The Gypsy Wagon

Don't look Beth!

Months ago, my friend Beth had a birthday.  I didn't forget it exactly - I just didn't finish (or even start) her gift on time.

Beth came to visit me a couple of weeks ago, and I planned to have her gift ready for her.  I would have, too - if I hadn't put the darn pocket on crooked. 

I finished it a couple of days ago, and added the raw edged ruffle on the bottom - which I love, but I think will drive Beth crazy with the loose threads.  Sorry Beth!  I bought this fabric back in February when I went to Portsmouth, NH to celebrate birthdays with the February Five.  Of course I had no idea then what I would do with the fabric, but I like what it became.  I hope Beth will too.

Oh - and I didn't use a pattern; I traced around a Williams-Sonoma apron that I use, and then modified it a little to make it longer.

 

Whew!

We did it!  Not elegantly, expeditiously, or easily - but we did it!

In the interest of total honesty, I need to say, that John could have finished way, way before I did had he so desired.  But despite my encouraging him to keep running when I had to walk the hills,  he stayed with me the whole.  Proving once again that he has patience on a saintly scale. 

It was not my best race  -  and the two times that I ran it previously were not as painful as today was, but I finished the race, and that's not too bad.

Some important things I learned:  Hazy + hot + humid + hills = one tough day.  Also:  more conditioning is better than less.  Next year:  more long runs in the preparation process.  Oh - and it's easier on the body when the body doesn't weigh so much.  Sheesh - physics never was my thing.

I'd post more, but I really need to lie down.  Again.  

It may not be Cinderella's slipper but it will have to do.

In 1999, on the eve of my 35th year, I took up running.  To fully appreciate the enormity of that statement, you have to realize that all of my life I vacillated between bookworm and party animal.   Gym rat was never my animal of choice. 

When I was about to turn 35, I decided that it was then or never.  John was working long hours, I was living in a furnished 800 sq. ft. apartment with 3 young children, waiting for our Navy house to become available.  When I started running, I think I said lofty things about goals, and turning 35, and life changes, blah, blah, blah.  The truth of the matter was,  that I needed to get out of the house.  There were times that August when I started a run jog hobble, that I really had to force myself to turn around and go back to the chaos of life in that small apartment.  Those early runs were pitiful - and even calling them runs was the ultimate in euphemisms.   They were clumsy, sweaty, and probably filled with grunting and cussing. 

I kept going out, and they slowly got better.  In the spring of 2000, I found a running buddy (Hi Beth!), and started a real goal - I was going to run the Marine Corps Marathon.    Again - without knowing me in real life, you can't appreciate the enormity of that statement.  I might as well have said that I was going to fly to Mars.  Beth and I found a great training program, and spent the spring, summer and early fall of 2000 preparing for the 25th Anniversary Marine Corps Marathon.   

We did it, too.  It was a long (long, long) day and not without some hardships and challenges - another post for another day - but we did it, and it was phenomenal. 

In preparing for the marathon, we ran the Annapolis 10 Miler in August of 2000, and then again in August of 2001.  And if running 10 miles in hot humid Annapolis in August can be considered fun, it really was.  We had a great time. 

Six years have passed since the last 10 Miler.  Beth has moved away, and we have moved 3 times - to Norfolk, Maine, and back to Annapolis.  I'm six years older, a few pounds (ahem) heavier, and not in the same condition that I was before. 

However.  I'm doing it again.  Not the marathon - I'm not quite ready for that, but the A-10.  John and I have been preparing since January for this race.  We planned to do it last summer, but the move and some other things got in the way and we didn't end up training for it. 

So - here we are. The race is Sunday, and the forecast is for hazy, hot and humid.  That's too bad, because it's been lovely and cool all week.  I'm a little concerned (or a lot) that I'm not as prepared as I should be, and I don't want to embarrass myself.  John seems totally unconcerned, and confident about the whole thing and I'm trying to borrow some of his confidence.  The bottom line is this:  any good juju that you can send my way for Sunday would be most appreciated.   When Becky asked yesterday what my goal was, it was this:  to finish.  I should have added - - unhumiliated. 

OK - there's my news.  Prayers and good wishes are always appreciated.

Back to School Blues

This is the face of a depressed dog. 

It's the face that Riley wears every day while the kids are at school.   Today was my youngest's first day of fourth grade, and the start of the back to school blues for Riley - and for me.  Riley knows that this means that the days of doorbell ringing, kids yelling, skateboards rolling through the house, and loud messy summer activity are coming to a close.    There will be long, quiet days broken only by the whir of the sewing machine, or the vaccuum cleaner, or the tapping on the computer keyboard.    The back door won't slam all day long, and the refrigerator door won't stand open with children standing in front of it waiting for something to magically appear.   And on rainy days, there won't be anyone to lay on the floor, leaning against sleeping Riley's belly while watching tv.

I understand that face, and that feeling.  This is the time of year when amidst all of the activity of school preparations, I  analyze the summer.  Did we do enough?  Did we have enough downtime?  Did we savor every bit of summer?  Did we wring out every last bit of  summer,  not squandering any of it?  And the answer is always a little bit bittersweet.  We did what we could. 

We played.  We slept in.  We visited family.  We took road trips.  We vacationed - and we read, and water-skied, and swam, and flew on the trapeze.  Well, some of us flew on the trapeze.  We grilled out.  We made cobbler and ate it with ice cream.  We played cards.  We went to camp.  We grew and we changed. 

So now, summer's coming to an end.  I love fall and everything that comes with it, and I'll post about that soon.  But first, I have to pay homage to the season that's ending.  I need to mourn the passing of one more summer in the limited number of summers that I have with all three children at home, one more reminder that time flies.   There are lots of pictures documenting the moments that made up our summer - the big ones, and the small ones; and while there may have been a few things we left undone,  we did what we could. 

And it was pretty darn good. 

Saturday Morning Farmers Market

For the first time this season, I was able to visit the Anne Arundel County Farmers Market, and I wasn't disappointed.  It's one of my favorite things to do for so many reasons.  First of all, I think it's important to support our local farmers, bakers, crafters and gardeners.  Second;  although I don't practice what I preach all of the time, I love eating what's in season.  I find that it's a great way to continually change your menu depending on what's available, and third - I just like the atmosphere. 

When we lived here before, the market was well attended on Saturday mornings, but there have been some marked changes in the five years since.  Now there are two uniformed officers directing traffic (!) and keeping order.  The number of vendors has increased, but most of the old faithfuls are still there.  It's the most wonderful cross section of people - family farmers with two or three generations of family working, and bakers with sugar-encrusted scones that melt in your mouth.  The First Baptist Church is still there - with their hanging scale with the scoop bowl underneath to measure your green beans or cherry tomatoes.  And the gardeners with their zinnias, black-eyed Susans (our state flower), and giant sunflowers are still there.  When we lived here before, an enterprising farmer had a section of his table covered with small plastic bags with water and tadpoles in them - and a sign attached advertising "Seed Toads".  Needless to say, I took some of those home - as much for the enterprising idea as anything else.

Today's bounty is shown above, and I was really limited only by what I could carry.  The array of vegetables and fruit (including peaches and early apples) is especially choice right now.  First on the agenda is slicing the cucumbers oh-so-thin and combining them with vinegar, onions and salt and pepper.  My MIL made those when we were in Ohio a few weeks ago, and Carey couldn't get enough of them.  It brought back memories of when I was growing up in Texas, and they were a summertime staple in my mom's and both of my grandmothers refrigerators.  Only Gramma called hers "the icebox", and I remember everytime I ever opened her refrigerator door, that somehow it seemed colder than anyone else's refrigerator.  It smelled cold and metallic, and the cartons of milk, and buttermilk sometimes shared space with ice cold coca cola in small bottles.  It was the coldest and best coke I ever tasted. 

I'll be thinking of grandmothers  - both mine and my children's - today when I slice up my cucumbers and onions, and when I add salt and pepper and vinegar. It will be bittersweet - a reminder of how quickly times fly, and how the smallest things spark the memories that are weave through our lives and join our generations. 

No Moss on Me

The swamp in the basement is now dry and things are back to normal - except for the giant pile of stuff on my work table.  Oh.  That IS normal.

Before the trip to Florida, I made a few things - and I got back to my sewing machine after I returned, but before the flood.  Here are a couple of pix of what I've been working on:

The pillow on the left is made from an old popcorn bag that Lara gave me.  I love the image of the little girl!  I made a piping and gave it an envelope closure with a red,white and blue ribbon closure.

The next pillow is just an applique pillow cover - again with an envelope closure.  It's not that I don't know how to do zippers, but that I like the idea of using ribbons or buttons to close the pillow cover - and there's another opportunity to get another fabric or two in there.

In the front are two more burp cloths, and a 5 ft. bunting banner.  Don't have a specific plan for it yet, but I love the colors and it filled my creative need the day I made it.

  Oh - and one more pillow!

In addition to the sewing frenzy (I swear I have art/craft/creativity ADD), I painted this silly trio of canvases for my kitchen.

The reason it's silly is that I don't ever need a reminder to eat.

It would have been much smarter for me to buy 6 canvases, and paint "vacuum" or 4 canvases for "dust".  But really - where's the fun in that. 

Maybe I need to buy ten more for the other side of the kitchen that would spell out: STOP EATING!  Just a thought.

Finally, in a nod to my creative friend Mel - who has state plates in her Texas kitchen (pix Mel??), I'm going to turn my b.o.r.i.n.g guest room into a travel themed guest room.  Several years ago, Mary Englebreit Home Companion magazine had a Florida guest room with lots of Florida plates.  I'm going to try to get all 5o states instead.  I hit the mother lode at our local Goodwill this week - after going three days in a row.  Look what I found!

The kitsch factor is pretty high - and sometimes slides right into the "cheesy" category, but they're fun, inexpensive and displayed together should make a statement.

So.  A rolling stone gathers no moss, and while I haven't been rolling terribly quickly, I can say unequivocally that there's no moss on me.

Happy Saturday!

Good News and Bad News

Just a little FYI:  When one's husband awakens one at 6:30 am with a cup of coffee and says, "I've got good news and bad news"  one should just bury one's head under one's pillow and go back to sleep and pretend one heard nothing.  Really.  It's the only smart thing to do.

Of course, I didn't do the smart thing, and since I hadn't had my coffee yet, I asked for the good news first.  Well, the good news was that "we were going to get the basement cleaned."  The bad news was that we needed to get a wet/dry shop vac.  You make the connection.  Oh - did I mention that the basement is my studio, sacred space, my haven?  My place where my fabric, paints, sewing machine, papers, ribbons, and my sanity live?  Oh yes - just the place you want to have to use a WET VAC!

When we were away on vacation last week, we brilliantly bought a timer for our hose so that we could water the back yard early, early (5 am) every morning.  Further brilliance had us move our potted plants back there too, so that we could economically and environmentally water everything at one time.  And it worked too.  We arrived home to sweltering, smothering heat; but the back yard, the plants and the new crape myrtle looked great thanks to the brilliant plan we put in place before we left.

Yesterday, Conner mowed the back yard (which needed it because we so brilliantly watered while we were gone).  He moved the timed sprinklers and then put them back when he was done.  Only he didn't put them back exactly where they were, and at 5 am today when the timer went off, the sprinkler merrily sprinkled into the back staircase leading to the basement door.  Did I mention there's no lip at the bottom of the basement door?  An important fact - as that lip would have prevented the gallons of water from pouring  seeping under the basement door and into my swamp  studio. 

Now in the interest of total disclosure, I should tell you that I haven't been down there to check it out yet (and yes it's 8 pm), but John just told me that the shop vac is great, and that he needs a giant plastic bag to bring  up all of the wet towels he used this morning.  Sigh.

I guess I should put on my big girl panties and go help. 

You might want to check your own sprinklers.     

Having a Great Time - Wish you were here!

Unrealistically, I planned for lots of blogging time while on vacation.  I didn't plan for the reality of having to go long distances (1oo yards), carrying a heavy computer (laptop), while waiting interminably long periods (a couple of minutes) for wireless connectivity.  In the meantime there have been all of these pressing commitments (pool lounge chairs),  obligations (fitness classes), and important appointments (meal times and cocktail hours).  Suffice it to say that my plans for blogging have been dashed until I return to reality (and laundry) next week.  In the meantime, I'll have a margarita for you.