Baby Steps

Aren’t these adorable?  I whipped them up while waiting for the world to cool off enough that I could go to bed.  Thanks to the incomparable Saartje de Bruijn’s pattern (free!), they couldn’t be easier.  I’m going to make a bunch of them and have them stashed away for unexpected baby gifts–which seem to come [...]

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Butterfly Wishes

In February,  I started doing this very strange (and strangely addictive and amazing) kind of yoga called Shiva Nata, the Dance of Shiva.  The god Shiva, among other things, superintends the destroying and creating of the universe; this form of yoga essentially destroys and creates your brain while you’re doing it–in the best possible way, I [...]

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Sweetness

These are Arnheim biscuits.  I found the recipe in a book called Pot on the Fire, by John and Matt Thorne.  It’s an idiosyncratic book, and it rubbed me the wrong way–I’m definitely not what Havi Brooks would call its Right Person.  On the other hand, this recipe made it all worthwhile.  No less a [...]

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Summer

Voila our hammock–a summertime necessity for me.  It’s a fabulous hammock, which will hold me and Tuxedo Boy at the same time, or Little Sunshine and a stack of library books, or me all by myself. 
The thing about hammocks is that they make cloudwatching, treetop gazing, and involuntary napping practically compulsory.   We’ve had great clouds this summer–cumulus [...]

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Isn’t she adorable?

Meet my absolute dream rabbit, Frankie.  We’re going steady–and every Saturday, we ride down to the Farmer’s Market to buy bread from Wheatberries.  When I can afford it, I’m going to get panniers and a bell and a cupholder and a basket.  She deserves it, don’t you think?
It’s been at least 20 years since I [...]

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Anniversary

Our wedding anniversary is this week, and how nice for us that we’re still married–at least in California.  (Mr. President, if you’re just dying to defend marriage, why not consider defending mine?  For a change, you know.) We’ve got a dinner date, which I’m really looking forward to.
Fun things we’ve been doing:  making our own yogurt [...]

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Zakka Sacred to Athena and the New Year

Aren’t these a hoot? 
Sorry.
There won’t be any more of that.  I promise.  But they are adorable, aren’t they?  I got the idea from the inimitable Moonstitches, who also has made the most beautiful granny hex afghan in the entire world.  The tutorial is easy to follow–the only little glitch is drafting a pattern for yourself.  [...]

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Bella Mittens

I’m not a Twilight person.  I don’t particularly mind if you are, but I’m just not interested.  But these mittens, as worn by Kristen Stewart in the movie, and as reverse engineered by the talented and generous Marielle Henault, are pretty darned nice.  I’m on pair #2–the first will go to Lauren, my assistant, who [...]

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Holiday Baking

I went into cookie overdrive the other night . . . can’t quite explain it, but by the end of the evening, we had chocolate wafers, gingerbread cookies, chocolate chips, and sugar cookies for our usual tray for our beloved McDonald Elementary, plus 2 dozen Chanukah cookies for Tuxedo Boy’s winter party, plus these homemade [...]

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August Bag Mania!

So I’m going through a bit of a bag phase at the moment (as I heard Little Sunshine explain to one of her friends today).  Here’s the line up.

I’m quite chuffed about this one–it’s an original design, based on the extremely cool Japanese Knot Bag designed by Helen of Show Your Workings.  I made one in [...]

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