The Tree is up

   With a  cat in the house, we decided to be cautious this year and put up the tree and let it sit, undecorated for a while.  The cat paid absolutely no attention to it. As an indoor cat, perhaps she has no idea about the potential for mayhem a decorated Christmas tree can be.  
    Today, after my husband got the last of his grades submitted for the Fall semester, we decorated.  It is a smallish, narrow, artificial tree.  A tree my daughter was scornful of last year, but is slowly coming to grips with.  I just got very tired of the needles which fell as soon as we put it up,  and the high prices for the nasty looking trees that were available when we finally had time to put one up.  You see, in this area, it seems f you want a nice looking tree, you have to cut it yourself -expensive, or buy it the day after Thanksgiving. We have no time until after our Finals are over to decorate, so we have had several Charlie Brown Christmas trees.
    Last year, I put my little foot down (possibly whined a little!) and we went to the home improvement store and got this tree.
Pros: paid for once
         no needles on the carpets
         narrow enough to fit in our tiny living room and still allow us to walk
Cons: no piney smell (Buy candles, I say)
          it looks fake
          we cannot fit all of our ornaments on it.

   This year we have the addition of many of the ornaments from my husband's childhood as we inherited some of his mother's collection.  Our tree would make a decorator cringe, but we have the very special family ornaments from our family, the special ones from my mother-in-law, the home made ones that the kids have made most years, and a few plastic red and silver balls to add sparkle.  No tinsel or garlands.  A star which doesn't light up since the one that does light up is so large it will topple this tree. We normally have one creche under the tree for the kids to play with, as my sisters and I did with  our creche when we were kids.  There is no room under this tree, so it is off to the side.  I am determined that nothing as silly as placement of decorations, or if I get cookies baked is going to stress out this holiday.  We will have enough stress traveling around the Eastern Seaboard later in the holiday, I do not need to start building it up now.
     I must keep working on my Christmas gifts.  Once again I did not start early enough for the number of handmade gifts I want to make to be complete slowly, so I am in my last week rush. Oh, and don't let me forget the teacher gifts!  (I must admit, the adrenaline rush makes it feel more like Christmas to me.)  So with Bing and Perry in the CD player, I  get back to work.  Hope this week is fun for you, too!

feeling Minnesota

   This morning it was 12 degrees - we get this occasionally here in NY, but not usually this early.  It reminds me of the 6 years or so that I spent in Minnesota during graduate school and beyond.  I love it when everything is so cold it tinkles and creaks with the breeze.
   This weather seems appropriate since it is the anniversary of the Roald Amundsen expedition reaching the South Pole.

Birthday fun

  Everyone wishes they could celebrate birthdays like I do - I know it, they do.  My youngest got me up at about 6:30 and we had Cheerios.

It was lightly snowing.

We read, then we played dinosaurs.  I did some laundry, got some dishes washed.

The rest of the family woke up between 9:30 and 10:30.

By noon we were clearing out bins of clothes from the attic - summer, winter - sorting through to find all the clothes the no longer fit anyone but keep migrating back and forth.

We started on dressers - my eldest son had a shirt drawer filled to the brim, but only wears about 5 of the shirts in there - an hour of sorting later we were working on the other children's closets and  dressers.  We have about two garbage bags full of clothing to go to the Salvation Army.

We cleaned the laundry room - well, cleaned is a strong word - we folded, sorted and hung up the contents of the Mt. Vesuvius of clothing that erupts down there every once in a while.

Eventually we ate a lovely dinner with cake and presents.

You wish you celebrated like we do.  Admit it, you do!

looking at December

    I do not think I can say December is my busiest month - although it probably is with finals to grade,  course grades to calculate, all manner of Christmas-y things to prepare, make, view or listen to (I am thinking of my daughter's Christmas concert which is next Thursday).  However, Christmas is my favorite holiday and December my favorite month.  In my family two of my sisters and I are born in Dec., my husband's dad is a Dec. baby, too.  We were married in December, and then of course, we have that big birthday bash on the 25th for Jesus.  We even, occasionally get to go out for New Year's Eve - but not often.  I love all the lights (although my house is rarely decorated in them), the smell of the wreaths and trees, as well as all the compulsory baking for the holidays.  For my sister, who is Wiccan, there are Yule celebrations,  so I keep her on my mind as the days get darker.
    This year, as with most, we will be doing a lot of driving.  To Ocean City, MD to see relatives, to Richmond, VA to see dear friends, to a farm in the northern part of MD to see other friends, possible stop in CT to visit family, and home again.  Nothing light in our Christmas schedule.
    I am  spinning and knitting - but cannot show anything yet as a possible recipient of these activities may be reading this.  Suffice it to say I am pleased with the colour choices, the results of the spinning and the way the project is knitting up. Pictures will happen after it has been unwrapped!

Visiting the Dinosaurs

    My youngest is a nut for dinosaurs.  At age five, he can tell you all their names, which period in the Mesozoic era they lived in,  the length and/or height of many, whether they were theropods, sauropods, carnivorous, herbivorous...well, you get the idea.  This past Friday I thought it would be fun to take our younger two into NYC to the American Museum of Natural History so we could see the amazing array of fossils they have.
    We set out, taking a train and subways - first time for our son to do either. We were lucky with the weather, because the anticipated rain never arrived. When we got to Grand Central Station, we showed him the ceiling first. After the subway trek,  we got to the museum.  First we saw the Ocean creatures,
 since they were on the first floor,

This whale is very large!

 then headed up to the fourth floor to see the dinosaurs.
    Wow!  I had never been to this museum, having always opted for the Met when in NYC.  I was duly impressed.  The number of fossils is very impressive.  I loved watching my son look at the apatosaurus - seeing it is so much more impressive than just reading about how long it is.

 

  The Tyrannosaurus rex was fairly mind boggling as well.

 However, I must admit I was more excited by seeing the parasaurolophus,

 the deinonychus  and his terrible claws

and the triceratops with its amazing solid bone head crest.

  I am not sure who had more fun, my son or me!

checking out the maiasauras

My daughter was crossing her eyes with boredom by the time we got to the room with the pterosaurs.

However, a trip to Rockefeller Center,

 St. Patrick's Cathedral, and even Times Square gave her the diversions she was hoping for.
      I love visiting NYC and often think I would like to live there - but not with kids.  Maybe in my old age, I will chuck this country living and become a city mouse.  Maybe...but I don't really think so!


    

Thanksgiving With the Family

All dressed up and ready to go to grandma's!  Wearing the coat that was his father's  when he was that age!

   Was at my mom's for Thanksgiving along with 2 of my 4 sisters, their kids, my eldest sisters kids and a few of their college friends.  It was a nice weekend.  Too many dishes all washed by my eldest niece and me, but at least we did not have to look at them in the morning.
   It snowed for about 10 minutes, which sent all of the kids racing outdoors - no coats, no shoes on the youngest so the older ones carried him - and they ran around chasing snow flakes with their tongues.

catching snowflakes

daughter in a vintage dress I found

no shoes, no socks - older cousin, so no problem!

godfather and godson catching the snow

Thanksgiving is apples

today =

1. peeling nearly half a bushel of apples  
2. Making approx. 2 gallons of applesauce
3. baking two apple pies
4. getting hubby to bake his amazing pecan pie
5. composting 1/2 bushel of apple peels - okay - the peels from 1/2 a bushel of apples...
6. doing tons of laundry - lost count on loads
7. spinning more yarn for a Christmas project
8. winding 3 center pull balls of yarn from my dried skeins by wrapping it around my hand - no ball winder yet.
9. baking 3 loaves of pumpkin bread
10. chopping dead stalks from Jerusalem artichoke plants
11. wishing I had a few more hours to do a bit more

Wishing all of you a relaxing and very happy Thanksgiving

Uneventful Mondays

Uneventful Mondays are rare around this house.  Today was one of them.

• Got the children off to school.
• Ate breakfast.
• Took a BATH - yes - as in submerged in hot water for over half an hour - with a good book and no disturbances!
• Figured out holiday plans - loosely
• Went to parent/teacher conference for youngest son - good news - he is very normal - smart, kind and funny as well as a thinker of great thoughts!
• Went to store
• Went to library with youngest son
• Dropped off/picked up daughter from Jazz Band practice
• Ignored dinner and decided we are having "take and grab"
•  Translation: if it is in the house and not meant for Thanksgiving, go ahead and eat it - but concentrate on leftovers if you can!
• May sit and knit and watch football with the hubby tonight - I am trying to understand that darn sport

As Promised

    "hey there, hi there, ho there, you're as welcome as can be..."  who else has the old Mickey Mouse Club theme song running through their head this morning??   I must put on some music to drum this out!
    As promised, here are some photos of Arabian Nights.  I did not take these photos - they are better "show shots" than costume shots, but you et an idea of the simple lines and relaxed styles of the costumes.  This was a big show, but I love shopping gorgeous fabrics - linens, silks, brocades in various fibers.    The students did a wonderful job - really committing to this show and making it their own

A view of the set from stage left towards right 

Ishak of Mosul

Scheherezade

Sympathy the Learned, Harun al Rashid and the sages

Sympathy the Learned

Shahryar, Scheherezade 

Procession for Abu al Hassan

Wedding dance for Abu al Hassan

The Wonderful Bag

The Contest of Generosity

The Contest of Generosity

The Contest of Generosity

Wrapped

    Spent some of this lovely sunny and warm afternoon wrapping the hives.  A quick  wrap of tar paper  and a few staples and they are ready to hunker down for the winter. We have them set down at the north side of the yard, so a bit of tar paper helps keep the winter wind from creeping in the  cracks.
     Pulled in the winter squash  that had been growing  on the trellis, supported by pantyhose.  It feels to be about 20 pounds.  Yummy!
     Made pumpkin soup this weekend - I love the taste of Fall!

A Thousand and One Nights - or at least it feels like it!

    Tonight our production of Mary Zimmerman's Arabian Nights opens.  It is a lush script filled with stories we might not be familiar with.  No Aladdin here, but more obscure tales from this rich wellspring of Persian culture.  I really love the script, and this production is all I had hoped it would be,  The cast is doing a wonderful job, each playing several characters who change simply by changing their hat or robe.  It is a glorified game of "Let's Pretend."  Much like when we were children and slipped on  Mommy's high heels and became a "grown up lady," or wore Daddy's tie and were a gentleman, so this play offers the cast a chance to change a representative piece of clothing and become a new person.  It is so much fun to watch.
    My colleague has designed and painted an exquisitely beautiful set.  I did the costume design.  We used Persian miniatures from the 16th century as our inspiration, with a saturated, yet limited palette.  It was somewhat restrictive, yet very freeing within the confines of the restrictions.  Much like writing a sonnet - you have to stay within the structure, but within that structure, you can go wild.
     This play is funny, it is touching, and the ending reminds us, for a split second, of the modern Persia, so troubled and violent, from which we have been given the gift of all this glorious literature.
    

Halloween

   Our town loves its holidays.  Moreover, it loves its holiday parades. Memorial Day Parade - check.  Fourth of July - check.  Christmas/winter holidays - check.  Halloween - check, check.
   Like past years, the parade participants consist of children from the five local elementary schools and the various parents/adult supervisors (costumed or not), the middle school band, and the high school band.  We have a couple floats and lots of kids.  This year, the lady who owns the trailer our elementary school uses for the float could not get it to us in time.  The theme for the year at the school is "the power of words", so the kids made signs with a word on it that they felt described themselves instead of a float.
    The weather was not cooperative this year.  It has been unseasonably warm for the past several Halloween Parades, but this year, no.
 It was cold.
 It snowed.
 For over an hour!
 Big, wet, cold sloppy snow.
I was standing at the gathering point with three boxes of signs - all framed in cardboard, with cardboard handles.  They got wet.  When the twenty or so intrepid student marchers came to the parade launching spot - they got their sign and the sign of an absent student.  And nearly every cardboard handle gave way, leaving flaccid, droopy signs.  We carried them by the framing.
    My kindergartener  dressed as a crocodile.

 He was cold, could not feel his fingers or toes, but we marched. Part of the rationale was  that we said we would do it and we need to keep our promises, part was that the car was parked at the end of the parade route so we had to walk that way anyway. As it turns out, he won a prize in the costume competition.  I was amazed, because I never got the whole costume finished.  He went without nucal scutes on his hood, and his snout never got wired, so it flopped forward. I think later, he was glad it did so, because it acted as a snow shield.
    My middle schooler was marching in a dress that made her look like an elven princess from Middle Earth - she had elf ears as well.

She had long johns under the gown, but that did not make playing an instrument any easier with fingers that were red with cold.
      Parading down the street  with our little crocodile and our  wet signs (I had found one that said LIBERAL and knew I had to carry that one!) we were cold, and tired, and not really enjoying ourselves, but I kept thinking about something my dad would say. "This is the stuff stories are made of."  This will make a great story and we will laugh about in  future Halloween parades.  But now - I think my toes are still thawing!

Strapping the croc and his tail into the car

Of kurtas, entaris and kuffis

   As we slog our way through the multitude of costume pieces for the upcoming production of Arabian Nights, I wish  I spoke Persian.  Then I could stop using words which are really describing Turkish or Indian garments.  I also wish more of our students were getting their shop hours done so this entire show does not need to be built by the shop manager and me.
    The fabrics on this show are such a joy to work with - lots of colours and textures.  I would like a bit more time to focus on the hats and such, but things like that tend to be pushed towards the back of the line on these shows.
     I have to go cut out a garment for a fitting tomorrow morning.  By the way - we open Nov. 10, so come and see the play.  It's a good one!

No-kay

    I told my sister I had managed to add being a co-president of the elementary school PTO to my list of work and volunteer obligations.  She laughed and said I had the same problem our mother had - she couldn't say "no" either.  She'd try but it became, "no-kay" and she was hooked.  We had the first real PTO meeting last night - so far we have three events lined up, and volunteers for some of them.  I think this is a good start (she says with optimism - if I am drooling and twitching by June, feel free to laugh at me).
    We do not have a secretary yet, so I am (temporarily, I hope) also the recording secretary.
    "What's that?  You need someone to help you with something.  Me? I am really too busy. Crazy schedule.  No spare time. Three kids, you know.  Teaching schedule.  Design work.  Girl Scouts. What?  No one else is stepping up??  No-kay..."

I do not "get" cats

   I swore this would not become the blog about cats - it won't but I have comments.   I must admit that I love the cat we got this past summer.  She is pretty and extremely affectionate.  She literally starts to purr the moment I come into the room - before I even acknowledge her.  However, I have no idea why she feels the compulsive need to walk on the computer keyboard when I am trying to type.  Or better, decide to lounge across the keys when I sit down to begin a project.

 

New fiber

    My spinning teacher is about to close her shop. In fact, today was the last day.  She will still be working out of her home, but her shop was very sweet - she has a HUGE floor loom that is in the front window, shelves of fiber ready to be spun, and a workroom in back for dyeing the fibers.  I popped in yesterday to buy some wool for Christmas presents.

So far this Romney Lambswool is spinning up quickly. I am loking forward to working with the brown and rose in combination.    I also grabbed four ounces of a merino/silk blend - can't wait to get moving on that!

Isn't this gorgeous?  And it is so soft.  I have a specific person in mind to be receiving a gift from this. 

    I plied some of the violet Lincoln Cross Wool I had been spinning on and off for the past couple of months (maybe longer - time compresses when school is in session).  It looks okay - fairly balanced.

These are photos of the exact same spool, but they look radically different.   The top photo is closer to the actual colour.  You can see a touch of grey in the top picture. This is because periodically I added small handfuls of grey in with the purple, so when I knit it will have the occasional soft grey and purple striping.  I hope I get the results I intended!

     I have to get the needles out and get to work - Christmas is only two months away!

Swim meets and cross country

   I am becoming adept at driving to the high school/middle school complex in our town, picking up  children from practices, depositing them at their respective homes and going back for more.  I seem to be making constant circles from my house to the kids' schools, to friends houses and then back - at least two trips per afternoon are required, unless it is a meet day - then all bets are off.
   I have to admit to being one of those mom's who screams at meets. And mutters.  And whispers.  I watch  my son take off in a cross country race and I yell for him to go fast, stay with the pack, etc. Then as he gets out of ear shot I whisper at him to, "stay on the course", "don't stop to pet someone's dog" or plain old, "Don't Stop."  He has a tendency  to get lost on the cross country trails at away meets.  He really does stop in the middle of a race to pet any dog he sees.  Sometimes, he really just stops, and walks or talks to himself.
    Winning is not important to him.  He is just thrilled to be part of the team.  We are thrilled he has this wonderful team to be a part of.  Every child on this team has, in some way, aided, encouraged, guided or taught my son.  There are runners on other teams who now know him and cheer him on, even if he is in last place (which he is, most of the time), because he does that for all the other runners on every team in every race, until every runner comes in.  I must admit, seeing that is more gratifying than seeing him bring home a trophy.
    I did not get to today's meet, but my husband said that the star runner on the girls' cross country team had placed folks along the route to keep our son on the course and focussed.  He came in ninth place.  He said there were only nine of them running, but it doesn't matter, ninth sure sounds better than 73rd.
    This year I have made it to my daughter's home swim meets - a sport I am more familiar with as three of my four sisters were on swim teams when we were growing up.   I know the swimmers cannot really hear us yelling while they are racing (except possibly those swimming breast stroke, as their heads bob up), but last week I screamed myself hoarse encouraging the girls to pull, kick and get your arms up! It is gratifying to see my daughter comfortably in a group of peers, advancing in her sport (second place in butterfly two weeks ago!!!) and really enjoying herself.
    Was I a huge sports advocate BC (before children)? No.  Am I now for  a wide variety of reasons - oh yes.

The gardens are ready to nap, the bees are bedding down

   Ran around like a crazy woman last night snatching the last beans, a couple squash and a few tomatillos and cucumbers from the gardens before the freezing temps set in.  It was supposed to go down to 28 last night - and while I did not check it, I believe it may have made it that low.  I threw sheets over all the flowers, a few remaining herbs and pepper plants with a few more fruits on them, and I covered a couple of the garden bound cotton plants.  Three other cotton plants - the ones in pots - came in and are now finishing their life cycle in the dining room and living room.  Again, I see why we have no great cotton plantations in NY!!
    I fed the bees yesterday, their only supplemental feeding this fall, as they have hive bodies full of honey. This morning we put in the entrance reducers, drilled a hole in the upper deep of the blue hive and decided to wait until next weekend to wrap them in tar paper which will help keep them cozy and draft free in the winter months. So far, both the flower and the blue hives look strong.  Have treated both with one round of ApiGuard, since I saw some varroa mites on the drones earlier in the season. After wrapping the hives, it is up to Mother Nature and the girls themselves to decide if they will make it through the winter.
    Last night I treated myself to a wonderful old movie.  Once the wee lad was in bed and the older two settled, Drew and I put the pellet stove on and watched Blue Skies.  It is a sweet musical with Fred Astaire dancing and Bing Crosby singing. It has Irving Berlin songs and Billy De Wolfe as the comic relief and  it is a joy. I felt like I was visiting old friends. This was one of my favorite movies while I was growing up.  Fred Astaire was truly incredible in this film; perfection in tap shoes! A lovely way to spend a chilly autumn night.

3 square feet

Just observing things in a small area - taking note.

garden neglect

remnants of childhood

garden spider web

garden spider

More Monday

     I finished up my nine page costume list for Arabian Nights - LOTS of pieces for this show.  I need to do some more drawings.
     Came home from the elementary school where I found I may have added more to my list of responsibilities by saying I would help with the PTO.  The past president, who has been doing it for 4 years - turns out he was only supposed to do it for 2 - pounced upon me when he saw me, telling me how pleased he and the principal were to hear I was willing to participate.  With my child in kindergarten, they are thinking longevity. Why do I think I will be getting more than I bargained for?
     Got home to find my eldest had taken the bus home, since it was raining, and he assumed the cross country team would not have practice.  I drove him to school - we saw no one and he assured me he did not see any of the coaches' cars.  I was supposed to be driving another student home - we did not see her, either.  We drove  to her home and her dad said she was at school - supposed to be getting a ride home (that would be from me!).  Once more, we drove to the HS and saw my daughter coming out of swim practice with her friend - daughter dumped her bags and went to Jazz Band practice, I took friend in the car to drive her home.  A few more minutes and we found the other student we were driving home, and once more we headed down the hill and back to her house, other friend being dropped off first.
    Eldest went to horse back riding with dad, and one more time I drove back to the HS to gather my daughter, and at the last minute, one more of her friends, who had no ride.  I was not thrilled about driving across town from our place to drop her home, but how can you leave a child in the rain??  So a few more miles on the car, a few more trips across town, but everyone is home and I am finally here - sniffing into more Kleenex, taking more cold medicine, and wishing I had had more sleep.
   More tomorrow...
(Did I mention we are getting more rain, too?)

Monday Madness

   Taking a quick break from the 1930's housedress I am building for  Of Mice and Men.  The collar is being noodgy (nu -djee) and I have had to take it out twice.  It is not difficult - I am just tired and distracted by the usual Monday needs of meeting the school bus, picking up children (mine, not random ones off the street)  or arranging to have someone else pick them up, getting supper, washing enough socks to get everyone through the week and making supper.  Both of the older children have meets tomorrow, so we are carb-loading on spaghetti this evening.  I am not complaining - it is fast, easy and no one will turn their nose up at it.
    Rainy today - the type of day that makes you want to bake bread, but sewing works as well for this type of weather.  I have a really good book that I would rather be reading - called The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  I bought it thinking the title sounded familiar -  I may have heard a review on NPR, but I really just got it on impulse.  So far, (only on page 63), it seems to have promise.
    Okay, I have food in my stomach, so back to that collar.

Thursday thoughts

    I do not know why I thought that, with teaching three classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it  was a good idea to move my Girl Scout meetings to Thursday nights!  Whew!
    Of course, after a first meeting tonight,  I have to miss next week's meeting due to the final dress rehearsal for Of Mice And Men at CRT.   Such is my schedule these days.
    Tickets are going fast for the show, so get them sooner rather than later.
    Below are a couple of images from another CRT show I did this summer, The Last of the Boys.

       The cast of this show was amazingly sweet to work with, especially Steven Patterson, who played Jeeter, and who is as talented as he is nice. I am a fan!
     Here are a couple from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) - also a CRT production (I am the costume designer, so I do all the shows).

Titus Andronicus as a cooking show

Romeo shying away from the sword swinging Tybalt

     Lots still to do to get ready for the opening next week, but, as Scarlett O'Hara might say, "Tomorrow is another day."