Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Purple Is Green

The fourth graders at Todd's school took a field trip
to the Discovery Museum this morning,
and I volunteered to help out.


I was assigned to chaperone Todd and his friends, Cary and Tyler.
Here they are recreating Da Vinci's iconic Vitruvian Man.

Fun Fact: The title "Vitruvian Man" is a reference to the Roman architect Vitruvius,
whose treatises on architecture are still studied millennia later.
He also wrote about the geometry and proportions of human anatomy,
which inspired Da Vinci's famous drawing.

Extra Fun Fact: The "Lego Movie" character Vitruvius
is named after the Roman architect,
because they're both master builders who teach students
the fundamental principles of building cool stuff.


Anywho, back to the museum.
There were lots of fun things to see . . .


. . . and quirky "instruments" to play.


The heat-image camera reminded me that my hands
are much colder than the average human's.


This simple color challenge proved surprisingly difficult.
I was intrigued to find that it's even harder for me to say the right color
when I'm looking at the Spanish words.
The Mandarin ones were easy though, because I can't read or speak Mandarin,
so all my brain sees is a colorful drawing.


The boys' favorite exhibit was the giant lever swing outside.
It's hard to say which was more fun--
using physics to lift a bunch of their classmates high in the air,
or piling onto the net swing and going for ride with their friends.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Skating in the Oval

Joy's winter break bucket list
included an outing to downtown Worcester . . .


. . . to skate at the Oval Ice Skating Rink before it closed for the season.
Anna came with us, and she loved how the lighted trees
made the scene look like a winter wonderland.


Neither of the girls had ice skated before,
but Joy rollerbladed a lot when she was younger,
so she hoped the frozen version of rollerblading would come easily to her.


The rink had "ice" blocks that skaters of all ages
could use for support as they were learning to skate.
To my surprise, Joy seemed really awkward on the ice, 
and we eventually realized that it was because her skates
(which I had found at the swap shop)
were really narrow and uncomfortable.

I offered to let her try my roomier, rented skates, 
and soon she was gliding effortlessly around the rink.
Sometimes free stuff is worth every cent you pay for it.


After we finished skating, the girls enjoyed watching the Zamboni clean and smooth the ice rink.
It reminded me of the zomboni in Plants vs Zombies 
(an iPad game that Papa used to love to play).
 

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Play, Reflect, and Meander

February Break is a great time to . . .


. . . play Lords of Waterdeep . . .


. . . play a duet . . .


. . . score some free art at the transfer station swap shop . . .


. . . shop for a mirror . . .


. . . meander about the yard . . .


. . . do Latin homework . . .


. . . have a friend over . . .


. . . go to the dentist . . .


. . . and spend some peaceful, reflective time in the temple.

Saturday, February 17, 2024

A DIY Puzzle Piece

February Break started yesterday . . .


. . . and we decided to unwind by doing one of the puzzles I bought at Christmastime.
Anna likes the puzzle because the picture is cozy, festive, and sparkly.
Daniel likes it because it has a cat.


We put the second-to-last piece in place this morning.
The last piece is missing
and we can't find it anywhere . . .


. . . so Anna made a paper version.
Works for me.

So, what should we do now?


Anna: Start another puzzle!

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Free Vegan Candy

When Phillip arrived home from the grocery store this evening,
he mentioned that they were giving away all of their Valentine candy for free
('cuz no one' wants to buy Valentine treats after Feb 14).
Free candy?  I had to check that out.


The pickings were pretty slim by the time I arrived,
but I saw a few bars of vegan chocolate that piqued my curiosity.
I figured I had nothing to lose, so I brought them home and we gave them a try.


The texture was a little odd (kind of crunchy, actually) . . .


. . . and it wasn't quite as yummy as the Valentine box of See's from Red Grandma,
but it was still pretty good, and we enjoyed trying something new.

And hey, since it's vegan and unrefined, that makes it healthy chocolate, right?
(Don't answer that.)

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

The Warm before the Storm

We were blessed with some delightful weather over the weekend.
The temperature jumped up to 60 degrees
(which feels almost tropical in mid-February) . . .


. . . .and most of the snow disappeared from our yard.

Unfortunately a warm winter day is often a prelude to a big storm.
While we enjoyed the balmy weather,
we also braced ourselves for a snowstorm that was due drop 18" of snow on us today.
Our school district didn't even wait for morning to announce that school was canceled,
and Daddy (who is out of town) fretted about the fact
that he wouldn't be home to help us clear snow drifts off our driveway.


The flurries started falling this morning,
but instead of a foot and a half,
we only got about an inch and a half of snow.


The storm had veered southward,
and its northern edge barely grazed our town as it blew past. 


Not one to waste a good "snow" day,
I proposed that we head to the grocery store for some popcorn,
 and then spend the morning watching a movie.
The kids opted for "Curious George," which was an excellent choice.
It's such a creative, light-hearted, fun film.

Monday, February 12, 2024

Reesey Moves Up

Reesey, who used to timidly occupy the absolute bottom 
of our flock's pecking order . . .


. . . is now happily striding around her private bungalow with scarcely a limp.


Meanwhile, Abby (who is usually our glossy diva bird)
looks like she got in a fight with a weedwhacker and lost.
At first I thought she had contracted a life-threatening illness,
but it turned out she is just molting.

I wondered if Reesey could successfully reintegrate into the flock
if she came in feeling confident while Abby looked scrawny and pathetic.
I placed Reesey in the chicken run today, ready to pull her out if things went south again,
but to my surprise, she started chasing not just Abby, but one of the Barred Rocks too.

And just like that, Reesey went from being a timorous outcast to being second in command.
A leg injury and weeks of solitary confinement
may be the best things that have ever happened to her.

Saturday, February 10, 2024

A Crown of Creativity

Daniel wanted sugar cookies for his birthday dessert tonight.
He said he didn't care what shape they were . . .


. . . so we made bunnies, and socks,
and cats (of course).


At first I was a bit irked that this photo
has an echo of the candles' light above Daniel's head,
but that actually seems kind of fitting.
It's like they're creative thoughts swirling in his mind,
helping him devise a new game . . .  


. . . or whispering kooky ideas into his ear.
"Hey Game Master, make a goofy face while your mom
records your likeness for posterity!"

Happy Birthday, Daniel!
Thanks for taking important things seriously,
and reminding us to have fun the rest of the time!

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Thanks for the Snow

Winter is probably my least favorite season.
It's cold, and I hate being cold.
It kills some of my plants, and puts the rest to sleep for months.
It makes our beautiful area of the world look dreary.


By the time February comes along, I'm pretty tired of winter.
Perhaps as an act of mercy, the Lord arranged for this to be the month
when gleaming white snow covers the landscape for days or weeks at a time.


It adds a touch of beauty to an otherwise bleak time of year.
Thank you, Lord.

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."
(Henry David Thoreau)