Spring is my favorite time of year. My birthday is in the Spring, my favorite flowers bloom in the Spring, things turn green, the sky is bluer, it's just the best. Tomorrow the pool opens after being closed for 3 months and my swimming stuff is already packed and ready to take along to work for a lunch hour swim.

Saturday I declared an official pajama day, and I spent the morning with the bedroom window open, and enjoyed the fresh Spring air along with a little breakfast in bed, followed by a little knitting and hulu.com watching (while still in bed). I would have just stayed in my pajamas all day, but around 1:30 I decided I had better get dressed and go to the feed store, or I was going to have to deal with some grumpy, hungry chickens.

I've worked some more on my skirt, although I have to finish off the yoke facing, and I may sew another row or maybe even two of ruffles. Two might be too much, but I think I really will do one more. I'm wearing my boots, obviously, but once it's a little warmer, I think these cute shoes will work well with this skirt.

The skirt is made of a cotton bamboo fabric I got at JoAnn, of all places, and the ruffle is bias-cut silk dupioni. I like the cotton bamboo a lot, it's very nice to sew with.

I was also working on the mushroom tutorial, as promised, and Sally came for her usual visit. I took some pictures and then played around with them in Photoshop, using some Pioneer Woman Actions.

I like this 70's action. The sunshine one is fun too:

And then I went out and tried to take photos of flowers without dogs or a goose in them. I am trying to teach them to respect my personal space, but it's not sinking in. Still, I got a few flower photos without any animals in the frames.

I love all the bulb flowers, but grape hyacinth are one of my most favorites:

And the lilacs are getting their big fat buds:

I hope you don't mind all the pictures! But did I mention that I love Spring?

P.S. Mushrooms winner will be posted by tomorrow, if not later tonight, and the tutorial will be up soon too! I'll also have a few mushrooms for the shop, if you don't feel like making your own. Now I'm going to go make some soup!

It might be time for a numbered list, as I have several unrelated items to post.

1. I'm still slowly going through my fabric. Here is some helpful information if you need to de-clutter your fabric stash (I imagine it would work well for yarn or other craft supplies, too). The only thing I don't agree with totally is the part about doing it all at once. It can be an overwhelming task, and I tend to subscribe to the FlyLady philosophy-you can do anything for 15 minutes at a time.
2. Miep Gies turned 100 this month. I love her story, and all those stories of people like her who helped so many people during World War II. Also, Miep is the cutest name ever.
   This is a good opportunity to once again recommend The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's not a true story, but still, it's so good, and just joyful, and it has to do with World War II. I think it's my favorite read of the past year.
3. I've been sick all week, so the only studio project I've managed to complete is the hanging of this sweet little clock from Decoylab.
4. I completely forgot to mention that the U.S. version of Softies is out (it was originally published in Australia). The new version is called Softies Only a Mother Could Love: Lovable Friends for You to Sew, Knit, or Crochet.
   It's such a great little book, I'm so glad even more people will get a chance to buy it.
   
   
   To see more of what's inside visit the Penguin Australia site, you can visit the sites of all the contributors and even upload your own creations to a gallery. I've also amended the Flickr group to include both versions of the book, so please join and show off your softies!
5. Sally came for a visit today while I was puttering in the little house. Please do not notice the dirty floor and scratched up door (you probably wouldn't have if I hadn't pointed those things out). I can't be bothered to vacuum or paint at the moment (see #3, above, for my excuse).
   
   

I’m still trying to learn how to use my zoom lens, and I was practicing this morning. Sally kept walking closer and closer. I think I have a picture that is nearly all beak. In this one you can see her pretty blue eyes. Er, eye.

The dogs run through the dew and drink out of Sally’s pool in the morning, then go lay in the dirt, so they’re always a bit disheveled looking in the morning. Here’s Winston’s dirty face:

There has been quite the chicken soap opera going on around these parts, but it will take several entries to share that tale. In the meantime, meet Colonel Sanders:

Something I really need to work on: check the white balance before taking pictures! I was so concerned about my aperture and shutter speed that I forgot that the last time I used my camera I was taking pictures in the kitchen in the evening and had the white balance set on incandescent. Doh! So that’s why everything is blue. That’s also not the first time I’ve done that. When will I learn?

And now, a list of movies that should not be viewed on an empty stomach:

• Big Night
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• Howard’s End
• Mostly Martha

Do you have any to add to the list? I’m just trying to serve the public here at Hey Lucy, and prevent any unnecessary hunger pangs.

I watched Mostly Martha last night, but it was after dinner, so I was okay. Next on my Netflix queue is No Reservations. I’m going to see how it compares to Mostly Martha. I usually hate Hollywood remakes (for example, Shall We Dance, the Japanese version, is far superior to the U.S. version), so I have very low expectations.

Happy New Year! I know, we’re already a week and a half in. I was lucky enough to ring in the new year with my sister and Mr. P, who we’re in town last week. It’s always fun to be a tourist in your home town once in a while. I’ll have a seperate post with all the touristy things we did. There are lots of pictures of pandas and fish, since we went to the zoo and Sea World.

Now that I’m recovered from that little adventure, I’ve been busy, busy, busy. So, it’s time for a little catch up I think. I have a few projects in the works, and lots has been happening. First of all, there was the Third Annual Christmas Swap with Yvonne, who made me the cutest apron. It was just meant for hook number two. I wore it the day we cooked a turkey while my sister was here. It’s so very perfect, I love the little pleats on the bottom, and it’s super long, it went below my knees, which is quite a feat for my 6 foot tall self.

One day I will take a picture of myself while wearing it. Which brings me to the New Year’s Resolutions section of this post. Historically, I’m not a huge fan of making resolutions. I did, however, make some progress last year on my plan to take better care of myself. I made a few changes to my diet, and without realizing it, lost a few pounds. So now I’m more motivated than ever to make even more healthy changes. I checked this book out of the library, and am finding it very helpful. It’s not a ‘diet’ book, exactly, and there are no eating plans or suggested foods, it’s more about changing the way you think about food and eating. So far it’s helped me stay very motivated, and I’ve already lost nearly 4 pounds this week. There are several exercises you do, so of course I needed a special book for writing down and completing those exercises, so I made myself a couple pamphlets along with a special paper folder to protect them. I used more of that lovely Amy Butler paper. I love how they are all double sided and coordinate so nicely.

I also recently added to my bento box collection, and I’ve been filling this little box with vegetables to dip in hummus for an afternoon snack.


I love the quirky translations.

And the biggest news of all:

Sally laid her first egg yesterday. I’m not sure if we’ll be brave enough to eat it.

We lost one of our geese sometime last night. When I went out this morning to feed them, only two came running up the driveway to meet me. They are always all together, so I knew something had to be wrong. I got the husband up and we looked all over, but couldn’t find the missing one, or any sign of a struggle. After a half hour or so, I looked by the fallen branch and saw its pretty little body cornered underneath. We still don’t know what happened, there were no marks on its body, no broken bones that we could see. I wonder if it was chased by something that literally scared it to death. Bear usually keeps watch over the yard, but we didn’t hear anything unusual last night. I feel so bad for the poor little thing, it must have been so frightened. The remaining two seem fine, although they were sticking pretty close to me while I was outside this morning. I think we’re going to have to find a way to lock them up at night. They like to float in their pool at night, but we may just have to put them in a pen instead. Silly birds, they’re so cute, but still so young and not too bright. When I go outside, if I sit quietly, they lay down at my feet and go to sleep. I have to take a picture, it’s just the sweetest thing.

I finished up the quilt top and bottom this weekend, ta-da! I can’t wait to get started on the quilting. I’ve got some wool batting, so I think it’s going to be nice and fluffy. I’ve never quilted with wool before. I think I’ll try to get it basted together tonight so I can start stitching away. Click on the picture to see it full-sized!

The pamphlet bookbinding tutorial is on it’s way, hopefully tomorrow. I had planned to take some pictures this morning, but didn’t have time after the goose quest. I made a few little pamphlet style books yesterday, they’re really cute and so easy to do!