architects may come and architects may go
December 31, 2011 | Filed Under extraordinary | Leave a Comment
january
february
march
april
may
june
july
august
september
october
november
december
so long, 2011. you were verily a good year. and, apparently, you were a year of instagrams.
jesus and mary, what a great day
December 25, 2011 | Filed Under extraordinary | Leave a Comment
mild he lays his glory by
born that man no more may die
born to raise the sons of earth
born to give them second birth
verily the sky
December 22, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary | Leave a Comment
i’m not sure where the last week has gone! i’ve been trying to clean the house from top to bottom because i really hate a messy house surrounding me at christmas. i have a no-stress policy once the last royal buffet orders ship out (before they’re out is another story), so i’ve been spending most of my nights doing…. nothing! and sewing lucha masks for the boys. and hopefully a little skirt for lola with a little scrap of mendocino mermaids fabric that i bought for an exorbitant price.
today we’ve made salted caramels (perfect, easy, takes a little bit o’ time, double the recipe), the boys are playing in the rain and mud, there’s a chicken in the crock pot, the house is mostly clean, the presents are mostly wrapped, the music is spinning, the air is mostly warm. we’re catching up on readings for advent and reading the hobbit and doing some last minute elving for relatives we’ll see to ring in the new year. it’s easy and slow and even though my kids are fighting a bit and there’s been a few too many wonder pets episodes for lola on the ipad, and max has been taking a few too many naps in his crate, i think we’re on a holiday at last, and i’ll eat that sandwich, if you know what i mean.
and wild and sweet the words repeat
December 14, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary, royal buffet | 1 Comment
all royal buffet christmas packages to ship are wrapped and waiting for the dark cloud of grumpy customers in line at the post. i can barely make myself take them out the door and into that mess, three kids in tow, face-lifted old women cutting in line, slow as molasses postal employees.
if we survive the post office, today we’re cleaning house, the kids are forcing me to iron the hundredth perler bead design, and we’re not baking any cookies because we baked them on monday and then ate them at a horrifying rate. but i just can’t say no to those peanut blossom cookies.
in shop news, i am now officially closed to take a holiday until after the new year. if you place an order through etsy you won’t be getting it until after january 10. please take note of this! i’m also really excited about some new things that will be making their way into the shop in 2012.
the weather here is beautiful, my kids are outside shirtless and barefoot (!), and even though christmas is a few days away, i’m already thinking of the new year, the feeling of a fresh start, clean closets and cabinets and shelves, running with music and max, eating primarily almonds and spinach for at least a short spurt. i blame the magazines that arrive at my door a month early (martha stewart january issue, i’m talking to you), shiny pages of organized drawers, these are what pulls me through the christmas crazies.
also, see that box up there? that’s my new sx70 (thanks for being such a terrific yard sailor, jeff), the foldable kind that doesn’t take pictures of the bottom of your purse when you jumble it around in such a way. yay!
down the stairway and into it
December 9, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary | Leave a Comment
the weekend, at last! ernie at home, no schoolwork of which to speak, the tedious cleaning of bathrooms and wading through mess behind me for a moment, advent things, basketball games, coffee flowing, the last few orders for mobiles spinning, a haircut (fixing the one i gave myself the other day – WHY?), a pizza night, a party, a walk in the at-long-last cold with my pup. yes!
also, if you don’t follow me on twitter you might not have seen the link to an interview i did for troy, my good friend of many years. i’m humbled to be one of his interviewees, he’s got quite a list! check it out if you want to hear me ramble on elsewhere.
and the winner is….
December 8, 2011 | Filed Under royal buffet | Leave a Comment
emily jeffords, comment number 13!
thanks to everyone who entered and spread the word! you all are the best! you can try your luck in the next giveaway which comes in late january on the 4th anniversary of the shop!
a trumpeting elephant
December 7, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary | Leave a Comment
rain, open windows for the day, the night. december, are you for real? it doesn’t feel like the brink of christmas, it feels like a leafless september, a crocusless march. the tree, leaning slightly to one side from a rogue pillow thrown across the room by wild kids, tinsel and ornaments askew, fallen underneath. i barely even care. i need a haircut before i can care about anything, i think. seeing myself with this half-grown terrible hair mixed with the rainy muddy warm december is way too depressing on its own to care about the wonky tree, the mess all around it, the advent calender a few days forgotten.
but if i cut the hair, dye it red, put the laundry away, the boxes of broken ornaments away, bathe the kids, the dog, vacuum the floor, finish the mobiles, sew some surprises, read more to everyone, go to bed earlier, get up earlier, kiss the husband, run with the dog, walk with the dog, eat breakfast before noon, put things away, give things away, think about jesus, read about jesus, drink more water, and stop, just plain stop; maybe then i will feel the care circling around me like wagons, like hungry wolves, like red and white and festooned circus rings, like rings of a blazing golden fire shooting up to a tree-lined sky.
weekending
December 6, 2011 | Filed Under lists, weekending | Leave a Comment
christmas tree
tinsel everywhere
piano practice
post office
homework
little string player christmas concert
mobiles
cutting out many dogs
vacuuming the kitchen floor at last
amazing chicken tikka masala that i hope i can recreate another day
basketball games: a win! an almost win!
pic in the church bulletin: members! (moustaches and unibrows added by henry)
christmas lists
grocery lists
to-do lists
cookie list
many raindrops
don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
hurrah for the christmas giveaway!
December 1, 2011 | Filed Under ordinary, royal buffet | 64 Comments
december, from whence have you come!?
to celebrate december’s arrival and to get into the christmas spirit, i’m giving away a copy of my pretty book! yes, i know. exciting!
to enter the giveaway, simply comment on this post by midnight december 8.
for a second entry, tweet about the giveaway using the hashtag #makeanddo directing your followers back to this post and then come on back and comment again telling me all about your tweeting about the giveaway.
for a third entry, blog about the giveaway on your own little blog, directing your readers to this post, and then come back here and comment again (leave a link to your post!).
and lastly, (i know! four possible entries! what!?) “like” royal buffet on facebook, then go ahead and tag royal buffet in a comment on facebook, and then come back here and tell me that you did so.
be sure to comment four separate times if you want all four entries, because i know from past experience that i can’t keep an accurate record of tweeting and liking and whatnot unless you come back and comment.
if you are already following me on twitter, and liking royal buffet on facebook, that’s wonderful! yay! go ahead and comment, tweet and comment, blog and comment, and comment again about liking and tagging royal buffet on facebook.
’tis a little complicated, but someone will be a lucky winner! you can do it!