Christmas Fun 2012

We hope that all of our friends and family had a lovely and love filled Christmas day, and that you are all continuing to enjoy your winter break with friends and loved ones.

Our Christmas morning started with a wild slo-mo run to the tree… because slo-mo is more dramatic…

and the first prezzie was discovered. A poor orphaned fox cub who needed a new home.

And Ninja got to open the giant box of goodies that Aunt Nancy, Uncle Jim, and cousins Kira and Nick, sent to her.

She was very generous and shared some of the boxes inside with the kids. Thanks to you all :D !!

We haven’t tried the game you sent yet, it’s been raining!, but it looks like fun. <3 !! Although they did get the trucks out for a test drive.

 
And what about us? What do we get a kid who wants to know everything? Why, books, of course, including one that is supposed to be a Short History of Everything. (Looks interesting… I may read it too!)

Both kids got a ton of books, and Kindles too… books and more books! (ebooks are lighter to pack!) and we really are that desperate to keep Brian, in particular, in reading material! Honor still has Brian’s stash to go through…

Ninja liked the wrapping paper.

There was Minecraft loot. The favorite new tee? The Minecraft periodic table. Yea, this boy likes science!

Girls play Minecraft too!

(Sad Creeper just wants a hug)

New software for our little artist. Kid Pix is a program Honor learned about at school and she really has fun with it.

And speaking of being creative, we got a new Wii game that looked like a lot of fun – CREATE. Well, we’re hoping it is fun. It had good and bad reviews, so we’ll just have to see for ourselves.

Grandma and Grandpa sent a very interesting Lego set for Brian (which he is setting up right this very moment) Thank you!! :) !! We love and miss you very much!!
Oh, and what you can’t tell by this photo, is Honor is making off with the yummy homemade cinnamon popcorn that Aunt Christine and Uncle John sent. (she eventually let us have some too) We very much enjoyed reading all of the nice letters too!!

 

Brad and I got ourselves more practical things, like needed clothes and cookware, but one indulgence was a pair of fleece rugs for our room (this tile gets chilly!). Fleece is so warm soft!

How soft? The cats loved the rugs. LOVED them. Ninja loved them so much that she wanted to have both of them all to herself. It was really tough for one small cat to try and hog two large rugs, but she tried.

 

There was a whole bunch of goofing off too.

 

Honor had an argument with a parrot. I think she won, but I’m not sure.

 

And the kitties were not left out. I got them a toilet training set (not kidding, these guys are smart, I figure I’ll give it a try… ) Pixie did not seem impressed.

But they really loved the gift that Honor made for them. A box with holes in it and a treat hidden inside.

 

We spent our day goofing off, being lazy, playing games, and staying inside… it was wet all day! I made a slow roasted lamb shoulder that turned out perfectly! The meat was so tender that it just fell apart, and it was wonderfully tasty. Not a hint of gaminess. I served it with mint yogurt sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread and green bean casserole. Pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. With plenty leftover too, so I don’t have to cook tonight – whoop! :) ! Speaking of which, I better go get stuff warmed up. Honor is putting another holiday movie in and we’re going to picnic around the tv.

Merry Christmas and Happiest of Holidays to everyone!

Bag-y Old Jeans

While going through my crafting stash… and what fun that is too! It’s been too long!… I came across a bag that I made, wow(!), maybe 12 years ago, to hold my weaving supplies (and which has since been appropriated for other craft carrying). My dad had made me a simple Navajo style weaving loom to experiment with and I self-taught myself a bit of weaving to go along with my other string focused obsessions. My dad was a crafter too. He always loved to try new projects and was constantly busy. He wasn’t into the textiles as much as I always have been, but he was still interested and supportive. He was also always up for a challenge.

After Brad and I left the military, we ended up at my parent’s house for almost a year. It wasn’t planned, but my mother had had a major stroke and my father needed our help caring for her. Fate was kind in this timing as we were in a unique point in our lives… before kids, between jobs, significant savings to live off of. Any other time, it would have been a hardship, but it was obviously meant to be. I’m glad we had the time with them too. Anyway, once I was reading a sewing magazine and pointed out a sewing table that looked handy… next thing you know, dad is out in the workshop, constructing a sewing desk for me that could weather WWIII! It’s heavy duty, 3 big drawers, thread holders, built in outlets, etc! I don’t have it with me now (it’s in storage) because it is too massive and heavy to move! I also have a couple of embroidery stands (one with a light) that he made for me. The weaving loom happened because I had a book with a photo and instructions! Next thing you know, I’m weaving :)  The loom, and my spinning wheel, are also in storage… packed away before Cairo because I was so busy with the kids and didn’t think I’d have time for them, and we didn’t have a chance to get to these things before this post. One day I hope to have time to teach myself a little more.

Here is one of the first bits of cloth I wove. I used cotton for the warp and plain ol’ commercial yarn for the weft - because this was a learning project, I didn’t want to invest costly materials, just in case I had to toss the whole thing(!) - but it turned out nicely. I used the weaving, and an old pair of favorite jeans, to make a carry-all.

It’s about 25” long, and 15-20” around. I haven’t measured it. It’s a good size to carry around a knitting or crochet project.

The basic ‘pattern’ is a rectangle of cloth, sewn into a tube, one end of this tube is sewn onto a circle of fabric to make the base of the bag, the top is folded over and laced with a cord to make a drawstring closure.

The rectangle part of my bag was made by attaching the weaving to a piece of old jeans. I aligned the top of the weaving with the waistline so I’d have the belt loops as decor and the pocket for a little bit of extra functionality. This meant I needed to sew more material to the top of these two pieces to have a place for the drawstring. I used part of the pants leg for a ready made ‘tube’. The bottom of the bag was a circle of the denim (cut across a seam of the jeans, which is what you see on the base in the middle photo), and the cord is braided strips of denim from the same pair of old jeans. 

The result is a handy, heavy-duty bag with the casual fun style of a favorite pair of jeans.

And what did I do with the other leg of the jeans? I made it into a funky little rag doll, of course!

She’s about 18” tall, she has a charm bracelet as a necklace, knotted denim strips for hair, a beaded bracelet sewn on (which is falling apart now, but it’s amazing to have lasted as long as it has), and clothes made out of some other rag I found (it may have been an old, old pillow case(?), salvaged buttons and other sewing box scraps. My niece might recognize the hairbow as it is the same one she put on the doll years ago!

This doll spent some time as a sewing area decoration, and then she became ‘Property of Honor’ as soon as Honor was big enough to start dragging her around. She’s held up pretty well – denim is tough stuff.

Jeans are incredibly versatile and useful, even after they cease to be jeans!

Flashback to Arkansas

We've made it to DC - after multiple airline delays - and we are staying in an extended stay-type hotel. We'll only be here a week, but I thought we'd more comfy in a place with a kitchenette. We've been busy visiting friends and goofing off the last few days and I haven't been doing computer stuff. Thought I should go back and share some pictures of Arkansas. My sister and her family took us from Oklahoma to Arkansas to visit our parents' graves, and the cemetery was set in some beautiful country.

Brian and Honor enjoyed spending time with the 'big cousins'.
Hillside next to the cemetery.
Look at this beautiful big oak tree!
View from the gravesite - very pretty and peaceful.
Looking out from the entrance to the cemetery.
They took us to see a parcel of land they own in Arkansas. We had a nice walk around their property. I miss seeing so much green! It was very refreshing.

For dinner, and to celebrate 3 birthdays, we went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner on the way home. Honor wasn't sure what to do with chopsticks.
Brian and Kira try to figure them out.
Honor snapped this photo of the cook flipping her rice dish in the air - the dish is a blur, but I think she caught a good expression on Brian.
She was a very tired girl.
We had a great dinner, and had cake at home later.
We had a great visit with you, and miss you very much already!

Karate

The kids were invited by their cousin, Kira, to attend her Karate class. What a great way to spend some time together!! Both kids were excited to go, although a bit shy about the new people and new techniques. The instructors were awesome though, and made the kids feel very welcome. The interactions, of student to instructor, were different, and the Karate techniques were different from Taekwondo, but similar. Although both are young students (and nervous), they were able to keep up enough to enjoy the experience. Thanks Kira!!

Here are the three cousins during the beginner's class. Kira is a brown belt, but she assisted this class. Brian is supposed to be a blue belt, not green, but, while I managed to get their uniforms in the suitcases, I forgot to pack their belts! I always forget something important - when we traveled to the US with a first stop at Disney one year, we found that I had forgot to pack pants for Honor. We also found that while Disney World sells many many T-shirts, they do not sell pants. Nor does any place in downtown Disney, Orlando. We made do with the pair she wore, the spare in her backpack, and the Minnie Mouse dress we bought her! Comparatively, forgetting the belts this year was minor... Kira loaned the kids her old belts.
After the beginner's class, was an intermediate class. Brian participated, but Honor decided to sit it out and goof off with Aunt Nancy.
Brian works on his blocks and his 'angry face' with the intermediate instructor.
You want me to spar with who?? The instructor paired the cousins up for some practice and Brian wasn't sure what to do!
He tried! and we think he held his own pretty well.
Hope you are enjoying karate camp Kira! We miss you guys already. Thanks (to you and your coaches!) for including your little cousins in class.

Off we go!

Brad had to work on my birthday, and I spent the day packing, cleaning house, and handling all the last minute preparation for our departure (thanks Dave and Vicky for your help!). We tried to have the kids nap during the day, and then have a few hours sleep at night. We had to leave the house late at night (early the next morning) for the airport. We had the fastest ride to the airport ever - I do not know the distance exactly, but it can often take awhile. I think this guy got us there in 20 minutes!

We checked into the Cairo airport very quickly, and made our way to the waiting area. We are constantly impressed how much the airport is changing because everytime we show up, things are different - there's a lot of construction. The children's play area stays the same though and the kids head right over. We had a quiet flight to Frankfurt, and the waiting began...
I think we had about 4 hours to waste. As typical, there was absolutely NO place to sit and wait. Even the restaurants are incredibly sparse, and seating is far below what is needed for the amount of travelers. Frankfurt is otherwise a very nice airport to transit. It functions. Meaning, you fly in, don't get lost/abandoned upon reaching the terminal. Security is efficient. It is clean (for such a busy place). It is modern looking, with nice shops. Our luggage goes through well every time, and everyone on staff there is efficient and friendly. BUT, you'd think such a nice airport could afford some CHAIRS!! There is even plenty of room for them along the multitude of corridors between gates and terminals. Can we take up a collection for chair donations??
We were lucky... we eventually found 2 chairs to sit on. Fortunately, the kids were happy to sit on the floor and color. We eventually got on our next flight, and 9 hours later, made it to Chicago. The kids managed to sleep through most of this flight.

Here's a photo of Brian and Honor next to the plane of a Medal of Honor recipient. We had about 3-4 hours to wait in Chicago as well. Better than too little time and missing our connection, but wow... I was tired!
We finally made it to Tulsa around 1030pm. We deplaned by stairs, and it was RAINING!! We were the only ones who dawdled on the tarmac and got wet! :-)

Found our rental car - a Ford Edge, which is a very comfy car/minivan/whatever. I like it! - and managed to escape from the airport. It wasn't easy. Once we got on the interstate though, we made it to my sister's house - through pouring rain, thunder and lightning. It was great to see the weather. It's storming again today. My sister says they've been having quite enough rain, but I like it anyway.

The kids were happy to see their 'big' cousins again. And the 'big' cousins have been great with the kids. Very patient!! Nick was tackled and tortured - but seems to have survived the ordeal.
Kira attempted to teach Honor to pogo, but Honor is simply not heavy enough to make the spring go!
Later we visited Kira at her new job. Excellent burgers, and even better service :-) How often to you get an enjoyable meal, with lots of hugs and personal attention - outside of home?? Notice the storm clouds in the background? Later there was a rainbow. Probably the first that Honor has ever seen.
A new hat for Brian, not sure if he approves.
Honor likes hers!
My sister has a little statue that our Dad made. Actually, he made the guy, the motorcycle was a model that Brad and I tracked down in the most awesome flea market in South Carolina, possibly the world (The Jockey Lot) - it's the funnest I've ever been too at any rate. The guy is a charicature of our dad was he was a young sailor in California. The bike is an Indian model, the kind of bike he used to have and ride.
We've only just started our visit, but it sure feels good to be here with family again!