Migration.

The beautiful autumn foliage has passed. The trees are now dormant. The corn fields have been harvested. The chill of winter has arrived. And the birds are flying south...

And as I watch these birds take flight for their new (though temporary) homes in the sunny south, I think of our family's own upcoming migration... to the city. And I am filled with both joyful and fearful anticipation.

Surely, Bangor is not Boston or Detroit or even Nashua, NH. Yet, it comes with the same pluses and minuses of any city. There are wonderful museums and there is horrible traffic. There are sweet downtown bookshops and there are loads of "big box" stores. There are friendly faces and their are house break-ins.

But most importantly ... Bangor has family, Bangor has friends, Bangor has culture, and it is a wonderful compromise. We will still live on rural land ... where my Mom feeds the bears from her back porch (I am very serious). Yet we can travel 3 miles down the road to see the latest independent film.

But there are things I will miss about my country home of 10 years. And I will need some space for a little bit of mourning. But I won't miss the loneliness! And I am certainly ready for our "migration". I know it will be full of new adventures and blessings.

I can't wait to show you all some pictures :) Soon.

Love,

Jodi

And the Winner is ...

... well, before we get to the winner, let me first say that I HATE drawing names for raffles. I always wonder whether I did it right ... though I am not real sure how to do it wrong either. Anyway, I tried to get one of my favorite chickens, Nashua (a New Hampshire Red), to pick one of your names out of a dish ... but she sort of refused...

So, Isaac did the picking for me. And he picked SARAH!

Congratulations Sarah. I am going to mail you a goody out as soon as I get your home address (and as soon as I figure out which handmade item I think you would like best).

Thank you to all for participating. This was fun :) I am sure that I will do it again soon.

Love,

Jodi

Stay Tuned...

Tomorrow night, I will announce the winner of the "I Won Something & You Can Too" raffle.

So far, raffle participants are as follows:

Sarah
Cellobella
Kait
Missy
Amanda
Gail
Mandy
KB
Jodi
Paula
Nicole
Angela

Perhaps you would like to take the time to look at one another's sites. Thank you all for participating & especially for sharing my world. Good Luck Ladies!

And for those who haven't signed up for the raffle, IT IS NOT TOO LATE! Just leave a comment on this post. Thank you.

Love,
Jodi

Homemade Christmas :: Memory Game

I am still working on crafting all of my Christmas presents for this year. I just finished making this Memory Game for Isaac and thought I would share it with you all. I plan to make a few more for Etsy.

So, that is one more gift done and LOTS more to go :)



Love,
Jodi

A Walk to Remember.

Because we will not be living here for much longer, because our neighborhood is gorgeous in the fall, because we all needed a break from our house, because we wanted to say farewell to the migrating birds, and because we love one another and needed some quality time together .... we took a wonderful walk that we will always remember ...

For more great photos of our walk, please see our Flickr site.

I hope you are enjoying the outdoors where you are :)

Love,

Jodi

I Won Something & You Can Too!

My blogging friend, Paula, just awarded me this sweet Blogger Award. This is a first for me. And if you would like to learn more about it, please read this.

Thanks to all who read this blog! If you have yet to make yourself known, please do so in the comments section. I think I should make a contest out of this :)

I will draw a name from all the comments left on this post and send a lovely goody to the winner! Don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

Winner will be drawn on Oct. 26th. Good Luck!

Love to all,

Jodi

Yeah for Pumpkin Picking!

We did it, we entered into a fun fall activity. That post yesterday really gave me the *umphh* to schedule in some fun time with my little man. Thanks Paula for the inspiration also!

Right here in Corinna, we have this sweet little farm stand with all sorts of pumpkins. But if you choose to, you can go across the street to their pumpkin patch and pick your own for just $2.50 each. So, that is what we did. We chose four beauties, one for each of us plus Meg. It was a good time in the fresh crisp autumn air.

Oh ... and I have a funny story for you all too ... Isaac and I came to this farm stand about a month ago, just to buy a couple of pumpkins for the front porch. When we got out of the truck ... Isaac was amazed by all the pumpkins. He looked at one particularly large one ... mouth agape ... and exclaimed, "Oh sh*t Momma, that's a big one!" I replied, "It sure is Babe" and just smiled. That's my boy. He gets it from his Mom ... so how can I be angry? It is now the latest funny family story...being passed on from relative to relative.

So, join us my friends ... get out there and enjoy fall! (Unless of course, you live in Australia, then I suggest you get out there and enjoy summer :)

Love,

Jodi

Neglecting Fall.

I am the kind of person who used to wait all year for the coming of fall because it meant the following:

• crisp cool air
• photographing gorgeous fall leaves
• my birthday
• my anniversary
• friends by the bonfire
• pumpkin carving
• hot soups
• scarecrow making
• Halloween decorating (my favorite holiday)

But sadly, I have yet to be able to participate in most of the things I love best about fall. There was no birthday celebration, my husband and I both almost forgot our anniversary, not a single Halloween decoration has come out, no soups have been made, no pumpkins carved, and I have sorely missed out on photographing any fall scenes this year. Ugh. Of course, I have plenty of excuses, as my parents home burned down, my husband and I are helping them on a daily basis, we are trying to get our house ready for sale, I have been working on healing a medical issue (don't worry) and we are still working on my mother-in-laws estate issues. SO, we have plenty else going on!

But there is still time! I purchased some pumpkins, I took out the box of Halloween decorations, there are still leaves to be photographed, and I have plenty of ingredients to make a really good soup. There is hope!

So, I must remember to schedule in some fun time --- especially for Isaac --- so that he an experience all the joys of this season. I think a nice fall walk is in order .... provided we can wear enough blazing orange to avoid all the hunters nestled in the treetops (we ran into one yesterday on a short walk down the road). And it's time to carve some funky faces into those massive pumpkins on our porch. I'll be sure to share the photos :)

Love,

Jodi

Happy Birthday to Me.

And for my birthday (though she didn't realize it), my cousin Crystal just sent me these random pictures from her collection:

This is Halis, Isaac and me at my Cousin Jeff's wedding ... being loved on by my second cousins Ana and Lauren. By the way, Isaac's face is one of excitement ... not pain :)

And this is my Dad and my cousin Corey ... a little overcooked ... in Belfast, Maine.

Thanks Crys. It was a great Birthday ... spent doing my yearly birthday ritual (see previous post) ... but this time my parents, husband and Isaac all came along. And I was happy for that. Change is good.... and often ... and I have plenty of gray hairs to prove it. I am now 34 and looking forward to all the big numbers to come!

Enjoy your day!

Love,

Jodi

My Birthday Wish List.

I love my birthday! I love that it is my own unique day of coming into the world. And I often pretend that I was the only person ever born on this day, as it is mine, all mine :) I love the cool brisk air and the brilliantly colored trees that surround my special day. I love the special way that my husband kisses me on the morning of my birthday. I love it all. And soon - maybe in a year or two, I will fall in love with the very special birthday cards that my son will make me.

As it turns out, my birthday is this Sunday. I usually make a quite a big deal out of it on most years, and I always perform the same ritual each year ... a drive into Orono to drink a latte at Ampersands. Then a quick drive over to a nearby park on the river, where i sit on my favorite rock and just think about my past, present and future. Then as I head back to my car, I take a few photographs of the fall foliage and grab a few gorgeous leaves for my scrapbook. That's it. Simple, but sweet ...and again, mine all mine :)

This year, I am hoping to do the same even though our lives have been consumed by my parents fire and our getting ready to move. And usually, I also have a birthday party here at the house. But this year, that is definitely not going to happen. So, I thought I might indulge myself in creating a birthday wish list ... and maybe Halis and I can take the time to pick one out for me. So here goes:

I would love to be blessed with the following goodies:

Gocco Japanese Printing Press for Paper & Fabric
Can be found at here and here.

And can be learned about here.

An industrial snap press. Though I really don't know where to find one. I have found plenty of grommet presses, but that is not what I am looking for. The tool shown above is the snap press.

I have her companion book: Last-Minute Fabric Gifts and would love to try out this one.

Can be found here.

This gorgeous handmade necklace charm by an incredible Etsy artist.

The Ultimate Screen Printing Kit. Can be seen here.

Not a bad list, eh?

So, although there will be no party ... and although my husband has not had a single moment to even think about my birthday, I think I am going to indulge in one or more of the above items --- to celebrate another year of living and the anniversary of the day my Momma brought me into this world :)

Thank you Mom. And thank you Universe for the good life I have been blessed with. And thank you, Me, for the awesome gift that you are soon going to bestow upon yourself :)

Love,

Jodi

Anyone Want To Buy a Charming House in the Country?

After all my endless internal debates about whether or not I should raise my son in the quiet solitude of the country or in the heart of the city, I think I have found the perfect solution ... or rather, it found me. My parents' fire is what initiated a whole new (quite unexpected) option for us. To make a long story quite short - Halis, Isaac and I will be moving to my parents' land (very country setting of 16 acres surrounded by a State protected forest) in Bangor (aka: The city).

I am so very excited about this! And when I share the details in a later post, I think you will understand why. For now, we are getting our house ready for sale. So, again, I ask you: Anyone want to buy a charming house in the country? Just $130, 000 and its yours :) I will even throw in some chickens!

Love,
Jodi

A Letter to My Husband:

Dear Halis,

Yesterday made 12 years of marriage for us. And neither one of us is surprised. This was meant to be. And as you put it, "I look forward to the next 12 years too".

Because we are both so darn busy right now (helping my parents, trying to move, selling off your Mom's estate, etc) we almost let this anniversary pass us by. We both felt a little guilty about that, but we know that it takes more than an anniversary date & gift to create an amazing marriage. So we made love instead ... not a bad way to celebrate for sure :)

But we got busy with other things right after, and there were a few things that I wished I had said to you while we had some brief moments together. So, I will attempt to say them now ....

First, I want to thank you for the way you love me ... the way you always think of me ... and always put us first. You are a man who understands that a relationship is ever evolving and that you have to "work at it" to be sure that it is functioning at it's highest level. I so appreciate that ... because Lord knows, I am constantly "evolving" (I am sure you could find another word for that!) and so a man would have to be forever on his guard to figure out what is currently expected of him :)

And Halis, you are just the right blend of masculinity and tenderness. That is your charm. I will be forever drawn to that (as others have also been - thanks for warding them off Babe!). And you are so protective of your family ... one day I cried over the fact that a fox had eaten one of my chickens, and the next weekend you single-handedly built a fence around our entire acreage. That is just one example of that blend of masculinity and tenderness.

You also know how to weather the storms between us. You have learned the fine art of arguing with me while still making sure that I feel loved by you. That took alot of work over the years, for both of us. But I am glad to say that we can now effectively argue with one another. (That is a good thing, right?) And our marriage is better for it.

And as I told you over 12 years ago, your greatest selling point as a potential husband was that I knew you would make the greatest Dad. And you are. You love Isaac with wild abandon. And he and I both know that you would do anything to keep him safe, secure and thriving. You are such an amazing role model for him. You show him how a man should be ... loving beyond measure, hardworking, loyal to family, tender toward his wife, interested in life, respectful to others, playful and oh so many other good things! I could not have hand created a better father for my son. Thank you.

And oh, oh, oh, there are those moments that you look into my eyes ... and I see just how smittten you are with me too. And ooohhhh that melts me. There is just so much to say about all the reasons I am so glad we married one another 12 years ago. But I will end them here (for now) and just thank you for one more thing ... Thank you for being so damn sexy too! You are getting sexier with age :)

I love you so much. I hope you feel it.

Happy Anniversary,
Jodi

For Mom :: For Etsy

Mom loves pumpkins all year round. I made this bag to cheer her during this chaotic time in her life.

I made 3 of the following Mermaid bags. I just love these! I will be selling 2 on Etsy and giving one as a gift. They will be $20 each. I will post them asap. ( They have now been posted to my Etsy shop - see right column of this page). The fabric at the top of the tote is some sweet vintage stuff I got from my Mother-in-Law's estate. I hated to cut into it, but it looks so perfect on this bag. I hope they find good homes.

Happy Sewing.
Love,
Jodi

Saved From the Fire.

My dad found an undeveloped roll of film that was saved from the fire. He dropped it off for one hour processing and found that it contained photos of Isaac's first day spent with Grandma while Mommy went for a day "out".

I didn't even know these pictures existed and now I am so glad to have them.

Just another blessing in a sea of many :)

Love,
Jodi

Daddy - the Hockey Hero.

Isaac LOVES to watch his "Daddy play friends, Momma".

Daddy looking so manly in his hockey gear. Well, at least Momma thinks so :)

Daddy working hard.

It is lonely in the stands at 9:30 pm!

Daddy hopes that Isaac follows in his footsteps. Mommy is "begging Jesus" that he does not.
I think ballet or chess club are better choices.

Love, Jodi

P.S. My parents are doing fine. We have made much progress with insurances, the demolition of the house, the salvaging of items, etc. All will be well. Thank you for the well wishes and support!