my feet fell off.

firstly: thank you for the birthday wishes, & the de-lurking! it was lovely! as to those who stayed hidden & quiet? we are not amused.

why am i footless you ask? yesterday we went to san diego, & walked, walked, walked, walked. ate a little greek food, walked, walked walked. sat for a bit in the gaslight district, then walked, walked, & ended the day walking a bit more. i do think that we could have walked from los angeles, to san diego... & still not walked as much as we did in those 5 hours.
& so my feet fell off in the night. i shall miss shoes.

the train ride was all that we hoped it would be! the kids had run of an entire car, & made every inch of it count. thehobbit & minipaper carved a little bit of the car for themselves, turning their seats into a hidden fort. it was very sweet, & one day i hope to stop imagining the zillions of feet germs they were soaking up down there. ew.

the day was beautiful! sunny, & warm, nice ocean breeze... mmmm. as much as i stopped enjoying the walking a few hours in; i loved seeing the buildings - late 1800s through the 1920s. i joked that i took more photos of the architectural details than of my family. it turns out that i did just that! sorry loved ones.

that's all for today. i'm utterly exhausted. thank you to all who made yesterday such a wonderful birthday! especially you... my manlyman... how i do love you so.
~peace.

to to, or not to to...

today is going to be too busy! i had no idea that ditching my to-dos yesterday; to spend the afternoon at disneyland; would mean that i'd have to still to-do those things today. today's to-dos too. simply too much to do today. all i've to do today is making me looking toward tonight. or tomorrow even. heehee. too, too funny.

all silliness aside, my to-do list is long... which means i'd rather be sewing. i have to clean the kitchen, print labels, ready bags for an auction, read/play/create with thehobbit (who just walked past with a box on his head,) & get everything ready for tomorrow's trip. & i must weed the front lawn... the city keeps sending us notices about the weeds. but we love dandelions! the tall, thin stems, topped with those sweet, yellow flowers - it's why we named our home dandelion cottage. i don't want to weed.

tomorrow we are going with other homeschoolers to san diego. on the train! it shall be thehobbit's first train ride!! most importantly... tomorrow is to be my birthday! oh how i love my birthday! birthweek is great fun, but my actual day of birth has always filled me with great joy. & i get to point out all day how it is my birthday, therefore all about me. me. me!

i have decided what your prezzie to me shall be. i want you to de-lurk! i know you are there, you've told me so. i expect comments from here on out. daily. & no more of this anonymous business please, this is not a secret society. be loud & proud! thehobbit just came in with his jumprope to jump for me... jump! jump! "i know i'm not allowed to jumprope in the house mama, but look at me jump!" jump! jump.! ???

i'm off to to-do! remember.. post!
~peace.

won't you take me to....

de-funky town? won't you take me to, de-fu-unky town?

oh solo reader i am officially defunkificated!!! (real word) since you put up with me during the funk of the never-ending pestilence, i shall share my defunkification (also real word.)

the night before last i got very little sleep, so yesterday i was a tad slap-happy. after breakfast, thehobbit wanted to sit by the window & draw, leaving me free to poke about the internet. an article in wondertime magazine mentioned a blog that sounded interesting, so i decided to take a look.

an hour later i was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face, i could not breathe, & thehobbit was getting concerned. anyone who has children will love finslippy!!! well maybe not uptight people; i don't mean offense to anyone by saying that... some people just are uptight. it's all good.

it's not enough to read a few posts; find something for the kids to do, & read as far back as you can... in no time at all you will find yourself laughing your arse off (better yet: don't get enough sleep tonight, then read it tomorrow... so you can cry like i did!)

in the middle of reading, my sweet spryte sent me this!!! already beyond tired, & laughing hysterically, these cartoons put me over the edge. i laughed so hard my head hurt, my abdomen hurt, my eyes were swollen from crying, & um did i ever tell you how i didn't do kegels when pg?

later thehobbit & i went to lovely pom's for our weekly playdate. she loved me like no other can... she baked me birthweek cookies! my favorites! macarooooooooons. not boring plops either, she formed pyramids! regular & chocolate! & the minipoms made me cards. i felt utterly spoiled.

when we got home, i went to check the chili that had been crockpotting (real word) all afternoon; only to find it had not finished cooking!!!!! i began to lose my happies, when manlyman agreed we should order veggie burgers from a local delivery place. yay!

after thehobbit went to bed (he goes down at 6:30-7:00 heehee) i read more finslippy, did yoga with my manlyman, & ended the day with jane.

oh what a day! a glorious end to the pestilence-induced funk, & a fabulous way to begin my birthweek!!!! i think this year shall prove to be the best 28th birthday i've yet had!

i must get going... we are ditching our to-do list, & heading over to disneyland. thehobbit wants to see the jedi show again. ahem. for someone who swears he did not like star wars, he sure has been drawing a lot of familiar spaceships, & building quite a lot of teeny droids.

ugh. thehobbit just cranked up his elvis cd. whimper. i love the king as much as the next person, but now i shall be singing elvis all day. you don't know me well... i cannot help singing. living with me is like living in a musical. if i'm not singing an actual song, i make up songs. it's like that episode of northern exposure when shelly was pg, & sang everything. only with me it's all the time. sigh. it seems i shall be viva las disneyland. woe is me.

enough babbling! go read finslippy, you can thank me later.
~peace.

i am here

you thought i really had left for wales, to live in the hobbit house. as tempting as it was... i decided to stay here. for now.

i hadn't meant to ignore the blog all week - the never ending pestilence, (song now stuck in my head,) has thrown me good & truly out of whack. not that i've ever been much in whack; but that's not the point.

thank you sweet pom for phoning to make sure all was well at the belfry! our bitchfest your concern was just what the doctor ordered.

other than pestilence, & out of whackness (real word) i have been insanely busy. to tell you even half of it would make for much too long a post, & a random one at that. here are the cliffnotes:

thehobbit has been drawing like a madman, has decided that he loves/hates knitting (never far from the tree,) saw part of star wars & decided it was too violent, is loving the secret garden, & yesterday said "mama when i own my own restaurant that i will cook at; you remember that place? where i will use my frying oil to power my trucks? well i am going to have a jukebox there. except, instead of songs from the radio, they will all be ones that i sing." (he managed to cram it all in there: chef, environmentalist, rock star!)

i have learned to bind a seam & to decrease, so am ready to venture beyond scarves & owl blankets! to celebrate i bought new needles & yarn, & am knitting another scarf. yes i know.

** edited to add: the latest issue of homeschool la is up!! **

that's all i have for you today. i'm afraid i've sunk into the funk of the pestilence, & am good for naught but bitching about it. worry not my one & only reader! this too shall pass, & before long i shall be back to my happy, crafting, blogging self; full of promises of photos not from clipart.

until then... you'll find me here.
~peace.

it would be easier to move.

do you ever look around you; at the piles of laundry waiting to be folded, the stacks of library books that fell over, the toys & projects & hats & shoes & jackets abandoned, the dustbunnies running for cover, & the dishes on the phone with the health authorities; & think... rather than cleaning, it would be easier to move?

my belfry is a wreck, so i'm leaving. if you need me, i shall be at my new home.

photo property of: simondale.net

they look like a nice family. at the very least, they seem to have vastly less stuff than my family has. i shall miss my menfolk, but if they promise to bring nothing with them, they can visit me. on that bench in front of the house.

what did i do today before deciding to move? i broke my wee hobbit's heart, that's what. i was looking for an old post on my blog, & put delilah (fancy laptop that doesn't belong to me, but i named anyway) down to help manlyman in the kitchen. i came back to find thehobbit very sad. he said, "mama, you know how you said i wasn't allowed to read your blog, because it's for grownups? well i'm sorry i read a little." i thanked him for his honesty, & asked him to please not do so again. to which he replied, "ok." huge tears welling in his eyes. "mama? how come you called opie (my old camera which now belongs to him) the 'c' word?" for the record: in our home, the 'c' word is 'crap.'

i was deep into a long-winded explanation of how even grownups accidentally curse now & again, when he interrupted to say "oh i know mama. that's ok. i'm just really sad you said it about opie." single tear slowly running down his cheek. "is opie the 'c' word mama?" worry in his huge, dark brown eyes; 'not my beloved camera' they seemed to say. i fumbled for a bit, but eventually convinced him that i was frustrated with opie when i wrote it, & that it wasn't the 'c' word. it just didn't take the pictures that i needed. i apologized, & assured him his camera is a good one. also for the record: his camera is crap, & the pictures i needed it to take were pictures in focus.

i know who he is, he is me... rather me as a child. everything was alive to me, everything had feelings. i gave every thing a name, i even had a pet stick i dragged about on a leash. people used to talk about me living in my own little world. maude how i detested that expression! now i understand what they meant- they simply didn't understand what it was like to be me. don't understand still. but thehobbit is lucky. i know him. so i don't tell him it's just a camera, & not something to cry over. because to him it isn't just a camera. it is his. it is opie.

i'm not worried that thehobbit lives in his own little world, nor am i concerned about him being sensitive. he's who he is, & i think who he is, will one day make him an amazing man. if i'm wrong, (& i'm never wrong) at least he'll have opie. ;-)

that's all for now. i have to leave for my new home now. my new home where it's clean, & free of clutter... & where i am not breaking wee hobbity hearts.
~peace.

happily ever after

once upon a time, a faery princess was sent to a new royal tutor. during english lessons, she was seated next to a sweet, shy squire from a neighboring kingdom. the squire developed a crush on the faery princess, & blushed every time she spoke to him. the faery princess saw this, so made a point to speak with him often (to the annoyance of their english tutor.)
eventually they became friends, & for the next two years they would exchange pleasantries whenever they found themselves in the same part of the castle.

during one summer break, the squire earned his spurs, causing all the ladies of the land to fawn over him horridly. when he returned to the castle for autumn lessons, the faery princess noticed the changes in her sweet, shy squire/turned knight, & found herself developing a crush of her own.
she was sure he would want to wear her favor; as he'd been mad for her for two years; so was shocked to find he was too busy with his silly admirers to pay her any mind.
royal schooling ended two years later, & they went their seperate ways: he to compete in jousting tournaments, & she to do all that a faery princess must.

time passed; 6 years to be exact; & the faery princess attended a royal ball. it was late, & she was bored with all the annoying knights vying for her hand. she was about to leave for her castle, when she spotted a tall, handsome knight across the room. the faery princess was sure she did not know him, but he reminded her faintly of the sweet, shy squire she'd known all those years ago. she was intrigued by this stranger, & felt strongly that she should like to know him.
she plucked up her courage, & walked around the ballroom to make his aquaintance. as she neared him though, her courage failed. she put her head down, & quickend her pace to get past him. before she could, a hand shot out, & grabbed her by the wrist. she looked up, & straight into the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen. beautiful, and very familiar! this handsome knight was indeed her sweet, shy squire!!!

they talked long into the night, & as they did, they fell deeply in love. after a time, the handsome knight asked the faery princess to marry him, & so she did. they lived quite happily this way for years; 7 years to be exact; when they found themselves blessed with a tiny princeling of their very own. this was a wonderful thing indeed, for nothing but this could have made the couple any happier than they already were. that was 10 years ago. in all this time, the faery princess, her handsome knight, & their tiny princeling have been living happily ever after.

the end beginning.

happy valentines day!

anyone could give you a box of chocolates.

you know you want the heart-cow.

~peace.

more of the same

i don't wish to harp on this; but i am not enjoying the never-ending pestilence. i shall spare you further bitching about it. before i do, i need to ask: why do i start feeling much better, then wake the next day miserable, then ooh look! i'm feeling pretty decent, oh no wait, i'm actually a wretched puddle of goo, etc... why?

not much has been getting done of late. i did manage a bit of planting & tending on sunday. the sun felt lovely on my back whilst i worked. one of the woes of this pestilence has been feeling constantly cold, so this little heat wave has been much appreciated.

yesterday we were at our tuesday book-craft gig. the heat left us all feeling slow & lazy. this resulted in the shorties being a bit out of sorts, but we mamas enjoyed it to no end. relished it in fact!

it was also book club night! sadly only two of us were able to attend, so it was turned into a craft & coffee night. before i had to head home (early due to pestilence) i managed to knit thehobbit a mini scarf for valentine's day. i used the remainder of yarn from my scarf, so we'll match. he will be thrilled by the matching! i made the scarf short, sort of a funky cravat if you will. this way he can use it for dress-up as well.

speaking of dress-up... today thehobbit is wearing (over actual regular clothes) a brown, fuzzy fleece vest (zipped literally to the chin) with a black belt over it, a hands-free headset on his head, and a large, plastic bowl over that. i'm guessing it's a space helmet. he has a small bowl on a doll's head as well. they have turned a bench, two yoga blocks, & a doll cradle into a spaceship. i've no idea where they are headed, but they look to be having great fun on their way.

i hope your day is great fun as well.
~peace.

oh what a circus, oh what a show..

that's a song from evita, & it's stuck in my head.

some days i feel like i live in the middle of cirque du soleil, without the amazing music. look at this short clip! practically a home video.
today was one of those days; complete with little clowns everywhere i turned, & chickens constantly trying to get into the house big top.
i know you think that's the pestilence talking, but you are wrong... actual chickens. soap has a bunch of them, & they kept sneaking in.

today's circus was brought to you by hogwarts charter school (for the exceptionally silly.) they really are. silly from here to there, and back again. i don't mean that in a negative way in the least. i think thehobbit, & his two bestest girlies are amazing. they are also a perfect fit... loons the lot of them.

fortunately i had no classes to teach today, so i could just sit with a hot tea & knit. they worked more on their faery houses, then had their first knitting lesson. they are dinky, so you know they picked it up more quickly than i. no month-long cursing festival either.

just after dinner we heard a loud, muffled bang! thehobbit came running from the other room to tell us he could see fireworks in the sky.


isn't that beautiful?! simply breathtaking. the photo isn't mine - clipart yet again. i did try, but they came out fuzzy, & looking very unlike fireworks.
i don't know what or where this show was, but it was great fun to stand on our front porch, & watch! manlyman suspects it was for chinese new year... you know, to celebrate the year of the pestilence. it's possible, as there is a large park not far from here. whatever the occasion, we were able to see the whole show quite well. it was a lovely surprise.

did i tell you i completed my first scarf?!?! i am beyond thrilled, & oh so proud of myself. i desperately wanted to wear it today; so i could show off; but it was in the low 70s! in february!! i know we live in southern california, but that is just silly. silly & i had a scarf to wear. today i knit a thinner version of my scarf to send to my mom. knitting is addictive. i do need to stop the scarf factory before it gets into full-swing, or i shall never complete my chickens. yes another teaser, i'm just bad that way.

that's all the babble i have today. the pestilence is taking all my energy. have a great night!
~peace.

admitting defeat

the thing-a-day thing is such a wonderful... thing! unfortunately i'm failing miserably with it. this pestilence is sapping all of my energy, & thehobbit is claiming any reserves. so, before i even begin to stress that i'm not making, doing, etc-ing each day... i feel i should withdraw. whew. that was a load off my tired shoulders.

look who was also at disneyland on wednesday


i still find it strange to see star wars at disneyland, but the jedi training show was absolutely brilliant! the actors do a wonderful job, & the kids that get chosen from the audience have such fun. perhaps it would seem less strange if darth wore mouse ears?

my plan is to get back to my sewing & crafting once i'm fully recovered. this is supposed to be a craft-focused blog after all. & photos... lots of photos. lots of photos not from clipart :-)

just a short post today. we had an r&s meeting today, & it really wore me down. happily, manlyman is on his way home as i type, so i can rest without worrying that thehobbit isn't getting enough attention. mamahood isn't always tiaras & bonbons. mostly, but not always.

i want waffles.
~peace.

9 years, 12 months,

& 1 day!!! yesterday my sweet hobbit turned 10!

my plan was to have a nice, quiet, family day... get some of thehobbit's kitchen done, eat delicious food, be mellow, & silly together. manlyman had something else in mind.
he decided that 10 was just too big to be treated as any other birthday. so my amazing husband sold some golf bags & clubs, & used the money to take us to disneyland! no, not just for the day... he bought annual passes, so we can celebrate all of 10!! i doubt i need tell you how thrilled thehobbit was.

because we knew we had all year; & because i was still sick; we went on only a handful of rides, played quite a bit on main street, & saw a few shows. we lingered everywhere we went. it was truly a magical day.

day 5 :: celebrate my child

so what does one do the day after such a momentous occasion? if one is me, one is sick. i knew i should have asked that we go another time, but i just could not do it. there is something magical about your actual day of birth; most especially for children. besides, i had spent all of tuesday resting. apparently i should have done the same all of wednesday, or at least not spent it walking about, well into the very cold eve. today i am simply miserable.

to make things worse, i had to postpone his birthday tea party, & family dinner. :-(
i'm too sick, & just haven't the strength to do all that i would need to for either, let alone for both.

all three of us took photos at disneyland, so i shall look through them, & choose some to share with you (when i'm feeling back to normal.) time for more hot tea & honey.
~peace.

rock the vote!

i have this naughty fantasy...
i am wearing a linen summer dress, with an entire day to just lounge about the house. watch a little tv, read a book, take a nap or 2, sit & just stare up at the blue sky. no chores get done, no errands, no places to be. all is quiet. relaxing.
nowhere in this fantasy am i miserable on the couch, in stained jams & a sweater with the hood up, nowhere is my throat on fire, nowhere is a small hobbit, bopping about the place as if he's got springs instead of feet!

i think i got the fuzzy end of the fantasy lollipop.

did you get out & vote?!?!



thehobbit loves going to the polls. he feels like he's a part of the day, & really gets into it. we always make sure to take a photo of him by the polling sign. he usually wears a 'peace' shirt, but today decided a tie was needed. so instead, he held his fingers in the peace sign. the volunteers always go out of their way to chat with him, & give him an i voted sticker. today we told everyone we chatted with that we were voting for martha stewart. we also asked the elderly man at the ballot machine if it was really a shredder. he was a good sport! when it went through, he made a horrified face, & said "oh no! it's shredded yours!" so nice when people play along.

day 3 :: oops.

day 4 :: vote. edit article. tackle huge pile of handwashing. (done, done, & done!) is it just me, or do you too love to see your wash out on the line, blowing in the breeze? i should have added bring handwashing in before the marine layer arrives. i checked before we left for the polls, & everything was nearly dry. a few hours later, & they were damp again.

something that wasn't intentional... i finished the square for my knitting wip! i just need to see soap, so she can show me the next step. &!!!! & i think i figured out how to purl.

ok i should stop babbling & get some rest. the pestilence is calling, & i'm 10 hours into labor! 12 more hours & thehobbit will be born. we looked at photos before tucking him in for the night. he liked the photo of me in labor, asleep, with the vomit bowl resting atop my giant belly. of course he did :-) my sweet, silly hobbit. sigh. yes my only reader. yes i am getting weepy. it's hard to fathom that upon waking tomorrow, i shall have been a mama for ten whole years.

rats. now i have to go peek on the sleeping boy.
~peace.

of pestilence, prezzies, crockpots, & java

i'm starting to think that 2008 is not the year of the rat - it is the year of the pestilence. it's hit the belfry again. i should tell you that i suspect manlyman is faking. whether it is to avoid further pampering me, or to get me off the sick-couch to pamper him, i cannot say.

this morning we took thehobbit to the hardware store to choose things for his birthday prezzie. he has a wooden kitchen set, & for his birthday has asked that we a) put taller legs on the pieces, & 2) finish the dang set! i am horridly ashamed to admit that we built it 4 years ago, & never put in shelves, knobs, a sink spout...
we bought everything we needed, with the exception of magnet paint for the front of the fridge. $20 for a dinky can?! he can continue to use tape.
i'll take before & after photos. yes i will. stop it!

day 2 :: cook enough to last 3 days.

crockpot curry

2 large potatoes, cut into large cubes

1/2 brown onion, diced

large can, tomatoes (diced, or pureed)

1/4c thick coconut milk

1c chopped spinach (thaw if frozen)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

1-2tbs olive oil

1tsp ground cumin

1tbs curry powder

1tsp ground tumeric

salt & pepper

water

1) put everything into the crockpot. (the coconut milk is to cut the heat, & give the kid extra calories. you can omit it, or add it to individual bowls at serving.)

2) add enough water to cover potatoes.

3) set the crock to its specifications.

4) serve over basmati rice.

** notes: you can mess around with spice amounts to get the taste you prefer. you can also add other veggies. we like carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, & mushroom too. double everything if you have a large crockpot, & family.**

before i leave to poke about my fave blogs, i thought i should relieve any concerns you may have for me. yes, i did buy soycreamer (6 of them) today, & yes i had a gigantic cup of liquid, java love. all is as it should be.
~peace.

challenged!

this morning paper challenged the dragonfly artisans to take part in the thing-a-day thing. what we're supposed to do is make something each day, then document it on our blogs. there is an official website, but we learned of it past the deadline, so shall try it on our own.

her enthusiasm was catching; & having had no coffee since early yesterday; i jumped right on board. the imbalnce of soycreaminess in my body was off, leaving me to joke that for my first day, i would make... wait for it... a mess. now we see i am rash, & witty without my java fix.

my plan was to get a few to-dos to-done, play with thehobbit, then sit down to create something astoundingly beautiful. all went well until shortly after lunch. tripping over a toy for the umpteenth time, i went a wee bit mad. i grabbed a few giant trash bags, & a small hobbit, & spent the remainder of the day purging the playroom. all the bags were stuffed, a box was found, then filled. thehobbit's cars alone went from a large bin on wheels, to a small wooden cigar box. we finished just in time for me to get dinner on. i turned to head for the kitchen, saw the disaster that was the bigroom, & realized... i had indeed.... wait for it... made a mess! ha!

so there you go. not only rash, & witty, it seems that i am also a woman of my word. & no, i have no pictures to document my creation. i couldn't find the camera even were i in the mood to take photos.

day 1 :: mess

~peace.
don't be concerned for thehobbit. we'd planned a purge for later this month anyway. the rule is: play with it, or it's gone. nothing put in either donation bags, or trash were special, or beloved in anyway. he spent the evening thrilled at how spacious his playroom is, how he could find everything, & actually play in there. it's all good.

is the clock broken?

whimper. whilst always happy to have my manlyman home, rarely do i literally count the minutes hours until he is to walk through the front door. this is one of those rare days.

today thehobbit has more energy than a chiahuahua drinking his third espresso... & i don't. to make it worse, he keeps remembering that his best pals are at disneyland, then behaves quite wretchedly.

at the moment it's a happy, caffeinated pup that's running about the room. he is wearing (in addition to the uniform) a straw hat, with a pale blue square of chiffon draped over his head/face. i'm told it is to keep away the mosquitoes.

& did i mention i'm out of soycreamer again? oh terrible agony! no hot, creamy, sweet cup of love at the end of the day. i'm sorry pom! i know you are shaking your head at me in frustration this very moment!

so as not to focus too much on hopped-up shorties, & the misery of the lack of liquid love... yesterday thehobbit & i went to the library to pick up the shelf of books i had on hold. to my surprise, i saw that their used book sale room is now open daily. oh joy of joys! look at the treasure i snagged for a dollar...

this book is really helpful to me, because our growing season is vastly different from what the usual garden books discuss. i still have one active tomato plant! in february! the funny thing is i meant to see if they had it on the stacks! no need to ever borrow this book again. yay used book room!

i am loving all the books i'd put on hold as well. do any of you like to borrow cook & crafting books before you buy them? i do. one that i definitely am going to add to my collection is this, by angry chicken. it really is as amazing as everyone claims!

ahhhh manlyman is home. i am going to go hide under the covers with my stack of books. ~peace.