Family Photo Friday: Dear Old Dad

Has it been two weeks? Oops. Life has really gotten in the way -- Henry is officially difficult (no longer sleeping through the night, no longer napping, getting teeth...), Ruby has been sick, school's starting in a week, I have a work assignment I have to do, the second season of Dexter is out on DVD... I swear there will be a post-Labour Day blogging extravaganza. Really.

Anyway, yesterday my strange but lovable father turned 65. He is officially a senior citizen, no longer in the age of majority. He's had his share of health problems over the years, so we're all glad that he made it to his golden years in relatively good health. Above is a picture of Dad when he was nine months old. He wouldn't like me saying this, but this picture pretty much looks like someone photoshopped his current head onto the body of a very sturdy baby. Happy birthday, big guy.

Is it gross that I'm letting Henry keep himself occupied right now by chewing on my bedroom slipper. And he just vomited on it. Great.

33 RPM

Yeah, more thrift stuff today -- it seems like a far less popular topic than craft, judging from the lack of comments around these parts, but that might just be summer for you. Either way, it's all I've been up to and I want to make at least some attempt of posting through the summer, so here I am and here it is.

Today is my 33rd birthday and Aaron got me the best present a girl could hope for: a day of being me. You know, the old me, the pre-kids me, the me who didn't have to carry a bucket carseat and a diaper bag while managing the hand of a three-year-old at all times. It started with a morning of yard and estate sales, which he'd researched in advance so that I could hit as many good ones as possible before rushing home to nurse Henry. The first place I hit was truly amazing -- a couple about my age were thinning out their massive vintage collection and almost everything they had was right up my alley. I spent about $50, buying some stacking stools, more Fire King bowls, a Fire King casserole, a Fire King mug and the cake stand you see below.

The cherry on top, though, was the Fisher-Price record player at the top of the page. Oh my, I actually stopped breathing when I saw it. And they had loads of kids' records too, so I picked up a pile of oldies, but goodies for Ruby. It was awesome. I also stopped at a couple others and got a great cookie jar and some bintage Christmas ornaments. It was so great.


Then, after feeding my little dude, I was off to a massage at a fancy-pants spa. Then dinner out with Aaron and the kids, with friends waiting to surprise me at the restaurant. The whole day was genius on Aaron's part. And then we were home in time to see Michael Phelps win his eighth gold medal. On my birthday.

Vacation Pyrex Mania

Well, it's turning out to be a hot and lazy August. I'm thinking that this space will be more of a "lookie what I found" kind of place rather than a "lookie what I made" thing, though Henry is getting into a more predictable sleeping pattern these days, giving me a bit of free time. Plus there's all that sitting on the couch time that comes with the Olympics. Don't get me wrong, I'm not too jazzed about the whole human rights in China thing, but I can't stop my Olympic fever.

Anyway, I really hit the Pyrex jackpot when we went on vacation. In a big way. In our two week trip I hit an amazing (and very very cheap) island thrift shop, a big city flea market, an amazing junk store in the middle of nowhere and was blessed by Aaron's sister's girlfriend, who is downsizing her own massive Pyrex collection.


In addition to the Friendship casserole (lid pictured above) and the amazing Fire King bowls you see here, I picked up these additional FK bowls, a couple of refrigerator boxes, some more Butterfly Gold to add to my set, a couple of solid bowls, six mugs and, best of all, a special Christmas bowl. Amazing. And incredibly boring if you're not into Pyrex. Now I have to find a place to put all of this stuff before Aaron tries to throw it out. Eep!

So that I don't forget...

While on vacation, Ruby made up an imaginary baby for herself. Not a doll, but an invisible baby that she cradled in her arms and shared her vacation with. The baby's name was... Gentleman Butt. According to his tiny mother, he is now a grown man and is on a vacation of his own. The end.

Vacation

Back from vacation. Over the past two weeks, I: drove for many miles; stayed in a motel with two kids; introduced the baby to his extended family and watched their faces light up; ate ice cream; road the ferry; took a hike; inhaled the ocean air; ate fish and chips; met some dogs; watched Ruby splash; ate fish and chips again; went to the flea market; slept in a trailer on a friend's orchard; visited an amazing junk shop; swam in a lake; sat in a hot tub; was thankful for all the amazing people we know.