hobbity happenings

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when the dinky bébé joined the family, it became too easy to forget to gush about my older (or, as tinker's middle girl calls him: used) child. i am a dreadful mama.

thehobbit has been a busy bee of late. he now takes classes: lego engineering, english, & science. it feels strange, after so many years, to hand over bits of his education to others, but he's enjoying it.



autumn sunrise

 i cannot recall if i ever told you of thehobbit's karate lessons. he began earlier this year, & recently competed in his first tournament. in his age group, he took 2nd place in kata! isn't that exciting? they gave him a medal, on a pretty red ribbon, which we've proudly draped over his daddy-o's largest golf trophy.

he has another tournament later this month, as well as his second belt test in december. my very own karate kid.

scary goose

painting has become a huge part of his life. he watches the various how-to shows on pbs each night, & paints as often as he can. so far he prefers watercolor, but has begun using acrylic more in the past week.

his grammie gave him a box, filled with her old brushes, & i gave him my travel easel. yesterday i ordered fan brushes & various types of paper from dick blick. i may order a catalog, & have him circle everything he wants - sort of a giant wish list. it should come in handy this holiday season, that's for sure.



tiny flowers

 another new happening is french lessons, on his own, using the rosetta stone. he balked at first, but he does that with most things that he thinks will be too hard. only a few weeks in, & he loves it! in fact, he is already correcting me, cheeky little brat.

lastly is thehobbit's new love affair with photography. perhaps i should instead say taking photos, because he's yet to show an interest in learning how to use any feature other than the macro setting. still! he enjoys it, & has taken some pretty good photos. all those in this post are his, by the way.

so you don't envy me my amazingly perfect son, let me tell you what else is going on at thebelfry. puberty, that's what. oh my maude! puberty is brutal. it is horrid, foul, & nasty. i am sure puberty brings with it many joyful changes in a child as well, but i cannot say what they are at the moment ;)

see? not so envious now, is it? you're welcome.

~peace.

are you sitting down?

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look! i actually found the time to make something for myself! long ago i gave up wallets, in favor of little zippered pouches. they were just easier for me to use, i could never find a wallet that i loved, & well, zippered pouches are oh so cute.

enter elfling, also known as he-of-the-faster-than-light-grabby-hands. apparently love of zippered pouches is genetic, because every time i open my pouch, in goes one of his grabby hands, & my belongings go flying. i needed a wallet.

the majority of things in the zippered pouch can stay there: tiny pad & pencil, gift cards, tylenol, biz cards, etc. truly, i only need a few cards in my wallet: license, insurance, aaa, stores, library, debit, & coffee gift card. you know, the must-haves.

now before you start worrying that i've begun drinking whilst sewing, i can assure you i've not. the wallet was made for only me, & i am drawn to the shabby. the raggedy edges were done purposely.

the wallet's body was a scrap left over from a drink sling. pockets (& the top's reinforcement) were curtain tabs! long ago i used the curtain to make market totes. i saved the top tabs, sure i would find a use for them one day. boy, am i glad i did. oh! the closure was a tab also.

because i wasn't thinking, i sewed the pockets, on either side of the fold, going in opposite direction. once the wallet was opened, the cards on the bottom half fell to the floor. duh. were i to do it again, i'd have the pockets all face the same way.

no way was i going to rip out the pockets. instead, i added a little triangle of fabric on either side of the fold, but it wasn't enough. to keep the wallet from completely flopping open, i had to add the ribbon you see in the photos.

in the end it took more time to add the fixes, than it would have had i ripped out the wrong-way pockets. oh well. i'm just happy to have my raggedy little wallet.

what are you going to make for yourself?

~peace.

what the?

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is this hell? by hell i mean did my windy little hill get moved into the very bowels of hell? they are saying that yesterday was a record high for los angeles: triple digits in the first week of autumn! there aren't words to describe how hot it was. today is, so far, vastly cooler, but to that i say, whatever. once the mercury rises above 75 85 i am just a puddle of sweaty misery, whimpering in the corner.

today we are playing hooky. i know you shall think me a wimp (& perhaps you're right), but i just cannot function in weather such as this. we are skipping classes, putting off errands, doing no chores. today we sit still, & try not to snap at one another. much. um. as much as we did yesterday.

so, what is with the unrelated photo of feet? nothing. i know how you are about photoless posts, so i took one of my newly painted toes. you're welcome!

i am off to wipe sweat from various places.

~peace.

note :: this is the first polish i've worn in 7 years! it's a less toxic brand, color: brandon burgandy.

a boy with two mamas to love

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my wee boy is happiest out of doors. he loves most everything about it, is at one moment made giddy by it, the next, is made peaceful.

his favorite thing is to sit alone on the grass. he quietly runs his hands over it, picks at it, pulls up longer strands, tears them to teeny bits, & begins again. it's as though he is trying to know the very essence of the grass.

usually we'll find a lovely bit of grass, or a teensy stick, clutched tightly in his hand long after we've come indoors.



the day i took these photos he wanted nothing to do with me & my pesky camera. i was trying to get some good shots of his face, for far-away relatives, but he would have none of it. we were intruders, my camera & i.

finally i gave up trying, & left him to indulge his love of mother nature. i wasn't the least bit jealous that he preferred her to me. well, perhaps a bit...

~peace.