Waiting for the Storm

We still have power while we wait for the brunt of Hurricane Sandy to hit.


For a moment, when I awoke this morning, I thought that the hurricane had passed us by...  that it was over.  The news, though, says otherwise.  So we have spent the day in a state of anticipation.  Waiting for this hurricane that is supposed to hit land tonight yet has already disabled our city.


The kids are out of school for what feels like indefinitely.  Unless, for some reason, the power outages and flooding don't happen, they will return Thursday at the earliest.


So we sit here in our house.  Waiting for the lights to go out.  Praying that our trees stay standing and our basement stays dry.  And that all those in more treacherous locations stay safe.

Our makeshift attempt to divert water away from our outside basement stairwell.
And we can't DO anything.  We can bake.  We can raise up our chest freezer in our basement, roll up the rug and place it on sawhorses, get things like mats and toys up off the floor and onto tables.  We keep the kids occupied and don't put on the news.  They get to watch movies and take over my studio - sewing baby sheep and doll clothes.  They eat pie for breakfast and brownies at 430.


We fill pitchers of water and stock the fridge with homemade pizza and apple crisp.

And wait...

Habit

I can make plans and resolutions and changes every day but what it really comes down to is: I just need to be happy with what I have.

Inspired by Habit.

How to Occupy Your Children #1: The EpiPen Trainer


The Dad's last set of EpiPens came with a training pen.  It acts like the real thing but without the needle so you can practice and feel what that little kickback feels like.  Ella added it to the first aid kit she made at Girl Scouts.  She and Ollie spent an afternoon pretending they were injecting themselves with epinephrine.



Sometimes it's the little things that keep them the busiest.

Construction Zone


The problem with living in a house that is over 100 years old is that the work on the house is never done.  We bought this house believing that there was 20 years of work to do on it and that we would probably be here for 20 years.  Now we have been here for 5 (in two weeks!) and we are not so sure we want to be here for another 15.  So that 20 years of work?  We are trying to cram it into two.


 And you can never just do one thing.  We needed to have some sidewalk panels replaced - In Philadelphia, homeowners are responsible for the sidewalk that borders their property - and the end of our driveway repaired...  And why not replace the front steps that are starting to crumble?  Oh - and if we're replacing the front steps, this is probably the best time to replace the front door so that the steps can be finished without the old door in the way.



So the old door was pulled out yesterday.  And The Dad leaves town today for a work conference in Puerto Rico...  Which means we have fabulouly beautiful plywood in place of our front door until he comes back.  Ahhh...  Living in a construction site.  It will all be beautiful when it is done.  But it is never as easy as you first think it is going to be.


Our new door is slightly wider than the existing opening.  And the existing opening is made much more solidly than we expected.  So I see some serious wood planing in my future.  Hopefully we can get the new door in by the end of the week.  Until then, the kids are having a fun time drawing and writing on the plywood.


While the masonry crew is here, I am holed up in the house which is actually helping me get some work done!  I am participating the Philly Waldorf School Holiday Fair again in November - my first show in a year- and have really been able to get revved up in my studio.


I'm making some new things to add onto a smaller collection of my old favorites.  This show tends to be better for smaller gifty items.  I'm really liking this new pencil roll.  It needs a little tweaking but it is almost there!  Then back to my Treasure Totes (that made the Holiday Fair postcard!) and a larger version that I'm calling Library Bags.  It's funny how what I make evolves as my kids grow.  Two years ago, I made tons of the Treasure Totes.  They were the perfect size for my 4 and 6 year olds.  Now they are a little older and need something a little bigger (though they still use the Treasure Totes as their snack bags for school) so voila - the Library Bag is born.  What will I be making when the are 8 and 10?