Forty three and counting...

I didn't get started until late today, nonetheless I have gotten to 43 cards completed.

Y'know, this might just work.

And now, the santa suit is almost done

Miss Karen is still working on the belt and beard and plans to mail them to us this weekend. (She lives near flint - a good hour from here, making it even more amazing that she makes the trip as often as she does!)

I think you can see from the unretouched photo at the top that Jack wasn't feeling well last night, but he sure is excited with his costume. The retouching on the other two only mutes the roughened red mouth but doesn't entirely hide it and I didn't try to remove the circles under his eyes. (I love Picassa's new features!)

But then the poor kid woke up barking this morning and very confused. He came into the bath while I was showering with tears streaming down his face and barely able to talk. I eventually sorted out that he had awakened 'alone in the bed' and gone in search of his Dad, who was not in any of the usually places. Fortunately I was almost done with my shower, so I was able to wrap up in towels and pick his up and carry him off in search of Dad.

We started in the bedroom, and sure enough, there he was, fast asleep. I'm not sure why Jack 'couldn't find him' and neither was Jack. Rod was astonished that Jack didn't hear the CPAP, though since I am rarely aware of it, either, I was less surprised.

I was able to tuck a now much calmer in beside his Dad and go finish getting dressed for work, but it became clear that Jack's loss of ability to speak wasn't from panic. Every time he tried to talk, he started to cough with a deep, barking cough. Once I was dressed, we headed down to the kitchen, where I made my boy-budgie a nice cup of medicine tea!

Jack has taken lots of naps today and was asleep when I got home from work, which is why I can blog in the evening.

Now that Jack has the croup, our holiday long weekend suddenly looks very quiet.

I think I will manage to get the cards done after all -- and maybe even get a good start on the 12 dozen cookies I hope to get made in the next three weeks!

We may hold off on the feast a few days, too, since croup is reputed to reduce a child's appetite and that seems true of Jack, too, if today is any indication. After all, there is no reason we have to stick to the traditional day.

As much as I love our friends and look forward to seeing them all, I have to say that I am delighted to have several quiet days in a row to just hang out with my boys.

Maybe we can even get over to Cafe Luwak for breakfast when they open again, if Jack is feeling better.

(I don't know yet whether Jack has a three day croup or a seven day croup. I am betting on the briefer one, because he usually isn't sick as long as a lot of other kids other kids.)

Time to go wrestle a 17 pound bird into a salt bath...

The making of Santa...

As I think I mentioned at some point, Jack's beloved Miss Karen offered to make him a Santa suit, since he's outgrown last year's elf suit (and declared himself "too big" to be an elf now).

I had no idea I would learn so much!

First, Karen started with a measuring tape, a roll of paper, and a wriggling boy and showed me how to create a pattern.

Next, we used the paper pattern to make a muslin mock up to make sure it was going to fit. We just pinned it and make sure it would fit, but I will sew it together this weekend to try my hand at sewing and then Jack and I will decorate the coat into some other costume for his collection.

Meanwhile, none of this (other than being measured) was very interesting to a young man who wasn't allwoed to use the sewing machine or the circle cutter or the pins. Jack is pretty much used to being able to work alongside me whatever I'm doing. (One advantage of a low tech lifestyle) and he was very frustrated to keep hearing "no".

So, thanks to Stephanie, I had a GREAT idea! Jack and I made mittens for the grandmothers from the Santa suit scraps! (Now we can hope our Grandma and Mormor don't stop by here before these arrive in the mail!)

(Thanks, Stephanie -- this isn't the only great idea I'm borrowing for gifts this year -- you are amazing!)

Jack is sure that his need to hang from the fingertips. I will grant him that it looks pretty -- but I have to figure out how to get the ribbon in now... I am happy to put the ribbon at the wrist after I stuff it.

Of course, all this is taking a lot of crafting time and so my cards are falling way behind -- one more week: yikes! But we're having a blast! I will try to get some action photos next week when we get together to (I hope) finish the costume. (Karen is, believe it or not, making SANTA BOOTS! for the costume!! Wow!)

Time to make thos Yule cards...

Wy do I always wait so late?

*sigh*

We haven't even decided on a Yule-card list for this year...and I haven't started making th cards. This could take a while, and here I sit on the computer wishing I had time to blog.

Updates

It has been the sort of week that is both too busy to find time to blog much -- and not interesting enough to try harder. ;)
Between endless rounds of laundry, we have been on the run.

Fitness update: I have only managed to walk once so far this week. I have, however, established (thanks, Mark!) that I was 1.8 miles per hour. Way behind the 4 miles an hour I walked as a teenager, but not too shabby for the tired old fart I am now.

Crafting Update: I have been struggling with crafting. Even when I sit down with a very specific design in mind -- one I have made before, things aren't working well. Partly, I think, it's just a lack of creative energy right now and that happens from time to time. Partly, maybe it's my eyes. I have broken my glasses on a number of occasions and I think the lenses are scratched beyond usefulness. I'll see an ophthalmologist for my annual diabetes check and then I'll worry about getting the lenses replaced. Meanwhile, I have two Mothers Day cards and three birthday cards to get made. Hmmm...

Gardening update: I was not sure how much to worry about moon phase in gardening.

Last year, I wasn't specifically paying attention, but I did note that my planting happened at good times anyway. and as I talked about endlessly last year -- my results were astonishing.

This year, Ostara fell in a "bad" gardening moon, but we went ahead anyway. I have complained about the results...we have very few germinated seeds and none of the ones that sprouted seem to be thriving. I tried again under a better, though not ideal, gardening moon and already those plants are much larger than the many weeks older seeds, though not everything has germinated. I plan to try again next week under the 'optimal" gardening moon on Tuesday and see what happens.

I'll update the homeschooling stuff later. Now, I am off to the shower.

Hobbies

Funny thing.

A couple of people recently have referred to gardening as "my hobby". Oddly enough, given my current obsession, I don't see gardening as a hobby. I see gardening as one more way I take care of my family, sort of like an extension of cooking. I am enjoying it, but it isn't satisfying in the same way my "real" hobby is.

I am a paper crafter - I make greeting cards and I scrapbook. When I spend an hour cutting and pasting and stamping and painting, I am refreshed, calm, and content with the world. An hour in the garden is satisfying in it own way - but that would be in the same way housework is satisfying -- I am perhaps satisfied with my accomplishment, but my hands are dirty and I am tired and I smell bad. I am no calmer than before, as a rule. (That may change as I get better at this whole thing -- but my hands will still be dirty and I will still often smell bad.)

On the other hand -- we have *FIVE* zucchini in the garden -- and several are almost eating size!!! I could have sworn they weren't there when I discovered the first tomato ... and I looked! How did they go from not there to eating size in a day?!?!?