At the lake

Although I don't always have time to make something, I seem to have time to surf the web to find things to make.  Anyone else have that problem pleasure?  One of my favorite places to shop is Etsy.  You're no doubt familiar with it.  I have a (almost empty) shop on Etsy.  [Note to self:  MAKE SOME THINGS TO SELL!!]

I came across this shop and have ordered a few things.  They have a great selection of Japanese fabric and pattern books.  Yes, the books are written in Japanese, but if you know anything about sewing, you can pretty much figure out how to make the items in the book.  Just use some common sense and a ruler that has centimeters on it.  :-)  The books that I have are loaded with great illustrations which really come in handy.  And the photography is first class. 

Nate finished his first week of Band Camp and we're ready for a weekend at the lake.  It was really hot this week.  And we are behind on so many things.  Getting ready to go on vacation is a major deal.  And getting back from vacation is tough too.  We are very thankful for neighbors who kept the flowers watered and the grass cut.

School starts in just a few weeks.  The boys go back on August 17th.  I hate it.   Summers are just to short and it makes me sad to look at then calendar and see that July is pretty much over.  Seems like when I was a kid, the summer lasted forever.  I guess it's true: the older you get, the faster time goes.  Okay, enough of the sadness. It's Friday and I'm going to make the most of it.

Hope you have a great weekend.

P.S.  Sorry for the rambling....

Time to Freshen Up a Bit

If I'm going to get back to blogging (which is my intention) then I need want to freshen things up a bit.  I've already changed the layout quite a bit thanks to some built in Blogger tools (thanks Blogger!).  I'm also going to get some help from Veronica.  She's a really great person to work with and I'm looking forward to getting my blog space spruced up.  According to her website, the waiting list is eighteen months.  But...I'm going to stand in line until it's my turn.

I have some vacation photos that I'll share with you soon.  And...if I get off my lazy butt, perhaps I'll actually sit down and MAKE something in the near future.  There are literally cobwebs and spider webs in my craft space.  That's how long it's been since I've been in the creative mood.  Creepy, huh?

Stay tuned.

Away for Too Long

So....this is pretty sad.  I've been away for months.  I won't use the 'I've been busy' line.  Because we're all busy, right?

I guess I've not been in the blogging mood.  That's lame too!

Summer is going by WAY too quickly...in just a few weeks, the boys will be back in school.  Seems like they just got out.  What is wrong with this picture?

Last week were in Carolina Beach, NC on vacation.  It was heavenly.  We stayed at the same condo as last year.  The weather was HOT (just like everywhere else in the US).  It only rained one evening...and that was a true blessing. We had a great time just doing nothing.  Sat under beach umbrellas and listened to waves crash against the shore and let the breeze put us into 'relaxation mode'.  It was wonderful.

Oh, by the way, Riley has grown up quite nicely.  He celebrated his first birthday last month.  Here are a few photos.

He is still a puppy in many ways.  He is a sweetheart and a big baby.  We felt really bad leaving him at the kennel while we were on vacation.  He did okay....and we called to check on him a few times during our week away.