just pictures

b/c i’m that lazy today.

since i am really really really wanting a serger right now, my question o’ the day for you is:  what gadget/technological equipment/tool would you most like to acquire right now?

so, does this count for 2 days’ worth?

apart from neurotic introspection, i am capable of documenting life here in this particular milley household.

Obligatory photos of cuteness:

And, here they are, working busily:

Agatha is working on her “Student of the Week” poster for next week.  And, not to be outdone, Edmund is working on colouring with markers on PAPER, as opposed to on the table, or on himself.

As for me, i have finished aurora’s Adelaide pinafore, and am anxiously awaiting her recovery from a cold, so that she may in fact try it on, and see whether it is a viable design.

there.  i have now more than fulfilled my stated objective to post photos.  tune in tomorrow, when i post the results of an impromptu photoshoot with edmund in his mommy-made manpris.

More jenn than you ever expected

and probably more than you wanted…but give me a challenge, and i take it as an inescapable expectation.  so, for you vanessa, here are photos of me.  it is, as you might expect, virtually impossible to take a photo of oneself with one’s children (though i will try, later this week).  Everyone else, forgive this almost meglomaniacal narcissism, and choose one headshot that you think most epitomizes me.  i’m curious to hear why, especially if you haven’t actually met me in person.  if this post is too self-involved for you, SKIP IT.  Know that you are not likely to see another image of me for some months; i don’t make a regular habit of posting images of myself.  as for the photos themselves, they are, of course, limited by the fact that i am holding the camera.  also, i declare, honestly and promisely, that i have only removed one small blemish of dried skin from my face, and only messed with shadows and colour intensity.  nothing more.  this is me.  peruse the gallery below, IF YOU DARE.

(Addendum: jaegen says i have to leave this up, now that i’ve posted it.  but, you should know, it’s killing me.  all the initial feelings of satisfaction of having taken some decent photos of myself and edited them has ebbed away.  now, all that’s left is that raw exposed feeling of yech.)

these, however, are good photos.

for those of you in the newly coined GMU (Greater Milley Universe–thanks, vanessa), here are some fantastic photos of my new nephew.  (thanks also to barbie, for posting a similar link in the comments section of the previous post).

As for the craftiness, tara, it’s funny you should mention.  i had been planning to display photos of my newest design, a re-working of that little pinafore i made for agatha the other week.  This time, I’m calling it the “Adelaide”, and have done it in a Holly Hobbyesque fashion for a child Aurora’s size (if she will deign to wear it   It’s still in pieces, but here are some shots of the pocket i have designed and fashioned for it.  they remind me of little ladybugs, and i’m sure i’ll be making one into a ladybug jumper soon…

Oh, and Lisa, from where i’m sitting (rubbing frigid fingers together in a drafty old house), i can’t see any signs of spring to take photos of–but don’t lose heart.  once the snow melts(!), i’ll be sure to keep an eye out.

i never said they’d be good photos.

apparently, as soon as you announce to the universe that you are going to take photos, a special trauma-inducing pheremone is released, and the children/subjects of the intended photos spend all morning crying and generally avoiding any kind of photo op.  seriously.  i think these are the only photos i could manage to get without edmund in hysterics, or agatha negotiating how many times she would accept the sound of the shutter clicking.  and that’s only barely. Here:

i caught agatha at booktime, before she could protest.  and here,

i think you can tell he’s been teary and snotty.  to be fair to both littl’uns, they’ve been sick all weekend, and are feeling pretty mibs (a family word coined to express that miserable–miserable/mibserable/mibs– feeling you have when your body aches all over, and your head is congested)

and for artsyness’s sake:

mmm….candy.  mmm…candy on counter waiting to be consumed….

as for what we ate for breakfast, vanessa, it was a bomb as well.  i had out Mini Wheats for both children, thinking this to be a delightful treat, but both rejected their bowls of cereal wholesale amidst cries of protest and, again in edmund’s case, total hysteria.  lunch was an havarti/turkey pepperoni quesadilla, and was met with slightly better reception.

Hey…i’m alice!

alive, actually, but this little typo continues to amuse, years after stumbling upon it.

anyhoo, that’s all to say that i am, in fact, conscious, in moderate health, and without real excuse for my lack of posting in the past week.  suffice it to say, though, that in january, inspiration seems very, how you say, thin on the ground.

so, since i am both MyOwnBoss, and therefore, MyOwnWorstEnemy, i am going to set myself an arbitrary little task for this week.  I will try, barring trips to emerg, or other such domestic calamities, to post a little photo each day until friday.  this will be a tonic for my mild ill humour, and will hopefully provide a wee spot of cheer in your week (good grief, who’s been watching too many period piece dramas downloaded from british teevee??).  it would be helpful, nonetheless, if you, my faithful readers, (if you’re still out there. sniff. ) could offer up suggestions for photos/posts.  are there parts of my humble existence that you have not seen?  would you like a play-by-play of a typical morning?  like to know my latest musings on the state of literature and the arts?  Consider these somewhat self-focused questions to be your Questions o’ the Day.  I look forward to hearing your suggestions.  as for today’s photo, i’m afraid you’ll have to check back later today, or watch your RSS for it.  it is yet neither bright enough, nor eventful enough for photo-taking.

ttfn.

Because the intertoobz make everything possible…

I bring you “Princess Bride” papercraft!seriously whimsical.  it’s made my day.

Question o’ the day:  If you could have anything rendered into cubecraft (like the above) who/what would it be?  Answer, please, since this is a fantastic question, isn’t it?

shamelessly ripped off

from the formidably popular and ever-effervescent meg fowler, today i steal the “Friday Love List”. I’m not the list maker that meg is, never will be, but it seemed to me to be a good idea to get things going in a positive direction this morning. behold, TheListOfThingsILove: (not in any particular order)

1. that small patch of blue sky that emerges like a revelation b/w clouds, after weeks of rain or snow
2. dogs who lean into you when you scratch their ears or back
3. a really good chocolate chip cookie (or 2) for breakfast, and the attendant cup of strong coffee
4. that feeling you get when you know that you have nothing you HAVE to do, just as you drift off into a nap
5. sewing the knitted pieces of a sweater together, and finding that together, they look so much better than as separate pieces.
6.going into local shops with edmund, to hear what he’ll say to shopkeepers: “Mamma mia!”–in an italian deli, “Excuse me, I’d like a ham and cheese croissant”–in the bakery
7. the look of absolute delight on agatha’s face EVERY SINGLE TIME she spots me waiting outside the classroom door in the afternoon.
8. kneading pizza dough, as the warm smell of bread yeast fills the kitchen
9. the sound of waves, when it’s the only sound i can hear.
10. knowing that my friends and fam read these little offerings regularly, and knowing that people i’ve never met do too. i feel truly honoured.

so there you have it.  as meg always suggests, feel free to partake in the love yourselves, and compose lists of your own.  i would love to know what you love.

when you can’t say anything nice…

seriously, i’ve thought about posting for a week now, and everytime i think about it, i feel totally whiny and snivelly and stressy and credgy and all these unhelpful, unfun feelings.  so, i’ve abstained from contaminating all of you with my crankiness.  most of it stems from the fact that my back continues to be an issue.  by the end of every day i’m Super Irritable Woman ™ and none of you want to experience that.  (just ask my poor husband and kiddles)

On a brighter note, i officially became an aunt (again) today.  very exciting!!!  I will post photos of the newest Milley as they become available.

Random shift in topic.

as is usual for me at this time of year, i’m rather obsessed with modes of escape from the dreary grey monotony that is winter.  so much so that i almost veered into a travel place today to have a look at their advertised disney deals.  i know.  we already did that.  i know.  we have a leak in our roof and other necessary home improvements to make.  i know.  i’m crazy.

but still.  i desire new sewing/craft/art projects,  an engrossing novel (i’ve been given one–thanks, mark–but i can’t read it until i’ve completed this month’s bookclub book)  an engrossing television program (it’s called “Lost in Austen”), a beachside vacation, etc. i get all grabby pants about all  of this too.  (another reason why i’ve slowed down the posting frequency).

Question o’ the day:  does anyone else get like this?  do you dream of various things to forget the sometimes overwhelming dreariness?  the drudgery of school/work/domestic life?  do you feel guilty for even thinking (as i do) that things are dreary or depressing?  is it possible to communicate BOTH thankfulness and frustration in a manner that doesn’t sound either smug or excessively whiny?  answering any or all of these questions, my wise friends, would be extremely helpful.

A severely truncated timelapse.

okay, so five photos do not a timelapse make.  it’s just that i wanted to record, in as brief and non-narcissistic a manner as possible (is that possible in blogland???), how something goes from a little idea at the back of my brain, to somehow become, with difficulty and magic, a material thing.

Exhibit A:  agatha’s little top/tunic thingy, that’s permanently stained, but really cute.

So, i’ve been clearly thinking about this top for awhile now, but in a largely sub/semi-conscious way.  today, at exactly 2:11 p.m. i began to sketch it out on paper.  keep in mind that i have to leave our house to pick up agatha by about 2:45 at the latest.

Exhibit B:  pattern drafting, at my very introductory level, is hardly glamourous.

Skip to about 4:30 p.m.  soup is simmering, children are busy.  I grab this, Exhibit C:

leftovers from christmas jammies. i cut the assorted pieces, hacking two strips for straps, and am promptly called away to do the whole mommy/domestic thing, until about 5:45, at which point i sew the straps.  anyhoo, before i veer dangerously into overwhelming detail, let’s just say that life transpired to allow me a little time this evening.  So excited was i that, at about 8:30 this evening, I had this

in my living room.  i’m afraid i feel a ta da coming on….TA DA!  And, just because i can, a close-up of the pocket (a last minute addition):

So there.  thanks for letting me share. i hope it wasn’t too painful or boring.

Question o’ the day:  what kinds of things will nag at your mind until you do something about them?  chores?  fixit projects? poems?