meltybeading

First, apple juice made from braeburn and pink lady apples.
Then, apple/mandarin orange juice from braeburns, pink ladies, and satsumas.
Finally, apple/satsuma/vegetable juice with braeburns, pink ladies, satsumas, celery, beets, and carrots. Yep. Very good juice indeed. Really good juice and kombucha kicked that virus back to the bad mood it came from.



Babies getting married. They are riding in their carriage pulled by their zebra. Check out Walk Baby's new red jacket we made today. He is all set for the wedding in his Paddington hat and wedding jacket.

from a friend's blog to mine and maybe on to yours...

The following is something you can cut and paste to your blog, then bold the items you've done.

1. Started your own blog
yes!

2. Slept under the stars
I think so

3. Played in a band
no but I was in show choir :)

4. Visited Hawaii
not yet

5. Watched a meteor shower
yes and recently too!

6. Given more than you can afford to charity
hmmm...I donate a lot of goods and volunteered with La Leche League for 5! years and I like to give money to the raptors and the primates but I don't know about more than I can afford

7. Been to Disneyland/world
Disneyland once, Disneyworld a couple of times 2?3?4?

8. Climbed a mountain
I have done some hiking but not technically mountain climbed

9. Held a praying mantis
yes and when we moved to this house we took a guy who had made his home in our window and set him free here with us

10. Sang a solo
yes

11. Bungee jumped
nope. not interested.

12. Visited Paris
yes - but so long ago and I never did get up into the Eiffel Tower. I can't wait to go back.

13. Watched a lightning Storm at Sea
I don't think so but I have seen many many lightning storms which I really miss here in the Pacific NW

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
yes- knitting about 10 years ago! Still loving it! And I write, but that I was born with.

15. Adopted a child
no. we have adopted a dog and three cats and several small rodent types.

16. Had food poisoning
not sure about this one. I got blastocystis hominis when I was in Russia which is pretty close, little guys living inside you who you don't necessarily want to be there :)

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
you know we stopped half way

18. Grown your own vegetables
yes. I am even currently growing my own vegetables!

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
yes! There was a huge crowd but I saw her!

20. Slept on an overnight train
yes, several times in Russia and thereabouts.

21. Had a pillow fight
yes. I don't really like pillow fights (or dodge ball...)

22. Hitch hiked
yes, long ago with a good friend.

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
yes. It is hard to do that now.

24. Built a snow fort
yes!

25. Held a lamb
no but that would be fun

26. Gone skinny dipping
hmmm

27. Run a Marathon
no

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
no but that sounds fun

29. Watched a total eclipse: Solar and lunar
yes, both

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
yes, just last night and a couple of mornings ago, thanks to Agnes :)

31. Hit a home run
no

32. Been on a cruise
no

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
no

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
yes, we drove through Southern Indiana several years ago (does that count :)

35. Seen an Amish community
yes, briefly

36. Taught yourself a new language
Well, I have a degree in Russian.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
That's mostly a choice.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
yes and you know it really does lean. I was amazed.

39. Gone rock climbing
I took my kids to a rock climbing place at a gym but I am not interested really, although more so than with bungee jumping and a lot more than say going into a submarine.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
yes!

41. Sung karaoke
yes but I would really rather go rock climbing :)

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
yes and that was cool too! I have a picture of me in front of Old Faithful erupting.

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
no but I give money to homeless people whenever I can.

44. Visited Africa
I would love to visit Africa.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
yes

46. Been transported in an ambulance
no- wait maybe I can't remember. It was for a friend of mine who was beat up by some college thugs when we were in college.

47. Had your portrait painted
no but my mom has done some paintings about me for sure

48. Gone deep sea fishing
no

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
yes!

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
No! And there was a whole thing where I was waiting for someone else to go up and then ended up not so I will have to go back.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
no

52. Kissed in the rain
probably

53. Played in the mud
yes, just recently even

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
I think so- yes when I was really young.

55. Been in a movie
no

56. Visited the Great Wall of China
not yet

57. Started a business
not yet

58. Taken a martial arts class
no

59. Visited Russia
yes, I have a very intimate relationship with that country and it has helped shape who I am in so many ways. Maybe I will go back someday but I feel a little sick thinking about it so maybe not.

60. Served at a soup kitchen
no

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
no but I sold a lot of other things door to door when I was a kid- candles, ornaments, that sort of thing

62. Gone whale watching
not yet

63. Gotten flowers for no reason
yes! I love flowers!

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
I don't think so. I think I thought about it in college but never did it.

65. Gone sky diving
No, I would rather sing karaoke :)

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
no

67. Bounced a check
yes

68. Flown in a helicopter
no

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
yes and the kids have been playing with them lately and it is nice to see them loved again

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
yes

71. Eaten Caviar
yes- that Russia trip- ugh

72. Pieced a quilt
yes, a little one

73. Stood in Times Square
yes! And thanks to my dad, I was even there on New Years one year when I lived there.

74. Toured the Everglades
no

75. Been fired from a job
no, well there was this time at NYU when I showed up and he had replaced me so maybe I was fired but he never said anything, it was a little passive to be really fired, you know? And there wasn't really a cause, the other intern just cost less :) But it was a little weird.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
yes

77. Broken a bone
no

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
well, on a motorcycle a couple of times, not sure if it was speeding

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
yes, lovely.

80. Published a book
not yet!

81. Visited the Vatican
no, I think so.

82. Bought a brand new car
no

83. Walked in Jerusalem
no

84. Had your picture in the newspaper
yes

85. Read the entire Bible
no, I started once because of some lit class I was taking but didn't get far. I have read through the Tao Te Ching though!

86. Visited the White House
no but I have seen it

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
no

88. Had chickenpox
no

89. Saved someone’s life
not a person but other little creatures for sure

90. Sat on a jury
good grief yes, in Brooklyn for a man slaughter case ai yai yai.

91. Met someone famous
yes but I don't usually recognize them. I met Jane Goodall and that was fun.

92. Joined a book club
yes but I didn't stay for long

93. Lost a loved one
yes

94. Had a baby
two!

95. Seen the Alamo in person
no

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
yes, a couple of them.

97. Been involved in a law suit
no

98. Owned a cell phone
yes

99. Been stung by a bee
yes and a yellow jacket a couple of summers ago at the upick. He crawled into my flip flop while my foot was up! Ouch!

she's a real martian beauty

Eva has been very inspired by this vintage sesame street flick.

She has taken to drawing the martian beauty in various drawings and today gave me a sample of what types of tattoos I could have. Martian beauty was one of the options...



baby sweater knitting in background...

We went to the market today and the kale guy said he may not come next week because, after all, it is winter. I mean, sort of, I guess. We did get a frost today. The market attendance was low today and I can see that many others feel as he does. Everyone is wearing a hat. There are some coats. I feel sad when the market closes but luckily I have my produce basket to keep me in fresh produce for the next couple of months until the market (and my garden) get back into the swing of growing. I bought extra kale.

Jack was so excited by the frost that he went outside and ran around really fast, jumping up and down excitedly. He loves the cool weather and if we ever get snow, hang on as he bounds this way and that into the snow drifts.

Samuel had the idea to pour water all over the patio and then when it freezes at night, we will have an ice skating rink in our yard. They may do this. I can't say for certain but if they are inspired, this could indeed happen, at least on part of the patio.

Overheard-
Samuel, "Eva don't spit, it's not polite!" [I swear I have never ever said this.]

Driving around the neighborhood tonight looking at Holiday Lights. Eva was so happy and ooooed and ahhed and ohhhed and sighed and pointed all the way through. We listened to Christmas music while we drove around. What is my favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells, of course. And then? Christmas is Coming. (Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat, please to put a penny in the old man's hat. If you haven't got a penny, a ha-penny will do, if you haven't got a ha-penny, then God bless you...)

I got out of the habit of carrying my camera once it broke and haven't gotten used to the old one again. Tonight the kids and I looked at Venus and Jupiter in the evening sky. Here is a lovely photo of the two planets with the crescent moon. The moon is at half quarter now, so things have changed a bit, but you can still see the two planet so clearly. Really lovely.

Yesterday and today there was much crafting and arting being done by all. So many preparations for the Homeschooling Bazaar next week. Several different robot prototypes and bracelets and necklaces were made. I am of course knitting the sweater for Mary's baby and wondering when I will ever take the plunge and finish up those dinosaurs for Christmas!

mittens!

I finished Eva's mittens. Love mittens to go with her bear hat. I have been sick for the last couple of days and am feeling so much better today. We have so many overdue library items I blinked when I saw the list. Too bad they don't have a I'm-sick-can-I-have-a-few-more-days-on-the-library-books option. I suppose they would argue that people would take advantage of this. Did you know that Borders doesn't allow returns without a gift receipt (or any receipt, for that matter) because of book-return-fraud issues? True. I had a clerk tell me all about it last time I was in there trying to return a book without a receipt. I think my dog ate it? No, Eva drew on it and it is now a part of the scrapbook? They didn't believe me.

The next thing to knit is a sweater for Mary's baby (don't look Mary!) who is due very very soooon. And the kids need to work on some crafty things for a homeschool craft sale they are doing next week. We are thinking something like bracelets, melty-bead-robots (or something robot, depending...) and something like brownies because Eva doesn't want to sell anything she makes but food is OK. Maybe some little guys with eyes? We need to head over to the craft store and just get a couple of ideas, set them up on the table, and see what happens. Samuel is also planning a raffle, so it could end up he makes one of each and then just sells raffle tickets for the lot, which seems like a pretty good option at this point in the game.

When you're done, you're done. I just burned a grilled cheese. Yikes.

We watched Martian Child while I was sick and now the kids are watching the newer Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Augustus Gloop the Nincompoop...that sort of thing.

This is after our tour of the Candy Basket last month. Checking out the candy. So much candy.

I have super glue stuck to several of my fingers from gluing together Eva's crab shell that she found when we were camping at Nehalem Bay last summer. He was cracked tonight when the shell basket fell over onto the brick floor by the nature table. Samuel's space guy Beam had accidentally (or was it Reptilan Snake?) pulled it down. Samuel came in the room as I was gluing on the eye and said that I was really very brave for touching the crab eye and putting the crab back together. It got me thinking about how one thing might be easy for one person and another thing easy for another and how we pass judgment on one another for our preferences when they differ and also get upset with one another when we are too similar- hey I like that, no I like that...The tension between being the same and being different. Belonging and autonomy always seem to be tugging at one another in our culture.