Friday Fantastic

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Friday Fortius

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A New Birthday Challenge

I wish I'd been taking photos all along. But I didn't think of it until November.

I'm teaching the 6- and 7-year-olds every other Sunday, and they are such a perfect age! They absolutely love when I crochet little things to help them remember something I've taught.

As their birthdays approach, I ask them what their favorite thing is, and then I do my best to crochet their wish to embellish a simple homemade birthday card. I adhere my crochet to the card with a glue stick so the kids can easily remove it and have Mom help them string it for hanging or just to keep in their pockets.

Last year, I crocheted flowers, hearts, bats (yes, bats!), a flamingo, autumn leaves, butterflies and a rainbow before I began taking photos of the finished cards. Of course, I also found perfect ways to fit snowflakes into three lessons last year, so each student received tiny crocheted snowflakes three different Sundays. One set glowed in the dark, you know, to represent the light of Christ. :)

Now they're all getting accustomed to me crocheting gifts for them. Recently, one of the kiddos brought a miniature set of scriptures into class. They all went nuts over the little-hand-sized book. I told them I would see if I could find some so they can each have one. I looked everywhere, finding only very expensive used copies on eBay.

Last week, miniature scriptures would have fit perfectly into the lesson ("feast upon the word"). I decided to buy a pdf of candy bar wrappers from Etsy to cover some candy bars to help explain the difference between reading scriptures and feasting upon scriptures. (I plan to share New Testament and Old Testament candy bars, too, but I'm stretching the lesson out over three weeks so I can help them understand the religious reason we celebrate Easter.) I told the class about my unsuccessful search, then presented them with even smaller "scriptures" they really could feast upon. (And boy, did they!!!)

The candy bars were a real hit. The parents loved them, too. The highlight of my day, however, was when one little girl told me I could just crochet scriptures for them. Perhaps book covers... Ha ha ha!

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Friday Fabulous

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Friday Fabulous

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A Sweet Tradition

Back when I was a child, my parents would give each of us seven kids a book of Life Savers in our stockings each year. This was back when a book of Life Savers contained 10, and later 8, rolls of individually packaged flavors such as Wild Cherry, Mixed Berries, Tangerine, Butter Rum, Root Beer, Cinn-O-Mon, Cryst-O-Mint, Pep-O-Mint, Spear-O-Mint, and our most favorite... Wint-O-Green.

We would quickly break into the packages and dig out the wintergreen candy, then run to the bathroom and, with the lights out, chew the candy in front of the mirror to watch the sparks. It was a Christmas ritual.


Check out those awesome Life Saver snowflakes!!!
Back then, we could buy a roll of Life Savers for a nickle. I think the book of Life Savers was under a dollar. Remember penny candy??? A whole roll of Life Savers for a nickle was such a good deal, and one roll would last so long! ...Unless it was Wint-O-Green.

It's a scientific marvel called triboluminescence.


Now a roll of Life Savers runs about a buck and a half, if you can find one, and the Life Saver books are anywhere from $3 to a mind-choking $6. But these days, a book of Life Savers contains only the five-flavor rolls, and there are only four rolls in the book. The front section of the book now is a piece of heavy paperboard.


Aaaah, the good old days. I recently got the opportunity to spend time with my adoptive grands, and we decorated Halloween cookies. We might not get another chance to get all three or four families together before Christmas, so I shared a favorite Christmas memory with them at the end of the evening.

I bought two packages of Wint-O-Green Life Savers and had the parents turn out the lights after we had distributed candy to each of the 16 kids. I told them to stand in a circle so we could see each other's mouths, then let their eyes adjust to the (not very dark) darkness, and then we all chewed at the same time. I told them about the sparks we loved to watch as kids.

The kids were SO excited!

But nothing happened.


I hadn't tested it before I went to the cookie-decorating party to see if the magic still works. I felt like a heel.

It was time for everyone to go home, so I gave the rest of the Life Savers to the parents and told the kids to try it at home in their bathrooms, with the lights off, looking in the mirror while whey chewed.

The next night, my phone rang, and two of the kiddos called to elatedly and enthusiastically report that it works! They thanked me again for the cookies and the Life Savers, and they told me again and again how cool it was to watch the blue lightning in the mirror!

It was my first phone call ever from any of my grandkids!!!

I think now I'm going to have to teach all 16 of them to build Life Saver trains!

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Little Princess(es)

I gave my little seven-year-old neighbor a Disney Princess charm pack for her seventh birthday last year. We started her quilt in November. She wanted to finish it by Christmas. We got it done before Easter...

This is her first pieced quilt. We made two panel quilts last year when her baby brother was born, one for her and one for him. She totally designed this one using 2-inch jelly roll strips in my scrap boxes, and this time she did all the quilting herself. She has come a long way since those panel quilts!


She can still drive the sewing machine a little too fast, and sometimes she gets chattering and forgets to watch where she's sewing, but she's made so much progress, even since we started in November.


When she finished the first two rows, she excitedly sewed them together. I suggested we pin the rest of the rows and go a little slower, and almost all of her second, third and fourth row corners match up perfectly!


I put the binding on, but the rest is all her! She is so proud of this creation!














Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts.

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Next Best Thing to Being a Mom

The six-year-old neighbor I frequently gush over got a new baby brother recently. My favorite little six-year-old has been asking me to teach her to quilt for ages. She fell in love with some Eiffel Tower fabric scraps she found in my stash and asked she could make a quilt.

"I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Paris!" she squealed, holding up the pink fabric.


Pink Eiffel Towers don't exactly a boy baby blanket make, so I went through the box of fabric I've been trying to use up, give away and get rid of since my own adopted kids left the nest.

I found two cheater quilt panels that must have been intended for my own kids back in the days when dreaming of matching college degrees in oceanography was still on their maps.

The panels would be perfect for my neighbor and the new addition to her family. Simple, cute and fast enough to finish before the baby made a grand appearance.


We had about two weeks before the baby was due when we got started. I sandwiched the two quilts and glue-basted them, and she spent two nights quilting straight lines on the quilt for Baby Brother in hopes of finishing it before he finished cooking in mom's belly.


When we presented the finished quilt to mom, my little six-year-old neighbor wrapped it around her mom's tummy, then turned to tell me, "The baby's in there!", pointing to mom's bump. (Big Sister got a new hairdo and new lip gloss the day she finished her brother's quilt.)


Exactly one week early, Baby Brother arrived, and Big Sister's quilt had to take a break while things settled down at her house. (When I got to meet the baby, Big Sister pointed to Mom's belly and proudly exclaimed, "There's no one in there now!")

Two weeks ago, she finally finished her own quilt, and now, both Baby Brother and Big Sister are sleeping well beneath fishy warmth!

And now my little neighbor is anxious to use up those Eiffel Tower remnants...



Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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Friday Funny

I had just finished a phone conversation with my mom. After I hung up, my 8-year-old almost-adopted son asked why I still call her "Mom."

"Because she's my mom," I answered, puzzled.

"You still have to call her Mom?" he repeated. "I thought you were old enough to call her by her name."

"Oh, so you think you get to call me Deborah when you're grown up?" I teased.

"Yes," came the reply, with an unexpected afterthought, "Deborah!"

After family prayers that night, he called out, "Goodnight," (long pause) "Deborah!"

* * *
During one of our shopping trips, my 10-year-old newly adopted son asked me what it's like to be a teenager. I told him teenagers don't want anyone to do anything for them. They feel a sense of independence, and they want it to grow.

When we arrived at the grocery store, my son had me undo his seatbelt.

"Why?" I asked, temporarily thrown off guard.

"Because," he replied in matter-of-fact sincerity, "I want you to do everything for me while you still can."

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Project Blizzard

These are some of the things that made me smile during October. (Mouse over photos for explanations.) I'm on a quest, along with Alicia over at A Beautiful Mess, to make the world a happier place, one photo at a time. Read more about Project Smile here, and then make sure to visit other Project Smile participants by checking out Alicia's blog.

Oh, and don't forget to SMILE!!!

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Friday Funny

And here is the link, in case you are unable to view the above.

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Milestone

27 February 2005

After a traumatic morning of church with the kids (and both kids demonstrating in vivid detail why I must be wary of trusting them), we were off to bike up Waterton Canyon again.

We came face to face with bighorn. Up close and personal. My daughter pet one. (Eyes roll.) Yes, I have taught my children not to approach wildife. She knew better.

The big news here is that I wanted to try to go up the steep part – without stopping – for the first time since surgery.

I had no real anticipation of really making it to the top. It took me four or five rides last year to be able to achieve that. Riding every day. Now I ride two or three times a week, and my back is still pretty darned stiff most of the time.

But I did it. !!!

I was VERY excited. The Lizard said he could see it in my eyes. I really was excited. I am very slow, and I have no stamina to speak of, but I made it up to the Colorado Trail without stopping, without getting off the bike. Huffing and puffing, but no stopping!

Bring on Mount Evans!

I still wonder if I will ever stop being stiff. I hate the way my back feels. I still catch myself wondering from time to time why in the world I gave someone permission to cut me open and remove parts. I know my back is much better now than it was. I have more movement now than I did then. But I really did think I’d be 100% by now. I can’t believe it’s taking so long to heal.

2010 Note: My kids did one more ride with me after this. We did the Buena Vista Century in May of 2005. Then my daughter joined The Lizard and me for Elephant Rock in June of 2005. That's the last time my kids rode with me. The Lizard and I registered for 2005 Ride the Rockies without them. Riding together as a family for a whole week was a fun dream while it lasted.

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Progress

12 February 2005

After church, we intended to rent bikes from Bicycle Village, which has the biggest bike rental ad in the phone book and on the internet.

Turns out they don't rent in the "off season." Ha! Off-season!!! I don't think there is an off-season in Colorado!!! You should see the number of people out on their bikes right now!!! I mean, not this precise minute, but every day! The weather has been absolutely stunning. Bluebird days. Cyclists everywhere are trying to get in as many miles as they can. Some of my best rides have been in January.

So we headed off toward REI, but my son has a 411 service on his phone, so he called. No, REI does not rent bikes.

East, toward Treads, the next biggest ad in the phone book. Closed Sundays. Funny, the ad in the phone book and on the internet didn't mention that. I was getting pretty annoyed because we now were going to be late to meet The Lizard at Waterton Canyon.

I can't believe no one rents bikes in February because it is "off season." How absurd!

I headed to Wal-Mart and hoped for the best. Really frustrated. Really, really frustrated.

I bought two Schwinn bikes. The Lizard says I did well. He approved. And then he offered to help pay for the new bikes.

Is this guy the most wonderful person on the planet or what???

I turned him down but thanked him, of course, but he promised to maintain the bikes and do some work on both before our next ride. He says both bikes need tune-ups. My son had something pulling or rubbing, and my daughter’s is muddy.

Muddy??? Yes! Muddy! We went on a ride! We were nearly an hour late meeting The Lizard (who does not own a cell phone). But we met him, and we all went up Waterton Canyon. We saw bighorn. I wasn't tired at the end.

I had my son load the bikes in my car while my daughter changed. I wasn't sure if she would come back. She took a long, long time. But she did come back. Miracle of all miracles.

I didn't know if I could trust her on a bike. But she did fine. For that matter, I didn't really know if I could trust my son with a bike. But he did fine. He kept trying to race The Lizard, and The Lizard whipped him. That was pretty funny. Now my son is determined to get in better shape so he can keep up with The Lizard.

Both kids want to do this every weekend.

It was fun. It was like old times. Sort of.

It's scary for me to admit I had a good time and that everything went fine because I'm afraid the next outing will make up for this one.

But fact is, everything did go well, and it was a fun day for all.

I've learned not to expect fun from my kids these days. It's an adjustment to accept fun is what happened today. I've grown so accustomed to emotions on the opposite side of the spectrum, that's all I expect. But today was fun. I would like to do it again. I would LOVE to do it again.

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Choices

6 February 2005

Grand Junction to Breckenridge! Awesome route! I WANT TO RIDE!!!

The Lizard, who has never done an organized group bicycle ride, seems equally excited about this year’s Ride the Rockies route. My son told me Friday before we knew the route that he wants to do it with me. My daughter said she said she wants to do it.

I’m going to take both of the kids up Lookout Mountain on road bikes before I send in our money. Now I’m beginning to sober at the financial and physical requirements if all four of us do this. If we get drawn.

The Lizard’s all set. He’s ready to go. He will pay for his own entry. His body works just fine. He’ll just need to secure vacation time.

My son will need a bike, a helmet, a lock, jerseys and shorts, a sleeping bag and maybe a tent. He may need a Camelbak. If he opts for water bottles, I can cover that. I also can share my jerseys with him because we wear the same size.

My daughter will need a bike, a helmet, a lock, a Camelbak, jerseys and shorts and a sleeping bag. I can’t share my clothing with her. She won’t fit into anything I own. She won’t be able to pay for anything. I will have to pay for all her food. And she needs to be on her best behavior for five whole months in order to earn the privilege of going off campus.

My son will need a job. He’ll need to stick with the job. He’ll need vacation time. If he has a job, he would be able to pay for his own food.

Both kids are going to need to train. I’m going to have to motivate both of them because they won’t do it independently. And that means I HAVE to finish healing. NOW. How can I get them to train if I can’t go more than a few miles without feeling like I have a two-by-four in my back?

Entry fees times three. Organized training rides times three. Weekends devoted to the kids instead of what I have been doing since my daughter went postal.

It’s a bit easier to commit to biking instead of peak-bagging right now because I found out on Mount Bierstadt I’m not able to do a winter peak yet. Probably not this year. The only hard part of this whole situation is: Can I trust my kids??? Will they hurt me again??? Am I wasting my time???

I’m not sure Ride the Rockies will go well for all four of us. But I kind of want to take the risk. Two years ago, Ride the Rockies was a healing experience for me. Can it be a healing experience for my family?

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