ZEKs LITE

Back from Spring Break

Happy Easter! 

We're back from Spring Break in Prague, where we visited Aunt B, Uncle P and little O.  Oh the many photos we have collected and the many good beers we drank.  I'll put up pictures in a few days, perhaps along with an album.  I took over 600 photos...

The eggs above depict a Czech Easter tradition.  Read about Easter Monday here.  This is the short version from the same source:

The origin of the pomlázka tradition (pomlázka meaning both the whip and the tradition itself) dates back to pagan times. Its original purpose and symbolic meaning is to chase away illness and bad spirits and to bring health and youth for the rest of the year to everyone who is whipped with the young pussywillow twigs. Boys would whip girls lightly on the legs and possibly douse them with water, which had a similar symbolic meaning. An Easter carol, usually asking for an egg or two, would be recited by the boy while whipping. The girl would then reward the boy with a painted egg or candy and tie a ribbon around his pomlázka. As the boys progressed through the village, their bags filled up with eggs and their pomlázkas were adorned with more and more colorful ribbons.

I made sure to buy a pomlázka of my own while we were there
(E hasn't whipped me with it though).

A little more festivity

Before the new year begins, just a little more Christmas.

A little more of a choral performance by friend in a beautiful place...

Where we saw a lovely handknit sweater with an interesting stitch pattern up the sleeve...

A little more hot cocoa in a festive chocolate shop...

A few more tasty treats...

A last look at all the bobbles...

(these last 4 photos by Z)

And one last bit of Christmas knitting.

Weekend Christmas

We had an early gift-opening time at our house, then hit the road to see the northerly relatives for the holiday.

We stopped at the Italian deli for some treats that are harder to find in our neighborhood.

Z got to help Aunt Toots finish up the cookies.

I got a little bit of knitting done.

She has some special memorabilia around her house, like these teddy bears my mother made when I was a kid.

When we first discovered the patterns for these teddy bears, there was a bear-making frenzy that seemed to last for years.

Christmas day it was over to the cousins for a lot of eating and silly games; Z was attacked by five little cousins and finally got to eat at the big people's table.

Every traditional treat was on the dessert table and we all ate way too much.  E has already charted his recovery plan; we'll be taking lots of walks in the coming weeks.

The day was a whirlwind, as always, that leaves us tired but glad to have spent it with family.

Our kitties were happy to have us home.  A happy kindness greeted
us -- our neighbor had brought in our Monday morning trash bins and newspaper so we wouldn't appear to be away.

I'm looking forward to the morning wake-up walk, greeting the dogs and their walkers.

New York in a Day

I'm over a week late with this one -- I finally got to the pictures on E's camera.  Last weekend (8 days ago) E and Z hopped a bus to New York for the day. 

It made for a very long day, but the price was right.  The trip was booked through E's office, and they ran out of tickets just as my number came up.  So I will have to take the next one. 

They went to Chelsea Market...

walked the high line...

roamed the city, where they saw lots of drunken Santas and one Hanukkah Harry.  I am told he looked like a blue Santa with a dreidel on a long staff.  They were out on a bar crawl and not quite depicting the usual spirit of the season (also not captured on camera, darn it!) so E does not advise bringing small Santa-belivers to New York City during the holidays.

E met some silly puppets and coincidentally he is now committed to performing a puppet show at church for Epiphany (he can't wait)...

and ate many tasties.  E swears this is the best waffle ever.

Firetruck Santa!

We never know when to expect him.  Probably because we don't read the paper.  But Friday night, just as we were getting out of the car after the art show, Firetruck Santa appeared!

One of these days I'll be quick enough to get a focused picture.  Then again, the blur of the insanity and fantasy of it is fun too.

Happy Unstoppable Super-Cute Bigger-than-life Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was Turkey Day, and for the first time, I was on the ball.  Mother did not freak out or throw anything.  The parts of the meal were on time and fully cooked.  This may be a one-time event!  It helps that there were fewer parts.  Our guests brought the salads, sweet potatoes, and wonderful See's turkeys.

I had time to watch the Macy's Parade. 

E was watching and keeping a record of hyperbolic introductions to the various floats.  He composed this list, which he reads in a much more connected manner so that it sounds like one big long crazy introduction:

Famed
Towering talent
Singing sensation
Bigger than life
Award-winning international superstar
5-time Grammy-winning
On an unstoppable roll
Stunning
Amazing
Legendary
A national treasure
The world's favorite goodwill ambassador
The adored and coveted international and national superstar
Super-cute gigantic
Cupcake-like pastel ambassadors
Show-stopping showboat

I'm so happy with my turkey! I couldn't bear to open it.  I ate someone else's...

Crafty gals

Z and I did a little craft sale this weekend in the little community center in Arlington, VA.  We had constant traffic, a fun crowd, and lots of tasties.

Z sold a lot of collage cards.  She also sold some packs of cards from previous years.  The earrings were not the hit we'd hoped, but she'll have them for Christmas gifts. 

It's a funny thing that happens:  She thought that artsy-grown-ups would like the earrings that looked like pies and cupcakes, but it was the kids that wanted them.  And, as with my mitts, parents won't buy nice things for kids who might lose them.

Z did some drawing during the sale.  At once point she looked up and saw that the woman across the way was drawing us.

What's it got in its pocketsesssss?

Happy Trick-or-Treating to all who did it!  We hope your pockets are full of treasure.

Z was a fabulous Wednesday Addams.

E and I sent her out the door without us.  We decided to stay home for the four little costumed visitors we received. 

So things were different this year; no gingerbread houses, no walking about in the dark and watching the kidlets tromp from house to house. 

Instead E and I sat on the couch with cats in our laps.  While I knit, E read aloud from The Hobbit, which happily landed us in Gollum's cave.  A perfect Halloween adventure.

E is an excellent out-loud reader.  He knew how to snag himself an English major 21 years ago, when he stole me off to the quiet stairwell of the men's co-op and read aloud to me from wicked little Tennessee Williams short stories.  My heart was like a butterfly under the net, captured.

We ate some of Z's candy, and now she's off to school.  God help the teachers today.

 

Frost on the pumpkins

What the hey -- it's snowing on pumpkin carving day.

No accumulation, but some very big wet flakes.  That made it fun.

This year I tried a white pumpkin.  Who knew it would be green inside?

E and Z did the big orange ones.

Here are the happy faces on our doorstep!  Z's has no eyes.  We call it the Charlie Brown pumpkin.  E's is a classic.

I carved out a cone shape, and our friend B inserted it back into the pumpkin, inverted.  It was a pumpkin horn!  I had so much fun making more pumpkin horns that I skipped the face.

 

Scrappy little totes

Gifts that cost next to nothing.  The zippers from SCRAP, a Portland source for art supplies in the form of industrial discards, and the scraps from H of Marsbarn and others and ourselves.

It's good to have some free time as well. 

Sewing them has been a workout for my spacially-challenged brain. 
So some things end up inside out and backwards... we rip where we sew.

Colors for Fall

While you're getting ready for Halloween, don't forget your toes.

Enjoy the wonderful colors of the season.

Do some exploring...

... and gather some good things about you.

Skelly's October reading

Last year it was Frankenstein, but this year, some short stories by early American authors.  We'll start with Washington Irving, then move on to Melville, Hawthorne and Poe. 

The cuteness

Z has been producing jewelry of extreme cuteness.  Little colorful tasties that I hope will sell like hotcakes at our craft sale table in November.  The presentation is just as charming as the sculptures.

Just give me a knife every year from now on

Last of the birthday fun -- some friends over for a puzzle, Queen Victoria cake with jam (it's also a Harry Potter recipe--I've forgotten the name and shall have to get hold of the Unnoficial Harry Potter cookbook) and my Birthday Knife.

E got me a cheese knife.  What a guy!  Night cheese is my favorite evening treat.

 

 

More South, some birthday

Here are a few more pictures of recent events.

It was necessary to stop at South of the Border, with its immense tacky displays.  But once was enough.

As usual, we did our share of eating, including Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah.

Z loved the Rolls Royce at the Dali museum, with the mermaid in the back seat.  We peeked at the home of Flannery O'Connor in Savannah, and her church, St. John the Baptist.

The Dali Museum really needs to be seen from both inside and out.

Our nature hike wasn't all horrible huge bugs; we did see this magic purple mushroom, and some interesting signage.

Z got some tutorials from Me-Mom; how to crochet a worm...

and how to bake a pie.  I finished a pair of socks.

We ate some gelato and Z photographed interesting bicycles.

When we got home, we had a little bit of birthday.  Sweet Z made me a cheesy berry pie-thing, and she painted my toes.  Later we'll have an indoor picnic with friends (the outdoors being too stinking hot).

My gift to myself was the completion of a secret goal:  I'm 41, and I can run.*  Five miles! 

Thank you, Z for this fun card!

*On the treadmill.  On the ground it's less.  But it's progress!

Weekend in PA

Thanks to the magic of canned posts, I seemed to be home on Saturday.  But we were actually several hours north. We stayed at the Toots Hotel (Aunt J).

It was the tradtitional Memorial Day Weekend picnic.  We saw a
T-ball game and ate burgers (except cousin R, who only eats potatoes--here they are). 

There were Jello flags, hearts and some other shape that represented Memorial Day.  It made for a colorful plate. 

There were salads that were mainly composed of sour cream, cream cheese and bacon, with some peas and iceberg lettuce thrown in for fiber.  And lots of watermelon. 

Z got worn out with over eight hours of playing with little kidlets.  She has a post about it on her blog.  E got the thrill of reading magazines and newspapers in someone else's house.  He really does like that -- simple pleasures!

I got to relax in the swing a bit.

Mother's Day bouquets

Sending flowers is special, and expensive.  I tinkered this year with sending paper bouquets that pop up.  I followed the instructions on Extreme Cards and Papercrafting.  There are plenty of videos as well, such as the one on Instructables.

Putting three of these flower assemblies together on vase-shaped paper allows them to fold out 360 degrees to make a stand-up bouquet.  Probably some ferns could have been tucked in between the pages.  Double-sided paper isn't a must, but it's neat.

Happy Mother's Day!

The fun's not over yet!

Oh, there are still things to decorate.  This time we can eat them!

Z took a nap this afternoon, so she feels a little better.  She looked simply smashing at church in her Sunday best, which I forgot to photograph.  We'll see it again in two weeks for her friend's Bat Mitzvah.

Here are some of our offerings to this evening's dinner at the neighbor's.

The last one here reminds me of Bunnicula.

Eggs and other growing things

We dyed eggs today.

I copied H and ordered the tools from the Ukrainian Gift Shop. 

We learned a lot this first time around.  We need more tools.  We need to read the instructions a little more carefully.  But we did get it figured out.  I think I could use these same tools on hard boiled eggs with food-friendly dyes.  The colors wouldn't layer as well, but it would work.  We'd crack fewer shells.

They start out looking all globby, but when the wax is removed, they look very nice.  This one sort of looked like a fried egg.

Here are some more, some made by N, who came over to make messes with us.

Also here is an image of one of the changes we're experiencing.  OK, partly it was the onset of the throat cold, and partly it was just not being into tedious crafts, but I can feel the magic of holiday festivities fading.  I know the fading is a transition, brought on by all the other discoveries, distractions and the new independence of being a teen. The space left behind is not left empty -- we've enjoyed a lot of great new things about this growing up stuff. It's all good; it's just a bit fast. Like a baby that crawls one day and walks the next, the changes are sudden. And it's probably embarrassing to have your mother blog about it. 

Here's hoping the Easter Bunny is still exciting...

My Valentine has stitches

Another day with E at home, recovering with his bruised belly.  He's learning to take it easy and not push too far.  Also he's not ready to wear pants with a firm waistband.

Yesterday there was some cookie decorating, but the camera did not emerge in time.  Today there will be some more.

Growing and leaping in all directions

Oh, by the way... last week Z turned 13.  This weekend we did the cake and candles.

So there it is.  We're the parents of a teen.  Probably I should be saying it seems like it's been no time at all since she was an infant.  Actually, that seems like a different lifetime ago.

Z becomes more independent every day.  Her interests are changing, branching out and becoming her own as her world expands.  It's pretty cool.  This is like opening a box slowly, finding the goodies inside.  Some goodies we know, and some we didn't put there ourselves!  We don't know yet who she will fully become -- or keep becoming, because we keep changing too.  Now our parents are the parents of 40+-year-olds with teenage kids.

E also had a growth experience this weekend.  Besides getting older, his insides decided to leap for joy... outward.  Hernia.  So, one of his birthday gifts was a surgical girdle to keep him together until he can be repaired Thursday.

Happy New Year!

Where did the last week go?  I actually had a few days where my fingers didn't hit the computer keys.  They hit the camera button a lot and I can barely face the photo editing.  Bit by bit I shall, but here are just a few.

We got our fill of museums.  When I asked Z if she'd ever been to the Museum of the American Indian, she said, "YES.  Lots of times."  Oh. 

So then why not hop over to the Botanical Gardens, where it is WARM and not 25 degrees outside...

Where the wait to see the train and all the cute little elves is really really long.  So we will instead look at all the lovely greenery.

And while Aunt K spent three hours sobbing in the Holocaust museum, we checked out the pop-up books in the American History museum. 

On New Year's Eve we put together puzzles and watched Times Square.  In the nooks and crannies of our busy fun week, Aunt K sewed up a larger-than-life version of one of Cousin S's monster drawings.

Z was in love.

Today I will hop over to the pottery shop, to see what has become of another fun day we had.  Mess-making is our favorite way to be together. 

We don't get to be together enough.  It wasn't our plan to have family spread all over the globe, so such times are treasures.

Holidays

If you've been watching Z's blog, you've seen some of what we've been up to lately. 

Instead of going to West Virginia for Christmas eve, snowy West Virginia came to us.  On Christmas day, we headed north for Christmas with the Cousins.  Aunt Toots (Mimi on Z's blog) put us up with cozy beds and morning tasty waffles.

At the Cousins' home, we did what we all love to do: eat, talk, play games, open presents, eat, talk some more.  It was a jolly holiday.

I get a kick out of the festive decor and the personalized gingerbread placemarkers.

There's always strung popcorn on the tree and gingerbread houses on the table. 

Look how they glob it on!

I also enjoy Toot's "Fluff thing."

Once home, we headed to the airport, to greet our west coast cousins.  They are with us now for some winter break in the district. 

We spent a good chunk of an afternoon in the Museum of Natural History, where we examined crystalization and neanderthalization.

Last night we hovered about Union Station before our night-time trolley tour. 

These gals are doing well at not requiring a time conversion -- we are all living on west coast time!

  
The tour was chilly but excellent, thanks to a really great tour guide.  I only knit on the trolley a little bit.

Strings and things for sale

The Potomac Fiberarts Guild held their every-two-years auction on Saturday.  Two years ago I was lucky to spend only five dollars.  This time, I did some bidding.

Some of the donated items calling to bidders to support the guild.  I won this second one, made by Creative Crocheter.

These candle holders were made from folded wire.  Lots of bids for these.  The food table was a hit too.

Naturally, the dessert section (this is Part I) was placed at the beginning of the food line.  And if you forgot to get some, there was Part II at the end.

Here's my haul.  Six dollars worth of yarn, as well as some felt and fabric.

 

A dusting of snow, some secret knitting

Just a teaser today, but enough to wreck many cars on the freeway as our scant precipitation hit the frozen roads.  It's been c-o-o-o-l-d lately. 

Fortunately, it happened at lunch time.  E's drive home should be better.

Meanwhile, I knit.  Last minute gifties! 

I hope to be boxing and shipping in just a few days.

And I also hope to be posting some knitting instructions online... I've been getting requests for some charts and patterns from folks who want to knit these sorts of things.

Happy December!

Skelly's swing is now the reindeer's swing, and he sits in the Advent wreath that was too big for our table.  We do have candles in the kitchen though.

Today we get our tree!  Z already has a tree.  She got it the first day of December, and each day she gets something for it or to put under it -- lights, little circles to sew into garlands, patterns to make presents for friends, and other crafty goodness.

The holidays are for being crafty!

Turkey Day

With some advance planning and good pacing, I didn't get cranky getting ready for Turkey Day.  I didn't Frenzy.  Hooray for me! 

Z set the table and E helped clean up.  He even took a picture or two.  Hooray for Z and E!

We tried something new with friends who missed out on our previous gingerbreading.  Three-dimensional turkey art.  The pattern could use some tweaking...

But they didn't fall apart.

The tails lend themselves to mandala patterns. Great fun.

Crunchy leaves and chocolate

What a lovely night for gathering goodies!  Z had some layers on underneath her Avatar costume, so she stayed warm.  We didn't get many trick-or-treaters at our own house, being off the beaten path, but Z found the hub of the halloweening neighborhood and raked it in.

Candy candy candy!

Yesterday afternoon we decorated gingerbread houses with a few of Z's friends.  First they were fed with grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit.

I only made four houses this year; Ma was pooped I guess.  I'm enjoying the season but can't seem to get all the decorations out.  But at least we could get the candy out!

Halloween cometh!

Just a little picture of our front porch.  Last night was pumpkin carving time!  More to come.

Fabuloulsy 40

Z piled up some beautiful collages for me on top of the mysery gifts that E got for my...

40th birthday!

Whee!  It's a milestone.

Here's a close-up of that especially beautiful birthday collage.

My gift from E was unexpected and truly wonderful.  How happy is a girl with a good sharp knife?  Stand back.

Of course, the first thing it cut was me.  The second was a tomato. 

It was like the tomato wasn't even there; the weight of the knife alone was enough to cut it--like falling through butter.  Wow. 

He also got me a sharpener, hee hee.

Vacation in the West continued... Camping, celebrating, tying knots

  We started with a road trip.  Over the Bridge of the Gods, into camping land along the Columbia River Gorge, Washington side. 

We borrowed tents from A & J.  Z got to share hers with "cousin" AM.  Our beds were cozy and comfy, and thankfully the night was warm but not too warm.
That afternoon the origami came out so we could celebrate A's parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed catered food, roasts and toasts.

Here's the happy couple. 

We did two things by campfire; s'mores and friendship bracelets.

We had enough friends age 12-14 for some colorful knot-tying.

Here's a sample of just one wristful of bracelets. The girls made good use of all the string I brought.

Funny thing--I did ZERO knitting on this trip. It was all about knots instead. Somehow I think the break was good for my brain.

Spring things

Spring break with the plant nursery (salad in a box!)...

Outings and egg dye...

 
And tulips.

Big Snow part 2

Z was supposed to have her birthday party yesterday, with bowling.  We'll reschedule. 

Friends who could walk came, so we had cake and movies.

The cake was a mound.  Z wanted it that way.

The candles made flames of different colors.

And this tree... it's getting a little friendly.

Happy New Year!

We attended a New Year's Eve party at the home of the T family, neighbors who threw a marvelous fondue fest.  Meeting their New Zealand transplant friends made it all the more fun.  We laughed, ate and drank well.  I think it was the first time in at least ten years that I've stayed up until midnight on New Year's eve to watch the ball drop and kiss someone.  Z got to help with the decorating.  Early this afternoon she drew this picture.  Click the image to enlarge.

Happy Christmas

We're back!  We've been road-tripping for the holiday, and then recovering.

We opened our gifts Christmas morning, which for us was December 24.

And then we drove north, somehow avoiding all the bad weather that would later come there, and we had a Festivus with family.

There was dinner with fried potatoes...

And fancy tables...

And the cousins did up the house big fancy crazy, including the tree that had 3-D effects if you wore the funny glasses.

There was also Pittsburgh, with gingerbread. 

And later there was West Virginia, and somehow, in exhaustion and with a head cold, all I could do by then was sleep on Granddad's couch, and enjoy the peace of the quiet snow.

Here Comes Firetruck Santa!

Why did Z fling herself off the couch and run outside in the 25 degree night, no shoes, no coat, running into the street?

Because she heard the sirens of Firetruck Santa!

He roams the streets at night, blasting lights, sirens and music.

 

Kitty toys

Fuzzy knows how to play.  She bites feet and chases toys.  Pete is a little fuzzy on the concept.  But he did really like this glitzy little ball that Grammie sent.  Then Fuzzy took it.

Lights and Latkes

That's E in the vest, dancing at a D.C. synogogue.  We were invited by friends to share in their latke party. 

The band was fabulous!

That's Z in the colorful skirt, with her friend E, learning the dances.  I got in there too for the last dance.

Z had her own little dreidel and studied the characters and rules of play before we joined the party, but by the time Z sat down to play with the dreidel, the chocolate gelt was gone.  Various little kidlets ate it all. 

And silly me, I forgot to photograph the food!  Latkes and jelly doughtnuts, applesauce and fruit and eggy things.  That was lunch, dinner, and dessert.

Z picks the tree

Snow was beginning to fall when we headed out to get our Christmas tree.  We had to leave quickly, before the loonies got on the road.

Z wanted to put it here, but we said no.  We didn't think there was room.

As it turned out, the tree she chose was huge.  And it got snowed on.

We also got a wreath.

 

And here's where it went in the house.  Oh my!

We had to lop some of the top off.

Black Friday Breakfast

It's my traditional day-after-Thanksging breakfast.  Yum.

Friends shared the day with us and there was a mystery-scavenger-hunt-drama-play by Z and her friend E.  We played Ticket to Ride and ate things with marshmallows in them.  Good day.

No shopping for me today.  Z and I slept in.  She'll work on her 4th Stone Soup commission today, and I'll try out my spinning wheel while the turkey carcass turns to stock.

Happy Halloween!

And Happy All Souls Day too.  Here are some pictures of last night's romp through the neighborhood.

The neighborhood ghoulies.

Z's wizard cosume, half handmade, half thrift store.

   
Then there must be the sorting.

Mack has a costume this year too.  He's a washing machine.

It starts with the pumpkins

Tonight is one of Z's favorite nights!  She has her costume ready -- designed by herself, sewn by Mom (and the thrift store). We'll have photos tomorrow.

Isn't it great that pumpkin carving tools have been invented?  When I was Z's age, a very sharp knife was given to me, and I have renewed respect for my mother's ability to let go and let us learn.

We never cut ourselves seriously, fortunately.

Because every home should have a swirling vortex

We did it again, and this year I was so preoccupied I forgot to take photos of everyone's work.  Arg!  But I have Z's, after the fact.

This year Z suggested colored frosting, so we had lime green, neon purple, and sky blue.  Crazy!

Now, where were we?

Oh dear, been away from the blog.  Been hanging with these funny people.

Actually, they came to hang with us.  Family from PA, down for a visit in the district.  Too bad it rained the entire time!  We did see Air & Space.  And did these other things too, and ate a lot.

Happy October!

The ghost and pumpkin lights are up.  Skelly is enjoying her porch swing.  We've got candy and molasses and we're going to make gingerbread.

This year's addition to our spooky time: the soundtrack to Coraline.  Very spooky.  We also have music box Christmas tunes.  They are spooky too.

The 4th

That was some time ago, wasn't it?  Mom's dream whip pie (the real stuff, not the box kind, for the avoidance of evil chemicals) and street fireworks.

I can't miss the General Canby Days parade.  There are fun things, like this...

And this.  The explanation for this "float" was that the couple found the fork lift abandoned on their property and restored it.

At night there are so many ways to play with light.  Some of the fireworks have a strobe effect, making pictures upon pictures.  Sparklers draw lines in the night air.  And it never hurts to find out how much your cheeks glow with a flashlight in your face.

Guarding the lily

We don't know why he does it.  Christmas presents, easter baskets, and now the lily.  Sometimes he just knows when something is special, and he does what he feels he must.

eggs and charoset

The Good Friday egg dying party turned into a charoset and chocolate-covered matzah party when E & B came over to play.

 

We did the traditional thing; crayon resist and food coloring dye.

Next we cleared away the egg cups and got our bowls and knives out.  Dates, raisins, spices, honey, juice, nuts and many other good things came out.  It was charoset five ways, with a shared tasting following.

Rites of Spring

Could we be any happier?  Here is what E and I found, on our Friday Day Off together for a late 16th anniversary outing: 
-a pizza stone (I needed a second one, and I have my reasons)
-hilarious but overpriced Easter candy
-a store that lets you do your own glass fusing, mosaics and pottery at reasonable prices
-a brew pub that actually serves a good complex beer, not too cold, with good pub food.  Granted, it was in the middle of a corporate complex.   But it exists!

And then E took a nap while I knitted, because he's snotful again.  That's us, romantic and vivacious.