My Child is Her Own Person, And Always Has Been (see cute baby photo).

It is tempting, as I publicly document my life and loves, to make it look neat and pretty, and edit out the toast crumbs and forehead lines. Which isn’t such a bad thing, really…? I’ve thumbed through “Artful Blogging”, transported and moved by its luminous eye candy. It is an ideal I’m reaching for. (Or maybe, I’m just a kid saying “I want some! Me too me too!”). Recently, I made a sweet outfit for my youngest, oh-so cleverly refashioning it out of one of my abandoned summer dresses and a sweater I’d found thrift shopping. It was a labor of love, yes, but I’ll admit also that I was possibly a little greedy… I figured I’d have bragging rights. I couldn’t wait to show off beautiful pictures of my child in my very own creation.

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Hey There! It’s still cold around here, February hasn’t clocked out yet, and just today, I  discovered that the icicles my daughter comes home licking are in fact the bizarre looking ones we’ve noticed growing underneath my neighbor’s trampoline. We’re smack dab at the bitter end of winter here. So. I’m super excited to distract myself (and you too) with a party, of sorts…

A lovely little giveaway!

Except it’s not so little…if you look below, there are quite a few bloggers involved. The Closet Intellectual is the hostess; you can visit her and each of the other blogs below by clicking on their banners bellow. The actual giveaway entry buttons are at the very bottom…entering is pretty simple.  Just a few clicks and you could be picked to win a prize from this “Lovely Little Giveaway”. I’m giving away another cute little homemade/refashioned apron (this week, as serendipity would have it, I’m participating in two giveaways).

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Homemade: Apron

My friend Steph brings gifts when she visits. One gift was this apron.

Which I love. And which I wear, often…not necessarily with practical, utilitarian motives. Call it my kitchen costume.

Since I love it so well, I want more aprons. More and more and more. I always do want more, when I love something. This wanting more is a trait I inherited from my stellar grandfathers. Both of them. Call the trait a redundant heirloom. I’m not letting it go; it’s precious to me. My Grandpa Wilson used to say, when he really liked something (a hamburger, perhaps, or piece of pie) “Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. This has a very Moorish flavor”. Sure do miss him.

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Have You Ever Read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott?

My dad read it to us when I was around eight years old, after my mom protested his reading Zane Grey’s western romances to her innocents. Neither would she stand for “The Hobbit” and its swords and goblins at our young age (eventually we all eroded her objections to Tolkein and had the privilege of being raised on Dad’s winter night readings of all Tolkein’s major works…and I later smuggled Zane Grey into my bedroom to read All By Myself.

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Hey there.  How are you feeling lately?  Any signs of Spring out your kitchen window?

Here’s Something From My Kitchen: A Healthy Recipe.

 (printable recipe at end of post)

What does that mean, a healthy recipe (pardon my fixating on words)?  As recipes go, this one is robust?  Vigorous?  In the prime of life?  Fit as a fiddle?

For sure.  And yep…you are what you eat.  At least I hope so. Not that I don’t like what I am…I’d just like to be a little…healthier.  I want to feel a little greener.  I want my tummy to hum, happily (humming being way different than gurling).  It’s the end of February, for crying out loud. Here in my neck of Utah, there aren’t any signs of spring out my kitchen window or  even up close and personal on my morning runs.   Just the same beautiful snow (aging of course) that we’ve had all winter long.   [continue reading…]

Union Station, Ogden

We took the kids to Union Station on Wall Street for a stroll.  With much cajoling. We brought two cameras along.

We figured that if they got cold enough and hungry enough, they’d linger with us over dinner and congregate near us by the fire afterwards. Company, guaranteed. Maybe popcorn too. Can you believe that? I’m thinking of offering tutorials on manipulation…

What we got, when it was all said and done, were some sweet memories. I totally recommend this. Take your kids out in the cold winter air, just as the sun is setting and half an hour past dinnertime, point a camera at them, and see what happens. There is something magical about cameras. [continue reading…]

Is “Homemade” Making a Comeback?

And if Homemade is making a comeback, where is it coming back from?

I understand it was groovy in the 70’s to be crafty and thrifty and homemade.

Or at least to appear crafty, thrifty, and homemade.  Think macrame, for instance. A nation’s  entire indoor fern culture embraced by crocheted plant holders. Every bathroom guarded by knotted and beaded owl sentinels. [continue reading…]