Slicker Suzie

This is Day 9 (of 11 total) of Ken being out of town. I have put almost all thoughts of "making stuff" out of my head, concentrating instead on surviving a week-and-a-half of solo parenting and making sure my kids are clothed, fed, and generally happy (including my one-year-old with chickenpox. Yes, chickenpox. Which she got from me. So it's really my own fault, but that's a whole different post...)

Anyway... I'd still like to post something on this blog. So, in honor of the rainstorm that's going on outside and the simplifying and decluttering that's going on inside (mostly after the girls are in bed!), allow me to introduce you to Slicker Suzie.

What does she have to do with rain? Well, hopefully, that's obvious. I'd thought about making her an umbrella, but with the hat and the coat already, I figured the girl was adequately protected!

And what does she have to do with decluttering? Well, a while back, I was sorting through the linen closet. I found a clothes peg. Made me think of the blog post I'd seen recently (and have no idea of the address anymore, wish I did) where a mom and daughter made cute little clothes peg dolls to give as birthday gifts. Hmm, I should tuck this away somewhere so I can make a little doll... Sort, sort, sort some more. I found two plastic gloves. Not a "pair" of plastic gloves, since that would mean a right and a left. Nope, my two were both lefties, with no righties to be found anywhere. (Which is really quite fitting: In dancing, some people are said to have two left feet. In the same vein, when it comes to housekeeping, I've got two left hands. So it figures that I'd have two left-handed gloves, right?)

Old Karin would have said Gee, I'll just put these right back in the closet. I'm sure I'll find a match someday. And in the meantime, if I pull really hard, I bet I can fit my right hand into one of these. New Karin however said Ooh, I bet gloves are not that expensive at Target, if I decide I even want a new pair. These are getting tossed! Hooray for New Karin. Keep it up!

But New Karin is not yet fully developed and could not toss the gloves without thinking there must be something that they were still good for. Saw the clothes peg. Thought "rain slicker." So when the closet was done, I rewarded myself with a bit of scissors and glue time. With two young helpers at my side, I decided I better scrounge up another peg so they could make a doll too. Wish I had a photo of that one!

Oh, and why Suzie? (Other than the alliteration with slicker?) Because when I was a little girl, I knew exactly what my first daughter's name would be: Suzie. And my second daughter's name? Susanna. Oh yes. Suzie and Susanna. Clearly, I didn't understand much about nicknames at the time...