A (Day and ) Night at the Opera

The past 24 hours have been operatic in scope and theme.
We began yesterday with a plaintive number from The Elder at breakfast.
Her tears mingling with her pancake syrup we heard the perennial favorite -
"I Don't Need to Go Back to Bed"
I'm not tired, I don't know why I am crying, He's looking at me...

This was closely followed by a rousing duet -
"I Touched it First!"
The tale of a towel nigh rent in twain
By kids folding clothes for mone'try gain.

After a short intermission spent alone in quarters we were favored with the 2-hour Wagnerian ensemble hit -
"But I Hate Doing the Dishes!"
He's sending the dishes back!
It's the job of the dryer to do quality control.
I already washed it!
There's still egg on it.
But I Hate Doing the Dishes!!!

That was the big finish for that particular show. I laughed, I cried, it was a moment to be sure.

Then, in an experimental new theatre project we had a two-fer from The Youngest.

First the one-woman, one-act, one-AM show "Hug" about a plucky toddler who just wants to share her parents' bed.
Highlights included -
"Boo Boo" or Have you seen my bear?
"Clack" or Let's Read a Book, even though it's 2:00AM and there is no light.
and the tearjerker "Muk" let's nurse.
All of which was performed through the bars of her baby jail while the steely-eyed warden looked on.

After an hour intermission where everyone slept we had the big finale of the night -
"TEEEEETH!!!!!
A tender duet which included a visit from the orajel fairy.

The performances were full of passion, and commitment to the craft. It was a sight to behold.
I will say, that while I have the utmost respect for the performers, and indeed deep love, I have been sated for the time being, and really we don't need another visit to the opera for some time.

Knitting in the New Year

The big kids made a goal to stay up until midnight last night. So, to keep myself awake, I cast on a pair of mittens for The Younger.

I have had my eye on these mittens for years, and since I have a toddler to put in them, now seemed like the time. This one took all of Wreck-It Ralph and about a third of The Hobbit.
The Younger lasted until 11 or so, but The Elder made it until 12.
I was very impressed with her stamina, given that I needed a 10 minute cat nap at 11:30.

How was your New Year's Eve?
A friend just posted a goal for herself that she wanted to knit 10,000 yards in the new year, which got me wondering how many yards I knitted in the past year.
I went over to my long-neglected knitmeter.com account and put in the projects that I knitted for the family this year (I don't keep track of what I knit for customers) and the results show that I knitted a lot.
This is somewhat of a happy surprise, since I was feeling not all that productive this year.

Crafting On

Joining Nicole for Crafting On, the work in progress edition.

I found this quilt while tidying up the sewing area, and so the most logical thing to do was pull it out and work on it, rather than continuing to tidy.

This project is probably about 5 years old. I have been hand-quilting along the borders, and I was able to make some progress this week, I only have the Southeast states left. 

While I was out running errands, The Youngest decided to get in on the party and decorated a few states in the Baker Man. I think the ink will come out, I found a couple of tips for getting stains out of cotton, I'll let you know if they work...

About a month ago I saw an article about handmade Christmas presents on Poppytalk, and one was a DIY Ukulele kit.
I immediately decided that The Younger needed a uke. His big sister plays many instruments, and I thought he might like one of his own.
As it turned out, The Elder was really excited about the uke and The Younger was luke-warm.
The Elder and I have been building it, with design input from The Younger, and we're about halfway through.

Perhaps when he has his completed flaming ukulele he'll be more into it.
What's on your creative to-do-list today?
Joining Nicole.

My Favorites from the 52 Portraits Project

These kiddos of mine make my life brighter every day, and I am so happy to know them in all of their ways.

52/52

The Youngest in the frog stream at the Children's Museum
The Younger sledding
The Elder cozied up in her birthday jammies.
Despite some setbacks, I was able to finish up this project with a minimum of missed weeks.
Next post I'll share my favorites from the whole year.
Joining Jodi for the last time in 2013.

Learning Curve

Well, as it turns out, since I haven't had my camera for almost a year, I kinda lost my photo mojo. 

It's going to take some serious practicing to get back into the swing of things.

We still had a lovely sunset visit to the sledding hill, and now it's time for some hot chocolate.

In Memoriam and a Christmas Miracle, also 51/52

The past few months have seen the passing of many of our appliances, and I wanted to memorialize them here.

Goodbye Microwave, Grill, Washing Machine, replacement Washing Machine, Humidifier, Space Heater, Phone and Glasses.

It was getting a little dire around here, as though we had a curse of some sort, but I think the Universe was just making room in our lives and hearts for something that had been missing.

My Camera had been hiding for the past 11 months, and my dear Hubby found it on Christmas Eve. 

Just in time to record the exciting Christmas Morning.

 Lego time!

 The Elder enjoying the new set of blocks, while The Youngest supervises.

 The Youngest can now say chocolate with perfect precision.

 For real, it's all about the Legos with The Younger.

We had a couple of delightful days full of family and music and so many toys with so many pieces, it may never get tidy around here...

One thing I can highly recommend is that you make up some marshmallows, (it's really easy, I promise) and then toast them over the stove the next day. 

That is some good eatin'

Happy Solstice, Christmas, etc...

After my phone died, I didn't take any photos for the 52 weeks project, but I'll count these as my week 51. 

Joining Jodi for 52 portraits.