Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sunday Morning

We tape the TV show Sunday Morning to watch, well, at another more convenient time which is usually not Sunday morning. This morning after an interesting interview with an artist named Jeff Koons, this flashed on the screen. This was particularly intriguing to me because normally after every segment they show a picture of the sun done by some artist, kind of their trademark. So at first I thought it was kinda weird that a quilt block flashed on the screen. But then dawned on me that this is a quilt artist's interpretation of the sun.


Because we had taped it, I had Mark rewind (love you, DVR) so I could take a picture of it because (a) it's a great quilt block and (b) I was quite sure that I already had several of the fabrics.

Yep, I was right. The scary thing for me (or for anyone who has actually seen the size of my stash) was how quickly I was able to put my fingers on these exact fabrics.

Off to my sewing room to draft a sun...

Friday, June 26, 2009

Appetizing combination

My everyday dishes. They make me happy. Every. Day.

The perfect Mother's Day gift from Aaron, Christa and the kids.

The table set for Father's Day.

Yummy.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Blogging for Bucks

So what happens when you are trying to get your etsy shop going and then one of your favorite blogs decides to accept ads? Well, if you think the items in your etsy shop and the blog are a good fit, you make contact. And we are nothing if not chic entrepreneurial....

Christina was exceedingly patient with me. I told her we planned on adding a lot more items to our etsy shop. (uh, three little pendants....not really enough things to choose from). But time was working against me. I needed a couple of weeks but I still wanted to be at the top of her list. (Yep, ask for it all....) We worked the timing out and then she emailed me last week, saying, "Just send me your button as a jpeg and I'll post it." Huh?

A couple of months ago I had an etsy seller create a new banner for the blog and the etsy shop, along with a couple of avatars. Would those work? Nope, not the right size. So I contacted her again and for a whopping $4 she created a cool new button, which I then emailed to Christina, who posted it.


Ta da! Monday morning we got our first sale.

So check out Christina's cool blog, then click on our button (fourth from the top) and check out our etsy shop. I KNEW there was money to be made in reading blogs!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Dad's Day

It's early Sunday morning but I think Mark would agree that he already has had a good Father's Day. Last night we went with Aaron, Christa, Charlotte and Levi to a Fresno Grizzlies game, the AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Through some maneuvering on Aaron's part, I was the 2000th Facebook friend of the Fresno Grizzlies (which was a surprise to me because I didn't even realize that I wanted to be "friends" with the Grizzlies). Anyway, we got free tickets to sit in their 600 Club, which is kind of like a big skybox--nice seats, more leg room, and people who actually come take your food orders! The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.

This morning, we were leaving to go get a morning bagel (my treat--yeah, I know, big Father's Day spender...), and this was on the windshield of Mark's truck. As a little background, my mom and dad gave this to us on Valentine's Day and at first we were puzzled. First of all, what IS it? And secondly, when they saw it what actually made them think of us? Turns out this is a "fence topper"--you put it on a fence post and it looks like it's peaking over from the other side of the fence. In the last couple of months we have been using it for celebrations. Only the Harpers so far (but any of our friends and family could be the recipient at some point so keep an eye on your fence). It made it on George's fence for his birthday in March, again for Jessie's graduation, and then just this past Wednesday for Jessie's 22nd birthday. And now courtesy of Jessie and Valerie, he's back home.

So for all you fathers out there (and especially you, Dad, for giving us this funny little pig--we are having a great time with him), have a great day. We appreciate you and love you.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Row, row, row our boats

Remember this?



When we bought this kayak, I just wanted something with my name on it, something for our guests at Lakeview Cottages. I never planned on actually taking it out on the water...I mean not me personally, that is.

So this is what things looked like today. Two kayaking veterans...and me, on my maiden voyage.

Okay, so I DID get something with my name on it.


And friends who were willing to teach me the ropes.


And I'm not talking about a little paddling around the boat dock. Uh uh. See all those boats in the distance? Yep, that's where we headed. Good thing I'm in such great shape I don't mind being sore.
Ah....no longer a kayaking virgin. Life is good.