Hollyhocks

It's the Little Things

 

There were so many happy little happenings this week. All simple, but so nice. I had Monday off so I spent the morning dusting off the old home sewing machine and making burp cloths out of diapers and pretty fabric. There are lots of tutorials out there if you Google them. They are a present for a colleague who is expecting. It was fun to sit and sew. I also got to visit my stepdad at the hospital and he is, thankfully, doing much better after contracting pneumonia. It's been a long winter here and we've all been sick.

 

A package arrived yesterday from Japan. I purchased it on Etsy from these delightful people who sent the Hello Kitty tissues and a muslin bag stamped with my name as a thank you gift. My little order was also gift wrapped. I want to buy myself more presents from these people... 

 Oh my gosh, I love this cookie fabric. I can't wait to make something fun with it. I also got these...

 

...and now I want to stamp everything...paper, my hand, the twins' onesies, muslin, twill tape. The stamps are really high quality. So, another great Etsy seller to visit.

 We've been splitting the twins up for the past few Saturdays so I can get errands done without leaving the DH with both. Shopping carts are just not set up for 2 car seats. It has been fun to just focus on one of the little angels for a bit. It's still hard to believe that they are ours...such outstanding little humans! Always smiling and laughing.

 

There was a flattering article about the DH's rival TV station in the newspaper this week, so we were happy to see Kitten making such good use of the paper...

How are you getting through the long winter? How are you Aussies getting ready for yours? I am trying to stay positive and think about how pretty the snow is but I was pretty happy to see my forced paperwhites starting to bloom. Does anybody have a favorite online or catalog source for garden plants? I need to start dreaming...

Thanks for visiting Hollyhocks...Remind me to tell you about the radio show I heard today about finding a "mothering mentor"...

We Interrupt This Blog...

 

Even though I danced out of the store last week with this confection for Rory's first summer...I will never feel the same as the millions of gals who proudly announce to women who are struggling with infertility..."boy, I sure don't have THAT problem, I'm fertile Myrtle". We know, we also know that if conception was a resume builder we wouldn't see so many pregnant drug addicts.

It took 6 years and more money than you even want to know about to get the little prince and princess here. I have hesitated to talk about the journey here in vintage happy land, but with crazy Octuplet Lady in the news every darned time I turn on the TV, I have decided to give a shout out to my IF sisters who are still dealing with the rude and especially the ignorant comments

e.g. "Why not just adopt?" 1.  Not so easy and  2. Why didn't you?

 "Have you tried vitamins? yams? ovulation predictor kits?" 1. Yes 2. No 3. Hundreds

The bottom line is that what works is good strong medical science, very little to none of which is covered by insurance. That, and prayer, although I don't believe that, as one person so helpfully put it, "maybe God has a  different plan for you" Luckily he planned a promotion for my husband so we could continue treatment.

Ahhh, treatment...let me show you my syringes...

 

These are only some of them (yep, the Tide container too), stored until I am ready to safely dispose of them. If you know someone who is coping with IF now, point them toward RESOLVE or any of the wonderful infertility blogs, written by strong, supportive women, for other women...and please understand that the average woman going through treatment is facing enough stress without helpful advice from people who "read an article..."

Oh, and another thing...This aggravates us IFers to no end. The news reports keep saying that fertility doctors "implant" X number of embryos. Once and for all, they do NOT implant embryos. They TRANSFER embryos to the uterus, not the "womb"...(imagine using a biblical term like that for male anatomy...IS there even a male biblical term?) If one or more of the embryos implant, that's called pregnancy. Transfer only = implantation <50% of the time.

oh, and just because we call ourselves infertiles, it doesn't mean you can. You have to be in the club.

So, now that I have that off of my chest...

 

Martha's Coconut Macadamia Shortbread is YUMMY!!!! a bit fiddly (shout out to the british folks), but worth the trouble.

Now go hug an infertile today...and tell her that if she would just relax...you're sure she'll get pregnant, just like your friend who adopted and then got pregnant...just get ready, because she's gonna kick your #$%^

We now return to your regularly scheduled blog...

Cupid Lived Here

 

I went to a very nice estate sale on Saturday. The lady saved every heart box that her husband gave her. The ones I bought were dated 1960-1964. The boxes are covered in beautiful satin and flocked fabric and trimmed with fabric lace and gorgeous millinery flowers. At first I thought she decorated the boxes herself because they are so unlike any that we see today. A lady in line told me that Valentine candy boxes looked like that back then. Such fun. I think the lady was a real romantic...

 

I steamed the flowers to revive them and boy is that easy. Just turn them upside down and press the steam button on your iron. They come alive like the old time lapse photography of real plants.

 

There were also 3 princess tulle 50s prom dresses at the sale, but I restrained myself. I will admire these boxes for this Valentine's Day and maybe think about selling a couple eventually. They are so darned pretty though...

I also got a huge roll of cotton twill tape for a quarter. Check out the Purl Bee for a simple but really nice quality project with twill tape. 

The lady was so busy with romantic pursuits that she didn't have time to finish this sweet quilt top, chock full of 30s fabrics. I'm going to be a cheater and use it to make a tied doll quilt for Rory. So, I had a really fun weekend, what with the twins turning 6 months and the DH home after a WEEK LONG business trip.... He tried to trim Rory's nails (I'm chicken) and cut her. I took her to the grocery store and she fell asleep in her car seat with her injured finger sticking straight up...poor baby. I also made Martha's Coconut Macadamia Shortbread dough...I think 3 days is long enough to chill dough, don't you? Someday I hope to BAKE the cookies....

Happy Valentine's Week All. I'll be checking in on all of your blogs to see what you are up to. Thanks for visiting Hollyhocks.

Six Months

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tempus Fugit! Thank you all for your support and good vibes.

Tough Crowd

 

I love estate sales.

 

I love the sign-up sheets, the air of excitement just before a really good one starts, the competition for the good stuff, the unexpected finds and digging through boxes and piles for new treasures.

 

Friday after work I braved the cold, the snow, the slippery streets and an unknown neighborhood to visit the estate of 2 sisters who owned a dress shop back in the days when there were dress shops everywhere. Susan went too, but she got there in the morning...DARNED JOB!  Even though she and I like the same things, we always seem to find completely different items. 

When I walked in the door and saw the sheer multitude of vintage loveliness available I decided that I would stick to a loose theme...in this case, Valentine's Day...here are some more of the things I found...

  

    

  

   

 

 

 

 

The experience...priceless...the total cost of this haul...$20. As I was shopping I heard one of the workers complaining LOUDLY about Jim from Snyder (not his real name) over and over. Apparently Jim tried to bargain and the worker was not having any of it. This man kept complaining for at least 10 minutes, using the man's name over and over, which I think was bad form. I always ask for a better price, I usually make a pile and ask for the best price for the pile. I felt kind of sorry for poor Jim who wasn't there to defend himself.

Otherwise, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time, sifting through piles of lace, buttons, Valentines and other vintage beauties. Thanks for stopping by Hollyhocks. Now go make a Valentine. Here's a couple of photos of my 2 valentines for inspiration!!!

Oh, and before I forget, I want to send hugs and happy thoughts to Fred and Hayley...and a very warm thank you to Sondra, the twins blogger "aunt" who sent them a baby sign language book. No wonder they're growing by leaps and bounds when they are so surrounded by love and good karma.

 

 

5 months, 3 weeks.