Some dingo love - February 28, 2008 -
It is strange sometimes to see how animals slide into our lives, bringing love into it that is just nothing short of magical.
Our little dingo like creature has stolen everyones hearts, including my husbands.
She is the first one to great him when he comes home, and his stance on “Animals must be outside at all times” has turned into “Dingos must be inside at all times, save for potty breaks and chasing squirrels”.
She used to sleep in a crate at night, until we got her a little nest like bed. Now every evening Bill brings her bed into our room and places it ON our bed near the foot, and Honey jumps up and snuggles down in it for the night.
This is huge. The man would NEVER consider allowing a dog in his bed before. Ever. What you have here is the melting of his practical, man heart…for a dog.
She is really captivating. She is smart, affectionate, and excellent with the kids. Every morning we go to wake up her “Boys”. She runs in each room, gets on their beds and jumps on them, licking and wagging her tail. Then she moves on to the next room. She knows Mia as her “Baby” and Bill is “Daddy’s Home” because she hears the kids yell that when they hear his key in the lock.
She follows me everywhere. I cannot leave the room without her tagging along and finding a spot next to me to curl up. It is better than a fireplace.
Honey is a pound puppy. A dog that someone rejected. She was elusive when we first got her. She would not make eye contact with me at all. Nothing I could do would make her look at my face. I don’t take that as a sign of physical abuse, but just plain neglect. She didn’t know how to relate to people at all.
Now she is one of us. A people dog. She will come up to me and I can take her face in my hands and she will gaze into my eyes. Her face softens and her ears go down, and she wags her tail. She does not avert her gaze, ever.
In college I was told by my Animal Behavior professor that dogs have no self awareness…..that they have no souls.
I strongly disagreed then, and I still do today. When Honey looks me in the eye, and holds my gaze, I see pure joy and love, radiating from her soul.
I do not believe that the ability to feel and give love can experienced by something without a soul.
When I was about 8yo, I had a pet mouse that died after 3 years of being in my life. I remember crying to the priest at my school…the same priest who baptised me and married Bill and I. I was crying because someone had told me that mice don’t go to heaven….that pets do not have souls. To this day I will not forget what he said. With a smile full of God’s love and peace, and a soft voice he said “Oh child. I believe that God has a place in his kingdom for all of the creatures he created and loves.”
You know what…..I think he was right.
*the above photo was blurry, but I loved it, so I hope it doesn’t make you go crosseyed.
Leaves will bow down - February 27, 2008 -
I’ll walk in the rain by your side
I’ll cling to the warmth of your tiny hand
I’ll do anything to help you understand
And i’ll love you more than anybody can
And the wind will whisper your name to me
Little birds will sing along in time
Leaves will bow down when you walk by
And morning bells will chime
I love the thought of the falling leaves bowing down………..John Denver was just beautiful.
You choose - February 27, 2008 -
Do you like this photo?
Or this one?
I am learning how to do photo enhancements etc, but have to wonder if sometimes just the raw photo is best. Is it cheating to enhance your pictures?
What do you think?
Gin Freeze-or how to make a frozen drink when you allowed the house to run out of RUM! - February 26, 2008 -
I imagine this has other names, but this is the concoction that we came up with one day when we were out of rum (gasp! Never run out of rum at the coast).
-Frozen Bacardi Real lime Mixer (or frozen lemonade)
-gin
-ice
-lime seltzer water (or lemon)
-lime sugar (or lemon…I am sure you got that by now)
Fill blender 1/2 full with ice. Add 1/2 can of Bacardi lime mixer. Pour in gin (this should be stored in the freezer so it is nice and cold) to taste. I don’t really measure the booze, but I would imagine I put in about 2 full shot glasses in each blender of frosty goodness. Turn blender on and blend until very smooth.
Pour into a glass and fill about 2/3 full. Now take that cold seltzer water and pour about an ounce on top. Sprinkle with lime sugar. Top with a lime wedge and enjoy!!!
It is filled with oil - February 25, 2008 -
The compass that is.
One more thing a child can learn on a boat.
Euphoria - February 25, 2008 -
I am trying very hard to turn loose of my frustrations and not allow them to jack with my life. But, damn, Thursday was rough.
Nothing in particular happened. That is the absolute beauty of hormones. Nothing has to happen to make me feel like this. It just comes out of the blue and slam dunks me to the floor.
And as fast as it comes, it goes. There is a most definitely a catch to making it go. I have to get my mind back on the things that are good and true in my life.
I feel really sorry for Bill when I am like this, because the truth is, I am a real bitch to deal with. I guess love gives him the strength to wrestle with it, but I also think it is just in his character to see the good in everything, even when I cannot see it in myself.
Sunday we went out for breakfast, and afterward I grabbed my iPod and went out the door for a run, before anything else could come out of my mouth to ruin the day. Exercise grounds me and helps shake the fog.
I walked at first, then I ran. And I ran and ran. I ran until sweat ran down my face. I ran until all the buzzing, angry words disappeared from my head. I ran and listened to John Denver sing words of beauty and love. I ran as I allowed my thoughts to turn to our boat. I ran until all of the frustration was gone.
Then I walked to my car and drove home.
As soon as I arrived, we loaded up the truck and went to the boat.
Bill prepared the lines, then I took us out of our slip, and out of the harbor. Up went the sails, and she took the small breeze and ran with it. I shut off the engine and asked Bill where we were going.
He replied, “I don’t know. You’re the captain today”.
And so we sailed across water that I feel as if I have known my whole life. Ancient water, like an old friend, that greats me with its mysterious, swimming life forms teaming below its surface.
What gives me euphoria? The sea….that amazing liquid I have found my way back to after 10 years, like some reverse, Darwinian creature.
Euphoria tries to elude me. It plays games with me, hiding behind the clouds and my ability to just accept the gift from God of living in this amazing place, no strings attached.
Sunday it found me as the southern wind filled our sails and the boat, eager to accept the gift for me, glided across a bay filled with dolphins.
I have baggage I need to let go of. It is no ones fault except my own. I have allowed it to take the wind from my sails at times and from having full peace here. I have allowed it to steal the glory God deserves.
Today I close my eyes, raise up my hands and open them, allowing God to take those things away on the wind.
It is as simple as that, if we let it be.
One little monkey jumping on the couch - February 22, 2008 -
Just a quick update before the weekend on the status of Miss Mimi Smartiepants and her arm.
In answer to a couple of questions….she is doing great and yes, she did break it jumping on the couch. Thank you for asking in comments and via e-mail.
All I can say is, ugh.
She was flinging herself around the sofa, and I asked her to stop, so she jumped one…last…time and flung herself fist first into the arm of the couch.
Her wrist hit, buckled, and she has something called a torus in her forearm. The bone buckled, but did not snap in half.
She will be in the splint for 2 weeks, and then we will check it again.
It has not slowed her down in the least, as you can see here
She whooped her Dad in a friendly game of soccer.
Newsflash….Just this very moment, as I was typing this, she climbed up on the couch and started JUMPING ON IT AGAIN.
Where is some wood, so I can bang my head against it.
Thank God it is Tropical Drink Friday. Tonight will be Gin Freezes. Won’t you join me?
It’s all in the details - February 19, 2008 -
I love pelicans. They are so strange and prehistoric looking.
I enjoy photographing them in all their ancient weirdness.
Look at the feathers on these white pelicans, all fluffy and white. Can you see each feather…each strand of down?
Oh, you can’t see them that well. Here, let me help….
Your old eyes still need to see things a bit closer….well alrighty. Here is the same photo, magnified X 100%, and cropped yet again.
This photo was taken down the pier, up the beach and across the road…while sitting in my car and without the aid of a tripod.
I used a Nikon 70-300mm 4.5-5.6G IF-ED with VR(Vibration Reduction). It came in the mail yesterday, along with the very excellent and affordable 50mm lens used for yesterdays photo of Mia. (If you own a Nikon SLR and want to make one investment to increase the quality of your photos, buy the 50mm F 1.8 D. It is less than $120 and is a dream to use.)
Cropping this photo with my original lens would have been impossible. The “shake” on that lens would have distorted the photo as I enlarged it…..a tripod was a must. If I can get the above quality without a tripod, imagine how the pics will look WITH a tripod.
I am so impressed with these lenses. Both the 50mm and the 70-300mm have been on my wish list for a very long time and so far they were sooo very worth the wait.
I plan on doing some more serious wildlife photography in the near future, but I have a long way to go and will be taking some lessons from a professional here in town.
“U r not suppozed to c meez, high in my tree top hyding spot”
Here, enjoy an adorable, dingo creature. No flash, natural light. I didn’t even edit the images except to re-size them to fit on this site. The brightness, color and sharpness are all unedited.
Nikon, it does a photo good.
Let there be light - February 18, 2008 -
Photography just got more interesting for me.
I have discovered the world of “no flash required”…..anywhere or anytime.
Ignore the food on her face, and the bug bite on her lip….focus instead on counting her eyebrow hairs….or her freckles…or possibly her skin cells.
This was taken using a new Nikon 50mm 1:1.8 D lens, fresh from the box…in the house, with no flash.
This lens is genius. I think it went to Yale… or maybe it is a Harvard man.
All I know is, it just became infinitely easier to chase down a moving target and have it look like something other than a drug induced smear of color and eyes.
More tomorrow……..
They ate octopi, we had ribeye - February 18, 2008 -
If you have not already, you really need to make this adorable meal for your kiddos. We made this for the kids Valentines Day meal, and they loved it. Easy to prepare and so fun. I followed the recipe, save for the baking part. I just added the cheese and milk while the noodles were steaming hot, and served it like that. Oh, and Bill threw a few of the octopuses on the grill. They didn’t coil their arms as well as the ones in the boiling water, but they were tasty.
Mom and Dad had grilled ribeyes. Mmmmmmmmm. The kids were all “Why aren’t you having hot dogs?” and we were all, “Grilled, medium-rare ribeye does not a hotdog make. Mommies and Daddies require raw meat every now and then”.
Oh, and we had white cake with buttercream frosting for desert. Mm mm mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Raw meat and lard. It doesn’t get much better than that.
No more monkeys jumping on the couch! - February 15, 2008 -
In case you were wondering, the Heineken was for me.
Fate - February 14, 2008 -
I am thinking that these pictures were probably taken within the same year. I must be 4? Pam, you might have to help me on that one. Bill is maybe 11? 12?
It seems so weird to look at our little selves.
I sit there, oblivious to his existence on earth. I am in pre-kindergarten. Glue, scissors and chasing lizards are my focus living in north Texas.
He sits there, surfing his #1 priority, on the cusp of adolescence, ready to take on the world in south Texas.
If we had met then, I would have been just another child that he would have patted on the head and talked to in a high pitched voice.
We would not cross paths for another 18 years.
It would take those 18 years for the world to throw its best and worst on us, while we grew up into the mature adults we were when we met.
During that time, I would find my way to the coast. I would attend college there, learn the difference between Corona and tequila, and meet a young man who, in all his absolutely charming ways, inadvertently fostered the best in me and sculpted me to be the woman Bill would fall in love with.**
Bill and I would meet at the ages of 22 and 30. We would marry 3 years later.
From the time those pictures were taken, and today, almost 40 years have past.
When I look at the picture of Bill above, I recognize my husband. I see the same eyes I have gazed into for more than 20 years. His soul shines in them. I see the same nose that I have kissed the tip of. I have run my fingers through that hair.
He was mine then, and I was his. My lopsided smile. My sleepy eyes. My inability to be comfortable in a dress. It is all still the same.
Those 2 kids found their way to each other.
But really, they didn’t have any choice.
It was fate.
Happy Valentines day, Billy.
** (Dude, you know who you are, you Houston kook. Did you ever find a dog to love as much as you did Helga? ;*) Thank you for being there while I grew up. The fact of the matter is, if I had met Bill before knowing you, things would have never turned out the way they did. I would not have been able to handle the relationship in a mature fashion and he and I would have moved on, away from each other and the amazing fate that awaited us. God put you in my path, as part of my journey to Bill, and I am very grateful for it, my friend.)
Getting my stretch on - February 12, 2008 -
Getting old is hell on the body. I experienced another birthday a few weeks ago, and with it a new resolve to get fit this spring.
I have lots of incentive……a long boat trip in which I had better have some upper body strength in which to haul and trim sails with.
And beach weather. (yes, I know to never start a sentence with “and”, but this is not English 101 so who cares, right?)
Beach weather has already arrived here. No, I am not kidding. Saturday I was walking down the beach wearing a bathing suit and getting a tan. Yes way!
I felt very self conscious as well. There is no doubt that Christmas got the best of me.
So, I have been running moderately, using my stepper, walking and stretching.
The stretching thing is tough. My muscles and tendons are so very tight. It took me weeks to be able to touch my toes, but I am finally here:
Ignore the giant thigh thing you see….and the white age spots. Instead focus on the fact that I am able to finally touch my forehead to me knee.
Yeah! World peas!
In my ripe old age, I covet this fact. It means that I am actually achieving something with my exercise and that my body is not giving out just yet.
It also is something Bill cannot do. Neener, neener.
I leave you with my goals to reach for this spring:
Tone up.
Lose that last, damn 15lbs once and for all.
Be able to run 10 miles without stopping (or aid of assisted oxygen and an EMS support team) by May.
Be able to stand and flat hand my palms to the ground without bending my knees.
Paddle out to surf without feeling too wiped out to catch waves once in the line-up.
Dock the boat by myself without smashing a hole in the hull.
Kids Can Cook - February 11, 2008 -
Thursday night has a new tradition……invented by mom and dad.
They get to plan, shop for and prepare the family meal on Thursday nights.
Last week they made Pad Thai.
Even the little ones contributed by squeezing some fresh lime.
They even get the honor of washing all the dishes while mom and dad kick back.
Frying up some oyster po’ boys is on the menu this week. Yum.
They really had fun, and I think it is so important for them to learn how to cook good food and understand the work that goes into the meals prepared for them.
**always, always supervise your kids around boiling water and hot grease. It just takes an instant for a pot to flip over and spill on the little ones.
Newest swab on deck - February 10, 2008 -
Dingos know to always wear a US Coast Guard approved PFD (personal floatation device) while sailing.
Yet another reason to give up coffee - February 8, 2008 -
When should you REALLY give up coffee?
When you make the perfect cup of cappa, sit down to browse the net, and knock the perfect cappa over onto your new laptop.
How do you know that you have your priorities in order and money means nothing to you?
When, instead of rushing to remove the keyboard and mop up the coffee to save the computer, you grab your portable drive, plug it in and transfer your photos before the computer can shut down forever…..when they are all safely copied, then and only then do you remove the keyboard and clean up the mess.
**I had JUST reformatted my memory card on my camera, deleting over 1200 photos from it, so I was freaking out because I had not moved them from my laptop to my external, portable drive. For those who think I am nuts, I spilled at least 2-4 oz onto it, so felt that it had for sure seeped into the mother board and I would only have a short window of time to transfer the photos. Status on the ‘puter is that it appears that it just blew out my keyboard and did not make it into the “guts”…..only time will tell.
Reading minds - February 7, 2008 -
Mia: I want something to eat.
Me: Please.
Mia: Get me something to eat! Please.
Me: Do you want an orange or an apple?
Mia: No! I want you to get me something to eat.
Me: Well, I need you to tell me what you want?
Mia: I want that thing that we had last year.
Me, laughing: Could you be more specific?
Mia: Well, you know, that thing we had yesterday or something?
Me: That narrows it down. Could you tell me what the thing you are talking about could be?
Mia falling to the ground screaming: MOM! You never listen to me! GET ME SOMETHING TO EAT!!
I improvised, and pulling something out of my hat, got her a yogurt….and put sprinkles on it. The last time we had it with sprinkles was something like, last year.
She was all, “Yeah, that’s what I was talking about”.
Go Mom!
Rah, rah, rah, etc.
Add mind reading to my many talents.
Sweet like a puffy, pink, glittery marshmallow - February 7, 2008 -
Watch out, these are so sweet they will make your teeth hurt.
Solutions……instead of sticking ice picks in your ears. - February 6, 2008 -
When the screaming, whining and overall noise level in your house reaches a point in which you are quite certain dead people would be begging for Valium, enter your husband…home from work early, with a fresh, creative mind that has enough sense to know that mom is about to blow, and moves the chaos to the wilds of the backyard….where it stays for the entire afternoon, evening and NIGHT!
Meet the tent. My new BFF in all the world.
Eating at 8:40p.m……..Or how to starve your family while they wait for you to make Torta rustica - February 6, 2008 -
I have had a cooking bug lately. It must be the coming of spring that is bringing it on.
Or the fact that my friend Pam sent me The Mediterranean Light cookbook for my birthday just a couple weeks ago. Pam is a real life friend who I have known my whole life. We are only 3 months apart in age, and when our moms used to get together (they live right across the street from my childhood home) they would put us in the same crib together while they had coffee. Go say “Hi” to Pam.
I’ll wait…….
I saw a picture of the Torta on her website and it looked to die for, so I had to make it.
My firt mistake was to start the dough at 3:15p.m.. I had just enough time to put together the water and the yeast before I had to leave for school pick up. Upon return, after 4pm, I added the flour and started the mixer up. I allowed it to knead until it was time to go pick up yet another child from school. Turned off mixer, picked up kid, returned and started mixer again. 10 inutes later I had to leave again to take a kid to soccer practice. At this point, this is the worlds most kneaded lump of dough.
Upon return at 5:30, I kneaded dough by hand just a tad, then turned it in an oiled bowl and placed it in the warming drawer of my oven so it could rise…..for 2 hours.
Then I make the filling, which involves roasting some red peppers, peeling them while helping 10yo download Weird Al songs from iTunes because he must have them TODAY, picking basil from my garden, giving Mia some Barbie vitamins because WE FORGOT THEM THIS MORNING, chopping onions, garlic and basil, painting on the back porch with watercolors that are getting EVERYWHERE, and lots of mixing. It has spinach, egg, cottage cheese, herbs, onion, garlic and some parmesan cheese.
6:30 Bill is home with the soccer kid, whom he has picked up on his way home from work. Bill is starving and asking what is for dinner. At this point dinner is a lump of dough and a large bowl of strained spinach.
6:45 The kids are pulling the drawer on the warmer and looking at the large dough ball and deciding if it is growing or not.
6:50 Bill lets me know he is starving again.
6:55 The kids are now starving.
7:00 Bill pulls out some crackers because he is STARVING. The man has the most efficient metabolism ever and has been experiencing hypoglycemia since his stroke. He MUST HAVE FOOD.
7:15 My kids have now poked at the growing dough and are wondering how it could possible turn into something edible. I may not have to punch it down, since that has already been done for me.
7:30 Dough has doubled in size. I roll it out 2/3 of it and line a springform pan.
7:35 Begin filling torta. Layer of 1/2 of spinach mixture, layer of roasted red peppers, then cottage cheese mixture, then more peppers, then the rest of the spinach mixture.
7:40 Roll out top to torta, cover it and crimp edges. It looks very……rustic.
7:45 Place torte in the oven and set timer for 45 minutes. Kids all start moaning and groaning! 45! MINUTES!! I thought it would be done at 7:30?!!! Tell them they will get worms and salmonella if they eat it now…..never eat raw egg or raw dough.
8:00 Bill reminds me that he is really, really, really starving and that nothing could be good enough to be in this much agony for.
8:15 Bill reminds me that the food may come out of the oven at 8:30, but it “MUST THEN COOL FOR ANOTHER 15 MINUTES…….and I AM STARVING……SEE MY RIBS???”
8:20 Kids open oven door and oh and ahh over the torta and its fluffy largeness.
8:30 Remove torta from oven, being careful not to take off broiler coils, because yes…it has risen. Alot.
It begins the cooling process, which brings on more hungry “I am STARVING” groans from children and husband.
8:40 Slice torta and serve it to all the emaciated people of my family. The little kids realize it is filled with spinach and only eat the outside bread.
This was so delicious it was sinful……and for me, well worth the wait.
Next time I might start making it upon waking at 6am. Maybe then, between all the driving, watercolor painting, Barbie vitamins, iTunes and cooking it will be done before bedtime.
Things of value - February 4, 2008 -
There are times in life where something significant happens, and you do not recognize it until hours later when you are in bed, pondering the event.
Much talk has been going on via the internet about purging and letting go of all the “stuff” in our lives. I am a big fan of this idea, as we just purged a tremendous amount of pure crap from ours. I got rid of so much that I had held onto for years. Things that really had no bearing on my life anymore. Things that had not seen the light of day in a decade.
Then there were those things that I just cannot turn lose of. The stuffed animals that were mine when I was a child. Some of my kids baby toys. A small box for each child with some of their baby clothes.
Over the years my husbands family has handed down some things to us that were important to them. Most of the things are in small boxes in the closet, away from tiny hand that could break them. Many things, such a some furniture, we returned to them when we moved here, as we just did not have the room.
One of the things that was given to us many years ago was Bill’s grandfather’s black doctors bag. It was very fragile, and when Bill tried to use it it literally fell apart. We ended up throwing it away because it was in such bad shape.
Yesterday we drove up north to meet Bill’s folks for lunch and to exchange some Christmas presents. After we ate, we went to the car and the kids opened their presents, and we gave Dad and Sue their gifts. They gave Bill and I an amazing metal sculpture of sea birds….just gorgeous.
Then my FIL went back to the car and asked me to follow him. He pulled out a case, flipped it open and proceeded to pull out a telescope. Not just a spy scope to peep on your neighbors, but a Jovian 4 celestial scope. He continued to pull out lens, filters, and adapters of all kinds. I knew he was giving us a telescope, but I had no idea it was one of this caliber. No idea at all. I had told them that we were studying astronomy and that we would be getting a telescope sometime in the spring, so he decided to give us his.
He also pulled out another case. In this one was a Minolta 35mm camera. It has attachments to allow you to hook it to the telescope and take celestial photographs…photos of the moon, Saturn, Jupiter and galaxies.
He told me that the telescope was given to him by a doctor friend who came to visit them when they lived in California. He loved the view that their house had, and promptly went out to the store and bought the telescope for them so they could take full advantage of the fact that they had views of the California coast. It was a much treasured gift.
That was more than 25 years ago. It still looks brand new, as does the Minolta.
When we got home, I called them to ask a question about the telescope, and in the conversation that followed, my FIL told me that his father had given him a camera when he graduated from medical school. At the same time he also received a 70-210 telephoto lens from a dear family friend, who had since passed away, and he had meant to bring it for me, but forgot it. I told him that I would keep it for the boys when they were old enough to be reponsible with it, and he said “I gave it to you. You are the only one who has an interest in photography and such, so I want you to have it.”
I, his daughter-in-law, received such a priceless gift. Who am I that this family has accepted me so graciously as one of their own?
When Bill crawled into bed that night, I told him what his dad said. He replied, “I had no idea that is where that camera and lens came from.” I said “It really means alot to him, and he gave it to me. I know that was hard for him to part with it. Probably like the doctors bag…..the one we threw away.” Bill said “I feel so bad about that, but it was in pieces. In hindsight we should have taken it to have it repaired.” I had tears rolling down my cheeks.
Some things have memories attached to them. They may not be your memories, but they are filled with value, love and have been cherished by those you love. They are inanimate objects. You can tell yourself that you are holding onto material things, but the plain damn truth is that you are holding on to something of value because it was valuable to someone who means the world to you. By keeping it and passing it on, you are keeping a small part of that person alive through the ages.
It is my hope that my childrens children will gaze through that telescope and view the same moon that their great-grandfather saw through it. They will turn the focus, putting their fingerprints over his. Maybe they will care for it so well that their children will watch through it a man walk on the moon again…..or step foot on Mars. Imagine that.
I plan on buying some film for that 35mm camera and photographing some planets with dad’s telescope. My children will hear how their Papa came to own the lens, and maybe one day in the not so distant future I can photograph my son with that camera and lens as he walks across the stage and graduates from medical school, carrying on a famiy tradition that spans 3 generations to date (my Bill is a Physician Assistant). Then I can give him the camera and repeat the story of how it came to be and why he was now receiving it.
There are things in life which are worth keeping. Care for them well, my friends.
Date night, a love story - February 2, 2008 -
For the last few months Bill and I have been able to take an evening to ourselves each month.
The babysitting situation is premo….it only costs $15 for the entire evening. The cost of finding a baby sitter was what had kept Bill us from wanting to do it more than, say, once a year. Face it, after you pay the baby sitter $10 an hour, factor in dinner, a movie and gas, your date night could cost well over $100-$150 or more. The part of Bill that needed to be with me alone could not quite overcome that part of Bill that hates to let go of money.
Since we moved to the coast, on date night we have 5 hours to do whatever we want.
The night usually consists of dinner out and then time alone on the boat……..I can’t tell you how amazing it is for us to just sit and talk uninterrupted.
We have slowly been touring the restaurants that Bill has deemed too expensive to bring all the kids to….which completely ticks off Cody, as he is the one who checks out the leftovers that we bring home. “HEY!! You had crawfish! You went to (insert name of restaurant the kids want to eat at every night of the week). That isn’t fair!!!”
Last night we hit a local place that is BYOB. You get a table, then head next door to the liquor store, select your drink for the night, bring it back, then they chill and serve it to you.
The food is superb, with a fresh sushi bar, and some amazing gourmet food.
We sat there for 3 hours eating sushi, sipping ice cold Heinekens, in an intimate setting with lots of friendly locals. I met a couple that Bill knew from work ties, and I instantly liked them. I said to Bill “Now see, I think I could really enjoy their company” and I felt a little of the wall I have placed around me give way.
Afterward we went to the boat. Remember how cold it was at the beach making plaster hand prints? Well, the boat was even colder. The hull is basically floating in the water like a nice bottle of beer chilling in ice water…..but instead of drinking that lovely, cold beer you pop the top off and crawl down the neck into it.
We opened some hatches and lit the stove until things warmed up to a point above “Why are we doing this” level. Then the most romantic thing happened. We crawled into the aft bed and fell asleep….a nice, uninterrupted, dozing sleep that only a parent with lots of small children can appreciate.
I think they call it REM, and I highly recommend it.
Playing with plaster - February 1, 2008 -
We went, we saw, we did..and it was cold.
I think that the next time we go to the beach and work with plaster of paris, I will wait until it is a more comfortable 98 degrees outside….or 100.
Apparently the cooler it is outside, the slower plaster dries. We found this out…this little fact……and spent an hour doing the equivalent to watching paint dry while cold wind whipped around us after being made even colder as it blew across the water.
Ahem.
So you start off with some plaster of paris. Mix it up according to the package directions. Be sure and stir all of the lumps around. Stand up and stomp your feet and dance around to get warm because you forgot your coat.
While you are doing this, have the kids make their designs in the sand. The designs should be pretty deep. You can make hand prints, or use beach toys in various shapes to make impressions in the sand.
Now pour the plaster over the impression. Take a spoon and smooth it out. Be gentle and don’t press too hard.
Now have your child spread sand over the top of it.
Now sit there, teeth chattering, and guard the slowly drying plaster as your youngest kids go play on the beach wearing a dress and short sleeve t-shirt with shorts as all of the older folks walk by clicking their tongues. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. They will have pneumonia by the ‘morrow. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” (have I mentioned how durn chilly it was?)
When the plaster appears to be dry enough, dig around and under it, then slowly and gently lift it up…..and I mean gently. One of ours broke in half as it was not thick enough….yes, it was Cody’s. Everything happens to that poor kid.
At this point it is still not dry enough to brush all of the extra tons of sand off, so place them on the carpet of your newly vacuumed car, load up the kids and head for home.
After about an hour, brush all the extra sand off….between the finger impressions etc…..if it didn’t all end up in the car, and you will have some little, reverse hand prints.
And now my espresso has worn off and I am done with craft Friday.
Have a lovely weekend!!
A little family - February 1, 2008 -
We did a craft this morning. It involved paint and glue guns, and lots of paper towels. And patience, which surprisingly I had even after 2 espressos (my sin is out….I am back on the beans).
Can you guess what it was.
Yes, we actually cut that square piece of felt…and also glued felt to the sides and box lid.
So what do you have when you pull back the perfectly cut square of pink felt?
No, it isn’t a tiny coffin, although at this point it may look like one.
It is a tiny quiet box, complete with little, strange people. There is a mommy with long flowing blond hair, svelt in her yellow apron, and a purple necklace (we all know who that is). A boy with a baseball cap, made by Quinn. A little girl with blond pigtails dressed in a tremendous amount of pink (can you guess who that is) made by Mia (with a tad of help) and a true-to-life daddy complete with a bald spot (I swear it was Mia’s idea…I had NOTHING to do with it).
We had so much fun making these. It was super easy, and Mia has been playing with her little family all morning.
Instructions to make a Quiet Family can be found at the very talented Scribbit. I sooo want the little fairy tale family, and will have to do one of those. Fairies would also be precious.
Blanket party! - February 1, 2008 -
Hey guys, Mary from Owlhaven is holding a blanket party on her site today. She is raising money to purchase blankets for newborns in Ethiopia.
Just imagine not having a blanket to wrap your newborn in. Just so very humbling.
Please head on over and help her reach her goal of $500!!
Letting go of control - February 1, 2008 -
Quinn and I have been having a battle of wills when it comes to sitting down and doing his school work. Everything is much more interesting to him…playing tag with the dog, his gecko, the sun shining outside…..it was getting to the point that instead of being fun like I had hoped, it was becoming a chore that we must GET DONE WITH ALREADY.
Finally, after a particularly difficult morning, I sat down with him and asked him if he behaved like that at school. He said that , no, he did not act like that and when I asked him why, I got a response that hit the nail on the head. He said “Because it was easy”.
So, he is being challenged, but at what cost?
In the beginning I was all about staying on schedule. Get the work done and keep on target.
After thinking things through and reading some message boards, I have made some changes into how I want our homeschool to proceed.
What I want for us is to explore and learn. I want some hands on fun and adventures to shape the bulk of our day. I want to unschool with Sonlight.
The Sonlight Core that we are doing is 1+2. There is sooooo much in it to learn, and it is divided up into 36 weeks, but there is no way we can go through it all in that amount of time. There is no way I want to do that. I plan to take until at least May 2009 to complete it and spend more time in each area of study. I mean, going with the schedule we just plowed through Egypt…a place that we could probably spend months studying. So I am back tracking, because we NEED to make a sugar cube pyramid! Not to mention go to the beach and …..pretend we are in the desert in Egypt and are digging for mummies….or daddies. Or clams. Clams are in Egypt, right?
This afternoon we will be heading to the beach with some plaster of paris, some watercolors and beach toys. I will post the how to’s, the finished product and how it relates to our studies later today.
For now, I am off to my kitchen with the kids to make granola. I am hoping my underwear stays put.
