Randomness

I don't have anything big to say, but a lot of little random chatter, more for myself than anyone...

It's two days after Christmas and I'm slowly cleaning the house, area by area. I'm scrubbing floors, walls etc... more intensely than I have since before Esme was born. It needs it... especially in the areas we don't use much. The floodwater coming in to the garage wasn't the entire cause but it did spur me on a bit more. Usually I clean when I am upset or worried -- and maybe there is a little of that in here but also a sense of satisfaction that Esme will be playing here soon. She is running all over the house now more and more -- and getting into so many more places.

Next week they have me on a shift starting at 4 am - which is better I guess than laying me off. I've heard this is the time of the year they do lay people off until the busy season starts again... This should be interesting. At least they're giving me three days off before that to shift my schedule.

They say it is the perfect weather condition today for a tornado, unseasonably warm, windy and thunderstorms predicted. Mark says he can feel the pressure changing in the air. The trees are whipping around violently and the dogs are all sitting on the porch enjoying the warm air.

Feeding Esme has become more of a challenge, as she goes away from wet baby food and into mostly things she can feed herself. She likes carrots and corn, most other vegetables she just pushes around. If she has corn she won't eat anything else on her plate until every kernel is gone. I say she gets that from Mark as corn is his all-time favorite non-meat product. She really hates mashed potatoes.. not sure why, maybe the texture.

In a previous life perhaps I was a nomad, as things like pottery, rugs and blankets really draw my eye. I've spent a lot of time looking at things like this recently, in the store and on Etsy, wondering how our house could be better organized. I think that is why I am cleaning the house - a mixture of worry from job/family in Minnesota and just wanting things to look nice. The fabric and yarn I am also drawn to are perhaps just because they make the rugs and blankets... warm soft tactile things that can be moved to where thay are needed most for comfort. Pottery is just pretty and good to store things in. I gave myself a long narrow pottery tray for Christmas this year because my handmade soaps were overflowing the soap dish ;)

I bought Esme some long sleeved shirts and a sleeper to grow into. They are 'advertised' as boys' clothing, with blue and grey and brown colors. However, they have dinosaurs and robots and airplanes on them. I grew up a tomboy. I still like dinosaurs and robots and airplanes myself ;) The last round of clothes I bought for Esme was on clearance and was predominantly pink, purple and turquoise. And all the girls' clothes seem to be garish colors or covered in Dora the Explorer, Disney, Hannah Montana etc... why can't they just be plain or simple designs? Esme just moved up from her 6-12 month and 12 month clothes to 12 and 18 month sizes. She seems to always be in the middle some from one size and some from the next up, too long in the legs for one and have to roll the sleeves up on the other. So now I'm working on collecting 24 month and 3T ;) it's nice to plan ahead.

A few mentions

Some things I've seen around today and liked:

Little Alouette toys. They have teething keys made of wood. I was looking for something like this for Esme back when she was very small, and never found it. They have the old fashioned ones like the plastic keys we grew up with, except they're wood!

And that led me to SMALL magazine, which I admit is very cool. Nice layout and focuses on small enterprises for children, clothes etc... a nice read and I hope to get time to visit their next issue.

And that's it - for now. All the toy orders were out in the mail on Monday. It was great to be done! I have four days off from my town job now, after seven days on, and am hoping to enjoy it! I just want to play with Esme and take her to see Grandma and run around the house/yard :) There will probably be some sewing in there too. Merry Christmas to you all and I'll probably pop back in whenever I have cute pictures or toys, but other than that it is relax time :)

Facebook

I made a facebook account just to send a message to an old friend - and suddenly all these people from my old high school are sending me messages out of the blue! Eep! Is that good or scary? ;)

Agreed CarrieK: It is actually kind of cool. A lot of the people I barely remember but there are a few I'm glad to get in touch with again. And it is interesting to login to the home page and get an overview of what everyone is doing.

Sometimes you have to play with the scraps

Even when you know you should be doing something else - the scraps of fabric sometimes call out. These are scraps of fabric from making the dragon pillow, and they want to be a 'bedbug.'

Mark took some beautiful pictures of the kittens outside today. And I've been knitting during my lunch hour at work. I have a VERY long scarf that is nearly done. We have an old dressmaker's dummy coming sometime next week by UPS which will be a great place to display knitting and other whimsies for the shop.


Bed Bug Caterpillar Pillow


Shop Feedback: I love it when feedback comes back on the shop items. The rattly cat ball aliens and the striped sherbert colored zebra are happy in their new home. Also, the lady I made mousebear twins for a while back is happy and says they are perfect for little hands :) The lady who bought the last bassinet quilt (the michael miller carnival bloom one) is thrilled and says it is awesome. I included a homeless cotton flopsy bunny inside the quilt when I sent it to her.

Not too much else at the moment - but lots of things are still in progress.