It Can't Be :o(

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....time for Matt and Ben to return to college again.

I'm all warm and fuzzy in the heart to see them as such fine young men, but boy do I miss them terribly at times. I know, all parents love their children, and most of us probably want our kids to be smart, talented and nice-looking. But the older you get, the more thrilling it is to hear someone tell you, "I can't believe that Matt helped me with this ______", or "Ben just went out of his way to spend time with ______ when everyone else ignored them." It's them thinking about others that makes me melt.

On a lighter note, do you know how much extra $$$ I have to spend, with all those groceries I do not have to buy for the next couple months??? Yeehaw, I feel like I just got another big raise as Domestic Executive at home! Cool, huh.

Here's something that I've been working on that's warm and fuzzy too. Little girl brooches, just a little taller than 2", and they're fashioned after old ones manufactured in Japan more than half a century ago. After finishing three of them today, I again felt such admiration for their handiwork during those years--with so many of our modern conveniences, tools and supplies--supplies and tools that they surely did not have at their disposal. It's quite remarkable. Today, we have all these wonderful helpers to work with, and I still reject 75% of the finished product, lol, because I don't feel they passed inspection! Their workplaces and factories were so rudimentary, it's just so intriguing. I would love, love, love to take a time machine back to be with them while they made their own tiny doll brooches. And find out for what occasions they were worn, and by who.... women or little girls, for instance?

Meanwhile, here's my take on them (and an actual completed one instead of the many-boo-boo'd Miss Experiment from a couple days back). And they're in my shop tonight: