...and Here it is!

Phew! Just cleared off the cyber cobwebs from this here bloggerino, lubed up the thinkin' gears, worked a passel o' photos into the bucket, and we're ready to roll. So sit back, relax, have a cold one handy, and set yer mouse to auto-scroll, 'cause we've got some catchin' up to do.

What the heck have we been up to for over a month? Some of you already know, but here's the detailed and pictorial explanation.

Most importantly, we rang in a full, first year of breathing, crying, laughing, drooling, kicking, crawling, babbling, pooping, burping, squealing, wonderful life for Miss Nat-o. Like everyone said she would be, she is very different from how Leah was as an infant, yet she brings us a very similar sense of amazement, joy, and that other, deeper, parent feeling we can never express without getting choked up. "Every day's a new day. Every time, I love ya!"



Speaking of "spiral staircase," we also had a chance to spend the fourth of July at the cabin in MN. It was a beautiful weekend and I think we all got a chance to take a break from everything else. We found a little edge of curb in Annandale to watch the parade, and stayed until Leah got to see a horse (alright, it was a pony - part of a local "pioneer" back-in-time tourist attraction - and the poor thing was being dragged along by an equally suffering Laura Ingalls-esque woman who tried in vain to calm the lil' fella every time Buffalo Bill shot blanks out of his hip pistol). The best part, pictured below, was the electric bass duo in one of the marching bands. Bet they didn't have these in the civil war (although the bass line for Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" might be cheeky).



While we were in Minner-snow-ta, the two NCTs (Natalie and her uncle Nathan) compared foot sizes,



Leah spent most of every day in the water,



Natalie wore her swimsuit for the first time (she never wore it on cruise!),



and we were frequented by this great blue heron a few times a day.




What were we doing across the border, you ask? Well, we were looking at houses, of course! (Insert sound of news breaking) Yep, we are selling our lovely little house in MadTown and moving to what we hope to be "the" house in beautiful Shorewood. Both deals go down at the end of the month and there still seems to be a bazillion little steps between then and now.



I know I will miss this house, this neighborhood, this city, and being so close to our friends. But the new house, along with having enough room for us to get lost and have to yell to each other, will cut our drive time to see Matthew's folks down from 5 hours to 15 minutes, and the drive to see my folks from 9 hours to just under 4. And that will be sweeeeeeeeeet!

Jack ponders life in the new house - he's going to love the carpeted stairs!



You know what else is sweet? (Are you gagging on the segues yet?) A scone from Lazy Jane's on Willy Street. I have never liked scones before having one of these babies.



If you live nearby and have not had one, move your behind there and order two or three right now. If you have tried one, go back and get some more! O.k., while Lazy Jane scones are some of Madison's most awesome treats, my ulterior motive for urging you in its direction is to check out the cards next to the bakery case. Look familiar? They're mine! The lovely and talented Cari (mudandmint on Etsy) offered to buy a small wholesale set to sell at the cafe. She plans to offer stamps as well so that patrons can buy a card and a stamp, sit down with their scone and latte, write a little somethin' somethin' to someone, and send it out - how sweet is that? I was so excited to deliver them, I was shaking.


In addition to selling my cards internationally for the first time, I have also been filling more custom orders. One dear person requested modified versions of my popular "topo" cards. The first set has all white layers cut to look like violins.



The other set has graduated shades of blue layers cut to look like cellos. This was a new challenge and I enjoyed making them.



Another crafty soul (scrappygrasshopper on Etsy) had the genius suggestion of turning the cards into larger wall art pieces. So, I created three 5 x 7 topo-style pieces in shades of coffee brown for her.



I'd love to be able to make really big ones like this (say the size of a whole Strathmore sheet), but I haven't found paper with such subtle color changes in that size, and I have no idea how I'd ship them without charging arms, legs, and first borns. Any ideas? I think the closest I can get right now would be something like multiples or a triptych of 12 x 12 pieces. They would be cool, but wouldn't necessarily have that "OMG!" factor.

Well, pard'ner, you've come a long way since you first opened this post. Thank you, kindly. To show my sincere appreciation for your in'ner'est and time, please enjoy this photo of a sweet per-tay-ter vine blossom. Idinit purdy?



(I have no idea why I felt the need to throw some southern dialect in here. Perhaps I wanted the softness of a well worn saddle to help ease you back into the blog...) Happy Trails.