here we are

My sister and brother can be seen live on street corners in Bakersfield California.

castaway

Yesterday afternoon Norah and I were playing on the front porch when I heard a plaintive mewing which sounded very near. After a little while I began to look for the source until my eyes alit on a kitten clinging to a tree on the boulevard in front of our house!

Where did this little one come from? Based on the kitten's shyness and neighbors' reports of alley sightings, we have concluded she is a stray whose curiosity separated her from her mama. We haven't given her a name or decided whether or not we will keep her, but she seems to have been plopped right into our lap.

She is old enough to eat solid food, but small enough to hide in dark crevices, so we are letting her stay in Rad's old kennel.

"Someday the kitty will grow big like Victor," Norah says. Vic is Tanka's bloodhound, so I certainly hope not. But my longing for a puppy has just increased exponentially. Wanna plop one of those into our yard, God? (preferably a smallish non-shedding female)

viking camp

This weekend we went camping with Brett's viking side of the family again. There are several benefits to devoting time in the woods.

A change of scenery.
Also, using the new tent one got for one's birthday.

Wearing the dog's collar so that Soren can tie you to a tree.

Probably the best part is finding a bit of dirt to play in.

more for laur

I scrounged up and snapped the rest of these, lor lor. Fun, but it woulda' been funner to have my sisters here.

Regardless of your opinion, I love orange.

Pretty in Pink.

Aquamarine.

Not the greatest photo, but I like this one best with layers anyway
- like I wore it for our our photoshoot November 2010.

Farmer's Market.

Red One.

Opening Night at the box office in Olney, Maryland.

The orange and pink dresses were found at thrift stores; the green print @ Aeropostale; brown/gold was Target clearance; green farmer's market dress was a garage sale find; the story of the red sundress from Kohl's was posted in June; we found Abi's maid of honor dress at Penny's I think.

paperdoll

I worried this might seem narcissistic, until I realized that I would love a post like this no matter whose it was! So feel free to skip this ...or indulge, and then go have your own dress-up session!

this is me
...welcome to my craft closet...

this is my wedding dress
ignore the hair... this was the best shot of the dress
and my fan wouldn't cooperate

this is a lovely cotton dress

elegant black with gorgeous back

tron costume doubles as super comfy jammies
how could I resist for only $5 @ TJMAX?!
just picture me with a glow-in-the-dark frisbee

fun print (and flowers)
maybe cute with three-quarter leggings?

from my sisters a couple birthdays ago

I love maxi dresses in theory; not as much on me.

teal sundress
I usually layer this with jeans and a sweater

I was wearing this shirt when Andrea gave me a set
of matching beading tools, identical green, purple, blue -
which I will use to create equally colorful jewelry!

the dress that started it all:
I call it "The Watercolor Dress" ($27 at Dress Barn)
shrug $5 (with $10-off Kohls coupon)
shoes $0.25 (at a garage sale)

The rest of my dress collection includes: one pink, one orange, one brown, two red, two green, and one Eowyn costume. Now, please leave imaginative comments! How would you accessorize these outfits? How should I do my hair? Which is your favorite?

twirl mommy twirl

"Twirl, Mommy, twirl!"
(when Mama comes home with a new dress and tries it on)

"Can we watch it at 10:30?"
(this is the only time reference she ever makes)

"40 pounds, 40 pounds."
(using a tape measure to measure several different objects)

And when she finds a tiny copper pot in with Papa's coin collection:
"Papa - is this pan for cooking money?"
"That's too small for you to play with, maybe when you're bigger."
"When it grows bigger, I can play with it."

splintered

One of my favorite poems, by J.R.R. Tolkien, expresses how we create because we were Created:

Although now long estranged Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed
Disgraced he may be, yet is not dethroned
And keeps the rags of lordship once he owned
Man, sub-creator, the refracted light
Through whom is splintered from a single White
To many hues and endlessly combined
In living shapes that move from mind to mind
Though all the crannies of the world we filled
With elves and goblins, though we dared to build
Gods and their houses out of dark or light
And sowed the seed of dragons, twas our right
Used or misused, that right has not decayed
We make still by the law in which we're made.

fairylicious

thank you Andrea for thinking up this treat for our resident 3-year-old