Wednesday, May 28, 2008

My office

Not many people read this blog - it is new and somewhat unattended but just the idea that I said I'd post pictures of my office once I had it cleaned out had me working to make sure I'd have it done today while it was still light out so I could take pictures.



This is my sewing table. It's really a small kitchen table that I plan to stain this weekend. The wood is rather pretty so I am going with a very light finish. The chair is on loan from the dining room and clashes horribly with everything in here, so it will be replaced as the budget allows.

To the right of the sewing table is an empty spot, waiting for a comfortable reading chair, preferably with an ottoman so I can stretch out and really get comfortable.



This is my writing table, where I am sitting right now. To the right of the table is a nifty 3 bookshelf setup that my son thought up - two bookshelves back to back and one more spanning the sides so they make up a cube of sorts. It also blocks my view of the door so I don't keep looking out to see what mayhem the children are up to.


Who says I have too many projects going on? I had a great idea for these shelves for next year. Plan out all the holiday gifts I want to make and put what I need to make them up on the shelves so I can see them all year and (hopefully) be inspired to work on them. These shelves were kindergarten open lockers but putting the whole unit on its side makes for a great storage unit. These shelves are between the writing desk and the space for a comfy reading chair.

The artwork was bought at Boskone. The one on the left is called "Plague" by Alan Pollack and the one on the right is "Soft Landing" by Sarah Clemens.

I love my office. It's peaceful and relaxing and it inspires me to get work done in here - whether craft related or writing related.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Summer time!

Today is the unofficial start of our Summer Break here at the homeschool. The standardized tests have been taken, photocopied (in case the answer sheets get lost in the mail), and are going back to the testing company later on today.

It's been a crazy year so far but things are looking up. I've moved myself back into my office (formerly my mother's room, and before that it was my office) and taken the opportunity to do some painting and decorating. It's lovely, but a bit cluttered so once it's tidied up a bit more and the curtains are hanging up, I'll take some pictures.

I thought today would be a good day to share my summer goals for house and family.

The biggest goal is that June is going to be "Healthy Eating Month" - everyone who lives here has been warned. There were complaints until I mentioned that watermelon is healthy and we'd be eating a lot of it.

I've got sweaters to knit for Chanukah, quilts to make for winter, and hat/scarf/mitten combos to make for various and sundry relatives for the holidays.

I have more landscaping work to do around the house, the container garden to tend to and harvest veggies from, and the lawn to keep mowed.

I have a cross stitch "Live, Love, Laugh" type quotation to make for my sister-in-law and a very nice cross stitch for my mother-in-law.

Of course there has to be a lot of playing around with the kids. It's really important that we get out and just hang out, having fun over the summer so I'm not always the mean mother that makes them do their Math.

So, what are you doing for your summer?

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Home Improvements


This is the front of my house. I have never been fond of the before/after photo pairing because the befores always look so bad. Before this afternoon there were two big, overbearing bushes flanking the stairs and the paint on the railing was patchy at best. The two oldest boys did their best to cut down the bushes and I painted the railing. Now I want to paint the stairs and porch but I have to wash it down first then let it dry and it's going to rain Thursday and Friday. Maybe that will be a project for next week. Tomorrow I can plant the rest of the bulbs, plants and trees I bought. The boys will be happy to cut down more bushes and rip up more vines for me leaving me to do the digging and heavy lifting.

My husband, wonderful man that he is, says the landscaping exists to make me happy so if I'm not happy with it, I should change it.

Am I lucky or what?

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Zach is 10


Yesterday was Zach's 10th birthday. Wow. Zach tried very hard to be born too early but wound up being born at 38 weeks. I was on bedrest for about 3 or 4 weeks and there is a lot to be said for bedrest, let me tell you! He's the only one of my children that didn't threaten to go past the traditional "give birth or else" date of 42 weeks.

As we say around here, I love him with the mad crazy love! He's growing up to be a compassionate, goofy, "follows the beat of his own drummer" kind of person and I couldn't be prouder.