This Little Girl of Mine.....

Loves to cook.

At least once a week she asks if she can make supper. I'm not talking about preparing a box of macaroni and cheese or heating some chicken nuggets. No way, she had that mastered by the time she was six. Making supper is all about finding the perfect recipe.

This process can take hours, days, sometimes all week. There will be lists and lists of ingredients needed for specific recipes. I will find cookbooks on the coffee table, on Daddy's desk in the kitchen, in the bathroom book basket.

I love busying myself in the kitchen just so I can watch her in action. She always places all of the ingredients on the kitchen island, along with the measuring cups, utensils, and the recipe is propped up for easy viewing. I love this about her.

While cooking, she is completely focused. I start to count how many times I offer to help and how many times she replies, "I got it Mom, it's ok." This makes me feel very old!

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Here, she is making Chuck Wagon Barbecue Beans from "Southern Living Kids Cookbook" which is still available at Amazon, by clicking on the link above.

The first time she made this for us was on Super Bowl Sunday, so she renamed the recipe to "Super Bowl Sunday Beans." By far, this is Daddy's favorite. One day, I made the beans. Well, I attempted to make the beans, however, did not follow the recipe exactly.....a pinch of this and a dash of that.

Well, I was busted. Tasted nothing like the Super Bowl Sunday Beans this Little girl of mine makes!

Red Sox Way or NO Way

Prior to marrying my husband, we spent endless hours planning our future. We had our own preconceived notions of what our life would be like. We are blessed to have the same fundamental beliefs in child rearing, share the same religion, and political beliefs.

Although I knew from the start he is a Boston Red Sox fan, I was surprised when he asked me if I was a Red Sox or Yankee's fan early in our relationship. Well, duh.

Several years later, we took the T into Boston to watch a game at Fenway 2 weeks before our first child was born. As I recall, we had to stop 2-3 times to go tinkle before we even made it to the stadium! All for the love of the game...or my hubby!

So technically, this was our daughters first Red Sox game!

Yes, I was nine months pregnant in the picture above. It was a scrapbook moment.

The man cave includes several of his favorite Fenway prints....

Would I find Boston peanuts for you while living in Ohio, if I weren't a fan?

Thanks to Pepere & Grandma, we have a Dustin Pedroia fat head on our son's bedroom wall.

All was well until Little League started this Spring.

This is Little Man's first season playing. Boy was he scared to show Daddy his new uniform.

"There is a hook in the garage for your jersey & cap, son." That was all he would say about it. I think he even had a sleepless night thinking about it!

But, I'm sure Daddy is thrilled to see you in your Boston Red Sox jacket on the bench with your Yankee teammates!

Go Sox!

All the right tools and supplies

One might argue, I like to collect things. One might also argue, I like to compartmentalize my things. I've even been known to spend hours organizing and reorganizing my things until they are both functional and pleasing to the eye.

Having said that, I thought I would share a few of my favorite tools and collections in the studio.

For starters, I love my June Taylor quilting press which all my supplies are currently staged on. Having grown up one of six kids, scissors were something never to be found in our house. And using Mom's sewing scissors on paper was grounds for disownment!

Yes, it may appear to be too many scissors, but, if you sew, I'm sure you'll completely agree you need different scissors for different projects. I started using a rotary cutter 15 years ago. I LOVE cutting out all of my sewing projects with the rotary cutter. Almost feels foreign using scissors to cut-out a fabric project with scissors. If you haven't noticed, they are very sharp and I'm surprised most of the rotary cutters available today, do not have a guide to protect your hands.

On a side note, while cutting out a quilt many years ago, I sliced off part of my left pointer finger. This was when the show "ER" was very popular. I was living alone at the time. I felt very faint. I called a taxi cab to take me to the emergency room. I brought the corner of my finger, which still had part of my finger nail attached, with me to the ER, in a baggie on ice. They were very polite not to laugh at me when I showed them my iced finger chunk, however, I'm sure it made for great dinner table discussion that night! Needless to say my finger healed just fine. Back to the point of this post....

I think you'll also agree you never have too much thread. I love my chest of embroidery thread.

All the colors of the rainbow....

Even with all the neatness of the embroidery thread chest 0f drawers & the Gutermann rack, I still can't part with a basket full of thread. I love digging to the bottom of the basket to find a new spool to wind up my bobbins.

Sitting on my workstation, I also keep a basket of my patterns. These aren't very photogenic since they are my own patterns made with muslin and my chicken scratch notes all over them.

Just look at all those D rings for the aprons, wristlets & diaper caddy's. Grommets for the backpacks, and silver shank buttons waiting to be dressed.

Based on the above picture, would you believe me if I told you I had to go to the fabric store the other night because I needed a zipper. Unbelievable. My kids inventoried the zippers for me after the new year. 100's of zippers and I didn't have the right color for an LBs purse!

I would love to hear about your favorite sewing tools, garden tools, or kitchen gadgets.

Happy Sewing!

Please Meet Sir Earl Grey

I am typically not fond of cats. Always thought of myself as a dog person. Growing up with a cat or two, I always thought of them as my sister's cats. Maybe this was just so I wouldn't have to feed them.

A few years ago a beautiful gray cat was found sleeping on our front wicker chair.

I would meet my neighbor out front at 6:00 a.m. each morning to walk...and there slept the gray cat. Upon my return, I could not get in the house without being loved on, purred on, drooled on. Such a Lovey!

After many attempts to find the rightful owners of the gray cat, and with the help of our neighbors, we decided to adopt him. This was also after much begging & pleading with hubby!

Instantly, he became a part of our family.

Playing games with us.....

He makes every attempt to do his brothers homework.....

He tolerates our low maintenance puppy, Gilbert....

He stands in the window most afternoons waiting for his friends to come home.

He follows me around the studio like a 2 year old.

Always finding the sunny spot....

Or trying to stay out of mischief....

He's walked across the sewing machine foot pedal while I'm sewing, a few times now...

He has been a delight from the start. Did I mention, he does not shed,

nor does he meow. Ever.

I love my Sir Earl Grey

Please Pray for William

William was born with a broken heart. He is 10 months old and is going in for his second open heart surgery on April 6th.

I do not know William. I do not know William's family.

I do know he likes John Deere because his Mom bought a John Deere Tote for him from my on-line Etsy Shop. This was the FIRST item I made with the precious John Deere fabric, not knowing it would be for a special little boy.

When I re-listed the tote on my Etsy shop, I explained, my son had a broken heart when he saw me cutting into the John Deere fabric and he realized the tote was not for him. I had no idea the tote I was making was for a little boy named William, with a broken heart.

Until, William's Mom read the caption and sent me a note telling me about her son. Of course, this made me cry like a baby. It made me turn to my husband for a hug and give thanks for all that we do have.

I shared this story with our kids. They have included him in our dinner prayers every night since.

I am asking you to do the same. Please pray for William, for his family. Please pray the Dr's & nurses are guided by God's gentle hand while in surgery. Please pray for an inner peace for his Mom & Dad while he's in surgery.

Please Pray for William's Broken Heart

Lazy Day Sunday

Before having kids, I dreamt about "Lazy Day Sundays" both as a wife and as a Mother. Although these daydreams were a vivid part of my imagination, they were influenced by my surroundings. At the time, I was living in New England, on the 6th floor of a sky-rise apartment in the city. I enjoyed all the amenities of living in the city, as a single woman, just a few short miles from the office. Albeit, the weekends were MINE to do as I pleased, something was always missing.

Looking back now, I was probably the envy of my friends with young families. I recall a friend of mine telling me she and her husband set aside 'time' to talk since their lives were consumed with the activities of their children. I just couldn't imagine!

A dozen or so years later, I am living 800 miles away from the sky-rise apartment, no longer putting on a suit each day to go to the office, and no longer worrying 'how' I would spend my weekends.

Today, was was the epitome of a "Lazy Day Sunday"

We canceled our plans and commitments since both kids are feeling under the weather.

The kids hung out with me in the studio, for hours...and hours...and hours.

They read......

They slept.....

Daddy took care of Brunch for Lunch, with a smile!

By the end of the day, I was feeling refreshed, but, the kids were ready to crash. Little Man's fever spiked so we took out a favorite book.

Sick Day, by Patricia MacLachlan, Illustrations by Jane Dyer

This is a wonderful children's book. When we picked up this book at the UConn Book Fair many moons ago, I didn't realize the author was Patricia MacLachlan. This was her first book, originally published in 1979. She went on o write two of my favorites, Sarah Plain and Tall and Skylark.

The kids then enjoyed our "Sick Day" favorite supper - Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup.

While Mommy had a spinach salad with chicken & cranberries...

I confess, I had to keep the vase of flowers on the table so I wouldn't see Daddy's delicious open-faced chicken sandwich he prepared!

Now, the kids are fast asleep. Hubby is watching his beloved Celtics and I am getting ready to package my orders to ship tomorrow. This weekend, I made a dozen tote bags with crayon rolls and 3 wristlets for this weeks' orders. A few new fabric styles this week, kept it interesting!

But, the best part of it all was having my peeps hang out with me for hours of endless chatter.

Gotta LOVE Lazy Day Sundays!

Take Time to be Thankful

I have been in a wee bit of a funk for a week or so because this is the first time in our sweet family life that we are not having dinner together each night.

We savor this time. Although it appears to be an everyday occasion that occurs without much thought, oftentimes having breakfast for dinner, or a meal prepared by Lexi-girl, the results are so much more than that.

A time to pray. A time to reflect. A time to share our day. A time to dream a little, giggle a little, and most importantly, feel unconditionally loved.

With our new baseball and softball schedules incorporated into the piano & Girl Scout schedules, our dinner hour is no longer as we once knew it. Are we becoming the prototype of the American Family?

I recently read, "Life is really about Attitude."

Last night, was the first night I gave myself an attitude adjustment once Daddy & Lexi left for softball. Rather than return to the studio to work for an hour or so, Little Man and I,

"Get this party rocking" as he so energetically put it!

We took advantage of the paved path that weaves through our subdivision along the creek.

Although this path is literally at the foot of our hill in our backyard,

we felt as if we were worlds away.

We listened to the Canadian Geese returning home, the airplanes on a sunset tour,

the trickle of the creek.

We floated leaves down the stream.

We listened to the wind blow.

By the time the sun was setting and we started our journey home,

I felt my attitude completely change.

I gave thanks for the time I spent with my Little Man.