James and Carrie

I am fortunate to be on the route my brother James and his wife Carrie take to deliver furniture from Illinois to a client in AZ. And I'm fortunate that James has a client in Arizona at all, who has ordered substantial enough pieces to warrant a delivery...twice. (They delivered furniture to the same client two years ago.) This time James and Carrie's visit was really fun because they stayed for a few days. My mom came up to be here while they visited, and we all had a great time. My favorite part of his visit was - hands-down - finding him here at the kitchen counter early in the morning coloring with Beau on one knee and Marianne on the other. He let them sit there for at least an hour, maybe more, coloring pictures and drawing lions for Marianne and tracing her hand on the paper.

 James is pretty tall, has this deep, deep voice, and dark features (including his great hair - he should thank my parents every day for that hair), and you might think kids would be scared of him a little. But instead they're drawn to him like moths to flame, even when he threatens (and carries out) putting their feet in the fan or sitting on all four of them at once.

 I think it was at this point that Jacob or Beau very kindly turned on the fan so as to make the "foot in the fan" thing more exciting. And he really did put their feet in the fan. And they loved it.

 No one was hurt in the taking of this picture...

 It was also GREAT that the three big kids went to school everyday. While they were away, I was able to play. Marianne is a terrific shopping companion, always eager to look at and touch everything, get carried everywhere, and eat a dozen pieces of gum a day. We looked around old town Abq, went out for lunch to satisfy James and Carrie's chile cravings, went thrift store shopping, and looked around at shops in Nob Hill. I also spoiled them with a coconut cream pie (which they ate for breakfast because the homemade stuffed sopapillas were a little much the night before). And we had to enjoy a white chocolate berry pie when they stayed at my house one night on their return trip. We were all fooded out by then, but that pie was good...
It was really fun to hang out with Carrie. She is a very thorough thrift store shopper with an eye for valuable name brand items. She loves quirky things, has a great sense of humor, and loved Colonel (my dog) so much I think he has an eternal crush on her. And she very graciously endured carrying Marianne all around Abq - Marianne is a solid 26 pounds...and a lazy 26 pounds.

James knows everything. About everything. Art, jewelry making, obviously woodworking, people, styles, history...It was fun to watch him in a little gallery in Nob Hill, looking at turquoise and talking to the worker - an artist herself - about designs and methods and origins of the jewelry. I'd love to hang out with James more - I think mere proximity would make me a smarter person.
On their return trip they stayed just for the night. I think James read to Marianne for thirty minutes, at least. My favorite was hearing him read the Disney Princess book...Such a good uncle...

I'm so glad they came to visit!

If you'd like to check out how awesome James and Carrie are, you can get a small taste at their website: www.pearcepearce.com

SO...What have you been up to lately?

I hate that question. I think it's because every time someone asks me that, my mind goes blank and I have to mentally go over the last few days and weeks and try to remember anything I did that was worth mentioning.
I read a lot of books with Marianne. Drew a lot of lions and cats so she could color them in. Made lots of food. Cleaned so much, I can't look at my house anymore because it accumulates clutter and dirt faster than I can eradicate it. Ran a little bit every few days, mostly to counteract the aforementioned food. Ate, slept, played, yelled, got yelled at, fed, ate, rinse, repeat. Blech. Some days I am drowning in routine. Some days my routine gets hijacked and then I want it back, badly.
Anyway...
Here's proof of a few gems that lie outside the regular cycle: (spanning the last two months)
I did this drawing of a couple for their 50th wedding anniversary, complete with their favorite things and places and quirks and hobbies.

I had a happy find of an adorable hedgehog print fabric (the orange that lines this pillow sham). I bought it instantly, not knowing what I would do with it, only that I had to make something for my sister in law Emily, who actually OWNS a hedgehog. Awesome, right? Her name is Gypsy. I lucked upon a few other hedgehog prints, and then my sister found a book with different pillow designs and thus the hedgehog pillow was born. I even made Gypsy her own tiny pillow. Completely random, but completely gratifying work.

Since I was abuzz with my hedgehog victory, I went to work doing paper piecing. This little heart table-topper was fun and quick, and I made it with my sisters on a spontaneous trip to Flagstaff. I have wonderful sisters. They "carry my heart," as a poem reads...They also make fun of random things I do like this table topper. When I emailed Amy that I had finished it, she said, "It's cute! How does it fly?" To which I'll reply that the employee at the quilt shop was admiring my "tight" piping job, so there.

It must be mentioned that I have spent time enjoying other people's children. A lot of my time, it seems, is spent doing this, and I enjoy it because I like serving other people. Unless I'm in a bad mood, and then, honestly, I'd rather be alone with my one monster or shopping with my one monster. Marianne and cousin Rachel are splendid little dancers.

 If you'll remember, Jacob turned eight in December. Which means we've been inducted into the very elite (and admittedly overwhelming) society of Cub Scouts. Jacob was thrilled to take part in his first Pinewood derby, though I can't really say who was more anxious for victory - Jacob or his dad. LUCKILY, Jacob placed third in his division and now proudly displays his trophy as evidence of his greatness. (P.S. When did Pinewood derbies become so technologically advanced? The number of "degrees" that ran the spreadsheets and tracked the results was staggering...I think their work was resume-worthy for sure.)

 February really wouldn't be complete without an entire weekend devoted to science projects. This year we melted aluminum, made a calorimeter, and tested the dyes in m&ms versus skittles. I think the accumulation and presentation of all of that data on three different science boards is definitely resume-worthy on my part.

 Jacob was devastated when the bottom of his steel can blew out and the molten aluminum it had contained was lost in the coals below. But then he and Rus helped everything cool down and unearthed some really neat pieces of now hardened aluminum. He said he'll make one into a necklace for me. Such a sweetie.

 Marianne is the theme song to my day, everyday. She definitely directs the crescendos, decrescendos, and all the tumultuous and lovely in-betweens. Here she is showing off her "elephant ears," as she calls them. "Pig-tails" are so 1980.

There you go. Now you know what I've been up to. Same ol', same ol'

Christmas 2013

This past Christmas was...a blur. But it was a delightful one, with Amy and Tyler and their families and my parents here to visit. Food, fun, presents, anticipation...One highlight was having two of the kids throw up on Christmas eve (Beau - coughing led to puking, Bekah - her green and red puke spoke for itself...and the volumes of candy canes she must have eaten). But everyone was well the next day...
Here are the pictures of the good parts:
Christmas morning, excited kids...

Marianne's main gift was the Leapfrog phonics set. I can tell you now, two months later (almost), that it's not really her favorite toy. She may enjoy it more when she's just a little bit older. If I had given it to Beau, she might have liked it more, too. It's always more fun to steal your big brother's toys. The Marianne Bug was not super fun this Christmas. I'm hoping next year will be THE year....we'll see.

Jacob was THRILLED to get this remote control helicopter. He had seen us looking at them on the internet and tried to act nonchalant, but he really, really wanted one. Again, the bonus of posting this months after Christmas is the added insight I can offer on how this toy really fared on the scale of "doesn't even remember he received it" to "still sleeps with it every night"...He doesn't play with it very much right now, but that's because it needs a new propeller. I'd suggest ordering the replacement parts kit with the actual toy. That's how I'd do it next time...
(Because you're my friends I know you won't even notice the dirty window behind my Christmas tree...crap, well now you will...don't judge me.)

My Bekah girl is too grown up for toys now it seems...So here we have started down the treacherous road of electronics, starting with a Nook. (Santa got a killer deal at Target on black Friday!)

 Beau's face says it all...He was SO excited to get this remote control car!

 Another gift he got was from Nana, and I have to say it was THE favorite gift, hands down. All of my kids took turns playing with it. He still plays with it! It's this really cool drill set with a battery powered drill, threaded screws in four different colors, a board with holes, and big pattern cards that he can follow to make cool designs and pictures.

Marianne got princess shoes! I'm actually really excited to dive back into the world of princesses. I've been on a boy-driven hiatus, and dress up and high heels sound so much simpler than reassembling disembodied transformers.

I received exactly what I wanted (I made sure of it by picking it up myself)...A Cuisinart food processer. (With 11 cup capacity!!) I talked Santa into okaying this purchase by promising a pie a month, a drastic improvement in my pizza crust, and improved overall kitchen efficiency. I also received another gift from Rus and the kids. He hinted at what it was - "a little skimpy, and mutually beneficial." I was aghast at thinking he had purchased lingerie for me with the kids present! But it turned out that on Christmas morning I received ankle socks ("a little skimpy") and a Pioneer Woman cookbook ("mutually beneficial"). That rascal.

The Pioneer Woman cookbook has proven to be fantastic! It's her "On My Frontier" book, and everything I've made from there has been delicious! I'd highly recommend it, but if you're on a diet, it may not be the safest place to go for a recipe, as she is an artist at incorporating cream and butter into various concoctions.

Rus got what he wanted, too, although if Santa had been more generous, she'd have purchased him a Timney trigger. As it was, he received a scraping plane insert for his hand plane, and bullets from each and every relative who decided to gift him something. If we were to compare Christmas hauls by weight, he would have one.

Every year we rotate who we give gifts to in my family and in Rus'. We gave to my sister Amy's family and Rus' dad, and we received from my sister Amanda and Rus' brother Jacob and his wife DeAnn. DeAnn is a terrific gift giver and she didn't disappoint this year. She looked on Pinterest and found several different projects that she thought our family might do, and then she printed out the tutorials and bought all of the supplies for each project. We had a lot of fun doing the wire-art project, and we are looking forward to doing a concrete planter, canvas night light, and an acid-leaf project.

My sister Amanda gave us money to go see the movie Frozen. It was a big hit with my kids, Bekah especially. And I loved it too - best Disney since Tangled.

Rus decided to make a box for his dad for Christmas. (The man is hard to purchase for because he buys whatever he wants.) He made it out of soft wormy maple with walnut insets in the corners. It was small, just right for Roger's wallet and other pocket items. I don't think I have a picture of it, sadly...

I decided to make terrariums for all of my sister Amy's kids. I knew that they would love the mini ecosystems where plants can thrive without regular watering. I made the terrariums - 12"x12"x15". I purchased all of the plants and dirt and charcoal and rocks, and on Christmas day when Amy's family came over, they were able to put together their terrariums.

They really, really were happy with them!

Later we used sculpey clay to make little figurines that could go in their terrariums. It turns out my sister in law Gina is a sculpey clay genius, just check out her adorable elephant!

Rus also spent a great deal of time making a table for my mom. It is a side table, dimensioned to perfectly sit on the side of her couch. It is made of curly maple; you can see how beautiful the top is. It has a long narrow drawer that houses Rus' first set of hand cut dovetail joints. Not perfect - he would be quick to admit - but still very well done. My mom loved it so much that she has traveled with it on her last two road trips so as to be able to enjoy it in Sierra Vista as well as Los Lunas. She's so proud of Rus turning into a woodworker!

 All in all it was a wonderful Christmas. I feel blessed to have people in my life to love and be loved by.