The Lazy Days of Summer

We're having lots of lazy days around here. But not by choice.

I know I've stated on here before that I can not tolerate laziness. Lying around doing nothing is one of the things I simply can not do. So when sickness strikes, I can only handle so much.

Sophia on the 4th; Wearing her cute shirt from Grandma Sue & Grandpa Whit! At least she was festive despite the lack of festivities going on in our home!

4th of July

Well...Bronchitis hit our home. Just in time for the 4th of July, which turned out to be a big bummer. We had plans to head up to Miranda for the 4th and spend some time with my Aunt Pam and Uncle Bill. Miranda is a place that is special to me for so many reasons. Some of you might be asking "Where is Miranda?" Miranda is just over an hour south of Eureka (where my mom is from) right in the middle of the redwoods. It's a tiny little town with a post office, a school, a market and a hotel. And that's about it. My mom's family (I think it was her grandfather) built a small summer home on a piece of property in this tiny little town and it is like a retreat. When Carly and I would stay up in Eureka for a week at a time, Grandma and Grandpa would take us out to Miranda for a day or two, and there are so many memories of that place. Here are some of the things I love about Miranda, some of the things I want to share with Sophia:

*The smell of the bay leaf trees hit you the second you step out of the car.
*The way the fresh air leaves you feeling relaxed.
*Grandma would always cook us a breakfast of pop-overs and bacon. (She would begin this process about 6am, and as much as she tried to be quiet, it always sounded like she was re-arranging the pots and pans in the kitchen!)
*We would get to take the stale bread crumbs out to the porch and feed the birds

***Picture Disclaimer! These pictures are from various trips we've taken to this spot I love, not to confuse you since we didn't go this past weekend!***

*If you looked in the morning when the dew was still on the ground, you might find a giant banana-slug! (And yes, we did pour salt on a few of the poor things just to see if they really do bubble up...)

*Grandpa was so proud of his tomatoes. He grew them in wine barrels on the back porch, because that's where most of the sun was.
*When we were really little, we had a little pool to fill up. If we filled it in the morning, then in the afternoon it was warm enough to swim in.
*Grandma always had a jigsaw puzzle going. She would sit on the porch and work on that thing for hours. And when we had to leave, she would cover it in plastic, and keep it in place with rocks. Then it would be there to work on next week.
*In the living room there were these closets that were covered with curtains, and I remember mom telling me that one summer they came out to the cabin and found a bat in the closet. So I never wanted to look in them. Ever.
*In the evening, after Grandma had gone to bed, Grandpa would play Chinese Checkers with us. And he NEVER let us win. We had to win legitimately. Which I never did. I remember this one time when our eldest cousin Devin beat him, and I remember thinking that he was a genius, because no one EVER beat Grandpa.
*One summer, when we got too big for the inflatable pool, Grandpa went to the hotel downtown and paid so that we could swim in their pool!
*Sometimes Grandma and Grandpa would park their 5th wheel on the property and Carly and I would get to sleep in there with them. Then we got to eat our cereal in there too. It felt like an extra special treat.
*Then during the day, we would play "McDonalds" and use the door of the 5th wheel like it was the drive up window! (I know, dorky)
*But when the trailer wasn't there, we'd set up a store on the cement pad, and use acorns and leaves as our money
*We liked to take walks down the hill to see the cousins. Cousins John and Jim used to give us candy, and tell us about all the wild animals they'd seen around the property.
*Once in awhile we'd get to go swimming in the river. It was cold and the ground was so rocky.
*Sometimes we'd get to go to Benbow, a resort further south, and use their day-use area for a picnic lunch and swimming.
*On a few occasions we were out there for the 4th, with all the cousins. We got to take our fireworks down to the river and let them off on the rocks. Though they were tiny fireworks and the rocks would have never caught fire, I'm pretty sure that was probably illegal.
*We always had dinner on the long table in the dining room. After dinner, Great Grandpa Archie (who had passed away long, long ago) used to visit us...(Grandpa would lift his end of the table with his legs and tell us that Grandpa Archie was visiting. We always tried to catch him lifting the table, but he was sneaky and we never actually saw him do it!)
*We used to walk down to the little market every afternoon to get a Snapple, and when we got a little older, the 5 of us cousins were allowed to walk down together without the adults!
*When Grandpa wanted to lay down in the afternoon, Grandma would take us for a walk through the redwoods. (Or Aunt Pam would take us to the Hobbit-Town Trail, where we meandered along a trail through the woods and along a creek, spotting hobbits as we went along!)

(an old picture, and kinda blurry, but I love it because it was from our first trip to Miranda together and our first walk through the woods.)

*The redwood trees in the area are majestic; they are so huge it's unbelievable. I remember as a kid going on "hikes" (though most of them are more like walks) through the redwoods, the paths lined with clovers, searching for the 4 leaf clovers, the sun streaming in through the branches, sure that we were going to see a fairy or a leprechaun or something magical. (Seriously, this is a memory of mine.)

*The way that the forest floor is silent

*Listening to the memories of mom, aunt pam and uncle jim as they talk about their summers
*(And sometimes even funnier) Listening to them talk to their cousins about what they remember (Their cousins have a cabin just at the bottom of the same hill.)
*The drive to Garberville, (Hippy Town USA) seemed so long, but it was the closest grocery store available. And if we had been really good, we got to stop at Blue Moon toy store to find some totally unnecessary trinket.

And I know, I couldn't have given all these experiences to Sophia this weekend, but a few of them would have been fun. I watch my classroom kids and listen to them talk about their summers and often wonder, "where has childhood gone?" I just want Sophia to stay a child for as long as possible. I want her to get outside and dig in the mud, and walk through the woods, and go fishing, and enjoy camping. And I know, these are my memories. I am just thankful that my family gave them to me! I just want to be able to provide her with experiences as she grows, so she can make her own memories; memories that hopefully she will want to pass on to her children. And that makes me smile.

Craftiness

So in my downtime I've been feeling crafty. As I've stated in the past, art is not my thing. But crafts, that's a whole different story. My Grandma Jean passed on her craftiness to both my sister and I. And what started out as cute little hair flowers for Sophia last year, has turned into a whole new monster. Carly and I participated in the Colusa Craft Fair, decorated our booth so well that we won free booth rental at the upcoming Craft Fair in December of this year! So my craft-wheel has been turning, trying to find new, fresh ideas.

Sophia's room was one of my most favorite to decorate and design. Maybe becuase it was for a little girl who is so close to our hearts. But maybe also because many things in there have a special meaning.

The one thing that always gets at me in there is the blank wall above her dresser.

I waited for a while to put anything up there, because I wasn't sure what to do. But then the "waiting for a while" turned into 18 months! I have been eying these pictures at Target for some time now. Waiting, waiting, and waiting for them to go on sale. They don't. So, I started searching online for something I could make in their place. I didn't even contemplate painting anything, because I'll be real with you, I don't paint.

And I found something else instead. I loved it the second I saw it, and I knew I could easily replicate it!

As many of you know, Matt's mom, Sue has passed on her love for scrapbooking and card making to me.

A baby card I made for a friend

I've really taken an interest in it, and Sue has so generously helped me build my supply needs. Christmas, Birthday, Just Because, :) She'll bring me a cute stamp set, or ink, or papers...papers! I have so many scrapbook papers that this was going to a cinch. I just needed a few tools.

After getting some much needed rest this weekend, I felt rejuvenated enough on Tuesday to give it a go. And here's how it happened;

A FEW of the things we sold last year:

Coffee Cuffs

Reusable cuffs to go around your coffee cup!
Go Green!

Bow Holder/Memory Board

So, we're on the craft quest again. Any fresh ideas that we can whip up by December would be much appreciated! :) And yes, we will be on ETSY.com come the Christmas season... And we love to customize! So let us know!