New Kitchen!

I loved this post at The Common Room. Miss M loved it, too. But we don't have an old entertainment center hanging around. And, in fact, she already has a pretty nice little toy kitchen.

She got this almost exactly four years ago. Look how adorable she was, just turned two years old:




The kitchen was cute, but the oven opened sideways, not really like a real oven that opens out, and it wasn't very practical for organizing stuff to put away. But the examples inspired me to put some work into remodeling her kitchen. We had some cup hooks, old wire shelving and an old towel rack. I splurged and spent ten dollars on a couple of wire baskets to hang on doors, and Mr. B did the labor, including changing the way the oven door opens -- here is the result:



Look how much she's grown in four years!! She used to not be able to reach the microwave; now she can reach the very top of the unit.



Note the cup hooks for hanging utinsels over the stove-top, old towel rack over the sink, and baskets hung on doors. The baskets under the sink are for silverware. The oven opens the right way, and it even has a real oven rack.

Miss M insisted on pictures of her cooking and eating. Since we did the remodel, she has played non-stop with her kitchen. (It probably didn't hurt that we also got down some dishes and things that had been boxed up because she was too little and/or didn't like to pick up toys.)

What would you do with $10 of Sharpies?

How about some interior decorating?

A Frog with Inner Light

I saw this on National Geographic's photo of the day. Some things have to be seen to be believed. Perhaps he was just trying to get into the Christmas spirit? Or rather, get the Christmas spirit into him...

Haven't You Been Wondering How to Do This?

Just when it seemed like it couldn't be done, this came across my RSS feed:

How To Describe a Smell

Photo Op

I was taking pictures of the boys and a friend, and took the opportunity to get this one of all the boys and Miss M.

Found It!

Last year, when Tim was working on his essay for his national merit scholarship, I was looking around for some information and accidentally found a blog with a cartoon that I loved. I tried to find it again, and I retraced my steps, but I never could find the blog again. I spent days trying to find it.

MerryK posted some comics she found and as soon as I saw her post, I knew that the comic I had been looking for was one of these. I started flipping through the site to find that particular one, and Tim saw me, asked what I was looking for, and I described it to him. It turns out that he had bookmarked the exact same comic after flipping through the site after he saw MerryK's blog!

Here's the cartoon; it's home is here:

How to Fold a Note Into an Envelope

How to Fold a Note into an Envelope

I have an obsession with envelopes. I previously posted a link about how to fold a bus note.

A Visit to My House

I created my own meme!!

People who visit us get a taste of who we are, what we're into, and what we're like. I notice that my kids tend to show new visitors the same computer things they like, or play music for them that they love that our guests have probably never heard, and offer the same snacks.

Since there are lots of people I know via the internet who may never get the chance to visit us, I thought I'd offer a virtual glimpse of a visit to our house.

If you came to our house--

You would see:
Art posters on the walls (Mona Lisa; Waterhouse's Lady of Shalott, Miranda and the Tempest, The Shrine; Constable's Hay-wain; Bouguereau's The Bird Lesson; Edmund Blair Leighton's The Accolade; Sir Frank Dicksee's La Belle Dame Sans Merci; John Singer Sargent's Garden Study of the Vickers Children)

We'd probably feed you:
corn chips
Red Vines, if they aren't rock hard

And offer you this to drink:
diluted juice, or your choice of hot tea (we have lots of varieties!)

We'd undoubtedly ask if you'd read:
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Lord of the Rings
(If you said yes, then we'd ask if you'd read The Space Trilogy or The Silmarillion)

We'd want to play this music for you:
Whirlwind of Leaves by Tom Root (our best friend's CD!)
Celtic Skies (unknown but great Celtic praise music)
Vienna Teng
Sara Groves
If you were a true Narnia fan: Roar of Love (2nd Chapter of Acts' Narnia album)
If you were a piano fan: Julianne Markavitch's CD of Tarentellas

We'd want to tell you the latest about:
The Prince Caspian movie we recently saw

We'd probably suggest a game of:
Quiddler (inside) or Frisbee Golf (outside)

We might show off:
Tim's graduation announcements, which are still in progress (if you wait a couple of weeks, we might be able to show you his actual diploma!)

We might get on the computer and show you:
Lego Beowulf (parts 1, 2, 3)
Weird Al's Star Wars American Pie


If it was a long enough visit, we might watch:
The Climb (a movie about two mountain climbers)
Our Mutual Friend PBS miniseries (it would have to be a really long visit for this one!)
The Sandy Bottom Orchestra
(Have you seen the Julie Andrews version of Cinderella?)

___________________________________________

What would a visit to your house be like?

We're tagging:
The Squirrels at Dewey's Treehouse
The Common Room
The Beehive
Liberty and Lily
U Krakovianki
Miss Roxie
Athena in a Minivan
Shilohmom at The Country Cottage
Katie at CM, Children and Lots of Grace
Excelsior Warriors Dawn ;)
I'm tagging Thimble Cottage, too - even though I'm there every week.

How to Make a Baby Romper from a T Shirt

Today's tip from WikiHow.

Radio Bookmark

WRKA - hits of the 60's and 70's
I was looking for 70's music, and this is the first one I found online. It seems to fit the bill, so I'm bookmarking it.

Amazing Mantis

I saw this on Cute Overload - I sometimes show this blog to L and Miss M because they're still young enough to love pictures of cute animals (although some of the humor is more geared towards adults!) This picture didn't originate there, though. They just posted a copy of it.

My Life is Now Complete

Tim found a blog that does nothing but rate pencils. Drafting pencils, mechanical pencils, black pencils, square pencils, colored pencils. Even a link to how to sharpen pencils.

Move over, Candy Blog - I've found a new favorite! I wonder if there's a pen blog?

Foodscapes

These are amazing.


(The photographer's homepage is here, but I can't get it to work. The above link goes to a blog which also hosts other less suitable pictures. Browse with care.)

Fun Stuff

57
Found via a post at the Common Room.

Caring for Your Introvert

I found this article while looking for tips on writing college entrance essays. I looked for one thing and found another.

"Remember, someone you know, respect, and interact with every day is an introvert, and you are probably driving this person nuts. It pays to learn the warning signs."

The Lunch Game

I think this game posted at the Beehive may be the funniest thing I've ever seen - you simply must play!

Listen to Poetry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/romantics/

I found this other site http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/poets/toc.html which includes a reading of Wordsworth's Intimation of Immortality, but the reader doesn't have a British accent.

500!

That last was our 500th post. This makes 501 and still counting!

(here let there be imagined sundry exclamations of exceeding pleasure)

I Might as Well Have Let Her Carry Them

I brought some things upstairs this afternoon - a bag of apples, a head of lettuce, a bag of mixed greens. And I was carrying Miss M at the same time. She said, "Mommy, I can carry the apples!" I said, "No, because if you drop the bag, they'll fall on the cement floor and be bruised. I'll carry them." So we started up the steps. I fumbled to open the door at the top of the steps - and the bag of apples went bump-bump-bumping down every single step until it bounced off the last step, rolled onto the cement floor and hit the cement block wall.

Miss M was shrieking with laughter. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. I can't wait to see the condition of those apples when I cut them up for breakfast in the morning.

Hula on youtube.com

Here's a kahiko (ancient-style) hula on Youtube. The ladies are wearing long red skirts and black sleeveless tops, and they're from pretty far away.

and a modern hula to the song Ke Aluala. I love this song! Knee-length white dresses, long sleeves. Too bad the sound acts weird.