Waiting for Ruby

Humility

I intended all along to stop this blog when Ruby Claire came home. Which,as my first post states,should have happened this month-22 months,an elephant's gestation period.

This blog was intended for Ruby to look back on,to see what I did while I waited. And the reason I went public with it,is because it motivated me to get a lot done,because I knew people were watching me to see what I would do next! Though,I never expected to meet so many wonderful like-minded people and learn so much(like taking detailed pictures of everyday objects).

I am in the habit now of writing a journal entry about once a week,but more personal thoughts,written with a pen on paper,for Ruby alone to read one day.

A very popular blogger,who recently ended her blog,referenced another blogger's goodbye of comparing a blog to an unfinished painting. Well,in my case that is quite appropriate!

I am not ending this blog because of a lack of activity to write about. Actually,I have made many things lately and have done so many things that would make lovely posts. I actually don't have the desire to share what I am doing anymore in a public space.

I was wearing a t-shirt recently that I had hand dyed and hand embroidered,and was actually hoping that no one would ask if I had made it. It felt good to just be in the process of making it,that was all that mattered to me.

My etsy shop will open sometime in the next few weeks. My shop will also be called Waiting For Ruby.

You can be sure I will be painting and creating as I am waiting,and waiting.

Thank you to all who have commented and e-mailed me over these past months,they always made my day to read!

Happy Birthday Mom,You Good Sport You

With all of this talk about creative families I just have to say-boy were we creative growing up. And it all started with my very creative mom.

We didn't have much money,thank goodness,because that lead to most of our fun!

Today is mom's 65th birthday and I just want to tell her how much my creative childhood meant to me.Mom came up with way too many projects to name! One of our favorite ideas was magazine houses.

All we did was cut rooms from magazines and catalogs and glue them to a newspaper to make a house.Then we cut out people and made slits to put the people into beds,and behind tables so it would look like they were sitting there. She created monsters-we were hollered at frequently for cutting up catalogs that she didn't even peruse yet! I was obsessed with making dollhouses-paper,popsicle sticks,mud,she probably started it with this project-but that's a whole other post.

She built us a shanty-fort with whatever scraps she could find,and she didn't care that she junked up her backyard because we were having fun!

(My sister,left,on the right,me)

She traced us onto brown paper and cut them out,then let us pick out the "outfits".It was such a cool idea I won't hold it against her that she thought that I looked like Dudley Moore and that she seemed to have run out of paper when she got to my left hand!

But as creative as she was,and of course still is,one of my favorite things about her is her sense of humor and her good-sporty attitude. She can laugh about almost anything-when she gets together with her sister they laugh about how dreadful their childhood was-they don't even remember if they owned toothbrushes.It is a great feeling to be comfortable enough to joke around with her,like you would with friends. That is the way it should be. Life is too short to be uptight,everyone should let loose and have fun!

And she is up for fun! When we were little,one of our favorite things to do was to slide down the staircase on a mattress-she would join us! Even though she is intimidated by pools and water-parks(she almost drown when she was younger),one time I convinced her to slide down a water-slide. I can't tell you how happy I am that my dad snapped a picture!

Happy Birthday Mom! Thank you for what I think is the greatest gift-A Happy Childhood.

You Must Have A lot of Free Time!

As a crafter,you hear this phrase or variations of it, a lot. When someone sees one of your paintings,a lovely quilt you stitched by hand,or a handmade doll.

The truth is,everyone chooses how they spend their "free" time. There are so many activities one can take up; learning an instrument,reading,sewing,painting,dancing,playing chess. But most Americans spend their "free" time watching the teli .The average American working full time with a family still manages to watch 4 hours of television per day. That's 28 hours a week,a little more than 1 full day of teli-watching!

Right now,much to my dismay,I do have a lot of free time. But I take care of everything at our house and instead of watching TV when it comes time to relax,I craft. It is amazing how much "free" time the average American would have if they didn't watch TV,or rather,SO MUCH TV. The difference is TV watchers do not have anything to show for all of their time,where as crafters (and other hobbyists) do.

I know it is a gift to have so much time to prepare for parenthood and I am using my time wisely. But,oh, I can't wait for the day that my time is not only my own. To have the day's plans be wonderfully interrupted with extra messes,extra kisses,extra laundry,extra dishes. To have to take the time to wipe jelly off of my jeans that was left there when a little hand touched my leg. To have to stop and tie the laces on little sneakers for the tenth time in an hour while playing outside. For a walk down the street to take triple the amount of time it used to take because many questions have been asked along the way. Those will be the days.

Etsyshopopeningaphobia

Yes,I have a fear of opening my shop. I think that's why I am working so slowly. So in order to delay my shop opening again,I have started a massive project. A project that I have wanted to do for over ten years-a painted patchwork wall. Actually, originally I wanted to paint a patchwork ceiling,and friends would joke that when they'd come over I'd wave to them from scaffolding. I will tell people it is a dream of mine to paint a patchwork wall but I want to wait until we are in our "permanent" home to do it because it would be so much work. But as it is I am waiting for Ruby,so why wait for things that I can do today? I told Ron that this will be our permanent home after this project is finished! I have chosen mostly Orla Kiely and Liberty prints to duplicate,some designs will be my own (such as the green bird-outline print).

In Her Shoes

 

Dear Ruby Claire,

Shoes are such a personal article of clothing,sometimes symbolizing something extremely sad,sometimes symbolizing living happily ever after. The ruby slippers,as depicted in my blog banner,symbolized finding home. Tears come to my eyes as I look at the picture of our shoes,all in a row,because when this is a familiar sight in our house,you will have come home.

Love,

Mom

When I started this blog,I thought I would talk more about children's fashion,something I am interested in,but soon realized that it was not something I wanted to dwell on. Since this is a post about shoes,I must show these amazing Liberty baby shoes from Petites Maloles that even come in an adorable drawstring bag: