Hearth-and-home day

The Christmas tree is sparkling, the fire is going in the hearth and I have pumpkins roasting in the oven.

We've spent the week enjoying both the season and the break from some of our classes.

We enjoyed Santa's early visit to our neighborhood, where he gave the kids candy canes and took G's letter. We've made cookies, and we decorated the house inside last Thursday, before meeting some friends for playtime at the human habitrail. Unfortunately, despite my repeated admonitions otherwise, G kissed her crab beneath the mistletoe and spent a day and a half puking from the couch. She rallied from that in time to go find a tree at a neighborhood tree farm, where me met this really awesome woman. I won't bore anyone with all of their commonalities to our family, but let's just we were saddened to see the big giant for-sale sign in their yard.

I went out alone to enjoy that evening with a woman's night out at a friend's house. She had real food, real wine, real coffee and we had a gift exchange. It was almost jarring to just be ~L~ for a while, and to use my beadwork. I even regifted the ball-warmer purse I have been holding on to for two years. I stayed out until after midnight, which is freakishly unusual for me. That definitely supports the idea that I need that! Much fun! Yet it didn't stop! The very next day G had a party for a friend of hers at the Y. It was so exciting for G to have a girls-only event, and the little girl actually liked G's present, so I was happy too. It could have gone either way, as G made a felt doll out of Popsicle sticks! (One of her gifts for Christmas is going to be a huge supply of her bendy dolls materials, because she's completely out.)

Today I had planned as an inside-laundry-let's be quiet-and-recuperate-day. Alas I am out of oatmeal and dishtabs. I am tired of a week of handwashing our dishes. Spoiled ~L~ is taking on Costco after the pumpkins are done.

I am trying to remain positive

But I am really hating my van right now. So I shall go on about the positive, and ignore my pounding sinus headache, in itself the just desserts for well, desserts.

On an upswing, we had a lovely weekend. We did. We got the van back Friday night* and on Saturday, drove to a friend's birthday party at Odyssey. The kids love what Chiknman refers to as "the human habitrail," and they did the party very efficiently. My kids havenever been to an arcade before, so when they took the children to that half of the play complex, their little heads started spinning. By the time we were ready (omg please let me out!) to leave, the children were, too. They each got puzzle boxes as party favors and the big kids actually put them together that night. (Their mom is not a fan of jigsaw puzzles, so I was pleasantly surprised by how well that went over here. )

Saturday afternoon, P-daddy got a gardening jig on and dug a new bed for our strawberries. He went NUTS, and built a rock wall around it and everything. I was really impressed with that, [pictures to come], and he was soooore the next day. :)

On Sunday, P-daddy went golfing and then we went to Penrose to scope out the perfect camping spot. You can reserve online, and WA State parks tries to make it as convenient as possible by including pictures , but ...if you can drive to see for yourself, it's so much easier. The tide was lower than any tide I have ever seen anywhere in my life. We walked into the inlet, out past the archipelago, for those of you who have been there. (Not the one on the left, the one on the right--- the two mile nature trail. ) People were clamming everywhere, bringing in geoducks and horse clams. We asked one man how he eats his geoduck and he said "raw." Um. yuck.

I finished two new beading projects! One for The GreenMama's birthday and one for a mother's day gift. GreenMama says the birds remind her of a happy childhood memory.


Valerie is so entirely suited to these happy marine colors. The jewelry is much brighter in person than is coming across in these pics.

Today we're off to the zoo for a birthday party in P-Daddy's car. Out! During the day! With people! And I get to give two of the bead recipients their stash! Yay!

*It is making clickety valve noises and on Sunday, when we drove back home fromPenrose, the gauges stopped working. The van would still run, start and go, but I couldn't see how fast we were going or whether we had any gas. Not acceptable after a 5 week sacrifice and 1650.00 expenditure.

I shudder to think where I'd be without my friends

They've been particularly kind to me this week in my transportation-less and resulting mentally fragile condition.

Mack came for Lunch with Friends Wednesday again, and bolstered my spirits there while we listened to the toddler mariachi band. Again. Her little boy is so eloquent he makes my kids look like slow talkers, and they're definitely not.

Nikay brought me down (so not fair, so not fair, so my travellin' turn) some visitation and tomato starts (enough to share with the rest of you South Sounders btw). We played with beads yesterday while the children enjoyed the company of like-aged homeys. Nikay is dipping a toe into the crazy-ass real estate market here and she's probably, for the first time, as frazzled as I am because of her exposure to the morass they call "the market" in Puget Sound. I have much compassion for her new found affection for their cabin in the woods.

Today, The Green Mama came to visit in her own new found freedom as her dd's schedule has suddenly been freed into "Yay! Friends! We can DO things!" We traded kitchen gadgets, war stories and bean recipes. And yes, played with Beads. We also chatted about homeschooling, which is always a favorite past time of mine.

I have been obsessed with my beads lately. It's been a long standing love of mine, and I do mean LOVE, but I haven't been producing anything for years. Suddenly, BAM! I am back in the swing of things, stringing beads and feeling the inspiration. It's been a joy. I think planning Snaygirl's mother blessing and searching for just the perfect beads for her labor necklace must have turned a switch back ON.

I finally finished the Brazilian Goddess' earrings and felt like I owed her a little interest, so I strung a matching bracelet. The beads are freshwater pearls, garnets and fused cobalt glass works.

Unable to be with her, I made Dalicious a labor gift of her own, also of freshwater pearls and charms, with a goddess anchor.