Pancake Artist

This morning I made pancakes decorated with chocolate chips for the girls. Caitlin likes it when I use the chips to make smiley faces. Sometimes you get a chip that is a little misshapen. I happened to have dropped one oddly shaped chip as one of the eyes of the smiley face. That face came out looking really weird. In fact, he looked a little sinister, like maybe a criminal mastermind. Or, maybe I just need more sleep.

Merry Christmas

The family and I had a wonderful Christmas this year. I loved the gifts I got but my favorites were the ones I gave. For my family I got Gwen & Caitlin's preschool handprints framed. For my brother, I sent him on a scavenger hunt with money inside each clue envelope. For my husband, I got him the DVD "Julie & Julia" and the book Polar Obsession. The children got too much fun stuff to be named. And I was delighted that Gwen decided to give gifts with her own money this year. I got delicious peppermint drops and Caitlin and Jeff got chocolate.

Mother Nature & Heavenly Peace

Mother Nature snowed us in with a good foot and a half of snow today. The errands I was supposed to run, the dance and Kung Fu lessons I was supposed to take the kids to, the cookies I had to make for visitor's day to the ballet class, the party tonight and the entree I was supposed to make for it, all cancelled. It was almost as if Mother Nature sat on me and said "You're not going anywhere." Instead, I stayed in my PJs for a really long time, I finished a mystery novel, I drank my coffee, made a snow angel, I caught up on my laundry and I worked on a knitting project. It used to be that being snowed in was a chore, now I think I love snow days.

Later, dude!

I hated saying goodbye to Sally tonight. We had so much fun together: doing a little window shopping in Old Ellicott City, watching movies, visiting museums, going to my favorite cafes, swapping books, singing old songs out loud in the car, and overusing the word "dude."

Sally, stay safe over there, and hurry back. There is lots more fun to be had together. And the family room is all yours! Thanks for visiting with us!

Pardon me, Mr. Warrior, have you seen my skin anywhere?

Sally and I visited the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit at the National Geographic building in DC today. The exhibit was amazing, truly amazing. To think that now, over 2000 years later, modern people cannot reliably create and fire pottery pieces the size of the horses that were found at the excavation site. And the warriors were so detailed, each one unique! The attention to detail was outstanding. I highly recommend the audio tour, both Sally and I got a lot out of it. The final warrior on exhibit was fantastically detailed and realistic as well. I stepped up to take a good look at his armor because, oddly enough, he was not surrounded by an exhibit rail and you could get quite close. As I lean in to inspect the armor details, the warrior suddenly moves! I practically jumped out of my skin. (I may have screamed a bit too, but my recollection is a little hazy.) It was an actor and a darn good one at that. Sally was back a little ways and admits that she jumped too. But then she just stood and snickered while I tried to get a normal heartbeat going again. At least she's a doctor. I'm sure if I actually went into cardiac arrest she would have stopped laughing long enough to do a little CPR. Maybe.

A Tale Requiring a Stiff Coffee and Possibly Therapy

Now that my hands are steady enough to type, I'll reveal my latest trauma. It started out simply enough, I was to go take the bird netting off the blueberry bushes. We had left it on by accident, it is almost invisible actually, at least until it is covered with snow and you can see all the valleys and peaks of the netting. So, I start to remove the net. It is not as easy as it sounds, the snow has frozen on bits of it so it is covered with small icebergs, chunks of mulch, sticks, AND ... a frozen, deeply entangled snake. Yes, snake. I wish I were joking here. Shudder.

So I extract the net from around the bushes and try to pry the snake out with a long stick. Bits of snake peel off, but the snake is still really really stuck. So, using a garden knife (and making little girl shrieky noises) I extricate the snake and whip it, via long stick as far into the brambles as possible.

And now I am having a cup of coffee to sooth my nerves. I think large quantities of chocolate might be required before I can move on from this dreadful experience. Shudder. Again.

St. Nick is just awesome. Not only does that big guy magic himself down a chimney, he gets really wholesome treats. And, my kids being equally awesome, they loved everything he brought. Here is a list: a piece of fruit, a mini-bag of chocolate chip cookies, chocolate coins, a book, two Christmas-themed pencils, a pair of wool socks (just in time for the snow) and a pair of handmade felted-wool mittens. Nicky must like Etsy just as much as I do.

In other news, I have decided that my imaginary farm is going to get a pair of alpacas. OMG, those guys are so cute. Jeff can name the goats, but I'm going to name these guys. They will never be dinner.

Fireplace

Today Caitlin had a Nutcracker performance at the Fairhaven Retirement Community. The residents loved having our company perform for them, they were so appreciative. And after having travelled through snowy roads and more snow coming down, there and back, both of us were so tired. We curled up at the fireplace and read books together. For a while, Gwen practiced her cello for us and, maybe I'm prejudiced, but I think the girl sounds pretty good. It was just so lovely and pleasant. Then Caitlin and I curled up on the couch watching a nature documentary with Jeff & Gwen. (BTW, it was a little graphic on the mating habits of hedgehogs, but I digress.) And with Caitlin curled up literally on top of me, we both fell sound asleep. And now that both girls are tucked soundly in their beds, there is a good chance that St. Nick is going to come and leave a few treats in their stockings.

Harping for the Howard County Nature Conservancy

It has been years since I played the harp in public, but I got talked into playing for the Howard County Nature Conservancy's Winter Craft Show. Just as I arrived, a light fluffy snow started falling. When I went in, they positioned me right by the back window. I got to play my harp, looking through the strings to the snow dusting the trees and fields of the nature preserve. I usually feel incredibly tense playing in front of an audience but this time I felt so relaxed, so peaceful. I felt really connected to the music. It was one of my best performances ever.