September

A new month has begun, perhaps my favorite month because it contains both my birthday and our anniversary.  September also marks other family birthdays:  our second daughter's, my sister's, my uncle Tommy's, and my uncle David's.  Tommy shares the 10th with me, though he was born twenty-five  years before I was, and I always thought that was special. 

Saturday afternoon I played for a memorial service honoring a cousin of a man at Trinity.  Though the mourners were few in number, their grief was no less significant.  His two sons spoke of their father's importance in their lives; their mother died several years ago.  I could not help but think of the memorial service in my (probably near) future.

Books

Last Saturday I finished reading two books.  One was on my iPad so I read it mostly when at E's; the other was a hardback so I read it at home.  Wonder, by R. J. Palacio,  tells the story of a boy with a facial deformity who  starts fifth grade in a private school after being taught at home.  He deals with bullying, teasing and confusion as he spends time with lots of new children.  Point of view shifts from one character to another.  This recently was made into a movie, but I haven't seen it.  Great story, well-told.

The Devil in the White City is a fascinating look at the 1893 Columbian Exposition (or World's Fair) in Chicago.  The author weaves together the lives of the lead designer of the fair and a serial killer, revealing to us much about life in the 1890's.  Erik Larson has written several books like this.  The first one I read was Dead Wake, about the sinking of the great ship Lusitania in 1915 (I think, maybe 1914).  Since I grew up in Illinois and have been to Chicago I especially enjoyed learning more about the fair.

I recommend both of these books.

A new friend

I'm making a new friend.  Carolyn is also a piano teacher, a little older than I, with two grown daughters.  I think I first met her at the community chorus a few years ago.  We spoke in passing and shared a few tips and commiserations about problem students.  But since es was born we have spent more time together.  She worked as a nanny when she was much younger and still enjoys little children, so occasionally she comes over to play with es and ec.  We have also met for tea and talk without the children.  Once she and her husband came over for supper.  Recently we took a walk along the lagoon, pausing every few minutes to rest on the benches by the water (she has some sort of foot problem that limits her walking).  We spoke about what we like to do besides teach, hobbies we have or would like to have.  Carolyn wants to learn to draw and do more camping, maybe learn Spanish.  I would just like to have more time for the things I already do, like quilting and scrapbooking.  Spending time with her is pleasant.

Raft

Perhaps I've talked about rafts before, but es still builds them with regularity in the den.  A quilt forms the bottom of the raft, and pillows are the edges that keep out the water.  Often lots of books appear on the raft, because when one goes for a long trip she needs something to keep her busy.  Sometimes little blocks and balls go along as "food."  It looks like this one has chairs; I wasn't there when it was created so I don't know how the chairs were described.

"Dig, Dig, Digging"

When her aunt Sarah gave this book to es about two years ago, she wanted nothing to do with it.  We couldn't read it to her, show her pictures, nothing.  It had to be put back on the shelf.  But eventually it became a favorite.  One day Sarah fit the words to a familiar tune, then I copied her idea.  Perhaps it was getting older, perhaps it was the music, but es came to really like the book and the whole idea of large construction vehicles.

Now it's her brother's turn, and he "digs" this story!

A place for everything...

Yesterday I began to clear my cutting table so I could finally cut the binding for Grand Illusion.  But then I became distracted as I sorted some of the patterns and bits of paper mixed in with pieces of fabric.  Rather than just put them on the desk to look at again later, I put them into appropriate places, like the recycling bin, or a drawer for Sarah's pictures, or a folder.  As I sat at the desk I looked at scrapbooks, so I put a few loose photos in sheet protectors then into binders to remind myself where they would eventually go.  And before I knew it, it was time to make supper.  I actually did get the table cleared off; maybe today or tomorrow I will choose the binding fabric and cut it into strips.  Maybe I will even sew it on to the quilt!

'Cause why?

This has been one of those days.  es has talked or made sounds constantly, even after I asked her to be quiet.  "Why?" she asked.  "Because I asked you to."  More sounds, a humming but with nonsense syllables.  "Because we're in the kitchen and sound carries.  Your dad is working."  More sounds, perhaps a tad softer.  After ec went to bed I let her watch a short video about Princess Sophia, but I admit I didn't pay careful attention to the story.  "Why did the sea monster want Oona's comb?"  "I don't know."  " Why do you think he wanted it?"  " I don't know," which is not an acceptable answer. "Guess."  And round and round.

"It's time for you to have quiet time."  "I don't want to.  I can't.  I don't want a book."  Finally I told her she had to be by herself for a while because I needed quiet time.  And that worked.

Current project

This is the first sock of the pair I am now knitting.    I'm nearly done with the foot and will soon change to the double-pointed needles to work the toe.  Then on to the second sock.  The color is called Clover Colors.  I really like how the yarn changes from green to teal to orange to red and back, gradually.  I'm not sure I would think of clover in these colors, but I like the effect.

This morning I took a long walk with a friend.  We ended at the near-by coffee shop and sat down with our cups, talking some more about our families, work, life in general.  Then I had lunch with another friend, who will be moving to Iowa in July.  Her husband died last fall, and she wants to be closer to family.

I had hoped to get the binding cut for the Grand Illusion quilt, but so far other things have claimed my afternoon.  And tonight is choir practice, our next-to-last rehearsal before we break for the summer, so no quilting will happen.

Sorting

Once again I am sorting through the massive amounts of paper that have accumulated in our closets, bookcases, drawers, all over the house.  Wednesday morning I worked on the area around the piano where I keep music and music-related items.  After about an hour I had removed this stack of books, papers, copies of songs, and catalogs.  Most went in the blue bin; some will go to the White Elephant sale.  I also went through community chorus music and papers.  Most of that was recycled, freeing up a nice tote bag.  Now the floor in front of the etagére is clear, and the binders that sat on the floor beside the piano are on a shelf.  Some loose papers still need attention, as does my Clavier Companion archive.  This work is just the tip of the iceberg:  genealogy forms and research, scrapbooking supplies, bank statements, books, fabric and quilting supplies, the list goes on and on.

Geraniums

Monday after ec went to daycare, es and I went to the nearby nursery to buy some plants for the container by our front door.  We wandered around a bit then had to ask where the restroom was for es.  After a few minutes in the serviceable but not fancy restroom, we resumed looking for geraniums.  We found some pretty pink ones (for me) and placed three pots on a cart.  Then es chose two purple plants.  We added a pair of child-size gardening gloves, paid for everything and took it all to our house.  E sent some soil for us to add to the planter. es had her own ideas of where to place the plants, so I let her dig holes, with a little help from me.  Finally it was time to water our creation.  The new flowers certainly brighten the entry!

Blocks

These colorful blocks are a good size for ec to play with.  (I think they're Maxi Blocks.)  He has been building by himself more, perhaps because he has blocks at daycare, and I imagine he sees the other children playing with them.  It wasn't too long ago that he would just knock down any tower that I built.  Now he approaches slowly, carefully, smiling in glee,  before knocking it over.  I like the wheeled units; they can hook together making a train or be separate cars.  The blocks fit together quite easily, unlike most LEGO® bricks.

The other day I spread E's "I Spy" quilt on the floor helping ec notice the various pictures of fruit, children, animals, etc.  He soon dragged the big stuffed animals (horse, dog, bear) out of their corner and placed them on the quilt.  His sister likes to make a "raft" with a quilt or the Hawaiian fabric then furnish it with "food" and toys, so perhaps this was his interpretation of the raft.

I suppose his biggest accomplishment lately is moving one of the little chairs over to the bookcase unit then climbing up on it to reach the books.  We can no longer put things on the shelf assuming they are safe from his little hands!  He falls off the chair occasionally, but it doesn't seem to bother him too much.  In fact, he seems to fall a lot--he tries to run and trips, or he stumbles over a toy on the floor, or he changes direction too quickly.  I was not watching es when she was this age, so I did not see her climb or fall when learning to walk.  I wonder if he will be a movie stunt man when he grows up!

Add two cups...

I arrived home from practicing last night to the delicious aroma of country style ribs baking.  I soon started making mashed potatoes and gravy to accompany the meat.  The potato flakes sit for a few minutes in the boiled water and milk, then you fluff them up a bit.  When I took the lid off the pan I saw really soupy potatoes.  What was wrong?  I've made instant potatoes for many years and don't recall ever having this problem.  I added some flakes, which helped, but why had this occurred?  As I stirred I happened to glance at the Pyrex cup I had used to measure the water.  The directions called for two cups of water, so I had filled the cup two times without paying attention to the fact it is a two-cup measure.  Yes, I had used twice as much water as needed.  I added more potato flakes to the soupy mixture, and it set up just fine.

Wow, could I be under stress or tired?

El Capitán, here I come!

This morning ec climbed up on the brown sectional for the first time after several attempts.  While I verbally encouraged him I did not guide his feet or arms since I'm not quite ready for him to be that mobile.  But he loves to climb, so it was inevitable that he would reach this goal before long.  He already manages to get into the booster seat on a dining room chair.

His first two days of "school" went smoothly.  He ate well, slept a couple of hours on his cot, and enjoyed the toys.  So far, so good!

Yesterday es and I went to the library and the park then to Burger King for lunch.  She really wanted French fries.  I appreciated being with her alone.

Can you guess?

The Dr. Seuss Foot Book teaches opposites by describing different kinds of feet, such as these "Sick feet."  The other day es was quite taken by this picture and asked me to guess what was wrong with the feet.  I suggested a couple of possibilities, such as the creature had stepped on broken glass or been stepped on by an elephant, but that wasn't enough.  So I tried a couple more.  Perhaps he fell asleep in the sun and burned his feet, or his new shoes gave him blisters.  I tried to encourage her to guess what was wrong, and finally, after I had named many possible causes, she came up with some on her own.  Admittedly some were variations on things I had said, but still she made them her own.

I knew he'd be fine

Hurray for our little dude!  His first day away from home at day care went smoothly!

And what did I do yesterday?  I took a three and a half mile walk with a friend, did grocery shopping, went to the bank to ask about an apparent email phishing, then ironed several shirts before our dinner and game group.  After practicing this morning I hope to get in a bit of quilting on the Grand Illusion quilt that's been pinned and waiting for several weeks now.

Poor little dude

Last night I tore off the final link in my countdown chain, but ec did not go to daycare today after all.   He has apparently caught the stomach bug his sister had last week.  Yesterday we walked down to the farmer's market where I bought a sticky bun, the first one since January, to share with E. ec slept about twenty-five minutes in the moving stroller, waking up as we stopped back at his house.  After a while I was sitting on the floor holding him on my lap as we read.  All at once he opened his mouth and vomited up his breakfast.  After a day or two of mild foods he had eaten a little orange and sausage, but I guess it was too soon.  Fortunately I keep a spare pair of pants at E's for just such an event.  So instead of meeting his new caregivers and playing with other little boys and girls he spent the day with his mom.  We hope he will be better by Friday and begin his daycare then.

Color theory

This quilt was on the wall at the Indiana University medical center where my dad had his treatment earlier this month.  The color scheme and pattern appeal to me.  It reminded me I was signed up for a color theory workshop through our local quilt guild held April 14.  While I learned a bit about color schemes, the best part was meeting some women from the guild and talking with them.  I was disappointed in the presentation; I'm not sure exactly what I thought the art teacher would teach us, but I don't think she presented anything new to me.  Her basic plan for the class may have been good, but her implementation seemed weak.

Homework

K's father, sister and nieces are here for a couple of days.  His dad hadn't yet met ec, so he flew out from Ohio, and Maegan and the girls drove up.  It is such fun to see the cousins together.  Sunday they all will drive to SoCal, and Richard will fly home from there.  Right now cousin v is sitting at the table with her mom's laptop, doing her kindergarten homework.  It involves reading comprehension and knowing how to use the computer.  es is watching carefully; she still has a couple of years before kindergarten.

Counting the days

On Tuesdays when I finish at E's I usually go to the church (which is just a couple of blocks away) to practice, which means I get home about 6.  On the third Tuesday of the month Randy leaves about 5:30 to go to Session meeting at church; supper is served to the elders before the meeting so they can come straight from work if need be, and it also provides an opportunity for them to talk and get to know each other better.  This week after I practiced I ate a chicken sandwich at Burger King then returned to E's.  She helped me begin a photo book of wedding pictures.  So it was after 8 when I arrived home.  I went into the living room and turned on NCIS.  After a bit I went to the kitchen for some water and realized I had walked right past this paper chain.  es and I have made several chains, to count the days till her birthday or till Christmas or whatever.  Now Randy had made one for me to count the days till ec begins day care, and I have two days off each week.  How sweet this is!  What a fun surprise!  I will have Wednesdays and Fridays off beginning next week.

Snow day?

Last night I read that Skyline High School delayed the start of classes for two hours Monday morning due to the hail-icy streets.  Parents had trouble, as did buses, making it up the slick hills to the school.  Some children got out sleds or even pieces of cardboard to slide down the streets.  I didn't take a picture of the streets covered in pellets of hail, but I did copy these from the newspaper.  It was simply amazing to see.  Snow on our hilltops is not that unusual, but this sure is.

Hail!

This morning's weather report indicated we would have unsettled weather today with sun, rain, possible thunderstorm and temps not above 60.  OK, I thought, and put on a fleece jacket before leaving the house.  As I headed north on Island I saw it was apparently raining in the hills, but not where I was.  In a few minutes I turned onto Grand, and suddenly the street seemed to be covered with snow.  What?  Maybe it was just blossoms from trees.  But there were clear tracks where cars had passed, and it really reminded me of slushy streets in the Midwest where I grew up.  So when I made a left turn and it was slippery, I pulled over to the curb and got out to see if I could determine what covered the streets and lawns.  Pea-sized (and bigger) pieces of hail!  Amazing! I don't think I've ever seen so much hail on the ground.  When I arrived at E's she confirmed it had just hailed for a few minutes.  The deck was covered with it, as were the sidewalk and lawn.  We took the children out to see and feel it since they had no experience with slick, icy surfaces.  The hail didn't melt for a couple of hours.  Randy said there was no hail at our house.

More unraveling

Another pair of socks is finished.  The yarn is Berroco Sox, and the color is Dunlewey (name of a small Irish village).  The light colors remind me of a beach.  Small blue stripes run through the green, brown and cream.  When I began this pair I used a new pattern called "Waterfall Rib," featuring lace-like holes.  I tried to follow the pattern, to count my stitches carefully, and I think I was accurate.  But my sock did not look like the picture.  So after maybe twenty-five or thirty rounds and I don't know how much time (60 minutes?  90?  More?) I pulled the trigger and unraveled my work. Perhaps I will try again but use a solid color yarn, or one a bit heavier.  I like this pattern, just thought it might be get be fun to try something different.

Egg hunts continue

We are still hiding Easter eggs, though we have cracked a few of the original twelve eggs, and I've had to discard them due to sharp edges.  I think I counted nine left yesterday, including one that is half blue and half purple.  ec is doing much better at finding eggs than when we first started, and es now is slower to say she can't find them.  She  occasionally opens an egg and looks inside for candy or a prize, but I remind her that this is just for fun and practice, not like at Vivian's other grandparents'.  Who would have imagined this activity would be so popular?  ec carries the little lavender basket with such a smile on his face.  On Monday I think we spent an hour altogether hiding and hunting for eggs.

Travel report, part 2

While I was in the Midwest, E was visiting her sister in North Carolina, a long-awaited trip planned for the days when ec began drinking whole milk from a cup.  While he still nurses at bedtime and in the morning, he does drink cow's milk during the day, so E felt fairly comfortable leaving him for a few days.  K ended up driving down to SoCal with the children, and the week's visit turned out much better than my pessimistic spirit envisioned.  They all enjoyed the time with K's mom and step-dad, his sister and her children.  On Easter Sunday they participated in a huge egg hunt at the home of Maegan's in-laws.  K sent pictures that showed the children having a lot of fun with their cousins and grandparents.  ec even slept through the night a couple of times, which is very unusual for him.  K had to work; I'm not sure where he set up his computer.

Speaking of pictures, after I returned home I realized I had neglected to take a picture of my dad and me, or Dad and Claudia, something I had intended to do.  He is not a fan of being photographed, but I think he would have done it for me.  I toured their guest house, a two-bedroom house across the alley that Claudia recently bought and furnished.  Her daughter and family have come down from Chicago a few times and stayed there.  It's much more convenient for everyone for them to have their own space.  This will not be a rental property but used only for family and friends who visit; since I came by myself I was able to stay at Dad's.

While in some ways spring break was a good week to travel, a lot of families apparently had the same idea.  Of the four Southwest planes I was on, three were completely full, and there was a lot of seat saving happening as families were in different boarding groups.  Airports and security lines were very busy.  And the TSA has some new rules.  Travelers now must remove any device larger than a cell phone and place it in a bin to go through the Xray machine.  Cynthia said when she returned from Louisiana a couple of weeks ago she even had to remove all food items from her bag and place them in a bin.

Travel report, part 1

You might think that a week's vacation would lead to daily blog posts, but you'd be wrong, as evidenced by this ten-day gap.  My first day off, April 2, I did laundry and packed for my trip.  Tuesday I flew to Indianapolis, where they had had 3.9 inches of rain that day.  Bob picked me up at the airport and took me to their home.  After Cynthia arrived home from work, she and I went to a neighborhood restaurant and I had my traditional pork tenderloin sandwich, which doesn't seem to be available where we live.  We watched a couple of episodes of " Chopped," but I was having trouble staying awake so I went to bed and slept well.  Wednesday I ate breakfast then loaded Cyn's car and left in snow flurries, which soon ended, to drive to my dad's.

I enjoyed my visit.  Dad seemed a bit weaker than when I visited last spring.  He uses a cane or walker much of the time, his voice was sometimes very soft, and he got cold even with the thermostat at 71.  He likes to watch CNN with the volume way up.  He seemed to eat well.  He occasionally forgot someone's name or couldn't think of the word he wanted, but who doesn't?  He expressed appreciation to Claudia for her help and her cooking, especially the carrot cake and cherry pie she made while I was there.  Pain pills helped relieve the level 5 or 6 pain.

Although I planned my trip because it was spring break week, it turned out I was able to go with Dad to his first immunotherapy treatment of this second round.  Everyone we dealt with at Indians University medical center greeted us with a smile and was helpful throughout the several hours we were there.  Because they've been there so often, Dad and Claudia knew several of the clerks and nurses, which made the experience a bit more comfortable.  His next treatment is scheduled for April 27.

Easter egg hunt

A couple of weeks ago I took two baskets from the Easter box in the garage, bought a dozen plastic eggs and took them over to E's so es could get some practice looking for hidden eggs prior to attending the Easter Fun Day at Trinity.  The den provides many good hiding places, though I keep the eggs mostly out in the open.  If ec is in bed, I can put eggs on the floor and other low surfaces, but if he's up the eggs must go out of his reach.  What fun we've had with this activity!  When es hides eggs for me to find, she often will place several together or put some in the same places I just did.  One of the best parts is ec walking around the den pointing out the eggs es hasn't yet found.  Boy, he's sharp!  He tends to put the eggs in his mouth, which is OK until he bites into one and the brittle plastic cracks, with sharp edges.  So I hide the hard plastic sorting shapes blocks for him to find.  He's good for two or three before getting distracted by something.

Both children enjoyed looking for eggs in the church yard on Saturday.  ec was content after he found two right off the bat; he had one for each hand!  His sister was much more competitive, moving into the bigger kids' turf after her section was depleted.  Each egg held a small piece of candy, and many had a slip of paper linking to a book or toy prize.

Werewolves in London

Last fall K brought this home for es.  I think he picked it up on a trip, maybe in an airport.  It dances while someone (I don't know if it is the original performer) sings "Werewolves in London," a song popular in the late 70's.  Though es played with the wolf at first, it was relegated to the shelf after the batteries ran down.  Recently ec pointed to it and in an effort to reward him for asking for something I put fresh batteries in it.  Now ec points to it and carries it around, sometimes dancing along to the music.  He hasn't yet learned to press on the left foot to start the song, but I suppose he will before long.

Remember these lace-up cards?

One thing es does with the little horse is tie her small Princess Sophia doll on then pretend the doll is riding the horse.  She doesn't usually put the lace through the holes to make patterns; perhaps that's just too tame!  Her brother likes to put the string in his mouth, but he does seem to like the bear, whether it's the color or shape or face or lightness--who knows.  This is another toy I'm glad I saved.  Yet to come out of the closet are Mr. Potato Head and Lincoln Logs.  Trying to find things that are safe for both children can be challenging.

Our own little ET

A couple of years ago K's mom gave es a piece of rayon, red with turtles on gold waves and fringe on each end, which she bought on a trip to Hawaii, I believe.  It seemed a bit odd to me, and es didn't play with it at first.  But now it is used almost every day as Elsa's cape or the queen bee's cape, as I've written before.  Even ec plays with it.  He likes for me to put it over his head, then he walks around.  The fabric is sheerer than it looks, and he can see through it enough to avoid walking into things.  When K saw him yesterday, he laughed and said he was just like ET.

Pink high heels

These cute little shoes, a gift from Grandma Jonnie, seem to make es feel like a princess.  She wears them with her red and white polka dot Minnie Mouse dress and with her pink fairy dress.  When my friend Carolyn visited last week, es took off the shoes to show her the princesses on the inner liner.

Both children have runny noses.  It's not so bad for es since she can blow her nose now.  But ec can't yet, so I keep tissue in my pocket and every few minutes wipe away the river of green.  E used the baby vac on him late this morning but soon the river returned.  He's back in bed now after being up only a couple of hours after his morning nap.  Usually he's awake three hours or longer before his afternoon nap.  Oh, wait.  I think I hear him.  Maybe he wasn't ready for another nap after all, despite his big yawns.

His first tablet

For his first birthday, ec received his first electronic tablet, the FisherPrice device seen here.  It is about the same size as my iPad with these 28 alphabet buttons to press and three levels of activities.  The child can't do much, but when he presses a button a voice tells him the letter, what the picture is and may play a little tune.  Lights flash around the outer rim.  Levels 2 and 3 are slightly more advanced.  But you should see ec's face.  "Where's your tablet?"  He runs to get it, then returns with a smile, holding it in his hands.  After all, Mom, Dad, and Grandma all have digital devices they use.  Why shouldn't he?  His sister is becoming adept at using a phone and my iPad; she knows how to scroll, stop a video, and more.  I'm sure ec will be equally comfortable at an early age.

Queen bee

We enjoy reading the Magic School Bus books.  I think we've read eight now.  One recent favorite describes life inside a beehive.  I have mentioned before how es likes to act out stories; this book led to her being the queen bee complete with tiara and cape.  I got to be a worker bee and dutifully followed her around the room.  A few days later I brought over an old National Geographic with an article describing how a lighthouse in North Carolina was moved, and then we found an article about insects with a picture of a queen ant.  The magazine also contained an article about the aftermath of the Mt St Helen's eruption, which led to exploration of volcanoes.  She remembered seeing a volcano in her Where's Waldo book and showed it to me.  Granted, it was cartoon-like, but it was indeed a volcano.

By the way, this is my 400th post on the blog, in almost exactly three years.

Lighthouses

A couple of weeks ago es and I started talking about lighthouses, perhaps because she heard her mom mention fog horns and one thing leads to another then another.  I looked for a short YouTube video and found one about the Eddystone lighthouse, the first one ever built miles off the coast, in this case about fourteen miles off Plymouth, England.  The original structure was built about 1699 but was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703; thousands of people died, chimneys and structures collapsed, flooding devastated London.  The next lighthouse lasted longer but burned, apparently due to a spark from the candle.  The third one endured many years, till the rock it stood on began to erode and the building developed cracks.  Now the fourth lighthouse stands on a different rock in the group.

I have been just as fascinated by this lighthouse as es, watching a couple of videos with her, talking about storms (no, Alameda doesn't have tornadoes or hurricanes), fire (such as the Oakland hills fire and my childhood home burning), flooding.  She soaks up information like a sponge; I have to be careful what I say.  The other day I found a book at the library about the Little Red Lighthouse on the Hudson River under the George Washington Bridge, which we've read several times and today saw a video tour of the now-closed lighthouse.

We may decry the time people spend in front of their devices, but what fun this exploration of lighthouses has been!  I imagine es will remember the Eddystone story for a long time.

"Challenge and orphans and stash, oh my!"

Last fall the quilt guild offered a challenge:  Use a recognizable piece of this fabric (or its companion piece with dark background) in a quilt, wall hanging, table runner, whatever, and bring it to the February meeting for guild members to look at and choose their favorite.  Although I would never have bought this fabric on my own, I paid my $5 for a fat quarter and began thinking about how to use it.  I had about twenty little blocks left over from the Fractured quilt which used some of these colors, so I eventually put together a small quilt. without buying any additional fabric.

You may recognize bits of the challenge fabric in the quilt.  For instance, in the upper right is the large circle seen above.  In the upper left and farther down on the right side are whirly-gigs of the fabric.  It is also scattered throughout the quilt.  It is not my favorite quilt by any means, but I think I showed a bit of movement in the blocks which is what the fabric made me feel.

I did not win recognition, though someone told me later that she did not remember seeing my quilt.  I think some guild members voted as soon as they came into the meeting room, rather than waiting till the official time; thus, some entries may not have been on display yet.  If I enter another challenge, I will be sure to arrive early on voting night.

Little Helper

Yes, this is ec's hand grasping the side of his latest acquisition.  And, yes, it is a wooden box.  When he stands up the sides come about to his armpits, leaving his hands free to reach things on the counter.  The floor of the device is adjustable; he now stands on the second level from the top, but there are three lower slots which means it will fit him for quite a while.  His sister is very comfortable standing on a stool to help cook, but he is not nearly ready for that.  This tool will keep him safe, interested and able to participate in kitchen activities.  It can be moved to other rooms if necessary, but at 30 pounds or so, I suppose we won't move it too often.

More cleaning tools

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the little vacuum cleaner ec plays with.  Now he has a set of brooms and such.  He especially enjoys pushing and pulling the green-bristled broom.  The little whisk broom and dustpan just get pulled off the stand, the mop sees some use, and the orange "feather duster" is swiped over furniture a little.  These items appear well-made, with smooth wooden handles and color-coordinated hanging loops.  We've had a child size broom for quite a while; es really likes that.  Not only does she sweep with it, she now rides on it, flying through the air as Lucinda, a good witch.  Fortunately, we've been able to designate that as an outside broom so she's not swinging it around in the den.  But she does occasionally try to take over this little broom.

Toilet fun

One day recently I took ec to the grocery store with me, then we went home and took the bags of food into the house.  I had planned for ec to eat lunch then nap at our house.  What I forgot was that he had not been there unattended for quite a while and the downstairs is not really child proofed.  So I was in the kitchen and realized ec was not with me.  I found him dunking a coaster in the toilet.  We had not put down the lid or closed the door, both of which happen at his house, so who could blame him for wanting to explore this tub of water?  I washed his hands and the coaster thoroughly, closed the bathroom door, then put a dry shirt on him.

Birthday boy

While I enjoy scrapbooking, choosing photos and decorative papers, and deciding how to create a page, I often feel the finished product is OK but doesn't have pizzazz.  Perhaps this display in EK's dining room is not spectacular, but E and es had fun creating it before the first party last weekend.  To go along with the bear theme, E labeled the snacks below.  You may not be able to read the signs, so left to right we have forest foliage, even littler bears (Teddy Grahams), twigs (pretzels), birthday bears (cookies), rainbow trout (Goldfish), and fresh berries.

K's sister and family came for the first weekend party, as did some other friends and Randy's aunt.  This weekend was the grandparents' party with K's mom and stepdad, his former nanny and her daughter, Randy and me, and the traditional chocolate cake, this one with blue icing (chosen by big sister).  Both events were fun, enjoyed by children and adults alike.  One of E's friends in Texas sent a Davy Crockett cap, complete with raccoon cap.  Very cute on ec.  Books, clothes, toys, ec received some of each.

Blue Bear

One day recently Blue Bear was a bone of contention.  As I recall, when we (Randy, Jonnie, es and I) went to the hospital to greet the newborn ec, we stopped in the hospital gift shop and es chose this soft, furry bear for her new brother.  For months it sat in a corner of the den with the large stuffed dog, horse, and other animals. Little ec is just now beginning to play with such toys.  Well, as soon as he picked it up by the ear one day, his sister grabbed it out of his hands.  "Mine!" she declared.  "He doesn't want it!"  I took it away from her, explaining that yes, he did want to play with it and reminding her that she had chosen it as a gift for her baby brother, and then gave it back to ec.  She promptly grabbed it again, and I took it from her. Before long she was lying on the floor crying and tossing blocks.  Eventually we sorted out the matter.  She knows that if he is playing with something she wants, she can try to trade another toy for it; grabbing is not the way to go.  And she often does try to trade toys.  We talk about what she is teaching him to do if she grabs, perhaps a hard lesson for a toddler, but I think she understands.  Now that she is part of the older class at school, she may feel she needs to exert herself more at home.  I don't know.  We certainly allow her to do things her brother can't do yet, like use safety scissors, play with Play-Doh, stand on the stool at the counter, stressing she is older and safer than he.  And most of the time she is cheerful and kind.  My challenge is helping her learn to share without squashing her sense of self.

Head start

This little Dyson is one of ec's favorite toys.  He usually pulls it around the room, but sometimes pushes it, even though it is as tall as he is.  The brush-like part in front swivels, and the upright handle can tilt back, so it truly resembles a real vacuum.  I showed him how to press the red button to turn on the blower that circulates little beads in the clear dirt canister, which he enjoyed watching.  The other day he discovered he could press the button himself and spent several minutes turning it on and off, with a great grin on his face at his accomplishment.

So when he's older, perhaps memories of the fun he had with this toy will enable him to enjoy using a real vacuum.

Mid-flight refueling

For a few weeks now, perhaps because he enjoys walking so much, ec often wants to get down from my lap in the middle of drinking his bottle.  He will walk around a bit then return to me and stand with his mouth open, so I give him more milk as he stands there.  At first this made me think of someone hand-feeding a new-born calf or other animal, with the calf leaning his head back as he takes the bottle.  When K saw ec do this, he called it "mid-flight refueling," which is a good description.  Instead of drinking his 4 1/2 ounces in 8-10 minutes, ec can take much longer now.  I try to just go along with him as he tries new things, exerts his will, moves around.  Sometimes he does just sit still and drinks it all up at once.  Yesterday he only took one bottle, instead of his normal three.

Probably we should be glad he is changing his ways because when he starts going to daycare he needs to be off the bottle, drinking from a cup.  E found out this week that there will be an opening at the center on April 24 and ec is in line for that spot, so I expect he will begin going three days a week the first of May.  Now I need to figure out what would work well for me, how I want to spend time with the children, perhaps even IF I want to continue.  Many permutations of three days at school and two days at home for each child are possible.  If they both went on the same three days and I had both of them the other two, I'd have three free days, but having both is much harder than just one.  I'm leaning towards each of them alone one day then both on one day, with two days off.  Since our house is not child-proofed (except the blue room) it is not as easy to have ec here, at least not spending time downstairs.  But es could be here, so that would be nice, allowing me to cook and such.  I believe it would be good for ec to have time by himself as he adjusts to daycare and all the new situations that will bring.

A scary movie

For Christmas E and K received tickets to a comedy show.  Clay and Caitlyn checked with them before buying the gift, but somehow the event wasn't on the calendar or at the front of E's mind so when the week of the show arrived she had not arranged for a babysitter.  Although our dinner and games group was set for that night, I volunteered to watch the children, figuring they would be in bed most of the time.  And I got off work early that afternoon since I would be returning after supper.  While it's true ec was put to bed before they left about 6, Friday night is movie night for es.  So soon we put "Frozen" in the DVD player and sat on the couch together to watch.  She laughed a lot, but other times she said, "This is a scary movie," and cuddled close.  "Save me, Grandma," she said, and I did.  She went to bed about 8:40, and I watched one episode of "Shetland" on Netflix.  During the second episode, Randy arrived; one of our group members dropped him off on the way to drop off someone else.  Soon ec woke up, and as I was deciding whether I should give him a bottle his parents arrived home.  EK really enjoyed their show.  Randy and I drove home together a little past eleven.

Brrr!

Our furnace has been making a strange noise for a while.  Sometimes it sounds like a truck has hit the house, a loud bang that startles me badly.  So Randy called the landlord.  "Change the filter," she said.  We had already done that, but we put in another new filter.  No change.  This past Wednesday she sent over her handyman, who checked that the filter was installed correctly.  At one point Randy suggested he might stand back a bit from the furnace, but before he could move, it kicked on with the huge bang and he jumped back.  "That's not a filter issue," he said, "that's a liability issue, and I don't do liability."  He reported to the landlord who then sent a furnace guy on Thursday.  He determined what the problem was and told us to leave the furnace unplugged; he returned last night with the new valve, but it was not the correct size for this 38-year-old furnace.  Now we are on hold till at least Monday. 

Fortunately the outside temperature warms up to the upper 50's or even low 60's these days, but when I come downstairs in the morning it's often in the low 40's outside.  Getting out from a warm bed into chilly air is not fun.  This morning I was reminded of Lynne Cox, a female endurance swimmer who swam 2.7 miles across the Bering Strait in 1987; the water temperature was 43 degrees F.  In 2003 she swam a mile in the waters off Antarctica with the water at 28º.  I read her autobiography, in which she discussed how she acclimated her body to the cold by taking cold showers, sleeping without blankets, and so on.  I guess adapting to an inside temperature of 52º for a few days is not so bad.  We have lovely quilts, long underwear, woolen shirts, caps and gloves to help.

Can you believe it?

This picture is somewhat embarrassing.  Our old vacuum was wearing out; I recently had patched the hose with duct tape when I couldn't order a new hose.  It still worked but the case was cracking, and since the on/off switch was broken we plugged the cord into a plug with its own switch.  That worked just fine, except every time I wanted to turn it off or on I had to go to the wall plug, a bit tedious.  With so much going on, buying a new vacuum was not at the top of my to-do list, but when I looked in the machine's manual and saw the receipt indicating we bought the vacuum in 2002, I realized it was time to start researching on Consumer Reports for a new one.

EK beat me to it, buying us a Shark Navigator with a lift-away canister for easier use on stairs and off-floor cleaning.  Now, I have vacuumed the house weekly for years.  I may not dust that often, but I do vacuum.  The first time I used this new machine, which claims to have really strong suction, this is the amount of dirt it picked up.  Wow!

Hair

A waterfall of hair cascades down es' back to her waist, lovely but tempting to touch.  Sometimes ec pulls his sister's hair hard enough to make her cry.  He probably doesn't really know what he's doing, but it hurts just the same.  Recently when this happened, I suggested we put her hair into pig tails or braids so it might hurt less if grabbed, but she said, "I like my hair this way," even as she wiped away tears.  On the days she goes to school, she allows her mom to put up her hair so it stays out of her way.  Maybe that's why she likes it loose on other days.  Because her hair is so fine, even braids don't stay neat all day.  I am curious to see how her hair changes as she gets older.

Unraveling, part two

As I finished the foot on the second sock, I realized I had made another mistake.  I had knit 40 rounds instead of 36.  How did this happen?  I keep a running tally of rounds knit and referred often to my record of the first sock of this pair, but it turns out I was not looking at the right tally marks.  So I stopped before switching to double-pointed needles to work the toe.  My error meant the foot was nearly a half-inch longer than it should be.  After some consideration, I decided to unravel just two rounds then move on to the toe.  If the yarn were thicker and the stitches larger, I would probably just take out the needle and pull the yarn to unravel it.  But this sock yarn is quite fine and the stitches quite small, so I get best results when I pull out one stitch at a time, which actually takes longer than the original knitting.

Why these errors?  I'm not sure, unless it's just a lack of concentration these days due to tiredness and stress.  Perhaps instead of recording the rounds for a couple of pairs of socks on one sheet of instructions, I should tally just one pair per sheet.  Or maybe using a different colored pencil for each pair would help.  I need to do something; unraveling my work is just no fun at all!

Here is the finished pair using a pattern called Cath Socks, with a bit of basket-weave-like texture.  The yarn is Patons Kroy in Cameo Colors.  I really like the shading of the pink, purple, blue, but not how the stripes don't match up very well.  I followed the advice of a blogger who has knit many pairs of socks, and used a new skein for the second sock rather than finishing up the first skein; she said she has better luck with matching by doing this, but I sure didn't.

Magical shoes

Hiding in the closet were these wonderful shoes which es has now appropriated.  When she puts them on, plus a purple headband with a bow, she becomes Dorothy traveling in the land of Oz.  I get to be all the other characters in the story.  She especially likes me to pose as the Tin Man so she can "oil" me.  We've watched just a couple of youtube clips from the movie, ones that I thought weren't too scary for her.  We've sung our way down the yellow brick road, off to see the Wizard.  She can click her heels together and get back to Auntie Em.  To help the Wizard return to his home, she summons Peter Pan, who sprinkles fairy dust on his balloon.

After watching Minnierella, a version of the Cinderella story that features Minnie and Mickey Mouse, es turned the red shoes into the marvelous glass slippers that Minnierella wears to the ball.  When she hears the clock strike twelve, she stops dancing with me (playing Prince Mickey) and leaves quickly, stepping out of one of the shoes.  Then I pick it up and go door to door to find the owner, usually receiving a big hug when she shows me the matching shoe.  This afternoon, I found Daisy Duck first, and she told me where Minnie lived.  Later es actually allowed me to wear the shoes and be Princess Minnie, a first.

This little girl has a vivid imagination, and I usually enjoy helping her act out these stories, at least the first two or three times.  We also did Little Red Riding Hood today, though without the red shoes.  Since we don't have toy food items, she chooses blocks and ring toys to be the goodies in her basket, and a length of a red rayon print from Hawaii serves as her cape.

Little things

Has it really been just two years since es was eleven months old?  I don't remember little things, like did she do what her brother does when he's tired?  He will walk up to me as I sit on the couch, lift his arms asking to be picked up, then fall asleep on my shoulder within a few minutes.

He's walking most of the time now, though he still can't stand up from a sitting position without holding on to something...or someone.  He holds his arms up a bit for balance and toddles around the house.  He continues to be a happy little boy, smiling and laughing a lot.

Since E and K had a holiday yesterday, I had the day off, also.  I sorted through more stuff, emptying a box full of old Sunday School teacher's materials.  It hurt to put those lovely pictures and activity guides into the recycling bin, but I knew I wouldn't use them.  I taught the two- and three-year-olds class for a couple of years, 1986-1988 or so.

Unraveling

The other night as I was knitting I found I was having trouble picking up the 16 stitches needed to attach the heel flap to the rest of the sock.  I finally managed to get 16 then kept going for another round or two before noticing the heel just didn't look quite right.  Well, it turned out that instead of knitting 32 rows on the heel flap, I had knit just 22, thus making the heel shorter.  BIG question--keep going and have a smaller sock, or unravel several rounds and fix the problem.  After consideration, I opted to unravel.  Very carefully I took stitches off and returned to the spot where I could add the needed rounds.  I found it frustrating to have to undo my work, but I'm very glad that I did.  Now the heel is the correct size; I will find it fits better and is more comfortable, worth the hour or more that it took to fix.  Lynne Tyler, a quilter whose blog I follow, once said, "No matter how far you've gone down the wrong road, go back."  Sometimes easier said than done, but I suppose she's right.

Nothing is safe

What happened to this magnet, you ask?  Did James get it when he visited?  Did the vacuum chew it up?  No, a little boy pulled it off the refrigerator then began to gnaw
on it before we caught him.  When he began to show interest in it, es put it up high, out of his reach, but I thought he wouldn't be able to take it off the fridge because it is flat and requires a certain dexterity to grab by the edges and lift off, so I moved it a little lower.  He merely pulled it down the front of the appliance till it reached the bottom and fell onto the floor, at which point he was free to put it in his mouth.  We were all standing there in the kitchen, but he was fast!  I guess we didn't think about the magnet having some kind off plastic or paper surface on the front.  He must have a cast iron stomach.

Epiphany Carol Sing

For many years now, we have hosted a carol sing on or near Epiphany, January 6, the date in the church calendar that celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men or Magi to see Jesus.  When we were first married, we had a sing at the beginning of Advent, but after a few years it seemed people were busier in early December.  So we decided to move our event to the end of the Christmas season, and it has been quite successful.  Guests mention how much they look forward to coming and singing carols one last time.  I used to make several kinds of cookies and treats for this party rather than before Christmas; now most guests bring something to put on the table, so I don't make as much.  This year I made date nut pinwheels, pecan pie slices, and white chocolate spiced brownies.  Thursday night I made cranberry nut brunch cake to take to a potluck on Friday, a meet-and-greet for church staff and council members to meet the pastoral candidate for Trinity.  Only one or two slices were eaten, so the cake was added to our party table last night.  E and es joined us; ec slept through it.  Several people had been ill, so the singing was a bit soft, but still enthusiastic.

I really can't recall if we had a party the year Sarah was born.  The old calendar shows "sing?" on December 7, and I don't see anything on the weekend of January 3 and 4, so it looks like maybe we didn't have one that Christmas season.  It was a hard time, with Randy out of work and sick, our rental house on the market and me 9 months pregnant.  A party may have seemed like just too much work.  We hope to celebrate Epiphany next year in our remodeled house!

A day off

The sky is gray today, and fog lingers over the bay.  This morning Randy and I went to REI to get me a pair of waterproof shoes for walking in the rain, assuming we have any this season.  I have rain pants and jacket but no shoes to keep my feet dry.  These new ones look like they will do the trick.

Yesterday K watched the children while E and I went to Famous Dave's BBQ for lunch, then spent a couple of hours in her office/sewing room.  She worked on the second lumbar pillow for Clay and Cait's camper while I tried different layouts for the quilt blocks using the challenge fabric for our quilt guild.  I would never have bought this fabric so it is a challenge, but I found some orphan blocks from a previous project and they go together pretty well.  The light print in the upper left and the lower right corners is the challenge fabric; color balance isn't quite right in the photo.  I "fussy cut" the fabric to feature flowers in the upper block and the wheels in the lower one.  Next, I need to keep rearranging until it suits me, then stitch them together.  A finished project is required in order to be included in the judging next month.

Now I'm on my way to Kohl's to spend my Kohl's cash, then I expect to begin the process of making date nut pinwheels for our Epiphany carol sing Saturday night.  E must go into the City for meetings the next three days, so I possibly will have longer days with both children; es is on vacation from her preschool all week.

Happy New Year!

Some people like to choose a focus word for the year, like "mindful" or "smile" or something.  I find it difficult to choose just one, so I guess I will be without focus in 2018!  Perhaps "breathe" would be a good one, reminding me to slow down and take it easy.  Or "listen," which I will need to do as we continue to work on the house project.  Or "today" to remind me there's no guarantee of tomorrow.

We managed to stay up till midnight to see in the new year.