sun, 12/5...day 339

A preview of our trip to NZ, perhaps?

sat, 12/4...day 338

It was a spectacular winter day here, with the low, slanting afternoon light making gorgeous shadows when we went for a walk.

Later, we took Cory over to Grandma's for the evening, and Niall and I went to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)." A terrific day and evening all around.

fri, 12/3...day 337

It was Family Night at Little School tonight, and Book Fair as well. I really enjoyed Cory having the chance to "teach" me about fitting the pattern blocks into the shape outlines. Then he showed me several cool BIG posters he's made recently: one of Darth Maul and one of a kingly "rug" with gold ribbon taped down each side. Finally we played a game of "Blink," a card game where you match colors, shapes or numbers.

Meanwhile, Niall practiced his ukelele in the obs near his classroom, and ended up doing a demonstration for parents coming by. Very cool.

Later he showed me the "tableau" posters his class has created, that help demonstrate a concept like conflict resolution or how a character coped with adversity in a book. Very fun. And then we took a look at these historical objects he and his classmates made, based on their books of historical fiction.

Last, we hotfooted it up to the Book Fair and tried not to be overwhelmed by the many, many cool books available there. Niall bought the latest Artemis Fowl book, "The Atlantis Complex," with his own money. :-)

thu, 12/2...day 336

We turned up this relic from the distant past while cleaning out the computer room over the weekend, and Cory is fascinated with it. He keeps asking if we can plug it in somewhere and "watch" what's on it, or see if we can put a movie on it.

It's a little hard to explain how little data can be stored on it, and that its purpose in life was to install software for a LAN.

wed, 12/1...day 335

I haven't had to get a smog test for the car in years, but apparently, five years is the magic number when you have a relatively new car.

After I finally tracked down the smog test place in Redmond, I was happily surprised by the short wait (one car ahead of me) and the low price. $15! What a steal.

tue, 11/30...day 334

My nemesis. :P

mon, 11/29...day 333

Cory and I went for a walk this weekend (again let me say how fabulous and relaxing it is to walk with just one kid! :D), and as we came up a hill, the sunset was shining through this hay feeder. It looked almost like an Olympic torch or a firepit.

Didn't have my good camera with me, of course, but I grabbed a few quick pictures before the light shifted, as it does so quickly. Fleeting moments, but beautiful to behold.

sun, 11/28...day 332

The dirt pile in the driveway - delivered in June for our new garden beds - is FINALLY almost all moved. Whew. What a big project!

Tynor has done a lot of the work, but I moved about 10-12 wheelbarrow loads today. Only a few more to go, but I just couldn't quite finish it off!