Tag: memories

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Looking Back at 2014 and Looking Forward to The New Year

I get a little introspective as the New Year approaches. I have just spent the last twelve months zooming through the days to this day.

Then there are the many photos of our yard and landscape. We had snow and ice, beautiful daffodils, tulips and irises all in succession.

Then the beautiful summer flowers in the front flower bed, from gladiolus to Russian sage to Purple coneflowers and daisies.The many pictures of yarn and projects in process including the craft fair.

There are many photos of family and trips to museums and lovely memories to share but I will not bore you with all of these photos. I have been graced with a very full year. We moved one person twice and three people once, if that makes any sense. We moved our daughter home from college at the beginning of the summer. Our son and his wife moved into their new apartment. We moved two of our kids back to college and finally we moved my mom to her new apartment. So those were huge moves and took time and attention. I just cleared out the last box of sewing materials from my Mom, yesterday. I am working on cleaning up in the studio after all of the busy time this Christmas season.

Things I am looking forward to this year include the Use Your Stash Challenge, doing a craft fair or two, some time spent fluffing the inside of the house. Here is my list for the future.

  • Prepping for a craft fair this June
  • Creating some new products for both shops
  • De-cluttering my house and studio
  • Finishing up about ten works in progress
  • Finishing up the tree skirt. I want to add some trim to the edging and possibly a decoration or two.
  • Clean out Christmas decorations that we haven’t used in years
  • Do some dog training. We have four in the back yard right now as we are watching my brother’s dog.
  • Make a menu and grocery list every week
  • Our oldest daughter is scheduled to graduate from college this next school year. So while it she officially doesn’t graduate until 2016. I know the year will be full of getting her prepared.

This is fairly busy list. I know that we will be driving  our daughter back to college, and also bringing her home. She has a wedding this summer to go to and we might take a vacation. I would like to work in the yard and get some things cleared up. All of this in addition to living life and home schooling our youngest. The days and years just seem to get shorter and time seems to be a more precious commodity.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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The New Lab Puppy

It was a busy weekend here as I know it was busy at your house as well.  We had a great time at my Mom’s. My brother was down visiting and we had an incredible time working together. My mom has recently moved to a smaller home in the area. She had tons of things that all needed to find a new home and we had a great big huge sale to help her get rid of them.  We arrived on Friday afternoon and the garage was stacked with boxes of things. We all pitched in and by Saturday afternoon her garage was swept and empty. Simply an incredible afternoon was had by all. Here are a few action shots of the one thing we came home with. Kids can sure talk you into things that you were pretty sure you would never do again, like have another lab puppy in the house. They simply chew everything up for years and years.2014-10-25 13.27.31 2014-10-25 13.30.14Our daughter put a collar on her before we decided she could come home with us. Her owners were ready to give her to a new home. She just wandered up to the garage in the middle of the sale and lay down on the dog bed that was for sale. She made herself at home and slept pretty much all day. She was tired after howling under our window most of the evening on Friday. After a bath and a visit to the vet, she is now named Daisy and seems much happier. She just needs some extra food for a little while and she should be doing great. She didn’t cry too much last night but seemed to settle down pretty quickly.2014-10-26 17.43.01-1So, we are adjusting to having Daisy at home, and while one of the other dogs is a bit jealous I think things will settle down pretty quickly. I am not getting much crochet done with a new furry baby in the house that seems to need constant attention. Here is a pretty picture of her face.2014-10-26 11.56.27Daisy is very content and so are we. I hope to get back into the swing of things later this week.

talk to you later,

Karen

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I’m Hyper – Procrastinating This Morning.

Today: quite frankly I am procrastinating, I am hyper – procrastinating! I’m not even sure if that is a word. According to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary this is the definition of Hyper

Full Definition of HYPER

1 :  high-strung, excitable; also :  highly excited
2 :  extremely active

and this is the definition of Procrastinating.

pro·cras·ti·nate

verb \prə-ˈkras-tə-ˌnāt, prō-\

: to be slow or late about doing something that should be done : to delay doing something until a later time because you do not want to do it, because you are lazy,

Ouch, that hurt! It is how I feel though. I am intentionally lazing around and resting. The weeks have been filled with RUN..Run… Do this and do that! I need down time, my body craves it like I used to crave quiet (when I had four little people in the house.) I have done some of the chores that were screaming for attention yesterday; laundry and some picking up. I have some unpacking to do and some dishes to do. I have yarn I bought yesterday that I can’t wait to get my hands on. I have a bunch of photography for the Etsy shops and then some Christmas gift creating to do.

hyper-procrastinating

I have tons of things that have to be done, some errands and so forth but I am being a procrastinator on purpose. I’m not thinking or planning or scheduling. I am not considering the clutter in my house. Well, yes I am but I am ignoring it willfully. I am doing something incredibly difficult for me to do; sitting. I know that I will have to jump up and go and do before long. Chores, errands,  sewing, crochet and life calls, but for this little while I am going to sit and rest. I am adding white space or margin to my life. I have not had a chance to do this since our vacation in August, or at least it feels that long ago. Do you remember when I talked about margin? I have had two cups of coffee in bed and then some poking about on the internet with no specific purpose, a little thinking about this or that, and I ordered a music book for my daughter.

hyper-procrastinating

I have been taking stock of my life. Looking at what is truly important and while I haven’t reached any conclusions I do have some renewed purpose. I think I am back on track and headed several degrees into a better direction. You remember geometry class where you learned that a degree off of the right direction would put you miles away from your destination. Life is like that as well. So I am puttering into the right direction again. The photos are from our vacation this past summer. The last time I got to sit and just be. I am ready for a bit more of that time off.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 Well, if you want to read what I wrote about Margin you can find it here: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/02/04/margin/

PS. It is now Friday and I wrote this on Thursday. I am still procrastinating. I guess rest is what I need to do right now in between life as wife, daughter, mom and chauffeur.

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Waiting on Ideas to Hatch

Everyday is a new day!  It has been a long week so far and it is only Sunday! Last week we took 2 kids to college and dropped them off. We then drove the quiet 5 hour drive home. It was quiet and it IS quiet now. We also took the leaf out of the table and it now sits four quite comfortably or five if you really like each other!  We raise kids to be independent and then we are sad when they finally are! So this week, I am concentrating on the one chick left in the nest. I am thinking of things like Christmas gifts, the Etsy shop, things I am thankful for and what I want to do with this blog!

Waiting on ideas to hatch
Hatching Ideas

 

 

Like these eggs, I am waiting on the right time for my ideas to hatch. There are so many things that I would love to do but I just don’t have the time. I am getting to take a painting class this year with my daughter. I will show you my work as I go. It has been ages since I have really painted and I am completely self taught.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Family Identity

Do you have a family identity? It used to be a popular thing to talk about. It is a pretty basic concept. What does your family stand for? What does it mean to be a _____________ (put your last name in the blank)? When our kids were small it was pretty simple:

Stewart’s take care of each other.

and

Stewart’s tell the truth.

(I had to work pretty hard on that one.)

Stewart’s wash their hands and use their manners.

(another one we had to work hard on.)

Then it became more difficult as time went on and the kids got older.

It became things like:

Stewart’s do hard things, they don’t give up!

Stewart’s do not leave projects to the last minute before they are due!

Those are also incredibly hard to teach and I am still working on learning them myself. Though, I think the last one was more of a self preservation teaching than a family identity or motto.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/192862925/vintage-1970sbe-prepared-embroidered

 

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181484340/do-what-you-can-11×14-print-of-theodore

I have been thinking about this family identity thing because our home school group has suggested that we come up with a home school mission statement for this year. Public schools, private schools, colleges and universities do this all the time with slogans and mottos. I have been thinking about it. We are close to the end of our homeschooling years and I don’t think that choosing “I can’t wait to be finished” is a good choice for our home school mission statement. I really don’t want our sweet youngest child to think back that Mom couldn’t wait to be done with teaching her. That is NOT a good end to a season of life. I know that there is something more challenging and uplifting that I could use if I think long enough.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/151666214/educating-the-mind-without-educating-the

I think family identities, mission statements and mottos are good things. They serve as guidelines. They can help you keep on track and remind you of why you do what you do and who you are. I’m still thinking about ours for the year, if I figure it out I will get back to you.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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June Flowers

2014-06-23 14.32.24

Here are the Gladiolus that we planted shortly after we moved in. Thankfully, they come back every year.

2014-06-23 14.33.20

The coneflowers that I planted this Spring are growing and seem really happy.2014-06-23 14.34.04

We planted these lilies about five years ago and this year is the first year I remembering them blooming. I keep having to remind the kids that these are not weeds.

2014-06-024

 

 

This is the Russian sage in full flower. The bees love it and it has been there for about 9 years. It has migrated from the middle of the flower bed to the edge and is now trying to grown in the yard on the other side of the path. I love it because it doesn’t take much care at all.

2014-06-23 14.34.20

The yellow Yarrow is growing beautifully and looks great next to the Russian Sage. I transplanted some to the new flower bed and it is growing  nicely.

2014-06-23 14.33.02

We also planted some Iris in this flower bed but only one came up. I think that more will bloom next year.

2014-06-23 14.32.50

Irises are my favorite flower and when I dig up the iris bed near the street I will move some more to this flower bed.

talk to you later,

Karen

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The laundry

I remember going to my Granny’s house for a week or two in the summers. Once a week we would gather (I say we, but it was mainly my mother and Granny) all the laundry in the house. Loading it into the car we would take it into town to the laundromat. It had a screen door that had a broken spring. It smelled clean like soap and heat like the driers that were stacked on one wall. There were all kinds of ladies at this laundromat. They would load all of the clothes into the washers and the last load would be my Grandpa’s overalls. He was a tractor mechanic and his overalls and work shirts would always go in their own washer with the Oxydol detergent. Then they would sit and wait for the washers to finish. There was usually a chance to drink a pop out of the machine in the corner. It was cold and sweet and very bubbly. Granny didn’t put her clothes into the dryer we would take them home to her house and hang them on the line. ALL the clothes on the line, even our underwear, though Granny would put them on one of the middle lines of the clothes line. As kids we would run through the cool wet laundry feeling it flap on our arms, but not too much as it would pull the clothes down.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/23974833/clothes-pins-hancock-maine-4-x-6-fin

My grandmothers would never let their clothespins stay on the clothes line. They were kept in a bag like one of these. They would bring the clothespins after their laundry day.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/187700151/clotheslined-floral-print-clothespin-bag

My other Grandma, we called her Gran, would also dry her clothes on the line but hers was an umbrella style clothes line and she could stand  in one place and hang all of her clothes. The queen sized sheets fit on the outside line and the socks on the inner lines closest to the middle pole. It turned around and she would hang and turn the line and keep hanging the clothes until the basket was empty.

When our children were little I had a clothes line and we hung our clothes to dry. It was a way of saving money. We had a clothes dryer for wet laundry days. It seemed that the kids created laundry for fun. If we didn’t do laundry; at least three loads every day. They now do their own laundry and it keeps that monster under better control!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Looking Back…

I wrote this about a month ago. Believe it or not everything that I was worried about has been handled. All of the things that I thought were worthy of worry are now solved, resolved or handled. Shall I share the outcome of each of these worries.

I am starting to push the panic button. In the next month we have a ton of things happening.

  • The college girl comes home with all of her belongings  She is home and everything is great!
  • Sr. recognition Sunday at church for our graduating senior Done and over!
  • High school graduation for our youngest son Graduated!
  • Our 26th wedding anniversary Celebrated and wonderful!
  • Memorial Day, a day which we now try to put flowers and remember those who have passed away and those who have served in the military. Done
  • I need to get a child ready for camp
  • send her to camp
  • I have two kids needing to find summer jobs They both found jobs on their own without my interference!
  • feeding all of the people that will be here this summer I have two extra cooks and meals are getting accomplished daily!
  • find out about my foot in the boot and what needs to be done. The boot is gone. I am mobile and taking up the rhythms of life again!

I guess I am discouraged by the busyness of life. I need to take time to remember that these busy times are sweet family time. We will once again all gather around the table and share stories, insights and food. It seems that my family places importance on food as it gathers us all together.

Yes, we do place importance on food as it is hard to get all of us together at any other time.

2014-05-23 15.19.28

 

I hope you and your family find some sweet family time this summer!

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Cottage Charm

Here are some little cottages that I made several years ago. These are just for fun as I have so much to do today. These cottages are hand sized Christmas ornaments. I haven’t put the hanging ribbon on them yet. There are some things that I would change but overall I like them. I would call these prototypes.IMG_0126-002 IMG_0127-002 IMG_0128-002

I am thinking about adding some like them to the shop, but I’m not sure. What do you think?

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Graduation

Once again we are here. It seems only yesterday that he was this big.

2014-02-16 15.30.56 2014-02-16 15.31.24

Such a funny little guy. In the top photo he is three and the bottom photo he is about 5 months old. He is now almost 19. I will never forget seeing him face down in the sand pit with his brand new glasses on his face. I will always remember “Sometimes my Mom lets me have three pieces of cake!” at about four years old as he conned my cousin into two large pieces of cake. I will never forget his cello breaking at a summer music camp! I loved watching you come into your own as a high school student. IMG_1850 er YBThere is not much left to say, but Congratulations! You have a strength and fortitude that astounds me. Thank you for being the funny guy, the punster, the artist and quiet guy. I can’t wait to see what happens next in your life and where life takes you!

See you later,

Mom