The Madwoman of Chaillot

My three youngest siblings attended a small private school- it's a wonderful school, with a very nurturing outlook and great arts program.  All three have participated in fencing, art, and especially drama.  It's a tradition that the seniors always get the leads in the school play- since Bert is THE ENTIRE graduating class, she was transformed into the Madwoman of Chaillot.  

The kids did a phenomenal job.  Bert, as the Madwoman, was phenomenal.  (But perhaps I'm biased?  Noooo.)

Since this IS a crafty blog (sometimes!), here are the earrings I made as a graduation present.  (Umm..yes, Nana.  They look very familiar- I had to shorten the beautiful necklace you made for me, and the beads and chain were just too fun to NOT make into wacky earrings!)

The graduating class!  The ceremony was held directly after the play, so her hair is still sprayed.

Closing bows.  You know, with that gorgeous salt-and-pepper hair...she looks like our mom!  

Everyone did a phenomenal job, but these girls really stood out.

Clapping during individual bows.


And because I was trying to be kind and not use my flash, those are all the pictures that turned out!  (Uncle R, I hope you put the big snazzy camera of yours to good use last night, because my little "mom camera" didn't quite cut the mustard :)  

Day is Done

It's 11:30, and I'm home, typing on the computer instead of going to bed, BECAUSE I'm pretty sure if I don't go to bed, I will never have to wake up in the morning and teach nursery.  I'm that scared :0)  

It's been a busy week- my class went well last night, I'll post details when I get a chance.  Yesterday and today was our neighborhood garage sale- a MAD house!  We didn't sell much, but I made some great finds around the neighborhood (immersion blender for a dollar?  Abelskiver pan for TWENTY-FIVE CENTS?  Ummm...yes please!  I think that second item is my absolute best thrift item to date.  The woman who sold it was just pickled pink that I knew what it was.  Nana, I need your recipe!)

My little sister,  the one Aunt LoLo and I waited through TWO brothers for (I love you guys!)....well, she graduated high school tonight, and I couldn't be prouder.  This past year she has just blossomed- she's confident, beautiful, and so talented.  She acts, draws, paints, writes poetry, plays guitar, and is Personal Super Hero to countless kids at her school who otherwise go slightly un-noticed.  She's always there for the little guy, always there for the deep discussions, always there for us.  We love you, Bert :)  You did good.

My News

So perhaps this doesn't quite live up the HYPE I seem to have created among certain family members (who...already KNEW) but I have a new calling at church!  In our congregations, we're each assigned tasks by our Bishop and call these "callings."  

For a little over a year, I've been in charge of music in our congregation (ward.)  I pick the hymns for Sacrament Meeting, make sure there are special musical numbers each week we need them, and act as support to other musicians in the ward with training, music selection if they need it, and generally substituting as organist/pianist for whatever organization needs help that day.  It's been a fantastic calling- I'll really miss it.  I especially loved picking the hymns each week and sharing my testimony that way.  Music brings the Spirit to our meetings, and I was honored to be part of choosing that music.

But my NEW calling is going to be so much fun!  I'm the new music leader for our nursery classes- I'll teach three twenty-minute lessons to our little ones.  

I'm excited to sit with them, help them learn the gospel through music, help them develop their own musicality, and help them learn to LOVE music.  They're such wonderful little kids- I sat through the former teacher's last lesson today and observed.  Such sweethearts, and I'm going to need SO much energy!  I think that's what I'm most concerned about- running out of steam half-way through the second group.  

We have thirty-one kids in our nursery- they come in at 18 months and leave the January after they turn three.  We'll get more as the year goes on, before the three-year-olds leave in January, so I'll probably end up teaching four lessons every Sunday by the end of the year.  

So, here's where I need your help: what would you do with these children?  What kind of instruments would you bring in for them to play with in our music circle?  What songs would you teach them?  Any fun "movement" songs?  The youngest children don't sing along- I noticed the previous teacher had good luck handing out rattles and bells so they could shake in time to the music. I won't even mention what else they've done, so I don't cramp your style.  That way, you can tell me...

What would  YOU do?  I'm all ears!  

Garden Update

The storm passed, and my garden is still standing (well, except for one onion, but I think it wasn't long for this life, anyway.)

Come on a tour with me!

Here are my little basil plants- I've already pinched them back to four sets of leaves, and made a yummy pasta salad with the tops.  I'm amazed how fast these can grow- I pinched them off on Tuesday, and if you look carefully you'll see that they already have TWO sets of leaves on top. 

 (Quick pinching reminder: pinch plants back to just above a leaf set, to create a bushier specimen.  If you look carefully, you'll see two little dormant leaf buds above every leaf set.  Pinch back to that spot, and they'll grow!)

 Wow- look at the ground cherries!  I hope they're tasty, because I'm going to have a LOT of these!

 I love the flowers, and so do the bees.

 Anybody want some chinese green beans?  Ack!  I've planted ten, and I think I have more than twenty left- they're so matted, it's hard to count.  What am I going to do?!?

 My absolute easiest crop- the potatoes are going gang busters.  I've dumped more dirt in there, and will fill it to the top with straw in a day or two, then just wait.  When they flower, I can dig out new potatoes if I want, when they turn brown and die I'll dump the whole thing on a tarp and pull out all the spuds for storing.

 Sweet little swiss chard- I wish I'd thought to plant this earlier.  These are a cool season crop, I could have planted them MUCH earlier.  Live and learn!

 Oh help.  Really, what was I thinking?  These are turnips.  I use 2 or 3 every winter.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?

 Hello.  You're not squash, are you?  Sad, because you're the only thing growing where I planted all those seeds.

Raspberry canes from my mom's yard- they're already fruiting, I think they'll bear this year!  I love raspberries.

Hello sad little onions.  I bought you at the store, chopped off all your green goodness, and stuck you in a glass of water to see what would happen.  Then, poor things, you smelled so strong that I stuck you outside!  (Note: I planted lettuce seeds in here too.  Lettuce does not like onions, apparently, and NONE of it sprouted.  The neighboring pot of lettuce is doing nicely.)

 So there you go- a quick tour!  Here's hoping this is the year I don't kill everything in July!

The Cloth Revolution

OK, so it's not a revolution (because...there was no fighting) but it's a change for us.  I'd been thinking about cloth diapers for a while, and had some money in my PayPal account from an Etsy sale- seemed like a perfect time to order some diapers and see what it's all about!

I ended up ordering five "all-in-ones" from CrazyCloth.  She has a GREAT price for "AIO" diapers.  These are, as far as I can tell, the most "friendly" diaper- great for dads, grandparents, babysitters, etc.  They're just like disposable diapers, but you throw them in the wash bucket rather than the trash.  I'm still getting used to how often I need to change these-- every 2 or 3 hours, rather than 2 or 3 times a day-- but so far I really like them.

Funny thing, Tsh of Simple Mom, has having a diaper BONAZA this week!  Seriously, so much information- it's been great.   One thing I came away with was that prefold diapers (the ones we use as burp cloths) are a GREAT diaper option.  They're absorbant, cheap, and easy to clean.  I also realized I have a dozen of these on hand!  So, I'll be ordering some snappis and finding diaper covers and we'll be in business.  

Oh, and I'll be ordering some flushable liners from Imse Vimse- little strips of rice paper you stick in the diaper.  If it's wet, throw it in the wash (can go through a few washes).  If it's dirty...throw it in the toilet!  Catches a good portion of the yuck, and biodegradable, so definitely a good idea!

Being as this is Friday, she has a giveaway lined up- it's HUGE, lots of diaper-goodness up for grabs.  

So go over, check out the information!

Thursday Ramblings

(Isn't this pretty? Wonder Daddy took this shot during a bike ride near his parents' house.)

Can I just vent for a minute? Thanks! (I'll take your silence as...willing assent?)

1) I am IRKED at a certain etsy gal. She asked me for beaded pins, I MADE beaded pins...and then she disappeared. It's not that I'm out of a lot of money, because I'm not. It's not that it took a long time, because it didn't. It's just...well...she ASKED for them! A month ago! Where is she?

2) I am also irked at piano students who do not show up. And I'm irked at myself for never enforcing (or really mentioning, beyond the "hello, it's Fall and we're starting up again" letter) that I CHARGE FOR NO-SHOW LESSONS. Would they miss a baseball game or karate class? Not likely! *phbbbt*

Ok, that's it. Other than those two things life is ROSY! (I'll have some more good news next week...but until then it's a secret!*)

We have had some amazing weather this week- 80's to 90's, and my little patio garden is loving it. My raised bed...hasn't woken up enough to notice. Seriously, not even my radishes have done more than make weak 2-inch-tall seedlings. My zucchini failed entirely to sprout (or the birds ate ALL the seeds), and there are a few brave chard seedlings coming through. My turnips, however, were planted in three very dense rows and are having a hey-dey.

(As I write this, some wicked winds are blowing through- if there's anything left in the morning, I will take pictures and add them to a "Beautiful Life" post!)

On the plus side, I've been assigned a "garden mentor" from a great blog I follow, Down to Earth (Rhonda is a homesteader in Australia- chickens, organic garden, knitting, almost entirely off the grid...yeah, she's hard-core) so we've been e-mailing back and forth this week, chatting about what's growing and the crazy weather. I wonder, though: does it offend people when I won't give my name or location? "Hi- I'm Myrnie! I live in the Pacific Northwest!" I hope not. But then again, I think my family's anonymity is more important than alienating someone on a computer half-way across the country...or maybe that's just me?

So anyway, this is me checking in! Thanks for all your input on my upcoming class. I had to laugh today- I finally talked to the woman in charge, and I was completely wrong: she wants me to talk about cheap food. Stockpiling, cheap recipes, budgetting, couponing... totally not what I thought I was talking about! My dad teases me I could feed 100 people on $10. So I guess I can do a frugal cooking class!

I'll be posting later about a super-cute skirt for Ernie- seriously, the simplest thing you ever saw, you'll all want to run and make one right away, I'm sure!

Till then-

Myrnie!

*No, Mom. I'm not pregnant.

I Need Your Input!

Alright y'all, I need your help.  I've been writing this blog since October of 2007, and keeping track of all the silly little projects I've done. 

 

Well, now someone (I'm not naming names...) at church started reading my blog and LIKES those projects!  I know- right after she told me, a pig flew over our heads.  

She then sheepishly admitted she'd volunteered me to teach a 5-minute lesson at an upcoming church ladies' night on...I'm not sure what.  How to make gifts for really cheap?  *grin*

So this is where I need your help:  take a look at my projects on the left...and what would YOU include?  The theme for the evening is "Retreat to Abundance" so we're looking for things that are frugal and fabulous.  

You know, like making your own ricotta- just takes a few minutes, is really inexpensive, tastes 10 times better than the store brand...and your friends are completely impressed with your mad skills.

Thanks for your help!