just a second my phone's ringing...

Wait! how could that be? answering the phone with a dial-up connection??!! unheard of....
Well, the day has finally come and I've joined the ranks of high speed internet users once again. Ahhhh...this feels good. Things are continuing to come together around here. It feels like I'm getting my birthday presents a few days early--cable internet, a few "lifeline" channels on the TV, and today we traded in the chronically broken car for a new (used) one. And to top it off, my little sewing machine is oiled and adjusted and ready to come home from her little spa visit to the shop. I hope she's relaxed, rested and ready to get back to work!

For WIP friday--a stack of buttons and small pendants waiting to be sorted and put on cards for my etsy shop very soon. If you're on my mailing list, I'll give you the heads up first.

I've been forced to do some hand crafting since my sewing machine has been in the shop, and I've been meaning to do some of Emma's drawings that I tuck away, for quite some time. This is one of my favorites of hers. When I was working on this, she said to me, "you know mom, I can draw you some more birds if you want." She must be picking up on my obsession with this little sketch.

After I worked on it, I wished I had enlarged the drawing a bit and used a few less strands of floss, but the feel is still definitely still there. She's been asking me to make her a pillow for her bed, so I think this will be on there somewhere.

  We just refreshed our stash of library books this week. ( I can't believe the new group is due on July 31st! This summer is going by so quickly!) Anyway, our latest "study" with the girls is birds. Emma seems to have her field guide by her side at all times.

She does the best impression of a mourning dove--well enough that one outside our door "talks" back to her. We have some great books, that I'll post in the sidebar this weekend. One  I especially love is about how different birds build their nests. It really is amazing what birds can build using natural materials and their ingenuity. I think we might give it a try ourselves and see if we can build anything close.

And lastly, another mysterious picture that showed up when I downloaded my camera. Must be the work of the camera in Emma's hands. Mary seems to really light up for her sister:

Next week, I'll have some amazing mail to share, I'm planning another trip to the ribbon outlet (wednesday? mom? mary?), and I'm hoping to give a few things away...stay tuned....Happy Weekend!