Little Hearts

I feel like I'm never on top of things enough to have time to make all of the holiday gifts and things that I would like to. I need to remember Valentines Day way back in the beginning of January, because there are so many fun things to do. And they all involve pink. Here are a couple of the teensy things we've been whipping out.


A little door hanger made from the scraps of a project. (you'll see it just as soon as I know it's been received).

And a little pin made from more scraps of scraps.

These bits of polyester are scraps from a quilt I made Anna before she was born, from fabric I got at Goodwill, probably the extra bits from someone else's project. I love it.

Resolution breaking

Remember how I'm not supposed to buy any new crafting things?

One trip to Goodwill = one pretty old sheet, two pretty pillowcases, and this sweet canvas fabric with barns and dancing folk people.

I figure, as long as I use it this year for something, it'll be OK. :)

Anna sings "Amarillo, amarillo..."

People always ask if I'm teaching Anna Spanish...

Here's what she's got:


Really, it's enough for me. It's spontaneous, creative language production, which is one of the things I'm always shooting for with the kids because it closely mimics the patterns of learning in the first language. (gobbledegook?)

Tea Party!

One Friday in January, Anna came in to the kitchen, dressed in a floor length gown, (as usual) and suggested we have a tea party. That seemed like a good idea, so we did. (Before you think too highly of me, I was ironing curtains, and who doesn't want to quit ironing curtains, if given the opportunity?)We used my pretty pink dishes.
We had Cheese and Crackers, cut "fancy", and Choco-Banana Pocky...very elegant.
And "Hors d'oeuvres"

This is something my Grandma Madge used to make for me, when we had "fancy" snacks together. Saltines, cream cheese, and sweet pickle. It's always been one of my favorite treats. These had a little too much sweet pickle, and I used relish because it was quicker, but I think it's better how she made it, with very thin slices of tiny sweet pickles.

We had a lovely time.

Cocoa Dolce

Cocoa Dolce

Matthew went on his "guys weekend" a couple of weeks ago and brought me a little box of chocolates back.
It came with this little freshness stamp, which was good, because sometimes I hoard things until they're not good anymore.

We have been having the best time, sharing one each night. (Seems much less expensive, spread over 9 days!)

We started with Irish Cream, and we've been eating right to left, in a nice orderly fashion.

It's practically impossible to pick a favorite, but maybe I can say... Glenmorangie Simgle Malt Sherry Wood Scotch. (The fleur de lis)

Highly recommended--and made in Kansas! Cocoadolce.com

Fear the Beard

I'll admit it, I've got no experience being a basketball fan. I didn't go to the games when I was in school, and I know that I was a terrible fan and all that. I'm sorry. I think it would have helped if the basketball players had been a little nicer in the weight room, but that's my only teeny defense, and I know it's feeble.

So, fine. Now I'm learning to be a fan and we're doing well and I know that's sort of bandwagon-y, but they're my team, and I'm happy to support them.

So anyhoo- it's the year of the beard. That's something I can definitely get involved in.

Here we are, in beards made from a fulled wool sweater, with a lining of flannel to help with the itchiness.

Go 'Cats! (And have you read Matthew's post about Frank Martin? Best Post Ever.)

Calendar Project

This year none of us got Calendars for Christmas, so I got to thinking.

I had 5 or 6 old calendars in the basement that I couldn't throw away, because the pictures were so pretty. I knew, someday, I'd think of something...

So we cut them apart.

Printed new pages to paste over the old ones,

And then put them back together, all mixed up. So one month you have roses, and the next month you have Snoopy.

Then we punched them and bound them with the Bind-it-all! We made 6 new calendars in all. It was a fun project. Anna especially enjoyed choosing who would get which picture for each month. "This one for Papa, because it's funny. Susan would like this one..."

And we used up something in the basement!