up in the air

Yesterday, I went rock climbing for the first time and had a blast. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of my first two climbs, since everyone was occupied with a job at the time and had no free hands to play photographer. Here are some of my third up a chimney formation and then rappelling down the other side. I highly recommend this experience - really exhilarating!

resurfacing

It's been a bummer of a couple weeks, culminating in my grandfather's passing. I have been in too much of a funk to post anything for awhile but finally am starting to snap out of it. More photos of Paris and my creative endeavors to come - for now, here are some bits and pieces that have helped reinvigorate my spirits lately...

ingenious cardboard spinning wheel

free printable affirmations by kind over matter (isn't that the BEST name?); check out their other great freebies, too (esp. love the garden and quotation cards)

free pattern by spud & chloe for a knitted cupcake pincushion

antique keys made of quilling paper

a great reason to add to your yarn stash

amazing embroidery sampler by amy of inspire company - look closely for the fabulous marie antoinette!

french musician named claire denamur - I heard one of her songs on a commercial recently and then came across this music video (she's not on US iTunes yet but I put in a request to add her):

*TGFPL

*Thank Goodness For Public Libraries

Next month, hubby and I are going to be spending almost two weeks Paris. We are very excited for this vacation and it has been a long time coming because we had to cancel a trip there celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary a few years ago. To prepare for our upcoming visit, I've taken full advantage of our city and county library systems as you can see from the above photo. I also checked out a bunch of language CDs to brush up on my French. We've been to Paris before, both separately and together, but never for longer than a few days so we're really looking forward to an extended period of time exploring the city and making discoveries that are not on the standard tourist to-do lists. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

crafts interrupted

Paulo Nutini and band

with a gorgeous view of the ocean in the background

I'm still recovering from doing our taxes and a friend and her son visiting us last week. Hubby and I went to a free Paulo Nutini concert yesterday sponsored by a local radio station and today he (hubby, not Paulo) is recovering from a stomach bug. We're having a mild heatwave here which is also making it hard to feel motivated to do anything except the essential tasks. Knitting and crafting will have to wait...