Yeah, I know "Jack". Not "Jack be nimble", nor "Jack of all trades"; not the Jack who was so uncoordinated that he couldn't make it down the hill with pail of water without a serious head injury, nor "Jack Sprat", that lean-meat lovin', "Pimpin' it Plus Size" t-shirt wearin' guy either.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Now that's him! Simply put, I've suddenly found myself with so many "Must-dos" and "To-dos" that there's simply no time for fun and leisure. Baking, Caking, Crafting, Writing, and all have fallen behind the sofa, have shriveled and nestled into the warm embrace of the resident dust bunnies, and will perhaps someday be found when I have the time to clean back there. I will probably find them along with a few of my husband's socks, a candy wrapper, a coin or two, and a mauled dog toy. When I do, I'm sure they'll resemble a 'Craisin'. I'll pause for just a moment to wonder, "What is this? What was this?" before I toss it into the dust bin.
Okay, all griping, whining, and "Woe is Me" aside, I need only watch the news or read the front page of the paper to remind myself that I still have it pretty darn good. My lack of extracurriculars is only temporary, and my problems smaller than a dust-speck in Who-ville compared to those of much of the world.
I decided to take a moment from the grind this morning to reach out to my friends, my readers ~ my 'Peeps' ~ to thank you for sticking by me. For continuing to visit, to read and to comment, despite my infrequent posts and lack of reciprocal visits. Yesterday I received a message from Shannon from MILKANDCUDDLES.COM that really warmed my heart: "Hey- I noticed you were not blogging much. Hopefully everything is ok, your just happy and busy! Just wanted to pop over and let you know you were missed in bloggy world!" Shannon, thank you! Morgan, Joy, Foxy, Nicole, Holly & Charisse, Holly @ 504, MJ, Carma, Corrie, Miss Dot, Ms. Bibi, Willoughby, Tracie, Daffy, Tracie, Lee, Marilyn...(here's the part where I forget another half-dozen important people)... thank you too! And then there are my girlfriends outside the blogosphere like Krista, who today sent me an absolutely delightful project link ~ another kind and simple gesture that let's me know that although I may be out of sight, I'm not out of mind (not to be confused with "out of my mind' ~ jury's still out on that one).
So, now that I've rambled on for four paragraphs, you'll hardly be surprised to find that I no longer have time for an original craft or recipe post. Like a mother hen feeding her young, I'm going to have to regurgitate.
I've seen a few "mock sushi" recipes in recent years, but the one Krista sent to me today really struck a chord. I'm a sucker for nostalgia which means that at Easter time I'm enchanted by anything created with marshmallow PEEPS. If you're a Peepophile too (ewww, that sounds a bit perverse, sorry), you won't want to miss the
I love you creative people! My friend & coworker Barbara is the DaVinci of Peep tableaus, and if you haven't discovered her already, artist Sloane Tanen is brilliant in her series of books based on her artwork featuring those adorable little chenille Easter chicks. My grandmother used to send us vintage German ones every year when I was a child, so they still have a very soft, fuzzy place in my heart. Do you need a good laugh? A great gift for a friend? Check out her books!
With that, it's time for me to go. Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho, it's back to work I go.
I leave you now with a few of Sloane's little gems: