Marie Grace Designs

Summer hiatus...

Enjoying the sun, the fresh veggies, and not rushing anything.

Sitting on the deck, smelling sunblock, and listening to the breeze in the trees.

Kissing boo-boos, reading stories, and hanging laundry.

Trying to soak up every minute, not apologizing, and being truly content.

Oh yea, and kite flying at the lake.

Its all downhill from here...

Well, I finally caved on the video game thing. Partly because it was Father's Day and partly because I have long weeks of summer and kids and visiting kids and bored kids. I caved and we got a Wii.

Now don't think for a minute that my kids have never had a video game because let me tell ya video games have been a part of life for a long time. But I have been pretty stingy about what we've owned and what they were allowed to play and for how long. Call me mean. 

It was the same this time around... no blood, no guts, no guns.

Rabbit stomping is okay. Rabbits singing along to Britney in a junk yard seems fitting. Clay shooting is fine and cross bows are nifty. I hear there's yoga.

Mac Daddy making like Metallica with that way cool gee-tar is a blast. I've been told I have a permanent back stage pass. 

The best was that the entire time they hooked up cables and figured out all the stuff and ran crazy through every game "just one more time" was that I was sitt'in on my butt on the sofa... knitting. Woohoo!

Now... I gotta go because I hear there's some sort of tournament going on in my living room and they're saving me a seat. I need to cruise through the kitchen and grab another cup of coffee, grab my needles on my way past my table, and get a good seat.

When ya got noth'in...

When ya got noth'in good to show... just show pictures of kids and kittens. That's what I'm do'in because that's all I got. If ya don't want to see kids or kittens just move along.

Seems this week has gotten away from me just a bit. It all started on Monday when I took Tater to swimming class and was sucked in to helping with the class. First off... I'm not a big fan of swimming. I'm not good at pretending I'm not terrified that one of them will drown at any moment.

Little kids that spit and sputter in the water make my heart beat a mile a minute. That's why they go to swim class. So they can learn to swim and I don't have to watch. So how did I get wrangled into helping with the class? I'm not sure. It was one of those moments when my brain was screaming "No! No! No!" but my mouth said "Sure, I'd love to help." 

So I am spending my mornings this week and next with a little herd of Tater-sized squids (Tater included) while they make their very best efforts at floating, flutter kicks, and bubble blowing. I don't know about them but I'm pretty sure I hold my breath for the entire morning. These are small people we're dealing with here. The water is almost up to their chins which means that one stumble sends them under. I am not a good swim class helper. The teacher and other helpers have to keep reminding me to let go of the kids. I keep holding on to them so they won't stumble and get their little faces wet but that means that they also can't float or flutter or bubble. Its not a good seen. Plus one of the little darlings is my own Tater and she's the youngest and smallest of them all and her little lip trembles and her skin is all goosey bumped and she says "Mama, the water is so cold today!".

Really... the kids have a blast. They giggle and flutter and yell "Watch me" and all I want to do is towel their little faces off and convince them to maybe go play in the baby pool or get a popsicle at the refreshment stand or something. Today was really scary. Today was Life Jacket day. The kids all wear Life Jackets and get to see what it feels like to float around in one and how to keep their faces up incase they ever have to wait for somebody to rescue them. You'd think I would have felt better about them all wearing Life Jackets but really what it meant was I was surrounded by 8 little buoys with no tethers. They all giggled and bobbed and floated around in all directions like little ships at sea with no rudders to guide them. It was like trying to gather marbles on a wood floor. Their little feet couldn't touch bottom while they were floating in those puffy orange vests so they just splashed and giggled and floated around. It was terrifying.

Disclaimer: The class is actually very safe and well managed with a wonderful teacher. I'm just really uptight about kids and pools and the entire experience has been awful (for me not them). Next year please remind me how awful this is so I don't do it again. Tater needs the class and she will go but if I have to do this with her again I'll need to have my meds upped.

So anyway... between swim torture, last week of school paperwork, school meetings, a few work things, and a few trips to the veterinarian the week has just blown by. I keep waiting for a lull but it ain't happen'in.

So about the kitten pictures. We got a new kitten. I feel so cliche. Knitter lady gets another cat. Not very original. But I do love the kitties. This is Oscar...

He came from the Llama Lady's farm. I'm amazed its taken us this long to cave in and bring a kitten home from there because let me tell ya there are cute kittens there every spring and we spend a lot of time there. 

My biggest concern was that the poor little guy would either be eaten by Tucker  or beaten mercilessly by Toby. Honestly Toby was my biggest concern. Tucker can be a little bone-headed but Toby is just plain mean when he wants to be and he even pushed Tucker around when Tucker was still a pup. I figured a dinky kitten wouldn't stand a chance.

Well, it took about 10 minutes for Oscar to hiss and swipe Tucker across the nose sending Tucker reeling with disbelief. And it only took about a week for this...

Granted... they're snoozing on the dining room table where they shouldn't be but at least they're bonding! Little Oscar has moved in and made himself right at home. I want 10 more.

Okay... now the kids...

The boys have been thoroughly enjoying some exploring exhibitions in the woods and down by the lake and the other day they brought back the biggest dandelion I have ever seen...

(Left to right) Flash's best buddy, FlyBoy, Flash

We've had ridiculous amounts of rain for the past few weeks (months?) so everything that likes a lot of water is growing like mad. Really, knowing my botanical background, or lack thereof, it may not be a dandelion at all but either way we're calling it the biggest dandelion ever. If it looks like a dandelion...

Tater was super impressed...

Of course Tater calls dandelions Wishing Flowers and delights in blowing the little fluffies away. She momentarily considered the big wishes this one was worth...

In the end we decided to stick it in the pot with the fern on the back deck and just leave it there to admire for as long as it would last.

So there ya go. No knitting. No sewing. No smocking. Just kids and fuzzy stuff. There's a few almost done things here but almost done isn't quite what I was going for so they will have to wait a little longer. FlyBoy and Doodle go to camp next week and school will be completely done by then so hopefully next week will be uber productive. 

Pass it on Friday...

I'm not really good at participating in the memes and blog award things that go around but I am always flattered when somebody includes me in one so I'm gonna take a minute and thank Julie for sending me a blogger award and mentioning me on her blog. She has a pretty nice blog herself and she makes baskets.... hey, Julie... got any nice yarn baskets?

So, thank you Julie for taking the time to pass it on and for thinking of me!

The second part of the deal is that I'm supposed to pass it on to 7 other bloggers. How about we make this easy and I'll just link you a few blogs I really like and leave it at that.

Tollipop... ridiculously cute artwork and little bios and stories to go with them. She's got an Etsy shop, too. I've managed, so far, to not go on a buying spree there but who knows how much longer I can hold out. I'm think'in my girls' room could use some nice prints in pretty new frames.

Marissa... she lives and knits on an island and is married to a lobster fisherman guy. 'Nuff said.

Toni of Make It Perfect... I found Toni and her site and sewing patterns while doing a search for a sunhat pattern. I still want the pattern... but still haven't ordered one. Duh.

modernAcorn... I found her site and blog totally by accident and was mesmerized by all the colored fabric but couldn't figure out for the life of me what she was sewing. Then I figured it out. Now I'm even more fascinated.

A Dress a Day... I read it for the pattern stories (mostly). They make me happy.

Sweet Georgia... its about the yarn. Look. At. The. Yarn!

Amy... a mom with kids, cats, chickens... all my favorite stuff. She tells great kid stories. The current one in particular made my choke on my coffee. 

Samantha... we (meaning Tater and I) love her dressy patterns. In fact I have fabric set aside to make Tater a few more Miss Madeline dresses for summer. 

Ha! That's eight! I'm one up.

So since I'm being a dork and copping out of actually passing the award on how about you do what I did... sometime soon post a few links on your blog of other blogs you really like. You know we all love the blog traffic and the comments (even if we don't admit it). Pass around a little blog love... just because its fun and a nice thing to do.

In other news... its been raining here for what seems like days. Oh, wait. It really has been raining for days. Ugh. Its gray and chilly and dreary (in June) and I'm soon gonna get all depressed and knock over a liquor store of a yarn store or something.

I just finished up a time consuming project of sorts and am hoping to finish up a few more that are in various states of completion over the weekend. I'm actually planning to post some knitting next week!

Martha's Cupcake Book review...

Its no big secret that I'm a Martha Stewart fan. Say what you will but Martha has taught me more about cleaning, cooking, decorating, and being polite than my mother ever did. 

Chances are if you want to braise beef, make flan, or throw a dinner party you can find out how to do it from Martha.

Granted... sometimes it seems she's just a "bit" out of touch with the majority of us (like when the materials list for those tree decorations included $137 cookie molds) but for the most part the creativity and techniques in her books and magazines and on her TV show are totally inspiring. 

Her Cupcake book is no exception. Mine came in the mail yesterday and I've been distracted ever since.

As always... the book itself is beautiful and colorful and the full page photos are exquisite. 

The book is divided into sections as per type of cupcake... Swirled and Sprinkled, Dipped and Glazed, Simple and Sweet, Filled and Layered, Piped and Topped. Further sections include recipes and ideas for birthdays, holidays, and celebrations. The back section covers the basics, ideas for displaying and giving, plus the templates and clip art for making the special little touches. There's also a resources list for everything in the book from special ingredients to fancy tools (including the damn cookie molds).

There are cupcake recipes to please literally everyone. Everything from old favorites (chocolate, buttermilk, applesauce spice) to fruity (strawberry with buttercream, raspberry marble cheesecake, blueberries and cream) to decadent (tiramisu, Black forest, German chocolate, sticky toffee pudding) and over the top (spun sugar crowns, candied hazelnut with spiky nuts that look just dangerous, and chocolate faux-bois disks).

Granted, I haven't yet made any of the recipes (check back with me this afternoon) but I read through the book page for page and must say that even the super gourmet cupcakes seem perfectly do-able provided you can get all the ingredients. The instructions and pictures are very helpful and complete.

Most of the recipes are average baker friendly. Its just a matter of mixing and sometimes chilling and the occasional whipping. There are recipes for just as many mouth-watering frostings, glazes, and fillings. Some of the recipes offer suggestions for different frostings and finishings.

One thing that draws me to Martha-everything is her knack for taking something simple and adding a tiny touch of something else and ending up with something marvelous. Even simple yummy cupcakes are made super special and worthy of celebrity with the ideas for decorating, serving, and presenting.

The only thing I found that you need to be on the lookout for is the number of cupcakes a recipe makes. Some only make 12 or 18 while others make 42!

All in all... I give it a big frosting covered thumbs up. Whether you have a hanker'in for a plain cupcake with a little frosting on a weekday afternoon or want to make something super fancy for a party you'll find it here.

I'm heading off to make my grocery list and I'll leave you with a few images from the book.

PS... I recently was informed that sending homemade snacks to school for special days, any days, and birthdays is totally welcome in our district. That's the charm of living where the average graduating class is 90 kids. Of course, considerations are made should there be any kids with allergies in a class. Also, the high school kids and the elementary kids all still ride the same bus meaning my little kids will be accompanied by my bigger kids when school starts in the fall. I'm pretty sure Tater will be kindly escorted to her room each morning by a sibling or 2 at least the first few days. I'm easing into the whole "the kids are going off to school" thing and cupcakes really help.