robot•jumping•rope

taking a short blogging/computer break to finish up a backlog of projects and spend some not-photographed-for-the-blog time with my kids.  see ya later.

xxxx

estea

I understand that some people are skeeved out by toes and feet, or pictures of feet, or even photos of baked goods resembling bare feet. If you are one of those people, you might just want to mosey along now.

• • •

I’ll let you guess which one is the creation of an 8 year old boy.

first up: heat index reaching 110-112 degrees today. update: Laura says she heard 115-117. oy vey. (on a related note, my mother is probably baking bread, which is how she makes the best of such weather - and the incredibly short rise-time is pretty awesome. bake on, mama, bake on! I will be in the basement drinking iced tea if anyone needs me.)

the only things still looking good, no thriving, in this yard are sunflowers (’Sungold Dwarf’ this year: they reach only 3-4 feet and are so fuzzy and cute and last when cut) and my buckets of herbs on the deck. As long as they get a little drink from the rain barrel each morning, the purple and sweet basil, rosemary and sage survey the heat haughtily and without concern, mint - well, who can kill mint? - is standing tall with a minimum of watering, and the sunflowers are in Kansas after all, so they feel right at home. And the still-green ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum? ready for action, expectant and perfect in the direct west sun all day. Amazing.

…but the remaining hydrangeas, the ones the early frost did not kill, are giving me accusatory glances. “We were bred for more temperate climes, kind lady” they seem to say. Sorry, guys. Lesson learned. Next year I will do better (always say this) and not fall under the spell of all the exotic annuals and Pacific Northwest-perfect pretties sitting around in the fresh hush of the spring nursery begging me for a ride home. Natives only! I promise! Nothing that requires babying or coddling.

Someday, there might be a garden full of lovely things requiring tending and daily care and pruning and lots of feeding, because I love the challenge, and the dirt, and the thrill of successfully thwarting the bizarre Kansas climate.

But that’s someday, because for now, I’m growing children. And it’s taking every bit of nurturing I’ve got.

• • •

to those in our hemisphere, hope you’re staying cool, calm and collected right now ~ and happy Monday.

so sorry to have missed all my local blogging lovelies yesterday. my calendar was full, my brain was empty: I thought it started at 5p.m. Next time. y’all.

theater

design and production by my daughter

box courtesy my pantry

fabric from a selection contributed by a generous friend

puppets by mr. carle; you may print them here

~ happy weekending ~

is thrift day.

good hunting.

some people (ahem) have lists of naughty, hilarious phrases typed into search engines which direct people to their blog.

mine sound like rejected names for bad cover bands.

seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

sewing club grannies

flesh eating strep

laughing jumping cat patterns

how to make gobs of money painting toenails

bugs under bricks

bugs in coffee

party bugs

handsome Irish grooms (aawwww)

gingham robots

pour me a stiff one mom

amish girls in the closet (!?)

my toddler is jumping on me and I can’t sit still

my domestic robot girl

verklempt old lady arguing

my son’s skirt

housewife haircut

(okay, I know why that last one led here…because I so desperately need one…)

happy wednesday, or “no more pigtails for a while” day for me.

it seems such a simple thing, but one of the very very awesome (and frankly, unforeseen and therefore even more surprising and also awesome) benefits of being a mama is introducing all my well-remembered, much-loved or just plain terrific books to new little eyes.

like the day my 3 year old discovered George and the rest of the Shrinks and carried that tattered, taped-together bunch of pages around with him ALL DAY. (note to self: buy another in board book format.) I was floating.

or the day my 8 year old listened to me read the first few paragraphs of James and the Giant Peach before grabbing it from my hand (politely) and running to his room to lock himself inside and devour the book in an afternoon. big smile on my face for hours.

or like today, when my daughter asked me to read Sheila Rae, the Brave so many times I could put down the entire thing right here for you, right now, word for delectable word. I’d read it all day tomorrow, too (and most likely will.)

at the moment we are head over heels in love with a whole passel of guys: Steven Kellogg, Kevin Henkes, Bill Peete, James Stevenson, Jack “the frog wore red suspenders” Prelutsky and William Steig. and Farmer Boy (okay, written by a girl) is perfect summer reading. and Stuart Little had to be read aloud the past few weeks just to clear our heads of the memory of that movie, which isn’t terrible, but - come ON - that wasn’t E.B. White. no, it wasn’t, and you know i’m right. oh, and The Dangerous Book for Boys (and girls too, I’d protest, ’cause it’s full of stuff I’d have wanted to do alongside my brothers) is sure living up to its endless hype.

• • •

so, who is beloved in your bookshelf right now?

cooking.

so it’s not as bad as all that.

read books or magazines or internets

surf internets

blog internets (ok, but very briefly)

watch my stories (kidding, but t.v. is off the list)

sew (hand, machine or otherwise)

cross-stitch, or embroider

drive very well

take pictures of my crap

view from across the kiddie pool my kid throwing sand at someone else’s kid

knit (okay, honestly? i couldn’t do this before)

rummage through eBay

see garage sale signs

spot the best bargains at thrift without some serious squinting

• • •

BUT I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER.

okay, this is what i think is funny.

now you might have to be a cat person or just someone who finds bizarre, so-not-pc, slightly-offensive things hilarious.

but… if you’ve ever had a cat, you just know this is how they would talk and this is the crap they would say. totally.

*remember, I’m being medicated at this time, even if only my right eyeball, so nothing i post here may be used against me in a court of my peers.

this is Raquel (or more accurately, Raquel’s dress), whom we have known since she was very young, and who last night had a beautiful 15th birthday party, or quinceanera. we were delighted to be included in such a special celebration, and enjoyed the incredibly delicious food, and cake, and lots of laughter and family from afar and traditions I knew nothing of but appreciated immediately. her dress was lovely, and so was she; an elegant and delightful young woman in every way (I know with absolute certainty I didn’t have her poise at even 20.)

a few more photos on my flickr if you like.