Organic Quilt Company

I love the graphic patterns available on these organic baby products from the Organic Quilt Company.  I just got a couple of burp cloths and a baby blanket for our friend Cara who is due to have a baby any day now.  So exciting!  And I remember that even though we used and needed a mountain of generic white burp cloths when Emmett was in his spitting phase, it was always nice to have a few fancier ones as a treat.  We probably had 70 burp cloths in regular rotation when he was at his worst, and somehow there were never enough!   And Cara's baby is going to be a Brooklyn baby, so I thought the pattern with the houses, traffic and park benches was perfect.  If you are in the market for a baby gift follow the link above, there are so so many cute things to choose from, and they are all organic and handmade.

Sunday Fog

Quiet Mornings in the Barn

Poor Misty Dodo has an abscess in one of her feet, so I've been spending these last few lovely spring mornings in the barn with her, giving her some TLC and soaking her foot in epsom salts.  She's still super shaggy with her winter coat, but if this weather keeps up she'll be shedded out and sleek again before long.  The mule in the fourth photo is her new BFF and alter-ego Candy.

Patio Season has Begun!

First barbecue of the season! The snow melted off our porch yesterday and we didn't waste any time in bringing out the grill.  So what if the patio is still surrounded by snow? Grilled shrimp with oranges, cucumber, and ginger from here.  

Spring Fever, With a Side of Cabin Fever

It's a bad case.  I want spring so badly I can taste it.  I want to have the windows open and have the smell of grass and flowers blow in on a warm breeze.  I want to plant my seeds in the garden and watch them come up.  I want to sit outside in the morning with my coffee and let emmett play in the hose. And I want to take a cocktail out to the garden in the evening to pick vegetables for dinner.

These pictures are of course from last summer, and I am torturing myself a little looking through them. Because what we really have right now, and will have for another four weeks at least, is this:

As much as I love our house and our wood stove, I'm ready for a change.  Really ready.  And after a very mild winter of almost no snow we are now buried under a foot of icy snow, with no grass anywhere, and it is 5 degrees outside.  March is the worst.  Sigh.   

Road & Rail

Building an elaborate road and rail system is our current morning ritual.  It is very possible that I enjoy this more than Emmett, and sometimes we fight about where to put the various pieces.  

Studio Sneak Peek - Works on Paper, Paper Conservation

The other day my friend Carolyn asked me to come in and take some photographs of her at work to be used to help explain to people what she does.  As a paper conservator, her job is pretty unusual, and not something that most people know a lot about, but it is so interesting that she is constantly fielding questions.  So she is building some informational panels to hang in her studio to help people get a sense of what she does.  I had a great time getting to see some of the many the beautiful projects she is working on, as well as getting a better understanding of the various processes she uses.  Below is a little insert of in-painting, cleaning, tape-removal, and tear-mending. And then a little further below you can see a butterfly print being pulled out of a bath, and a print being humidified in a plastic tub covered with plexiglass. 

If you want to get more information about Carolyn and what she does at Works on Paper, please click here.  I really enjoyed my little peak into Carolyn's studio, and some of the interesting work she does there.  And I think it is so cool that she has been able to make a successful business out of it in rural Vermont.  I am always so interested to find out how people make a go of it up here, where there is really very little industry to participate in, and few 9-5 jobs to be had.  Thanks so much for the fascinating tour Carolyn!