November Novelties

O.K., so October was November, and November was October, got it? Good.

We've been relishing the warmer temps and clear, blue skies this past month -- things we missed most of the month before. I'd bet that we're enjoying it all even more because of the fact that October was so stinkin' cold and wet. Despite fewer wakeful hours, November has treated us well.

We let the back yard just get leafy this fall rather than blow the leaves into the woods and let the...ah...dirt and moss have its moment in the sun. This allowed for the girls to make a big 'ol pile of leaves at the bottom of their slide. I'm not sure it was as cushy as either of them thought it might be, but it made the slide "new" again and they spent hours out there. At one point, I coaxed them into lying in the leaves and letting me cover them up for a quick photo. Not perfect, but gosh darn cute, if I do say so myself:



Leah, in her wild animal way, loved being able to prowl around in the leaves, pretending she was camouflaged and stalking prey.



And Natalie, safe from the predators below, stuck to being adorable in the playhouse.



Last weekend, Matthew competed in his last cyclocross race of the season at the State Championships. As usual, it was a beautiful day, there was a small crowd, the course made for easy spectating, and the girls were "having none of it." Natalie was sad:



Leah was mad:



And their daddy kicked some butt and still had enough umph to smile brightly as he rounded a tight corner on the course:



What a stud! Matthew kept getting better and better all season, so we're looking forward to next fall already and the 2010 season opener. Matthew will be training on his bike; meanwhile, I'm going to put the girls through a 12-week cheerleading/anger management course. They'll be belting out obnoxious encouragement in no time.

Back at the ranch, I've been working on some new things in the studio, many of which are currently in the shop. New this week is this subtle "Koi" papercut:



And the third of three sets of "Mod Ornament" cards -- this one in all white layers with silver caps:



We hope this finds you well, enjoying sunshine wherever and whenever you're able, and saving up your calorie intake for the big turkey day "hoo-ha" later this week. Dig in!

Kids! Kids! Everywhere!

A few weekends ago, we had the pleasure of hosting nearly every member of my immediate family at our house. With a total of nine adults and all seven grandkids, it was a houseful, and it was a blast. One of the days we shared, we took everyone to the Science Center. The musical staircase provided a good photo opp. If only they came equipped with restraints -- Natalie's a blur!



The following day, most of us had a small adventure at Costco. We found a two-for-one deal on munchkins and couldn't help ourselves!



More recently our house has been quieter, so we sought noise elsewhere, finding it at Leah's school Halloween dance. Leah was content just to take it all in as a wall flower, but Natalie wanted to get out there and boogie. Look at her go!







I brought the girls with me to cheer their daddy on his latest cyclocross race. As you can see, they were a little less than enthusiastic. Ah, well.



This past week, Natalie give the fish rides a whirl at the new play area of the Minnesota Zoo. Fun little area -- and it was so nice to visit the zoo when it's not completely overrun with visitors.



There's been more going on than what these photos reveal, but these are among the cutest pieces of evidence that we've been busy lately. If you're curious, you can pop over to my shop blog and see what this is all about:

Ponies, Apples and Studs

Welcome back for another quick tour of what we've been up to lately. Let's dig right in.

On one of the last steamy days of summer, we brought the girls to Matthew's folk's church where they got to ride on a couple of very patient ponies. Leah looked like a pro, especially with her new bandana.





Natalie mounted her pony with confidence and an unorthodox saddle horn grip.



She looks unsure here, but within a few paces, she was all smiles and she thoroughly enjoyed her ride. (More recently I spied a pony for sale on Craigslist for 100 bucks. Tempting...)



This year yielded another bumper crop of apples at the Tift homestead. I didn't get quite as nice a shot as I did two years ago, but it's pretty, and the apples are tasty.



I managed my second craft fair in Uptown. You can read more about it on my shop blog here.



Matthew raced in his first cyclocross event in St. Cloud. It was a beautiful day and a good course for spectating. The girls and I found one spot where we could see Matthew riding in about three different places. This is the start of his heat:



Here's daddy gaining ground on the straightaway:



And it wouldn't be a cyclocross race without barriers across the path, up a hill.



The race course took over the grassy portions of a city park. When we weren't cheering for Matthew, the girls and I had a fun time playing on the playground equipment.



And, finally, we leave you with these three pics of the girls in their new, matching pink, penguin jammies. They're fresh from bath, as goofy as ever, and super cuddly.

The Big First Day!

Yup, Leah's at school now. This morning, she started her first of potentially 20+ years of formal education. She was bubbly, happy, excited, and totally ready. She dashed onto the bus without looking back, and has her brain functions switched on to Maximum Absorption.



She wore what a call a "compromise" outfit: a traditional, pleated, uniform skirt I brought back from England and wanted her to wear, and a black t-shirt with jungle animals on it that she wanted to wear. Matthew thought it looked hip so that sealed the deal. She's also wearing a little info card for the first few days, identifying her as a newbie who might need a little help here and there.



A few weeks ago, Leah and I started looking for a cheetah backpack. We almost settled on a backpack with a plush tiger fur print, but it just didn't feel right. So, Leah picked out a purple pack from Tar-jay, then she selected a simple cheetah image online, and I stenciled/hand-painted the image on the back. It ended up being a little trickier than I thought it would be, but we're both happy with the end result and she now has a one-of-a-kind backpack.



We are lucky enough that on our little cul de sac lives another kindergartner, attending the same school, on the same schedule, and in the same class as Leah. The two have been having play dates all summer and get along really well. Knowing Leah will be doing almost everything with her friend from down the street eases a lot of nervousness for me.



As you see, they're thick as thieves. It usually takes under a minute from the time they first see each other before they're inventing new games to play or tricks to do. Separating them takes multiple and persistent attempts.



Three other buses passed our bus stop before the right one made the official stop. We had done a "dry run" the day before to see what it would be like and to chat with the fifth-grader who waits there too.



We all said goodbye to the girls, and they were oblivious. They marched up the stairs like pros, were greeted by name by the driver, and found a seat to share near the back of the bus.



Since the school is so close, Leah's pick up is one of the last in the route so it's at a reasonable time of the morning. Also since the school's so close, Matthew rode his bike after the bus and caught Leah making a successful exit from the bus and entrance to the school. There were lots of parents watching and volunteering, ensuring that the students made it to where they needed to go. Leah's dash from the bus to the sidewalk reminded me of the doctors on M.A.S.H. ducking and running from under the props of a helicopter. Go, Soldier! Go!



And here was Leah and her friend, marching into the school on the first day of the rest of their lives.



I wouldn't expect too many of you to notice this, but I can tell that Leah's a little nervous here. She's got her fingers touching her nose -- something she used to do in conjunction with sucking her thumb. The thumb sucking ended (on account of Leah's own new year's resolution) in January, but every once in a while she still lightly touches her nose with her fingertips if she's unsure of something.



I like this image. It lets me know that she hasn't completely forgotten about home. Wonder if she'll do this when she's entering the building on her first day of college...

In the meantime, it's just Natalie and me hanging out for the day (and Jack, and Matthew up in his office). It's definitely quieter here this morning, and Natalie's only asked "Where's Leah" about a dozen times so far.

Home, Sweet Home

Last weekend, the four of us with Jack-a-Roo, brought our bikes, the Trail-a-Bike, the Burley, and all our gear up to Bemidji for a fun-filled and eventful few days. Aside from a chance to see family, our mail goal was to ride the Tour De Pines at Lake Itasca State Park with my brother, his wife, and their two munchkins. Even though I haven't ridden far on my hybrid, I had ridden *some* this summer and felt like if I could go at my own pace that I would be able to handle 25 miles on bike trails with rest stops. Seems reasonable, right? Turns out, the lovely, winding bike trails are more rolling than I remembered them being and I pooped out a quarter of the way up most of the steeper hills, having to get off and walk. My patient biking companions probably biked an extra two miles circling back to me, and I was always glad they did. It was a lovely day, poor performance aside.



After the ride, we took the kids down to the Mississippi headwaters and let them scramble around on the rocks. The place was hoppin' so we made it a fairly short visit. On the way home, once we drove back into town, Matthew followed Lyan's truck into the parking lot of the local bike shop. I assume Lyan needs some small part for his bike and decide to come in for the heck of it. A few steps before the door, Lyan announces that he wants to buy me a new bike. "Yeah, right," I laugh it off. "Yep, we're buyin' you a new bike. Pick out the one you want." I suddenly felt like I was on one of those reality shows where they surprise someone with a newly remodeled kitchen. Disbelief, confusion, embarrassment, and then overwhelming giddiness. I drove a couple of upright, hybrid models before somewhat reluctantly trying out a shiny white road bike. Holy cow, this bike moved easily. Suddenly my effort was effective; I pedaled -- the bike glided forward. I came back from the test ride with a big smile on my face. "That was fun," I said, and the amazing thing was, it WAS fun! This was the bike. This was my new bike! Still can't believe it. Thanks, guys.



I had a chance the next day to take the new bike for a spin with an even larger family group and even with a sore butt, the ride was great. It was honestly the most fun I'd had on a bike in many, many years.

During our visit, the girls got a chance to sit in their grampa's studio office and record a couple of short sound bites for use on the radio. Leah's a veteran at this, but this was Nato's first time. She took to the protocol right away and delighted at hearing her own voice on playback.



Matthew and I took a canoe ride down a portion of the Mississippi into Wolf Lake. With a strong headwind, it wasn't the easy slip I had imagined, but for the first half, it was serene and picturesque. Cutting our way through whitecaps on the lake was another story -- one my shoulders are still telling from time to time. Dad pulled our tired souls from the canoe at the landing and we relished a little down time back at home.



Before we left, we took the girls to a local animal park with a bizarre variety of animals, many of which are quite hand tame. Our first introduction was to a lovely, young Red Kangaroo who popped her head up behind the counter and looked at us, as if to say, "How many tickets would you like?"



She was so sweet and didn't seem to mind all the attention. She nuzzled her caretaker and gave little arm hugs with her little hands. Next, the girls met their first white-tailed fawn and acted so casually around it, you'd think they had been raised in the woods.



Natalie terrorized some of the fallow deer and was a little leery about the goats, but otherwise seemed rather blase about it all. Leah took it all in and loved feeding the animals by hand. I have to say that I did too, especially the gentle camel who poked his long neck out the side window of the little barn shed in his enclosure. Leah also liked learning about Jasmine the leopard and her best buddy, Mikey the spaniel. The two animals grew up together and share an enclosure at the park.



Add in lots of good food, laughs, and being able to sleep in a bit, and we had ourselves a darn good weekend. Natalie couldn't leave it all behind so, just as we were packing up the van to head home (no easy feat with a third bike!), she grabbed a few handfuls of dirt and stuffed them in her mouth. Don't ask me why she does this. She is such a little stinker.



Thanks for the great weekend, family! See y'all real soon, I hope. Right now, I think there's a paved bike trail calling my name.

Uptown Market - August 16th

*cross-posted on the shop blog too*

Wooo Hooooo! We did it!

It feels incredibly good to have my first craft fair over and done. It was a great experience and, like most newbies, I learned a lot, thankfully with few regrets. The weather ignored all the prognostications for heavy rain, and gave us pocketed sunshine throughout most of the day with only about five minutes of a very light sprinkle mid-day. Every minute that it didn't rain, my smile got bigger and my shoulders relaxed more.

The event was well run and we found our little corner of the market easily. The boundaries of our booth were chalked on the road and we could pull our vehicle right up to it on the other side of the street - how sweet! This made unloading a breeze. We unpacked all the gear and got to work on the tent. I was shaky-nervous and excited. Here's me working on a corner of the tent -- you can see how conveniently close the van was to this.



Once the tent was up, we moved on to the tables, the hanging wall doo-dads, and generally getting things up and show-ready. In this pic, you can see some of my essentials: coffee, duct tape, plastic totes, snacks, band-aids, and everything else.



The overall turn-out was fairly slim and not nearly the hordes of people I had seen in flickr pages for other fairs, but it was steady and polite. I gave away quite a few business cards and had many people stop in, ask questions, get closer looks, and offer compliments.



I felt prepared for questions about how I make my things, if I could do custom work, and how long I'd been doing this, but a couple of questions caught me off guard. The very first visitor to my booth asked, "What are these?" Ummm... Isn't it obvious? :) I resisted saying that and realized more throughout the day that it wasn't crystal clear that I was selling art and cards made from layered, colored paper. One person thought the Topo pieces looked like Rorschach ink blots, while another thought on first glance that they were watercolors. Another passerby simply asked, "What's Crafterall?" To which I answered, "That's me! And all the work do here."



A woman on one side of me sold magnetic jewelry, and the woman on the other side of me sold quilted bags specifically made for four-legged walkers. Other vendors sold fresh, organic produce, screen prints, t-shirts, pottery, fresh-brewed coffee, bath and body products, photo prints, metal ornaments, and some of the tastiest looking pulled meat sandwiches that kept walking by in the hands of happy customers. There were also half a dozen street buskers including a guy on an apartment balcony throwin' out some def turntable spins. Along with a handful of non-profit organizations advertising their causes, the Uptown Market was an eclectic melange of things to see, touch, hear, and eat. Pretty darn cool.



There were so many highlights to my first craft fair. The weather, which became my biggest worry in the last few days before the show, was wonderfully mild. It was a little breezy, but everything in my booth stood its ground. My very first sale of the day could not have been better. The buyer was local, loved the "Chain o' Lakes" pieces I made, snapped one up for herself, and appreciated being able to pay with her credit card. She was enthusiastic and complimentary about everything in my booth -- such a redemptive and encouraging boost for me! I heard lots of other nice compliments throughout the day, and even had a patron say that she had seen my work on Etsy! Awesomeness! She picked up a "Retro Poppies" for herself too. A couple of folks talked with me about potential custom work, and I received confirmation this morning for one such request.



The biggest highlight of the entire process, hands down, was having the tireless and and cheerful assistance of my hubby with me through it all. His MacGyver-like knot-tying and problem-solving/preventing efforts were invaluable and helped to make me a much cooler cookie than I would have been without his help. We were able to chat about what seemed to be working this time, and what we could do differently next time. He also managed the booth while I perused the other booths, and he bought me a yummy lunch from a nearby African restaurant. Thanks, honey!



At the end of the day, my earnings were nothing to sing about, but I covered the cost of my booth fee and enough after that to make me eager to do this again in September. Yee-haw!