TIME: 12:20 PM
PLACE: Basement
SUBJECT: Tessa in a dinosaur hat
I went down to the dungeon (the basement) to begin to clear a path and make room for items which need to be removed from the rental house.
While in the midst of getting a load of stuff together for the HH to take to the thrift store, I found a Halloween costume/cat hat and put it on Tessa.
She was not amused.
I was.
TIME: 4:42 PM
PLACE: Work
SUBJECT: Origami
A couple of years ago, I had an Origami Page-A-Day calendar at work.
This guy and his hat were two days I folded and ended up keeping.
He stares at me all day long.
TIME: 8:29 PM
PLACE: Home
SUBJECT: Eva
DramaQueen has 7 friends – 4 girls, 3 boys(!) - over tonight to celebrate New Year’s Eve. MonkeyBoy is spending the night at friend’s house (lucky him, he gets to escape the evening of 15-year olds!). So of course StellaDella needed a friend over too! Eva is my cousin’s daughter (SD’s 2nd cousin) and while she is 2 years older than SD, they get along famously. We like to call the two of them “Thelma and Louise” I love how her gum matched her hat tonight.
“If a woman rebels against high-heeled shoes, she should take care to do it in a very smart hat”
George Bernard Shaw (Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist. 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1856-1950)
TIME: 9:32 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT: StellaDella modeling her “Brock-a-brella”
We went to the flea market this morning, DQ, SD and I. SD found this umbrella hat, aka the “Brock-a-brella” (a umbrella hat, invented by St. Louis Baseball Cardinal Hall of Famer, Lou Brock and Richard H. Nielson) and had to have it. She wore it while browsing the booths. Of course, this thoroughly embarrassed her older sister who didn’t want to be seen next to her at. all. I did get DQ to take a photo of SD wearing it at the flea market for me as both my cell phone and camera batteries were dead.
TIME: 9:22 AM
PLACE: Flea market
SUBECT: StellaDella
(photo by DramaQueen)
I thought she looked adorable.
“Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.“
~Author Unknown
TIME: 6:16 PM
PLACE: Uncle Albert’s house
SUBJECT: Uncle Albert
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a clear shot of him when he was wearing the complete outfit of a Santa Snuggie along with this hat and Santa-face earmuffs.
“All parts of the human body get tired eventually - except the tongue”
Konrad Adenauer (German Statesman He was the first Chancellor of Federal Republic of West Germany, 1876-1967)
IME: 10:35 AM
PLACE: Main Street
SUBJECT: MonkeyBoy and StellaDella
Santa Claus came to town today via our city’s annual Santa Claus parade. MB, SD, Oreo and my dad walked up to Main Street to watch. The kids collected a ton of candy and Oreo even received a squeaky toy from the Kennel Club marchers. One of the pieces of candy was a “Tongue Coloring Fizzy Candies”…can you tell?
"Requiem for a Falling Star." *Columbo*. Perf. Peter Falk. 1973.
TIME: 7:31 PM
PLACE: West Main St.
SUBJECT: Ainad Shriner Fez
The Annual Shriner’s Parade was this evening. Just as we did last year, we walked in it. Our state representative was in town and we helped him hand out Tootsie Rolls. DramaQueen did not join us this evening…she had a better offer to spend the night at a friend’s house in another town…we couldn’t compete with that. So it was just HandsomeHusband, MonkeyBoy, StellaDella and me tonight. MB walked the entire route and SD rode a little (in a rumble seat of a vintage auto), walked a little - she LOVES handing out candy - and rode a little more. It was hot and humid tonight (91 degrees!) and it felt good to climb into our air-conditioned car at the end of the route.
“The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing.”
Ben Okri (Nigerian author who uses magic realism to convey the social and political chaos in his country, 1959)
TIME: 5:56 PM
PLACE: School
SUBJECT: MonkeyBoy
In order to make sure that “we all count” and our district gets our fair share of the federal allotment per pupil, our school sponsored a Census night. Families just needed to bring in their completed census to participate. Tables were set up to assist those who needing help filling out the form. The school served pizza, cookies and lemonade to all who attended. (Hey, if I don’t have to cook and it’s free, of course my family will be there!) After we ate, a magician performed for 30 minutes. MB joined him on stage during the rope trick. When the magician was finished at 6:30, I went to a combo Leadership Team/PTA meeting (which lasted until 8pm) and HandsomeHusband took the kids home.
“And all your future lies beneath your hat.”
John Oldham (1653-1683), British poet. Lines to a Friend About to Leave the University
TIME: 3:36 PM
PLACE: The Jeep
SUBJECT: MonkeyBoy
(taken with my Samsung Propel 1.3 megapixel cellphone)
It’s Wednesday and that means the kids get out 30 minutes early and MB has music practice from 2:30-3:30pm at the junior high school. He is bussed there from his school in the afternoon and I pick him up afterwards. It was snowing this afternoon – big wet clumpy flakes. While waiting the kids were having fun sliding on the sidewalk and throwing snow at each other. MB was wearing his “Uncle John:” hat and the brim had collected the falling snow. There was actually a whole lot more on the brim, but the car was so warm that it started to melt as soon as he sat down on the seat.
Traffic Cop: What's the matter? Didn't you see that traffic light?
Frosty: What's a traffic light?
Traffic Cop: Up there on that lamppost.
Frosty: What's a lamppost?
Traffic Cop: Are you trying to get a ticket, wise guy?
Frosty: I'd love one. To the North Pole, please.
Frosty The Snowman (Paul Frees, Jackie Vernon, written by Romeo Muller, Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. - directors, 1969)
TIME: 10:00 PM
PLACE: The Dining Room
SUBJECT: Crocheted Snowman
I crocheted this snowman 2 (or was it 3?) years ago from a RoxyCraft pattern. My snowman does not look as nice as the original. Being that I was a self-taught crocheter, I’m lucky that he didn’t turn looking like a mutant. I like crocheting, but haven’t picked up a hook all year. I find it to be like cross-stitching, logical, orderly and soothing. Plus I find it fascinating…you start with a long piece of yarn, basically, tie knots with it on a metal hook and you end up with (in this case) a snowman! It’s magic.
On a related note, one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2009 was to learn to knit. I’m thinking that I am going to fail in fulfilling that resolution. Something to aspire to next year, I guess.
“Most of us can remember a time when a birthday - especially if it was one's own - brightened the world as if a second sun has risen.”
Robert Lynd (Irish Essayist and Journalist, 1879-1949)
TIME: 8;03 PM
PLACE: The dining room
SUBJECT: MonkeyBoy & his birthday cake
When this picture was taken, we were singing (quite off-key and it sounded like we were singing a funeral dirge!) "Happy Birthday" to MonkeyBoy. I'm so glad the cake is hidden in the dark. I ended up making the cake myself. I took MB to the bakery to pick a cake out, but as we were looking at the available cakes, MB told me that what he really wanted was for me to make him a "plain cake", he did not want any of the "fancy ones" we saw. "Just cake and icing Mom." OK, if that is what the birthday boy wants, I will bake him a cake. Well, it ended up turning out very CakeWreck-y. But he was happy with it and it tasted good, so I guess that is all that really matters, huh? He really cleaned up gift-wise - that boy took in over 150 dollars! In addition to the cash, he received a Wii game, a game for his Nintendo DS, a coin counting bank and some walkie-talkies. Before he went to bed, he hugged and kissed me and told me that it was the "best birthday ever! Thanks Mom!" You know, that makes it all worthwhile.
"Snowmen fall from heaven unassembled"
Unknown
TIME: 3:44 PM
PLACE: The front yard
SUBJECT: Snowman
The two older kids went back to school today. They are off again tomorrow due to teacher's conferences. StellaDella wanted to build a snowman so bad today. I persuaded her to wait until her brother and sister came home from school. Monkeyboy went out with her and built a snowman. I provided the carrot, button eyes and bottle caps for the buttons. Did you realize that snowmen are St. Louis Cardinal fans? Spring training starts when the pitchers and catchers report in Jupiter, Florida on February 14th then work out the next day. The first Grapefruit League game is February 28th, when the Cards host the Marlins. Opening day at Busch Stadium is April 1st, vs. the Mets. I'm ready to sit in the sun and enjoy some beer, a brat, peanuts and watch some baseball.
