Wednesday, March 31

splash of red


To be honest, I haven’t taken down my Valentine decorations yet! I have some pretty, red, wax-paper, hearts that dance in my living room window and some more arranged on my front door. Around five o’clock, they are beaming with color with the sun’s warm rays! I love the splash of red as the evening draws near. Here is a picture of “Love” on my front door!

Monday, March 29

"This thing has the alphabet on it!"


My boys stumbled across this strange contraption in a thrift store. There isn’t a mouse or even a computer screen. What could it possibly be?

"Girls Night!"


I am blessed to be surrounded by very creative, talented women and I like to tap into that often. Being around them stimulates me to be creative, think ‘out of the box,’ and challenges me on many levels. So, Saturday night, I invited a bunch of them over for a Girls Night! (Yes, all the boys had to leave for the evening.) I served white chocolate, raspberry cheesecake and chocolate fondue and others brought fun stuff to dip into the fondue ~ strawberries, cake, raspberries, pears, pineapples and marshmallows! Yum! There were new faces and familiar ones and a great energy all around. I let them know they could bring a craft to play with if they wanted to. They did. It was interesting to see who was working on what project. Everyone had a great time and it was a good excuse to get my house straightened up as well. That night I wore this button ring that my sister, Alice, my biggest inspiration, made for me on my birthday. I absolutely love it!!

I’ll admit, it was a relief to put my feet up at the end of the evening but it was so worth it, catching up with great friends and consuming chocolate at the same time!

If you’re reading this, I am tagging you. “You’re It!” Now it’s your turn. Who inspires or stimulates you? Why not throw your own “Girls Night” or simply catch up with some of your creative friends? If you do, I would love to hear back from you to hear how it went! Go for it!

Saturday, March 27

hmmm...


As I walked through my kitchen today, I noticed something was out of place. It is the end of March and I still had a Christmas decoration on display. How did I miss this little guy?

Friday, March 26

buttons


My mother did a lot of sewing throughout her lifetime. Being talented and thrifty, she made the things we could not afford with a family of seven. These included shirts, skirts, dresses, curtains, table clothes, dress up clothes, pajamas, vests, (I’m sure culottes) and school uniforms. All were sewn with love on her old, electric, Singer, sewing machine. I can still remember how it smelled. With five children we also kept her very busy with mending.

I loved looking through her tidy, sewing drawers and looking at the mysterious tools, feeling the different textures of the fabrics, and looking at the colorful bobbins. My favorite was the button tin. Inside were hundreds of colorful buttons layered on top of one another. All shapes and sizes with various colors sat waiting. There were big, sturdy buttons that I imagined an Eskimo would wear. Wooden ones I assumed an Indian in Ecuador had carved. One ‘real gold’ button that once adorned Queen Lucy in Narnia. And tiny, pearly, pastel ones that sat neatly on a slip of paper. I will never forget the maroon one that was shaped like a mitten, the big, round, shiny one that looked like the shell of a beetle and the small white ones covered with the tiniest flowers. There were the typical nondescript ones, but I didn’t care. They all felt good pouring through my little fingers. And when I organized them by color or size, they all had their place. I don’t know how many hours I spent playing with the buttons but, I know they made an impression on me.

I now have my own button collection that my boys have discovered recently. I smile to myself as they sift through them, organize them, and as I overhear them speculate on which king wore the gold one long ago.

Thursday, March 25

Yup!



Even Superman has to brush his teeth!

Wednesday, March 24

Just 5 minutes


Occasionally, I will get the urge to paint my own finger nails just for fun. Every couple of months, I actually convince myself that I can squeeze in 5 minutes of “uninterrupted time” to treat myself. What I habitually forget, is what follows after I am finished painting the very last nail. Inevitably, someone needs me to get a knot out of a shoe string, a zipper unzipped, a stubborn Lego pried off, or some other procedure that involves multiple fingers and contortions. No matter how gingerly I approach the tasks, in less then an hour, my polished nails are left with nicks, scrapes and smudges that smile up at me in a knowing way. So, this time around, when I painted my nails, I decided to ‘take a picture, because I knew, it would last longer!’ Cheers to all the women out there whose lives keep their hands busy and their nails unpolished!

Tuesday, March 23

hunting


I love the hunt of a good bargain, which has me dipping into thrift stores from time to time. This is my latest find, a sturdy, vintage, wire basket. The swirls at the end caught my eye. I have always loved swirls!

Monday, March 22

Seriously!


It’s just plane creepy when you are reading a book to your children and you sense someone looking over your shoulder. You know, of course, that would be silly because there is just a window behind your back. But then you look, and this is what you see. Seriously, this squirrel fell just short of texting me for another peanut.

Sunday, March 21

Spring!


On a lighter note, the first day of Spring, here in Maryland, was just delightful. With a high of 73 and blue sky, one simply can’t complain. The maple tree in our backyard looks like it is covered with ‘‘Who-ville’’ villages.


Our crocuses, hyacinths and daffodils are making their way onto stage. The boys are discussing what to plant in the garden this year, as I subtly steer them away from the idea of a kidney bean plant. Right now, the six-year-old wants to plant peas, basil, carrots, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers and the four-year-old is leaning towards orange flowers, sunflowers and strawberries. They are excited and can't wait. “Hello Spring, we missed you!!”

Saturday, March 20

all clean


Unfortunately, when my car lurched yesterday, I pulled into the first driveway I could with the intention of turning around and trying to make it to my mechanic’s repair shop. I didn’t make it. When I saw the smoke coming from the car, I quickly switched the car off and got the children out. That is when I saw red fluid leaking from my car. I couldn’t pull back into the street as there was no parking and cars were pouring past.

No one was at the house where I parked, so before I left the scene, and it was a scene, I left a note with my name and phone number on it, a brief explanation and the assurance that I would come back to clean the driveway. He called. I’ll just say the conversation was short and to the point. He was rightly perturbed but pleased I had actually left my information and was willing to clean up the mess.

Mr. Don, my awesome, handy neighbor and I were going to swing by and scrub the driveway today, but at the last minute, my lovely husband stepped in and offered his help. They used a product called, Zep, a concrete driveway degreaser and cleaner. It worked magically!

Although it was a bit traumatic having my car die on me, I was able to snap a photo while I was waiting for the tow truck. This is my reflection in the red, transmission fluid that is no longer there. Thank you Greg and Mr. Don, you guys Rock!!! Now, if I could magically find another car…

Friday, March 19

a smaller carbon footprint


We have such an earth-friendly, conscientious car. It sustained jobs at our local, auto repair center and consumed a bunch of our green paper over the last year. And today, on my way to take the boys to their doctors' appointment, it decided to make our carbon footprint even smaller. Yes, it composted the transmission.

What I learned today:

Transmission fluid is red.
People don’t like transmission fluid on their driveway.
Local county fire departments put kitty litter on transmission fluid that is flowing down the street to soak it up.
Everyone loves to slow down and stare at a fire truck, tow truck and stranded passenger on the side of the road.
(O.K. I knew the last one)
Riding high up in a tow truck can be fun.
Roadside service is so worth the annual fee!

The little things I am thankful for:

No one was hurt.
I had my cell phone with me.
My oldest son (21) was able to pick up the younger two so I could wait for the tow truck.
The tow truck driver gave me a ride to the auto repair place and home.
I am in walking distance to grocery stores and parks until we figure out what to do next.
People don’t mind if you cry for a good reason.

Gotta love those granola, hippie cars. R.I.P. Pontiac Bonneville!

Thursday, March 18

"19_ _?"


Hmmmm… is this cover dated or what? My boys love this game. I remember my sister and I pretending to be phone operators with our blue and red grids and tiny red and white game pieces. “Mrs. Smith wants to talk to Mrs. Jones? Alright, hold on. Let me connect you with ‘B9.’ Have a good day!”

Wednesday, March 17

breakfast with a little love


I absolutely love breakfast food!! If you see me in a diner, I can guarantee you that I would be enjoying a cup of coffee over French toast, buttermilk waffles or blueberry pancakes. This morning I made pancakes for my boys with a dash of extra love!!!!!

Tuesday, March 16

art on the floor




Quite often, the afternoon sun showcases the random items my sons have left behind on the floor. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Sunday, March 14

I was wrong...


My (almost) four-year-old, tip-toed into the kitchen and showed me what he found. In his little hand were some baby clothes. He asked if he could wear them. I smiled, gave him a hug and told him that they used to fit him when he was a little baby, around six months old. I explained that he was wearing big, boy clothes now and they surely would not fit him. “Maybe we could put them on Monkey,” I suggested. A couple minutes later he came back into the kitchen with a big grin across his face! I guess I was wrong. Here he is wearing his six-month-old baby clothes. He was so proud of himself I actually let him wear the outfit the rest of the day.

Saturday, March 13

"HB"


When I was a little girl, I remember my mother would often make hard-boiled eggs and save them in a bowl in the refrigerator. She then used them in a variety of ways in order to make sure her five little chicks would eat them. My favorite was her egg salad sandwiches!

Before tucking them into their new nest to chill, my mother would take out a pencil and write "HB" on each egg. For the longest time, I just assumed she wrote the first letter of my father’s name, “H,” for Hermann, and then the first letter of her name, “B,” for Barbara. It all made perfect sense to me as a little girl trying to put the pieces together in this wonderful world. I never once challenged my assumption at the time. Not until later……much later, I am afraid to admit, did I realize that my mother was simply writing “HB” on the eggs to indicate that they were in fact, “Hard Boiled.” I still smile to myself every time I take out my pencil and write “HB” on my hard-boiled eggs. I love you Mom!

Friday, March 12

Cleaning


As I was refilling my window cleaning bottles, a stray octopus somehow found itself on my yellow, vintage, 1970’s, paisley, kitchen counter. Well, the blue and orange colors simply begged to be brought together and this is the photo I snapped.

Hello

Hello, my name is Inge. I hope you enjoy skipping through this blog as much as I am excited about creating it! Over the years, some of my most creative friends have encouraged me to start a blog. I was humbled. I thought to myself, “Oh, right, like I have the time and what do I have to offer that is so different from the plethora of blogs out there?” But the truth is, every one is unique and has something to offer, yes, you too!
After dancing with my excuses for some time and finally getting tired of them, I made the plunge.

Call me crazy, but on three hours of sleep (from a late night rendezvous in the E.R. with my four year old), I decided this was going to be as good a morning as ever. Because this is life! Life beautifully unfolds one day at a time, with constant interruptions or blessings.

We choose how we view them.

I never truly know what the day will bring. I make plans and then life happens. So, I try to focus on the important things in my life ~ family, friends and glorifying God.

And when I have time, I snap pictures of the little things in my life that make me smile. I hope through this blog I can bring a smile, an understanding nod, a little laugh and a place where you can come and relax. Enjoy!