people always ask me, “why does your husband call you ‘mavis’?” i try to explain to them that it is a take on an old bbc character, ‘hyacinth’ from “keeping up appearances”. but apparently i’m the only one who watches saturday night brit coms.
when my husband first saw hyacinth, he immediately began to draw parallels between her and his own lovely wife. i did not find it flattering. she is a rather awful woman. loud, tactless, excessive, bossy, domineering, a hovering neat-freak (”mind the wallpaper!”), obsessed with appearances and gleefully ignorant of people around her. so i was ‘beatrice’ when i spent money on something i couldn’t afford or tried to pick the paint colors for someone else’s house. somehow it evolved into ‘mavis’ and so it remains. i am mavis when i windex the shower curtain rod because people are coming over or harass my husband to level the birdbath and the refrigerator because it drives me crazy. but i’m afraid he’s not richard (submissive and longsuffering), so you don’t have to feel sorry for him. ‘richard’ wouldn’t go around tipping all the picture frames an imperceptible eighth of an inch to push me over the edge. hubby is much more akin to onslow.
Hi Mavis -
Hi There! I came across your blog while looking for BedHead pictures for my site - http://www.MyBedHead.net . I was wondering if you would grant me permission to use your bedhead picture. I can credit you in the photo if you’d like. I can also leave a link to your blog. MyBedHead is still in development and is not making any money as of yet. I just need interesting bedhead photos to get started..
Thanks.
Tim Hurley
timothyjhurley@yahoo.com
wwww.MyBedHead.net
Funny stuff Mavis! I love finding other mom’s blogs, hearing crazy parent stories…and thanks for the link to Josh Ritter’s song, that was good! (OH and Business Time, an instant classic).
ciao
melissa
I am Marveled by Mavis!
WOW Mavis how do you do it all?
A friend introduced me to your blog a few days ago and I just can’t stop thinking about it. First, compliments to you as an artist, you have an impeccable sense of style. From your eye behind the lens to your ability to reuse and recycle goods into art. KUDOS to you! Second, how do you find the time to do it all? Seriously? I have one toddler and I hardly have time to weed my garden let alone sew. I would love to learn your secrets because I too love to sew and have found I just can’t get involved with a project for longer then 30-60 minutes before I am being hailed or my son wakes up. Do you stay up late, ignore your family, send the kids to daycare … what’s the secret? I’m sure all of your readers are interested.
Fellow Boisian
well that sounds pretty good to someone who is just scraping by. “me? no way, i don’t believe it!”
so far the blog is taking the biggest hit on the priority list. and i do tend to neglect my children. i am trying to bump them back up above cleaning and remodeling. in the process doing my hair and looking partway civilized gets bumped down.
maybe the reason i get anything done at all is because i love doing it. my life is my hobby. i like combing the tangles out of my kids hair every morning and ironing their play clothes, i love cleaning, i love my measuring spoons, my iridescent broom and windexing the shower knobs when i’ve just finished scouring the bathroom. i guess it’s easy when you’re thrilled with the mundane. in other words, i don’t work for the weekend. the weekend drives me crazy. i’m project oriented and a little pragmatic (if only buying things for the kitchen if they are pink, doesn’t expel you from that kind of classification). but let me tell you, futility still has one on me. i feel like the scene in ice age with the squirrel trying to plug all holes in the dam that was trying to explode. very innovative, but futile nonetheless.
as far as advice goes, do what you like and do it well. there is something to be said for cultivating and training your tastes, but not everyone is supposed to be the same. i know people that could care less about crafting or home decorating and just spend all of their time with their kids. because that is what they love, and that is a good thing. if you love what do then you are going to do it, the trick is being able to stay happy and motivated. for me, god is my happiness and motivation. in the end he is the only bulwark against futility, so that is what keeps me going. without him, i think i would just watch tv.
Hi Miranda!
I ran into your dad today (not literally), and he directed me to your blog. I’ve been wanting to get back in touch with you after our short-lived snail-mail correspondence. (This is Jen from the greenhouse, now a happily married woman, by the way!) I love all your pictures, your remodel is looking very nice, and you have a fine-looking family blooming there!
The Lord make his face shine upon you.
Jen