Could You Do It?

So this is a non-fiction book written by Susan Hill about the year she decided not to buy any new books but rather read the ones that she already had in her house.  And in the end, she compiles a list of the 40 books she can't live without.

FOR A WHOLE YEAR, PEOPLE!  Now, that would be hard.  I buy books even more than I buy fabric.  I love reading (I know you already know that).  Not buying books?  Hard to imagine.  But I have a lot of books.  Like a lot, a lot.  So it wouldn't be as if I couldn't find something to read.

Could you go an entire year without buying that "thing" you like so much - books, fabric, shoes ...

I am going to give it a try.  I am going to set myself the goal of no books until the end of the year.  That doesn't include books I may need for educational purposes.  And I can swap or borrow books from kind souls who take pity on me because I haven't read the latest and greatest.  And it doesn't include books for the boys (although they are armed with plenty o' gift cards for the local bookshop, so they will be fine).  It can't include books as presents either (hint, hint).

Kinda crazy, don't you think?  But I think it will be good.  And after I read a book, if it isn't a "you have to read this" kind of book, it is going to the local Sally Anne.  It is a de-cluttering project of sorts.

L xo

PS - You know what else I am going to do?  No fabric until the Fall (September-ish).  I have a ton of projects I want to do and have everything I need to do them, so I should be fine.  Again, no fabric doesn't include swaps or gifts. 

PPS - I may need help.  Professsional help.  I'll let you know.

EDITED TO ADD - PPS - My fabric diet does NOT include my preorders of Tufted Tweets, Bliss, Castle Peeps or Far Far Away II .  I am sure you can understand why.

Overheard on the Way to School

Let me set the stage for you ... the boys are watching Little Einsteins in the car on the way to school.  They are a little old for the show but S is digging it so I let them take my computer to watch in the car.  D and I are in the front, listening to CBC Radio 2 (oh, how I love you CBC Radio 2) ...

The following is a snippet of the conversation between E and S that occured while they were watching ...

E - We are smarter than the Little Einsteins.  Why are they called "Einsteins'?  They aren't Einsteins, we are.

They both go back to watching ....

E - We know all this stuff.  Turns to S and says ...  And this is the proof of a good education, my young friend.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Does it get better than that last comment? 

I know I didn't write anything on Mother's Day.  I chose, instead, to spend the day away from the computer (for the most part) and with my family.  But I couldn't have summed up my day better than that little conversation.  Because as much as I love my beautiful children, I really like them too. And that is above and beyond what I expected when I became a mother. Really liking your kids as much as you love them.  I look at my children and, if they were my age (and not my children), I would want them as friends.  They are bright, funny, charming, ridiculous, messy, loving, generous, taxing, sweet, and so much more. 

There are no words that could ever accurately convey what they mean to me. 

While my mushy heart swells at the sweet handmade gifts and the heartfelt words and kisses on Mother's Day, it isn't just one day of the year for me.  It is my blessed, sweet life every day.  Not that it isn't hard some days.  Not that some days I don't want to throw in the towel or put them on the curb for give away.  But I every day I am made a better person for knowing those two children.  And being their mother is an honour. 

L xo

PS - All I learned about being a mother, I learned from mine.  It is a gift to be able to say that I am my mother's daughter.

Music Mondays

I love Sarah Harmer's music. She is from Kingston, Ontario, where I did my Law degree (it was the best of times, it was the worst of times - stories for another day). I could listen to Sarah all day. And sometimes, I do. There are so many albums to choose from. So go choose one. You won't be disappointed. And don't forget to dance a little. Whether someone is watching or not. It's good for you.

Enjoy this little song, my friends.  Have a great Monday.

L xo

PS - I am good little clock. That is soon to change. More on that some day soon.

For Your Friday

This is for you. Because it is For You Friday. This is the best idea for people who want to write down their lives but have no time to do so. Or maybe they have the time but they don't want to spend it all writing stuff down. Or maybe they don't have something to write every single day. I am an "all of the above" girl. So this is the best journal, in the history of all my sorry attempts to journal, for me. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Go take a look at the Simple Diary website. It is pretty awesome (that's a tie in from last week - wink wink). Order one up. You won't regret it.

L xo

PS - I got mine while I was at Anthropology in New York. I also got a few other things while I was there. Let's not talk about it. I am sure the bills are in the mail already.

Two On Tuesday

As you know, I have nothing but time on my hands.  Loads and loads of time.  So I decided to take on two new things.  The Hexagon Charm Quilt along (as you can see above) and the Pillow Talk Swap #3 (no button as of yet).

Given all the other things I have planned ... a follow me from pattern to quilt with Sometimes Crafter's Patchwork Memories pattern, a small along with a few friends doing up our version of Film in the Fridge's Postcards From the Park quilt, bee blocks (and my ongoing love/hate relationship with them) ... I won't be sleeping any time soon.

But who needs sleep anyhow?  And busy is good.  Keeps my mind from the million "what ifs" I have going right now.

L xo

PS - I have lots of Bee blocks to show you but I don't have photos. Because the weather isn't cooperating at all.  We are in the midst of our second snow storm this month.  Hopefully we'll get some sunshine soon because I need to put these in the mail right away.  And if I don't put up pictures, who is going to believe I sew? 

PPS - I don't like the new Blogger setup (except the test the links button).  Just sayin.

Music Mondays

In our second instalment of Music Mondays, we have Laura Viers and her song Summer is the Champion. We hear this song a lot on our way to school on CBC Radio 2 (it is the only radio station I will let my children listen to after my 6 year old asked me what "dancing on your disco stick" meant. I mean, really).

And it is almost Summer. That is a good thing. We love sunshine in this family. Hopefully this song will add some sunshine to your day.

Have a great Monday.

L xo

Yesterday I went to Kindergarten

Adult art kindergarten, that is. And it was amazing. My children have been taking art classes from the most wonderful Miss Catherine at Art in the Box, for years now. It is really, really hard to get into Miss Catherine's classes because she is so amazing and the classes are so amazing and once you go into her studio you pretty much fall in love right then and there. There is no breaking up with Miss Catherine's art classes. It is a forever sort of thing.

So, I lucked out. And got into one of her adult classes. I missed the first one because I was in NYC (good excuse, I think). Yesterday was my first class and we did circles. Kandinsky-like circles. And worked on mixing colours - just the primary ones, to see what we could come up with. I loved making colours. Even the colours that wouldn't be my favourite anywhere else, were pretty amazing ... because I made them. It was wonderful.

I am not done with my painting though but I'll show you when I am done.

L xo

PS - This art class is pretty intimidating for me. I can sew and I can knit but you can learn those things. Making art is different, in my mind. It can't be "learned" per se. What an amazing challenge I have set for my type A personality. I am looking forward to seeing what comes of it.

PPS - Miss Catherine also teaches art at my children's school. They did Kandinsky circles last year and E has a collection of them that we have hung on a wall at the cabin. E's collection comes from his birthday party last year - all his friends made him one. I love them all and having them on the wall at our cabin is a gift. They infuse the room with a joy that only children's art can. We are all better for it.

PPPS - My children make the best cheerleaders. They had their art class after mine and saw my painting. They were so genuinely encouraging and so full of praise. It was heart melting. And made me feel so good as a mama - that I am hearing them use the same words we so purposely say to them. They hear us and they know. Amazing!