Musings on Life and Beauty Archives - Page 52 of 146

Halloween Glitches

October 31, 2011 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

I suppose it must be asking too much for a two year old girl to make it through a day like Halloween with her hair done and without indulging in a little self-applied makeup session.

And apparently it is far too much to ask that same two year old to put her costume on when the family goes trick-or-treating, so she went like this. Her costume was her makeup and her squeaky shoes. If only I’d paused long enough to take a picture of her at 9 a.m. when we left to help with the kindergarten party. She looked adorable in her little clown costume, so sweet and innocent.

And then there’s this blank stare she’s giving me in these pictures.

That’s because she had just finished a little drawing spree… with a permanent marker… this is what I saw first:

Then I started looking around and noticed black graffiti on the white walls, on the white couch, and all over the side of the above piece of furniture. Oh, and the sheet music for my son’s piano recital? Don’t worry, she got that too. And don’t worry, it’s just a piece of music that his piano teacher wrote… I’m praying she has another copy.

If only I could figure out how she finds things like permanent markers, and how to get the big kids to take me seriously and put them away properly, and how to entice her to choose different activities…. Why on earth does she have an aversion to the coloring books and crayons in the other room?

Good thing we love her so much.

I hope your Halloween was enjoyable, and that it didn’t involve strange encounters with mascara or any blunders with permanent markers.

Hopeful Homemaker

Is it really Fall?

October 20, 2011 jennifer Gardening, Musings on Life and Beauty

The wind got hold of my top-heavy dahlias this week so I cut those that were blown over. I’ve got several vases FULL of enormous blooms. Two of them sit on my kitchen table next to a pumpkin, and every time I look at it I can’t help but marvel at the sight. There are more flowers outside where these came from, yet Halloween is just around the corner. I think that and shake my head. Is it really fall? When did that happen, and who forgot to tell my yard?

The children and I spent a glorious day outside together. We finally harvested our sunflower seeds and were amazed at how many we have. Tomorrow we’ll soak them. We also pulled out most of the garden plants, leaving only those things that are still thriving. There are still tomatoes, herbs, eggplant, and bell peppers but most of it is gone. The children enjoyed digging up the carrots while my little one picked a bunch of green tomatoes for us (because two year olds are helpful like that). The funniest moment was when she picked one of her sister’s bell peppers and the chase was on. Picture two little girls, ages two and three and almost the same size, chasing each other around the back yard screaming “No, that’s my pepper!” The three year old recovered her vegetable, then walked back to the plant and picked another pepper. “Here,” she said calmly as she offered one to her little sister, “A pepper for both of us.” We all laughed. No need now for that pepper plant we left in the garden.

I also pruned my lavender plants back for the year. Tonight my daughter and I sat and bundled another basket full of lavender to dry. I looked around my kitchen at homegrown vegetables piled all over the counter, buckets full of sunflower seeds and the enchanting smell of lavender on my hands and was overwhelmed with gratitude for the chance to grow things.

Sometimes fall seems like a time of cutting back, simplifying. This year fall feels like a crescendo that’s still building. It’s almost more than I can appreciate. We’re enjoying the beauties of summer alongside the slow turning of leaves. We’re picking pumpkins and flowers together, raking leaves and weeding flowerbeds in bare feet… with sunscreen on.

And I love it.

Monday and a Stack of Fabric

October 17, 2011 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty, Quilting and Sewing

This morning I woke up intending to work like crazy on cleaning the house so I can afford time for yard work later in the week. Usually I enjoy cleaning, or at least the results of cleaning. Today, however, I was all out-of-sorts emotionally and found myself feeling irritated with my children while I was cleaning. Instead of enjoying the process I felt frustrated with them for being sloppy.

That’s never a good thing to feel, especially when you know that four of them have major projects to work on after school today, and when you also know that it’s going to take patience and persistence to get them all going. {And even then there may be a battle.} It will never work if I’m frustrated with them before I even pick them up.

Please tell me you have days like that, days when everything that’s wrong feels really wrong and everything that’s right feels wrong anyway. Days when reminding yourself that everything is, in reality, great does nothing to squelch the tears pricking behind your eyes. No particular reason, just cloudy on the inside, I guess.

So I took a break.

I’ve had a large stack of 44 inch strips of fabric sewn together for weeks. It’s for a quilt I wanted to make in September. Today I ironed them and cut them into triangles. While I did it, I opened all the windows in my studio (the sunniest room in the house) and enjoyed a gentle breeze and bright light.

Somehow it worked. I don’t know if it’s the sunshine, or a stack of triangles that will never again be 44 inch strips (unlike the laundry, which will shortly be dirty again). Perhaps it was just the steady cutting of fabric at the same angle for an hour or so. Whatever it was, it cleared my mind and calmed my heart.

I picked the children up with a happy heart. Two are now working cheerfully, one is working resentfully, and the other has yet to start. At least their mother isn’t grouchy, although the family room still needs to be vacuumed. I think it was time well spent.

Just look at all those warm, yummy colors. I’m excited to sew them together.

Fabric is Early Bird, by Cosmo Cricket, with a little bit of their Tailor Made collection thrown in. It’s been out for a while, and I’m finally using it!

Hope your Monday has gone well.
Jennifer