you’re going on it
January 18, 2012 | Filed Under ordinary | Leave a Comment
fifties, almost sixties, the january of dreams, green grass peeking out, daffodils confused, early. these are pics from the coldest day i’ve felt in a long time, a model rocket day in illinois with grandparents and cousins and kids wearing the gloves of grownups, moms and a rotation of kids staying in a heated van for much of it. i’ve turned into a southern girl when it comes to winter. give me daffodils in january, a sky blue sky after a day of eternal gray rain, the dog napping in an afternoon sun, his brindled fur shining, kids out more than in; give me these, any of these instead of snow dusted fields and cold white sky.
nothing too special this week, schoolwork, housework. i’m working on a paper taxidermy giraffe for a new baby’s nursery and i really hope to put the smaller pieces in the shop (no moose, just rabbits, deer, giraffes, birds) before long. also, i found an amazing pink sofa at the thrift for a mere $65 and it’s sitting in my living room with chairs and things all around it. when it looks more at home and less like a used furniture store in here, i’ll take some pics. have you noticed my lack of instagrams in this space this month? i’m trying to take more pictures with real cameras. as good as an instagram can be, it does still feel like a cheat sometimes.
where you want to get to
January 12, 2012 | Filed Under ordinary, royal buffet | Leave a Comment
i had a commission last fall for a set of five alice in wonderland themed mobiles for a little girl named rosy. they were super fun to think about and sketch out and cut and string up on wire. i’ve listed them on etsy and can’t wait to make more.
the sun is lost in gray, it’s still wet and cold, days of rain and mud and kids who don’t want to be outside in it parading by. oh, january. you’re not going to get me down.
but i’m a watcher
January 10, 2012 | Filed Under ordinary, royal buffet | 1 Comment
to illinois and back again, cousins and uncles and grandmas galore, cold winter winds blowing us into this new year, blowing all around us before we close ourselves in our rocket and launch ourselves south, mud and gray skies and rain for the taking.
we’re back into the school of things, the first full day of bookwork that sends me over the edge with boys who just want to run, to build, to make mouth noises that drive a woman to coffee, beyond. the house is an ever mess, the dog has come to sleep at the foot of our bed, his usual place too cold for the winter. black beans for dinner, grits for dinner, homemade pizza for dinner, dinner, dinner, dinner, make dinner, what’s for dinner, a ringing bell i’m caught inside, constant, loud, abiding: what’s for dinner!
in pretty news, there are valentines in the shop, mostly the age old royal buffet classics because after a christmas i don’t have it in me to produce many new lover things in time. i did a re-make of the lady & gentleman mobile, a heart that beats on the breeze instead of the butterfly of before. it’s going in the shop tonight. valentine orders for delivery in the USA need to be placed by january 31, so plan ahead, friends and lovers.
this week we’re doing school, afternoons one after another of one boy after another trudging through math and handwriting, feigning boredom through geography and history, silent and begging for more chapters in the hobbit. if all of school could be books read aloud while kids draw or build or string beads on a thread we’d have nothing to complain about.
thin, bright claw
January 2, 2012 | Filed Under lists, ordinary | Leave a Comment
a few resolutions for a new year
read 52 books
become very skinny
spend less money
mop more often
learn to linocut
memorize a little erik satie
minimalize the stuff in my life
plant trees
architects may come and architects may go
December 31, 2011 | Filed Under extraordinary | Leave a Comment
january
february
march
april
may
june
july
august
september
october
november
december
so long, 2011. you were verily a good year. and, apparently, you were a year of instagrams.
jesus and mary, what a great day
December 25, 2011 | Filed Under extraordinary | Leave a Comment
mild he lays his glory by
born that man no more may die
born to raise the sons of earth
born to give them second birth
verily the sky
December 22, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary | Leave a Comment
i’m not sure where the last week has gone! i’ve been trying to clean the house from top to bottom because i really hate a messy house surrounding me at christmas. i have a no-stress policy once the last royal buffet orders ship out (before they’re out is another story), so i’ve been spending most of my nights doing…. nothing! and sewing lucha masks for the boys. and hopefully a little skirt for lola with a little scrap of mendocino mermaids fabric that i bought for an exorbitant price.
today we’ve made salted caramels (perfect, easy, takes a little bit o’ time, double the recipe), the boys are playing in the rain and mud, there’s a chicken in the crock pot, the house is mostly clean, the presents are mostly wrapped, the music is spinning, the air is mostly warm. we’re catching up on readings for advent and reading the hobbit and doing some last minute elving for relatives we’ll see to ring in the new year. it’s easy and slow and even though my kids are fighting a bit and there’s been a few too many wonder pets episodes for lola on the ipad, and max has been taking a few too many naps in his crate, i think we’re on a holiday at last, and i’ll eat that sandwich, if you know what i mean.
and wild and sweet the words repeat
December 14, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary, royal buffet | 1 Comment
all royal buffet christmas packages to ship are wrapped and waiting for the dark cloud of grumpy customers in line at the post. i can barely make myself take them out the door and into that mess, three kids in tow, face-lifted old women cutting in line, slow as molasses postal employees.
if we survive the post office, today we’re cleaning house, the kids are forcing me to iron the hundredth perler bead design, and we’re not baking any cookies because we baked them on monday and then ate them at a horrifying rate. but i just can’t say no to those peanut blossom cookies.
in shop news, i am now officially closed to take a holiday until after the new year. if you place an order through etsy you won’t be getting it until after january 10. please take note of this! i’m also really excited about some new things that will be making their way into the shop in 2012.
the weather here is beautiful, my kids are outside shirtless and barefoot (!), and even though christmas is a few days away, i’m already thinking of the new year, the feeling of a fresh start, clean closets and cabinets and shelves, running with music and max, eating primarily almonds and spinach for at least a short spurt. i blame the magazines that arrive at my door a month early (martha stewart january issue, i’m talking to you), shiny pages of organized drawers, these are what pulls me through the christmas crazies.
also, see that box up there? that’s my new sx70 (thanks for being such a terrific yard sailor, jeff), the foldable kind that doesn’t take pictures of the bottom of your purse when you jumble it around in such a way. yay!
down the stairway and into it
December 9, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary | Leave a Comment
the weekend, at last! ernie at home, no schoolwork of which to speak, the tedious cleaning of bathrooms and wading through mess behind me for a moment, advent things, basketball games, coffee flowing, the last few orders for mobiles spinning, a haircut (fixing the one i gave myself the other day – WHY?), a pizza night, a party, a walk in the at-long-last cold with my pup. yes!
also, if you don’t follow me on twitter you might not have seen the link to an interview i did for troy, my good friend of many years. i’m humbled to be one of his interviewees, he’s got quite a list! check it out if you want to hear me ramble on elsewhere.
and the winner is….
December 8, 2011 | Filed Under royal buffet | Leave a Comment
emily jeffords, comment number 13!
thanks to everyone who entered and spread the word! you all are the best! you can try your luck in the next giveaway which comes in late january on the 4th anniversary of the shop!