Tagged: holidaze

Well, that was fun, but I am totally wiped out now! We had the big AWC Halloween costume party tonight, and wow, what a difference it makes with activity coordinators who are committed and hard-working and most of all, THERE. The kids and I got there at 4 p.m. to help set up the table decorations, which we brought with us: dried maple leaves in yellow, orange and red, dried rowan berries and papery orange japanese lantern seedpods. The rest of the decorating and setup committee had been at the restaurant the evening before setting up halloweeny stuff all over...

Karin has a misplaced faith in my ability to carve pumpkin masterpieces after I did a Bionicle Mask of Light (under duress) for her 2 years ago…this year I narrowly escaped having to figure out how to carve a Darth Vader pumpkin. May the Gourd be with you! With the help of our first ever pumpkin carving kit pattern, Karin instead chose to go with a Flaming Skull, while Martin and I opted for more traditional jack o’lanterns, after I realized that the darn things were nearly 2 INCHES THICK. They have to last until Tuesday so they’re sleeping in...

Sometimes I think time is moving too quickly, other times I realize, like today, that it is ME that is zooming through the days, barely able to slow down enough to turn my head and realize the sun is shining, the sky is that crisp sharp autumn azure that seems unreal. The air is full of bite and breath and yet you don’t need a sweater. We pulled the wooden wagon behind us to the plant nursery in search of pumpkins; alas, there were none. Or rather there were, but they were either too small to work for our-style jack-o-lanterns...

from Liz, Anders, Martin & Karin (she’s a chick in an egg, in case you are wondering)

Spring hasn’t quite sprung, as the grass isn’t riz, but it’s surely on its way! See the egg in the 2nd picture? That’s EXACTLY what color the sky was today. Friends for dinner cancelled due to a sick child (theirs), so we took a leisurely day to enjoy the sunshine. The whole neighborhood seemed to ring like a bell with the shouts and laughter of children wearing fleece instead of heavy winter jackets and the sun was warm and welcoming. We went up to the nursery and brought home a flat of pansies, now proudly planted in the front-yard pots....

We’re replete with good wishes, goodwill, good food, present satisfaction both on the giving and the receiving end. Tiny Lego pieces are strewn from one end of the playroom to the other. Martin has already finished an entire book of maze puzzles from Grandma Linda. Anders is cooking: a turkey in the oven, it’s American-style tonight! Hayley Westenra croons from the living room, earlier it was Lilla Melodifestivalen from Karin’s shiny new space-age boombox. I’ve cleaned up and taken a nap. The sun shone bright in an amazing blue winter sky all day, not a cloud in sight. To all...