Tea for the madness.

Some days are just plain madness.

Today was one of those days. Get up. Not enough beans in the house and only a bit of cream. I'm the kind of girl who likes her coffee one way. First, a handmade mug. Not mine. Like this one from Ayumi Horie. Definitely a coveted mug in this house. As the days get warmer, this particular cup is often found, early in the morning, perched on the fence steaming away as I hang laundry on the line.
I add the espresso(if no espresso, melita, if no melita, bodum, if no bodum, old style percolator), then the cream to reach the desired hue of browny goodness and then top with hot hot hot water. The water needs to be hot hot hot because I am often interrupted by one of the 3 amigos, or taking my time with the laundry and the coffee? It gets COLD! An abbomonation, Chris thinks. Me? I just make another one. It's a ritual, you know? Laundry and coffee.
So, right, this morning. This morning there was snow. Snow! There was no laundry and coffee this morning. There was barely coffee. As I TRY to fanagle a decent cup from the few beans that are left, I realize today's a big day. A bisque fire, a long wait in a line-up for passports (3 kids in tow) and art class for Gray. I realize, for a lot of the uber mamas out there, my list is not much. Add on people for dinner the night before and 2 dental appointments and a trip to the vet tomorrow and I'm already to crash. Maybe it's because I know I didn't get to the store to get my Dancing Goat beans today. Priorities people! What was I thinking?

So I get the kiln going and the day is in full swing. We head off, walking everywhere these days, to get some photocopies for the passport peeps, I realize I forgot snacks. My friends will tell you this is not unusual. I am, however, forever suprised at my ability to leave the snacks behind. So we get to the line with all the cranky people who loathe lines, the boys clearly need a playground as they do headstands in line and Nella wakes up. Silas needs to pee. This line is the kind with the ropes. Ropes keeping the cranky line people in line. I break the line rules, leave my place to wheel the stroller out, put the ropes back, get back in line, leave Gray to hold my spot while I take Si to pee. Nella's screaming in the sling and Silas is REFUSING to wash his hands. Keep in mind, cranky line people are very very fond of handwashing. Cue disapproving glances. I borrow a pen from cranky disapproving glance lady to forge my husband's signature(more disapproving glances) on something I think I forgot but didn't need after all. Phew. No laws actually broken.

We get in, all documents in order, given a number to wait again. Then appears a little angel playing his Nintendo DS with some Star Wars game and he's keen to let the boys watch. I'm keen to let them. Desperate. They watch and watch as I wait and finally sit with offical passport peeps as Nella throws all contents of my wallet on the floor. They're still watching. We say fond good byes to angel boy and make a graceful exit. Barely.

Hike home with 3 tired and hungry kiddos, eat an apple, realize we're LATE for art class! Get everyone in the van and off we go. Si doesn't even have shoes at this point. I'm hoping there's some hiding in the van. There is. All is well.

That reminds me: All is well, Sam Amidon. You should definitely listen.

I'm taking a moment though, breathing. Kiln is off, passports applied for, art class was a hit (thanks Nomie!), kids are asleep, husband too, and dogs. Laundry can wait.

Maybe it's time for a cuppa...tea. Mint with honey. Yes. Tea and bowl trimming with a pinch of knitting. Then bed beckons. I changed the sheets today AND everyone's actually in their nighttime pee protection. A rareity indeed. Ahhhhh.

Thank you handmade mug.

Possibility Pots

I love pots like this. So full of possibility. Could be any colour. They'll shrink a bit. They might not make it. I just don't know what will happen to them but there they are, drying away, waiting for more fun. It's such a process. So much fun.



These will go in the kiln for a bisque fire, then they're glazed and fired a second time. Then, if they survived all that, and I like them, you might be able to enjoy them!

In other news, on my favourite windowsill, the one with the good light, are some l'il 'ittens, my version of fingerless gloves for snacking but potentially cold fingers, just waiting for some little hands to keep warm, that is, when they're done. Pretty green, non?

All this AND I'm waiting for a LOAD of stones and wire to reach my doorstep so I can get to prettying up some lobes and necks Eastward.

A bientot.

Mind all a flutter.

Phew. It seems as though my mind's all a flutter with projects. Possible clay projects, sewing ideas, redesigning my house, then a yurt. I get really creative around this time of night. Late. When I should be sleeping.

I've got some 'ittens I'm working on for a friend's shop some pots for another shop. Maybe the shop that wants the knits will want some pots and the shop that wants some pots will want some knits. Then I'll definitely need to get some schedule happening around here. A lot of stuff happens in my head but then, poof!

My late night visits to the blogosphere of the crafty ones gets the brainy juices flowing and sometimes sketches even result. Really, I should be making. I hear there are masses in Nova Scotia waiting for Bit Folky jewelry. Coming soon to an Etsy shop near you, soon:


As things get springier around here, I find myself wanting to get involved in a whole other level of dirt. The garden variety. Me and a couple of my main gals got some tomatoes and peppers started the other day. They're my food growing mentors. Old hats. Me? I'm mainly dreaming of the perfect pair of red gumboots that I can weed away in. I'm anticipating feeling a little schooled at the amount of work this whole food production/preservation project madness will entail. C's still got SHELVES of peaches and grape juice. 7 months pregnant and out pruning away at her apricot trees in FEBRUARY!! My food preservation booty from last summer was done with in, oh, October.

Here's a poorly lit photo of some tomatoes just itching to sprout:


Here's me in the current gumboots, a bargain at $2:



Here's Silas after he found some sooty walking sticks in the fire pit. This boy always gets into something mysterious.

Ooooh, how we want to be country! Why? Because this is a Tuesday afternoon in the country.

I'm baaaaaack. Again.

Back on blogger for some new adventures. Helping Tricia with her blog and have subsequently become interested in my own Bit Folky Bits, again.

Was planting today, with friends who initiated the gardening project on this -15 celsius day. brrrrrr. Somebody take me to a warm island. Ashtanga is as close to a warm island as I'm going to get these days. It'll definitely do the trick. I'm hooked.

I'll get the photos loaded up tomorrow and perhaps be blogging with the masses more regularly. In the meantime take a look at my etsy faves in the previous post. A result of html past tutorial 101 with Tricia and requisite screaming toddlers this morning!

We've got a box turtle project on the go here. Maybe some highlights are in order?

Hmmm. Must go. I think I smell dog pee.

etsy favourites!!!

li'l knitress

Well, I've just had a gander over itch by itch and saw things I don't even remember knitting. EEK. They're finished nonetheless. Then I was going through my regular blogs and came across a link to loobylu who had posted this amazing photo:


She's knitting an entire sweater! She's even got this knitting belt thing that you rest your right needle in. There are so many amazing knitting photos. Women knitting socks on the beach as they gather kelp, women knitting as they walk with huge baskets of peat on their backs. The Shetland knitters are not to be messed with. Those are some tough gals.

I think I'll get all of my unfinished knits together and take a photo. Might motivate me to actually FINISH something. It seems I get bored of the yarn and move on to some other yummy fleece before I ever finish. The only time I actually got something done was when I joined a craft show. I think I finished 15 hats in 3 weeks when I was pregnant with Silas. Only sold one at the show but had LOTS of gifts at the ready. Now they're gone and all I have is balls and balls of yarn.


Then theres the potting escapades...

Back

I think I'm back. We'll see how this goes. Knitting and potting are officially back on the plate. Maybe I'll post one, a plate, that is. One that I made with my very own hands. Plates are tricky though.

Mandy and Melissa have started a blogect at www.itchbyitch.blogspot.com. I may post there occasionally too. I have some great gals to knit with now. Am excited.Very excited.

On official business, I'm currently working on a slouchy beret-style hat for myself, and a sideways knit baby kimono for Miss Lemon. Will post pics soon.

signed up

i had to sign up to be a blogger just to comment on mandy's blog. won't be using this for long though as chris is in the throes off a development breakthrough for our future family blog. i tell him that there these services out there, where you can do this easily but he never listens. while he reinvents the wheel, i'm missing out on some very important learning how to sculpt time. alas, it has begun...courtesy of me wanting to make a comment on man's site.

thanks, man.