Wow, where the hell have I been and why the hell am I paying for this blog and hosting if I’m not going to use it?! I really need to get on that. No. REALLY.
It’s been nutso over here for the past oh, season? The last weekend in June had us going to Baptiste Lake to hang out with J’s side of the family for a mini reunion, then back for Theya’s last day of school and a birthday party, catching up on laundry and getting the house presentable so we could head out the door for another long weekend, this time in Cold Lake to hang out with my side of the family and a massive reunion. Then scooting back in time for Theya to hang out at a Gymnastics Camp each afternoon for a week.
It’s been a hell of a whirlwind of a summer and I’m just now starting to feel like I’m settled. There’s tons of yard work to be done -isn’t there always? I know, but this yard still has a looooonnnng way to go and a LOT of work to do to make up for some shitty landscaping (on the part of the previous owners) and some cheap, eco-determined processes (on our part). I’ve managed to do a lot this year (horray for feeling NORMAL and having this amazing power called ENERGY). Still, I really must get those compost bins done and that gravel dug and soil carted and grass & clover seeded and and and and…. *breathe*
Yeah. It gets so overwhelming at times. Did I mention that I am planning to have a garage sale the first weekend of August? AHAHAHHAHAAAA. I am clearly insane. I’m still carting boxfuls of stuff up and out of the basement and into the garage destined for the sale (or donation for whatever doesn’t go).
Did I mention that, because our house is very close to the Westerner Days parade route, I told Theya she could invite 5 friends to come over early on the 21st for a Pancakes & Parade Party? Yeah. I’m nuts. I figure I’ll focus my, er, focus on getting the yard looking ‘reasonable’ (COMPOST BINS instead of horrible, messy PILES would help, there, Chair..) for the P&PP then I have a week and a half to sort through boxes, arrange and price stuff for the Garage Sale.
Did I mention that my big sister (and a huge long-time supporter of our artistic efforts) has commissioned me to make her a quilt? She sent me paint chips of her bedroom colours and told me that she’d love a tree, so I picked up a few beautiful fabrics and came up with this design:

Watercolour concept illustration.
Once that’s done, THEN I’ll be able to relax.
HAHAHA. Relax. How can I relax when I’ve been spending literally hours (not all at once, I assure you) poring through this blog: Angry Chicken; and feeling so inspired to bake, sew, craft, paint, sew, sew, sew?! I had to force myself to close her Flickr stream and stop bookmarking pages. It’s getting overwhelming again.
And yet, yes, I am happy. Things are good. J hasn’t had to work out of town much so far this summer (yes, it might come back to bite us in our butts) so he’s been around to cart the monkeys off in the bike trailer most evenings to goof around in a playground so I can at least keep the house in decent shape and have a good hour to crank my music and get stuff done.
It’s also been a real treat having Theya home in the afternoons. She helped design a matching dress set for herself and her doll (Rose) and picked out the fabrics. While I work on measuring, cutting and sewing, she’s been embroidering the front of a plain white t-shirt with flowers and hearts. I can’t tell you how much I cherish those moments crafting and creating with her. It reminds me of watching my mom sew and her lessons on how to make things -continuing the tradition with my own little girl is magical.
I really, really want to try making something like this dress, but as a jacket, and matching ones for me & Theya. Maybe in time for the fall? HAHA.
It’s great to be finding so much inspiration, though, I hope (please?) to remain motivated enough to make it back into a habit to make things and post about it here. I miss blogging.