a still life

This dress form was given to my 12-year old daughter. It's from a friend of mine. I guess she didn't want it. My daughter dresses it up in clothes and has a great time with it. I plan on "borrowing" it for pictures for etsy items.

I will be away starting tomorrow and will not be updating my blog. I am going Upstate to visit my family and to stay at the summer cottage of my husband's family. It's how we met, actually. His grandparents had a summer cottage where his mom used to take him and his 5 brothers and sisters each summer. They'd arrive in June and leave at the end of August. Years later, when I (a local girl) was 22 and lifeguarding in between "real" jobs one summer at the State Park near the cottage, I ran into Tom's sister whom I knew from previous summers. Tom was standing with her. After several chance meetings, we began dating. The rest is history. We've been married 21 years, have two beautiful daughters.

So off I go to "home" where my Dad still lives all by himself in the big farmhouse where I grew up. You may be wondering why we don't stay here when we visit. Let's just say that he's gotten used to being alone and it works better for us to stay at the cottage. We're all happier that way. Here are some pictures of the house I grew up in: