the "s" word

megan at half pint house has posted a great article.  those of you interested in h-schooling or like to read about it should check it out.  about socialization & community.  nice work, megan.

My essays

--Many people have said to me, "What a pity you had such a big family to raise.  Think of the novels and the short stories and the poems you never had time to write because of that." And I looked at my children and I said, "These are my poems.  These are my short stories."  -Olga Masters

This seems pertinent to many of us.

If you are interested in how the "Consumer Product Safety Inspection Act" will (soon) affect purveyors of any handmade children's products (clothes, toys and the like) click on the title. You'll be directed to a blogger's summary of the act and what you can do to prevent many small business owners from going out of business. I've just recently heard of this. Please comment if you know more...

what i've been up to (& inspired by)

This is a little late in response to Alicia's last post...what I've been inspired by this winter has turned into a new creative hobby. Thanks to Sublime Stitching, and their fantastic customer gallery, I've channeled the granny within and been inspired take up embroidery. I love it because it's versatile, cheap and portable. Here's some of my latest stuff (done on flour sack tea-towels as gifts):



I also created a little logo for my 'business', as you can see above - thanks to Crowded House - and am considering an Etsy store in my future, now that I've forced myself into using a couple of naptimes each week just to be creative. We shall see. Because we all know that idle hands are the devil's playground, right? ;)

cook-uh-puh

see that furry little mongrel bear between ma & kid?  that's kookapah.  he does so many things around our house that i sometimes think we have four wee easley's.  he always needs a snack of almonds & cashews, & raisins, which he shares with violet so she doesn't need her own.  when kookapah is around, he's the one that spills the cup of juice or kicks my laptop shut or decides to see how much toilet paper can fit into the potty.  kookapah just told me to post this picture because the three of us look so happy.  

vi has quite a few friends that we haven't had the pleasure of seeing just yet.  colly. shoddy. baldy. mully.  baldy is the boy.  shoddy & colly are sisters.  we don't know much about mully except that she likes to eat cookies.  

it's a real cold saturday morning here in hanna city.  we're lazing around under blankets, watching cartoons, and talking about things kookapah wants to do today (play games, have a donut, take a bubble bath, wrestle, watch shows all day).  hope you are lazing, too.  

southern snow storm

see that white dust on top of the management office of my apartment complex? that's right, the one just to the right of the full swimming pool. that, my friends, is tueday's south carolina snow storm. the white dust came down, the temperature was, oh, 37 degrees or so, and there was nothing to do but cancel all the high schools and delay the colleges by two hours. the roads were a little wet, you see, and this white dust is dangerous stuff. i went to the public library that morning, which opened an hour and a half late, and when i walked in, the man working at the desk said, "how about the snow storm, huh?" and for a minute i didn't know what he was talking about. i say this even as i find myself increasingly wimpy about cold weather. once i'm finished here, i'll probably end up with a job in duluth, where a woman who fell outside her house laid on the ice for 4 hours, was found, taken to the emergency room, made a total recovery, and survived to be "the coldest living person ever seen." click on the title for a link to the story. she attributes her recovery to being "just a good old norwegian," a theory her doctor gives credence to. but maybe every climate has its advantages. perhaps south carolinians will live to survive global warming.

So cute.

I think these are fun. Letter-pressed cards inscribed with "Nice Parking" made to be slipped under the windshield wipers of a considerately parked lot neighbor. Click on title to purchase. (This is a very poor picture isn't it?)

Mid Winter Creative Inspiration (Provided by Etsy)

I'm just searching for inspiration right now. Here are a few things I've liked recently and thought I would share. The antique glass necklace is from www.archaicdesign.etsy.com. The little bonnet which I adore is from www.pogibabies.etsy.com. The butterfly mobile (cause who doesn't like mobiles) is from www.royalbuffet.etsy.com and lastly, the little hand-bound, gocco print notebook is from www.twoguiars.etsy.com.

If you come across something you love and are inspired by, would you post it too? Thanks.

inauguration

break out the confetti, kazoos and paper-wrapped combs! tomorrow is inauguration day and regardless of your politics, it's a big deal. i was thinking that i'd like to watch the inauguration with somebody. anyone want to come by tomorrow morning to watch the festivities? i think things get started around 10:30. i'll make muffins. bring the youngsters. let me know if you can make it.

help me, obi-wan kenobi

I saw these on Etsy today. They made me laugh. The seller makes them and also sells the pattern. There MUST be somebody I could learn to knit these for.

(Click the title to go to the etsy.com listing.)

some clear joy is coming on some slowest train

great new music is on the horizon! andrew bird and m. ward both have cds coming out in the next few weeks, and you have to listen to all of both of them on npr right now. here are links:

for andrew bird: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98649962

for m. ward: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99084694

winter is looking up! also, unrelated to music, you should try a poached egg on buttery toast sometime soon. it. is. delicious. good for what ails you.

strangest christmas gift ever received.

bless the giver of this gift, who had, and always has good intentions... but these actually arrived with several other gifts, all of which were a little odd but sent with love. these recycled eye glass lens pins took the cake! justin and i laughed and laughed.

(caron, you know the giver, the same as the dreaded clown...)

radio

jay forgot his lunch today so we made a mid-day trip to his work site.  we were listening to the radio & on our way home a commercial played for a doctor's office.  i was daydreaming but i heard annabelle say:

"mom, they just said plastic surgery. [giggle giggle.  then a different tone] mOM, they just said breast. [giggle giggle]".

whocares for breakfast

haven't seen enough of you! let's meet for breakfast.

when: tuesday 1/6, 7:00 am - ?
where: my house

the usual plan. bring yourselves, your kids and something breakfasty to share. can't wait to see you!

let's play

i wish i had kept a log of all the board games we've played at our house this past year. countless hours playing games with the kids, our friends, and each other. i thought i'd write a post to follow up on some of my favorite games recently, in case you're looking for something new.

1. Cold War: CIA vs. KGB
A simple card game with fun character twists. Be an assassin, a spy (ambf!), or double agent! 2 player game.
2. Hansa
Sail around Scandinavia on your merchant ship and goods to sell. Fun with 2-4 players. (What a cool picture, eh? People playing the game in Shanghai.)

3. Goa
Gather spices to plant spices, earn colonists to explore regions, and employ ships to move your spices. A fun auction & resource management game.

welcome 2009!

happy new year, dear friends!