Too impatient to do things right

That's just me, I needed a stroller cover so that Luca doesn't sweat too much in the hot Florida summers. I bought a cotton fabric that looks like one of his shirts and I decided to make it...without a pattern or a plan. So I covered the thing on the go and it didn't come out too pretty...but he is using it. I will try to fix it now with orange bias tape for the borders.

Demasiado impaciente para hacer las cosas bien...Esa soy yo, necesitaba algo para cubrir la sillita de paseo de Luca par que no sudara mucho en los calurosos veranos de Florida. Compre una tela de algodon que se parece a una de sus camisas y decidi hacerlo...sin patron alguno ni plan. Asi que lo cubri segun me salio y no me quedo muy bonito...pero lo esta usando. Intentare arreglarlo ahora con una cinta de bies naranja para los bordes.

Luca and his two friends, in our walk to the lake yesterday, the three explorers...

Luca y sus dos amigos, en nuestro paseo al lago ayer, los tres exploradores...


And I had to share this picture I took, it's really fun going around Florida with the camera handy, always something interesting to remember.

Y tenia que ensenharos esta fot que hice, es muy divertido ir por Florida con una camara a mano, siempre hay algo interesante para recordar.

Walking with your eyes closed

Have you ever had the feeling you are walking with your eyes closed? Lately I have felt this way. I just get through things enjoying the moment and not really thinking too much about where I will be tomorrow. And it has been nice. For now. I go outside my home and look at the bamboos, the flowers, the sweet potato that I’ve been propagating lately and that was looking very upset for a while and that it’s been taking over the spaces left around the plants in my front yard. I got so excited a couple of days ago because every time I go to check my mail I hear a sound on a tree but I couldn’t figure out what it was. But I saw a perfectly round hole on a dead limb. I took my friends there the other day with their son who loves looking for birds and who is actually teaching me a lot about appreciating birds lately and his father said, this is a nest! And while we were debating about it we saw a woodpecker coming in the hole and feeding his little babies. Wow, that was so exciting! We couldn’t get over it. I go there all the time to check on the little babies, and they are already peeking out of the nest looking for their mom.

¿Has tenido alguna vez la sensacion de estar andando con los ojos cerrados? Ultimamente me he sentido asi. Paso las cosas disfrutando del momento y sin pensar realmente mucho sobre donde estare mañana. Y me gusta. Por ahora. Salgo fuera de casa y me paso el dia mirando los bambus, las flores, la planta de boniato que he estado propaganda ultimamente y que tenia muy mala pinta pero que por fin esta rellenando los huecos vacios entre las plantas de mi jardin. Hace un par de dias me emocione porque cada vez que voy a ver mi buzon oigo un ruido en un arbol pero no caia en lo que era. Pero lo que si vi fue un agujero perfecto en una rama vieja. Lleve a mis amigos a verlo y su hijo, a quien le encanta buscar pajaros y de quien estoy aprendiendo mucho de como apreciarlos ultimamente, y su padre dijo, ¡es un nido! Y mientras estabamos discutiendo sobre el tema vimos a un pajaro carpintero que venia al agujero a alimentar a sus bebes. ¡Jo, que emocionante! No nos lo creiamos. Ahora voy cada dos por tres a visitar a los bebes, y ya se estan asomando del nido para buscar a su mama.


I went crazy in the fabric store today. All because of these sales that I remember the first times going to this store, we were thinking they were so exclusive that we HAD to go and my husband used to laugh at Gisele and I because actually they are always on sale in that store and we really don’t need an excuse to search for fabrics. Anyways, it was the Independence Day weekend sale and it was really good deals all the way. I also finished my first skirt and I was so pleased with the results that I decided to buy some other fabrics to make more…and also a shirt that I have no clue how that’s going to work out…
But this has been an energy-draining week, and all the ideas I have flying in my head, are just flying and not really turning into handmade reality, no power to cut, think, measure, sew or paint. Maybe next week.

Me volvi loca hoy en la tienda de telas. Todo por estas ofertas que me acuerdo que las primeras veces que ibamos a la tienda, pensabamos que eran tan exclusives que TENIAMOS que ir a y mi marido se solia reir de Gisele y yo porque en realidad siempre estan de ofertas en esa tienda y no necesitamos excusas para buscar telas. Pero de todos modos, era la venta del fin de semana del dia de la Independencia y la verdad es que si que habia buenas ofertas. Tambien acabe mi primera falda y estaba tan contenta con los resultados que decidi comprar mas telas para hacer mas…y tambien una camisa que no tengo ni idea de como va a salirme eso…Pero ha sido una semana que me ha chupado toda la energia, y todas las ideas que estan volando por mi cabeza, estan simplemente volando y no se van aconvertir en verdades hechas a mano, no tengo fuerza para cortar, pensar, medir, coser o pintar. Quizas la semana que viene.


And today is 9 months since my husband was hit by a careless driver. Today is 9 months since I last saw him. And soon is going to be the same amount of time that he spent with his son. Time flies.

Y hoy hace 9 meses desde que mi marido fue atropellado por un conductor que no presto atencion. Hoy hace 9 meses desde la ultima vez que le vi. Y pronto va a ser el mismo tiempo que paso con su hijo. El tiempo vuela.

A hummingbird!

There is a hummingbird right out of my window, he loves the new feeder I installed there! I have been rearranging my patio ever since I did something stupid by hanging an extremely heavy hanging basket on the shelf where all my nice pots where to get it drained, and of course it broke down and destroyed the whole thing. But these things happen for a reason. It was just the day before my husband’s birthday, so it was probably a sign to tell me, tomorrow, you better get busy gardening and fixing your patio so your day is not so extremely sad. And that’s what I did. Inspired by the beautiful garden of my in laws that made me believe that I was sitting in the middle of a very nice gardening magazine cover, I decided to go out shopping and get a nice shelf, some new pots to replace the broken ones, a red plastic container to store odds and ins, some hooks for the walls and a hook to hang my hanging baskets.

Hay un colibri justo fuera de mi ventana, ¡le encanta el nuevo comedero que coloque ahi! He estado arreglando mi patio desde que hice una tonteria al colgar una cesta de plantas que era pesadisima en la leja donde tenia todas mis macetas bonitas para que escurriera, y claro se rompio y destrozo todo. Pero estas cosas ocurren por alguna razon. Justo ocurrio el dia de antes del cumpleaños de mi marido, asi que probablemente fue una señal para decirme, mañana, sera mejor que te entretengas hacienda jardineria y arreglando el patio para que tu dia no sea demasiado triste. Y eso es lo que hice. Inspirada por el hardin de mis suegros que me hacia creer que estaba sentada en medio de la portada de una revista de jardinera, decide salir a comprar y conseguir una estanteria bonita, algunas macetas nuevas para reemplazar las que se habian roto, una caja roja grande para colocar cosas sueltas, algunos ganchos para colgar cosas en la pared y un gancho para colgar cestas de plantas.

His birthday came alone and unexpectedly I was sobbing the whole day. It was a day that would have been to celebrate the happiness and good health of a loved one and this was actually not the case. But I did things that he would have enjoyed for sure, anything related to plants was like a therapy to him. It has been like that for me too. I find myself gardening more and more as time goes by, like his sister Julie said, probably to feel closer to him enjoying the things he enjoyed the most.

Su cumpleaños llego y sin esperarmelo me lo pase llorando todo el dia. Fue un dia que hubiera sido para celebrar la felicidad y la buena salud de la persona que quieres y este no era el caso. Pero hice cosas que a el le hubieran gustado seguro, cualquier cosa relacionada con las plantas era una terapia para el. Me ocurre lo mismo a mi ahora. Cada dia paso mas tiempo en el jardin , como dice su hermana Julie, probablemente para sentirme mas cercana a el disfrutando de las cosas que a el mas le gustaban.

I left my camera in SC so I feel like I don’t have hands these days! It will arrive soon and I will get back to business, in the meantime…a view from North Carolina mountains, from Julie's patio and my little man.

Me olvide la camara en Carolina del Sur ¡y siento como si no tuviera manos ultimamente! Llegara pronto y volvere a mi rutina, mientras tanto…vistas de las montañas de Carolina del Norte, desde el patio de Julie y mi hombrecito.

Wonderful Mother's Day

I am a lucky mom, just like many others around the world, except for that in my case, my little one is showing me where to go and bringing me the light, just like his names indicates. I have received a lot of nice cards from him and his grandparents and aunt and from faraway friends and some beautiful gifts I would like to share with you.

Soy una mami afortunada, como muchas otras por el mundo, solo que en mi caso, mi chiquitin me esta ensenhando el camino a seguir y me trae la luz, como su nombre indica. He recibido muchas tarjetas bonitas de el, de sus abuelos y tia y de amigos desde lejos y algunos regalos muy bonitos que me gustaria compartir con vosotros.

This sculpture represents Luca and I, it is wonderful.

Esta escultura nos representa a Luca y a mi, es una maravilla.


His little hands painted this, his first painting ever.

Sus manitas pintaron esto, su primer dibujo.


I had something to do with the election of this one...so many ideas in my head now. and Julie, Luca's aunty, gave me the skirt in the background to make a new skirt that will fit me (that one was a maternity one, so I have plenty of fabric to reuse).

Y yo tuve algo que ver en la eleccion de este regalo...tantas ideas rondan mi cabeza ahora. ..y Julie, la tia de Luca, me dio la falda que hay en el fondo para hacer una falda nueva que me valga (esa era de embarazo, asi que tengo tela de sobra para reusar).


I just wish Luca's daddy was here to celebrate too. At least there are many beautiful signs of his presence everywhere I look, like this beautiful ginkgo tree.

Solo me gustaria que el papi de Luca estuviera aqui para celebrarlo tambien. Al menos tengo muchas senhales bonitas de su presencia por cada lugar que miro, como este ginko tan bonito.


Happy mother's day to all wonderful mother's in the world, specially to mine and Luca's granny, such amazing moms.

Feliz dia de la madre a todas las madres maravillosas del mundo, sobretodo a la mia y a la abuelita de Luca, que madres tan increibles.

Gisele, here we come

This week has been busy for Luca and I. We took a trip to North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina, where we are right now. We are having a great time, the weather was cool compared to Florida and not smokey like down there (there has been some serious fires in South Georgia) and have been enjoying being with family and friends.

Esta semana ha sido muy ocupada para Luca y para mi. Nos hemos ido de viaje a Carolina del Norte, Tennessee y Carolina del Sur, donde estamos ahora mismo. Nos lo estamos pasando en grande, el clima es mas fresquito que en Florida y sin humo como alli abajo (ha habido unos incendios muy importantes en el sur de Georgia) y hemos estado disfrutando de nuestra estancia con familia y amigos.

We went to Tennessee just to visit with Gisele and her family. We had such a sweet time with them. We felt like at home and we talked as much as we could. Needless to say, the trip was too short, but unforgattable. We got to do our routine visit to the fabric store and talk about our new projects or ideas in mind. Here we are right there in the shop.

Fuimos a Tennessee justo a visitar a Gisele y a su familia. Nos lo pasamos en grande con ellos. Nos sentimos como en casa y hablamos tanto como pudimos. Logicamente el viaje fue muy corto, pero inolvidable. Hicimos nuestra visita rutinaria a la tienda de telas y hablamos sobre nuestros nuevos proyectos o las ideas que tenemos en mente. Aqui estamos en la tienda.


And this is what she got from the friends of the library sale in Gainesville, she really gets good ideas from those magazines and she has gotten me into buying a few new ones that I had never read before, pictures to come.

Y esto es lo que ella consiguio de la venta de libors de la biblioteca de Gainesville, le saca jugo a las revista y me ha animado a que yo acabe comprando alguna que nunca habia leido, las fotos mas adelante.


And our little ones played together for the first time, I think they are friends now.

Y nuestros pequenhines jugaron juntos por primera vez, creo que son amigos ahora.

African doll

My friends from Minerva's circle and I decided to participate in what it's called Dollies without borders project. In this project, we make handcrafted dolls that represent girls and boys in Africa and also stuffed animals from the countries where they will be sent and then we give them to the lady that organizes all of this and that will take them or make sure they get to orphanages in several countries in Africa.

Mis amigas de Minerva's circle y yo hemos decidido participar en lo que se llama el proyecto de Munhecas sin fronteras. En este proyecto, hacemos munhecas a mano que representan a ninhos y ninhas de Africa y tambien animales de esos paises donde van a ser enviados y luego se los damos a la persona que organiza todo esto y que se asegurara de que llguen a orfanatos en varios paises de Africa.

I made a doll thinking of the woman that I know from West Africa. I think they are tall, slim ad the dresses they wear are very tailored and with a lot of flare, very beautiful. I made a little flamenco style dress, but that is my spanish touch. Even though you can't see it in the pictures the doll also has underwear.

Yo hice una munheca pensando en las mujeres que conozco que son de Africa occidental. Me parece que son altas, esbelta y los vestidos que usan son muy entallados y con mucho volante, muy bonitos. Me ha salido un poco flamenquita pero bueno, ese es mi toque espanhol. Aunque no sale en las fotos tambien tiene ropa interior;)




My friends from Mali also gave a couple of nice presents that they brought from their trip to Ethiopia. This is my new outfit. I love it, it is simple but has a nice decoration and it is very comfortable around the house.

Mis amigos de Mali tambien me han dado un par de regalos que me han traido de su viaje a Etiopia. Este es mi nuevo vestido. Me encanta, porque es simple pero tiene un bonito detalle y es muy comodo para la casa.


They also gave me some beautiful fabric from Mali. Fabric is always welcome, I love it!

Tambien me dieron una tela muy bonita de Mali. La tela siempre es bienvenida, me encanta!


Now I'm in Tennessee with my friend Gisele having a great time. More to come...

Ahora estoy en Tennessee con mi amiga Gisele pasandomelo en grande. Mas despues...

And this is for my own

Having noticed that Luca loves bags...
Habiendome dado cuenta de que a Luca le encantan los bolsos...




...I made him one just like I did for some of his friends, but his has a picture of his mom, dad and himself. I bought these fabrics 1 week after my husband's death, when my friends took me to the fabric shop (JoAnns). I'm glad I finally made it.

...Le hice uno justo igual que la que le hice a algunos de sus amiguitos, pero este tiene una foto de su mama, papa y de el mismo. Compre estas telas 1 semana despues de la muerte de mi marido, cuando mis amigas me llevaron a la tienda de telas (JoAnns). Me alegro de por fin haberlo hecho.

Little kiddoes little bags

This week I was in a sewing frenzy, making bags. I have so many kids around in my life that would look so cute with one of those tiny happy bags...so I made tiny bags for all those special children.
For a little two year old boy:

Esta semana estuve cosiendo como loca, haciendo bolsas. Tengo tantos ninhos alrededor en mi vida que estarian tan monos con esas bolsitas de tiny happy...asi que decidi hacer bolsitas para todos esos ninhos tan especiales.
Para un ninhito de dos anhos:


And for 2 other girls:
Y para otras dos ninhas: