MIA in May, apparently

An entire month escaped me. I apologize. It might be the combination of Mother's Day (which seems that much more difficult to "enjoy" without my Mommers here) and Memorial Day (away from my dad, for whom this is a charged day both professionally and personally; made harder in that my Mommers is buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery alongside many fallen soldiers).

I apologize for anyone who clicked over here and wondered where I was. I can't even say that I've been whipping up a load of crafts. Right now (5 June) I am thinking of end-of-year teacher gifts to show appreciation and what I will do to keep my precious little Vs from making me batty with their bickering. I guess I should return to reading "Siblings without Rivalry" and listen to a few more CDs on practicing "Love and Logic". And I should get to work on my projects for Convention 2012. I've got a Studio J assignment from CTMH. And I have roomies...

Hey, I still have a few gifts I need to ship out based on a promise that I would send homemade items to people. And thank you notes to get to my friends who helped me when I couldn't walk or was too sick to cook. It's been a bad spot these past couple of weeks. Made worse by a little virus called Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease. I particularly loved the CDC information page that indicated that there are people out there with this who have absolutely no symptoms. No wonder it spreads. Fear not, I've had every symptom. In spades. So at least you know not to kiss me!

Let's see if I have some image worth posting before I close. I've got a visual side too! Nothing to do with paper crafting, but more with my purpose. Here we are, celebrating Mother's Day by taking a hike on Squak Mountain. I really appreciated that both my Vs were able to manage it on their own feet. And I also appreciated the great brunch we had at A Terrible Beauty in Renton. For me, the day was about spending time with my family. But I want to be a little "productive" when we're together. The hike was a good way of combining these goals. (The Sunday Bloody Mary Sunday at brunch was a good way to remember some other things too!) In case you're wondering, I changed between brunch and the hike. I think we all did, except maybe Matt's shirt....