Fortune

This was the fortune found in my fortune cookie yesterday.

Are you thinking River, as in Styx?

I'm thinking OCEAN!

Bird Art

J is working on a really fun unit in Art right now. She started with one magazine picture of an animal and has used it as the basis for 4 different art forms: a realistic drawing, an abstract drawing, a realistic sculpture, and an abstract sculpture. L of course, had to get in on the action too.

J chose a Ruby Throated Hummingbird picture from an old calendar. L chose an Audubon painting of a Flamingo.


Realistic drawing done in oil pastels.



Abstract drawing, entitled "Harriet Hummingbird Has a Crazy Day", also in oil pastels.



Realistic sculpture in clay, entitled "Birdie"



Abstract sculpture built with found objects: drink bottle, milk bottle tops, drinking straw, feathers, pipe cleaners and "jewels".



Here is L's flamingo drawing in the medium of oil pastels, and labelled "Jessie".



Flamingo sculpture in clay ("very fragile" according to the artist).



Abstract flamingo sculpture constructed of found objects: drink bottle, hickory nut, googly eyes, feathers and pipe cleaners.



I thought they did a great job!

Hi Daddy! I just wanted to tell you...

JP has just 2 weeks left at his job, and then a hefty vacation coming up. We are all thrilled and unprepared.

I am taking a break from panic-mode passport form filling out, and photocopying of vital information. We still have not completely determined where or when we would like to travel, but apparently it all involves passports. JP's and mine are expired as of April, the girls have never had theirs. I need to take them to the Prothonotary Office tomorrow between 8:30 and 4:00 to apply in person. Since JP couldn't accompany us, he had to have yet another form notarized to excuse him from this requirement.

At the same time, I am filling out forms and copying information for my new job, which begins around Jan. 17th. This will be the first time I will be employed at more than an hour or two a week since J was just a baby!

So, as JP prepares to end one stage in his life, we are readying for the twilight zone in-between jobs, and then the madness of starting new jobs at the same time. SO...MUCH...FUN!

JP copied 7 years of messages left on his phone from the girls on to his iPod today. At dinner, he asked if we "wanted to hear the girls grow up". We gathered around the computer this evening and listened to little J say "Hi Daddy! I just wanted to tell you that I can count to 100 and I'm GROWING UP!", or to L saying "Daddy not dere!" (Mommy's voice in the background: "I know, you have to leave a message.") "NOOOOOOOOOO!" And later on, J says "Hi Daddy! I just wanted to tell you that I can use the BIG violin now!" and L reports "Hi Daddy! I got a tic-tac (tick) on my neck and Mommy got it off when she brushing my hair. I love you. Bye-bye Daddy!"

I remember some of those days we called and left messages, but some were just ordinary days that don't stand out in my memory at all. I hear hints of desperation ("Mommy wants to know if you are coming home today?") and victories ("I made pee pee in the potty and poo poo in the potty!"). A lot can happen in 7 years..who would have thought that today I would be in frantic passport preparation mode? It all works out in the end though, doesn't it? I'm in a good place now, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else, doing anything else (although I wish we could be ahead of the game enough once in a while to have the passports ready and waiting.)

Blessings

A friend who was recently in my storage room commented on how pretty my jars of canned food are. I agree with him, and finally got around to taking pictures of the bounty from our garden and local orchards and farms this year.



From top to bottom: local peaches, dill cucumber relish, mild red peppers, pepperoncini peppers, sweet cucumber pickles.



From top to bottom: more peaches, Serrano peppers, local cherries, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, cucumber dills.



I can't forget the winter squash wintering down there too: acorn and butternut.

The freezer is pretty impressive too!



Top to bottom: strawberries, peaches, sour cherries, sweet corn, wax beans, green beans.



And of course, my strawberry freezer jam.

It's quite impressive to look at it all together and know that we will be enjoying this delicious food when the winter snows are flying.

We experienced some more blessings today: these lovely people who came to celebrate J-bird's 8th birthday today.



My lovely daughter, who loves fairies, making art, and reading books...who doesn't love it, but makes beautiful music on the violin anyway...who loves History and Science, but dislikes grammar and math...is getting to be such an amazing young lady!



She wanted a cake that looked like an eight dollar bill, with her picture in the middle. This required experimenting with food color in order to recreate just the right grey-green color of money...interesting.



She and little L, are truly my greatest blessings. I am extremely grateful to be their Mom. I hope that one day they will get a similar joy looking at their own jars of canned food sitting neatly on shelves...but not too soon.

It's Inevitable

Why is it that when adults get sick, it ruins their weekend, and when kids get sick, it's always at 2 in the morning?

Play Group

One of the best parts of my week is the morning, a couple of times a month, when my friends get together for a Play Group. It is as valuable, or possibly more so, for the Moms as it is for the kiddos. It does make me happy, however, to see the kids running around outside being...kids.

We share stories: funny, frightening, or sad. We give advice. We listen. We drink tea and eat.

I have been asked to share my recipes for a couple of my favorite finger-food type snacks, so get out your pencils...

Hummus

1 can chick peas, rinsed & drained

1/3 c tahini

1/4 c lemon juice

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add water, a teaspoon at a time, to desired consistency. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.

Curried Chicken Salad

1 can chicken breast meat, rinsed

1/3 cup mayo

2 T lime juice

2 t curry powder

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

OR 1/4 cup water chestnuts, chopped fine

1/2 c grapes, halved

Mix all ingredients together and adjust mayo and curry powder to desired consistency and taste.

That's What I'm Talkin' About

'Nuff said.