So, I Missed April Too......

It's been a bit busy over here and I just realized that I haven't posted anything since late March.  Oops!  Well, today I have some new things to share and hope to have more ready to share soon.  I am busily working on leathery things and helping the kids make it through these last few weeks of school.  Then the madness really begins!  I will be hangin' here with the kiddos this summer trying to find new and exciting ways of entertaining them and trying to fit in lots of designing and sewing in between.  Wish me luck!

Me and My Shadow

Or more like Us and Our Shadows.  We are back from a long episode of hellish gallbladder troubles, sniffles and colds, a couple little hopes and dreams that were squashed and some other stuff.  Now we are back and happily awaiting Summer.  We are having the most awesome warm weather right now so we are all feeling a bit antsy.  It's good!  Hopefully, we'll put that energy into our volcano project, our kite project, and our other adventures that are in the planning stages.  Off I go to sew up some wallets to fund all of this madness!

I need to make a lot of these little snappy wallets by next Friday. That and some more cuffs. I think I may be working through the nights over the next week. That means lots of coffee and no sleep! Eek! I am already sleep deprived from getting up with Ciaran every night this week, poor little guy is still working on some teeth and has been waking up crying every night this week.

Other than that, I am finishing up my latest custom order which I am liking more as I go along. It is very " colorful and funky" according to my mummy. I still have to line it and make the strap but I am digging this new fangled thing I have made.

Today is gorgeous! One of the wonderful things about living up here in the most northern bits of California is the mild weather. The late summer is just awesome. This is when we get to have summer. We get sun and warmth with very little wind and very little fog. It is so amazing to see people out and about with short sleeves and big smiles, just happy to be out in the sun. Summers here are usually foggy, or sunny and windy, then by the end of August the sun is out and everyone is happy. A lovely ending to the season and then it starts to rain.

I Used To Hate Summer

I guess it's because I never really looked at it as relaxing and recreational. Summer to me has at least for the 18 years has meant full time work, extra long days, not enough rest, and no time to relax and sit around, always having something to take care of, or someone to entertain. Summer was always the dumps. I resented each and every person that got to have a real vacation let alone a couple of minutes to themselves during the day. My vacations consisted of worrying about having to work anyways because there was no one available to cover for me at work. Then, worrying because the person to cover might make more work for my co-workers. Then the huge amount of preparing for my time off at the center which was usually more work than anything. I also got to field parent complaints and collect for various center to-do lists during my time off. So basically my vacations were just time off from the center, not real vacations. After awhile, it felt like taking any time off at all was just not worth the stress.

Now that Summer is here again, I still get those feelings of dread, they are just there. It all comes back to me: having to get up at 5 am to prepare for a day where I won't get a break or see my home again until 7 pm. Then I laugh to myself..... I don't have to go anywhere or do anything I don't want to do. The most stressful things I have to do concern housecleaning and taking Ciaran to out to play. Not that those things are'nt troublesome at times but not as much as being responsible for so many and so much. I love my life now. I miss the challenges I faced when I was that grumpy Center Director, but I like that I am getting to know and love summer for the reasons so many other people rejoice over. That makes me feel a little more human. I guess I can thank my little son for that.