Just Perfect

This is just one example of the quality blogging that goes on around here. Zander hasn't seen this fine sample of my dabbling in the digital arts yet, but I have a feeling he'll think it's just perfect.

Build your own Blingee

Eight

How many legs does an octopus have? Eight. How many maids a milking? Eight. How many days a week? Eight. (According to the Beatles) What number are we on THE LIST? As of this evening... Eight.

Summer is lovely when you live in Minnesota, but especially when you live in Minnesota and get summers off, and especially when you live in Minnesota, get the summers off, and love to dork around in the garden. These poppies are so ugly when they're not in bloom that when they are blooming, I take about a thousand pictures of them.

And here's some more of our funky honeysuckle vine that I thought was a trumpet vine.

Today I'm going to...

Go back to school (boo) and find some artwork that one of my students left behind and now wants to show off at his graduation party tomorrow. Cross your figures that I wasn't in a "pitch everything" mood the last time I ran across it.

Go pick up our first CSA veggies. I'm pretty excited about this, and can't wait to see what we get!

Go pick up some rocks with one of my girlfriends... Might sound boring to you, but I love this girlfriend, and I seriously really like picking out rocks for the yard. They'll each be about as big as a loaf of bread, maybe that makes them stones.

Find a clothesline that'll suck back into itself like a tape measure, so I can hang some wet laundry out on the deck.

Check the Korea forum approximately 100 times today and see if there are any referrals that will bring us further (farther?) down the list. We're still chillin' at #9. And chillin' really means not at all chilled out but instead slightly to moderately agitated at all times.

frilly under-things

I thrifted this slip about three years ago, and I love it so much because it transforms my somewhat boring teacher clothes into something that my inner saloon girl would wear. My sister-in-law always has a perfect bit of sparkle, and another friend wears v-neck t-shirts and adorable shorts too short for my stubbs. And they both rock that look. While my gardening overalls are so comfy, maybe I need to leave them in the garden more often. As I write this entry, I can just feel Eckhart Tolle reminding me (in his very soothing books-on-tape-voice) that clothes don't define me. Hello, duh, but still going to remember to get out my saloon slip a bit more often.

Big Bike Bec

My dear friend Rebecca is saying her final** goodbye to the MS ride, and any little donation helps the cause. It's easy to donate and to read about the why, how, what and who, just click here.

**I'd never actually come out and say that she's gone into retirement before, but final just sounds so final.

"Letting go, of course, is a scary enterprise for those of us who believe that the world revolves only because it has a handle on the top of it which we personally turn, and that if we were to drop this handle for even a moment, well-that would be the end of the universe. But try dropping it...Sit quietly for now and cease your relentless participation. Watch what happens." Eat, Pray, Love

Easier said than done is what I say, but worth thinking about.

Zander is out of town, and this is usually my time to rip up stuff around the house... Maybe rip out a floor, or knock down a shower, or I don't know, rip out a little more floor. I must be getting mellow in my mid-30's, but in the 5 days he has been gone, the only major thing I've done is work on this old stereo cabinet. (Which I found in the trash at my school)
Before

After

On a side note, I started reading Eat, Pray, Love today. I really like it so far. I'm working my way through the eating section of the book right now, which is causing me to eat myself through the house too.

Joey's Turn

Joey is about 2 1/2 now, and he's so fun to be with. One of my favorite things that he says about 1000 times a day is "Joey's turn." Everything is Joey's turn. I hear a lot about how it's Joey's turn to open up the rain barrel and lick the water off the cement. Seriously, gross. And how it's Joey's turn to stack chairs on top of chairs and turn the lights on and off. This is such a cute age. PS: Stop trying to look up my cat's butt.

School is OUT for the summer!

Schools is out, and man-oh-man, it couldn't have come a second too soon. I'm so ready for a little free time in my life. I'm also excited for my seniors to get their lives started, while of course remembering all the wonderful lessons taught to them by their favorite art teacher!

Lucky #13

Have I mentioned lately that we are lucky #13 on the waiting list for our adoption? Things are moving so slowly that it makes my bones hurt, but nonetheless, they are moving.

The cute little onesie was found here via mighty junior. Isn't it adorable?

Here's a touching post on adoption that I read today.

I LOVE these beaded creatures. Especially the lion. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to paste a picture here, so here' a link.

I also really, really like this painting. It's a bit too rich for my blood, but I keep hoping a print will pop up on Etsy one of these days.
Here's the shop!