Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

Ahhhh....so good to finally make time to blog some of the things that have been going on lately. Not that there's been anything oh-so-exciting, but it's exhausting to have partially composed blog entries running through your head day after day.

My mom was here visiting for about a week and a half. It was wonderful to see her and we had a very relaxing time. She accompanied me on many an errand, took us to dinner, babysat the dog so we could sleep in...It was heaven. I definitely missed her when I came home from work to an empty house the day she left.

One highlight was a trip to the Tucson Botanical Gardens, where they're currently displaying a butterfly exhibit. It's supposed to be one of the better collections in the country. The temperature inside was about 90 degrees with 87% humidity. I felt like my skin was melting off and actually didn't last as long as my mom did. You get spoiled by the lack of humidity in Tucson. I also was kicking myself for forgetting my camera, but I remember that the Blue Morphos, from South America, was one of the species most aggressively flying around. Several landed on me. It was very cool. We also paid a visit to the Phoenix Zoo, where all the animals were sleeping, despite the fact that it was not a particularly hot day. I can't remember what this animal is called. Something that starts with a "C," according to the zoo. But I defy you to tell me that this is not an ROUS.
These turtles were really funny. The were all sunbathing on various logs in the pond, and everytime another swam up and tried to climb onto the log, the log would roll and they'd all fall off into the water. So cute.

After some initial shyness, Chewy fell in love with my mom. And his grandma spoiled him in traditional fashion. She bought him a duck before she left, complete with duck-call squeaker inside, which he has been loving non-stop.

In sewing news, there are a few pictures of things I'd made in December that I never posted because they were Christmas surprises. I think it's safe for the big reveal now that it's February. The first is an apron I made from a pattern--can't remember which at the moment, but leave a comment, if you'd like to know and I'll go find it. I made a couple for friends and one for myself. However, my BFF's SO commandeered hers for laundry folding. In his camo hat, pajama pants, and Ithaca is Gorges sweatshirt. It's a look.I would have sworn that it was Stardust Shoes from whom I got the idea to stitch scrapbooking ribbon onto onesies, but now that I'm looking for the entry with which to credit her, I can't find it. I'm so sorry, whomever I borrowed this idea from. If you think it's you, leave me a comment, and I'll credit you. Anyway, I made some for both Baby J and Baby S. Sorry the second picture is crappy. It took me a while to figure out how to do it well, and I fear, as first borns are always required to do, that Baby J is suffering through the crooked, far from perfect, prototypes whereas Baby S, being the second infant to arrive in my life, got the mastered versions. It ended up working best if I fused the ribbon to the onesie first with interfacing, then used a zigzag stitch on the border. I think Baby J grew out of his about a second after wearing them anyway, so that's alright. Although, Baby S has had some incidents with her as well, so what can you do?

Chewy's crate mat is still coming along, at a snail's pace. I'm just sewing on the binding, but, man, me and hand-stitching. It's painfully slow. As a parting shot, here's his best shag rug impression:

What I lack in frequency, regarding blog entries, I make up for in length, no? Not really the way I intended this blog to be, but that's my reality for now. Thanks for your patience, dear readers.