"May those who love us, love us. And may those that don't love us, Lord- turn their hearts. And if you can't turn their hearts, Lord- then at least turn their ankles so we will know them by their limping." -- Irish Prayer

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We started the day off in the Blake household with plenty of green food coloring. Coleman had raisin toast shamrocks with green butter, while I had french toast with green shamrocks.


Hmmm, green dye.... this should be interesting later.

Mid-morning we read some books about St. Patricks Day and listened to some Irish Music. Then we watched a little bit of the New York St. Pat's day parade on tv. Coleman was unimpressed, so he changed it back to some robot cartoon. I guess I should be glad he prefers robots to green beer at this age.

For school work we did a holiday theme, with maze, craft, sequencing work and practicing the letters L (for leprechaun) and S (for shamrock). I think Coleman grasps the basics of the holiday (st. Patrick went to Ireland, built churches and told people about God, supposedly drove snakes out of the country) as well as the fictional stuff with leprechauns and rainbows.

This afternoon I wanted to do something fun with him, so we did a leprechaun hunt. Basically I walked around the house and took photos of 9 places to hide a leprechaun or pot of gold. I printed out bits of paper that had a leprechaun on one side and the photo of a location on the reverse. I colored a paper bag and folded it to look like a pot and filled it with hershey's kisses with almonds (in gold wrappers). After hiding 8 leprechauns and the "pot of gold" I handed him the first leprechaun and he followed the trail from one to the next until he found the gold. It was a lot of fun and he immediately took the candy outside to share with his friends. Below is the video of the hunt- the house is a shambles and the video quality stinks, so don't look too closely.

Winter Wonderland

This is the snow Friday evening, in the middle of our precipitation. We did not get a photo of the house Saturday morning with it was the deepest.

We ended up with 4 3/4 inches of snow, which is just the right amount for fun! We got up earlier than usual for a Saturday morning and had homemade cinnamon rolls (recipe) with sausage. The rolls were really good, I just should have let them rise a little more after coming out of the fridge overnight, so they were a little flat and tougher than they should have been. I will definitely make them again though. (Maybe when I can pop them right in the oven after the last rise.) After breakfast we got all bundled up and headed outdoors because the snow was melting FAST. It was amazing how much run-off was going through the streets already, so we knew it would not last the afternoon, despite the fact the high was only going to be 37 degrees.

The snow was great for snowballs, but for some reason would not stick well enough to roll for snowmen. Coleman had a great time having "snowfights" with Mom and Dad, and after a while we went across the street to play with a friend. He was glad to have a new target for his snowballs. She is wearing a scarf I made her for Christmas and Coleman is wearing a hat and gloves she gave him for his birthday.
After he had gotten thoroughly soaking wet playing in the melting snow and water in the street, tossed a million snowballs at his friend's dad (who was right in there with it), and found out it was Soccer sign up day- we headed back toward our house. To play in our yard and try to make a snowman.
We made a family of snow angels in the front yard and another friend came outside to play. She was not too happy with the cold and wet, but did tough it out for a little while. She and Coleman built a small snowman on his picnic table, and we used a wilted carrot for his nose, grapes for his eyes and a green onion for his mouth. His arms are part of a coat hanger.

After the photo op with the snowman, Coleman destroyed him with a plastic rake, so it is a good thing we snapped these photos. Coleman had a great time petting my hat and saying "Oh, sweet kitty." I guess it is time to invest in a more traditional snow hat! This one was a Christmas gift from Shane's mom the winter I went to Scotland and it sure is warm- but probably a little formal for wearing out in the yard!
It was a good thing we spent the 2 1/2 hours outside in the early morning (we were in the house and dry by 11) because at noon all the snow was melting very quickly. We ran a couple of errands and by the time we were home at 2pm the snow was pretty much gone! It was short-lived but we are glad we got it. Now- on with Spring!

Bent Objects....

Irony in Pill Form

Prepare for hilarity! Terry over at Bent Objects is incredibly talented with a little wire and a whole lot of everyday objects. Pay close attention to any words on the products, as they are usually key to "getting" the joke.

Every few days he posts a picture of a common household object seen from a different perspective. Right now he is doing a whole series of "Tragedies at the Circus" using those little candy circus peanuts as the stars. You have to see these!

Be ye warned, some of his sculptures can be a bit off color, but the majority of them are family friendly.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

Today has been a big day at the Blake household.

1) Our brand spankin' new WALMART opened about 1/2 mile from our house.

and

2) It is SNOWING! So far we have about 3 inches, with up to 6 expected. The way it is blowing around out there, I thing we will hit close to 6 easily. It is a really nice wet snow too, so it should be perfect for snowballs and snowmen in the morning. Coleman is VERY excited. He has been out to play in it a few times as the afternoon has gone on, and I think he will really enjoy himself tomorrow.

Since it was colder than heck today and I had a lot of stuff to do around the house, I made cinnamon rolls from scratch, and they are waiting in the fridge to go in the oven first thing in the morning. The recipe was really interesting, (it has vanilla pudding in the yeast dough) and if they are as good as they look I will post it tomorrow. They are a little time consuming, but were fun to make.

So, on the agenda tomorrow: breakfast of warm cinnamony goodness, playing in the snow and lots of family fun. Watch for more photos!

Killing me slowly (or what has happened to my brain?)

(Order the above print "brainrot")

So, I have always considered myself above average when it comes to my choices for reading material- more literary than the average bear if you must. In high school, I was the one reading Jude the Obscure and enjoying it, not because it was on the reading list, but because it had the word "obscure" in the title and looked interesting. Same with "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Wuthering Heights" and many other classics that were never required reading. Sure I read Steven King novels in there too, but I enjoyed the great works of fiction just as much if not more.

Off to college- the same pattern continued, but with less Steven King and more fantasy/science fiction material since by then Shane had already influenced my reading preferences. Still lots of classics that I thoroughly enjoyed. After college I went into the workforce and didnt have much time to read, but did enjoy reading some biographies of presidents and other somewhat educational books aloud to my residents.

Then I discovered mysteries. And forensic crime novels. And travel memoirs. And memoirs in general. Out with the classics, in with the junk (in many cases.)

This year I am on track to read 100 books- I am at 27 at this point. However, some of the books I have tried to read that have been deemed "Classics" have done NOTHING for me. Very rarely in my life have I started a book and not finished it. Something about the principal of the thing and refusing to be beaten. "Wise Blood" by Flannery O Connor- I couldn't get past the 5th chapter. Shane read it and assured me it was just like a Cohen Brothers movie without the funny, but I was not getting it. "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, while not yet a classic, I hated it as of chapter 4. Now I am doing my best to avoid "Catch-22" despite the fact I am on page 50 something and have been assured by numerous book reviews that it is one of the funniest books in the history of the world. My friend Kristen (who also recommended "Wise Blood") thoroughly enjoyed "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" which is also doing me in. That lovely volume is 900 pages- I am on 75 and dreading the next 800 plus.

I am not sure if my brain has re-wired itself to prefer the junk fiction of the day, or if I prefer to read things that travel at a quick clip so I can be on to the next book, but it has been a rude awakening for me.

So, there will be much rejoicing if I can finish the two most recent attempts. Just to break the monotony I am also reading "I Am America {and You Can Too!)" by Steven Correll. A blatant little humor may be the spoonful of sugar to make the medecine go down.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today I watched Coleman's best friend Amelia for a couple of hours while her mom went to the dentist. In honor of what would have been Theodore Geisel's 104th birthday, we read "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back". Then the kids made their very own "Cat in the Hat" bowties and hats and had Goldfish crackers. It was a lot of fun!

What's for dinner? Maybe some green eggs and ham.

New Soul by Yael Naim

If you've seen the commercial for the new Mac laptop "Air" you have heard the beginning of this catchy little ditty. I thought it was fun and quirky, so I googled the commercial and found the artist and the video. She reminds me a little of Victoria Williams, which to me is a good thing, not so much to most others.

Enjoy!