Blizzard, cupcakes, presents

It started snowing Thursday night, and it kept snowing all day Friday, and it was still snowing by noon on Saturday. A proper blizzard: even the shopping mall was closed on Friday, which is really saying something.

On Saturday, a friend of Miss B's came over to play and I made cupcakes for them to decorate. They opted for blue and neon green icing, naturally (or unnaturally, I suppose), and went nuts with the sprinkles. I actually like the green quite a lot. The two girls played in the snow, painted pictures, and played happily (more or less) all afternoon, and I could have forgotten they were here if they weren't so thumpy and laughy up there in the bedroom.

Sunday was another classmate's birthday. The classmate in question is a now-seven-year-old boy who continually surprises us with his mastery of the art of disguise. Hence the choice of gift:

The messenger bag is made from stash fabric. The black was picked up at a yard sale two summers ago, and the chartreuse is a heavy upholstery-weight cotton from an Ikea sofa cover. The mustaches and eye patch are from felted sweater scraps, with shirring thread for elastic. The present was a hit and, I am happy to say, involved no plastic at all. Hooray!

I don't always make gifts for Miss B's friends, but when they are kids I know, I can't really help myself. So far they've always appreciated it. There's a practical element to the whole thing: I don't drive, so getting out to any of the stores is a huge hassle and takes hours. Meanwhile, I have a sewing room bursting with fabric upstairs. Since my mother-in-law dropped a ton of stuff at my place after de-stashing her own sewing room, I even have super weird fabric that I can see no other use for than as strange gifts for various children. So I can either take three or four hours to go to the mall or wherever, during which time I have to find someone to watch my own kids, end up spending way more money than I should (a pregnant lady at the mall's gotta eat, you know), and usually end up frustrated beyond belief because I have no idea what kids other than Miss B are into these days. Who needs it?

So now, after a magical snowy weekend, it's back to work. I suspect I have a dreadful workweek ahead, if today's e-mail exchanges are any indication. Ack. Can't help but love the world of arts administration. Full-time work for half-time pay. Add into that the double-time work and no pay at all of parenting, and, well, I sure could use a vacation. From either one, really. Or both. That would be nice.