18 May 2012 Go Away!

May 18th, 2012

Go Away

At least I think that’s what those grimaces meant.

17 May 2012 Coach Mom Helps Out

May 17th, 2012

Footballers

It seems I have become a soccer Mom. But with a twist (thank heavens!) Sam’s coach has asked me to help out with his rather large group of kids during the Thursday skills class. So today I had a group of 7 kids and we played a couple of scrimmage games. Very fun. And apparently I can still hold my own against 8 and 9 year-old boys. Huzzah!

Sam is the pink blur to the right of the center of the photo.

16 May 2012 Crayon Watercolor Resist

May 16th, 2012

Crayon watercolor resist

15 May 2012 Today We Bought a House

May 15th, 2012

We bought a house

AC and Sam are not, however, standing in front of it. This is the Attorney’s office where we spent the morning signing papers. Sam paid her dollar (in four quarters) and was given a receipt. And that was it. Pretty anti-climactic, especially because the sellers will not vacate the house until June 9. So we became homeowners and landlords in one day. Let the packing begin!

14 May 2012 Bald Eagle

May 14th, 2012

Bald Eagle

His name is Buddy and he lives at the Virginia Wildlife Center.

13 May 2012 Mother’s Day Presents

May 13th, 2012

Mother's Day presents by Sam

Besides cinnamon bear pancakes this morning, my mother’s day presents included:
a clothespin woman
a clothespin man holding a French flag
a tea cup made from a plastic apple sauce cup
a pair of cardboard tube binoculars
slippers made from cardboard and felt (the felt was a nice touch!)
a goblet made from a plastic cup, an old glue stick container and tissue paper
a cardboard frisbee
a paper baseball (it worked pretty well)
and a pine cone.

12 May 2012 Dear Madame

May 12th, 2012

Purging Books

We’ve moved seven times in the past ten years. There have been plenty of opportunities to purge belongings, especially books. And yet still I find books I’m holding onto for sentimental reasons. Like this copy of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, given to me by a student at Penn State Altoona (I think). I’ve held onto the book, but my memory of the student is hazy.

11 May 2012 Strawberry Pickers

May 11th, 2012

Strawberry Pickers

10 May 2012 Outdoor Math

May 10th, 2012

Outdoor Math

9 May 2012 The Newest Addition

May 9th, 2012

Tomato plant

to the Bent Spoon garden is portable, since we’ll be getting ready to move house in about a month. (Thanks to Scottie and Janet for the plant and the pot!)

8 May 2012 Swimmer

May 8th, 2012

Swimmer

7 May 2012 Applehenge

May 7th, 2012

Applehenge

6 May 2012 Entertained by the Author

May 6th, 2012

Entertained by the Author

After breakfast, Jane read some of Sam’s latest story, “Catch that Martha,” on my Kindle (!)

5 May 2012 Capeharts

May 6th, 2012

Capeharts

Camera + tripod + everyone having had a few = some amusing group photos.

4 May 2012 Paint Samples

May 4th, 2012

Paint Samples

3 May 2012 Football Friends

May 3rd, 2012

Football Friends

Sam wanted to quit her soccer skills class because she was usually the only girl. Then, miraculously, another 6-year old girl joined the class in April. And now, as they say, it’s a whole new ball game.

2 May 2012 At the Library

May 2nd, 2012

Calliope at the library

the May/June issue of Calliope, with my article in it (!)

1 May 2012 Tooth Number Two

May 1st, 2012

Tooth Number Two

We expected the tooth fairy to land in Tennessee last weekend, but no, she wanted to come to Virginia.

Gap tooth girl

30 April 2012 Kili and Sam

April 30th, 2012

Kili and Sam

Sam is going to miss Kili, the cat next door. We learned today that he is going to be spending the summer on some rural retreat in the mountains of Virginia. That is, unless he convinces his owner that he really belongs to us, which he sure does seem to believe.

29 April 2012 On the Road Home

April 30th, 2012

Lynchburg VA

Lynchburg, VA