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.