Molly Guessed Correctly!

I have been sewing vestments, or to be more specific, albs.
I have sewn 3 this year, of 2 different styles.  All without a pattern. 

I found out here that no great change has taken place in the shape of the alb since the ninth century.
Fascinating!  I love being a part of such an ancient religious tradition! 
Imagine all the seamstresses over the centuries who have sewn albs for monks and priests... most without electricity!

(PS: Thanks, Zac, for posing in the alb... barefoot, even!)

What in the world...

Do you think I'm sewing???

I have no pattern, just a pulled-apart version of it to use as a make-shift pattern.
It requires over 5 yards of fabric.
Several parts of it have to be hand-sewn prior to final machine finishing.

One of these takes somewhere between 20-30 hours to make.

Guesses?

Winners!

Peter and Joseph took first place (People's Choice) in the local 9th annual Knights of Columbus Chili Cook-Off today.  All week long this contest dominated their conversations... specifically, the chance to win first place.  (Last year they came home with second place.)

They plotted it all out and executed their plan with precision.  Joseph and Peter picked out 3 pounds of ground buffalo in the meat department (I would have gone for the cheaper ground beef, but no, it HAD to be buffalo!), the assorted canned beans, the chili powder (and other top secret ingredients).  They enlisted their friend, Ezra's, help with dicing and sauteing 2 onions (his vision was temporarily blurry from the tears).  Invited their friend, Jonah, to a sneak-preview taste test. 

Decided to wear wild Hawaiian shirts to the big event... 
Right down to the sides of chips & cheese, these boys had their game plan in action.
Their plans and efforts paid off, with first place in the people's choice vote.

They showed good sportsmanship to their fellow cooks, and came home very happy with their framed award.

I don't know how they got to be so competitive!

 

Flippin' Time

Peter so wanted to learn how to flip without a spatula... he planned a family meal around it.

His desire to flip began with a new interest in fried eggs (vs. the standard scrambled eggs). 
Peter loves to cook his own eggs, and wanted to master the one-handed skillet flip without wasting eggs.
So he devised a plan:  cook pancakes for breakfast, and save one (hard) pancake just for the purpose of flipping practice.  Ingenious and thrifty, don't you think?

I suggested he put it on the calendar so he wouldn't forget, and today was the big day.
Rather than lazing in bed reading (like most mornings), Peter was up and in the kitchen cooking first thing.
He made a family batch of pancakes, and served them hot.

As soon as breakfast was over, Peter was off to his morning chores, primarily taking care of his pets. 

I found him on the front porch flippin' his practice pancake.
Needless to say, his day is off to a great start!

Closing note:  Peter announced his plans for an event next summer ~  He will charge a small admission fee for kids to come and participate in pancake flippin' games and challenges... 

Finnegan
Lots of dog action at our place these days.
Not Finnegan, he lives in Silverdale... but isn't he sweet?

Peter is taking Rocky to weekly obedience training, which is already showing results after only one class!

2c

or not

2c

Recently we ran into one of those difficult parenting moments. OK, truly these happen every day, but here's one worth sharing... It all came about as our children had an opportunity to go to the movie theatre with friends, all of whom we love dearly.

Tim and I take great care in choosing what is appropriate viewing (and listening) material for our children. This often puts us at odds in certain group situations where others' ideas are different. (Not bad, just different.) It is not by chance that our kids don't watch television (save the occasional sporting event or special programming) or have access to the Internet without close supervision. This cautious approach reflects a cornerstone of our parenting plan: monitor what goes in.
In the same way that we carefully purchase and prepare healthy meals, and avoid fast/processed food, we also carefully choose and monitor programming. You could say we hope to "program" our kids while they're young, so that they can grow in purity and build up strong resistance to inappropriate content. High hopes, we know!


Tim and I decided that a particular P3-13 movie would be fine for Zachary (who happened to want to see it), but that it would not OK for Peter and Joseph (who really didn't care about it anyway).


A few responses to our decision to keep Joseph and Peter out of the theater:
"They would love it!"
"It's FINE!"
"Anyone who has seen Star Wars can see this movie."
"It's an amazing movie!"

Still No. We stuck to our decision.

Having read the movie review by the USCCB (which gave this PG-13 movie a rating of A-III -- adults) we knew there was really no good reason to go against our better judgement.

I said, "We just don't think this movie is a good choice for Peter and Joseph, especially since we haven't seen it."
Reply: "Well I think you're wrong."
Me: "That's not the first time..."
Reply: "No, and it probably won't be the last."

Enough said.
We basically just agreed to disagree, which in many cases of conflict like this, is the best possible outcome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zachary greatly enjoyed the movie, and shared the basic story line with us on the ride home.
I asked him if he thought it would have been an OK movie for Joseph and Peter to watch...
He simply replied, "No. I don't think so."

Enough said.

Anything That Breeds {Peter's Birthday Wish List}

 Grandpa Cliff assembles nest boxes for pigeons in the chicken coop.

 A birthday bird for Peter, thanks to Grandpa Cliff and Grandma Billie

Peter's wish list for his 10th birthday basically recycled most of the items on his Christmas wish list (almost all of which breathe and eat, ranging from llamas to goats to pigs and sheep).  Essentially, the list could be summed up as follows: "Anything that breeds!"  And the reason?  "To drive Zac crazy!"  At the top of his list was rabbits, because he'd learned how quickly they reproduce. 

Grandma Billie and Grandpa Cliff granted Peter's "breeding" wish with 2 pairs of pigeons.  Cliff raised pigeons in his youth, and has all the know-how and skills to make their new home here perfect.  When Zachary learned of Peter's new pets, he let out a groan of displeasure... which must have been the icing on the cake for the birthday boy.

Peter's chicken coop is now (temporarily) a chicken and pigeon coop, and although a few of the chickens think they should be allowed into the pigeon quarters, Cliff has a plan to keep the pigeons safe from the mean chicken beaks.  Someday soon, Peter will have pigeons born here, which can be set free to fly and return to their home.  Those brought in for his birthday, however, if set free, would fly to the place of their birth... so they'll be permanent residents of the coop.