{matilda}

While back in England last month, I came face to face with twenty-something years of my stored stuff. A little trip down Sentimental Lane, yes, but knowing that whatever I saved, I'd have to carry in my suitcase and drag half way around the world, I was ruthless. Goodbye, ugly Beanie Babies (yes, you, Millennium bear, you purple monster). So long, high-school yearbooks, and all your teenage stress. Farewell, and sorry, plastic animals that I chewed legs off of.

But one thing that definitely made the suitcase, packed safely beneath two hundred Duplo blocks and three dozen slightly mangy Sylvanian Families, was a book. My favourite book. A book I've read at least twenty times, often in a single sitting. A book I was given just before my seventh birthday, (ta, Jenni) and which has proved to be rather important in our lives...

Matilda. This is what our Matilda, our fifteen-month-old Tilly-Bear, is named after. I loved the idea of infusing her with a bit of magic. Yes, we might have long afternoons of sitting on the bed trying to move pencils with our eyes, but who knows, perhaps she'll be able to.

And can you believe, it wasn't until two years ago, when I was telling my grandma about my favourite names for girls, that she mentioned her mother, my great-grandmother, was also called Matilda? Cha-ching, bonus family connection! It was meant to be.

Reading the book again, I'm finding lines that are full of the brilliance of Matilda. Wouldn't that be a lovely reminder of her namesake -- a quote from the book, displayed somehow in her room. It's not all boastful parenty if Roald Dahl said it, right? And, perhaps, a bonus photo of her great-great grandmother on the wall too, just for total Matildination.

{a love story in two parts}

As our third wedding anniversary approaches, I'm planning a little book of us -- a handmade little collection of memories of how Justin and I met, our first date, our trips together, our story.

The problem with writing our story is that there are many details that we remember differently. Justin would say that we met on my birthday, a week into the fall semester; I would swear that we met four days after my birthday, the weekend before classes started. Maybe you and your partner are the same way?

So, I thought I'd try to come up with a way to tell the story from both points of view. How he tells it, how I tell it, next to each other. The whole truth.

At the moment, we're still in the data collection phase. I've jotted down a few prompts -- when, where, favourite parts -- and packed one copy up for Justin to take off on his next business trip. Yes, complete with a pen, so there's no excuse for him not to fill them out!

How exactly it'll come together, I'm not sure yet. Hand-written, printed? With photos, souvenirs, and maps? I've been itching to try binding books -- any advice, for a complete beginner?

{our life in felt}

Perhaps you remember the extraordinarily long list of birthday plans for Tilly that I put together over a month ago? Here's a little progress report.

First project from the list to tackle: write a book featuring Tilly and Bella. Books are Tilly's favourite things, and though she could quite happily spend hours reading and rereading "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", her absolute favourite of favourites is a touchy-feely book of dogs. In fact, the dog book is so well loved that many poor doggies are now missing heads and legs, making it more of a who's-who of injured strays!

So, with a pile of felt the size and weight of Tilly in my cupboard, I thought I'd make her something with texture. Our home in felt. Tilly's tree and lavender bush in felt. A felt Bella, felt toys; her whole world in felt pages.

There will be flaps to lift -- beneath Bella's name is her favourite bone -- plus ears that waggle and a tongue that can lick the fingers of little readers. Felt is so accommodating! For extra texture, I'll be adding  a bubble bath of buttons for ducky, a dangly string on the xylophone, and, no doubt, pom-poms somewhere and everywhere.

Many lovely hours of hand-stitching ahead, and hopefully, the fables of felt will be wrapped and ready by the end of June.

The Tale of Wodger Weginald Wabbit

I've been having such fun with Wodger Wabbit all day, and he's been begging me to write a story about him.

So far, he's told me that he's the littlest in a litter of twenty rabbits.

He has ten brothers: Wandolph, Wupert, Wemington, Wichard, Woland, Wonald, Wobert, Wadcliff, and Wafferty.

And nine sisters: Webecca, Wamona, Waphaella, Wose, Whonda, Wowena, Woberta, Wosanna, Wosalind, and Wuth.

When his siblings were mean to him, he ran away and made his home in the first warm place he found: an Ugg boot.

Which is where he stayed, until discovered by a passing Mr. Monkey and Fatty McBeaver, who took him in and became his friends.

What silliness! Wodger is really excited to get posted today, and is writing a little letter to Alice at the moment to introduce himself. Hopefully, he'll share it when it's done.