Not Me

OK - it is still Monday - and I finally have a "not me" moment, and oh my word - it is gross! I had just baked some cinnamon rolls and left them on the counter. The boys had been through the kitchen, I followed. There were some crumbs on the counter and I popped them into my mouth. As I am doing so, I am thinking that it probably not the wisest move I could make. Hmmm - texture and flavor that I wouldn't expect from cinnamon rolls. Swallow. AHHHHHH - the cat food (dry, if that is any consolation!) had been sitting there earlier. I did NOT eat cat food tonight!!!!! Bletch!

Over the weekend, we attended the annual AGCI picnic. All God's Children is the agency who helped us bring Chick-a-Dee home.

Auntie got a new camera and has been having fun snapping pictures. She is getting some really nice shots! How about this one -

I just read on another blog of a family that just received their LOA from China - their LID is only 2 weeks before ours. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment, but it sure is on my mind!

Hands

The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. I have met people so empty of joy that when I clasped their frosty fingertips it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child's hand, but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in a loving glance for others.

Helen Keller

Surprise Color on the Wall Revealed

Well, it didn't get done as fast as I wanted it to, but it is finished now! Were you sitting on the edige of your seat all these days just waiting to find out what that color on the wall was? Did you care?

As I was sneaking a moment alone, I happened to pick up a book that I purchased for the teens awhile ago. Compact Classics - Book Summaries of the Classics.

Here is what they say about their own series. "Compact Classics places concise, summary versions of important ideas and literature at your fingertips. In just minutes, you can become conversant and knowledgeable on any of hundreds of subjects - from business and life management principles, to classic and contemporary literature; from useful quotes and practical trivia to information about your health; from notable historical figures to communication techniques and ideas. Brief commentary accompanies each book overview. Compact Classics will introduce you to many great books. When you have time to sit down for a good long read, you'll know where to begin. But when you only have a few minutes, Compact Classics offers hundreds of reading adventures for your learning and enjoyment."

I love quotes. All kinds. It is kind of like a fly on the wall peek into a person's style. It makes me wonder what kind of a person is that who actually said that. So, here is a quote from Compact Classics Volume 1.

O Lord, Thou givest us everything,

at the price of an effort.

---- Leonardo da Vinci

So, without further ado, here is where my efforts have gone recently:

We now have a 10 foot by 5 foot chalkboard in the room off of the kitchen! Pre-fire, it was a giant dry erase board. It was a fun place for doodling, messages, games, schedules and whatever else anyone could imagine. I hated the smell of the pens, though! We decided that we really missed "The Wall", so we switched to chalk. So far it is working well. All you do is mix 2 Tablespoons of unsanded tile grout to 1 cup of whatever color paint you wish! I did 3 coats just to make sure it covered well. In hindsight, I think that I would have painted a piece of thin plywood and mounted it to the wall only because a textured wall doesn't give a nice smooth writing surface. It still works just fine, though.

Walker Island Fun in the Sun

OK - we had a BLAST on Thursday! Our friends invited us over to their island "camp" for the day. The weather was dicey at best - one minute blazing hot and the next minute so windy and cold! Despite the elements, we had SO much fun playing in the sand and water!

ZFriend and IBoy

IBoy and Mr.L - fortunately, no one was hurt!

ZFriend and MissE

In the back is WFriend, IBoy in the middle and AFriend in front.

MissE had to sketch - couldn't miss a day!

On the trip back to the dock, I lost my balance getting into the boat and fell into the water (klutz that I am!). I was moaning and groaning that I was going to be cold and wet for the whole trip. Ha! The wind and waves were so choppy and rough that by the time we made it to the dock, everyone disembarked just as soggy as I was!

Nearly Completed Armoire, Ribbons, and . . . . .

I promised you that I would show a photo of the painted armoire with the new knobs, so first off, that I will show!

It is ok, but not quite there.

Here is the wall to the right of the armoire. Boring.

But wait - it changed! What is that color on the wall????? Hmmmmmm - any ideas? What about these little deco thingies on the armoire? Not liking it so well, what about you. Any ideas?

I drove for nearly an hour to get to the nearest Home Depot to get some molding cut to finish off the surprise project. Two 5' lengths and two 10'6'' lengths. I drove nearly an hour home and held the moldings up to get an idea of how it would look before I painted them. WHAT?????? The nice lady at Home Depot (she really was nice - we chatted away while she cut - that wouldn't have anything to do with what comes next, I'm sure!) cut those molding pieces for me. She cut them nicely. She cut them 9'9". They are NOT going to work :-( The next time we are going to town is Thursday, so you will have to wait to see the finished product. I think that you will like it!!!!

While I was cooking dinner tonight, Chicka was watching Mulan in Mandarin and arranging ribbons. Silly girl!

Panda Potluck & Snakes

Chicka and I attended a Panda Club potluck and had a great time playing and visiting with friends. This is the first time that we have been around a large group of adoptive families. At first, what struck me is that all of the adults were caucasian and predominately all of the kiddos were asian. Duh - it is a group formed for just that mix.

The next thought that hit me, pardon me if this comes out sounding weird, I don't mean anything racist by it, was that here are all these asian kids, but acting like plain old American kids. Duh - they ARE American kids.

I don't quite know how to word it, I am unsure of what my pre-conceived idea was. Maybe I was expecting a group of asian kids to act like we were back in China? I guess what was so odd about it all was that I don't see my youngest daughter as being asian or caucasian/American or Chinese - she is just my beautiful daughter who happens to have enviously brown skin, gorgeous eyes, and an amazing spirit (to mention just a few qualities)! Please don't get upset with me for sharing this thought, it is one of those moments that I need time to wrap my thoughts around, I guess.

"WILD" flowers (vs. tame/domesticated - they have to be caged!). Or in reality, overgrown WEEDS!

The snakes must be enjoying the sun after the week of cloudy, cool and rainy weather because they were out in full force this morning. I think we might need to get another cat or two. I know that snakes are good - they eat the bugs, but they are snakes for goodness sakes!

I thought I was brave and was happily snapping close-up pictures. There is something about being behind the lens and not knowing exactly how close you are to your subject, because as soon as that darned snake moved, there was a sound that came out of me that I didn't know I was capable of! Move? Oh, my stars, I didn't know that I could jump so high, so fast! At least I didn't drop the camera!

Lazy Saturday

Teens at work. Hubster at work. What are two gals to do?

A little more playin' with the silk.

Momma playin' with the silk.

Chicka hard at work learning her numbers.

As you can see, she uses hair accessories for EVERYTHING, but usually not in the hair!

Remember the Glidden paint giveaway? Well, mine came. Rainforest Fern. Now - what to paint?

Hmmmm - boring, bought it off of craigslist for $25, so nothing to lose, boring knobs (mismatched and missing one). Stay tuned!

Can you see how dirty my car is????? Do you think I washed it today? Ha!

Silkworks

Chick-a-Dee loves playing with and dressing up in a variety of fabrics, so I recently purchased some over-sized silk scarves to dye. They are very affordable and super quality from Dharma Trading. I had read about how to do it at Raising Olives.

First you soak the silk in hot water.

Put the dye in a jar of warm water (kool aid works great!) and heat in a water bath.

Gently place the silk into the dye jars.

Once the silk has attained just the right hue, remove it from the jar and rinse in cold water. Rinse WELL.

Air dry.

Enjoy!