How my kids see me:

Here is a survey to give children...regarding how they perceive their mother. My kiddos are 5 and 6 years old. I hope you enjoy their answers; I know I did.

• What is something your mom always says to you?

6 year old: Brush your teeth and brush your hair.

5 year old: It's time for dinner.

• What makes mom happy?

6 year old: Doing school work with us.

5 year old: When I give her a present.

• What makes mom sad?

6 year old: Getting hurt.

5 year old: When we don't listen to her.

• How does your mom make you laugh?

6 year old: Jokes and when she tickles my ribs.

5 year old: When she uploads funny pictures.

• What was your mom like as a child?

6 year old: She wore glasses in her teens.

5 year old: She always laughed sometimes.

• How old is your mom?

6 year old: 30

5 year old: 80? [!! I am 30!!]

• How tall is your mom?

6 year old: 6 foot, 8 inches.

5 year old: 40 by 60.

• What is her favorite thing to do?

6 year old: Making sure school is fun to us and spending time with the family.

5 year old: Typing on the computer and spelling things.

• What does your mom do when you're not around?

6 year old: I think she watches movies with daddy downstairs.

5 year old: She goes on a date with dad, or watches movies that would be stinky to kids.

• If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

6 year old: Singing.

5 year old: She'd be a rock star.

• What is your mom really good at?

6 year old: Hugs and kisses.

5 year old: Cooking.

• What is your mom not really good at?

6 year old: Spending a lot of money.

5 year old: Making hard patterns with buttons.

• What does your mom do for a job?

6 year old: Schoolwork.

5 year old: Schoolwork. [I homeschool them]

• What is your mom's favorite food?

6 year old: Blueberries?

5 year old: Sausage. [Note that I am a vegetarian]

• What makes you proud of your mom?

6 year old: She sings to us.

5 year old: She does nice things.

• If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

6 year old: Olive...you know, that girl from Popeye?!

5 year old: Mary Poppins.

• What do you and your mom do together?

6 year old: Snuggle.

5 year old: We play.

• How are you and she the same?

6 year old: Our brown hair.

5 year old: Our eyes.

• How are you and your mom different?

6 year old: She's older.

5 year old: Because of our shoes. Mine are smaller.

• How do you know your mom loves you?

6 year old: Hugs and kisses, and she always watches over us.

5 year old: She has my heart.

• What does your mom like most about your dad?

6 year old: He's cute.

5 year old: He loves her.

• Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

6 year old: The weekend.

5 year old: The market (The French Quarter in New Orleans) and to get new clothes.

Fun, no?!

Every Garden Needs

Planning My Garden

I love the old Victory Garden war posters and talking with my grandmother (aged 91) about the vegetable gardens they grew as she was growing up.

This year, I am inspired to try my largest home garden yet. In past years we have successfully grown tomatoes, leeks and peppers. Now we'll stretch our veggie vines a bit.

I've ordered or started:

• Bowling Red Okra
• Star of David Okra
• Jaune Obtuse du Doubs Carrots
• Cosmic Purple Carrots
• Green Doctor Cherry Tomatoes
• Titan Sunflowers
• Brightest Brilliant Quinoa
• Scarlet Runner Beans
• Gotte Jaune d'Or Lettuce
• Rouge d'Hiver Lettuce
• Contender Green Beans
• Filius Blue Hot Pepper
• Ashe County Pimiento Sweet Pepper
• Tigger Melon
• Japanese Long Cucumber
• Black Beauty Zucchini
• Moon and Stars Watermelon
• Genovese Basil
• Lime Basil
• Bouquet Dill
• Lavener
• Slo Bolt Cilantro
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Garlic
• White Onions

This weekend we're constructing four or five raised beds. I hope to either mulch around the beds, or start a ground cover around them. This will ensure a large patch of the backyard won't need mowing!

Potatoes are going in a potato tower like this one. Might we end up with 100 lbs of spuds like so many websites promise?!

Additionally, we're sticking some tobacco and cotton in the ground. The tobacco is purely for the fun and enjoyment of the hubs. This way, maybe I can persuade him to do the watering once in awhile. The cotton should be experimental fun for the kids. I want them to see how the main product of our clothing grows. It is the "fabric of our lives," is it not?

I'm also planning a row of grape vines. In the last couple years, I've explored making my own wines. This year maybe some of the grapes will come from our own vines. A girl can dream, at least.

I can't wait to get out there and till up some dirt...stir up some compost...make garden markers with the kiddos. See you in the sunshine!

Lace

"Out of the way! We are in the throes of an exceptional emergency! This is no occassion for sport- there is lace at stake!" Ms. Pole

Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford

As My Mind Travels to Exotic Greece...

Image

The Hubs and I have bounced around the idea of a Grecian vacation for a long time. It's not happening this year, but I'm always grabbing bits of info from the travel channel, or Rick Steves, or my aimless walks around the internet.

On New Years, my family watched My Life in Ruins starring Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss. Have you seen this movie? It is funny and entertaining. The scenery is breathtaking.

I'm a couple of seasons behind, but this movie really inspired me to look at Grecian design. First off: Vardalos wears a stunning blue dress in the movie:

I wish I had a full length picture of the dress. The color is so vibrant. On closer inspection the sleeves seem a bit odd to me. She wears plenty of beautifully draped dresses throughout the film...I'll have to watch it again to pick out my favorites.

Some other beautifully draped designs:

(via afashionablelife.wordpress.com)

(from Etsy seller flowersun)

This dress above is my favorite. It looks carefree and comfortable, but it also ups the style quotient for an everyday knit dress.

(from Etsy seller MotherMidnight)

So anyway, I'm in Greece this morning. Mentally, at least.

Moving

All of my sewing is stashed away into 4 large totes, 2 long under-the-bed style totes, 5 medium packing boxes, and my new notions box (thanks to my sis for that awesome Christmas present).

Packing this stuff gets tedious, and I'm constantly on nerve thinking of two impartial movers sloughing my stuff haphazardly into the back of their truck. But really, I can't write FRAGILE on all of my boxes, can I?

image: mycottagedownunder.blogspot.com

My serger and vintage Singer machines both have their own cases, and I feel pretty confident they'll arrive in working pieces. I have a White machine out on loan to my sister; it will come back in one piece, too.

I fear my case-less Brother won't be so lucky.

So I packed 6 yards of fleece around it before lovingly tucking it into it's already-padded box. This may actually be the best use I've ever found for any fleece.

image: artfire.com

On a side note, I'm enjoying some herbal coffee today. I said adieu to caffeine about a year ago, and decaf coffees leave me feeling apathetic to their genre at large. Usually I sip herbal tea. While picking up my boxes of Tazo at the store yesterday, I saw this chicory/almond faux coffee concoction. I think it's delish. Teechino, where have you been all my life?!

image: arizona-coffee.com - originally a Maxwell House ad

Nancy Drew, or Fashion for the Bungalow

My daughter and I made our way through a 'gently used' bookstore last night. We found several first edition Nancy Drew books (Trixie Belden, too... but her style was not so developed). I had fun sharing my memories of Nancy, Bess, George and Ned. My daughter looked through the books with curious interest, holding each as though it were a foreign object from some long-forgotten past. Those moments make me smile.

Now, I'm only 29, so the first editions predated me. I still remember checking them out from the library. Those older stories gave me my first glimpse into the past. I learned fancy words for friends, cars and homes. I also saw how Carolyn Keene (the real person, not the pen name used during my day by several authors) described Nancy's smart outfits. That girl was always put together.

I've collected some of Ms. Drew's best vintage looks. Here, now, for your enjoyment and my daughter's awe:

Pretty blouse with bow tie and matching skirt. Set waves with side part. Perfect for solving crime.

Bess gets my vote for best dressed on the dock. That green frock and matching hat take the cake! All three ladies look so composed, so overdressed by today's standards. Note the bobbed hair; those forward thinking gals.

This is perfect to go riding in that awesome car daddy gave her. Cloche, scarf, riding gloves. Nance knew her way around the accessory counter.

Matching dress, belt and purse. I know the matchy-matchy look is dated now, but sometimes I think it still packs a punch.