Back to the routine....

Hope y'all had a great Easter. I know we did. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend! after a dinner picinic in the park on Thursday evening, The Big Guy and I spent the day together on Friday, just the two of us enjoying each other's company. We arrived home to find our saucer magnolia tree had burst into full bloom while we were out for the day. (Yep, it happens just that fast. Unfortunately, the blossoms are already beginning to fall off.) Saturday, we attended a family party celebrating twins turning 2. Turned out to be the first cookout of the season. That grilled burger tasted great!! We had dinner with the family on Sunday and spent a leisurely day just sitting around chatting. (That's where I got those pretty flowers !!)

Oh yeah, I spent a few frantic hours both Friday and Saturday night, making candy! Somehow, I got it all done, though.

I feel like I neglected both my online shop (Splashin) and this blog for the last week or so. I got busy with orders, birthday presents to be made and candy making. Something had to give. (I'd already given up sleep!!) I resolved to get back on track and list something new in the shop each day of April. Well, I messed up on that goal already!!

I did get the cupcake apron and potholder set listed tonight. That actually counts as three listings as you can buy them as a set of apron and potholders or just the apron or just potholders. They're just the start of all those food oriented items I was making. Look for more later this week. (You can check it out here.)

So, what was keeping me busy all week?

I made a beautiful skirt for a custom order. It's ankle length, made of lightweight cotton/polyester suiting fabric and features fish all around it. I was really pleased with the finished product. I haven't decided whether to add it to my regular merchandise line yet. (I often get new product ideas from custom orders.)

I needed presents for those 2-year-olds, too. For the boy, I came up with an underwater baseball themed outfit:

I'll definitely be adding this one to the shop! (The family tots are often the inspiration for new

products for my shop.)

For the female half of the pair, I did something a little more artsy - a painting octopus! I haven't decided if this will make its way into the shop or not.

There are other items I was working on, too. It was a very busy 10 days or so. I'll be adding some of those things to the shop and some were simply for custom orders.

Hope y'all are having a great start to Spring, too.

Grandma's Apron

Like most of you, I get tons of humorous e-mails each day. I use very few for blogpost fodder but I just love this one and really feel compelled to share it with all of you. By the way, should you be inspired to buy an apron when all is said and done, I do have a few in my etsy shop. (Just sayin"...) I have also used it as a means of introducing y'all to another great blogger and her shop.

The History of Aprons

I don't think our kids know

what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to

protect the dress underneath,

because she only had a few.

It was easier to wash aprons than dresses

and they used less material,

but along with that,

it served as a potholder for removing

hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears,

and on occasion, was even used for

cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs,

fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs

to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons

were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold,

Grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,

bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that
apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the Fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents

something that will replace that "old-time apron"

that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:


Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.


They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron,

except maybe a little Love and Caring !

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Guess what? Aprons seem to be making a come back! They are once again readily available in the market place. BUT, some of the best I've seen are featured in a great etsy shop called Aprons and More. I'll share just a few pics of those beautiful handmade aprons here but, please, go and look for yourself.

Don't need an apron at the moment, but looking for a good read?

Check out her blog here. From her home in "middle" Georgia this great woman shares a warm loving look at family life, sharing the adventures of such characters as Sweet Mama, Skippy and Beau, among others. (By the way, Beau is one of those 4-footed, furry family members. You know the kind, they think they rule the world!)

Another day at the winery and more new merchandise

Oh, Wow! What a fantabulous day! The weather could not be better.

Once again we went to a music thing at a winery! (We must be becoming winos!!) Actually, we only went through one bottle between us. (And it was a different winery!)This time we were at Boordy Vineyards in northern Baltimore County (MD). You can bring in anything non-alcoholic, so we also had water, iced tea and sodas. The Big Guy's brother and s-i-l joined us and a couple of friends of hers. There was live Jimmy Buffet style music and several thousand of our closest friends! In fact, one of our "bestest" friends, seated next to us, shared some yummy homemade peanut butter fudge! (Actually, we all just met her when she passed
the tray with the fudge but we now love her. The fudge was terrific!)

A local creamery was there with fantastic, smooth and delicious ice cream. The Big Guy couldn't resist and bought us all some to share. Those little plastic spoons couldn't cut it (no pun intended) for dipping, so they used a knife. We literally stabbed chunks of the ice cream to get it out and, for lack of bowls, we filled our wine glasses with ice cream. (No, we didn't make floats but it was discussed.) Hey, go with whatever it takes!

Okay, some did use regular plastic cups but I had mine in a wine glass!!

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More new stock:

I did promise pics of more new products. I just posted this one in the shop today. It's official title is Hungry Kitty Apron. For details, click here. Let me know what you think of it.

Since all work and no play, makes for a really dull existence. I'm signing out and going out to play for a while.

Y'all have a great one!!!

“A cat is there when you call her, if she hasn’t got anything better to do.” Bill Adler

My S.C. hostess was the first recipient of one of my newest products - my cat lover’s apron. (This will appear on my etsy shop later this week.) Please check it out.

Remember: A house without a cat is just a house and who wants that?

(I, myself, am a dog person but I have mostly cat people for friends. Just proves, opposites DO attract!)

I am slowly adding some “non-child” related items as none of us are sure what will become of our children’s lines once the new CPSIA goes into effect. Keep checking the shop for my new adult clothing line (I’ve actually been doing these for a while but simply did not offer them online.) I expect to be adding numerous aprons in the coming weeks, also. I’m also rolling up my sleeves and “inventing” some additional “grown up” merchandise.

So, please, stay tuned…