodie,; she said, "You're so good with all that crafty stuff."

2. I'm reading "You Are Your Choices" by Alexandra Stoddard.

3. I woke up today and thought, "Oh my gosh! Nance's going to be here for our morning walk in five minutes. I need to get dressed!"

4. Why does our society say "Children are our greatest resource," yet allow children to be the only segment of our population that it is legal to hit?

5. The last thing I ate was a crisp, cold, juicy apple. Mmmmm!

6. January is....the month dear husband and I were born.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a "birthday" dinner with my family at Carabbas, tomorrow my plans include my morning walk, so far, and Sunday, I want to make cavatelli for my husband!

Breakfeast-0 Day

Yesterday, we celebrated the newly created holiday, "Breakfeast-o Day". According to my daughter, almost every holiday is celebrated with a dinner feast of some sort. She felt that breakfast was being shortchanged, especially since, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." (Stated by my daughter, after hearing the same from me too many times. ;P) The "official" date will be on January 2nd, my father-in-law's birthday, in honor of his appreciation for all things breakfast-y, but this being the first one was just celebrated yesterday.

First, there was the menu planning.

Breakfast: breakfast - pancakes and bacon

Lunch: breakfast - ham and cheese omelet and fresh baked bread

Afternoon snack: breakfast - cinnamon buns

Dinner: breakfast - homemade beef hash with poached eggs

Dessert: breakfast - homemade waffles with fresh strawberry topping

Then there was the shopping, completed by my dear husband and children. Next, of course came the cooking, also done by husband and kids. And lastly, but not least, time to feast!

If you enjoy breakfast foods as much as we do, mark your calendar for next January 2nd and celebrate Breakfeast-o Day with us!

Who Knew......

that needle felting was so "magical" and fun? Apparently, quite a few people before me, but I just discovered it. It was easier than I expected, and provided the quick reward of a completed project. I was amazed at how a puff of wool could turn into something more solid in such a simple fashion (since my prior experience with felting involved crochet first, then wash, then shape and dry). Anyway.....this is my first of many felted goodies, I'm sure.

Hmmmm.....

This is a really fun meme I first saw on Mary's blog. Then I saw it on two other blogs. Each one amazed me by how thought provoking apparently random things can be sometimes. I had to try it.

Here's how:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The title of the first article on the is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the last quote on the page is your album title.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is, becomes your album cover.

Put it all together and, voila! You have your next album.

Here's mine:

What do you think?

Friday Fill-in #54 (a little late)

1. My favorite quote of 2007 was "all my love", inscribed on the back of the i-pod nano my dear husband gave to me.

2. I'm most tempted by my husband's desserts.

3. Today I want help with housework. ;P

4. The last thing I took a picture of was my husband and three children playing Rock Band together.

5. You and I have memories yet to create.

6. The most recent movie I’ve seen that I really enjoyed was not really that recent, but one that stands out in my memory is "Little Miss Sunshine".

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping well, tomorrow my plans include trying to find my desktop and Sunday, I want to go with my family to see Robert Krampf present "Nuts and Bolts of Lightning" !

I'm Becoming a Bag Lady

It all started last may, when I decided to try and sew myself a new handbag for spring. Using a pattern from this book, I made the bag above. It was so much fun, that I decided to make another on with a different pattern, which became a gift.Then I was inspired to try my hand at felting a bag for the fall, and created this.

My mother really liked the felted look and asked me to make one for her for Christmas. I was thrilled. Here's what I came up with for my mom.
I also made 8 of these tote bags for Christmas gifts.
I have no good reason to make another bag, but today I bought some more wool yarn (on sale-yay!) for yet another bag. I saw a design that I just HAVE to try out. I love the idea of creating something pretty, and so useful too! I anticipate that 2008 is going to be "the year of the bag" for me. ;)

Friday Fill-in #53

1. This year, I'd like to attend more unschooling get-togethers and conferences.

2. Spending time with other unschoolers is what I daydream about most.

3. My husband is an award-winning pastry chef.

4. I would like to have more travel and museum visits.

5. I love to have lots of kids around the house.

6. My life makes me smile.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to starting a new felted bag, tomorrow my plans include grocery shopping (yipee! ;P), and Sunday I want to make a big pot of tomato sauce (mmmmm)!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with unschooling, and a little curious, these two sites can give you an idea of what it's all about.

Goodbye 2007 and Hello 2008!

The photo above was (as you can see by the stupid date stamp that I keep forgetting to turn off) the final sunset of 2007, as viewed from my front yard. What a beautiful good-bye for the year!

I wish everyone a New Year even more beautiful than the last. I hope that we all keep our eyes open to the beauty of life that surrounds us all, and share our joy to keep the beauty growing. I am confident that we can make this world an even better place than it already is.

You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" -- George Bernard Shaw, "Back to Methuselah" (1921), part 1, act 1