Happy HelloKittyWeen!
I carved one of our pumpkins to look like Hello Kitty, and it made a really cool projection on the wall.
Rock! Death! America!
Littering our noise on the EarthArchive for October, 2008
This Made Me Cry.
This is a video about Charles Alexander, an 86 year old man that recently started volunteering for Barack Obama’s campaign after his wife of 60+ years died. He won a raffle that allowed him to meet Obama at a recent rally.
It’s Plain to See Evil Inside of Me is on the Rise.
Found some time to read through blogs and things today, and discovered an interesting variety of pumpkin carving options. I always aspire to be creative when I get to carving, but by the time I am done gutting it I’m ready to be done and end up hacking out the requisite triangle eyes and nose and a crooked, toothy grin.
From The Office (U.S.) - Jim & Dwight, Kelly, Pam, Ryan & Michael, Angela, Andy, Kevin, & PB+J kissing.
Or your pumpkin could Rock the Vote.
And my favorite - the Dr. Horrible Pumpkin. It has a PhD in Horribleness!
I do have pictures of our attempts at unique pumpkins from the old college days (note the hint of a plastic patio chair at the dining table…classy).
One Tiny Tomato
I received several tomato starts via Freecycle this summer, and they all really took off and provided a ton of tomatoes. All but one. One little plant was stuck in a pretty bad spot, crowded by the rosemary and marjoram, in the shadow of the hulking roma tomato plant D brought home from work. But it plugged on, and last week we harvested its lone fruit. Thank you, tiny plant. It was delicious.
Signs of October in NE Portland
As seen on my 30 minute walk around the neighborhood on a brisk and drizzly Sunday morning:
- Signs supporting Obama — 11
- Signs supporting McCain — 1
- Signs supporting Merkley for US Senate — 10
- Signs supporting Smith for US Senate — 1
- Number of homes up for sale — 7
Three is a Magic Number
Our soon to be 4 year old started preschool this fall at the Hawthorne Family Playschool. HFP is an awesome cooperative preschool that emphasizes play and the natural world. O was in a co-op in Estacada and we really liked being an integrative part of his first school experience. HFP really fit what we wanted for XM - a place for her to grow socially and verbally, but without a strict regimine of studies. She loves to play outside and get her hands dirty, and the play yard at HFP is filled with a huge sandpit, structures and logs to climb on, and a whole host of toys and props for imaginative play.
The snack is always vegetarian, and there is a big emphasis on connecting with nature and what is growing and ripe right now. The kids have had cherry tomatoes, plums and corn, and are always welcome to be a part of fixing the snack, which I think goes a long way towards getting them to eat things that are new and interesting. Can you tell I’m excited about it?
She only goes two days a week, and it has taken some time for her to understand she doesn’t go to school as often as O, and I know that doing something on Tuesdays and Thursdays only is a little random for a 3 year old to grasp. I was worried how she would react to being left in a new environment, so we took it really slow. I stayed the entire first day of class, and helped her get oriented to the routine and the classrooms. The second day I stayed around, but not always in the classroom. I remained in earshot, if not in sight of her, so if she called to me or asked where I was I could just pop my head in and say “I’m right here, I’m just organizing these books!” She was cool with that.
The third day I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her for circle time (which falls about 10 minutes into the school day) and she said “no”. I said, okay, well, I’m going to go read a book then, do you want to say bye to me? “No.” I hung out for a minute and then repeated myself, and she ignored me. I went outside and sat in the sun and read a book. She asked for me once, but otherwise was fine. She has been great ever since - generally when I say I’m going to go she asks “why?”, and I tell her I have things to do and I’ll see her at the end of the day and she is cool with it. She has really gotten into school, is speaking up for herself and wants to be involved in what everyone is doing even though she doesn’t seem to play directly with the other kids, but chooses to do her own thing or join them later in whatever they are doing. All in all, a good time is being had by all.
Standing by the sign on the first day.
Playing at the sensory table. This time it was flax seeds and chestnuts. Lately they have used it as a place to shuck corn, and also to play with flour.
The snack table is just so damn cute.
Building her fortress outside.
Loading up more wood for the walls.
