check out tom's website

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have a great day.

back on the family compound... grange road.

and i am sooo happy. i slept in my bed. i woke up and made coffee in the best french press i've ever experienced. and when i take a shower i won't have to do it outside. today that would suck cause its foggy and rainy. frodo is pysched to be home too... last night he found every tennis ball and stuffed animal and stick he has and reveled in them. even his hated santa hat.

ahhhh too long.

yup. been too busy to post my life. plus i've been living in a cottage with no computer, internet access and only an outdoor shower. its been great. plus, i think my mum is the only one who read this anyway. love you mum!

going home

people always ask me what it is like living on an island, if it's hard, if i miss having the freedom to be spontaneous. yes, it is hard. yes, i miss my freedom. but it is worth it. you want to find out? come visit. i like to share. this is what it's like to come home. how can it not be worth it?

shirl

knitting needles that once belonged to shirl, i am a lucky, lucky girl. shirl is my friend caitlin's grandmother who passed away on march 1st and she was one amazing woman. one cool thing about growing up on an island is that you know everyone. and everyones family. so i grew up knowing shirl as cait's grandmother. and as the post mistress. and as a master crafter. i knew to be afraid of her cat (i even had a nightmare about this cat 2 or 3 years ago that is still vivid in my mind) and i knew that she was sharp of mind and tongue and wit. as i grew older i came to know more about shirl and i knew to respect her talent as my understanding and appreciation of sewing painting creating expanded. i know that she was liberal. i know that she was outspoken. and i know she was the sweetest battle axe one could find. i know how to imitate her voice, tone and infliction, as much from listening to cait and sharon imitating it to hearing it myself. it makes me smile. it makes me miss cait. so. back to the knitting needles. i am now the proud owner of a slew of her needles and a bag of her yarn. an unfinished mitten. the beginnings of a scarf in a pattern i do not know but will try to learn in luscious teal mohair. i have fat needles. skinny needles. tiny little ones that i fell in love with. and lots and lots of in between needles. i feel so lucky. i feel so proud. i only hope i can channel shirl while i give her needles a whirl and create masterpieces she would be proud of.

new project

i am a pack rat. i keep everything. and by everything, i mean, i still have my notebook from English class my senior year of high school with Mr. Fischer. and more. this habit is slightly annoying to my friends and family that have to help me move on a regular basis. i have boxes of stuff they see no use for but i see possibilities in. i know i need all the National Geographic's from my grandparents yard sale in the 90's. and the buckets of sea glass. and sand. and fabric. i have been carrying around an unfinished quilt my crafty grandmother gave me A LONG TIME ago. she was going to throw it away. i was going to finish it. it didn't matter to me the fabric was faded in spots, i wanted it. and it has moved with me every i have gone since she gave it to me 10 or 12 years ago. after seeing these adorable mini quilts that soulemama made i became inspired! i have decided to make a series of mini quilts with the old quilt. this is a perfect plan because the quilt is all squares and lends perfectly to a 3x3 square. and i embellish in all the ways i love, applique and embroidery. this is going to be fun.

a sunday of thoughts, memories of sadness.

it is sunday, another rainy day and a day for contemplation for me. and what does one crafty girl do on rainy contemplative day? sew of course! i knew i needed a small project as i did not have a lot of time... i had a party to attend in the afternoon... so i came up with this small applique project to keep my hands busy while my mind wandered... last night there was a serious car accident on the island involving, of course, young adults and drinking. everyone turned out ok, this time. but it brought me back to a dreadful night 10 years ago when on this island we were not so lucky, and the victims were my friends. i could not help to reflect on that dreadful accident, the loss of life and visiting my friend in jail for driving the car that killed his girlfriend. why does history have to repeat itself? why can't we learn from our past? i don't have the answers. so instead of dwelling, i create. and this is what i created today while i grieved for the loss of brooke, the time lost to jeff and scott while they were in jail, and rejoiced that these kids did not suffer the same fate. no one died. no one will be spending years in jail. but i hoped and wished with every stitch that those kids and their friends understand just how lucky they are on this rainy, gray sunday. i hope they realize that this day is the first day of the rest of their days. a lucky day to be alive, a day to be thankful.

my new fun

i am wrapping up my tenure at the Recreation Director at the island's rec center, this is my last week! i am excited and sad to move on, but it was time to move on. in the fall i'll be starting my master's in clinical counseling, which i am looking forward to with great anticipation! i will be working with my brother-in-law Stephen this summer on his boat the Predator; however i realized that i needed to find something to do until then. i love to make jewelry and have been itching to learn metalsmithing. so... lucky me, i approached my friend and local metalsmith Gail Miller and asked if she needed any help, and boy does she. she has a studio on the island www.millerdesigns.com and i started working for her a week and a half ago. I LOVE IT! i am starting out with some basic and tedious work but i am having so much fun. she has a hydraulic press that i use to cut different shapes out of brass, nickel and copper. recently i have been texturizing the metal, mostly my hammering the metal with various hammers and other instruments. a great way to get some aggression out! while i am hammering away i am envisioning my own designs and look forward to when i can experiment on my own. but first i have more to learn... sanding the metal, soldering and buffing!

rainy rainy days and delish soup!

it's been a rainy few days on the island and the recipe for rain is a good book and some yummy soup. i excitedly indugled in making my soup of choice, a recipe made up years ago with my old lover, parnter and best friend Nick (oh, how i miss this man some days). we somehow named it Cuban Black Bean Soup. i do not know what makes it Cuban, but in our tummies, Cuban it is. we adapted it from a cookbook Nick had and made it our own ~ by adding fattening goodness! no measureing cups necessary just throw it all together. my friend Katie called in the midst of my making and her response was "yuuuuummm"
here is the gist~ give it a whirl!

2 good sized sweet potatoes~ cut up
2 cans of black beans ~ rinsed
onions ~ chopped
garlic ~ chopped ~ a good amount
ginger ~ chopped ~ a good amount

throw all of this in a good sized pot with 6-8 cups of water.
boil for an hour
let cool
puree in a blender or other such kitchen appliance
place back in pot and return to burner
add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon or 2 of brown sugar
heat up!
add shredded cheddar to bowl when served.
enjoy!
seriously good stuff.