Burrow House

manna from menna

A cold front moved through last night.  It's chilly.  It's damp.  And it's cloudy.  Now, I'm not one for melancholy, but my piggies are crying, "I'm cold!"

I came home from errands, and this was sitting on my porch.

Any time "lovely" is next to my name, well, it just makes a little ray of sunshine.  Especially on a cloudy day.

And this parcel had been travellin'!

From here.

Oh.  What a beautiful sight!

And this was the first thing I pulled out.  I LOVE cuffs.  LOVE, I say.  This will not be leaving my wrist any time soon.  LOVE it.

This was the second thing I pulled out of my parcel.  At which point I let out a rather large guffaw.  His name is Thal.  He is my special pet.

Thal is short for Thalassophobia.  Thalassophobia is the fear of the ocean.  HA!

Just as my day was getting sunnier and sunnier, THIS came out of the parcel.  Oh joy!  A hottie!  Now, you may not realize this, but Burrow House is a big ol' drafty place.  In fact, early on in the renovation process, our shoes would freeze to the floor in the front hall when it was particularly cold outside.  Really.  That is not a joke.

This beautifully made hottie cover is BY FAR the coolest hottie cover I have EVER seen. (inside view)

The backside of this beautifully made hottie cover.

The equally amazing creator of this beautiful hottie cover.

Now, hotties aren't super easy to come by 'round here.  And spectacularly beautiful hottie covers are few and far between!

But, ironically, I was going to go on a quest for hotties this week.  My kids BEG for hotties.  And we've been quite suddenly thrown into hottie season.

I immediately took this.

And I did this.

And now I'm sitting like this.  Oh.  There are going to be some fights in my house for this thing.

Just a little slice of heaven.  Manna, I say.  Thanks Beth.  I can't express just how perfect that parcel was!  And I SERIOUSLY think you should put some hottie covers on Etsy.

addendum:  some of you may recognize this blanket that Erin made.  Yep.  It's mine. My fav, in fact. Now it has a friend.

(note:  Elsie just woke up from her nap and took the hottie away from me.  It's on.)

(second note:  Lily just got home from her squash lesson, spied the hottie from across the crowded room, and took it.  Now it's REALLY on.)

just google it

So, I was cruising Google last week, and I accidentally stumbled upon a listing for this book.  It was being offered for sale by a little used bookseller in rural England.  I couldn't believe it!  I knew of it's existence, but I had never laid eyes on a copy.  I quickly ordered.  Blindly.  There was no photo of the goods.  Just a price.

This beautiful, precious, fantastic parcel came in the post yesterday.    See, it was written by the hubby's great grandmother.  What a treasure!  And the look on his face when I showed him.  Priceless.

It's a lovely little Victorian story.  You know the kind.  Good wins out over evil.  Justice is doled out by the kind-hearted Lord.  Everyone lives happily ever after, except the bad guys.  I eat that stuff up.

By FAR, this is the best £8.50 I will EVER spend!  Thanks Google!

photo montage

My mind is in a million different places today, so I'm just going to share a bit...

How funny is THAT!  Drunk pumpkins!

And then...

Now, you may THINK this is a Halloween decoration on my window.  Heck, I WISH is was.  But, alas, I did not create this masterpiece.

This did.  Are you totally creeped out?  I am!

But my boy and I did get to meet this heartthrob last week.  He was leaving Louisville the next day to jet back to Egypt.  See, there is a new discovery in the Valley of the Kings.  An intact tomb.  As in, un-looted.  Still sealed.  And Dr. Hawass is opening it as we speak. 

I was so amazed by his lecture.  His passion is almost tangible.  I'm talking goose-pimples people.  And how accessible he makes himself to young people is completely endearing.  When my boy and I asked him if he had any practical advise on how to mummify a chicken (gross, but Boy's big school project this year), Dr. Hawass responded by giving us his personal e-mail address so he could answer questions.  The man has MAJOR projects going on all over Egypt, is stalked 24-7 by the press, and yet he is so willing to make time for a 12 year old.  I love this man.

Our housekeeper tried a new solution on the floors.  It's a bit slippery.  Poor kid.  He totally wipes out and I force him to lay there so I can run get the camera so I can share his misery with the world. (he thought it was pretty funny too)  [addendum shot]

I consciously do not convey political views on my blog.  But I pass this truck every day carting chilluns to school and it just makes me giggle.  (no, this is not Fatty's truck. same color, but not NEARLY as cute.)  

Just in case you couldn't see that last shot very well.

Now, like I just said, I won't talk about my political views.  EVERYONE is welcome here, and I hope we can share laughs with each other.  I won't discuss how I feel about clear-cutting, mountain top removal, oil pipe-lines, or even removing grey wolves from the endangered list.  Today, anyway.  And I CERTAINLY would never give you a link to a COMPLETELY inappropriate YouTube video.

Happy Weekend friends.  Be well.

Tenacity, thy name is Woman

My dear friend's father recently told me I was tenacious.  Well, actually he told anyone who would listen that I was tenacious.  Many times.  Just to make sure I knew what he was implying, I looked up the definition...

te-na-cious: 1a) not easily pulled apart      1b) tending to adhere or cling, especially to another substance  (what! just because I went to visit the moose of my dreams 15 times in one week?  did you see those eyes?)

2a) persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired (even if the hubby has clearly stated that he doesn't like it)      2b) retentive  (as in, talk about the moose until EVERYONE in your life says BUY THE FRIGGIN MOOSE ALREADY!)

Now, who doesn't need a 9 foot tall moose in their garden?

Oh, my love, I'm so glad you came home with me.  Shall I bring you a blanket?

(For the record, the hubby has come to accept that there is a moose in my life.  Just so you're not thinking that I'm a horrible, pushy wife.)

And just a reminder, only 17 days left 'til I choose a winner in the ghost-y give-away.

reality check

The following is a conversation with my youngest after I had scolded her for getting out of the bed to go to the bathroom for the 10th time.  She got out of bed AGAIN to come ask me this...

E:  Mommy, are you happy?

Me:  Yes, I'm happy.

E:  Do you love me?

Me:  Yes, I love you.

E:  So you were just pretending to be mean to me?

Me:  Okay, you can fall asleep in my bed.

Once again, I am dumbfounded by the complexity of a 3 year old mind.  And outwitted.

coming and going

COMING...

So, a couple of weeks ago, I won a give-away that Alexis was having to celebrate her 200th blog entry.  200!  I realized that I have less than 1/2 that under my belt!  

A few days ago, this arrived in the mail.

Totally PACKED with super good stuff!

Oh!  Now I am SO going to learn how to knit!  And a watercolor moleskine?  And fat quarters!  And can you believe that scarf?  And stamps!  And a Japanese pattern book!  So much goodness in one box!!!

Thanks Alexis, I LOVE LOVE LOVE every bit of it!  And I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog.

GOING...

A few weeks ago, Beth and I decided to do a little swap.  A power-outage and a 40th birthday celebration trip later, I have a parcel ready to go Down Under.

I always get slightly nervous for swaps.  Part of it is excitement.  Part is hoping that my creation will be well met!

Hang on, Beth, it's on it's way! (I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog too!)

I'll show photos of the goods AFTER Beth receives her parcel.  Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!  EEK!  I hope she likes it!