happy halloween...

The big day is finally here, and after much debate, I'm dressed in black and blue and purple, with rather purple eyes and lips, and I am...a bruise. Very unlike me. Although, now that I think of it, I do bruise easily...this is probably perfect.

It's better than this costume, which I saw on a Japanese website. Imagine dressing your poor little kid in that. Scarring. For life.

Hope your day is sweet and scary!

for the birds...

I hate birds. They freak me out. A lot. Really.

The family went to the zoo yesterday, which I always enjoy. All except for the birds. Any area that is centered on birds, I avoid. And exhibits that have them flying free? Forget it. But as we explored "The Swamp", two little screech owls (in a cage) caught my eye. They were so cute! Reminded me of something out of "My Neighbor Totoro" (which, as a friend promised, always makes me happy). Hmm...just may have to watch that tonight...

So as birds go, a teeny tiny owl could be considered okay. Almost. If it can't come near me.

martha made me do it...

Martha Stewart has been creeping into more posts here lately, but I just can't help it. When you see her make things, you think, gee that's great...I would love a leaf wreath, but who has time to attach wires onto the leaves that you don't have time to collect? Instead, I splurged and bought this kit at Michael's. I still have to attach my leaf clusters (twisted together last night), but soon I'll have my own Martha wreath adorning my office. Isn't progress wonderful?

my green tambourine...

...or my violet viola. My cousin and his wife recently had their first baby, Viola Grace. She seems to have been the muse that I needed, because she inspired this onesie. The other shirt has a running stitch of lavender around the neck. Both were coordinated to match the mini-quilt my mom made for her.

We were all set to go and visit baby Viola (and family) today, but alas, we all ended up with runny noses. She just doesn't deserve to be sick, so holding that sweet little thing will have to wait.

baking season begins...

It seemed as though the hot weather just wasn't gonna let up, but then...ahh...fall...

This is the time of year when I get to cook and bake as much as I like, and not feel bad about turning on the oven. Sure summer is nice, but it's just too hot for the yummy meals and treats that I really like to make. Now I get to make soups and bread and casseroles (yes, casseroles!), and baked goods galore.

In the past couple of days I've baked two kinds of cookies, plus lingonberry bread (a fabulous mix from IKEA), in addition to real food. My sister is concerned about me, because, like Izzie from Grey's Anatomy, I tend to bake when I get depressed. But no, I'm just getting warmed up for the cool, culinary season...

a stitch in time...

After a failed attempt at a new (small) embroidery project, there's been a block. Which is sad, because I'd like to get a lot of craftiness done. However, I think I may have found some inspiration to get me going again. The first is the fantastic Yeti shown above, and more at Megan Whitmarsh's website (click on "embroidery"). All I can say is, Yetis, wow. Nice. The next is a new book called Doodle-Stitching which just looks fun. (and hey, you can never have too many books, right?)

Hopefully this will help me get some thread onto some felt. And not looking quite so goofy this time...