songs for a sunny spring morning, and other sundry things i like

Jaegen and his college friends used to joke about the “Gods of Random” knowing exactly which songs you needed to hear.  Back then (when dinosaurs regularly passed by, right?) these sage deities were limited to the number of cds your system could load at once.  Now, of course, my ipod has the lovely “shuffle songs” setting; in fact, edmund very often asks for “Shuffle Songs” as a genre of music to be played in the car.

Enough with the loquacious preamble. (smirk.) This morning, my tiny ipod selected, in this order:

“Dreaming” by OMD (from the “Twilight” playlist vanessa bought me for my birthday)

“Here Come the Geese” by the Barenaked Ladies (“Snacktime”)

“Maybe Baby” Buddy Holly

“The Bed’s Too Big” The Police

“Runnin’ Wild” an awesome scratchy, original live Benny Goodman recording from “This Is Jazz”

and finished up with “Your Song” by Elton John.

kick. ass.

granted, there’s no blues/hard rock, or or hip hop/rap, or classical in there, but still, a lovely playlist for a lovely day.

First Question O’ the Day:

What are the last 3-5 songs you listened to?

Other Things I’m Loving Right Now:

in no particular order:

1.  cherry blossoms in full, riotous bloom everywhere.

2. SUNSHINE.  SUNSHINE. SUNSHINE.  DON’T LEAVE ME, PLEASE. PLEASE. I’LL DO ANYTHING YOU ASK, JUST DON’T LEAVE!

3.  My favourite podcasts: this , (thanks forever, Meg Fowler), this, (thanks, Mark Rigolo), and this. ha ha. now you have to click to find out how fantastic these weekly doses of mommy sanity are. also, am looking forward to listening to this. though, that last one will not be to everyone’s taste.  consider yourself forewarned.

4. fresh bread in da house!!! (thanks, carolyn, for the cinnamon/raisin suggestion)

5. learning to garden.  i can’t believe it.  really, i can’t.  i am morphing into my grandmother in strange and strangely delightful ways.

6.  listening to the small people do a rendition of the Wonder Pets theme. Hi-Larrrry-Us! Will attempt to record it later, and thus subject you all to its precocious sweetness.

Second Question O’ the Day:

What is something small or minor that you are absolutely delighted with?

must go to fabric store now.  oh, the hardship.  oh, my life.

where the heck have i been

indeed.  it’s been awhile, ladies and gents, since last i posted.  what can i say?  i’m teaching sewing two nights a week, the prep for which seriously cuts into my blogging time.  that said, i have attempted, in the last two days, to make a photo record of some of the happenings here in milleyville.

Small Visitors:

On Monday, the delightful Ember joined us while her parents were finishing up term papers.

(Note the hairstyle.  apparently, we inflict it on all tiny people who enter our realm.)

Then, on Thursday, we got to hang with Moses:

who’s starting to crawl, btw.  (also note the lack of pigtails here.  while moses is growing a sweet fro, it’s not yet ample enough for hair elastics.  but don’t think we haven’t considered it.)

Creative Projects:

as happens every year when the sun *finally* shines, i go a little mad for the artistic pursuits.  in the last two weeks, i have made:

this nightie re-purposed from agatha’s extra curtains,

a skirt for myself out of this amazing fabric, and

this pair of capris for agatha, my first foray into designing pants.  In my head, i’ve also begun a version of the adelaide pinney for agatha, using some fantastic fabric, that will match the pants.

Outdoor Cleaning:

or, as other people title it, “Gardening”.  both the children, but particularly agatha, are obsessed with growing things.  we’ve been germinating seeds in cups in the house, but last week finally gave in, joined the masses, and purchased some starter materials for our own wee kitchen garden.  I have to say, it’s been quite fun, and certainly gets us outside.  All of it is made possible, however, by the fact that Edmund is now somewhat independent and self-sufficient when outside, puttering about with some favourite toys. Meanwhile, agatha spends time observing the lifestyle and behaviours of worms, or helps with the weeding and clearing.  almost idyllic, actually.  Let’s hope some of the plants will actually take

On a totally random note, i conclude with a photo of Edmund, because who doesn’t love a picture of a kid covered in marshmallows and chocolate?

question o’ the day:  are there any tasks/projects you are likely to take up in the spring?

just a gallery

photos of treats the easter bunny brought to keats island:

Question o’ the day:  what is your favourite Easter treat?

Sun=Joy

Am feeling like waxing poetical this lovely April morning, since it has now been sunny for a record-breaking 4 (!!) days, and, like a baby finally sleeping through the night, a new era of peace and harmony has dawned.

already, my lawn looks like this:

I’ve been furiously working on t-shirts using this wacky stuff, a paint that is UV/heat (?) sensitive.  Basically, whatever you cover up goes back to white when the painted area is exposed to sunlight.  Here are some of the cut-out letters still on the painted t-shirts.  I’ll post photos of the finished projects later, once the now-white spaces have been outlined.  Again, the letters you see are only paper,  cut out from these cool, free downloadable fonts website.

Question o’ the day:  What do you love best about sunshine?

good day, bad day.

Some days are unmitigated disasters. Others are a delightful romp. Then are those that seem to swing like a giant pendulum from happy satisfaction to total vexation.  Today is rolling out like one of these.

Consider the following:

Good thing:  Children and i made it to school on time (good) and in pleasant moods (v. good).  Edmund and i followed on to the dreaded Walmart to pick up a few of those No-One-Else-Carries-It items (like Kraft Caramels!!! and Milk Duds!!! and other such important things).

Bad thing:  Got home and discovered that i’d bought two identical packages of kids’ t-shirts for painting, when i intended to buy one of each of different sizes. (bad)  Discovered this mix up only once both packages had been ripped open and destroyed, thus rendering a return near-impossible. (pissy bad)

Good thing:  Isabelle called to invite agatha to spend a night away with her cousins and grandparents, which she will be thrilled about.  I opted to ask my nephew to stay, so that he and edmund could have a little cousin time too.

Bad thing:  after all the arranging, was in a hurry to get to the promised Kindergym avec Edmund.  discovered that agatha’s now-due school library book had been misfiled in the bookshelf, thus necessitating a trip BACK to school.

Good thing:  Did the kid time thing with edmund, and remembered to pick up his preschool reg package.  feeling very smugly organized.

Bad thing:  carrying now-tired child back to car, bird pukes–that’s right, pukes–on jenn’s head.  seriously gross.  semi-masticated bread crumb lodges in jenn’s unruly hair.  jenn must now drive home, gagging all the way.

the hair is now rinsed out, and i have to say, i’m a bit trepidatious (sp?) about doing ANYTHING for the rest of today.

How’s about yous?  Question o’ the day:  what’s the most pendulum-like day you’ve had of late?