Grape Tomatoes

Growing Up

Miss M is growing up. She's started saying the word "pancakes" correctly. But I'll miss her "pam-panks."

She still doesn't get everything right, though. She was going on and on about gophers: "I don't like gophers. Gophers are scary! Why are gophers scary, Mommy?"

We racked our brains trying to remember if she'd sen a movie, a cartoon, perhaps, where the villian is a gopher. Finally the mystery was solved when she brought us the Playmobil catalog her brother had been reading with her and showed us a picture of the scary "gopher." It was a Playmobil ghost! I guess ghost could sound like gopher . . .

She still gets black and white backwards. She calls black white, and white black.

Another sign that she's growing up - I've read her books, but never felt like she was following the story. She likes the pictures, though. Yesterday I read her a favorite, The Circus Baby by Maud and Miska Petersham, an old, out of print falling apart book. The story is simple, perfect for a three-year-old. A mother elephant decides that her baby elephant should learn to be refined and eat like real people, like the circus clowns. She she takes him into the clown's tent, sits him on a stool with a bowl of beans and a big spoon, and persuades him to try using the spoon. Of course, with no hands, the result is disastrous and the whole tent ends up coming down on them before it's all over.




When I read it yesterday, Miss M laughed at the funny parts (she's never done that before) and, after it was over, wanted a bowl and big serving spoon so she could pretend to be a baby elephant and knock the bowl off the table and knock the chair over. Daddy didn't think this was very funny, but it's showing me that she's finally ready to move beyond board books to real stories.

Her other favorite stories are Madeline and Corduroy.

What We're Listening To

About a year ago we discovered Vienna Teng. She's not a Christian, but her music is beautiful! She reminds me of Sara Groves, singer-songwriter. You can hear some samples on her website, but our favorite song, Lullaby for a Stormy Night, isn't on there. It's on YouTube, though. Somebody put personal photos of their friends to the music. Oddly enough, this song is on YouTube a lot with Japanese cartoon images (?)

The Renaissance Faire!

The trip began, as trips usually do, with planning sometime in advance. We found the North Carolina Renaissance Faire on the internet. We had to rent a 15-passenger van for the drive (an experience in itself), but it worked out well and we only got lost once. Not even lost, really, just turned around a bit...

The real adventure driving was the last, on the drive home over the mountains: snow!

We spent two weeks researching costumes, then made a few shopping trips. We spent less than four days on construction (including the wee hours of the morning and the minutes before leaving the hotel room the morning of the Faire :D); a few pieces were purchased (such as Miss M's shoes--Wal-Mart special!), much was modified or built upon thrift store finds, and the rest was made from scratch.

Working on costumes in the hotel room, the morning of the Faire.

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The Locksley Children
The older four, from left to right, are Master Thomas, Lady Miriam, Sir Owen, and Master Henry. The younger two remain Master C and Miss M.

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The Faire was great. There was the usual motley assortment of people from mundane tourists in jeans to fairies and pirates to the serious period reenactors (quite a few of these, to our delight). The Queen's Grace was there herself with her guards and court, and we think we spotted Sir Walter Raleigh (though I may have missed him, as I was making obeisance at the time). We spotted one varlet in a T-shirt being hauled away by the guards for trying to sit in the Queen's chair.

Elizabeth, by the grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland.

Her Majesty's court. We believe the chap with the Order of the Garter is Sir Walter Raleigh.

There were displays of horsemanship (and horsewomanship...) and jousting, which was great although not quite up to Ashby-de-la-Zouch standards. They played dramatic music on loudspeakers at either ends of the lists, which was unfortunate, but luckily didn't much affect the fun of the joust. There were also rings set up in several places where they had fencing and broadsword fighting, SCA style, and some demonstrations with metal weapons.

The German champion preparing to tilt.

The German champion being unhorsed by the Italian.

There were dancers, singers, and minstrels all about the grounds. Inside the main building they had set up a stage for dancing, and the performances ranged from belly dancers to the Highland Fling. We heard a group of madrigal singers practicing (though we didn't stop--too many empty tankards about for the offspring of Sir Reginald Locksley to countenance :D ).

The madrigal singers.

There was an excellent gallery inside an old church on the fairgrounds, where they had reproduction period manuscripts, a collection of books on the period, and various other things such as a miniature demonstration of a printing press and life-sized cardboard silhouettes to show the average height of Elizabethan adults (surprisingly short--the man was perhaps 5' 6" and the woman about 5'). Oh, and an autographed photo of Queen Elizabeth, a.k.a. Cate Blanchett :P. At one end of the church there was a woodwind trio playing beautiful period music.

An illuminated letter on display in the gallery.

There was a group of acrobats, called Barely Balanced, that performed twice while we were there. They were a lot of fun to watch--a bit nerve-wracking, too, sometimes, juggling knives and whatnot. At the very end one of them did some firebreathing, and that was really neat (we got no pictures of that, but they have some at their site).

Barely Balanced.

The place was thick with vendors, of course, and there was plenty to look at. We bought some traditional Welsh cookies at the inFAMOUS Welsh Cookie Co., which proved quite good--little cakes with currants and nutmeg, baked on a griddle. Otherwise the food was disappointingly modern. Master Henry spent a good deal of time lifting, examining, and generally drooling over the swords at the weapon shop. I, Master Henry, and Lady Miriam got to hold a replica of Anduril, which was (dare I say it?) too cool for words. There were trinket shops and instrument shops, costume shops and hat shops, and a chainmail shop where they were giving lessons in the craft.

The gentry patronizing the Welsh Cookie Company.

We kept having people invite us to the costume contest. When we got there it was not what we had expected--only a few entrants (the well-dressed patrons of the Faire were excluded), and the judging perhaps a bit biased in favor of the cute little fairies. But Master Henry's costume won the Peasant category and he got a T-shirt and bag with the Faire logo.

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There seems to be much to learn about period manners and customs. There is a particular way that the men make obeisance to the Queen--one foot behind the other, with the body bowed forward. It looked like there was a certain way to hold a napkin (though I didn't inquire) and one old gentleman stopped us to show us the proper way of escorting a lady. (The lord raises his right arm level with the ground and the lady places hers on top of it. If, however, during the course of the day, she has reason to be displeased with him, she may mark it by lifting her hand from his and leaving a space betwixt for the hand of any wanderer that may pass by.)

Our reading had of course given us some acquaintance with Shakespearean English, but we found that reading or even reciting it is a very different matter from speaking it fluently. "O, for a muse of fire" doesn't help much when trying to ask your way about, and "Double, double, toil and trouble" doesn't make for good smalltalk. It would take quite a bit of research and practice to learn all the terms of address for different classes and when to use them. Another time, perhaps.

Enjoying ourselves at a show.

We learned a lot about period dress during our research, but we still have a long way to go for authenticity. More slashes, more ornament, some ruffs, fewer trips to Wal-Mart, etc. If we could do it again we would also make some changes for our own comfort, such as tights that don't slip and corsets that don't bunch, but taken altogether the day was a blast and we'd love to do it again sometime. Forsooth, yes!

The end of a long day.

Mom's Perspective of the Faire

As Tim said, we had a great time at the Renaissance Faire. I should mention - the only costumes I worked on were mine and Miss M's - simple skirts and her apron. The boys did their own costumes. Miss M looked adorable on her way to the Faire, like a child straight from a Breugel painting:





But when she came out of her carseat, she was soaking wet! She had spilled her entire cup of juice all over herself. It was cold and windy, a miserable day to be wet. Luckily, C's mom had brought along a pair of Levi's and a shirt in case he needed a change of clothes, so Miss M wore that and I put the apron (which was still mostly dry) over that. It made an interesting fashion statement. Later in the day, the skirt dried, so I slipped it on over the Levi's.





My only complaint about the Faire was the food. At a Renaissance Faire, I would expect meat pasties, pottage, ale. But what they had was cotton candy, funnel cakes, burgers and fries! (?) Very disappointing.

Toddler Talk

Conversation overheard between Miss M and best friend C, both three years old:

C: Mrs.-- was in the hospital. She was oldandsick.

M: What?

C: She was oldandsick.

M: What?

Mommy: (intervening) She was old, and she was sick.

M: Oh. When I was old, I was sick. I coughed and I had to watch Dumbo.

C: (coughs for effect)

M: Are you sick?

C: Yes, I'm allergic to fish. (coughs again) I was watching fish today.

M: (laughs)

C: Don't laugh! It's NOT funny!

Guess Where We Went!

Don Ho Has Died

I saw this at Palm Tree Pundit.

My mother saw him live a few years ago and was impressed. He sang for tourists, but she sensed a love and respect for his real Hawaiian roots.

Diet Update

About a week ago I posted that I was going to try the PH Miracle. It seems to be helping, so I decided to commit to doing that, starting with their juice fast this morning. I'll do this fast for two more days and then move into their rigid plan for 8 weeks, and then to maintenance.

I'm very, very hungry, but otherwise I feel fine. It's funny how it seems like I usually feel worse after I eat something. But since I'm not eating anything today, I have more energy than usual (except for being hungry and a tad weak from that!)

Easter 2007

We had a nice church service this morning, a musical. Tim played the keyboard and sang, J played a violin solo (Amazing Grace, played perfectly!) and sang back-up, and even L sang back-up. There were 8 or 9 people on the stage, and my sons made up a third of the ensemble! Everyone did great, the service was great and I was proud of the boys.

I only got two pictures, this was after the boys had already left for a final rehearsal, and only Miss M was still at home. You can see her missing tooth in the first picture.




Now we're all home, there are jellybeans and Reeses chocolate eggs on the mantel, and the boys are watching Veggie Tales (a rare treat) and later we'll watch the movie Jesus. I can't eat the candy, so I'm indulging in Chocolate Caramel Brownie Luna bars - low glycemic, high in protein, not excessively sugary, and gluten and dairy free.

Dad is sleeping today because he works tonight, so I asked the boys what they'd like for Easter dinner - and they picked turkey sandwiches! We'll dye eggs later, too. They're already boiled.

Come Ye Disconsolate

We're reading Little Women - actually, we're listening to the audio book, and we're near the end of Book 2, which isn't Little Women, but Good Wives. Chapter 20 says,

"But [Amy] did show something better than brilliancy or skill, for she sang Beth's songs with a tender music in her voice which the best master could not have taught, and touched the listener's hearts with a sweeter power than any other inspiration could have given her. The room was very still, when the clear voice failed suddenly at the last line of Beth's favorite hymn. It was hard to say, 'Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.'"

I was curious, so I looked up those words and it led to a poem by Thomas More, which was altered to make it suitable as a hymn. Here are the lyrics, and the MIDI tune is here.

Come Ye Disconsolate

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying,
“Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot cure.”

Here see the Bread of Life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

Thinking Blogger Award

I was nominated by the Headmistress at The Common Room, and I'm very honored! The Common Room is my first-stop blog. There's always something new to read, and almost always something to laugh over, think about, or find encouragement from.

Here are the rules:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (there is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

My favorite blogs tend to be blogs that have a little bit of everything - a few posts that make me think sprinkled among posts that make me laugh, tidbits about their family, advice and suggestions for crafts and projects. Limiting it to just five will be difficult!

I "met" Camille at A Time to Laugh on a parenting message board; she's a gifted writer and makes me think about theology. She's one of the bloggers at True Womanhood in the New Millennium, which is another blog that makes me think.

Christine Miller at A Little Perspective posts about Israel and homeschool issues and Christian issues. Hers is one of the only blogs that I found by accident rather than through a CM or AP connection that I keep up with regularly.

I tried to stay away from CM/AO blogs (all my CM/AO moms make me think!), but I made a couple of exceptions. Mother Auma at CM, Children and Lots of Grace does more than make me think, she makes me stop and reflect. Her blog has it all - CM reflections, poetry, family warmth and inspiration.

Tulip Girl is my favorite attachment parenting/positive discipline blog. She's wise and experienced and has four boys. Most news I find related to parenting is from her blog.

Purring Piggy and MerryK at Beth Spera in Domino are my other exception to trying to post non-CM blogs. I love MerryK's book/movie reviews, she's a homeschool student who's worth reading. Her mom also makes me think. I hope this isn't breaking the rules, listing both of them, but, after all, they post on one blog.

I Was Nominated for a Blog Award!

I was nominated by Firefly at Bioluminescence, for Best Cyber-Buddy Blogger at Homeschool Blog Awards. :)

"Best Cyber-Buddy Blogger: A blogger that you haven’t met, but you think you would enjoy meeting and hanging out with. She/he is a person that you would love to co-op with or live next door to." Firefly and I are virtual twins - we share a lot of the same likes, dislikes, and interests. Every time I read her answers to the latest "blog-thing," she's answered almost exactly the way I did!

Homeschool Moms are Cool

"Home school mothers are the heart of a traditionalist revolution that is driving life back into the homes." Read more in the article Homeschool Mothers: The Beatrice Brigade, thanks to Dominion Family.

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. I'd like to make a poetry post a day this month, but whether I will or no remains to be seen (one a week seems more likely). But to begin, at least, I give you the opening to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open eye-
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.

(For more, Harvard has an interlinear translation of the prologue, Librarius.com has the full text with side-by-side translations, and this information on pronouncing Middle English is helpful. As an aside, I think this opening must win the prize for the longest opening sentence in literature.)

It all started innocently enough . . .

I wanted a bag for my camera, something I could wear on my belt to free up my hands. Something simple, no hassle of trying to sew zippers or complicated shapes. So, I settled on a simple padded bag that cinches shut and will slip onto my belt. It was a success!

I loved it so much that I decided I needed another bag to wear on my belt (or not) when we go for hikes, that sort of thing - something small, with only room for the barest necessities, but able to carry *everything* I might need - sunglasses, cards, cell phone, a Luna Bar, and allow me to have my hands free for Miss M.



So I made one, and I love it so much that it's become my purse. Here it is, pictured next to a favorite mug for size reference.






But then I decided I needed something fun for those times I don't feel like basic black. I took Miss M's old sling, the one I had made with a beautiful Hawaian fabric. I was kind of sad as I cut it up, thinking how she's grown so much that I won't need it anymore, but holding bittersweet emotions at bay by thinking of the new bag I was going to get out of it, a way to carry those memories with me all the time.






The bag works great! It cinches closed like a dream, has individual pockets for sunglasses (so they won't scratch) and cell phone (so I can reach it easily without rummaging if it rings, which it never does because dh is almost the only one who knows the number), a place for cards, and extra room for a Luna Bar and a few other things.







Here's how I fit everything I need into one small bag - I pack small items in an empty, rinsed bubbles container with the blower snipped off. It holds nail clippers (baby sized, since they're small; they can double as scissors sometimes), toothpaste (for cleaning contact lenses in an emergency), Vaseline, a couple of Advils (each wrapped individually in a corner of a plastic bag, as are the toothpaste and Vaseline), a couple of Q-tips, and a list. I suppose a drop of dishwashing liquid (for hand-washing when there's no soap) ought to be included, too. The bubbles container keeps anything that might leak contained, and prevents the toothpaste from drying out - that had been a big problem, and I only just now came up with a solution that doesn't involve me carrying an entire tube of toothpaste in my bag.

RSS Feeds - Wow, What a Concept!

I opened an account at Netvibes.com and programmed in all the blogs I regularly check up on - some daily, some weekly. It uses RSS feeds. And it's great! I click on one page and it shows which of those blogs has a new post - no more clicking on various blogs only to find that most of them haven't posted anything new since my last visit.

I was so impressed that I added a few blogs I've always wished I could keep up with, but never had the time. The extra nice thing about Netvibes is that I was able to set my display page to pink. :)