kansas city, all i can do is shake my head at you. i really think that it is one of very few places where it can be 70 on tuesday, covered in an inch of ice on wednesday and three inches of snow on thursday. oh well, i think it is time winter begins in earnest. whats that? whats that you say david? tea and gingersnaps?? why of course, just give me twelve minutes...
have a lovely weekend all. i will be cuddling with david under the covers watching movies on the laptop all evening.
Dan and I were JUST talking about watching a movie on the laptop in bed last night. (we put the tv away for awhile--kids getting too crazy)... I'm jealous of your snow. We're just getting rain today. boohoo.
that's the same weather we're having in chicago!! :)
65 on tuesday and too hot for even a jean jacket / pouring rain turning to ice on wednesday / 32 today and snow sleet and ice all pouring down like crazy.
actually sounds like MN weather! one April a few years ago it was 70+ degrees and I was getting sunburn and the next day it was snowing....crazy weather...keeps things interesting???
yesterday it was 70 degrees in kc. 70 people! it was ridiculous how nice it was. i spent the afternoon lounging on the porch swing with a magazine while eliot did some hunting. have i ever said how thankful i am that both collette and arlo take afternoon naps? i am. please dont jinx me nap gods. i also took advantage of the good light to snap some photos of my christmas present. with this beautiful thing and my new bag, i am done for christmas already. it feels good to be done. david and i have really pared things down this year and that feels good too. we have decided to come up with the best gift possible for each other without spending any money. i already have a few ideas cooking for him. for the kids we set a limit of $30 each, which i doubt we will reach. we also just adopted three foster children's wish lists through a charity at church. my plan is to take eliot shopping to help pick out the gifts. i know that no matter how much i explain it to him, he will probably still freak out when we take the presents to church to give away. i am preparing for tears, but i really think that in the long run, it will be a good experience for him. my hope is to start a habit of giving, the sooner the better. unfortunately the due date for the operation red bag for the foster children is this sunday, but if you live in kansas city and are interested in adopting a child or family, check out kudl.com this was the best venue i could come up with after calling the salvation army and the police station. where ever you live, try to do a little something to help someone out this year, it makes you feel good, and makes the world that much nicer, dont you think?
in true form, kc is done with blue skies and nice weather today too. ice storm warnings are swirling about everywhere. time to cuddle up at home with some soup, tea and cookies. and if you didnt see them, check out stephanie's draft snakes. so simple, functional and perfect in every way.
ps. please read the quote that blair posted, it is exactly how i feel and wonderfully put. thanks for sharing blair!
i walked to work yesterday in a tshirt (& jeans). today? long sleeve shirt, sweater, coat, scarf, hat, gloves. still cold. 70 vs 32. pretty vast difference.
i love your idea of $0 gifts. beautiful and so much more creative.
Just wanted to add my approval to the list. Those low $ value/high personal value gifts sound good. I will have to follow your lead. I am trying to go the hand made route this year but what to make for the men in the family? I really don't know.
Thanks for the KUDL link! We're already adopting a family through my husband's work, but I was thinking of getting our own, too. I didn't know where to start looking -- so thanks!
I love your simple view of gifts for Christmas. And I love that setting those kinds of limits on gifts makes the giver *really* think about that gift they are giving, and think about the recipient.
As soon as my car can pull out of my driveway, look for a package from me. I'm sick of snow. And ice.
so very cool. sadie does best if she can help make the gifts or at least the cards for the gifts, I think pride in the process helps. and she loves wrapping. . but this my not help with this situation this sunday. also, we have found some great book about sharing at the library lately which has made a huge impact. . oh, and I don't take the gilrs to toy stores anymore. ;)
we have a similar gifting program through our church. we started when e was 2 and there were tears - but each yr less and less. this yr i expect they will be kennah's. love the fact that limits have been set - and creativity pushed. bravo!
oh i am so glad to finally meet you angela adams. i earned some credit at habitat and brought this lovely bag home with me. i think it was destiny. the bag is called hannah. how could i not? a little early christmas present to myself. it has so much room, i love it. ok, enough, i dont want to make anyone jealous. i have been on such a brown kick lately. i will say that i have always been a strong supporter of brown, being brown haired and brown eyed myself, but it is nice to see it get some recognition these days. i have a bunch of projects backed up downstairs as i finish up a gift (most of them brown!). i thought i might throw out a little peek to liven things up. and to give you a break from pictures of the huffsters. oh lookie there, more brown. go figure. i did manage to find some kona cotton and it is soooo much better. it actually feels nice and doesnt look like crap. whats not to love? speaking of love i think i should admit that i have consumed seven full plates of thanksgiving dinner foodstuffs in five days. am i crazy to say that i could probably squeeze in two more before getting sick of it? probably, but i do love that dinner....
brown is so the best. I'm having way more fun as a brunette. I spent two hours yesterday picking colors for my next project and ended up at brown. again.
Fab bag! And I love that little peek. hey hey is that a strip quilt? Well whatever it is, the fabrics are absolutely gorgeous. all super chic and stuff.
Brown is great! Do you remember the "Everysing Brauwn" commercial from about 10 or so years back? I can't remeber what it was selling but it was all about brown! Oooh, and what is kona cotton?
have a wonderful day tomorrow friends. relax and enjoy time with friends and family! one last little something from the recipe box that might come in handy this weekend.
sooo cute, and nice to hear your and her voice - but I think you need to make a movie with big brother there, he looks like he wants to be a star too! :-)
oh that counts, sister! that counts. so stinkin' cute. glad i'm pregnant--or my ovaries would be hurting too. (too funny, su).
I don't see the recipe box, icon, but I'll look for it again. i think it must be on your main page... i've got to email you about how my soup turned out. yum.
Awww, such a cutie pie! Our babies must only be 2 weeks apart. Mine only wines mam when he's tired but hey if that counts then I'm writing it in the book!
they really have gone by in a blink these past nine months. so hard to believe arlo has been with us for as long as she was in my belly. and now thanks to blair in another blink i will look around and have an eight year old, ten year old and 12 year old!! oh my. but i really must thank arlo for adding a sweetness to our life. i like to moan about time and clutter and all kinds of things that i blame on having three little ones underfoot, but it is really all for show. i cant imagine not seeing that sweet little face smiling at me in the morning, or seeing eliot and collette crowded around her arguing over who gets the next hug. so my love, thank you. and thank you for three poopy blowouts in one day. you do have flair sweet thing.
oh yes, nine months is a wonderful and reflective age. no longer super needy. mobility takes over and smiles, giggling and exploring food becomes a joyful part of every day. yeah the poops get bigger and grosser. thanks for the reminders and I do think about the age and how the playful innosence(sp?) seems to change by the day/month/year. Sweet Arlo! I do love her name. makes me want to sing "take you ridin' in my car-car" over and over!!
Okay. Crying. We've been going through old pictures of our now 21-month-old this week, so i've been feeling very sappy about family these days. Thanks though for the beautiful picture of your Arlo -- it's very sweet that you appreciate how lucky you are.
Nine month olds are the kind I want to eat up. I moan about all the same things, don't think I'll ever actually find a balance. But I was just telling Peter that if something has to give, it just has to give, they are most important to me in life. All of life's other things can wait.
i know i cant stop talking about her but i just love that melissa. she really has become such a good friend. we talk on the phone about once a week, and lord knows i can keep her on there for a long long time. it is so nice to have bridged that gap, but i have to say that i knew quite some time ago that we could be wonderful friends. its not just anyone that can make you feel comfortable enough to fly across the country, meet face to face and then leave your six month old in their care. she is that special people. ok, i will stop it because i am on the verge of embarrassing myself and i know she is blushing already. dont deny it dear.
and then if it wasnt a good mail day already, no. 47 showed up! and wouldnt you know, someone else was just as thrilled. certainly a great day. if you feel like making your day even sweeter, there is all kinds of cookie talk over at the recipe box. sorry if it is already old, but i cant stop thinking about good food. bare with me people.
where is the phone? oh, arlo is eating it in the hallway... i dont know if i have mentioned here that arlo has been doing reconnaissance all over the house now for a few weeks. i cant really call it crawling because she doesnt get up on her knees, but it does it slow her down? not in the least bit. i also think there is some sort of secret corrosive element in her saliva. given enough time with the phone she really could eat it. i guess it is time to get out some of that baby proofing stuff. by baby proofing i mean covering up the outlets. that is about as diligent as we get. oh and locking up the cleaning supplies. apparently we didnt even do that much when collette was a baby because when david put in some outlet covers eliot looked over and said, "what are those??". oh well, i dont really believe in locking up and putting everything out of the way. i mean, we spent a fortune on those damn norton anthologies while david was getting his masters, seems like a shame that they should sit ignored all this time. if arlo wants to chew on the corners so be it. maybe she will glean some literary smarts in the process. i know she is building muscle mass just working them out of the book shelf. and who knows maybe she will start correcting my grammar like someone i know...
put up a recipe on the recipe box for monday... mmm mmm. and melissa, i fixed the commenting thing. sorry dear. once things slow down at work, i am going to tackle the massive task of converting almost two years worth of huffmania over to beta. scary, but good.
transferring over wasn't quite as bad as i thought it would be. actually easier than changing the template! we never did more than locking up cleaning supplies and covering outlet
oh arlo. I love that she looks so focused. like she's gonna dial up china or something.
yeah the beta switch isn't too bad. Going back and tagging old posts takes some time (though you don't have to do it if you don't want to, or just do it a little bit at a time) Oh, and also you can add the labels right from the dashboard instead of editing each post and then republishing them. Which I figured out just after going through all mine and republishing every single one. eeeee.
And you can keep your old template if you want, which is what i did.
but how in the gosh darn world did you get your recipe box image in the header over there? you may have to let me in on that secret cuz I was all kinds of stumped.
Too funny, I just put away my husband's gianormous art books because our little guy has started to notice them. We're a little behind on the baby proofing ourselves...
That's so funny... when Audrey was at the book eating stage, a norton anthology was one of her favourites to snack on, too. What's that about I wonder? Gorgeous photos!
yes, that sweet corrosive drool, someone should patent it. I remember this stage very well. Eight years later I mostly remember the snuggling at that age. When they finally slowed down, they fit our arms like a glove, don't they. xo
yesterday was the last nice day in kc for quite some time i believe. (i am trying to work some reverse psychology on kc here...) so eliot, collette and i went outside to enjoy it. and did we ever. leaf jumping, bug catching and visits with good friends. mmm mmm i love you fall when you are nice. enjoy the weekend everyone. stay dry my dear portlanders and seattlians! oh and if you take a peek over at the recipe box i posted a goodie for you. fun!
hannah, all three of those shots are so great. I especially like the one of eliot mid-air. that looks like some kind of fun. I need to go find a pile of leaves now.
do you remember this cupcake? i sure do. it is from a mailorder recipe from amy. and it has been driving me crazy. all of her recipes really. and yours. especially those old good ones that you have hiding in your kitchen. it got me thinking. and then it got my fingers itching. this is the perfect time of year for cooking and baking and how cool would it be to share all these wonderful recipes floating around??? very cool i think. so cool that i started a second blog. she is called the recipe box. please be kind to her as i just started and i am still trying to wade through blogger beta. i thought having categories would be crucial when we start talking about things like recipes. i have been so excited about this idea that i couldnt even wait until i had all the kinks worked out to share this with you. i have a recipe card pdf download in the works, coming soon... and at some point, once i get a handle on the structure of the recipe box i plan to open it up as a public blog where anyone can sign up and post a recipe or cooking question or request. yippie!!! until then, send me and email at hannah.therecipebox @ gmail.com and let the sharing begin!
yeah! so glad you didn't wait longer to let us all know! and freaking a - how do you always have best heading pictures?? i love your recipe box! brilliant han.
I've totally wanted to do something like this. I'd love a category too that was called something like "weekly fare". I'm always curious what people actually cook during the week. I love special recipes but would also love to know what people's plain old, weekly serve-ups are.
and three kids later and these pj's finally succumbed. not too bad for $5.99, and i have to admit i kinda like the hobo/charlie chaplain look. at the very least it makes for easier toe nibbling. yum.
mmmm. toes. {also - love those polaroids. wanted to comment on them all. but they kinda left me speechless. they seem very powerful. regal. did you take turns shooting each other?)
okay, now you can't just give up on them THAT easily! Surely there's more life...as something else? Um..the fabric? A patch? Um, something? (all in jest. that's a mighty fine bargain you got yourself.)
pip! i will send off the little journal to you later this week if you would be so kind as to email me (haeshu at gmail dot com) with your address. thanks everyone for your comments, this was so fun i see myself doing it again, so do not despair.
eliot and i shared our first hot chocolate of the season on friday and we were done in about fifteen seconds flat. it was good. here is to embracing the weather, right melissa? super busy at work this week so things will be slim around here. i dug up some great old pictures at my parents house this weekend which i will try to share. be well everyone.
remember this little journal i made almost a year ago?? (yeah i know...) well i just found it buried on my desk yesterday, completely untouched. oops. what happened to all those goals about beauty and art and whatnot? a third child is what. thats right. i just did it. i just blamed it on arlo. sorry sweetie. i still love you bunches. anyway, i decided yesterday in my funk that i would just give the thing away to someone who would actually use it. no sense making something like that just to have it laying around i say. so here is what you do. just leave me a comment and make sure your name and or email are included somehow and i will draw a name monday morning and mail out this little journal directly to you. it's just that easy. and boy does it feel good to give something away. watch out people this may become a big trend over here at huffmania. have a good weekend everyone!
loved the poem! loved the journal a year ago! has it really been that long?! time has flown faster since we had three. the older they get, the faster the time goes. keep your head up hannah!
great poem, but I was more transfixed by the photo. A very intriguing image - with great dimension to study. Love the journal!
This morning, I was doing a bit of internet searching and somehow happened upon your post describing the card thingy-ma-bob that you use to transfer pictures from your camera to your computer, rather than using the cord. Would you mind sharing the technical name for it? I want to see if there is one I can use with my Canon Rebel, but I somehow lost your page, and haven't yet guessed at the right name for it. Thanks much...and yes, you may have assumed correctly - but, I'm a technical idget.
Cute, cute journal. I am a notebook and journal junkie. As for the blog slump: A) I thought three kids was a HUGE adjustment. Everything seemed so exponential. and B) I added a few more and my mojo slips easier than ever; I so get the funk (is it Saturday already??) *Sigh*
Glad that journal turned up again! So lovely. I can see it becoming my new craft ideas notebook. Fingers crossed! Hannah, I think you do a great job of beauty and art and whatnot, three kids and all.
i'm waiting for that feeling between your heart and your chest
like the first kiss on the neck, intertwined fingers, a shared stare by strangers, soft lips and wet tongues, evening air through car windows, 1:16 a.m. phone calls, a late swim in dark water lit orange by parking lot lights, just slipping inside and just sliding out, sunburnt skin, a girl in a black skirt dancing the cha-cha, kneeling and folding hands, a great drum solo, the electric body, checking for a wedding ring from a distance, a pink and purple sky, finally finding out her name, a two-year old saying your name,
It's a gorgeous poem, Hannah. Kind of stabs you in the heart. I guess I'm not waiting for those things--that electricity seems so long ago, so eclipsed by the two-year-old. Maybe I should find a way to get that stuff back into my life, but wow, yeah, a little maudlin...
halloween costumes are done, and i am asking myself what happens next. i have a stack of fabrics that have been set aside to be made into smocks for collette. so there is that. i would like to come up some easy handmade gift ideas, but who wouldnt really? i think i will find myself doing a lot more cooking than sewing this year. mmmm...
before i go of into food induced day dreaming i do have two basic sewing questions to pose. first, how do you sew a corner to make it look like a corner when you turn something right side out? i am seeing that pivoting my needle 90 degrees absolutely does not make a corner like i thought it would. i told you these were basic people. and second, where do you buy good quality solid cottons? i want brand names and store names please. i get so frustrated with the "solids" at joanns. every time i buy some they just turn out to be crap. they feel like crap, they shred like crazy and the color selection isnt all that great anyway. how do i fix this???
is anyone else really happy that amy's mailorder pumpkin spice cake recipe can be the go to dessert for the next two holidays? i know i am. dang it is good.
oh and ps. there are a couple shots of dorothy over here. nothing fantastic, but she did LOVE the shoes as predicted.
1. corners... i think it is contingent on how the corner is cut on the wrong side. slits, v's, or the notch chopped off. does that make sense?
2. solid cottons... i've been having the same quandary lately... i am going to try KONA cottons by Kaufman (they have them at eQuilters). i've been very disappointed with our selection at Hancock.
3. love, love amy's pumpkin spice recipe. i've made it as cupcakes the last two weekends with some ghirardelli pure chocolate chips... so delicious. they have been the hit of both parties! thank you amy!
I've been looking for some good solids, too. I could have sworn I saw some Kona at the Metcalf Hancock but I could be remembering wrong. That was the no-changing-table-in-the-bathroom-and-a-horrendous-poopy-diaper trip to Hancock.
most quilt stores carry kona. springmaid is not bad, but kona is good good. you can order a whole swatch card thing from hancocks of paducah online. or request a catalogue, and it'll have a sheet of colours in them so you can decide.
that needle 90 degree thing works for me. then again, i have really low expectations.
have you tried harpers in old overland park for the plain color cottons? i think they have a wide variety, and the quality of everything in there is excellent.
definitely cut the corner off, not too close, but close to the stitching -- and the main thing is using something like the tip of your scissors to poke it out to a good point and then (did you get a new iron yet?)...
Ok - I agree with everyone else on the Kona Kaufmann call - beautiful colors and a nice hand to the fabric.
For crisp corner, snip the triangle off and when you turn inside out, use some kind of turning tool to gently push all the fabric out. I sometimes take a straight pin to the right side of the corner and pull it out gently. I learned that trick from the home ec teacher in 7th grade and if you do it gently, it works like a dream.
so yes yes on the cutting and the poking! must poke the corner [i use a bamboo skewer]... can't help w/ the solids, but now i'm following the other leads....
Hi, Hannah! This is Jenny Gordy. I really like Kaffe Fassett's shot cottons. They are soft, and the colors are pretty. You can get it here: http://www.gloriouspatchwork.com/merchant/store.htm but you can't really tell what they look like from the website. You can get some of them at Harper's in KC. Cute halloween pics! Eliot's costume is hilarious. Take care!
FOR SQUARE CORNERS - PLACE A SMALL DOT WHERE YOU PIVOT YOUR NEEDLE TO MAKE YOUR CORNER SQUARE W/ A PENCIL - LIGHTLY. THEN, SEW W/I YOUR 5/8" SEAM ALLOWANCE UP TO ABOUT 3 STITCHES BEFORE THAT DOT. INSTEAD OF PIVOTING SQUARELY - SEW DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE PENCIL MARK. WHEN YOU GET TO THE 5/8" SEAM ALLOWANCE - PIVOT YOUR NEEDLE AND CONTINUE SEWING STRAIGHT. GRADE YOUR SEAM ALLOWANCE WHICH MEANS CUT EACH ONE DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE CORNER - 1 SLIGHTLY WIDER THAN THE OTHER. USE A CORNER TURNER OR A SCISSOR POINT TO WIGGLE THE FABRIC GENTLY TO YOUR SQUARE CORNER. PRESS AND YOU SHOULD HAVE A BEAUTIFUL 90 DEGREE CORNER.
I clip the corner like everyone else. I made a point turner out of a sharpened dowel. I am afraid to use scissor because I always poke through. A friend of mine uses a chopstick as a point turner. Good luck with corners and have fun.
11 Comments:
hope you all stay warm!
no joke!! where else could I go from wearing flip flops and a tank top on tuesday to scraping the ice off my windshield for an hour on wednesday.
Yes, I always wonder if the weather here is really as crazy as it seems. Maybe it's just as weird elsewhere?
Be careful! It took me almost an hour to drive home from work (normally takes 15-20 minutes).
don't break the laptop...
movies on the laptop in bed. genius. how come i never thought of that???
Dan and I were JUST talking about watching a movie on the laptop in bed last night. (we put the tv away for awhile--kids getting too crazy)...
I'm jealous of your snow. We're just getting rain today. boohoo.
snow is really one of winter's few redeeming qualities. magic, methinks.
it is still freakishly warm here. i am a little weirded out.
that's the same weather we're having in chicago!! :)
65 on tuesday and too hot for even a jean jacket / pouring rain turning to ice on wednesday / 32 today and snow sleet and ice all pouring down like crazy.
That is exactly what Mark and I used to do until the laptop died!! I'm so jealous :)
sounds luscious!
actually sounds like MN weather! one April a few years ago it was 70+ degrees and I was getting sunburn and the next day it was snowing....crazy weather...keeps things interesting???
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