Happy Birthday BigBoy!

Happy Birthday to TheManoftheHouse!We won't say just how old he is, but he did say this morning that he doesn't feel that old -- he's apparently stuck in his thirties. He's the little cutie in the middle -- with no teeth. I'm happy to report he's not old enough to have lost their replacements yet. He's in for a low key birthday, 'cause somehow, that's just what happens with the male birthdays in our family -- they're pretty low key. He's requested his favorite tacos for dinner, and I think I'll try this recipe, as he loves jalapenos.

I love you BigBoy -- I hope you have a grand day!
XOXO,
Anna

P.S. It appears that all you bloggers out there have much better control of your emotions than Lucy and I do. (Either that, or you don't want a goodie from me -- ;-( ) In any case, I'm still on the hook to PIF to three people, so, I'm just going to pick my own. So there. And since I'm picking you, I'm altering the rules and you won't have to PIF. ;-)

Knit Doctor

First things first. When we arrived home from work this evening we were greeted by this scene in the rarely used living room. How sad that I'm airing my dirty laundry in public, but we thought this was pretty funny. TheEmptyNestChild was apparently burrowing in the couch. I just have two things to say. 1) Our sweet dog has been gone for two years, and 2) There will be no comments about my housekeeping. Thank You.

Over the years, I've thought a lot about all this crafting that we do in relation to gift giving. What if the recipient really hates that gift that you've toiled over? Should you spend a lot of time on something that you know won't be appreciated? I've finally decided that I make things because I love to make them and once they leave my hands, the recipients are free to do whatever they wish with my gift and I won't be offended, no matter what the outcome. So, this week my quarterly newsletter from Sheep's Clothing (in Valparaiso, IN) arrived and it contained advice from the Knit Doctor on just this subject, and I thought I'd share it with you:

Dear Knit Doctor,
I know you have heard tons of horror stories about unappreciated hand knitted gifts. Well, here is my contribution. Years ago I knitted an elaborate pillow for my son and his wife. It was a complex cable pattern. I went to visit them and noticed that the family dog had a very nice pillow -- hand knitted -- by me. I decided to say nothing, but put the pillow in my suitcase and took it home with me. I now enjoy it in my home and make no attempt to hide it when family comes to visit. Nothing has ever been said about this. Sometimes I wonder if they realize that this is in fact the self same pillow. I'm actually not mad at them for not appreciateing my gift. I'm really rather enjoying it myself.
No Pillow Talk -- Muncie, IN

Dear No Pillow Talk,
The fact of the matter is that a hand made gift fares no better chance statistically of being appreciated than a purchased one. It is my feeling that any hand knit gift should come with two contracts. First the knitter must make a contract with herself not to become emotionally involved if the gift is not well received. Second, any hand knitted gift item should include a return clause. You simply exercised your rights under the return clause.

Dear Knit Doctor,
Years ago we received an elaborate knitted pillow from my husband's mother. For reasons which we cannot explain, our dog just loved that pillow. Every time we retireved it from the dog, when we'd turn our backs the dog would have it again. We finally gave up trying to preserve the pillow from our dog. You can probably guess what happens next. Mother-in-law visits. Pillow disappears. Pillow reappears in mother-in-law's home. Since then I've seen it at her house many times, but no one ever mentions the... Pillow in the Room -- Griffith, Indiana

Dear Pillow in the Room,
In your family there is a Pillow In The Room that no one speaks of. In many families there is an Elephant In The Room that no one speaks of. This should put a new perspective on the basic good health of your extended family life. You are all wise enough people to enjoy each other without letting smal l matters, like pillows, get in the way.

So, there's my weak attempt at humor, 'cause really, all I can think of is what happened at Virginia Tech today. I really do think that blogs should be a place where we can escape, and most of the time that will be true here. I've had the news off all night. I have two boys away at school and for now I'll have to be an ostrich with her head in the sand. In the grand scheme of things, there's just nothing I could say that would be of any importance. I'm just so very sad for all the families that lost their children today.

XOXO,
Anna

A Sunny Day

The weather was beautiful here today. I have every other friday off of work, so I managed to catch up around the house a little. I finally had time to put out a few Easter decorations. I love being able to just hang around the house and enjoy it all.

And here's TheEmpty NestChild, just a little stressed out because I'm outside and he's inside.

I hope you are enjoying some nice spring weather where you are!

XOXO,
Anna

Let's Get Real Monday

Randi over at I Have to Say... is hosting Let's Get Real Monday with a theme of spring cleaning. There's plenty of dirt around here, but I didn't want to be too disgusting. Like, say, the toilet in the kids bathrom upstairs. I haven't been up there since the kids went back to school after Christmas break. So, I'm assuming there are probably things growing in there by now. Outta sight, outta mind. Or, life's too short to clean a toilet no one uses.

So, on to my most dreaded spring cleaning project: The Linen/Gift/Overflow ClosetIt might not seem like much, but all those linens really need to be removed, laundered, and re-folded. The last tablecloth I took out of there had spots on it, and I know it was clean when I put it in there. Spots grow in the dark, you know. And all that other junk needs to be straightened/pitched. Oh, and see that little orange teddy on the top shelf? He's there for his own protection -- TheEmptyNestChild thinks it's his boyfriend. If you know what I mean, and I'm sure you do.

Now you've seen it. Post your own Get Real Monday project and hop on over to Randi's and list yourself. Like Autum, I'm going to close the doors. Maybe I'll get to it later. Maybe not.

XOXO,
Anna

Housecleaning Roulette

As I mentioned in a previous post, my bookgroup read The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt this past month. I didn't finish the book, but in chapter 2, there's a passage that reads:
On one occasion I set about testing this notion by concocting a game called "photo roulette," the object of which was to walk around the city taking photographs at unplanned moments -- whenever a church bell rang or at every sighting of a dog or cat -- ...."
This made me think that we're usually so busy that we don't take time to notice our surroundings. And at the same time I'd been thinking that I haven't posted very many pictures of my "corners". AND, I was cleaning the other day to get ready for my quilty peeps. So, when I combined all three of those items, I decided to play my own little game of housecleaning roulette. I decided that, while I was cleaning, I'd set the timer for every 30 minutes, and wherever I was, I'd stop and take a picture of something that was near me. (Don't worry, there's no way I'm going to post bathroom photos -- so I cleaned the bathroom at the beginning, before the first buzzer.)

12:35 p.m. Just moved into the bedroom and ready to strip the bed. I didn't have a picture to put above the bed, so a few years ago, I put our monogram there instead. (I know, I know...Emily Post wouldn't approve -- TheManoftheHouse has his initial first. But it's my wall and I can put the letters in any order I want -- it's not like it's stationary or anything...)

1:05 p.m. In the middle of dusting the bedroom. A corner of the bedroom. Very uncomfortable old rocker, but it rocked my babies to sleep for many years, so I'm sort of attached to it. It's currently rocking my quilts that need bindings. (They've only been there for a few years -- maybe I could get those done as part of my "complete 3 unfinished projects" winter goal???)

1:35 p.m. OK. By now I was done with the bedroom and bathroom and took a little break to check e-mail and I'm in the computer room. Here's a little bunny that I got for Christmas.











2:25 p.m. (Sorry...the break went a little long ;-) ) Picking stuff up in the family room. I'm by the bookcase.













2:55 p.m. Dusting in the family room. (Which begs the question....do you dust then vacuum, or vacuum then dust?) When I look up I see my little sock knitting bag that I have to keep on top of the wall unit so TheEmptyNestChild won't get into my yarn.

3:25 p.m. I'm now in the kitchen area where our table is. (This is my favorite room 'cause it's the easiest to clean -- do the floor, dust the pie safe and it's done!) The Pinochio came from a school fundraising auction one year -- I don't remember what the theme was, but there was a big Pinochio as a centerpiece at each table.







3:55 p.m. Now in the kitchen. Note the gingerbread house still sitting there. You'll be happy to know I finally threw it out! (And who was the rocket scientist who thought tile on countertops was a good idea? How can you roll out pie crusts or cookies or anything?-- someday when we're out of tuition hell, it will be replaced!)
By now this post has gone on long enough and I was almost done anyway. Sorry so long...I probably should have split this into two posts.... Set your timer and see what's around you!

XOXO,
Anna

Happy New Year!

Out with the old...decorations, that is...I'll miss these the most. I love my Grandma's bells. When we were little, it was always late at night when we arrived at Grandma's for Christmas, and all I could see were those red bells blinking away in the dark. It makes me sad to put them away every year.
















In with the new...up comes old man winter -- maybe he'll blow some snow our way. Pretty please!























It's also time to set a few goals for winter projects this year. I love making those lists and then looking back at the lists the following year to see what was accomplished and what was not. Hope to do that in the next few days -- but first to finish all the Christmas clean-up!

Happy Goal-Making to all!

XOXO,
Anna