Huckleberry Friends

A Gift and Dogs

I made this teddy bear for Boo's 1st birthday in March. It's late, but he lives in France and is visiting Boston with his parents, so I thought I'd wait to give it to him in person. It's such a sweet pattern and I love the sage green yarn (it's merino, silk and cashmere!). I'm looking so forward to seeing Boo's mom, K, who I've known for practically half my life. We lost touch about 10 (?) years ago, and it's funny to see how similar we still are. Kids the same age, sewing, cooking, quieter lives than we led when we were younger and single. It's good to grow up.

I have the best dog ever. Roxie gets into a lot of trouble when she plays with Isabel's toys, so she was nervous to help model the new teddy. But she'll put up with anything for praise and the promise of cookies.

Roxie was this scrappy puppy mutt when we adopted her and she was afraid of everything. I would take her to the dog run and she would sit on my lap, afraid the other dogs were going to eat her. We have been so fortunate to have Karen as her dog walker. Karen loves Roxie and made her feel so comfortable that Roxie is now the leader of these 3 boy dogs who she plays with every single day. Simon, the dog just to her left, tries to eat every small dog he sees (hence the muzzle), but all he ever does is put Roxie's head in his mouth and drool a lot. Once, at the dog run, Roxie was pushing Simon around and hanging from his neck skin by her teeth. Literally. Her feet were all off the ground. These dogs love each other.

Roxie was out with the big boys and saw her baby, Isabel, so started to howl. I love when she does that because she looks so sincere. We leave for Boston tomorrow, so Roxie is at Camp Karen, where she does not miss us at all as she spends all of her time wrestling with Karen's Rottweiler, Diesel, or eating Rottweiler-sized dog biscuits. We, however, will miss her a great deal. She is our first daughter!

Independence

I have a baby who is quickly turning into a toddler. Sometimes she will eat the food I painstakingly cook and puree for her, but sometimes she won't because she wants to feed herself. How is a mom to get healthy fruits and vegetables into this baby/toddler's mouth? Mix bananas, zucchini, dried apricots and figs, honey, eggs, and whole wheat flour and make muffins. Even Hubby gave them a shot and liked them, although the whole wheat flour and lack of sugar makes them taste very healthy.

Success! Isabel ate one!

My Mom Rocks!

I have the best mom ever.

My mom loves me. She is the most supportive woman and always backs up my crazy ideas and dreams. Today a package arrived from Amazon. Without even thinking, I opened it up to see my Mother's Day gift from mom. Two of the gifts were books on how to have a successful crafting business. Most mothers would be horrified to find out their daughter wanted to leave the safety of the corporate world to start a home-based business. Especially a mother of the baby boomer age - these women who worked so hard to create a world where we did not have to be in the home and could have these high-powered corporate jobs.

Such a simple gesture of buying me these books speaks volumes (yes, pun) about how much my mom loves me and wants nothing more than for me to find my way to happiness in my life. I hope that I am as supportive and loving of Isabel as she finds her way.

Thanks, Mom! I love you and miss you!