New Bees!


we picked up our package of italian bees last saturday from beez neez apiary in snohomish.  We hived them on the same perfect northwest spring sunshiney day.



i had my 8 year old helper with me and it's a good thing i did.  you can never have enough hands during hiving.



in this three pound package the bees are clustered all around their queen.

 

here are some hive parts in our field

 

jasper is spraying the bees with sugar water to keep them calm while we prepare to hive them.  the jars full of sugar water will feed them when they are hived and until they are ready to forage on their own.

one more spray before we pull the queens cage out.

the sugar water can, inside the box, has to be taken out to slide the queen cage out.

here is the queen in her cage



here i am pulling out the tiny cork that holds her in so we can direct release her.



the feeding can had been replaced while we released the queen.  so now i am prying it out again to dump the bees in their new home.



the bees are calm from the sugar syrup and they don't just all swarm out at once.  you actually have to shake them out.



dumping the bees



the top box is just hiding the jars of sugar syrup the bees will be feeding on.  soon the top box will be full of frames that have foundation wax for the bees to build their comb on and fill up with honey and brood.



happy bees coming and going on a lovely northwest afternoon.

all the shipments of bees and queens were delayed this year because of the bad weather in california, where they come from.  so our carniolan bees wont be here for a couple more weeks. 
i had enough equipment to start two hives this year.  excited about that.  maybe, finally, i'll get some honey to make my elderberry mead in the fall.  yum!

off to portland, oregon on the train to stay at the ace hotel and see the head and the heart,
xoxox
jennette





Vintage Sewing Cards

by Hazel

what do y'all know about these sewing cards?


the back

how old do you think they are?


bear

i have had some before that seemed just as old.


bear, back

I found these on Etsy but they are very cutesy...

mine seem older...



fish

are they mid-century?


fish, back

could they be turn of the last century?


crown

could they be Edwardian?


crown, back

could they be Victorian?


candle

i wonder how old Hazel was when she did these.


candle, back

did her mom help her?


bird house

or her big sister?


birdhouse, back

did she make them in school?


fishing

or by a cozy fire at home?


fishing, back

did you ever have sewing cards?


fish bucket

i don't remember having sewing cards.


fish bucket, back

i'm just curious.

girl

i just wonder.


girl, back

*****

working on some vintage tapestry bags when i have time to sew.  but mostly working in the yard to get it ready for our big music-fest birthday party in June.  we had a stage built!  and the gardens are starting to look fabulous.  finally.

xoxoxox
jennette




Painted Bus

saw this cool painted bus at the grocery store the other day

love seeing artistic expression like this in the rural suburbs

looked like someone could be living in it

what a fun adventure you could have going across country in this!

plenty of space to bring your friends and collect your junk!

this section offers me inspiration for the '61 vintage Fireball, which will be getting a new creative paint job soon.  can't wait!
and i will have updates on the interior progress as well.
you'll be amazed!

xoxox
trying to stop being sick
jennette



Peacock Bag

hi friends!  long time, no post! 
sorry for the bad photos here.  bad lighting.
this is a short, squat, square bag i made from an embroidered peacock runner.
close-up of the peacock embroidery.  there was on one on each end of the runner so i intended to make them into pockets on a bag.
this is the table runner

here is a photo of the inside of the bag.  i used a vintage floral to line the bag and a linen napkin for the inside pocket.

silly self-portrait of me sewing the bag

inside view

i placed the pockets on the end of the bag.  one on each end.  and used some of the left over fringe from the runner to go across the top of each pocket.  i just used some old canvas for the main bag body.

i used a woven fabric strap for the handle.  for some reason i always seem to find these at sales and now have quite a collection to keep using for straps.  you might remember i used one here for the oil painting tote bag.  anywho, this will be for sale soon.  either in my Etsy or down at the shop.  have at it!

off to a dear friends moving away party and trying not to cry,
xoxox
jennette


Suspender Overalls


i found this awesome pair of overalls at the thrift last month.  they had some old stretched out elastic material attached to the strap.  someone did a home job on these.  here is the old elastic strap material:

the blue and white stripes match the overalls but i like the contrast of the straps i used to replace the old ones.  blue and green.  the new straps were born from an old pair of suspenders i had in my stash.  these ones still had some good elastic to them.


i've been wearing my overalls all over town!  they are super comfy and good for working on my bee hives or in the studio.  i can dress them up or dress them down.  i love me a good pair of vintage overalls!


back to work,
xox
jennette


Spring Break 2011

                            
self portrait near the pool at the Copper Queen in Bisbee

the kids and i are back in Arizona for spring break again, staying in my dad's condo.  and we are so excited to be here because our dear friends Jeremy, Kirsten and Clary are visiting Tucson too.  so we get to explore together in other cities besides Seattle!  Kirsten's dad also has a condo here and although we have both been coming to Tucson, to our dads' condos, for many spring breaks now, it has never fallen on the same week.  but this time it did, so yeah for us!

here are jeremy, kirsten and clary as we prepare to leave an incredible outdoor antique show/flea market that i found.  Jer, Kirsten and i live for stuff like this!  this sale happens the first sunday of every month except may-sept since its TOO HOT.  more on the market later.  it was near 90 degrees by the time we left.  jeremy stayed behind and the five of us: kirsten, clary, gus, jasper and i headed to Bisbee and Tombstone.


It's easy to hang out with friends you've known for close to 20 years.  Clary and August have grown up together, and now goof-off like polite cousins or annoying siblings, thanks to Jeremy and Chad being good friends since high school.  Kirsten and i were instant friends when we met 16 years ago, young moms with an artistic bent and a passion for interesting junk!

k and i with big toothy grins.  when i get home i will scan our western outlaw photo we had done.  good times!


Kirsten is super talented and i am honored to be BFF with her.  she is an amazing actress.  she has her own theatre/production company.  he is a fantastic photographer.  she's a genius with writing.  she's the calm, cool, collected mom of a teenage girl.  and she's authentic and inspiring.  yeah, basically she rocks!  So i am always happy and thrilled to spend time with her.


kirsten and i both love odd, unusual, peculiar, strange, different, weird, interesting "things" so it was a no-brainer that we would want to explore an old mining town and stay in a haunted hotel. 
it's not everyones cup of tea but we were wishing and hoping for ghosts and spirits, at the Copper Queen in Bisbee, in a major way. 


Jasper swears we were visited by Billy the 8 year old ghost on floor 4.  well.  how else do you explain the room door opening up, over and over again, and his dimes and nickles being spread out on the bedside table in a different configuration than how he had left it before passing out the night before?  huh?!  how do you?! 


after shopping, eating, wandering and sleeping in Bisbee, we headed to tombstone.  yes.  THE Tombstone.  it was hot, dry and dusty, just like you'd expect.  it was for real!  the real deal!

it's a trough silly, not a coffin

love the peel-y-ness

the horses looked too hot.  and so were we.

ok.  who does this to a baby girl?

or this?  well.  kinda funny

bandits

enter at your own risk

inside bird cage theatre

dusty old books.  the best kind.

teenagers swingin in the desert

love old font and typography

and some more

and more

plumb tuckered out

the southwest is pretty rad!  if you ever get a chance to check it out, go for it!  there is so much to do and see.  i still have plenty on my list to get to and we have been coming down here for a while now.  have fun friends!  explore.  travel.  be well and live adventurously!

adios!
xoxox
jennette






Becoming 8

sayulita, mexico, new years 2011

today my little boy turned 8.  my baby.  he's 8 now. 

how did this happen?  where does time go?  why does it seem to go faster now?  i want so desperately to slow time down.  to make it go at my pace.  to hold on to this boy for as long as possible. 

it doesn't help that his big brother is turning 16.  and i feel like i only really "have him", the 16 year old, August, for two more years. i can only "control him" and "bend him" and "influence him" for just two more years.  i hate this.  i don't like it. at. all.  where does time go?  the passing of the days needs to be controlled, bent, and influenced.  to my will.  my way.  stop.  slow down already.  just go a little slower.  please.

picasso exhibit, SAM, 1/11


skiing, stevens pass, 3/11

eating cupcakes waiting to get into KEXP dance party, Halloween, 10/10

amassing energy to carve pumpkins 10/10

carving 10/10

w/ gma and gpa, chelan, 9/10

soccer 9/10

chelan summer 2010

farm to table dinner, our csa, willie greens, summer 2010

showing me his sit spot, between the weeping willows and high bush blueberries, in our yard, summer 2010

handmade wool felt owl costume, from new orleans, fall 2010

on the ferry, on our way to family reunion in port angeles, 8/10

playing fiddle for family at reunion 8/10

salt creek sea monster 8/10

silly putty on the way to pickathon, 8/10

at the blueberry farm, after picking and pig petting, summer 2010

fishing lake roesigner 4th of july 2010

summer knitting 2010

hard day swimming at the lake, summer 2010

freckles, sayulita, mexico 1/11

leaving sayulita, 1/11

cup cafe, hotel congress, tucson, spring break, 4/2011

94 degrees, spring break, tucson, 4/11

when august was this age, becoming 8, jasper was born.  jasper was born on a spring day, at home, in a cozy dark room, with birds singing outside the window.  he was born in the caul and and it was magical.  i will never forget the feeling of empowerment that i got from birthing jasper naturally, at home, with chad and august there too.  this little creature came into the world as fiery, demanding and strong as he is today.  he quickly acquired the names jazzmanian devil and sassparilla gorilla because he was sassy and snarffuley and full of "tude." 
but he was cute and lovable and curious. 
and today he rocks my world. 
today he still thinks i am the bees knees, the cream of the crop, the cherry on top and the one he will marry!
he still likes to cuddle, hug and kiss on the lips.
i LOVE 7, turning 8.  it's glorious.  even in it's dark moments, which don't last long, because this kid is Hilarious with a capitol H!  not a day goes by that i don't almost pee my pants from something this kid, says, does, sings, makes up, tells, yells, acts out, teases, jokes, or reports.  it's non stop with this one and its the best. 
the. best. i tell ya.
he's a keeper.
and he's mine.

xoxox
jennette




Hotel Congress Cafe (kinda)

Hi Friends!

the boys and i are in Tucson for spring break again and i have a couple posts i am working on to show you our adventures and discoveries.  the posts will be out of order but i wanted to show you what it's like these days when i take my boys out in public.  it's a real blast, let me tell ya!  Here we are at the Hotel Congress, Cup Cafe, where we visit and eat every time we are here. and just look:































good times, friends.  good times.  oh yeah.  see.  see what i'm dealin with. 
these two are about to be half as old and twice as old as each other, for the first, last, and only time in their lives. 8 and 16.  in less than a month.  wish me luck my friends.  wish me luck.

xoxoxox
jennette.  in tucson.  alone.  with two boys.