I Cannot Tell a Lie

Look what our cherry tree did this summer!



It's been one of those rare occasions when a kitchen scale would have been helpful. Since we don't have one, I've no idea how much fruit our tree produced this year. We've eaten lots of cherries, and there are two bags in the freezer all ready to be converted into cherry cobbler.



I even borrowed the neighbor's ladder only once, leaving everything I couldn't reach on my own for the birds ... and I still feel like I came out ahead.

Birthday Skirts and Making Do

I didn't finish them in time for Caitlyn's birthday, but I did eventually finish the thrift store experiments, or at least part one of said experiments.

I had started out thinking I would make the dress version of Patterns by Figgy's Tee for Two. But, as previously noted, there isn't enough fabric lengthwise in an 5x large shirt to make a dress that wouldn't be horribly indecent on my tall offspring.

I'd run into this t-shirt dress pattern a few times and almost made the Figgy's dress as much as I could have and then added in tiers of contrasting cotton to get the proper length. In the end, though, I just made a shirt:



And a skirt:



I'd read Filth Wizardry's how to make a pirate skirt over at Alphamom and had bookmarked it as a Cute Thing to Make. In keeping with the thrifted theme of the shirt, I didn't go shopping for bandanas but used stash fabric (I think the bandana versions are cuter - go check them out!). Since I didn't have enough of anything, the skirt ended up kinda patchworky, maybe even a little Harlequin. If I were to do it again, I think I wouldn't alternate colors in the top band in the hopes it would come out a little more flower-fairy.



Caitlyn doesn't seem to mind. These are her favorite wardrobe pieces at the moment, although since she seems firmly in the New = Best camp, perhaps I shouldn't read too much into that.

Priorities and Time

I don't really think of myself as an ambitious person. Wanting to be president or working to find a cure for cancer or becoming a box office smash, those are ambitions. I just have a wish list.

Admittedly, it's a very long wish list.

And I suppose not everything on the list is actually a wish. I never find myself saying, "Gee, I wish I could clean the bathroom right now." But I do often wish I kept house better.

I'm a huge list maker. I have to-do lists on paper, on the computer, in my head. And I'm a very responsible person (at least, I think I am). Chores and other obligations (work, bills, community communication, housework, dinner, whatever) must be completed before going out to play. Or in my case, going upstairs to play with fabric or downstairs to play with sugar.

But, the thing is, I'm happier when I get some "play" in regularly.

And I don't think I've got all the play and the obligations properly categorized. If I'm happier, and therefore a nicer person to be around, when I play, is it really something optional or something to put off? Should some of the things I think of as "play" actually be "obligation"?

A few days ago, Caitlyn decided she wanted to paint, and, more specifically, she wanted to paint with me. I hesitated, since painting would fall into the category of "play" and there were still "obligations" to address, despite the fact that "play with Caitlyn" is simultaneously both play and obligation (the exact percentage of each component varies).









Time well spent.