Some crafting and an Etsy update

I finally posted some new things in the shop and I thought I would give you a peek here too. This is my newest growth folio with an owl theme (and MUSHROOMS!)... I am totally loving it. The owls were suggested by a friend who is interested in having a chart made, she was telling me how she is planning to decorate her daughters room (they are moving soon) and I loved the idea so I went ahead with it... and of course added a little more. Why didn't I think of doing owls sooner?! The chart is loosely based on the pottery barn kids Brooke bedding.
So while Mum was busy making me the skirt I was commissioned to decorate some onesies for Kara whose shower Mum missed because she was visiting me. I had such a blast with this I listed the designs in the shop.

This one by far is my favorite! I almost didn't let her take it ... but since I can make another I figured I would be nice!

This is ubers favorite and I also LOVE this one. They're barrel of monkeys!

A silhouette of a black-handed spider monkey...I know totally obvious right?

and lastly a rhino... wouldn't a very small one of these be SOOO cute as a house pet?

I just went and looked at all the onesies you guys made and they are SO cute... though I am confused by the octagon one?!? Anyone want to explain? What a lovely and thoughtful bunch of gifts! I love seeing baby showers with handmade items. The nursery is great!

28 years and counting

While at Jessica and our son in law's, You know who and I reached the milestone of 28 blissful years of marriage. We got a little crazy, we went kayaking. Jess and Uber were game. We all had a blast. First was learning to coordinate our rowing. We had to unlearn some bad habits we'd picked up oh, about, 28 years ago while using a canoe. That accomplished we went, I think, about 6 miles to the ocean and back again.
~
Look, we are totally in sync..... my paddle is backwards. Maybe that's why it was hard....
This guy understands the word relaxation.
To the ocean and beyond.......

Beautiful scenery and strange birds.


Jess and I were just talking about how strange it is to enjoy doing something for fun that is such hard work. I think that's the way most of our lives should go. Work hard at what ever you do, fun, family, friends, you appreciate it more, it makes it special.
~
Hey Babe, here's to 28 great years and hopefully at least that many more.

Art Walk and the Beach

Saturday we went to check out one of the Art Walks that goes on in Jacksonville. I have heard about quite a few but they all seem to go on at inconvenient times (for me). This one is newer and is on Saturday which fits into my schedule!


It's held under one of the large bridges downtown on the river. In the area right on the water they have a stage and terraced seating. It's a fantastic setup which is saying a lot because that just doesn't seem to happen around these parts! Also if you are wondering you can't hear the traffic above.

Along with the art vendors they have a small farmers market, which was pretty nice by our standards. The cantaloupes were from Florida and scrumptious!

REAL fresh bread- YUM! (yes as opposed to the fake kind...)

Florida didn't disappoint and provided us a short torrential down pour for our afternoon... we took advantage and ate pulled pork and french fries and while listening to the music

Here's the view.

There were a couple of really neat vendors there that I might have to stop back by (Ubers groaning!)

Monday we FINALLY got out to the beach. I like to spend my time catching animals and making who ever is with me take pictures...

This guy was funny he REALLY wanted that fish... we were getting in his way

I don't know what this is exactly but it was squishy!

Mum takes great pictures doesn't she?

Yawning life guard

Searching for pretty shells and sharks teeth... We love to search for teeth I will show you our haul later!

Mum is so cute!

This pictures make me laugh every time. 'nough said.

Monday evening we went went out to dinner with some friends at the beach.

I would just like to show you that my Mum abuses me...and I have evidence

Okay well maybe it is because I did this to her....

This is the only one that turned out of us (me) not goofing off.

Uber and me... this could be a cute picture...

Are we sensing a theme?

Yeah, I'm not either.

Here's the only decent shot... and he doesn't like it. Ah well.

So my goal is to stop making so many faces when the camera is pointed at me... : (
Also note for all of you wanting to know what crafts we were up to. The skirt I am wearing is one Mum made for me. The pattern is the wrap skirt from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross and the fabric is Art Gallery Fabric by Patricia Bravo, French Riviera Collection and I love love love the fabric. I am sure Mum will give you more of the specifics as to her changes to the pattern since she is the one who sewed it. All I have to say is I LOVE IT! It is very comfortable! She made one too so check back and eventually I will get to pictures of that!

We interupt your reguraly scheduled programing to bring you this important weather alert

Uber took this video out of his office window... lovely huh?

I'll be back tomorrow!

So I'm a little behind...

We had a fantastic time with my parents! They aren't quite done with their vacation but I left them yesterday in NC with my grandparents and headed back home. I am trying very hard not to be totally bummed out!

So mums and my posts are going to overlap since we've been doing the same things so I am just going to try to use different pictures.... or at least I hope I do.

We took them out Gigging the Friday night after they got here. Basically you get to stab flounder from a boat. Awesome right? We met the boat at the dock at sunset.

These little crabs are everywhere and there are a TON of them. They are so small that I thought they were spiders at first .... I was very happy to see that they weren't!

Here's the boat and Captain Mac, as Mum said on her post he was a very nice and informative guy.

Some quick posing for the camera on the way out

I can't believe we hadn't seen each other for a year and a half!

So for my take on the gigging I was prepared to be totally stoked and was rather disappointed. This activity was recommended to us by Ubers boss who had a blast going out with his family and they caught a bunch, so my expectations were very high. Unfortunately for us the fish seemed to be hiding the night we were out. Which was a real bummer since I was planning on having a freezer full. I definitely enjoyed the experience though and of course the company was fantastic. I am glad that we did it, but I think if I am going to pay to charter a boat again I will stick with deep sea fishing. For close to the same price the trip is longer, there are more fish and the fish are MUCH larger... plus it is during the day and you can work on your tan...

Here's us with a fish. This is one that the captain caught.

And for the fun of it I will leave you with a video of me tormenting my mum.... we thought he was taking pictures at first... as far as the clip don't ask why I don't know... I'm wierd and she's fun to bug.

Quick hello

ST Designs on Etsy featured me on her treasury she is from Tel Aviv and also does pillows. Go check it out if we get enough hits we can get it on the front page!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=65548

We are having a blast here with Mum and Dad I will be back next week some time.

Gigging?

To catch flounder from a flat bottomed boat, using a multi pronged spear. Gigging normally starts at sunset. What's not to love about something that starts when the day is this gorgeous?

Meeting Capt. Mac. My wonderful son-in-law, booked us this tour from here. Capt. Mac has been guiding for several years. He is informative and very nice.

We started the trip with the outboard motor and when the fishing began, we were moved through the water with the large fan. I am sure it has a technical name but for me it is known as the large fan.

The scenery is gorgeous. I love the water.

This is the gig. At first Uber and You Know Who called it a trident but then decided that it is a pentadent. They are funny guys. Let me tell you. You'd think with such a large tool the fish wouldn't have a fighting chance. It's not as easy as that.

You stand on the side or front of the boat. You scan the water looking for this elusive shape. When you spot it, you must then thrust the spear and rock it back and forth to really catch the flounder.

The waiting is not a problem when you've got this to look at. I wish I could have captured all of the wildlife we saw. Herons in the water at night are breath taking. We also saw horseshoe crabs, needlefish, blue crabs, sea turtles, a stingray, and a lot of other crazy smaller fish that flew around the boat.

~

Capt. Mac can steer the boat, spot the fish, and catch them all at the same time. It's a skill.

Looking through this is a bit tricky at times.

Waiting.

Watching.

Wondering.

In the end, Jessica and Capt. Mac were the only ones that landed fish. The rest of us had near misses. This isn't typical, normally everyone catches one, but that's the sporting part. Just like with other things in life, if it comes too easy you might not appreciate it as much. The whole thing was so much fun. I would do it again. Call Capt. Mac if you're near Amelia Island, FL and feel like having an adventure.