YIPPEE!

YIPEEEE! School is out for Easter Break and I am very excited!

(Image by Kelly Reemtsen, I'm Not Falling For You, "Yippee" added by Jennifer Michie)

*Kelly Reemtsen is an artist I have only recently discovered and I really enjoy her work. This series in particular where surreal headless 1950's/60's clad women, holding everyday household and gardening objects fill the canvas before you. I love the differing shades of yellow used in the above image, it is so simple, yet so complex.

Round the Buses

We take the bus into school most mornings and pretty much every evening, unless we miss it and then we walk home breathing in all the goodness of fall (tonight I smelt my first fire of the season, the air was crispy and the woody mossy smell of logs crackling, was dancing through the air as we waited at our stop).

As we stand at our stop in the morning, our breath clinging in puffs before us, it is quiet, tranquil. Everyone around us still seems to be asleep just running on auto-pilot.  The bus driver turns up, and as we are stepping on board he has our tickets printed already a few cheery "Good Mornings" and we take our seats.

You see the same people, a little nod and smile to some, others don't care to be bothered. The bus is quiet, there is no talking, everyone appears to be mentally preparing themselves for the day ahead.

This, however, is not the case on the afternoon bus. Our bus driver is not a happy camper by any means, I greet her with a friendly "Hello!" and get either grunts or no acknowledgement in reply. She usually has a terse word with someone over nothing and she drives like a maniac.

It is like being on a rollercoaster ride, today my stomach was doing flips by the time we got home, from all the twisting and turning and short stopping and almost hitting people, animals, cars. I just hold my breath.

We have been back at school for two weeks now and she has not changed, her attitude seems to be stuck to her like glue, but I refuse to bend! I will continue to be as cheery as always and continue to tell her "Hello!" whether she likes it or not!

As Anne of Green Gables said, "I refuse to be poisoned by your bitterness!" and I think that can also go for being jaded. I refuse to be jaded by someone because they have a sour disposition about the world. I have my own thoughts, beliefs, dreams and I refuse to let them be destroyed by someone who has no imagination. Because to have no imagination must be the most unhappiest of existences I could dream of!

Whew! Ok, hold on...I am stepping down now and putting my soapbox away...

Mid Act

Well, this past week has left me feeling like I have been caught mid-act! I can see the bar I need to grab and I am reaching out for it and going to hold on tight as I swing into week 2.  I have been busy every day tidying, organizing, assisting the department and finding new things to catalogue that I plan to photograph.

One of my faves this week was a something I spied behind the door of a colleagues room. It was a  commissioned piece she created out of an old book for a library. It was beautifully done and the way it was imagined and executed left me feeling like Alice about to tumble down into the "rabbit hole" of this book. This is a work of art that will feature on In the Art Cupboard and she has kindly agreed to let me discuss her work in a blog piece here on Jenny Wren's, which I plan to do in the near future.

The gentle jazz crooning of Nat King Cole's "Your Nobody till Somebody Loves You" is beckoning me into the kitchen to dance with Mr. Michie, while we make dinner and enjoy the last lingering drops of sunshine as evening falls...

P.S. I bought my first Fall item this weekend. A little pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket to put on my desk and fill with candy for my cupboard visitors, I can't wait for October!

("Breathless" by G. Elvgren)

What's for Lunch?

In keeping with my Back-to-School theme and the oilcloth lunch bags I wrote about the other day, I thought I would do a post on the ever important lunch box! This was one of the most crucial decisions made at the beginning of the school year! Which one did you choose?

My sister lives near a wonderful hole-in-the-wall restaurant with sandwiches to die for and it is completely filled with treasures. One of the many is a collection of lunch boxes, one of my favorite being a vintage Mary Poppins tin lunch box, and I know I would have chosen that one if I had it as an option, the pinks and blues in it are so happy.

I used to have a She-Ra lunch box one year, she was just so cool, and I had a plaid tin one with a little matching thermos. Some of my husband's favorites were his Transformers, Star Wars and the most important of all a He-Man Master of the Universe lunch box, even then we were meant to be together, me with She-Ra & him with He-Man.

I love the old tin boxes they are so much nicer than the plastic ones today, and so much more durable! I think your lunch just tasted better out of the box, especially if it included a smiley face note from your Mom, and an oatmeal cream pie like mine would!

I could have used one of my Mom's notes today, it has been a long week, but I got something better; a wonderful Back-to-School package from her that was a treasure trove of delights! Did you have a favorite lunch box?

*The image of the 3 women is a Flickr picture found on dlundbech's Flickr page, the woman in the middle is Ana Grimshaw and this photo was taken around 1900 in Vermont. I have no idea who Ana Grimshaw is, but she was beautiful, vivacious, and has breathtaking Anne of Green Gables Gibson Girl hair. She looks like a hell of a gal to have a picnic with!

(All images found on Flickr)

Oilcloth Lunch Bags

I love oilcloth. I love the feel of it. Especially the really nice oilcloth, that is like waxed fabric, I used to work in an interior design store and we had the most scrumptious Swedish oilcloth that had that lovely "waxed fabric" feel.

I adore the vintage oilcloth that is available now, reflecting the quaintness of 1940's/50's kitchens. I can just see June Cleaver now with her adorable cherry and polka dot oilcloth or her summer fruits oilcloth with its vibrant blue background laid out on her kitchen table, can't you?

In honour of going "back-to-school" and to pay homage to oilcloth I am doing a feature today on "Oilcloth Lunch Bags" I found on the Martha Stewart site. So, gather your materials from my class "handout" and get ready to just have fun:

You will need:

Oilcloth (pattern of your choice)
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Thread
Velcro or a clothespin


Lunch Bag How-To
The same oilcloth that covers your kitchen table can transport your children's lunches -- or your own -- in leak-free style. These reusable bags will cut back on waste since they can simply be washed with a damp sponge (oilcloth is not washing-machine safe). Use a single print for the whole bag, or cut out complementary patterns or solid colors for side panels. You can attach small Velcro tabs to hold the bags closed, or clip the tops with colorful wooden clothespins.

Cut main piece 29 1/2 by 8 inches and two side panels, each 12 1/4 by 5 inches.
1. Fold long panel, inside out, into U shape with 5-inch bottom.

2. Make 1/4-inch cut at bottom corners of side and middle pieces so bag folds smoothly. Sew-in side panels, leaving 1/4-inch seam allowance.

3. Turn right side out and top-stitch all around, 1/8 inch from edge.

The most important thing to remember while doing this is to use your imagination and just have fun!

I have my eye on some Cath Kidston oilcloth in my beloved "Provence Rose" pattern and as soon as I can get my hands on it, I plan to make my own lunch bag, perhaps with a vintage button to close it with!

(All images and directions are copyright Martha Stewart, for the original article please click here)

The gorgeous Oilcloth.com store are one of my favourite supplies and they have a whole variety of patterns to choose from!

Back To School

Tomorrow is my first full week at school. I jumped in last week and now I am just swimming around, not sticking too close to the edge, I have thrown myself into the deep end and I am just fine, for the moment anyway.

I have plans this week to do more cleaning in the cupboard, just taking it a section at a time. In going through a pile on Thursday (it cascaded down when I went to reach for something above) I discovered some treasures from China. There were little paintings, bought in a market, a box of two shadow puppets and a few packets of tissue paper wrapped intricately designed paper cut-outs including circus figures, the New Year's animals and a selection of Oriental women.

I cleaned the other half of my "hallway", so now there is an easy path inside, with no tripping, twisting, or contorting to get through into the main part of the cupboard. So, tomorrow I will be donning my green apron, rolling up my sleeves and getting back to work!

In celebration of going back to school I will be doing a small series this week of "Back-to-School" posts, so keep a look out for ideas and projects that I will feature here!

I Jumped

Well, I jumped! And, the water was just fine!

Today was very busy, with a major learning curve I had to quickly climb up! My day was spent in and out of meetings, I worked in my cupboard in between, unpacking supplies. I love the smell of pastels and charcoal and inks. It was a treat to open those boxes, the first person to touch the beloved Art supplies before they become a muddled rainbow of used things.

There is much more to learn, but that will come in time, I know. For it wouldn't be an Adventure if you already knew the journey at the start! As Anne with an "E" says:

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"  -L.M. Montgomery

The best part of my day was the end. I was picked up by Mr. Michie and arm in arm he walked me to the bus stop and then home we went! I felt just like Anne of Green Gables with her Gilbert Blythe.

Jumping Right In

Tomorrow is my first day of school! I am so excited, nervous, happy, sick to my stomach! I love school and I hate school. I know I am going there in a working capacity, but I feel as if I will be walking through those doors like any other student, the new kid(s) on the block.

Believe it or not, I am a very shy person and meeting new people and being in new situations give me butterflies. Even the thought of being introduced to my peers at Assembly on Wednesday morning has my stomach churning and my cheeks flaming red, for all of the 10 seconds it will take to occur. But, you would never know it from looking at me.

My parents have always taught my sister and I how to behave, we were never allowed to hide behind them and not speak to people; making eye contact, a nice handshake, they have a gift for putting people at ease, my parents and they instilled good manners in us.

So come tomorrow morning, I am going to make eye contact, shake hands, hold my head high and no one will never know that a three ring circus is going on inside my tummy. I'm holding my nose, here I go... I'm jumping right in!

Back to School

Where has the Summer gone? It doesn't seem like there has been much of one this year, it has all whirled by too fast! I still can't get used to how short the English Summer Holiday is; a little more than a month off from school just does not feel long enough for me! It always seems so promising at the beginning, this vast space of time ahead of you, but it quickly disappears.

Last night in preparation for the big day, the usual routines started again: I made sure there was no specific laundry that needed to be done for today, got the Emma Bridgewater Dinosaur lunchbox out from the pantry and put in the banana, freshly made rice-krispie treat, and potato chips (the sandwich came today) along with a little love note.

When my mom made my lunch and she hid a note in there for me, well, those were special days. That was the thing that always made a difference in your day, the one thing that could turn a blue day sunny again opening your lunch box or sometimes brown bag and finding that note tucked inside. Happiness is....

The house is too quiet today, I am more than ready for 3:40 to roll around and I will have noise once more. Here's to the First Day of School!