mystery box

12" by 12" with a depth of about 8". Appears to have arrived by post, though she could conceivably have smuggled it into the apartment in a bag without my noticing. Heavy but not too heavy. Definitely in a cardboard box. Firm, the contents slide only slightly when shaken.

I have absolutely no idea what it is. But really that's not the point, and I don't really care what it is, though I am sure I will love it. The point is that my sister, who hates shopping and generally procrastinates about everything, has already chosen something special just for me and wrapped it up and put it under the tree. Three weeks early, no less.



And I am reminded that Christmas is not at all about things. The things are just a roundabout way of saying "I love you." I have a twin whose mere presence brings immeasurable joy to my each and every day. I am so lucky.

wip and bye bye

Flying south as fast as a big ole jumbojet can take us. This colorful, possibly ill-conceived but nevertheless very cheerful project will be waiting for me when I return. For now, it's all about turkey and pie and hanging with my family.

A happy, homey, peaceful Thanksgiving to all. (or have a happy, homey, peaceful plain-old thursday, if you live elsewhere!)

montauk

It was a wonderful, beautiful weekend with my pops and my sis. We went all the way to the tippy end of "the Island" to Montauk Point. That's Long Island, mind you. We camped at a great little campground right on the beach in Hither Hills State Park. We only half froze our little tooshies off.



We did everything on the list. Add to that climbing the lighthouse, going on 2 hikes, only getting lost on one of them, touring the Hamptons (top-drawer, very top-drawer, dahling), buying pumpkins and fresh-picked apples, and cursing those gosh-darned people who insist on using generators in the campground. It's camping, people. The whole point of going camping is to get AWAY from your tv.



More pix here.

my weekend =

2 girls + their papa + a VW Camper + blues music + beach as far as the eye can see + chocolate chip pancakes + new towns to explore + long afternoons + quiet reading time + grilled dinners + card games + miles of empty road + chilly 50 degree weather + campfires + smores + a little Arlo Guthrie for nostalgia's sake + who knows what else?

A wonderful weekend to all.
Catch you cats monday.

getting chummy with nyc

I have lived in NYC for about 2 years now, yet I still don't feel particularly chummy with it.

When I am stressed, or tired, or sick, or blue, NYC can seem not just un-chummy, but downright hostile. The sounds are too loud, the sights too bright, the people too many, and the smells too smelly. Homesickness rises up like a tight ball in my throat and I wonder, how can a person still feel lonely, smack-dab in the center of a teeming multitude of 8 million souls?

My rational mind tells me that it's just that I'm stressed, or tired, or sick, or blue. I tell myself that this challenge, this living in a place that is so different from the place where I grew up, is stretching my mind and my heart like one of those impossible yoga positions where your feet are on top of your head or your nose reaches out for your toes.

My mom always told me that one of the secrets of happiness is learning to bloom where you're planted. I’m trying. And to that end, I'm setting myself a project. I am going to venture out of my everyday routines and well-worn paths, and attempt to get chummy with NYC. Find some beauty and do my best to capture it with my camera.

Tomorrow: Chinatown.

And I'm hoping that the fairy who sprinkles creative energy and inspiration on me while I sleep will return sometime soon, so that the crafting will pick up again. She can be an elusive little thing.

doggie heaven just got a lot more lively

we love you, jake. we will miss you.

getting mothered (part one)

The gremlin had hidden my camera cable on top of my dresser. The gremlins in my house have an uncanny knack for hiding things in plain view.

Mom and Dad's visit was wonderful, if something of a whirlwind and over too quickly. Mom babied us as only Mom can and my fridge and freezer have not been so full in months.

Mother-daughter sewing occupied a large part of the visit, and it was so much fun to shop for fabrics and trims, unravel the mysteries of the sewing machine, and work on projects together. I think my Grandma was here too, passing on all her sewing wisdom and experience through the stories and advice my Mom shared.

Mom taught me to clean and oil the Singer. This machine was my grandma's and is about 60 years old, but still runs like a dream. I learned how to use all the attachments--dangerous looking mechanical contraptions that always looked to me like instruments of torture best left carefully arranged inside the box. But now I know how to ruffle, gather, make shirring (shir?), pin tuck, attach binding in one easy step, use my walking foot, and make buttonholes. BUTTONHOLES, I tell you. I am awed by the ingenuity of the Singer sewing machine and the people who invented all those gizmos. Yeah, I know we have plasma tv's and pocket-sized computers, but that's all run by some crazy magic. My Singer works by gears and sprockets that I can SEE running around all oiled and shining. This is comforting and more than a little cool.



My Mom is a fabric snob (in the good sense of the word) and was so excited to be able to find really quality goods in the shops in the garment district. I learned a lot about fabric and trim. And we bought a lot. (err, Mom bought a lot. I was busy profusely expressing thanks for the incredible loot I got away with) My fabric and notions bins are overflowing. They require a re-organization, about which I am immensely excited. It will involve custom fabric boxes and stamped labels, I think. Wait for it.



Dolly is a little Scottish lass, and ready for back-to-school with the little kilt and blouse Mom made. My Dolly is on the left, and on the right is one of my Mom's dollies from her youth. Dolly, Sr. must be pushing about 50 years old, so I'd say she's looking pretty good. Her joints are a bit loose, and getting her to stand up on her own required some coaxing. I love how the plastic has gotten shiny from all the years of loving. Check out that lace collar. How cool is that? AND she has matching panties underneath!! She's a bit too modest to show you, but trust me they are darling.

Dad joined us for part of the week and as usual graced us with his infinite patience, and even feigned a moderate amount of interest in the sewing.



Here's Mom and Dad whooping me and Twin at bridge. I'll blame it on lousy luck. I mean, isn't that about the worst hand you've ever seen that I'm holding?

Thanks so much Mom and Pop. So, when are you coming back?

oh, usb cable, where art thou?

I finally sat down for a minute to write about some of the crafting, touring, and oh-so-fine eating we've been doing with our folks here, but I can't find my camera cable anywhere. Either I left it at work or the gremlins have stashed it away in a hidey-hole. Drat.

So here instead is a picture I took the other weekend in Greenwood Cemetery—one of my favorite places in Brooklyn. It's peaceful and beautiful and has some of the best views of Manhattan from one of its hilltops. You'd think it would be spooky, but instead it's just a wonderfully quiet respite from the busy, blaring city that surrounds it.

Mom has been spoiling us rotten with shopping excursions to the garment district and the Strand. There are kimonos in progress as well as a new addition to Dolly's wardrobe. And my Mom brought me a boxload of old notions and other super cool stuff. All of which I would show you if my brain were slightly less scattered and/or my camera cable were present. Ah, well. I'll share more when the cable decides to grace me with its presence.

home again and a new book!

We had an absolutely wonderful, relaxing, fun time in Texas. I'd never been to Texas before—at least not properly; I think we may have driven through the panhandle once but that didn't count. I have to say Texas is big. The sky seemed enormous, and the spaciousness was a rather startling luxury for us coming from New York.

My friends are the kindest and gentlest of folks, and their hospitality was incredible. Not that I was expecting otherwise. Spending four days with my oldest friends, the ones who were there at the beginning and played such a role in me becoming who I am, was peaceful and comforting and restorative in a way that not even I was expecting. Though so much has changed, nothing has really changed when we get together. It is a timeless friendship for which I am endlessly grateful.

Pictures from the trip are here in a flickr set. Didn't get Twin in a cowboy hat, though she did buy an "I love cowboys" t-shirt which makes an appearance.

Awaiting me when I got home from work today was Amy Butler's In Stitches which arrived early from Amazon. It's not supposed to be released until Sept 1, but somebody's Mama loves her (ME!!) and pre-ordered it and they sent it early! woo hoo!! And it looks amazing. A beautiful book full of beautiful projects. I honestly can't believe this book is only $25. It must have over 20 patterns in it, and her patterns generally run over $10 each. Can you tell how excited I am? I've already picked out the first three projects I'm going to do. That kimono which is just too too cool, the fabric boxes (oh yeah, and she also has directions for fabric folders and envelopes--eee!!), and the laundry bag. Because then maybe (possibly) I might not dread going to the laundromat quite so much.



Thank you so much mama. You are feeding the frenzy up here.

texas bound

Twin and I are off to sunny Texas to see two of our dearest friends. We were inseparable in high school, but jobs and marriage and whatnot have conspired to keep us many many miles apart since then. The picture is of us on a mountain in Virginia. (Guys can you believe that was 10 years ago?! Look at those bangs! Look at the size of that video camera!!)

Texas may actually be cooler than NYC at this point since this lovely city has been festering in 100+ degree weather the last couple days. We are so OUT OF HERE! A wonderful weekend to all, we'll have pix of the lonestar state when we get back. Hopefully at least a couple of Twin in cowboy hat and boots.

oh, a baby on the blog

My good friend and his wife had their baby last week. She is a wee little five-and-a-half pounder. But very healthy. And here she is all nestled up under the quilt I made. I am very honored that she is sleeping so soundly under it. I hope it keeps her nice and warm. Congrats to the happy parents.

lazy days

I find one of the most defining elements of personality to be one's natural energy level. My boss, for instance, is one of those people who is always cheery and bright, working 12 hours a day without blinking an eye and energy enough left over for a busy social life in the evenings. On a scale of 1 to 10 of natural energy levels, I'd say she is a 9.

I think I myself clock in at around 4.5. Of course, this fluctuates. Last week, for instance, I was riding a high 7 and couldn't find enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I wanted to do. This week I find myself sleeping a lot and relishing my 45 minute subway ride, gazing meditatively out the window at the dark, repetitive succession of passing steel girders. A lazy, hazy stupor that probably registers a 2 on the natural energy scale. Or maybe a 3—a few modest but important steps away from completely comatose.

I am learning to embrace the ebbs and flows of my energy. I think this is one of the good things about getting older. I accept that I am alloted a certain amount of energy—some days more and some days less than the average. And while the energetic days are good, I can also enjoy the chill, tranquil joy of staring blankly at an invisible spot approximately 8 inches from my nose. No, I'm not high, I'm just very relaxed.

It would be extremely helpful to have an LCD screen on my wrist that could broadcast to the world my current position on this natural energy scale. So when my boss asks me to do something, I can just point to it, and say, "dude. I am only a 3 today. You can pile all that work on my desk if you want, but I can not possibly complete it all. Check back next week."

Because the energy will come back. It always does. And luckily there are few external demands on my time right now, so I have the wonderful luxury of listening to my body, and resting.

pix from the trip

I finally got all our vacation pix edited and up on flickr. Going through them this morning was so much fun, and made me want to turn right around and go back to the beach.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Outer Banks, they are the thin barrier islands that run almost the entire length of the coast of North Carolina. There's only one bridge that connects it to the mainland, at Kitty Hawk (where the Wright Brothers first flew an airplane). The farther north and south you go from Kitty Hawk, the more isolated it becomes. This year we rented the cutest little cottage all the way at the northern end near the village of Corolla. Like the rest of the Outer Banks, Corolla is becoming more densely populated with enormous beach houses, but happily still retains its charming fishing village kind of feel.

The beaches are never crowded and the sand is ultra-soft. I love it. I want to go back.

home again

We had an absolutely and entirely wonderful week. Relaxing and warm and sunny and friendly and just so very much fun. We had an adventure (in the not-so-fun sense of the word) on our plane trip down and I won't go into the details. Suffice to say that Mother Nature and Airtran conspired together to give us a very long, tempestuous journey. But it was not an omen, as the rest of the week we had gourgeous weather. I'll be posting more pictures and words about our trip over the next few days.

For now I am quilting furiously as the baby shower is Thursday. I have almost finished the quilting and am on to the binding, for which I'll need a rapid-fire tutorial from Twin. I am also hoping to make a Wee Bunny to go with it. And I promised to make chocolate cupcakes for the shower. The mama-to-be got a taste of them a couple weeks ago and apparently they hit some deep chocolate-craving spot. Such praise can only be rewarded with more cake and a few extras to take home for further nighttime chocolate cravings. Pictures of the completed quilt soon, if I have time to take a few before snipping the final threads and stuffing it in a gift box.

beach bound

Off to the beach. Southbound is always the best direction to be going.

All evening I've had that song in my head, "My bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." which was a mildly sappy song when sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary but reached the heights of cheesedom in that horrible Ben Affleck movie about the end of the world by meteor collision. Jennie keeps singing the "Fanta" song. I can't close my suitcase.

The quilt top is pieced, we've packed a small library between us, and tomorrow evening I will be eating something completely wonderful that my Mom cooked.

All of which makes me extremely, jump-up-and-down, hippy, happy.