A Quilt for Baby C

 Last night I put the binding on this quilt for a new little baby in Sitka. Today, a spectacular February day for Southeast Alaska, was perfect for taking some pictures of it before I gifted it.

A soft flannel back will make for some good snuggle time for little baby C! I managed to sneak in a quick snuggle with the boy while I dropped off the quilt! Tiny baby bliss.

Full Circle

It seems as though we have come full circle as a family, returning to the place where this blog started several years ago. We've added Finn and quadrupled the noise in our house, lived in two states and three houses, made many new friends and said many teary goodbyes. The most amazing thing about moving back to this town is that so many of our friends remain and the warm welcome we received was incredible. There was none of the angst normally (at least for me) associated with finding my way into new friendships, locating all the essentials, and getting lost. Sitka, we love you!

Enjoying the scenic ferry ride from Bellingham

Walking on the Cross Trail

Happiness is rain and mud!

This girl loves a good hike.

14/365

Will I ever have all the skin on my knuckles? Home repairs are costly...in many ways!

13/365

All we need is...

12/365

Want to know what is awesome when the temperature is negative two? Splitting wood.

We are making progress on the other house. The small bedroom is painted. The tub is caulked. Some huge gouges in the floor are on their way to being filled. Filling holes in our bedroom walls, possibly a first coat of paint in there, and painting the hall are all on the agenda for tomorrow.

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 A quilt for Zola. A darling baby who had a bit of a rough start to life but who is doing quite fabulously now! Made from an assortment of fabrics and a patchwork 'Z' for the back.

Rainbow Wonky Log Cabin

Patchwork Z

A closer view

Quilt photo session helper!

10/365

Last week, for our tenth anniversary, Mike and I got my mom and Finn this...snuggle time on the couch. We're nice like that!

9/365

Want to know what is disgusting? I'm happy to tell you. It's other people's caulk.

I have recaulked bathtubs before, and no, it is never fun, but when all the grossness that accumulates in the caulked joints of a tub surround do not belong to you, and/or your immediate family members, it is just plain gross.

On the bright side, after way too many hours of scraping, scrubbing, razoring, prying, and other various failed methods, the old is gone and the new is ready to be applied. Tomorrow. When I'm not so grossed out!

This house has an all-in-one tub and shower. That's right, no caulk!

8/365

The night of her Christmas program. She's dressed, brushed, braided, and missing her first tooth. The excitement was palpable I tell you. Palpable!

7/365

When in search of a Christmas tree, always pick on up the steepest slope around. If you can't make it to the tree, turn around and slide down that slope to pass the time. One of the best lessons of childhood: make your own fun!

6/365

Weiser. When I think about living there, I think about work. A lot of work. I guess that is to be expected with home ownership. Leaving was really hard. Moving on and letting someone else enjoy all that work was hard, but in a satisfying way. Here are a few pictures that our realtor took and used on her website.

 New concrete work in the front. New flower beds. New trees. New paint. New gate. New faucet.

New counters. New cupboard. New paint. Refinished floors. New window treatments. New ceiling. New lights. I really wish I had a good "before" picture of this room, because when I look at the "after" I can hardly believe it is the same room.

Goodbye Weiser house. You will forever hold many wonderful memories for our family!

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This was just one of the views on our drive home today. Road trips are always a little nicer when the scenery is amazing!

4/365

Ten years in numbers: Three thousand six hundred fifty two days. Three states. Six moves. Two kids. Six cats. Five vehicles. Owned a trailer. Sold a trailer. Owned a house. Sold a house.

Ten years in love: Too much to measure!

Happy anniversary, Mike!

3/365

Something I learned about myself today...when painting a room, I should never start the second coat in the same place I started the first coat. My anal retentively sharp lines and precise cutting in go rapidly by the wayside and are replaced by a half-assed close enough mentality by the end of the project. That said, the kids' room is painted. One more project crossed off the list!

That squeaky snow is here. This morning's walk to the bus was loud in a really cold way. Minus three degrees. Not quite free-your-nostrils-together cold, but getting there.

Also, I should nap with the boy more often. We snuggled and slept for two hours this afternoon and were both in much better moods because of it.

2/365

This morning, as Clare and I waited for her bus to arrive, a light snow was falling. The temperature was nine degrees Fahrenheit. Daylight was just starting to lighten the horizon. The street light was glinting off the freshly fallen flakes, making them sparkle like a million diamonds. Clare and I talked about how beautiful it was. Then she looked up at the snow falling out of the sky, past the light, and said, "Look Mom, it is like there are thousands of little orange fireflies floating in the sky!" Sometimes cold mornings with a six year old can be absolutely magical.

1/365

A new year, a new beginning...time to start posting again.

The ornaments are packed. The lights are gone. The tree is down. The floor is swept. Things seem empty, yet clean. The snow is white and a little bit more seems to fall each day, keeping the ground fresh and powdery. The air is crisp and cold, but not so cold that the snow is squeaky. Yet. This is January in Montana.

Our temporary housing will only be ours for a few more days...weeks maybe. We are currently fixing up the adjacent property to move in there. It is odd to be a renter, yet have the ability to rip out carpeting, pull up sub-flooring, refinish floors, paint walls, re-caulk a tub, throw away a ton of pack ratted shit, and who knows what else. I guess we are just too handy for our own good. Or too particular about our housing arrangements. Anyway, after a few more coats of paint, some work in that bathroom, and a couple coats of finish on the roughest parts of the floor, I think we'll start moving. Should be fun!

I'm off to kiss my snugly babies one last time, tuck them under the covers, and head to bed myself.

Quarterly Housing Update

 We are slowly crossing off the projects on our super long list. Thanks to a visit from Grandma and Grandpa, we were able to complete some difficult ones while they entertained the grandkids! Can't thank you enough for that, Bob and Carol.

New tile layout. All cut and labelled.

Layout looking the other direction.

Hard-working tile cutter, covered in tile dust!

Tile grouted and face trim added.

Half the foundation painted. All finished now, but no photo to share.

Fruit trees in blossom.

Tulips against new foundation paint.

Ornamentals in bloom. Pear (white) and almond (pink).

Quarterly Kid Update!

The boy having a tea party

Smoothie mustache

Two smoothie mustaches

Easter fun

Concentration required: Making a train track while working on potty training.

Pioneer Park in Pendleton

Pioneer Park as well

Rummikub with Grandma

Alphabet train puzzle with Grandpa

Painting together

Don't interrupt the artist for pictures when she is working on an abstract painting!

All about the sunglasses!

Quarterly Quilt Update

Things are busy in the world of quilting. First up is a commissioned quilt I made for the daughter of some friends. This quilt stretched my quilting abilities as it was neither a color choice I would have chosen, nor a friendly size to wrestle through my machine. In the end, all parties were super excited about the finished product, especially its 13 year old recipient!

Beautiful B&W print by Alexander Henry

 A second quilt I finished was a collaborative effort with Emily for our mutual friend's new baby. The rainbow side is mine. Em and I weren't going for matchy-matchy, but we did want the two sides to look nice together. Apparently we are good quilting team because there was surprisingly little need to haggle over any of the decisions. I did the quilting and the binding and Em got to check it out in person when she visited the baby.

Kona Solids and Birdie Spokes by Jay-Cyn for Birch Fabrics

 

 The final finish thus far is a birthday quilt for Sarah. What older sister doesn't deserve a nice birthday quilt? Don't tell the other sibs, but I am going to try to make one for each of them this year! And hopefully one for Dad as well, since Mom got one last year. After months of prompting Sarah for her favorite color and color combinations, this color combinations for this quilt were conceived. The inspiration for this quilt was a sampler of Amy Butler's Midwest Modern in Ohio Sky palette. I added some Kona solids, a couple bird prints from Joel Dewberry, and an Anna Maria Horner print. I love the way the dark pluses pop out, but all the fabrics work so well together.

More projects to come!