Trick or Treat 2011

Halloween with a 9 and 12 year old and a bunch of their friends is pretty great, even if one of them had a bit of a cold.

Santa Trap

In a fit of an 8 year old's doubt, O decided to set a "Santa trap" (see pic at left) on Christmas eve. Unlike the kids who resist the people who tell them there is not a Santa Claus, the boy -- the product of a household that has never perpetuated the Santa myth -- was determined to prove that Santa didn't exist. He decided that he would rig the little fake tree in the living room so that it would rattle if someone tried to put presents under it. His assumption was that it would not rattle and therefore all the deluded believers (that would be the kids at school, I'm guessing) would be proved wrong and would stop talking about this Santa crap. But then his desire for presents kicked in. What if the Santa trap kept anyone from putting out more presents for him? Conflicted, the boy finally when to bed, announcing that what ever happened, happened and he would not be sleeping in the hallway trying to catch anyone. And he woke up happy to find treats in his stocking and a number of delightful and thoughtfully chosen presents for him from... me :)





Kids trying out new dress up duds from Value World (left) and Emma passing our presents at my brother and sister-in-law's house (right).

"A Day On" or "Girl with Sledgehammer"

As has become our tradition, E and I spent much of this Marin Luther King, Jr. Day volunteering. She has always had a special affinity for this holiday since she was born on MLK day in 1999, but more than that, she has embraced both the history and the message of day.




After many years of her asking, I finally signed us up to work with Motor City Blight Busters this year. I was reluctant to take a kid to tear down crack houses, but now that she is the ripe old age of 10 (read: I was late in signing us up and this was all that was left!), I thought we would give it a try. MCBB is located in Old Redford, where every 6th or so house seems to be abandoned -- there is plenty of work to do. Our job today (probably to E's great disappointment) was to not tear down a house, but rather to clear out a small warehouse a block off Grand River so that it could be renovated and used as a childcare center.



We started out inside, shoveling up the debris left behind when the last folks -- people who the neighbors said only came and went in the middle of the night -- decamped. We found lots of evidence of a business (invoices and such) but also plenty of evidence that folks had been living in the basement (shoes, exercise videos, school books, underwear, etc). Lots of volunteers with axes and shovels made for too much dust and too many heavy tools being flung about, so E and I shifted to outside work... hauling out load after load of debris, clearing the junk after others smashed up old furniture/building materials. E eyed the sledgehammer but didn't ask. When the other smashers had wandered off and the flow of debris cans had slowed, I encouraged her to do her best at destroying an old rocking chair. She loved it. Later she had me carry a sledgehammer over to an old shed so she could do some work on that.

Adventures in Breakfast

The year 2008 went out with a whimper. Fine. Good riddance.

The year 2009, however, has had a lovely opener that included decent health in the household (one or the other or multiples of us have been unwell for the last 2 weeks), a bit of biking (and I remembered to reset my odometer for 2009!), cheery visits with friends, and playful antics with my kids.

A definite highpoint of the day came in the realm of food; more specifically, egg-in-a-basket (aka yolky pokey, eggie toast, toad in a basket, and many, many other names) experimentation and an array of some of my most favorite breakfast foods (grits, tempeh bacon, sauteed spinach, and red grapefruit).

So, the egg-in-a-basket inspiration came from V for Vendetta(a movie I had resisted but ended up really liking), where the impressive dish is a minor plot device. Never having made it before, there was a bit of experimentation, which resulted in these conclusions: 1) make the hole in the bread with a shot glass (you don't want the hole too big or too small) and 2) put one side of the buttered bread down to cook a bit then turn it over and crack the egg. It was totally yummy (yeah, butter, bread, eggs, salt and pepper... what's to go wrong there??) and when the first one was flipped over I was greeted with... a smiley face!!!!

Hello 2009, I'm very happy to see you!

Happy Holidays

Peace all.

"Where you just want to feel good"

C got me a vibrator as a holiday gift. I don't really know C very well -- which is why it was so odd. We are in a writing group together but that is our only contact and even that is limited since we come from different disciplines and don't fully "get" how the other writes. What made this so hilarious was that she did not understand why this was funny. L and I were in tears we were laughing so hard. P and J were amused, partly by the gift, partly by the laughing. And every time C tried to explain ("but it's aromatherapy too," "it's not a vibrator, it just vibrates") the laughter ramped up to a new level. Nope she didn't get it -- though it did open the door to some new territory for discussion in the writing group!

Yuletide Overload

It has been a busy weekend: Cookie making at my folks (with Great Grandma) on Saturday. Decorating of the fake tree. Yule shoot your eye party at P & L's Saturday evening. More cookie making at D's on Sunday. Crafting ornaments and the beginnings of a decent Scrabble game at AE's on Sunday. Whew. I got a new camera... can you tell?

Party Shoes

With the children off enjoying a few days with the grandparents, I put on my party shoes and headed out for three different parties. Thanks to John and Dave, Natalie and Kristen, and Laura and Dave! I chatted, I ate, I sang, I kissed, and I wandered the three blocks home from the last party through the deep, perfect snow at 4:30am. It was a lovely night and bodes well for the year to come.

Happy New Year, ya'll!