turkey day activities

Following a last minute cancellation by our prospective guests, the four of us found ourselves facing a 24 pound bird and all of the fixings. After ingesting massive amounts of tryptophan, we spent the rest of the afternoon engaged in a variety of indoor activities.

The boys rediscovered our Playfoam and spent the next hour building sculptures. Pictured here are Owen's blue whale, green dragon (with yellow spines and pink tongue), Logan's lamb, birthday cake, and three ice cream cones.



Logan poses by the completed rainforest jigsaw puzzle.



The boys shucked some of our decorative corn for one of Mama's crafty projects.



Owen declared himself the official Thanksgiving Day photographer.



Logan entertained us with some lovely piano playing in the afternoon.



Owen warps his mini-loom in preparation for a new pot holder.

happy thanksgiving

Gratitude                      Peace                      Joy                       Love

playground scenes

Another beautiful day filled with a fun trip to the school playground.

fall afternoon

After a cold and wet October, this month has been unseasonly warm and sunny. This afternoon was perfect for raking leaves, enjoying nature, and playing outside.

meet the teachers

The boys turned our house into a school this weekend. A lot of time was spent in teacher meetings, classroom preparation, and trips to the cafeteria. Please allow me to introduce you to Mr. Bobstein. He teaches first grade in room R11.



I'm also pleased to introduce Mr. Griggs who teaches third grade in room R12.

wurlitzer's last waltz

The boys pose for one last photo in front of the Wurlitzer organ. After acquiring a piano two years ago, the plan was to give the organ away but previous efforts never panned out. As of this morning the keyboard is on the way to its new home in Menahga, Minnesota. Prior to final unplugging, Logan, Owen, and Tony performed an epic final jam.

preparing for winter's chill

The boys had so much fun mixing and matching and trying on our winter accessories, fresh from the laundry. Let's hope that this winter's weather does not require quite so much layering.

happy halloween

Our spooky hallway.



The boys hand out candy and pretzels.



After serving the masses, Logan and Owen suit up and hit the street for their own treats.

pumpkin night

Two boys and four pumpkins collided in our kitchen this evening. Logan favored the tall and skinny variety this year while Owen went for the large and round. Afterwards, we made caramel apples for a special treat.

gooseberry sweater

When faced with a self imposed deadline, I can usually muster up some extra special knitting mojo and whip through the stitches quickly. Despite a few hiccups (necessary pattern modifications, stitches that mysteriously appeared or dropped), this year's Rhinebeck sweater was cast on and finished in thirty three days (never mind that I was weaving in ends and sewing on buttons in the festival parking lot). I am very pleased with this sweater; it fits rather well, the color is exactly what I wanted, and it kept me warm while traipsing around in damp weather. Despite my success, I think that I should cast on for next year's sweater by the end of 2009--what's it going to be?

aarrgghh!

This afternoon, the boys and I had the opportunity to attend the Pirate Extravaganza in the Great Hall of the Depot. It was well attended by young and old, and we sat on the floor during most of the presentation. Scott Mitchen and his pirate crew entertained us with sword fighting and led the kids in a pirate parade. While my guys are pretty interested in all things pirate, they were ready for a change of scenery as the lecture/slideshow neared the one-hour mark. After escaping to the Children's Museum Moneyville exhibit for a bit, we checked out the real pirate treasure and headed for home.

the real stars of rhinebeck

No post-processing on this one; the smile is genuine.



This chocolate colored Icelandic ewe was sheared during a demonstration, providing Deb and I an opportunity to purchase her fleece "fresh off the sheep" (talk about knowing the origins of things we buy!)



Isn't it just lovely?



The colors really vary from light blonde to chestnut to chocolate brown and its dual coated fleece is super silky.

pumpkin perfection

Something to aspire to in Halloween carving this year? These are the work of master pumpkin carver, Hugh McMahon, whose entire display at the NY Sheep & Wool Festival was simply impressive. Sheep Gal captured a few more, if you're interested.

scenes from a wooly festival

This year, my cousin Colette joined Aunt Deb and I at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. Despite the chilly temps and rain, we had another amazing visit--we chatted with farmers, learned about different sheep breeds, checked out the hundreds of vendor booths, and squeezed many a skein and fleece. I was particularly thrilled to find a beautiful black fleece from an alpaca named James Brown and a bag of washed Leicester Longwool locks, the featured breed this year. We were only an hour out of Rhinebeck when talk turned to attending next year's festival... Or, maybe we'll try the one in Vermont... Or, maybe the one in Maryland...



These canine rescue dogs were amazing frisbee athletes.



The Red Hook Spinners group competed in the Fleece to Shawl competition--carding, spinning, and weaving a shawl in just three hours!