Happy Leap Day!

I've always thought that Leap Day was a bit spooky. It shows up for a few hours then it's gone for years before it shows up again. It's very Brigadoon-esque. I keep waiting for something magical to happen, but it never does. It ends up being just another day. When I was in grade ten, there was a boy in my math class who's birthday is February 29th. We were all fascinated by this and asked him all kinds of questions about how he celebrates his birthday. Then, of course, we had to tease him that he was really only a few years old since, technically, his birthday only came every four years. He was a good sport and laughed along with us. I'm sure he was used to trying to explain his very rare birth date.

So, on this rare day, I will honour the occasion with a blog post. (That's kind of magical, isn't it?)

I've been working on some more embroidery pieces to put in my Etsy shop. These two are my favourites:

I used yarn to make the french knots so that the clouds and the sheep wool really stand out. It gives the pieces really great texture.

It's time to start making my upcycled skirts and shirts again so yesterday I hit the thrift store. I have two favourites: the Idaho Youth Ranch, because the money stays in the state and helps troubled kids, and the Northwest Animal Companion thrift shop because I love to help the animals. I always find some great stuff and yesterday I found a great collection of fabrics, including these:

These are some colourful, silky fabrics. I inherited my mother-in-law's serger which I am so grateful for. Her death has been hard and I still really miss her. I think I'll use the serger to make some fun spring time scarves.

I also found this maple leaf fabric that I couldn't leave behind. It's a heavy duck cloth.

Today Moira had a Power Point presentation at school on Abigail Adams. Liam and I went to see it.

Waiting...

Moira giving her presentation

Moira's classroom

The other day I looked out my sewing room window and saw that my bulbs are starting to poke their heads up again. I was so excited! Spring must be just around the corner.

Sorry for all the wonky fonts and alignments. Blogger isn't cooperating and it's making my posts look odd. :(

Some Randomness

Nothing too terribly exciting is happening, but here are a few random things that have been going on at our house.

In January, Moira had a duct tape project for school. She had to make something then make a Power Point presentation about it. She chose to make a skirt from an on-line tutorial. We had to modify it so that it fit better and put some darts in the back.

Will made the kids a brand new sandbox a few weekends ago. The kids love it and go out there almost every day. Which means that sand gets tracked into the house almost every day.

Will made a light weight cover for the sandbox so that the kids can still take it on and off.

I've been doing embroidery off and on for years. I mostly made stuff just for me, but lately I've been doing a lot more.

This is a drawing of Mrs. Puff Puff that Kyla made and left on my work table. I transferred the image and her signature on to some fabric and embroidered on it for Kyla for Christmas.

This is another piece that I made after being totally frustrated with the constant laundry there always seem to have.

Here are some other designs that I embroidered. Some I put in my Etsy shop and some I took down to Green Chutes.

This piece sold over the weekend.

The other day we had a full moon. I love the way it was showing through the bare willow tree in our neighbour's yard.

I completed this pillow the other day. It's made out of recycled t-shirts and sheets. Not sure if I'll list it our take it down to Green Chutes.

So, that's about it for the Taylor/Rogers household. Always keeping busy.

On Turning 40

You're not 40, you're eighteen with 22 years experience.

~Author Unknown

Since Will's birthday last week, I haven't been able to stop thinking about my own impending birthday. Mostly because I will be forty this year. I'll have lived approximately half my life. It's an uncomfortable thought as I feel like I haven't even begun to live my life. There are so many things that I would still love to do, like have a career and travel. My life hasn't turned out anything like I thought it would. If my twenty year-old self could see me now, I think she would faint.

In no particular order, here is a brief list of the direction my life has gone in as compared to where I thought I would be:

• I'm living in the States. I swore I would never leave Canada except to visit. Boy, has that bit me in the butt. Not only did I leave, but I've been gone for a very long time.
• I gave birth to four children which is four more than I ever thought I would. I never wanted kids, let alone go through the nasty pregnancy and labour process. Plus, I have a son. A SON! I imagined that maybe I would have a daughter, but she would be adopted. Little did I know that when I was twenty-eight, the thought of having my own children didn't seem quite so bad after all.
• I've been married - twice! I never really pictured myself as being attached to someone, let alone twice.
• I still don't have my degree. I'm on my third attempt at achieving that. I swore that I would be thirty at the oldest when I got my degree.
• And that brings me to no career. I always pictured myself as rich and a work driven person. And that brings me to...
• I'm a stay-at-home mom. WHAT?!
• I also never thought that I would want to be around my family. I pictured myself leaving the nest and never turning back. I always thought that familial piety was something to be spit on. Now I think about how much I miss them and want to be near them. I also want to be able to take care of my parents when they are no longer able to do it themselves and to be a good aunt to my nieces and nephews. It's hard to do that living so far away.
• I live in small town suburbia on half an acre with chickens and a couple of big dogs (and cats, but I always knew I would have cats). I pictured myself living in a posh apartment or small house in an exclusive neighbourhood in Vancouver. And because I've lived in small towns since moving to the States, I've also had to learn how to drive. That was never on the top of my priority list.

There are other little things too, like, I like to sew now and I like refried beans and hummus. I've also had to add some new words to my vocabulary. Words like "diet", "calories", and "exercise" and phrases like "anti-wrinkle cream" and "Clean your room". Yikes!

Do I have any regrets? No, I don't. I love my husband more than I thought I was capable of and my children are a constant wonder and delight to me. I have wonderful friends and a comfortable home. The only thing I do feel bad about is not being nearer my family. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to spend more time with my grandma and step-mom before they both passed away. I miss my parents and my sister and my Nana and would like to see them more than I do. I would also like to be able to travel. I want to see exotic places and how other people live. I'm sorry that I haven't had more opportunities to do so.

Let's see what happens in the next forty years.

Burns Night

Dare to be honest and fear no labor.

- Robbie Burns

Last night was Boise's annual Robbie Burns' Dinner in honour of this most famous of Scottish poets. While we didn't attend the dinner (too expensive and the food is awful) we did go afterwards and watched Moira dance. This was her second year dancing at Burns' and the first time that she danced the Sword Dance for this occasion. It was very exciting to see her up there and made me proud to be her mum and to have Scottish blood coursing through my veins.

Highland Fling

Sword Dance