Sick Day at the Gnome Factory

It is so very good that I was very productive on Friday. I made all these gnomes, and mushroom tables and stools while the kids played so well together all afternoon (the morning was a different story...)!

Because then I woke up Saturday with the EVIL COLD OF DOOM. I didn't get anything done all weekend because on top of being sick the girls were sick too! I pretty much didn't leave the couch on Sunday because moving hurt, I could hardly breathe, and I really just wanted to curl into a ball and hibernate until the sickness was over! Bleh.

Thankfully, I felt much better when I woke up yesterday. But I had a very Charlie Brownie Day. I woke up overwhelmed with a sink full of dishes, a disastrous house, piles of dirty laundry (and 3 clean loads of unfolded laundry), 2 restless, cranky, coughy kids and our coffee filters I ordered over a week ago still hadn't arrived. Nick went to Starbucks to help fuel my caffeine dependency. But, the tasks at hand were still like Mt. Everest in my mind. I ran a few errands since we were out of everything, but Isabel had emptied the entire contents of my purse! My list never made it back in so when I went to Michael's I forgot the single most important thing I went there for! Grrr. But I did come home to a few surprises to cheer me:

I ordered Sew Liberated by Meg McElwee, from Amazon on Friday and it came so very fast!!! Meg's blog, now titled Sew Liberated was the first blog I started reading regularly! I ordered the book to make the blossom blouses for the girls to wear under their sleeveless Easter dresses (that are still only a figment of my imagination! LOL!!!) and I just love it! Honestly, I like craft books but usually only LOVE a few projects out of each. I think I LOVE EVERYTHING in this one. There are so many neat little applique ideas, and a perfect little children's smock, and some delightful bags... and even a no-sew, appliqued clock that I NEED to make for my kitchen (unless a cuckoo clock falls out of the sky of course!). Actually, I think I need to make one of everything out of this book! Have you seen Julie and Julia yet? I am going to be like Julie, and make everything out of this book in 1 year (or realistically 5). And if I blog about it, I can write a book called Clare and Meg. I would be famous, my gnomes would be on Martha Stewart and we could build our addition (with a roof deck overlooking the mountains and a hot tub) and hire a maid to clean my house once a week. Wouldn't that be nice?

Nice in theory, but I find that the reality of being rich and famous is that you will live your life never having enough wealth and fame. Simplicity is what I long for. Like Anastasia and her ladybug friend. He has come to visit several times and delights my girls to no end. See, this ladybug usually comes into our living room, and gets played with, and I usually let him go when he looks a little worse for wear, and he always seems to come back a few days later. (Ok, it isn't really the same bug, but Anastasia doesn't know that).

One lesson I think I am learning this lent, is how much joy there is in simplicity and not to take myself or my life TOO seriously. I think it is amazing how so many people in the world don't have enough food, or clean water or clothes and couldn't even dream of owning many toys or useless things. Here in the US we have too much of everything. It is like a plague. Too many toys, too many clothes, we eat too much, drink too much, have too much stress and never have enough time to enjoy the simple things because we are so busy taking care of and cleaning up our stuff! Well, I really want to live a simpler life, and when I figure out how to do that, I will let you know! lol.

Well, I think I have made up for my lack of posting, with this very long post. :) Hopefully as every one's illnesses finish running their course I will be back to regular posting! Until next time... I hope you have a lovely week!