New photo of old work

I have just come from Flickr. I took some pictures of two of the Wee Wonderfuls dolls that I made last year, and I added them to the Wee Wonderfuls Flickr group.

I made them in the spring and I have just now gotten around to taking pics. They are both a little grubby, but luckily that doesn't really show up in the photos.

These are Spaceboy and Robot from the Put-Together Book 2, along with the Uglyworm (which was a present for the Younger Hug-a-Bug on the occasion of his birth from our good friend Maimie Woo), and my miniature rocket prototype. I think the Uglyworm looks kinda like an alien, so I set them all up together in scenes on the Younger Hug-a-Bug's bed. I like to think that they are all friends.

These dolls are for the kids, really, I mean it...

The Wee Wonderfuls directions are easy to follow, and the dolls go together in an afternoon.

I had the world's greatest assistant in the Elder Hug-a-Bug. She did most of the stuffing.

Nothing too new and exciting around here.

I did come to the realization, yesterday, that I could never hack it as an arctic explorer.

I will preface this by saying that I started the day full of bravado.

I even mocked my poor mother because she happens to come from California and she was feeling the cold.

I think I told her that I was a hardy Minnesotan, and she was a light-weight or something to that effect...

Anyway, I had to fill up my car with gas later that day, and I had forgotten to take my gloves.

Holding the nozzle, even with my hands inside my long-sleeved t-shirt, sweater and coat, was very uncomfortable.

I have rarely in my life been that cold.

Then to top it all off, I was at the top of a hill.

Somehow, all of the wind on the planet was converging on that hill at that moment at that gas pump.

I felt the layers of skin eroding from my face.

The temp was in the single digits above or below zero, but the wind-chill must have been at least 250 degrees below.

I am looking forward to February.

I hear that we'll see some temperatures in the 20s. Heaven.

That is the end of my whine about the weather.

I will say that I have been enjoying looking at the weather through my windows, sitting by my radiator, with some hot tea...

The sky yesterday had that silvery look that it gets at dawn in the winter, really quite beautiful.

I started the new semester at the Yarnery yesterday.

Had a lovely group of ladies in my class, most of whom I had taught before.

It was nice to catch up and hear about vacations and see pictures of grand-kids.

I am also glad to get back to having a schedule.

I am offically finished with the holiday lay-arounds.

I woke up very early this morning, so I will sign off now.

Have a restful evening.

Jess

bummer

The Mamas of the Craft received some somber news today.

We were not accepted into the Craftstravaganza Craft Show.

We had some kick-ass stuff too.

One of the Mamas is a potter and her stuff is fantastic.

As a group we made some funky tutus for the little ones, knitted bracelet cuffs, night lights, and toadstool stools that we saw on a Martha.

As for myself, I have had an obsession with aprons lately, and I have enough that I would like to sell them.

Thanks to Grace for her modelling skills.

I am a big fan of the Wee Wonderfuls dolls.

Last summer I made Olive, Archie, Spaceboy and Robot.

I was so excited about the doll making that I made up my own pattern for a rocket for Spaceboy to ride on.

It was a breeze to put together, and I love the idea of a floral rocket so I thought that my individual contribution could include some Love Rockets.

My first one was of Amy Butler fabric, and she asks that people not use her fabric for commercial endeavours, so this one here is the rocket that I made up for our entry into the Craftravaganza.

So now we regroup.

A couple of months ago, we started up an etsy site, and I guess we'll start there trying to sell some stuff.

The real function of the Mamas of the Craft for me is to get together and be creative, so it would be ok with me if we didn't sell anything again.

I won't deny that it is fun to get money for things that you make.

As a huge tangential leap- do any of you ever visit http://www.etymonline.com/?
I like words, so I visit occasionally.

I was wondering about "o.k." what does it mean?

Here is what etymonline has to say
"1839, only survivor of a slang fad in Boston and New York c.1838-9 for abbreviations of common phrases with deliberate, jocular misspellings (cf. K.G. for "no go," as if spelled "know go"); in this case, "oll korrect.""

Could you ever imagine that something we say every day without thinking could possibly be from a year-long slang fad from New England 170 years ago?

wierd.

I wonder if wiggity wack will be popular in 2164?

see you soon,

Jess

Tuesday

There was a question about the tent in my last post.

This was a project in Craft Club one night.
We all assembled at my house and cut out and sewed all night.
Some of the group, myself not included, even got it finished that night.
I ran out of bobbin thread on one of the seams and was so irritated that I ingnored mine until the day before the Hug-a-Bug's birthday.

The pattern I used is Butterick 4251. Some of my friends, however, made up their own pattern and they turned out fantastic.



It is a great project, because the whole thing collapses down to just the diameter of the poles.



Fits great under a bed or in the closet.



I altered the pattern somewhat-



The pattern calls for 8 foot lengths of pvc, and I didn't think that a tent that big would fit in my house, so I had the nice man at Lowe's cut them to 6 feet.



Then I shortened the pattern pieces by 2 feet.



Also, I didn't have enough fabric to do 6 panels so there are only 5 sides.



The tent is plenty big enough.




My lovely little sister (Hi Donna!) asked for one for her birthday.



She is a freshwoman in college and I have great visions of her carrying it out to the quad to do some reading.







I tried a new recipe last week.



Bacon Gruyere Quick Bread.



It is from my America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.


I was flipping through the cookbook, as is my wont, and I saw cheesy quick bread and needed to go no further.


Now, usually, I follow the Test Kitchen recipes to the letter, but I was out of eggs so I didn't put one in. Also, I didn't have whole milk, so I used yogurt mixed with skim.


I have to say, the bread was still delicious.


Can you really go wrong with gruyere, parmasan, onion and bacon?

Next time I will try it with the actual ingredients list.

One other wonderful, miraculous thing in my life, I actually read a book from beginning to end in less than 3 months. In fact, I read it in about a week!

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim.

I have loved the movie for years. The scenery, the music, the clothes. Fantastic!

The book is also very good. Ms. Von Arnim is a little fond of run-on sentences, but the overall story is just lovely.

The best part of it for me was a description of Mr. Arundel by Lady Caroline.

-He had a figure more suited to conversation than adventure.-

I will now refer to myself in that way for the rest of my days.

Have a fun-filled Tuesday,

Jess

January from the fifth lamp

As some of you know, I am trying to take pictures of the river throughout the year, to watch the seasons change.

I started in October, and I was sure that I could take a picture a day.
I have discipline.

Then I went to once a week when the weather was not as nice.
We have a drafty stroller, and I can't walk with both of the kids to the spot where I take the picture as it's on a busy street.

Now I am resigned to once a month.

That said, here is the official January photo.















I will not preclude myself from taking as many as I am able throughout the month, but this is the official one.

So, without a camera these past few weeks, I have had no pictures of the kids' gifts this birthday and christmas season.
Here, therefore, is a picture of the gift from Brian and me for the younger Hug-a-Bug on his birthday- You can see the Elder Hug-a-Bug's puppet theatre in the background.

















For christmas we gave the Hug-a-Bugs a set of blocks from Beka, and dyed them to make them bright and fun.
The Elder H-a-B's favorite new activity is building corrals for her dolls.

Here she is mid construction, "I'm not quite finished with my corral"












And here is her photo of the finished product-














I hope that all who read here have a healthy and prosperous Tuesday.
See you soon,
Jess

2

My little man is 2 today! That was speedy.


He is speaking like a person most of the time.


"Can I have my race cars at the table, Mama?"


He is trying to toilet train himself, we are not quite as ready as he seems to be...

He is looking forlornly over the gate into the office now, so I should sign off.

Happy birthday Younger Hug-a-Bug.
You will always be my darling baby boy.

Baa Baa

This is me being sheepish.

I had left my camera in my gym bag.

This is bad, since it shows that I haven't been to the gym in almost a month.

Also, my lovely dear camera was trapped with my stinky gym shoes all that time.

Thanks, Most Wonderful Husband Ever.

He didn't give me too much shit about it either.

How I love him.

Hey, this is my 30th post. That's kinda cool.

I have nothing really to say, just

that I am very happy to see my camera again.

Talk to you all soon,

Jess.

3:00 AM

Well, hello there.
Here is what I know today.
If one combines a too-salty meal with a sick family member, a satellite receiver that cleans its hard-drive at 3:00 in the morning and the Worst Pies in London, you get blogging in the dead of night.

My lovely craft club ladies and myself went to see Sweeney Todd today. Yesterday. Saturday.
I was introduced to this musical in the early 80s when we taped a performance off TV.
I love this musical.
It has everything one could want.
Great music- sweeping melodies, fantastic syncopation, odd instrumentation.
Crazy story filled with drama, humor and pathos.
Cannibalism.

I will fully admit that I entered the theater with some trepidation.
Could this show work as a movie?
Would they cut out all of my favorite songs?
Would it carry too much Tim Burton-ness and not carry through the Sondheim-ality?
All my fears were assuaged.

First of all, the cinematography was divine.
There was a wonderful cohesive feel to the whole thing.
The backgrounds and costumes were all painted in muted neutral colors to give the most contrast to the occasional splashes (and gushing torrents) of red.

The singing was far beyond my expectations.
Timithy Spall has a lovely tenor, and Alan Rickman's lusty bass voice was a wonderful surprise. Is there anything that man can't make sexy?
I was watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the other night with the hubby and I says to him, I says "I always feel like watching Truly Madly Deeply after seeing Rickman as Snape to remind me that he can play a nice guy."
Triple that for Sweeney Todd.
One scene from the stage show that didn't make it into the movie and that I didn't miss one jot was the Judge's self-flagellation scene.

The truly shining star, singing-wise was the boy who played Toby, Ed Sanders.
That role is very demanding. His voice was beautiful, very agile. His dramatic scenes were also quite enjoyable.

Johnny Depp.
What to say.
I love him and some day he will grow to love me too.
Same for Helena Bonham Carter.
Also for Tim Burton.
I have loved nearly every movie of his I have ever seen.

I cannot count the number of times I watched the musical. I know this story back and forwards. This adaptation was seamless. Some of the songs were removed, and some shortened, but the story was just as effective. Tim Burton's directing was amazing. The pacing was tight, suspenseful. It has been some time since I felt my heart pound like that during a movie. I was leaning forward in my chair, and I already knew what was happening.
Magnificent.

One more thing.

If you're looking for a fun night out, and you see a movie poster with blood dripping down the title, perhaps you should reconsider bringing your 4-6 year old daughter, person in our theater today.
And if you bring said 4-6 year old daughter, maybe leave after the first time Sweeney says Shit, or after the first person gets brutally slain.
Just a thought.

Review ended.

So, how was every one's Christmas?
We had a delightfully stress-free couple of days.
Christmas Eve with my family, followed by Christmas morning at home with the kids.

I had a semi-homemade Christmas this year.
I purchased a set of natural wooden blocks from Beka, and dyed them with a non-toxic water-based wood dye so they are now bright colors.

I was a little stymied about what to get my dad, but I thought that you can't go wrong with a present from the grand-kids.
So I got the wonderful husband to pick up an apron from the store, and I had the Elder Hug-a-Bug to draw a picture on some canvas with fabric markers.
She drew Grandpa and herself and her brother, and they are all holding hands.
I could weep with joy.
I asked her whether she would like to write a message, like merry Christmas or I love you grandpa, and she chose I love you.
So I wrote it down and she copied it over on to the fabric.
Then I made a pocket for the apron of the canvas.

Christmas Day my husband's parents came over and we had a third orgy of present opening.
Dinner was a little bit of a fiasco.
Why, oh why don't I have two ovens like Martha?
I had to let my pork loin out of the oven to roast my veggies and cook the Crescent Rolls (essential for any holiday feast) and the meat was pretty cool by dinner.
Oh, well. The rolls were flaky and delicious anyway, thank you Pillsbury Dough Boy.

The next day my Mom and Sister came over and built a fantastic table in our toy-room, which is really just a big closet with a window.
The kids love it! It is the perfect height for the elder Hug-a-Bug and the younger H-a-B is enjoying climbing up on the top of it.
There is also ample room underneath to play cave.
The TV has been neglected like nothing I have seen since we had snow.
Not that my kids ever watch TV, or recite the Frosty the Snowman movie or anything.

No pictures again today.
Please send me findy vibes over here.
I went through the mountains of mess in the craft area, and was unsuccessful in locating the camera.
It's probably better for us all that I don't have it right now, so you don't have to be subjected to views of the squalor in here.
I guess I will just have to go through every room one by one and look behind every piece of furniture and other stuff you do when you look for lost things.

I can tell that my mind is starting to wind down.
Perhaps I can get a couple of hours sleep before today really starts.

Have a Happy New Year,
if I don't see you,
Jess