Love 3 :: Things

Ah, blessed antibiotics. They have done their intended job and rescued our household from the tyranny of infection, maladies have taken backseat though there is still green snot flying out of noses and mouths during coughing fits. The twins no longer cling to our bodies, instead putter about with their cars and trucks. I feel doubly blessed as Tim's second night of graveyard shift was just canceled. Hallelujah. Time to reflect on another thing I LOVE.

My Love today? Shallow but it is of THINGS. I try not to love things too much as I would like to claim to not be a heavy contributor to all things capital and material but sometimes Target gets the better of me. It did this week as I strolled about looking for distractions during the pharmacy wait. As a general rule and since the boys graduated from infancy, we steer clear of the place as the Temptations are great, the Will weak. But there are times when I break...at least this week it was for a good message.

I ran into these sweet plates and cups on a strategically placed end cap.


I love them for the message but also because there are so many letters on them. Letters have become a popular thing in the house, the boys have no real concept of the alphabet in order yet, but they love 'reading' and guessing at the letters and sounds, etc. So I picked up a few of these nicely heavy acrylic or something plates and have spent the week so far decorating them with berries and just feeling generally happy whenever I have to wash them.


The cups are pretty cute too, wouldn't you say?


I also find myself quite smitten by our apple peeler.

We picked this up at William Sonoma, a place I rarely (if ever) frequent. I looked it up before we went in so I knew we were getting a good deal. It was a great buy at 28 or so dollars and feels like the real thing, heavy with metal and rivets but easy to hold in place with a suction cup bottom. It makes quick work of apple peeling and lets the boys easily and safely get in the fun. They peeled, I chopped and we made a quick and easy applesauce to eat this week.

I find the apple sauce tastes great if you add apple juice instead of water during the stove top cooking process, it gives it a nice sweetness without too much sugar.

And then there is this fabric.

It is a scrap from my friend Lori, found in a box of 'gives' that she left with me upon her return to Canada. I have held onto it and wanted to do something with it, stumped by its slender scrappy cut. And then I realized it would fit with the 4" squares that have been cut and sewn and are slowly becoming a Scrappy Summer quilt. I am in love with the quilt though it is only in 2 square pieces right now. It feels like all these little pieces are coming together, some so entwined in my memory to pieces I have sewn and given, or people that I know and love. I think in part that is why quilters love what they do....it means something, means so much.

So, I guess today it is okay to be in LOVE with things. Sometimes it seems like they mean so much more than that, they become vehicles to help us express, help us remember, help us hold close that which we love. (Which still does not excuse my Target lapse... of which I am repenting and self-flagellating).