Happy Halloweenie!

Now that the kiddos are a little older, it's time that they hand out the candy instead of holding out their hands. I'm planning on making lasagne today for dinner, among all the regular craziness of Open House prep... so I'm sure that this will be us tonight... that is, if Java leaves a spot by the fire!

our happy cam-purrr...

My favorite place to spend the afternoon is in my sewing room, and Java usually is there with me. She's not a housecat that's allowed on the tables, but in my sewing room she does use it to climb onto the windowsill, which is her favorite place to spend the afternoon. Well, if you take a regular sized windowsill, and a mid sized cat, you'll discover that they're not the same width. It was getting really funny watching her try to position herself so her stomach wouldn't make her fall off... so we came up with this solution...

Yesterday Robyn built a custom kitty bed for Java's place in the sun and we outfitted it with a little quiltie to make it her own (and so kitty hair clean up was a little easier for me)...

I think she looks pretty content, don't you? She's a regular little happy cam-purrr!

what would you do with a half hour of sunshine?

Yep, me too... I'd soak it allll up! {{Photos by Julianna}}

good thing I took "before" pictures...

Guess whose cat is about to be dumped out in the rain for the afternoon?

winter vacation?

Well, at least someone's enjoying the pool in the off-season! Looks like Java wants to join them for a dip!

Or maybe for a bite.

(click picture to enlarge)

relax... it's Friday...

...enough said?

bikini babes

Ah, yes... summertime!

...and if pictures of my kids in bikinis isn't enough, how about my cat in one?

sewing day... and a visitor

Today's a home day. I was caught in the rain a few too many times yesterday and got a little chilled. So I'm glad that I have orders to work on... and I don't have to venture out in the rain today!

On my sewing table... ...visit Brown Bag Bibs for the whole picture!

And meet the not-so-little visitor we had last night... ewww! And that's Robyn's hand holding the bucket - NOT mine! Heck, I think I was brave just to get near enough to take the pictures!

what a week it's been!

Last Wednesday, my daughter Julianna called from school to say she was sick and could I come and get her. Let me tell you ladies, it's been one looong week around here! For days she had a pretty bad fever and cough that has now settled into a lousy cold. Her lips are blistered from her fever, her feet are freezing, and today when she had her first hairwash in a week, it set her back to the point of needing a nap. I'm not an "awww, poor baby" type mom, but I've certainly made an exception this time! She's exhausted! The two doctors we saw agreed that it was an infection, but thought she fought through it very well. The regular Advil, Tylenol, cough syrup doses we were giving her brought me back to our newborn feeding days. I'm even a little sleep deprived. Anyway, she's going to try a half day today at school and when she's ready for a nap, I'll go bring her home. At this point, even if she's not ready for a full day at school, she really just needs to get out of the house for a while. And with Spring Break starting on Friday... I could use a little break myself!

So, you ask, did I get anything accomplished while grounded this past week?

I had four custom "established" signs to do... this is the last of them and was picked up today. It's a long one - this picture was taken on my living room table. Isn't the sign a yummy coffee color...
I also did the majority of the work on the calendar stitcheries that I had started. Very fun project and I really enjoyed doing it. A lot of work, though... lots of start and stop stitching while caring for Miss Sickie... I finished them up yesterday, got them cut apart, stained and baked. I decided to mount them on a cutting board I had set aside for me after my Christmas shows were done. I'm considering changing things on a certain wall and hanging it there. I added two small clothespins to change the stitcheries through the year. So... here's "March"...

Today will be spent doing laundry, vaccuming furniture, and organizing my sewing room... again! Besides, I need to be home in case Julianna calls. I've got the urge to quilt (and an order for a runner) so if I can manage a half hour of tidying, I should be home free!
I hope you have a great Wednesday! Thanks for sticking with me through this rather longish post... can you tell I've been cooped up for a while??
Blessings,
~Kimberly

a request from a sick soon-to-be 12 year old...

Almost two weeks ago, Tammy shared a request with me. Her daughter Joy wanted her to ask me if my daughter Julianna would be interested in becoming pen-pals with her. Julianna turned 10 about a week before Joy so they're right at the same stage.

Now my oldest, Emily The Sickie, asked me to ask all of you if someone has a daughter around her age who might be interested in doing the same with her.

Julianna asked Joy to write the first letter... but I know Emily would be more than excited to start things off. If any of your daughters would be interested, please let me know! We can exchange addresses etc via email. Thanks!!

The fabric from my outing this morning is in the dryer as I type... either later on today, or sometime tomorrow, I will post a few pics. I got some really fun combos and can't wait to get even more projects started! (Have you noticed I'm a great starter??)

Oh, and by the way... coming home to a dozen comments on my last post absolutely made my day! Thanks so much for all your sweet words and wishes!

new to me from Gooseberry...

I love it when Gooseberry Patch has a sale... and so does Java!

(I think I'll give it a quick coffee stain bath... what do you think?)

Bad Kitty!

~*SIGH*~

This is what happens when the cat is fed and there's no one around to help her burn off her early morning energy.

I guess this quilt has just moved up in priority on today's to-do list.

Maybe I'll head to the beach tomorrow and take it along...

Bring on the hand sewing!

~Kimberly