In a nutshell..

I was outside with the kids the other day and despite my complete lack of creativity, I grabbed my camera on the way out the door. Above is a shot of the blackberry brambles that wrap around our backyard. They are nasty, but have supplied us with many blackberry treats and jellies.

This is a micro shot of the moss and tiny seedlings sprouting on our stonewall. It amazes me to no end how complex and precarious life is.

I spent a few days in Ottawa during the beginning of the month visiting my father. It was the Tulip Festival so I had to throw in a tulip photo.

Our apple trees are in blossom as well. This lovely sits outside my kitchen window.. the spring breeze carries it's fragrance all over our yard.

I had to drag the pots I had on the deck into the 3 season porch the other evening. It got down to 30 degrees and the frost would not have tread kindly on my tomatoes.

Last fall I made the tiny pillow sitting in the little chair. It makes me happy. We also have chickens now! They are so fabulous! They make me happy too.. I'll get some pics up for you when time allows..

Hope everyone is out, enjoying the world!

xoxo~

Abbie

Oh, my. I can not believe how long it has been since I have posted! Let's catch up.. hmmm.. sick. Yep. A brutal spring cold has worked its way through the house and is now settled soundly into my mother in law and me. so, as I type I am panting through my mouth as I hate having my nose plugged. Ok, enough whinning. It is as if that is all there is to do right now. Spring has finally arrived and it is wonderful! (even through my Sudafed fog..) I spent atleast an hour outside yesterday and today cleaning, raking, and enjoying. Alas, we are suppose to get more snow tonight or tomorrow. I have plans to take the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt and also to meet 'The Bunny'. I don't know what I'm going to use as a bribe for good behavior once Easter has past.

"You better listen to Mommy or the Easter Bunny won't come!"

My almost four year old told me today, "Where is the Easter Bunny? He can't
see me."

My response, "Well, I'll call him and tell him not to come."

My daughter, "Bunnies can't talk Mom..."

Oh, good grief. It works with Santa! But I suppose he is a person and can speak.

I hope that everyone out there is having a lovely weekend, enjoy your family, health and the weather! (whatever it may be..) I'll be back once my creativity strikes again.

In case you weren't with me last year, you can click Click Here for a free fabric egg pattern that I created last spring. It is a fun and easy weekend project!

xoxo~

Abbie

Images of Reality

I thought I'd share with you my 'reality'. So often in Bloglandia we sugarcoat, crop and edit until our worlds are lovely, picture perfect illusions. You get glimpses into my home, when it's clean, organized and unfettered by my children's rampage. The truth is that my house rarely exists in perfect harmony and most often it is a chaotic mish mash of Disney Princess toys, tents and Matchbox cars. With the occasional leaky sippy cup or barking dog dressed up as Tinkerbell. So, for all of you who love before and afters, here is one of my Red Room. Strategically hidden behind the large leather couch are all of the toys... isn't it serene and tidy? Note the very intentional photography so that none of the toys behind the couch are visible.

After the hurricane of my 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old hit. This is the way it looks most of the day.

Now you know why I take pictures when it's neat. Because it rarely is!

So, here is my reality. :) Bright chaos, in shades of pink and princess plastic. In all honesty, I do love this room. It is bright, full of sunshine and it takes only five minutes to throw all the toys over the couch to 'clean it up'. You can get a peek of my PC in the hutch in the corner. the sun is shining and the snow is melting. What could be better?

xoxo~

Abbie

Knit two, ladybug one, purl two...

I am in love. Yes, it's true... a new new love has stolen my heart and now occupies way too much of my day. You know that 'young love'? The kind that steals you away and you want to spend every minute with them? The kind that makes your mind and heart think of nothing else.. that is what I'm talking about. Two smooth sticks, a ball of yarn and I am in *heaven*. *Sigh* I started taking a knitting class last weekend and it fabulous!! Love, passion, a girlie crush, whatever it is, I am enjoying it most thoroughly!

While I was working the other day on my 'homework' this little ladybug decided to make an appearance.
Oh, you have no idea how wonderful his arrival is! It is a symbol of the coming of Spring!

He crawled all around, checking out my new, fancy-shmancy Crystal Palace bamboo needles. Bamboo is so much nicer than aluminum.. it grips the yarn just enough so I don't drop my stitches. Once I am a little better, I will probably want the smooth metal but for now the warm wood is perfect.

The girls loved watching him run the needles. They cheered him on and when he fell, Momma would have to carefully place him back up on his balance beam.

The magazine below my work is last years Living from Martha Stewart. They really are timeless and I love to read them year after year looking for old 'new' ideas.

I hope that you all are well and doing what you love! If not, find something to fall in love with, again or for the first time. It's so much fun!

xoxo~

Abbie

Hiding from the winter cold.

Can you find me?

I am hiding from the winter cold, the frost's bite and the wind's fury.
Tucked beneath leaves, where the moisture lies.

Really, I do not have a green thumb, but at times my entire being is green. Green with envy of those who are warm and saturated with nature's moist touch.

I hide myself inside the comfort of tiny blooms and leaves.

Blend in, where perhaps I will be forgotten; left to my musings.
So I can ponder and dream of sodden fields, flower buds and things with wings.

The first image is obvious, but there is someone peeking at you from every image. Did you find them all?

xoxo~

Abbie

Thank you...

This image is a thank you to my blog readers.. thank you for putting up with me, my changing interests, my blah, blah, blah. Thank you for stopping by again and again, even though time runs out for me and I can not always return the favor and visit you. Thank you! Use it for lovely things....

xoxo~

Abbie

A Rose Will Bloom

'She Dreams' Digital Collage 6.18.08

'A Rose Will Bloom' Digital Collage 6.17.08

I have been playing with some tools on Photoshop. I love the borders (distressed, etc..) that you can put around your images, but 1.) didn't want to pay for them and 2.) wanted to possibly incorporate them in designs to sell. To do that I needed to generate my own, so as to not worry about copyright infringement, etc. I really enjoy trying to figure things out, and at some point I'd love to take more PC design courses. But, for right now, I can self teach on my own time and again, it's free! I'm desperately trying to save up enough for a new fancy, schmancy laptop so I can work anywhere in the house and not have to worry about file size. Right now I'm close to collapsing our PC. Sometimes it takes forever to crunch the numbers on some of the files I'm using. hope everyone is enjoying their almost-summer months! Today is my son's last day of school and then the fun begins! Trips to the lake (about 2 minutes away), picnics, slip and slide,

soccer camp, etc. Enjoy!

Gifts!

I have been very busy organizing, cleaning, and chasing ladybugs down with the vacuum. We are completely inundated with the pretty little pests. Once the spring sun warms up the sides of the red house, the ladybugs come out in full force!

I wasn't able to organize myself enough to do the monthly giveaway thing.. I still plan to, but I think it's gonna wait until fall arrives and we move back in doors and cuddle in front of our PCs again. In the mean time, here are some copyright free clip art images for you.. antique images from the ever growing stock pile! Use 'em and abuse 'em!

Have a fabulous weekend, I am going to be spending mine in 50 degree weather watching my son play baseball. ALL weekend.

Just right click the pics for larger sizes.. and if you click the 'clipart' label below, directly you will be directed in the right direction for all of the free clipart images I have posted thus far.

xoxo~

Abbie

Brake for Moose..

I'll be taking a brake from blogging for awhile. My father in law's burial is just around the corner and we have family coming from far and wide, (can't wait to see you guys!!) Z has started baseball but also still has Scouts. T has completely regressed on her potty training and baby A is a very whinny little girl lately! (I think she is teething..) The house needs a good cleaning and organizing (as usual) and I have a swap project to work on. (Hi Rhonda! I'm workin' on it!) Just life is happening and when the weather allows, we are outside soaking up the sun. (Soon we'll be soaking up the rain, as it's on it's way!)

I hope everyone is fabulous out there in the great wide world, I read your comments and love them all! I'll try to also catch up on my blog readin' as that has gone by the wayside and I really need to visit you all.

The pic above is a peek at the page I am working on for Rhonda's Book Swap!

Enjoy spring!

xoxo~

Abbie

Don't Count Your Eggs..

Well, we made it. The children were amazing in the car, but my little one wouldn't let me put her down the entire time we were gone. So, needless to say, it was not a 'vacation' by the essence of the word, but it was a good time and the kids enjoyed seeing their grandpa.

Before I left with the kids, as a family we walked our field and cleaned out the bird boxes. So many treasures and also pain. We found a wasps nest, an unhatched sparrows egg. A dead sparrow. New, probably arrived alittle too early this spring and froze. In the blue bird's box we found two tiny pale blue eggs, one intact unhatched, and the other broken, but not a successful fertilization. Now I know where the phrase 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.' comes from.

Yesterday morning, before the house was up, I received a phone call that one of my classmates from high school had passed away suddenly. The phone rang for quite awhile and there was a lot of hashing through old memories and many ghosts came flying from the closets. My mother came over and I went to a funeral for a 33 year old woman. Probably the saddest funeral I have been too, as it didn't make much sense and there was no relief in sight for the family. I left quickly, not wanted to go back to that place of adolescence. It was not an overly happy time in my life and I'm trying very hard to make the shift of mind to the 'now' and to the 'tomorrow'.

I have lost some very good friends and have found others. I have also lost some not so good friends and found people to replace those as well. When I left the funeral, it was OK. It is hard to explain, but I was OK. I am happy with my life and where it is at. I am at peace with my family, those close to me and there are no regrets. I saw a lot of regrets yesterday. That was probably the hardest part for most, they weren't as sad about the passing of a friend, but were angry at themselves for all the 'should have's' and 'if only's'. To this point in my life, I can honestly say that the decisions I have made have been the right ones and I am at peace. Do you have any regrets? Any unspoken words of love, pain or angst? Any unreturned phone calls? Speak them now, for you never know which eggs aren't going to hatch in the morning..

So, this post isn't about my vacation, although my few days away helped my hubby and I see each other through new eyes. It was about death and a rebirth. The rebirth of my confidence. My understanding and comprehension that, in the words of Martha, my life is a 'good thing'.