Birthday week!

This week we have 2 birthdays, me and S2.  We had S2's party on Saturday, so with all the party prep, I was surprised to actually get some sewing done!  First I made a bunting to go on the fence, but the weather was icky, so we hung it in the house in the entry way.

I had one pennant too many for the length, so I made a little one for the back of the birthday chair.

Somewhere in the house is also a crown I made for the birthday boy, but I have no idea where it went. 

I have no idea what is on the agenda this week.  I think we'll play it by ear and see what happens.

Busy bee week!

Last week was pretty good week.  I got batteries for the camera.  We got work done in the corner of the yard, placing the planter box and I think it is half full with some beautiful dirt!  (I never thought I would be able to compare Beautiful dirt, good dirt, and ugly dirt.  Then I got the monster compost pile!)  

S1 needs to sift more dirt for it, but I have been saving that as "if you can't be nice to your siblings" chore.  We lined the bottom and most of the sides with cardboard, since I want to replace it with the cement blocks next year.   Now I just need to wait for planting time to put the rhubarb in.  

I also finished these little finger puppets as Valentines for my Cub Scout den. 

  The boys loved them!  Although I made the first one too small, it fit as a pen/pencil topper.  I knew exactly who that was for!  S2's teacher! 

And here is the photo of the dishcloths and wrist warmers from last week. Those have come in handy with the chilly days we've had!

I have no idea what will get accomplished this week. We have 2 birthdays next week, with the celebration for one on Saturday.  On top of that, for Lent I am doing the 40 boxes in 40 days from Flylady.  Oh yeah.  Great timing.  Prep for a party while at the same time starting the spring cleaning! I may be a glutton for punishment!

a before photo

So last week was pretty good on the needlework front, although I still haven't gotten any sewing done.  I am hoping that changes soon.  My "sewing room" is the dining room table, so every time some one needs the table, I clear it off.  It has gotten to the point I just haven't bothered setting it up.

I did finish my wrist warmers, as well as 3 dishclothes.  I found a huge stash of cotton yarn from a bath mat project years ago.  So many years in fact that I need to make another one, as that one is falling apart.  I have no photos because I still haven't had time to run to the store to get new batteries.

I did manage to squeeze one last photo off of the back yard project.  Here is a before photo. UGLY!!

I had no idea that the fence was doing such a poor job of holding the dirt in.  It was worse than I remembered.  This is one of those little corners of the yard that gets neglected.  It never needs mown, The dirt is so poor the moss doesn't grow, it's between the fence and the garbage can spot, so it just "is".  After pricing the cement block, the price tag was $600.  DH had a few choice words to say  about that!  So to compromise, the fence stays for 1 year, we'll use a wood bed he built me (you can see the corner of it on the right side of the photo).  even with the empty bed there, it looks better! However, he has to put aside some money every month so that we can get the blocks next February.  I'm not sure how I feel about a two year project being one birthday present.  But I suppose it is better than the dump run I wanted last year for my birthday. 

If I get batteries in the near future I'll update this post with photos.  Heaven knows text is so boring.  I see why they made the Illuminated manuscripts.  It broke the monotony of writing!

Winter?

It's February, and we've barely had a winter.  No snow, one icy day, and a lot of rain.  There is plenty of snow in the mountains, but none at our elevation.  Which makes me sad!  I love snow days!  A few years ago I came to the conclusion that snow days are good for the soul.  They force us to slow down, with schools and businesses closed, it means we have some pure downtime to enjoy our families, or that book we've been meaning to read, play some board games, or just BE.  I know many people have consequences to those snow days, but I still believe they are good for our health. (And I think bosses who don't get that have their own issues! LOL) So I am feeling a little betrayed by the weather. 

Last week I finished one project and half of another.  The one project i finished is a little table topper that I had stashed in my sewing dresser because I had no idea what to do with it when done. 

But....in the process of dusting I realized the place mat I had on a little side table was way to big.  Enter the "duh" moment!  This little project was the perfect size!  So now it is done and put away, and the place mat is once again a place mat!  That makes S2 happy because he likes to set a table "properly" once in awhile.  At 8, properly is open to interpretation.  But matching place mats are a must! 

I also got my 2 scrappy stars done last week, but my camera batteries died, so no photos!

My half done project is a set of hand warmers (or fingerless mittens, if you like) for ME!  I realized all my yarn didn't fit in my yarn box, so it was time to get some of the put off projects done.  I should be finished by Wednesday with them.  Then a break from knitting should be in order. 

I am also hoping to get a yard project started.  After getting ivy and blackberries (mostly) cleaned out last spring, I discovered some ugly spots in the yard.  One is a dry, brown, little patch of nothing between our fence and the alley.  Right by where we have the compost inside the chain-link fence.  I am sure the neighbors love that view.  I had tried planting and amending the soil (kind of) and nothing grew.  A few dandelions and a spot of grass.  Yuck! So the fence is coming out, and we (I mean S1 with supervision) will build a raised bed around the area, and after lining and filling it, fill it with rhubarb.  S1 loves rhubarb anything, and it should be a large enough plant to screen the compost from the neighbors.  And cement blocks should, I hope, survive any to quick turns into the driveway!  We'll see what the weather and the budget allow for next week!