Sunday, March 30, 2008

Spring

Mom snapped this photo of Dad (Baba) and Anton (Hunny Bunny). Had a fabulous 5 days up in Rabun Gap. I got an incredible amount of work done last week up there and am flying high on the satisfying coast productivity provides. I finished 5 syllabi for Spring quarter at PC. Made a new batch of buttons for Knitch. Finished a calligraphy job. We've also weened Anton off of his daytime nap bottle. He can fall asleep without it just fine now. Tonight I got him to sleep in his crib and not in my arms (well, it was actually a mixture of both!) These developmental milestones are a wonder to watch and take part of. I have not mourned the changes yet, but instead celebrate the new skills learned.

I came home to Spring today. Dougie Fresh cleaned up the yard, trimmed around the fence, raked, mowed, mulched and swept. Since we got rain while I was gone, the lawn is actually green again. Dogwoods blooming. Hostas peeking out of the earth. Lilies growing tall. And all the stuff I planted last year from seed that I thought the drought had killed is coming back. It's thrilling!

This weekend I'll clean out the back porch and sew seeds I harvested from last year's annuals again for the warm season upon us.

I love spring. I love my life. I feel just like those hostas - peeking green life from within winter's bed of straw.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Walkin' Man

I've spent this week up in Rabun Gap with Mom and Anton. Dad and Doug joined us last night for the weekend. Doing a big calligraphy job up here and making buttons for Knitch. It's going to be busy! But I'm doing stuff I love. So I'm happy.

Here's Anton walking on the back deck. Wonderful to see him mobile and confident. Cute, isn't he?

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Vote For My Mom

Ok friends. My mom's wonderful, faithful, funny, ageless and compassionate. I think she deserves this bag. I've been trying to get her to buy a seatbelt bag for herself for years now and she just won't spend the money on herself.

So.....Would you cast a vote for her? PLEASE?!

Click here.

Just copy and paste this in your message:
Anne's mom is wonderful, faithful, funny, ageless and compassionate.

Or write your own version.

And thank you!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

This will bore you if you're a guy.

After a year's absence from beauty spree shopping, I treated myself to a trip to Ulta for a new nail color. My hands are the only part of my body I'm never critical of, so I spoil them and have been painting them once a week for the past 15 years. I bought a new neutral today called Moon Over Mumbai: "A romantic shade of soft, moonlit grey." It can be applied sheer (1-2 coats) or 3 coats for an opaque look. Really pretty on my hands.

Opi has a new brush inside their bottles. It's flat and wide (covers more of your nail with less strokes) and the bristles are stacked so they don't leave streaks (really useful if you're using a sheer polish.) Thank you OPI!

I am loving this whole girl thing.

On another note, I've decided I cut my hair better than anyone else. I've been cutting Doug's for the past 2 years and with the aid of thinning shears (I can reach the back of my head and cut really short around my neck), have been doing my own as well. I know. Call me Wonder Woman.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Lipstick



"You can try on all the makeup EXCEPT for the dark lipstick" was my mother's instructions to my niece Mia before she briefly left the room in which they were getting ready for Easter Sunday dinner. This is what she found when she returned. Sweet Mia with the dark lipstick on. Too cute to scold, she snapped these photos instead.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Inspiration

For all your creatives out there, Maria just sent me this link to a site "like ETSY, but better."

It's called "SUPERMARKET: Great design. Straight from designers."

So far I'm totally digging the cat graphic and fern graphic... and I haven't even clicked to the second page. I'm sure I'll be up all night. :)

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Bookmaking Success!


So last weekend we had a bookmaking workshop at Binders. It went very well. Was SO much fun. Here's what we made: a coptic bound book with a telescoping box to hold it. The folks who took this workshop will be joining the next 6-week class from June 4 to July 9 at 6-8:30pm. The class fee is $140.00. Yay!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Safe Baby Handling Tips

From a book by David and Kelly Sopp. I dare you not to laugh!












Powerful Solace

This is a poster by Christine Clayton that moved me beyond words this quarter. Completed in Creative Strokes, it wowed her critique panel and when she wrote to thank me for the assignment, I was moved to tears.

It is all too easy to look at such a controversial subject matter with an attitude of judgement. To prevent the unthinkable, I think our first task to to ask "why" with the ultimate goal of understanding.

Bravo Christine!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Heavenly Tuft

A photo Nanny snapped of Anton playing in the sun. This is his classic bed head look, framed masterfully by the dramatic shadow behind him.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Left Orchid Lace Mitt Completed



With this deliciously yummy lace-weight wool from Uruguay called Malabrigo Yarn, I've completed the left mitt of Anne Hanson's Orchid Lace Mitts. Mind you, I have a toddler and actually began this project back in October. Though, I must admit, I took a break from knitting altogether after xmas - so maybe my timing isn't that bad.

I sit here in bed with Gunther at my feet, listening to Anton's soft breath through the baby monitor. It's been a sweet weekend. So wonderful to watch him grow and develop. The bond between us is getting stronger as he becomes more aware of himself - he looks to me for a mirror. It's quite a thing to be so intimately involved in another person's life. I know every nook and cranny of his body, his mood, his laughs and whimpers, every minute of every day of his life. And to think that someday I have to be strong enough to let him go is amazing to me. An exercise of true love. I will need a lot of grace.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Have A Happy Period

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you ------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong',

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep. Always. . .

Best,
Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

More Color Theory

Well! I've been having more fun with polymer clay. Last week we did this exercise in class and I baked and strung my color beads tonight. I think they look pretty sweet on my red beret.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

New Bookmaking classes/workshops

For a current schedule of bookmaking and calligraphy classes taught by Anne Elser, please visit her current teaching calendar here!
Friends!

We have rescheduled all the bookmaking classes at Binders.

We'll have a Weekend Workshop on Sat. March 15: 11am-5pm and
Sun. March 16: 12-5pm
Fee: $95

We'll make a Book and a box for the book to go into.


Then we're doing another 6-week class this time on Wednesday nights:
Wednesdays, 6 sessions, June 4- July 9
6-8:30pm
Fee:$140

We'll make lots of books and one box. :)

Tell your friends!