The Piper Cub

Ben put in many hours over this long cold winter on his Piper Cub. He and his father Tom originally began work on it when Ben was 11! It’s been a long time coming but worth the wait. She’s lived in our attic in Norfolk, long-term Navy storage and finally resurfaced here in TN for a full overhaul. I think Luke loves tinkering on the plane almost as much as Ben does, and quite nicely, now three generations have worked on her and made her what she is today. Ben and my father tested the engine over Easter weekend and it ran great. Now the only thing left is to fly it. And whatever happens after that, well, at least we have some good photos of the before!

Easter Egg Hunt YMCA

All little kiddies gather round! It’s the first annual Easter Egg Hunt at our new YMCA. We’ve really enjoyed going to the YMCA this winter. Luke and Ben love the pool and Luke is getting better with his swimming all the time. They have a great kid-watch most of the day so I can go to yoga or work out and Luke gets more playtime with friends. True to their family-friendly credo, they hosted a big egg hunt for children of all ages and even had the Easter Bunny available for a photo. Luke was so excited to see the real Easter Bunny and sit on his lap! He found lots of eggs, which he promptly broke into to see what prizes may be hiding inside. It was one of our first sunny warm spring days, too, so all around it was the perfect prelude to Easter and what will hopefully be a nice spring ahead.

Fired and Hired: Knighton Studios

Well, if you've been looking for updates to our blog since January, you might have noticed I fell off the blogging wagon. In fact, I recently told a friend of mine I fired myself from keep up our blog because that's exactly what would happen if I did such a poor job anywhere else! Luckily, grace, like hope, springs eternal and I have at least managed to get some delinquient posts up and catch things up the present at bit.

The main reason for the quiet on the blog in February and much of March is that I've been trying to get a small jewelry and accessories business started. It's called Knighton Studios, after Luke's middle name. Many of you in the family know about this little venture, and thanks to so many of your for your support and early patronage. I finally got a few items up and listed for sale on the crafters' site Etsy (http://www.knightonstudios.etsy.com/), so I'm giving this outlet a try for now. I added a mini-version of my listings in the sidebar of the blog so you can see the type of pieces I've been making. I will have a new cache of items to post soon, so check back often if you like the look of my pieces. I'm also toying the idea of going off Etsy to my own site or at least a seperate blog-style site with all my pieces, be them presently for sale, sold, or gifted to a loved one.

It's been an education learning about and fumbling through starting a business, but it's all great experience. When I get frustrated or discouraged about the business details, I just remind myself that the more I sell, the more I get to make---that gets me going again! So while I was and still should be fired from blogging about my family, I've hired myself on for a new adventure in making my own jewelry and bags by hand. I hope you'll take a look at my site and let me know if you see anything you like. I love custom work, so feel free to just let me know if you're looking for something special. I'd welcome the opportunity to make it for you!