all buttoned up.

Button Book For You

 
I'm headed over (through the rain and wind, Spring Break, you disappoint me) to Bolt this afternoon to see Susan and celebrate the recent release of Button It Up.  I'm told there will be cookies.

That girl... she knows what she's doing and is one of the most supportive and passionate craftspeople I have ever met.  I'm lucky to know her.  And I'm lucky enough to have a book to give away.  To sweeten the pot, I'm going to throw in a pile of vintage buttons from my own stash to get you started.  Sally and I were talking about how much we liked this book because it has the right balance of good information and how-to, but functions so well as a look book, too.   This is such a great gift book.

Oh, and we both have projects in there. 

Leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a winner Monday night at 8pm PST.  I think I'm going to go ahead and ship anywhere.  Spread the love, right?
You can get more info on book signings, giveaways and free projects here. 

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Thank you so much for all your comments... I know that Susan appreciates all the excitement over her labour of love!  The winner is Christine at comment number 35. 

So much to say

August is terrified of bubble baths-- he panics and screams to get out.  We think it is because he cannot see his feet.  Yesterday  we went to the Dr. for a checkup and shots and an actual blood draw on his little tiny arm, and he barely flinched through any of it.  He was the first toddler they had ever seen who hadn't cried even a little bit.  But you better watch out if all of a sudden he can't see his toes.   

See?  I have so much to write down here and no time to do it. 

I started panicking myself last weekend as we started off Spring Break.  I have this massive list of to-dos from the last five months that was not doing itself and a whole week in which to worry that it was not getting finished.  I know, call me Sunshine.  Anyway, now it's Thursday and we are getting there but I'd like another week please, and pretty, pretty please someone to clean the house and cook so I could squeeze some more out of what's left? 

Thank you for all your words and the time you take to share them here.  I am shamefully behind in answering questions and responding to mail in the way that I would like.  I know you get it, and I'm pretty sure you don't expect much, but you know, I want to do better.  This space and the people in it-- you-- you have given us so much. 

Here are some more things:

• Jen sent us this beautiful package with gifts for all the boys.  It came at the perfect time for Sam who has (finally and triumphantly) taken a shine activity books and drawing for more than five minutes at a time. And then, My Word, there is this sweater...
• I am sewing!!  My sister is co-hosting a little trunk show up in B.C. on April 4th and I have been putting some things together to send up.  It's going to be in Abbotsford (for those of you In The Know) and I'm wishing I could be there for it.  If you go, please say hi to her-- her name is Sharalee.  She's pretty. 
• Nobody in this house has the flu!!  August is making a full recovery and I am so thankful that winter is over (in theory anyway).
• I'm heading over to Bolt on Saturday for Susan's book signing.  It's going to be good.  AND I have a book to give away tomorrow, so check in. 
• I lost so many plants this winter.  My yard is full of plant carcasses.  This is sad.

I'll leave you with proof of progress... Pillows for the show:

Okay!  My parents are here and my dad is changing into his work clothes which may mean I should fill buckets of water or get out the flashlights, just in case.  Also, he expects some sort of dinner food. 

The Bed is not Made

AND, there's stuff on the floor.  But this is my house, so I know you're not surprised.  Sam's room is slowly coming together and I know I said it already, but he is so pleased.  I am too.  There are a few more things for the walls and we'll probably get some sort of carpet for next winter.  I have my eye on a new light fixture. The window trim needs some paint.  There's also this little, bitty closet that I have jammed full of stuff (I'm actually standing in it to take the picture) which will get cleared out eventually.  I'll be honest though, the fact that he won't wear shirts with buttons on them sort of takes care of him needing to hang anything up and has me thinking my stuff looks just fine in there. If I had waited until everything was done to take pictures, he'd probably be old enough to throw me out and lock the door.  I'm sure parts of it would also have been repainted black.  

This is my favourite bit so far-- a Sarah Neuberger original map and a copper horse Paul banged out in middle school, which happened to fit exactly into a frame we already had.  Sam also has his first pet!  It's a house plant in its own little Grobal.  

The bulletin board is just a very cheap Ikea frame, some cork I got second-hand ages ago, and elephant fabric.  The bookshelf is the ever lovin' Ikea Expedit and so is the desk- which is huge and can easily fit a few kids around it.  The paint colours are hard to see, but it's all Yolo.  Two walls are leftovers from the living room, and the rest (including the ceiling) are painted their brightest white.  This is how one of those walls looked before and here's the rest of it when we were sleeping/sewing in it. 

 

I'm almost "done" with our room, too, which means there is also sewing happening.  I know, Shut Up!  Oh, and Whitney?  Rhubarb. 

Framily

 
Sam has been on this loop last week about adoption and birth families (like, who are his people?  Surely he didn't get stuck with just the one set).  He's almost five.  Almost five is really, really lovely.  For those of you struggling with the Threes and Fours... hold on to the Almost Five Hope.

He got a new room two weeks ago and he is all aglow with the responsibility of cleaning up his dirty clothes and putting on a cassette tape of his choosing and closing the door. 

Having two brothers has been the best thing, in his opinion.  I thought his head was going to explode with grief when we brought August home almost a year and a half ago.  I knew he would change, but I wasn't sure when, and I didn't dare hope that it would be SO GOOD when the time came.  He wouldn't touch Augs for months and the smell of formula made him gag (and more than once, throw up).  There was so much crying. 

There is really only love now... a little fighting, but mostly love-- for all three of them.  He takes very good care of both babies and told me that he would be so lonely without August to play with.  It is good.  We are good. 

Molly's Life

I do not make a lot of room in my life for books.  Children's books-- yes, but other sorts, other than cook books or craft books or whatever-- no.  If I were to explain this to 9 or 14 or even 22 year-old me, I would expect that they would sit in shock for a moment while their eyes welled up with tears of disbelief and sadness. I have consoled myself over the last few years that there will be a time, very soon, when reading for joy will be just that, joyful, and not something to try and fit in when I've exhausted other options.  I have read some very good books this last year or two (and two really not good ones), but it's felt a bit like cheating on the rest of my life.  Sad, but true.

I've been thinking about this a good amount, and wondering what to do exactly, and then Molly's book showed up in the post this morning.  Molly-- now there's a girl worth cheating for.  So, while the babies were sleeping and Sam had his mouth full for a minute (he's at that crazy don't-stop-to-take-a-breath-I-have-so-much-to-say-out-loud stage), I put on the Frances tapes and said very quietly, "bud, I'd love it if we could just sit and be together quietly for a little while.  Is that all right?"  He said that it would be okay, maybe, if he could have more granola and milk and, uh, a small candy cane. 

I made it to page 55.

Then, while acting as passenger on our couch plane, and right before he pointed above my head to the blank wall and said, "Mrs., do you see that sign?  It says books are dangerous when you're flying, so put it away. Thank you", I got right up to Coconut Macaroons, recipes and all.

I love good stories and I love good food and Molly knows how to pull out both.  There is this deep, hilarious chasm between people who love to write and people who love to write and do it well--  A Homemade Life falls soundly into the latter category and it makes me yearn to put books and reading and taking great pleasure out of both, back into my life. 

Thank you, Molly.

(I'll be at Powell's tomorrow, but the whole list of signings and appearances are here.  Totally, totally jealous that I won't be hangin' in Oklahoma City with the Huffsters, so if you're there, give Hannah a little good game smack and tell her it's from me.). 

Sam missed the Globetrotters.  He was holed up on the couch with a fever and made the decision not to go on his own.  He hasn't said a word about it since.  Shortly after, my little cold jumped the firelines into bonafide influenza that eventually turned into a big old infection.  This earned me a trip to Urgent Care and a shot of toradal in my bottom.  I have never felt so sick as an adult.  But-- there is hope!--  yesterday I left the bed and moved down to the couch, and today I'm considering proper pants.  It is a good day.

Other things I've missed this week:

• Mrs. P.  Paul took all the boys on his own and said it was great.  When I asked Sam about it he said, "oh, right, Mrs. P.  Her hair was different."
• Snow
• Cleaning this place.  It is pretty dismal in here.
• Food.
• Hearing/using the right side of my face (which goes from being numb to throbbing throughout the day)

It being the FIRST OF MARCH, I have only good things to look forward to, I think, and so that's going first on the to-do list: Muster Enthusiasm.  It will be right before Take A Shower.