A Mini-Vacation and Other Things

So my little boy turned 12 this past weekend and I'm pouty because he's growing up so fast. But, then on the other hand, I'm proud that he's turning into a fine person, though I'm a bit biased.  The friends we went to stay with in north Georgia live WAAAY out in the country. Like, we have to go down a few dirt roads to get there. They have this huge house that is labyrinth like and sectioned in a way that two families can (and do) easily live there. D (we will call her) parents had bought the land and build the house over many years. In fact, its still a work in progress and what is done is just beautiful. And they also have three horses, four dogs, four cats (possibly more?), and numerous types of nut and fruit trees. And NO CELL SIGNAL.
They have DSL but it can be cranky when 8 people are all trying to connect with wifi on their phones so it was often a game of "Who's got the best connection now". So that, plus the fact that I brought the full memory card for my DSLR is why I have next to no pictures of this place.

So anyway. D has been friends with my husband longer than I've known him, and while we consider her and her family like our family, we lost touch with her. The reasons are unimportant, its just so wonderful to have them all back in our life. They invited us to come out and spend the night after our first dinner date, so we went out this weekend for Simon's birthday. Ds sister made gluten free Portal cupcakes. And well, here's a photo that just kinda sums everything up nicely.

*geek

And yes, that is Derpy and Dr. Whooves. D's sister has a little girl that is the same age as S&F's baby cousin. Because they usually help their grandma with babysitting they are more than adept to keeping small kids occupied and mostly out of trouble. D's sister was beside herself as she's completely unaccustomed to her daughter not constantly wanting attention from her.  She wants us to come visit with the kids more often. I told her I'd be more than happy to do that.

D also had me go over a costuming project with her. She hasn't sewn anything from a pattern in over a decade and she chose this one:  McCall's 6818   We laughed over the fact that of course she would pick something a bit ambitious out of the starting gate. Though I'm excited to help. :) I was hoping to help more while there but I've been fighting a massive UTI and diverticulosis flair up so I spent a lot of time laying down.

Oh, the other thing that happened was one of their succulent plants had its yearly bloom. It was a big deal because you can sit and watch the flower quiver as it opens. The kids were in awe, checking on it every 2 minutes or so (because kids don't sit still very well).

Night Blooming Cereus.

D's Mom picked it and brought it downstairs where we were going over some sewing books. Felicity was sad "I wanted it to fill the room with wonderful smells while I slept" she told me. :)


So, other things. I um. I acquired a lot of fabric recently because #sewcialists are a bunch of enablers. And then Sewaholic released a pattern I had to have. You should buy it too. Then I bought By Hand London's Victoria blazer, and Cake's Hummingbird pattern.

At some point I'll actually sew things. Well I have sewn things! But I haven't blogged any of them. Another pair of Clovers, a few Renfrews, and a Raglan T/Skaterdress hack I made for my daughter, complete with sparkly kitty iron on. I'm sure there was something else but I can't remember right now.

One Year Later

I still miss her.  Every day I have some moment that I think about her, want to share something with her, and realize that I can't anymore. I remembered a few photos I had found of her when she was young and scanned them here.  One is a Christmas photo in a green dress she made. That raised eyebrow? Yeah, that eyebrow would send me scampering when I knew I was in trouble. You did not mess with "The Look". The other photo, I'm not sure what it was for, possibly for a theater production, but it is so ethereal it needed sharing. Even this young her eyes held so much.

Dragon*con ended up being too hard for me emotionally. I tried, I did, but I couldn't really hold it together, even on the day the kids were with me.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do in the future now because every year these two events will coincide.

That said, the kids had a blast the one day they were with us. So many people loved Simon's costume, he definitely stole the show.  For that, at least, I felt appreciated because so many said "You are lucky to have such a talented Mom".

As for my River Song dress, well I didn't get any more photos.  And there is quite a few other things I've been working on that I haven't talked about at all here. There is so much I want to do, and share, in order to spread my love of sewing and creating with others. Things that I know would have made Mom proud. So all that said, I will do my hair and makeup and attempt to get more photos of the dress and other projects, since I'm off the rest of the week. One of the things that should help photos in the future is getting my backdrop/curtains setup.

I hope everyone will stick around for the fun to come. Much love to you all!

I'm a Teapot in a Boat!

Little girl is my daughter, baseball cap is my brother in law, and the man behind the wheel is my Elusive Husband. 

Did I mention my brother-in-law* bought a boat?  Like, a ski boat that seats about six. I found out and was like WHOA, AWESOME!  But not until after my friend Jenna talked me out of an anxiety attack about the kids learning to ski.  She pointed out this is why they make life vests. Oh right... durrr.  And seeing as we live close to the lake, their grandma takes them to the pool, and we like to vacation at the beach, well, our kids pretty much develop webbed toes and gills in the summer time.  Not to mention the ever adorable freckles across the nose.

Felicity is biting the strap to keep it from flapping against her face.

We're all happy about swimming here.

Last weekend they went out and it was kinda last minute and I had an Epic Meltdown because I couldn't go.  So this was a sunset ride so I could go. SO. MUCH. FUN.  I didn't actually go swimming,  I'm not happy with my current swimsuits for that purpose. The one I want is on back order and I might just have to modify this pattern to make one I like. We'll see. There are just some things I don't feel like spending the effort on.

In any case, this means there may be some more beach style cover-ups in my future (shirring anyone?).  So obviously, we had a blast.  The funniest thing happened as we were all driving back to my Brother-In-Law's, a friend of mine ended up pocket dialing me.  This particular friend, Kris, has known me so long he still uses my maiden last name.  My husband says its cause he's an optimist.  I reply by sticking my tongue out at him.  It devolves in maturity from there. Anyway, pocket dialing.  If you've ever seen "Real Genius" and remember   Val Kilmer's character then you have a pretty good description of both looks and personality. So of course, after hearing Kris talking AND I could tell he was talking to some other people, I realized that the phone was actually in his pocket, I couldn't resist what happened next...

Me: HELLO KRIS?  CAN YOU HEAR ME? YOUR PANTS ARE TALKING TO YOU!!! HELLO!
*wait a minute, still hear talking*
Me (singing at the top of my lungs):  I'M A LITTLE TEAPOT SHORT AND STOUT, HERE IS MY HANDLE HERE IS MY SPOUT!!!! WHEN I GET ALL STEAMED UP AND START TO....  *devolves into a fit of giggles from me and the kids in the truck* 
Me (after I still hear talking): HELLO, KRIS, YOUR PANTS ARE TALKING TO YOU!! HELLO!
Some other person in the room: Dude, your pants are talking...
Kris: Uh, hello???
Me: Hi Kris, you pocket dialed me.
Kris:  Who is this?
Me: Elizabeth
Kris:  Elizabeth [my maiden name]
Me: Yes, that's right.  Your pants dialed me.
Kris: My pants dialed you? Why would they do that? Are you seeing my pants behind my back?
My Husband in the background:  I don't know, you should ask them.

At which point I completely lose it and start laughing so hard tears are going down my face, which sets Kris and everyone in the truck to laughing too.  Eventually Kris says he has to go.  Have I mentioned I know awesome people? True facts, man.

Goggles a must!

Why yes, I'm a sassy redhead, what makes you ask?

Awesome, right?

So, great times!  What do ya'll have planned for those in the Northern Hemisphere for summer?  Don't  forget there's always fun things to do even on a budget, like Finding a natural swimming hole or even going on a day trip to the nearest State Park.  For those of us in the U.S. of A. I say explore the fun out-of-doors. National and State Parks are there for a reason and you should get your tax dollars out of them!

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta finish padding out my new dress form,make some zucchini bread, and coleslaw.  

*My brother-in-law and sis-in-law live eight miles from me in one direction. My mother-in-law/father live eight miles in the other (basically live in a house turned into a duplex).  I gotta say having family close makes life easier.