dixie's threads . . . this is my gig

M.I.A. in San Antonio

2010-04-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

since sometime last August. Life got in the way you know, it happens to the best. Tumultous months, but the light at the end of the tunnel of suburbabn living is looming brighter daily. Neighborhood yard sale this weekend will hopefully bring lots of traffic to re-home some of the shackles of domesticity we call furniture as we inventory and pack for Big Sky Country. Can I hear a WHOOT! WHOOT!

Tecate Maurice, you are a friend of mine,

2009-11-20T11:51:00.004-06:00

I sure would like to share with you a little salt and lime one more time.
This is something I feel drawn to post because as we have been pulled from our first home to start new adventures near the Big City. We also left my best friend behind. I feel so incredibly stupid for not listening to The Braves Fan when he leaned on me quite heavily to have the little man cremated when he passed on. It happened in the wee hours of the morning during the early weeks of my pregnancy with Little Miss Squish, and I was still sooo sick, barely surviving on gatorade, hard candy and whatever the Doc had prescribed to try out that particular week following IV fluids for the hyperemises gravidarum. The Braves Fan tried to wake me up, told me something was going on with Tecate and that he didn't think he'd make it through the night. Maybe I thought I was hallucinating or having a nightmare because of the anti-puking drugs, but it just didn't register. There I laid, sprawled across N3's bed in nothing but a robe, head hanging over the side and into a bucket, towel from the shower catching anything that didn't make the bucket while my best friend since my freshman year of high school slipped away. I don't even remember the day of the week, much less the date as it's still all a haze of showers, praying, puking & praying some more. It was still surreal when The Braves fan helped me walk out to cover his grave under his favorite shady mimosa tree in the backyard and the hollow ache remains still today. It's of course a bittersweet pain, knowing he's now chasing cats in Heaven, waiting for me. Anyway, this post is for you Tecate. You made many o' miles with your crazy mama, sticking to my heel through the fun times & licking my tears through the tough ones. May the road go on forever and the party never end for you my sweet, unforgettable little man.

a few more projects . . .

2009-07-13T11:08:00.011-05:00

DONE!! whoot! whoot! man oh man this stash bustin' stuff feels gooood! getting rid of the fabric that's been hanging around!

Miss Squish shirt--made up pattern

and a tummy shot! which is, of course, HILARIOUS!!

little blue-jean bag with 3 different pockets for goodies for N3's bakugons (some little round transformer-type toys)

which would make an adorable little wristlet if I just attach the handles the other way to go with the newest, throw-in-everything bag ;)

holds a lot stuff huh?

a proper square knot

2009-07-13T11:05:00.013-05:00

looks like this.

simple as pie, right? maybe, but please make sure you've got it really snug when attempting this!

I *thought* that I had done a video this morning showing how I get Miss Squish in her favorite sweet spot back there as well as step-by-step of the square knot, but my camera battery went dead half-way through apparantly, so the video will be added a bit later today;)

daddy's girl

2009-07-13T11:05:00.006-05:00

happy as a pig in poo!

a tiny little visitor . . .

2009-07-13T10:57:00.007-05:00

came by the laundry room for a quick visit. so we scooped him up in a glass bowl to keep the kitty or sweet Tinker from eating him.

he was smaller than a newton cookie!

and we weren't all sure what to think of him at first

but with big bro's help, Miss Squish decided he was the funniest little thing around!

only in Alpine . . .

2009-07-13T10:51:00.006-05:00

would this be not only an appropriate wedding gift, but a requested and registered for one! well, the shells were registered for, the hot pads I made to match the dinnerware they registered for;)

look mama, the rose petals . . .

2009-07-13T10:50:00.004-05:00

are painting the porch.

when they started talking about stimulus packages . . .

2009-07-10T07:28:00.008-05:00

the Brazilians brought out their secret weapon! Barack and 'Kozy caught sneaking a peek at 17-year-old booty. tsk, tsk, gentlemen. The least they could do is secretly fly away to Argentina to ogle that!

a bit of Independence Day goodness . . .

2009-07-09T21:26:00.007-05:00

leaving for the parade that was postponed until after the rain (yes, a haircut is in order soon, a dye job too if anyone wants to scholarship one for me! ha!)

N3 practicing high kicks ;) while Miss Squish snoozes

and still snoozing as the parade approaches. Check out the puddles from Independance Day downpour!

at the park for the festivities having a quick sip of water from her favorite honey bear and cotton candy for N3! I Swear we had brisket burritos and nectarines first! and without further ado . . . . .the sparklers!!!!

hhmmmmm, strawberries . . .

2009-07-09T21:22:00.008-05:00

can't get enough of those silly things!

They eat them until their fingers and faces are stained pink or their tummies are full or until they are just gone, whichever comes first. Usually picked up when on sale for 2/$5 and both pints GONE in less than 24 hours, always.

some recent repurposing . . .

2009-07-09T21:21:00.007-05:00

aka, using up the fabric stash as fast as possible getting ready for a move.

a few of N3's shirts that were too small for him and too masculine as is for Miss Squish

became . . .

a dress w/ blue jean skirt and apron

and a tank top

and an old Popeye shirt altered to N3's size (he's saying "I eats my spinach!")

some jeans-turned bag with super handy pockets all around;)

and a strip quilt for Miss Squish

she's zonked after all that!

couldn't have said it better, Senator King!

2009-07-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

with liberty, and JUSTICE for all!

2009-06-29T19:05:00.013-05:00

Bernie Madoff, the man whose name is now under Ponzi scheme (aka ripping people off hardcore) in wikipedia, brought to justice by 150 year sentence.

Affirmative Action and it's most recent self-proclaimed creation, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, coming tumbling down like the stinking giant they have become with today's Supreme Court decision in favor of white firefighters in New Haven Connecticut. The conservative majority ruled that it was un-constitutional for the City of New Haven to refuse to validate a test required for firefighter promotions simply because not enough minorities in the testing pool scored high enough to qualify for the promotions. The city feared legislation from minorities but the 5 to 4 vote made history & pulled the Title 7 plug by ruling that avoiding potential discrimination from one group doesn't make it cool to *actually* discriminate against another. D'oh!

"Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions," wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

When an African American can be elected President, there is no longer a necessity to level the playing field for so-called minorities.

JRT lurve

2009-06-28T12:39:00.001-05:00

We have had our sweet Tinkerbelle for quite a few years now. She was pregnant with her only litter of puppies when I was pregnant with N3 and she delivered about 8 weeks before me. (N3 took this shot;)!)

We've had our ups and downs as she has worked out her aggression on fences, other dogs, a goat or two, a few cats, and probably a few other things that I'm probably blocking out, but I've come to terms witht the fact that I have no choice in the matter. She's staying and I need to get used to it and love her d*mnit! We will *NEVER*, I repeat, *NEVER, EVER* own another precious JRT, and adamantly warn other against them as well!!!, but she's become part of the Fam just like an abducted-by-a-UFO-cousin, we love her in spite of, or maybe because of, her quirks.

Sweet, true love is what we have here ladies and gentlemen. She doesn't leave N3's side, even sleeping at his feet or on his bean bag next to his bed.

Elvis, eat your heart out

2009-06-28T10:04:00.007-05:00

because it's *me* that makes the best peanut butter-banana sandwich. Well, without grilling because N3 likes it better non-grilled and made with home-made sunflower butter instead of peanut butter because there's a little girl at his Montessori school that is allergic to peanuts and it's therefore a 'no peanut' campus. A little local honey also thrown on for good measure to keep the sunbutter sticking together and the allergies at bay. ooh--also on homemade bread to really stick to the ribs ;) YUMMM!

sunbeam/Mom shoutout

2009-06-25T09:07:00.003-05:00

sending a shout out to all the wonderful people at Sunbeam and my Mom for buying one for us for my birthday last year, we love, love, love the breadmaker! Those 1-hour quick loaves are sooo super easy and pizza dough without all the work! Heaven! Everything Bagels coming soon . . .

speaking of hooks

2009-06-23T13:25:00.001-05:00

check out the crochet hook case I whipped together from Katja Didy wrap scraps on Sunday before heading out on our drive to the State Park for Father's Day hiking. Cute, eh?

and the *Project* bag to haul around the yarn etc, also from Didy wrap scraps, also has a big internal, divided pocket on the inside;)

cloth-a-holic confessions

2009-06-23T12:39:00.004-05:00

It's true, in the quest to become a Domestic Diva, a cloth addiction has reared it's ugly head. Seeing N3 when he was wearing them & now watching Miss Squishy playing on her fluffy, cloth diapered little bum *still* just does something for me. Inspiration for creativity perhaps? Seeing her rainbow of dipes drying on the line just makes a mama smile! The crochet hooks have been hard at whipping up summer wool to cover our make-do dipes because she's growing like a weed!

Replacing the flats she's outgrown with flannel receiving blankets and t-shirt sheets cut to size and folded origami style and doubled with an infant pre-fold or too small flat has been taking care of business, but man-oh-man some hemp/cotton jersey or terry would be really nice. Or some hemp/cotton fleece while where dreaming, huh?

However, all the dreams of new cloth for diapers will not get all the fabric and yarn used, as per the New Years goals, or all the jeans, man's shirts, and t-shirts I have re-purposed. Only getting down to business with notebook, sticky notes, and scissors will get the projects planned and cut out, and only sitting down behind the machine and working out the ideas running rampant will get the projects DONE.

Anyway, isn't Miss Squish adorable in her sweet pink diaper/flannel receiving blanket?

just a few seconds later, with mama made wool cover ;), letting the whole neighborhood know how mistreated she is for not getting to play with the camera

and about 60 seconds later, exhausted and finally giving in to a rest

The Braves Fan's Special Day

2009-06-23T11:02:00.011-05:00

Father's Day . . .

HIKING!! man-oh-man, The Braves Fan LOVES to hike

but thunder-boomers were threatening, so he kept a close eye on the sky, and sprinkles kept us all cool and movin' quick to get back to car to stop for Blue Bell ice cream on the way home!

and rain, rain, rain it did! check out the double rainbow that we came home too over our house.

we could actually see the entire thing, end to end, but the camera instruction book for a reminder in exactly *how* to take the pics to stitch assist together for a panoramic picture was nowhere to be found

Reaching for the stars

2009-06-22T18:38:00.009-05:00

Goals that we set for the Fam back when we rang in the '09 year

1. As a family, we want to live a 'Greener', less packaged life-style and continue toward becoming more self-sufficient. Just thinking about how good all the whole food is going to be for the kids is inspiring and knowing exactly what is in their peanut butter and their body lotion, WOW! This will be one pround Diva if we can pull it off! This means we plan to do the following as often as we can afford in time, effort, and moolah.

Make things home-made/from scratch as we run out of pre-made/store bought. ie: huge batches of home-made spaghetti sauce to freeze or can, home-made bread, tortillas, chips, crackers, bagels, salsas, shave lotion, laundry detergeant, etc etc
Recycle garbage & start compost pile/worm bin
Replacing disposable things with re-usable
Dry all laundry on the line
Plant and harvest our garden
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2. Pay off as much Debt as possible. ie--make do without, make home-made or trade other goods/services before buying

3. Keep up w/ the family. ie--send cards, pictures, updates, & gifts when appropriate at all holidays and/or at least once a month

4. Family Scraps--ie--get family photo albums going and start scrapbook/memory box for both monkeys

5. Use up fabric and yarn reserves ASAP

prologue--livin' la vida loca

2009-06-22T15:20:00.005-05:00

Up side, in side out, livin' la vida loca (yes, that's a Ricky Martin flashback, ha!!) Ahh, life with a 3 year old and a 1 year old is one Crazy Train, man. Although we're not sky-diving or base-jumping, it's a crazy life we lead. Amongst all the hub-bub and uncertainty, this blog is to help me to remember that yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, but TODAY is a gift called the present (cheesy like last weekends movie popcorn, I know, but it's either this or the Serenity prayer that bounces off the walls of my brain when trying to grit my teeth through the toddler noise, ha!) Anyway, the blog, she's a work in progress & patience is a virtue, but please drop me a line or comment if you check in, a woman always likes to know she's being spied on;) and a new message occasionally would help this west Texas mama remember that loneliness is just a state of mind.