Wheel in the Sky Keeps on Turnin'

Every week I talk to my mom and tell her "It's crazy now, but it will settle down next week". That same conversation has been deja vu-ing itself into ridiculousness for about 9 months now. This summer has been no different.

Yesterday was Henry's 6th birthday and it made me want to just freeze frame (freeze frame!) the rest of the summer so we can hang out and have fun together before he's in FIRST GRADE and we get so caught up in the school year that I look up and he's turning 7. He starts Camp Invention on Monday-the premise being that they crash down on a foreign planet on Monday morning and spend the rest of the week examining their surroundings and rebuilding their space ship- so Kyle and I are planning on busting some serious booty during the days while he's gone to make a dent in the vast studio to-do list. Kyle is out there painting right now, though, so pictures should be forthcoming. I plan on spending a lot of the time after camp playing Clue and Blockus, reading (and listening to Henry read) Stink, Jack Perlutsky, Horrid Henry and (of course) Magic Tree House and goofing around.

I will likely be a bit scarce around these here parts for a while. "Microblogging" has been much easier for me to keep up with, so if you want to stay in the loop, click on one of those links over there on the left to follow me on Facebook or Twiter. I wish I had some amazing Crankypants news for you, but the big box of Good News and New Things has apparently been lost by customs in Atlanta. I am hoping it will get to me sometime next week, but since there is nothing I can do to hurry them along in finding said Good News and Good Things, I am trying not to think about it.

I hope all is well with you!

Home!

Can it really be July already?

After 15 hours on the road on Tuesday (including a brief stop at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor) we are finally back in Asheville. We had a great time playing cards and blowing things up with Kyle's family but I am so happy to be home! I could only get internet through my phone up there so, needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do online. I am finalizing custom details with my July list and hopefully the pictures will start popping up soon.

I hope everyone had a great 4th!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Crankypants...

The good news- giraffes:









The bad news:

Earl-eye tomorrow morning, we'll be heading on up to the (hopefully cooler) Mitten State to spend the 4th by the lake with the fam. Nope-that isn't the bad news. The bad news is that there is no internet access there! Since we will be arriving at our internet-free destination on the first of the month, things might get a little wonky. I'm hoping to be able to do the bare bones customs stuff as on time as possible via my iPhone (standing on one leg in justtherightspot in the front yard) but I will most likey be pretty scarce for the next week. There is a pub about 20 minutes away that has wireless, so I will try to swing by there a few times to check in. I am always available by email on my phone, though, so don't hesitate to drop me a line if you have specific questions or immediate needs.

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday week!

Wowza.

I am way behind in (everything) my posting.

We have come a long way on the studio, but all that progress means we've been flopping into bed before 10 every night, too tired to keep you posted. The guys are out there right now *thisclose* to finishing the roof. I think that we are going to start painting it tomorrow, so the pictures will start getting good soon. Here is the latest, from yesterday morning:


I also finished a pair of little beachy longies and they put me in a nice, fun, summer-y mood:





I am excited for tomorrow morning, when my poor, neglected-for-building boy of mine and I make our weekly trip to Asheville City Market. We will sit on the stoop, drink sweet tea, eat a local blackberry jam pinwheel and roasted beet/goat cheese pastry star from Bread and Sparrow and catch up with each other. I can't wait.

Station Identification...

We are going to take a break from the studio building updates (it started storming before I could get pictures from the day, but we have 4 walls!) in case our newer readers get confused and think they have stumbled upon some weird amateur construction blog. Let's remember why we're all here, shall we?

Studio Buildin' Day 3.

First off? *yawn*

Today was a busy day over here at Crankypants HQ! We built the whole floor of the studio and got most of the back wall framed out.

Load bearing boards...

Finished floor and back wall...

The view from my porch right now. Yikes!


I was going to try to knit for a couple of hours tonight, but I don't know if I have it in me. My hands are kinda sore from pounding nails all day and I's tiiiiiiiired!

It isn't respectable to go to bed at 8:30. Is it?

Studio Buildin' Day 1.

After an superYUM breakfast at The Sunny Point this morning (isn't visiting family the best excuse to eat at your favorite restaurants?) the Kett men (rawr) got busy making trips to Home Depot and using noisy machinery and pounding on things and whatnot. After lunch I felt like I needed to get in on the action helping to clear dirt out of the post holes. My father in law, Danny, had a fabulous time pretending to point out flaws in my mad post hole digging skillz. You can see Kyle and his Uncle Jim in the background looking like they are getting their Greco-Roman wrestle on, but they are really just trying to beat the auger into submission.

This photo is alternately titled: "The Ketts Won the Most Beautiful Yard Award AGAIN!":


More bossing me around. I think that was the highlight of his work day.


Tomorrow we get the big lumber delivery, the posts go in and building begins for real.

WooHoo!