Jelly Art

This is a gift Goose and Binky brought back for me from the Monterey Bay Aquarium

several years ago.  I just love it!

Goose loves it too.

She pulled out a canvas and some paints and began painting the jelly.

After painting she added some glitter to really bring it to life!

I am so in love with this painting!

Rainy days and art can be good for the soul!

It has been raining like mad here by the bay.

And I mean like MAD!

The ground is saturated and the sump pump in my basement is working overtime!

Happy weekend!

Twelfth Night

Goose played the role of Sailor #3 in the first scene.

And she also played a statue in several scenes.

The best statue, I might add!

She did two performances yesterday.

After the first she was much more relaxed.

The performance was a big hit!!!

They put this play together in 10 two hour classes.

We are so proud of all the actors!!!

shoebox lid weaving

Find yourself a shoebox lid that is in pretty good condition.

I taped the corners for extra support.

Mark and cut equally spaced slits on both ends of the lid.

Lace your string back and forth to form the warp.

Tie your yarn to the first warp and begin weaving.

When you want to change yarn, simply tie the new one to the old one and continue weaving.

You can weave in any loose ends when your are finished.

Be sure not to pull too tightly at the edges so you don't get an hourglass effect.

When you are done with your last line, tie it to the last warp.

Now you can weave in those loose ends from the back.

Gently pull the weaving off each end of the lid.

Find some sticks or dowels to slide through the loops at each end.

And now you have a beautiful wall hanging for your room!

When I first showed this to Binky, he said no.

But as soon as I started he said, "I want to do it!"

After a few minutes he said he wanted to weave a rug for his room!

I highly recommend reading "Annie And The Old One."

The story goes wonderfully with this craft.

week in photos

More Arrow To The Sun work.

Legos, legos, legos.

Little reminders.

Natural hearts

Shoebox lid weaving to go with our Native American study.

And finding a warm place to nap!

goose and binky

Well, this is the finished product!

Goose spent a lot of time on this project.  The theme is "Women of the Court."

She included a time-line, a map of Tudor England, and fabric samples.

I am so proud of her and how it turned out!

Binky helped Sensei with a demo at a local elementary school on Wednesday.

Being homeschooled, he was the only student available to help out.

He had such a good time!

He came up to me at one point and said, "I love little kids!"

He also had to perform on stage 2 katas and some self-defense.

It was wonderful to watch him interact with the little kids with such interest

and excitement.  My little boy is growing up!

math cat, tudor style and nature journals

Scratch the cat loves to be right in the middle of things.

Even if it's 5th grade math!

Goose and Grandma finished the tudor dress!

Isn't it beautiful?!

Goose made dinner for Grandma to thank her for all the hard work.

This is part of Goose's research project in her Shakespeare class.

It will be displayed in the lobby of the theatre before and after the play.

I am so looking forward to seeing their version of "Twelfth Night."

We spent an hour in the garden poem writing and sketching.

It had been too long since we last opened our nature journals.

Do you have a nature journal?

anatomy and kivas

Goose is studying the human body right now.

We've started a wall of her sketches.

As part of Binky's Native American study we read Arrow to the Sun.

I forgot how truly beautiful this book is!

Binky loved it.

He drew what was inside each of the four kivas in the story, lions, snakes, bees and lightning!

He made his own kiva filled with fire!

We also went to see the Olmec exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco!

This was very cool.

We watched a video on how archeologists believe the Olmec people made and

hauled these enormous stone heads.

Unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures!

While we were there we looked at pueblo baskets and pottery to go

with our Arrow to the Sun study.

Today... Binky is sick.

It will be books, tea and naps for us today!

e l e v e n

E l e v e n years ago today we married on a boat.

It was raining.

But I didn't notice the rain.

All I could see was Y O U.

Happy Anniversary my love!

coyote hills

Binky is studying Native Americans this year so we

began our study at the 2,000 year old shellmound site of the Tuibun Ohlone tribe.

This site is located in Fremont, California and is only about 30 minutes from our house.

It is a very beautiful place!

The first shelter is a sweathouse!

Goose should not be inside!  These were for men and boys only!

This is the skeleton of an Ohlone home.  Since it is partially underground, it is much larger

than it looks.  This is where Binky spent most of his time here!

There was also a shade shelter.  This is where most of the day was spent by the women, cooking and such.

And under it was an Ohlone ancestor, but she had to go right after we arrived!  Bummer!

The Ohlone people had a very rich environment.

They ate shellfish, salmon, blackfish, berries, and hunted fowl and elk.

Goose made this necklace after making a pinenut bead.

The marshes are swarming with birds.

Ducks, geese, hawks, heron.

I asked Binky if he could live in that shelter he spent so much time in and he said yes!