What Was Grammy-Nanny Thinking?

It's a little disconcerting when you come home after a snow day when the family has been a little stir crazy with cabin fever and this is the page that is up on the computer when you pull it up. Not, necessarily a bad idea...I'm just sayin'!

I Want to Ask a Question

120509 035, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

The other day, the same day as the great pup tent experiment, I came into the room to find Liam attempting to shove this Rare Earth 45 into a CD player annoucing, "I want to play some music!"

My question is this: how did he know that this was an archaic form of music media?

This picture brings me right back to a party my parents had when I was Elena's age and this was one of my hand-me-down records. The Wallin kids and I turned off the lights and played "cool" music on my little record player. This one, Black and White by Three Dog Night and Papa Was a Rolling Stone by the Temptations. There was that little, swastika-shaped yellow piece of plastic that fit into the center hole so it could be played on the tiny spindle. In retrospect, we were COOL, I think, as five-year-olds go!

Tis the Season for....Obsession

120509 028, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Every year as the holiday season encroaches, I start my ornaments. This year it's felting. Felting acorns, little flowers, fiddlehead ferns in pots, fawns, dogs, cupcakes, and, of course, fried eggs!

Yesterday We Tried Something New

120509 041, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

I was trying to head off the game of "beaver dam" by setting up the pup tent, INSIDE. I had delusions of happy children playing neatly in the tent for days on end. An inspiring fort, with just enough rule breaking to be interesting, I had hoped it would rivet them to the playroom, buying me time to read and do my felting projects. Not so, I'm afraid.

First of all, the interest in the tent lasted only about as long as any other toy...forty minutes or so. Secondly, the tent, being in essence a giant receptacle, inspired what can only be called an unsorting game. A collection of all the toys of the playroom, the winter clothing housed up there and pieces of paper trash from near and far gathered inside the tent. This game was WORSE than beaver dam.

Couple that with my sense of false security thinking I had stumbled on the perfect entertainment...and you have disaster. Turns out we had upturned game boards, dumped out bins and, the piece de resistance, the twin bed sheet on the bed up there decorated Pollack-style with green marker. What is that saying about the word assume...

Sunday Dinners

Looking in from the outside, there sits the family eating Sunday dinner at my aunt Pat's. For years and years, all my childhood (when we lived in the NY area), we had Sunday dinners at Grandma and Grandpa's. I remember bringing our new puppy to show them. Celebrating birthdays...and fresh hams...where I could pick the fat squares off the top while Grandpa carved the meat. Like this:

Halloween...Elena the Zebra

Camisole with a No-Pantyline Promise??

Explain to me how a cami would leave a panty-line anyway...

From the Cutting Room Floor...Brooklyn Trip

More pictures that were taken and never blogged below...

There's just something about the light in Brooklyn:










A little tired on the way home:

I Am Abandoning Ship

I made it to day 290 in my 365 project. I still take a picture a day, but have been so falling behind in my blogging about each picture, that I am putting an end to the guilt I feel. This does not mean I won't blog and this does not mean I will not post pictures. I will do both. It just means I am not beholden to telling you stories from damn near two months ago. Here are some of the pictures I have taken in the last two months that would have been blogs with captions underneath summarizing what I was going to write about...then I can move on from the guilt and get back to my good old-fashioned blog.

Mom and Dad's anniversary...40 years:


Tree Me! The arrival of the Christmas trees at Youngs the day before Thanksgiving. We put ours up the weekend after:


Flipping Off...this is a tree at our church. I cannot tell if it is a manufactured "sculpture" that is made to look like a hand giving the finger, or some sort of fungus that grew that way...


Uno! The WKC winner from last year memorialized in plush:


Gluten-Free candy cookies made with all the leftover Halloween mini-bars:


These eggs were from our friends' chickens! Aren't they beautiful!


"Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light."








Running down Pin Pack, returning from the Casey Lane hike...I loved how they are in matching form:




A sign I spotted on my walk which made me think of times gone by:


Look at this dandy fellow:


Have you ever really stopped to look at how creepy this sign is? Perhaps the sign itself is effective as a deterrent to prowlers!


Let the felting begin! Felted acorns:


Squirrel nests...this one's for you, Robin and Tiff!


Sparkling stream, bubbling like seltzer in the morning sun:


This was going to be a good blog! When Liam went Brooklyn with his godfather, Doug, Doug came back announcing that it was very interesting to see Halloween decor through a 3-year-old's eyes. In Brooklyn, the big thing is to hang giant spider webs of stretchy polyester that reach from first to second story of your brownstone. Liam eyed then all trepidatiously and Doug said he could almost hear him thinking, "Um...how about this big 'pider problem you all have in Brooklyn? Can't you do something about it?"


Two Thumbs Up for The Bissell House, new restaurant in the Ridge:


Long-limbed Italian greyhound, Milo...belonging to a friend.


Goodwill find as I was setting up a 60's table for Mom's birthday party:


Business meeting in New York City completed, waiting for my car at the parking garage...killing time:


Looking East and West at the same time:


Um...maybe Scientology IS the path to Heaven? ;)


Times Square security camera:


The 80's called and they want their flourescent, splatter paint embellishment BACK:


When you get change from the Metro-North train machines, you get gold coins...And I love them...


Liam does too:


A Church Glows in Brooklyn:

OCTOBER 17th: New Obsession

Cooking Calendar Spine, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

What do I need when the days get shorter and the weather colder? A new obsession, of course. In November and December, it will Christmas readying, but in October, it's books. I have started haunting book sales to find little gems, like this cookbook from the 60's. I bought $45.00 worth of books at the Ridgefield book sale and sold 8 books on ebay for over $150.00. CHA-CHING! I'm sold...and a new obsession is born.

OCTOBER 14th: It's Getting Dark Earlier

IMG00138.jpg, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Six-thirty and the sun is going down. The autumnal equinox nearly a month behind us and the days are getting shorter and the nights are stretching into the days, licking them away early and making me sleepy. At 6:30 in the summer I remember still swimming, trying to drag the kids out of the lake. At 6:30 in the fall, I am huddled in a down coat in the car, chilly, waiting for the kids to come in off the playground so we can go home. I feel ready for the half-hibernation I will embark on once we fall back, but scared for the slowing of my exercise routine and quieting of my social life. I withdraw. It happens every year. I should be used to it by now.

OCTOBER 11th: Bissell House

IMG00128.jpg, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

There's a new restaurant in town. One weekend, when I had no kiddos, I was actually able to get to church and afterward stopped by Bissel House to get brunch. The golden, autumn sun warmed us as we sat and ate wonderful food. I highly recommend, if you live in the Ridgefield area, partaking of the Bissell House fare!

OCTOBER 8th: Milo

IMG00111.jpg, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

I met a new friend. She has a dog, two of them to be precise. This is Milo, the Italian Greyhound. He loves to stand up at the window stretching his elegant tallness to its fullest. Isn't he gorgeous?

OCTOBER 12th: Halloween Approacheth

Scary Sign, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

When Halloween starts to come into season, scary things crop up. I am not a fan. I am not a fan of dark costumes, deathly themes and the supernatural. I have never been a fan of anything but the creativity of Halloween (oh, and the candy). Anyhow, October 12, we went to eat at the local Mexican restaurant and they had the whole place decked out. Day of the Dead had just passed, so they had a lot of skulls and skeletons around, but they also had this sign.

Liam noticed it about halfway through the meal. He jumped out of his chair and was about run amuck through the restaurant, as he so often does...I'm such a good mother! Anyhow, he saw it and stopped dead in his tracks. The curiosity in his eyes was palpable. Surely, this sign must be announcing that someone had just died on this spot or something horrible. I could almost see the chill run up his spine. He turned to me and asked, "Mommy, WHAT does that sign say and WHY does it wook wike it's written in blood??" Halloween is an enigma if you don't remember ever experiencing it before.

OCTOBER 13th: Fire Chief's Funeral

Fire Chief Funeral 044, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

It all started when I was driving Liam to school and we got behind a fire truck from about 1930. Odd to see this truck, shined up and driving on the road at 9AM. Odder still to see a fireman, dressed in full regalia with white gloves and a hat on driving it. I felt I had stepped back in time!

I dropped Liam off at school and went for my walk. I saw firemen in their finest hanging about the firestation. I was curious, I asked one of them. He told me that Richard McGlynn, the town's first paid fire chief had died and that they were all coming out to honor him. I continued my walk and got some random shots of clusters of firemen standing by polished rigs:






I walked by St. Mary's Catholic Church as everyone was gathering there with bagpipers and police cars:




I felt I was spying, gawking, at something very sacred, so I walked on and went home.

When I came back with Elena to pick Liam up from school, the funeral was just getting out. Throngs of the firemen were hurrying back to the fire station. I brough the children over and we sat across the way, quietly, and watched stock still. The firemen put out a table with a chief's hat and uniform and all lined up behind it. They stood at ease for some time.




As the funeral procession left the church and approached the fire station, the chief called out to the ranks to stand at attention...


The hearse approached and they all saluted in unison:


The hearse then pulled in front of the station, led by all the old and glorious machines and paused:


The station blew a three whistle salute and the old chief moved on to his final resting place. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

OCTOBER 9th: Photo Hike

Lovers Leap 101009 038, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

One of my favorite things to do when I drop my kiddos off at their dad's, is to stop at Lover's Leap State Park and go for a hike. On this particular hike, I brought my camera and photographed the turning leaves and beginnings of autumn. The best thing about Lover's Leap is that there are still trails I haven't conquered, so I chose one of those this day. I found all kinds of interesting things:

First off, that's a steep cliff down to water that you walk along the whole time you are hiking...I was so grateful I didn't have Master Liam with me!


I found this really neat yellow fungus:


and this weird, almost roiling red fungus:


Cool moss:


Beautful pink quartz:


Weird blue wood...*what the heck is that?*


And then, a little outbuilding I was especially drawn to:


I poked around outside it:








And inside:


I wanted to hop inside it, but saw that water was running through the little house, and figured I better go around back to investigate. When I tried to peer around the backside, I realized about a third of the house was hanging over the cliff's edge! Good thing I didn't go inside!

OCTOBER 7th: Soccer Walk

Soccer Walk, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

On my walk today, I played kick the hickory nuts. I think I must have looked quite uncoordinated, but joyous as I skipped along, alone, kicking nature's balls as if I were Pele. I got some good exercise and was grateful for this time of year and its myriad gifts from the trees!

OCTOBER 6th: Beautiful Sky at Dusk

IMG00106.jpg, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

I love the undulating puffs of clouds. It looks like I am lying underwater, in a river and someone dropped a dump truck load of shipping peanuts on the skin of the water. There is a sense of motion and stillness at the same time. This picture does not do the real thing justice.

OCTOBER 5th: Notice if You Will

Good Morning Liam, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Ni Hao Kai Lan is on at 6:30AM. Notice how DARK it is at 6:30? Notice that window in the background that is pitch black? Notice how awake Liam is, he's already dumping cars in piles on the floor (his M.O.)? Yup...he's my morning boy. I don't mind it, as long as I go to bed at nine. So, being a mom really does eat up the entirety of your social life, or at least mine! Anyone for breakfast?

OCTOBER 1st: It's called marketing...

Oct 1 Work Project, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Elena says she's heard that word before. When I asked her what she thought it meant, she said, "Giving stuff away to people" Pretty good! Although, it's giving stuff away to people with the hope that they will return to you to buy something...I guess. Or, it can be just getting your name out.

Anyhow, big work project done. 28 boxes off to the post office.

September 30th - Give Us A Call

Oct 1 wolf in a box, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Spent the day boxing up stuffed animals for a marketing project. This was the culmination of weeks of work. Each box has a "calling card" an informational card, an invitation to call us, and a stuffed animal (our product). Fun, fun, fun....

I'm a Little Behind!

I am going to do my best to catch up, but my computer has that wonderful problem that computers so often have where the female portion of the power adapter has separated from the motherboard so it cannot be powered up. I hate that our world builds disposability into things, such as laptops. I hate that I have had this happen to several laptops over the years. I hate that I can't take the top off and repair it like I would do with a toaster or toilet. So, I am relegated to stealing time on my daughter's or mother's computer. Can't blog at work, so here I am weeks and weeks behind.

SEPTEMBER 29th: I Feel Better for Five Minutes!!

Sept 29 003, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

I felt better on Tuesday evening. Better enough to leave the house, go to the knitting store, buy colored roving, and gather rocks to felt. Weird? Yes. I have always sprung out of bed with energy and a project in mind. All that lounging around had left me itching, positively yearning to do something productive! So, off I went to my friend Amy's house where I made dinner and felted rocks. Sure, I came home after an hour and a half of exertion and collapsed, but it was well worth it!

SEPTEMEBER 28th: Feed a Cold, er, Sinus Infection Cream Puffs!!

IMG00086.jpg, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Being sick for so long, I wasn't able to get out and do much. So, when Ketra was heading to the Big E, I begged her to bring me a cream puff. Even though, I really couldn't taste and probably enjoyed the thing only fractionally compared to last year's that I ate at the sunny fair venue itself, I was most grateful to have a bit of the festivities brought to me!

SEPTEMBER 25: The Lost Weekend

Sept 28 Still Sick, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

This is me for days. Boring? Yes. Relaxing? Yes. Sick? Yes. Hello Z-pack!!!!

SEPTEMBER 24th: Beginning of the End!

Sept 25 Not Well, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

My family jests that the way you can tell you have a sinus infection is that you no longer want to go on. You are content to image death stealing up behind you and snatching you while you sleep or moan quietly. Sound dramatic? Well, I'm telling you, it was! I slept and remained in bed for at least four days before going to the doctor on Monday the 26th...let's just say these won't be the most exciting blog days!

SEPTEMBER 23: Hugh Heffner and Potty Training

SEPTEMBER 23: Hugh Heffner and Potty Training, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Liam is spending a lot of his time naked as of late. Apparently, it's one of the only ways to remind him that he needs to sit on the potty when he has to go. It works pretty well, too. The family is getting a little sick of seeing his "junk" hanging out all over the place, though.

SEPTEMBER 22nd: Elena Getting Off the Bus

IMG00055.jpg, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

I love seeing my kids' artistic eyes developing. This is a picture Elena drew of her bus. There she is getting off the bus (or on, hard to know). Some family member is waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, no doubt her beloved Grammy! I love the detail and I love the way you can see the entire bodies of the people on the bus as if she has X-ray vision...do you think she does?

SEPTEMBER 21st: International Peace Day

Pinwheels for Peace 002, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

And then we planted them on UN Peace Day. I was so proud. They looked beautiful. My children, angels that they are, were taught about peace. I was such a good mother!

And then, along came Liam walking softly with a big stick. "I smash-ded them, Mommy"

SEPTEMBER 20th: Getting Ready for International Peace Day

Sept 20 094, originally uploaded by Kikigill.

Apparently, every year people all over the world create pinwheels for peace. Last year, I missed the boat and was quite disappointed by that! So, this year, I prepared ahead of time. For days prior, as a family, we made peace pinwheels. What a great family project! We talked about what peace means. We did art together on the kitchen floor. We put ourselves on the map at www.pinwheelsforpeace.com. I even printed out fifty blank pinwheels and had them taken to church so the whole congregation could participate! Here are some pictures from our experience: