Aquarium

Today is another day off for the teacher's "professional development", so we tried out the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. The kid's had fun, and it was nice to get out of the house.

They had a little seal exhibit and we made it around feeding time.

The kids were excited to see the meerkats. They've liked them ever since they watched "Meerkat Manor" on tv.

My favorite are the jellyfish.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

On one of the many snow days I checked out the movie "The Scarlet Pimpernel" from the library. It took me a couple viewings to appreciate it for what it's worth. It was my first exposure to the Pimpernel and it would have been nice to have been forewarned that he acts like a fop. He kind of drove me crazy the first time. Also, it was made in the 80's so it's a little cheesy, but once you get past that and understand the characters better it was cute and I liked it. So I decided to try the book. The book is a thousand times better! The story line is very different than the movie. I guess the movie was based on two separate books that Baroness Orczy wrote of the Scarlet Pimpernel saga melded into one movie.
I always thought this book sounded boring...like Tess of the D'Urbervilles (hate that book) or Wuthering Heights (not my favorite). This was full of intrigue! They should put disclaimers on these AP English books. Some are "classics" and some are "good classics". This is a "good classic". I can't believe I haven't read this before! I wonder if the other novels are any good.

Sick Day

As if the snow days weren't enough, now Sawyer is home from school (another late start today by the way) sick and throwing up.

This week on one of our many days off we made some "Mini's" cupcakes from a little kit that my friend mailed to me. They were yummy! The frosting was a little more complicated than I was expecting with egg whites heating over a double boiler, but it was good, and a frosting recipe to keep in the files.

Another storm, another snow day

We got another 12+ inches of snow.

It's beautiful!

The trouble is...we're running out of room to put it.

This is the pathway from the front door to the mailbox flanked on both sides by the now over 4 feet of accumulated snow.

letters...

I have wanted a wax letter seal for years. I put it on my New Year's list because I just never seem to justify buying one, but since it was to fulfill a goal for the year I felt better about it. I also wanted the seal to be the perfect personification of me (I obviously have high expectations of things that don't mean a hoot). While perusing online again to find one, I came across the ideal letter seal! It is a vintage-looking-family-crest-style lion...my last name means "of the Lion". I love it! Another one of my New Year's ideas was to write at least one letter a month. Not an email. Not a facebook message. Not a text (which I don't do anyway). Not a phone call. An honest to goodness letter. Once my inspirational letter seal came in the mail I sat down (on another kid's day off school), turned off the t.v. and wrote letters with McKinley. It was really fun! I am excited to do it again. It felt very Jane Austen-fine lady-letter writing-ish. I only started with a couple letters and used my seal on the back. Apparently this is a learned skill that I need to practice. My first ones did not turn out very well. Sorry first letter receivers. I also wonder if there is a handwriting class out there because I write like a 3rd grader.

lately...

We've been having a lot of together time at home.

• Last Monday was MLK day so we had the day off.
• Tuesday was a snow day (even though the roads were clear and the snow stopped by 9:00).
• Wednesday was a late start day due to weather, so school starts 2-hours later than normal, and kindergarteners stay all day.
• Thursday was a miraculous full day of school.
• Friday was another snow day.
• This week we had school all day on Monday.
• Today is another late start day.
• There is supposed to be another storm of 6-12 inches coming tomorrow evening so I'm anticipating another snow day on Thursday.
• Oh, and next Monday is a teacher's "professional" day so there's no school.

And yes, they've already officially extended the school calendar to end a few days later in the summer. Booooo!

waiting for the bus

catching snowflakes

those poor scratches are courtesy of one angry little brother. I cut his nails this morning.

Another Snow day

I'm starting to wonder about this "snow day" stuff. I hope they've planned accordingly and we don't end up making up for all this in the summer. Today is a snow day not because of the 2-ish inches of snow, but because of the rain that fell afterward and froze into a sheet of ice. So here we are again. Today we get to stay inside because of the rain, and wait around for a plumber because we woke up to this....

It's about 6 feet long and growing. Oh and we get to have no running water because we turned off the water while we're waiting for a plumber to call us back....which they haven't yet.

Snow day

Yep, another snow day! Yippee! We got between 16-24 inches in our yard this time.

Hayden got stuck in another snow drift and had to be pulled out by dad.

I wish I would've gotten a picture of that.

Winter is for home

picture of the land across the street

January is dreary. It seems a lot of us struggle through the after-Christmas winter. I know I do. So aside from the botanical-cycle-of-life reasons for winter, I wondered what the point of winter was. I came across this quote...

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." -Edith Sitwell

From now on I will try and remember that winter isn't just a dreary, cold, barren time of year. It is the season for home.

My House o' Dreams

In my head I have bits and pieces of rooms floating around that when put all together would make my dream home. Recently we saw a wood burning fireplace hearth made out of stone that could fit a small family inside. It was incredible! That would go in my family room. It could definitely accommodate Santa. And I would have wide-planked hand-scraped wood floors. They would be original to my olden day house or even be reclaimed wood from hundreds of years ago!

book with a dumb title

My Brother Sam is Dead

I picked this book up because it is about the war in Redding/Ridgefield, which is near my house here. There is a tavern (now a museum) about 2 miles away that still has a revolutionary war canon ball (british) lodged in a post. I'll be visiting there to see that...in the spring. So I read this book to learn more about the goings on around here in the past.
This book started with one huge strike against it---the title. Dumbest title I've read yet. It got a Newberry honor of some sort. Not completely sure why. It was a slow book. I guess in the end the moral of the story--war is crap no matter which side you're on--was what won the award. And yes, Sam is dead.

Well, I've done my local historical duty and read it. It wasn't horrible, but certainly not one I want to own. If we stay here for a long time I'll make my kids do their duty and read it too :)

P.E.I.

Hard to believe, but I've never read all the Anne of Green Gables books. In fact, I read them for the first time just a few years ago. I stopped after reading 4 because it was a slower book (and there was as severe lack of Gilbert). I finally read 5 and 6 this month and loved them almost the best!

I'm not going to leave my review. Most people either love them or can't stand them. You have to "belong to the race that knows Joseph" to love these books I think. I'm not sure I would have appreciated them when I was younger. So here's one of my favorite quotes from book 6:

"Mothers were the same all through the centuries...a great sisterhood of love and service...the remembered and the unremembered alike."

I like to think about the unremembered.

And don't tell Kent but I'm planning a trip for next year to good ole Prince Edward Island. Poor guy.

Oh Emma!

Yesterday the kids had an "early dismissal" for the snow and came home around 12:30. We got about 10 inches. It was the perfect day for an all day chick flick. I love all things Jane Austen, but my favorite version of Emma is this BBC version I caught last year on Masterpiece Theatre. It stars an actress named Romola Garai. I have to own it someday! I just checked it out at the library this time. Sometimes it is hard to find a well-told version, or if you do the British actors are hard to look at (admit it). I own Persuasion but it's hard to imagine the actors are attractive, and I've got a good imagination! This one is perfectly told (yes perfectly) and the people are attractive. It was a nice 4+ hour chick flick while the snow fell outside. I may winter over after all!

new year

inspired by the craggly winter trees out my window

I spent my morning making a calendar (actually just January so far) for the year. I'm going to print it all off and stick a couple of grommets in and hang them on the wall. McKinley wants her own calendar too.

I've been pondering a lot about New Year's resolutions. I didn't do so well on my SHORT list last year so I'm hesitant to do it again. But there are a couple of things I want to do differently this year, a few things I want to try harder at, and a few places I want to go. So I think my resolutions should more aptly be called a Wish List, because they are things that I hope I do or get to do, but at the end of the year I won't have to consider myself a failure.

So with no further ado here's my ideas for the year:

write one handwritten letter a month (I loved getting Christmas cards and want to pass it on all year long, and hopefully get back too)
go to Boston
go to NYC a lot (and drive myself)
go to Dutch PA
get maple syrup in Vermont
see the cherry blossom festival in D.C.
go to upstate NY (during Hill Cumorah pageant, visit sacred grove, and Niagara)
double my temple attendance (which won't be hard to beat)
make rye bread
read a book of poetry
buy and wear everyday dresses (I've always loved wearing dresses, but just don't have regular-everyday dresses to wear in warm weather)
get a wax seal (for my handwritten letters of course)

There are a million more things I need to do, but aren't going to be put on the list. They'll just be in my head all year. That includes changing my bad late night habit of eating junk food once the kids are in bed....but I'm not putting it on the list.

I think it's going to be a wonderful year. We've got family coming out this summer. Friends are welcome any time too. McKinley's getting baptized this year. Lots of little trips to take. No house projects to worry about. My first year of discovering the next seasons in New England. I can't wait to see what it brings!

winter sunset

The winter drag is starting early. I already feel cooped up. Cabin fever has set in. I think the kids have a healthy dose too. When will it be spring?
One thing I do love about this winter is watching the craggly tree silhouettes against a cold winter sunset. Tonight's ranged from deep umber at the horizon up to a deep periwinkle in the sky.
I love craggly old trees.



P.S. I'm not sure about doing New Year's resolutions right now. I'm feeling ambivalent.