Wren gave me the best present by sleeping in until 6am this morning. This was after Frost woke at 3.30am crying with "a very sore foot, underneath". We diagnosed this as growing pains not a cramp and he ended the night in our bed.
Many presents have been had. Frost says that "there are way too many Playmobil guys!" This is due to the massive box of Playmobil "guys" (confederates, native americans and civil war dudes in their fort) which Mum bought for him from eBay while she was here.
He is a bit overwhelmed.
Wren loves his Elmo who shouts ($3 from Value Village) his Wiggles Big Red Car and Frost's wobble board.
I have just whipped up the Brandy Butter and we are listening to carols. Joshua thinks that the Cambridge Choir is singing "Osama, Osama, Osama in Excelsius." I explained it was H-O-S-A-N-N-A. The tofurky roast and vegetables will be another hour so I am going to gift myself with a shower, cup of tea and some Elizabeth George.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas Eve
We had a very Christmassy Day today. It started off with the last pocket in the Advent Calendar for Wren. I made him one this year filled with a few Playmobil animal sets and a bit of Candy (don't do that again if the Calendar is to be opened at Breakfast). Today he received a mother fox. You can see him opening it and checking all the empty boxes in case he left some candy in there. When I made it I hadn't realized how much foliage there is in a Playmobil set. This is one bushy advent forest!
After that we had a few disasters. I made gingerbread but found out, half way through, that there was no ground ginger. I had to adapt and grate fresh ginger. Then Wren decided to dump molasses and eat it or dump flour and eat it or... you get the picture.
Afterwards we had kippers for breakfast. YES KIPPERS. I love kippers and bought them at the British Pantry in Redmond yesterday. They were marked 99p but I paid $5. It was worth every cent. I sang this nursery rhyme to Wren and he demanded more and more and more kipper.
"Sing to your daddy oh, my little babby
Sing to your daddy oh, my little one.
You shall have a fishy, in a little dishy
You shall have a fishy when the boat comes in."
"More Fishy" he said.
Those Nutcrackers are Ornaments!
Then there was the next disaster. The nutcracker soldier we were using to crack hazelnuts broke in half. Actually, he became wonky, wobbled and then lost his head and an arm. Frost and I deduced that those painted soldier nutcrackers are ornaments not real nutcrackers. It was doing a lousy job cracking nuts anyway. I shall have to buy the family a nutcracker now. We are really keen on doing it and have two bags of nuts in shells!
Bath bombs explode
I took down another craft from a few days before - the bath fizzies we had made from witchhazel, citric acid and baking soda. They smelled great but had subsided into a large pancake instead of being nice egg-shapes. They still work so its not so bad but I don't understand what we did wrong.
Thankfully, Lauren and Ruben invited us over for a fabulous Christmas Eve Mexican dinner with more food than I could even sample. They even made their own tortillas and tamales. Wren and I ate a lot and Wren found his vocation as a rock musician playing Rock Band.
Snow Update
Still snowing this morning but its now turned to rain. The snow is slushy but still covers the street. I expect this thaw to continue tomorrow if it doesn't cool down considerably. Frost spent much of the day having snowball fights with Alexander and our neighbour, Elias. Here is a movie from a few days ago showing Josh and Wren sledding at Dahl field.
After that we had a few disasters. I made gingerbread but found out, half way through, that there was no ground ginger. I had to adapt and grate fresh ginger. Then Wren decided to dump molasses and eat it or dump flour and eat it or... you get the picture.
Afterwards we had kippers for breakfast. YES KIPPERS. I love kippers and bought them at the British Pantry in Redmond yesterday. They were marked 99p but I paid $5. It was worth every cent. I sang this nursery rhyme to Wren and he demanded more and more and more kipper.
"Sing to your daddy oh, my little babby
Sing to your daddy oh, my little one.
You shall have a fishy, in a little dishy
You shall have a fishy when the boat comes in."
"More Fishy" he said.
Those Nutcrackers are Ornaments!
Then there was the next disaster. The nutcracker soldier we were using to crack hazelnuts broke in half. Actually, he became wonky, wobbled and then lost his head and an arm. Frost and I deduced that those painted soldier nutcrackers are ornaments not real nutcrackers. It was doing a lousy job cracking nuts anyway. I shall have to buy the family a nutcracker now. We are really keen on doing it and have two bags of nuts in shells!
Bath bombs explode
I took down another craft from a few days before - the bath fizzies we had made from witchhazel, citric acid and baking soda. They smelled great but had subsided into a large pancake instead of being nice egg-shapes. They still work so its not so bad but I don't understand what we did wrong.
Thankfully, Lauren and Ruben invited us over for a fabulous Christmas Eve Mexican dinner with more food than I could even sample. They even made their own tortillas and tamales. Wren and I ate a lot and Wren found his vocation as a rock musician playing Rock Band.
Snow Update
Still snowing this morning but its now turned to rain. The snow is slushy but still covers the street. I expect this thaw to continue tomorrow if it doesn't cool down considerably. Frost spent much of the day having snowball fights with Alexander and our neighbour, Elias. Here is a movie from a few days ago showing Josh and Wren sledding at Dahl field.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Eight and a half inches!!!
No, I am not a porn star. That is how much snow accumulation we have on the deck outside the kitchen - on the benches I scraped clean on Saturday. There was at least 3 inches of snow on them before I scraped it up for the first snow-in-the-sensory-table experiment. I saw this confirmed on the news this morning where 9.5 inches of snow are on the ground in North Seattle!
I am hoping to leave the house today to do a bit of pre-Christmas food buying (we don't have the tofurky yet!) and I am sure the shops will be swamped once it thaws. Frost is also hoping to get a few more Christmas presents (for Wren, Daddy and a couple of friends). Still, we won't be going more than a few miles from home with the chains on.
Here is a picture of Wren and I measuring snow depth after breakfast. I am still in my PJs and Wren has snow on his bottom.
If you want to follow our exciting weather I recommend this link.
I am hoping to leave the house today to do a bit of pre-Christmas food buying (we don't have the tofurky yet!) and I am sure the shops will be swamped once it thaws. Frost is also hoping to get a few more Christmas presents (for Wren, Daddy and a couple of friends). Still, we won't be going more than a few miles from home with the chains on.
Here is a picture of Wren and I measuring snow depth after breakfast. I am still in my PJs and Wren has snow on his bottom.
If you want to follow our exciting weather I recommend this link.
Monday, December 22, 2008
More and more and more snow
This is our neighborhood covered in snow. We are heading off for a walk in the morning around 9.30am but it felt as if we were in the mountains. All the trees were snow covered and there were very few people about.
Now, this evening, its been snowing pretty heavily for hours and we had about 5" overnight. Since I moved to Seattle we have had only a few inches of snow each year. This storm has been giving us snow, ice, serious cold and icicles for a week and telling you about our daily sledding is getting boring. Here are Frost and Elias at the small hill in a nearby park [top] and Frost and Joshua [below].
Although he enjoyed the park, Frost liked to go down the steepest stree hill over a snow ramp. He was giving me nightmares - flying about 3 feet up into the air and crashing downhill. He shouted "that was AWESOME" so many times that Wren has started doing it. I can see him having a career in snowboarding. He just loved the ramps and was getting a lot of positive feedback from adults 'guarding' the routes. I am not encouraging him and banned head first jumps after his first success in aiming straight up the steepest part.
Our neighborhood was pretty snowbound today. The main roads are somewhat passable but cars were sliding backwards down the hill on 75th and most people out there had AWD and/or chains on. The snow was deep enough to make walking difficult and had a thin crust of ice on top from some periods of freezing rain. There was no new snow in the morning but it started up again this afternoon and we have had another 2-3" already.
Frost is still loving it and Wren enjoys making snowmen in his sensory table. We cut down tiny carrots for the noses and he had peppercorn eyes. I hope we are able to make a big snowman in the back yard tomorrow. The crunchy snow crust made it hard to roll balls of it today. Wren was not as happy going out, even in his stroller. He was cold (he had gloves on but they became wet) and didn't like the crunching noise of the ice-crusted snow. It was hard to push him through the snow too - it was 5" deep in some places.
He has a lollipop for compensation.
Now, this evening, its been snowing pretty heavily for hours and we had about 5" overnight. Since I moved to Seattle we have had only a few inches of snow each year. This storm has been giving us snow, ice, serious cold and icicles for a week and telling you about our daily sledding is getting boring. Here are Frost and Elias at the small hill in a nearby park [top] and Frost and Joshua [below]. Although he enjoyed the park, Frost liked to go down the steepest stree hill over a snow ramp. He was giving me nightmares - flying about 3 feet up into the air and crashing downhill. He shouted "that was AWESOME" so many times that Wren has started doing it. I can see him having a career in snowboarding. He just loved the ramps and was getting a lot of positive feedback from adults 'guarding' the routes. I am not encouraging him and banned head first jumps after his first success in aiming straight up the steepest part.
Our neighborhood was pretty snowbound today. The main roads are somewhat passable but cars were sliding backwards down the hill on 75th and most people out there had AWD and/or chains on. The snow was deep enough to make walking difficult and had a thin crust of ice on top from some periods of freezing rain. There was no new snow in the morning but it started up again this afternoon and we have had another 2-3" already.
Frost is still loving it and Wren enjoys making snowmen in his sensory table. We cut down tiny carrots for the noses and he had peppercorn eyes. I hope we are able to make a big snowman in the back yard tomorrow. The crunchy snow crust made it hard to roll balls of it today. Wren was not as happy going out, even in his stroller. He was cold (he had gloves on but they became wet) and didn't like the crunching noise of the ice-crusted snow. It was hard to push him through the snow too - it was 5" deep in some places.
He has a lollipop for compensation.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Gingerbread Houses
This morning we made the gingerbread house. I assembled it with Wren while Frost was still asleep although if I had known how easy it would be I would have waited for him. Typically, I spend an hour mixing the royal icing and then propping the house up as it leans and sags. It takes hours to dry and even then is at risk of catastrophe. I have tried many different "kits" and have made my own from scratch but it has always been the same experience UNTIL THIS YEAR! I must always buy this kit (but can't recall where I got it). Its by "Create a Treat." Mum, do you remember? It is different in that it has a base and the icing is mixed and comes in a bag you snip and use straight away. It was ready to decorate in 15 minutes.
Predictably, the candy and decorating was the part that Frost and Wren liked best. Here they are decorating their own sides.
Frost's side is on the right. He was careful to make the colors of the candy left-right symmetrical. Wren liked to squeeze his own icing / frosting onto the house and was very careful to put candy in each dollop. I put it on the roof for him.
After we had used all the candy Wren checked the box in case there was any more.
Here is the final gingerbread house. It is the most beautiful one we have ever made.
All the candy came with it! The boys also decorated the piece at the front and we ate it for Tea Party today. Well, honestly I ate the gingerbread and they ate the candy.
More Snow
We have had about 2" of snow this evening and Frost and I had a great hour of twilight and early dark sledding at the hill in Dahl field. It is going to be superb sledding tomorrow. Snow is still falling and we are very excited.
Predictably, the candy and decorating was the part that Frost and Wren liked best. Here they are decorating their own sides.
Frost's side is on the right. He was careful to make the colors of the candy left-right symmetrical. Wren liked to squeeze his own icing / frosting onto the house and was very careful to put candy in each dollop. I put it on the roof for him.
After we had used all the candy Wren checked the box in case there was any more.
Here is the final gingerbread house. It is the most beautiful one we have ever made.All the candy came with it! The boys also decorated the piece at the front and we ate it for Tea Party today. Well, honestly I ate the gingerbread and they ate the candy.
More Snow
We have had about 2" of snow this evening and Frost and I had a great hour of twilight and early dark sledding at the hill in Dahl field. It is going to be superb sledding tomorrow. Snow is still falling and we are very excited.
Ice-storm? Blizzard?
When I went out to fetch the newspaper this morning the local weather station in Bryant was reading 15 degrees. This is Seattle?
It is a clear dry day today but the forecast is for an ice-storm, wind-storm, blizzard combo starting tonight.
I think it is time to get my errands run today and to leave the chains on.
How are my other Seattle friends doing with all this?
It is a clear dry day today but the forecast is for an ice-storm, wind-storm, blizzard combo starting tonight.
I think it is time to get my errands run today and to leave the chains on.
How are my other Seattle friends doing with all this?
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Cardiology Clinic & Icy Weather
Wren had another cardiology check-up today. It is still icy (was 17 degrees F, around -7C, when I left at 8am this morning) and the streets were packed white with ice. The arterials were clear but there were almost no cars out.
I found clinic very difficult. When I watched the echo it was clear that there is still a lot of turbulence through the aortic valve. After the echo there was a long wait to see Dr Olson and I started to imagine the worst - he needed surgery again NOW, the valve was failing, he was in heart failure.
It turns out that its not that bad. His gradient was up a bit - 3.8mm/sec through the valve - but Dr Olson felt it was still relatively stable. Why can't stable be lower? Why does it have to creep? The mitral valve is still mild-moderate.
What I realized is that I am very very anxious about Wren's heart but I don't think about it day to day as much as I did pre-surgery. That doesn't mean my anxiety has gone anywhere except underground. I am starting to understand those parents who steal their children from hospital and run away with them. With Wren looking so good day to day it feels as if the hospital makes him be a sick kid and when he is at home everything is fine. As we approach the hospital both Wren and I feel lousy. Wren starts asking for comfort ("want milk?") and reassurance ("no owie?" "Owie all gone?") while I feel sick and defensive and like bursting into tears.
I just can't stand the tension of waiting to hear how the echo is. I wish the Doctors could be standing right there and explaining things to me so I wouldn't have to go through such a process of dread. Today was worse because there was a delay post-echo (probably due to ppl being delayed by snow).
Our next appointment is in 3 months so we shall be able to get a better sense of the trend in gradient. We can taper lasix to 1X day for a week and then stop it.
In January, I am going to see a therapist I saw last year. Hopefully she can help me put these fears in perspective and to cope a bit better.
Snow activities
I took the rice out of the sensory table and let the boys play with snow in it. Frost liked to melt it with the hairdryer and Wren wanted to eat and scoop it. They were both very excited and ran around the house squeaking and talking about it, wanting more and wanting to HAVE IT ALL.
We also went for a walk and it was very cold but lovely to see the sun. Wren wanted to walk a long way but he lacks good snow boots so I brought him home after one lap of the block. He saw icicles, ate frozen raspberries, wanted to see the chickens and examined the stones in the sidewalk poking through the snow. Here is Frost dragging Wren in the sled and then sledding with Elias yesterday.
Frost wanted to talk about everything all the time. When I didn't talk fast enough he would narrate his experience to Wren. Frost was hunting for icicles and wanted to harvest them from strangers homes. He also liked making snowballs. He didn't want to go sledding today. If there is more snow this weekend I shall insist!
Here they are in the garden building a snow fort for the army guys.
I found clinic very difficult. When I watched the echo it was clear that there is still a lot of turbulence through the aortic valve. After the echo there was a long wait to see Dr Olson and I started to imagine the worst - he needed surgery again NOW, the valve was failing, he was in heart failure.
It turns out that its not that bad. His gradient was up a bit - 3.8mm/sec through the valve - but Dr Olson felt it was still relatively stable. Why can't stable be lower? Why does it have to creep? The mitral valve is still mild-moderate.
What I realized is that I am very very anxious about Wren's heart but I don't think about it day to day as much as I did pre-surgery. That doesn't mean my anxiety has gone anywhere except underground. I am starting to understand those parents who steal their children from hospital and run away with them. With Wren looking so good day to day it feels as if the hospital makes him be a sick kid and when he is at home everything is fine. As we approach the hospital both Wren and I feel lousy. Wren starts asking for comfort ("want milk?") and reassurance ("no owie?" "Owie all gone?") while I feel sick and defensive and like bursting into tears.
I just can't stand the tension of waiting to hear how the echo is. I wish the Doctors could be standing right there and explaining things to me so I wouldn't have to go through such a process of dread. Today was worse because there was a delay post-echo (probably due to ppl being delayed by snow).
Our next appointment is in 3 months so we shall be able to get a better sense of the trend in gradient. We can taper lasix to 1X day for a week and then stop it.
In January, I am going to see a therapist I saw last year. Hopefully she can help me put these fears in perspective and to cope a bit better.
Snow activities
I took the rice out of the sensory table and let the boys play with snow in it. Frost liked to melt it with the hairdryer and Wren wanted to eat and scoop it. They were both very excited and ran around the house squeaking and talking about it, wanting more and wanting to HAVE IT ALL.
We also went for a walk and it was very cold but lovely to see the sun. Wren wanted to walk a long way but he lacks good snow boots so I brought him home after one lap of the block. He saw icicles, ate frozen raspberries, wanted to see the chickens and examined the stones in the sidewalk poking through the snow. Here is Frost dragging Wren in the sled and then sledding with Elias yesterday.
Frost wanted to talk about everything all the time. When I didn't talk fast enough he would narrate his experience to Wren. Frost was hunting for icicles and wanted to harvest them from strangers homes. He also liked making snowballs. He didn't want to go sledding today. If there is more snow this weekend I shall insist!
Here they are in the garden building a snow fort for the army guys.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Dark Side of Seven (or Darth-Sohn)
Today Frost is home from school because of a faux-snow closure and all of us are enjoying watching the squirrel climbing up the birdfeeder. Since I put a large metal band around the pole it takes the poor beast a few attempts (aka falls to the ground) to make it over the impediment. Its better value for the birdseed but it will still eat most of it before a bird gets any.
Spending all this time with Frost I have started to notice that he has a very dark sense of humor. Is this my fault? JoshI'm wondering if I should have let him read The Far Side so young or perhaps the Simpsons?
Just after breakfast he announced: "Shannon, I am making all the faces in the paper into Zombies"
Wren was interested and so he started teaching him how to do it (Wren was only scribbling in black pen but he had the vision!)
Frost: "Come Wren, you make weird markings on their faces. But now I not only doing Zombies, I am doing HALLOWEENS TOO and now Wren's doing Halloweens too."
When Wren's scrawl did not satisly Frost's aesthetic he added: "Wren, let me help you more Zombify." Here is the result of Frosts newspaper zombification.
We walked to the Third Place Books for lunch. This place used to share the Honey Bear Bakery which was a spot that was popular with old people and small kids. I liked it because I could read board books to Wren on the floor and then have a cheap cookie-coffee combo for about $5. No More. They have undergone a rennovation and a new restaurant has moved in. They do sell coffee but also tasty restaurant meals. I am not sure how they manage it but I always end up spending a lot more than I anticipated. Mental note: this is not a casual coffee spot any more. It is a R-E-S-T-a-U-R-A-N-T. Also, the large (tall) coffee is tiny - if delicious. I think they use Illy. For lunch for the three of us (and everyone knows Frost eats like a gerbil) it was $30.
While at the bookstore Frost fell in love with a calendar titled The Bunny suicides Calendar 2009. It is by Andrew Riley. Some are very macabre and some are funny and some are both. Frost is now begging me to give it to him for Christmas. While looking it up online I found another title by the same author - cartoons called "Lies to tell small kids". It is very funny. Some of them had Frost and I laughing together "Tell them that rain is god's wee wee" and just me: "wine makes mommy clever."
The Bird Feeder
Mum asked how the bird feeder that is squirrel proof was doing. Have the birds found it? This was one of Mum's projects while she was here. The answer is "YES". As you can see in the picture below, Wren has enjoyed watching many small birds (chickadees and white eyes) eating the suet and the mixed seed. Apparently, feeding birds over winter is quite controversial. I was listening to a show on NPR in which callers shared their strategies for keeping hummingbird feeders thawed during the cold snap. Some use hand warmer packs, others leave lights on all night and others take their feeders indoors overnight. The critics say that this is causing the overwintering of hummingbirds outside their range. Who knows, we are only offering seed.
Spending all this time with Frost I have started to notice that he has a very dark sense of humor. Is this my fault? JoshI'm wondering if I should have let him read The Far Side so young or perhaps the Simpsons?
Just after breakfast he announced: "Shannon, I am making all the faces in the paper into Zombies"
Wren was interested and so he started teaching him how to do it (Wren was only scribbling in black pen but he had the vision!)
Frost: "Come Wren, you make weird markings on their faces. But now I not only doing Zombies, I am doing HALLOWEENS TOO and now Wren's doing Halloweens too."
When Wren's scrawl did not satisly Frost's aesthetic he added: "Wren, let me help you more Zombify." Here is the result of Frosts newspaper zombification.
We walked to the Third Place Books for lunch. This place used to share the Honey Bear Bakery which was a spot that was popular with old people and small kids. I liked it because I could read board books to Wren on the floor and then have a cheap cookie-coffee combo for about $5. No More. They have undergone a rennovation and a new restaurant has moved in. They do sell coffee but also tasty restaurant meals. I am not sure how they manage it but I always end up spending a lot more than I anticipated. Mental note: this is not a casual coffee spot any more. It is a R-E-S-T-a-U-R-A-N-T. Also, the large (tall) coffee is tiny - if delicious. I think they use Illy. For lunch for the three of us (and everyone knows Frost eats like a gerbil) it was $30.
While at the bookstore Frost fell in love with a calendar titled The Bunny suicides Calendar 2009. It is by Andrew Riley. Some are very macabre and some are funny and some are both. Frost is now begging me to give it to him for Christmas. While looking it up online I found another title by the same author - cartoons called "Lies to tell small kids". It is very funny. Some of them had Frost and I laughing together "Tell them that rain is god's wee wee" and just me: "wine makes mommy clever."
The Bird Feeder
Mum asked how the bird feeder that is squirrel proof was doing. Have the birds found it? This was one of Mum's projects while she was here. The answer is "YES". As you can see in the picture below, Wren has enjoyed watching many small birds (chickadees and white eyes) eating the suet and the mixed seed. Apparently, feeding birds over winter is quite controversial. I was listening to a show on NPR in which callers shared their strategies for keeping hummingbird feeders thawed during the cold snap. Some use hand warmer packs, others leave lights on all night and others take their feeders indoors overnight. The critics say that this is causing the overwintering of hummingbirds outside their range. Who knows, we are only offering seed.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Flamingos in the Snow
It snows in Seattle every winter but it seldom sticks around long. We have to rush out and play in it before it turns to slush. Not THIS week. It snowed on Saturday night and it is still on the ground, icy and crunchy. In fact, I just checked the Bryant Weather Station reading and it is 19.2 degrees F or -7 degrees. ICY. This picture shows Wren on a walk around the block on Sunday. Wren has a proper respect for cold but Frost has been eager to run out barefoot. Josh let him and he came in crying which is a proper lesson in natural consequences.
This picture is for Natasha in Australia who inspired us to have flamingos. This is what happens to flamingos in the snow.
Anyway, the snow and cold are not all that festive. Schools are starting 2 hours late due to icy roads and Joshua has just left the house [7am, pitch dark, 19 degrees] heading to Lowes to buy a stronger blow-torch. Last night he discovered a section of hose bib in our back yard had frozen. He thawed it (ok, now that doesn't sound so smart in retrospect) and found the pipe had burst. Being Joshua he decided to effect a repair at 8pm despite the dark, cold, ice and lack of plumbing expertise. He had learned how to solder copper pipe by 9pm and by 9.30pm had assembled a repaired patch section. I went to bed.
I woke to find the water still shut off and did some dish washing in last night's bathwater which I had saved. Apparently the cheap blow-torch he bought is unable to heat pipe enough to melt solder in this cold. He ran out of butane and has now gone off to buy a BIGGER blow-torch. What projects can I get up to with the blow-torch we will now own? Heaven knows. He is going to try and cap the line if the patch doesn't work - I don't think it will refreeze quickly enough to stop the leak now that the line is drained and disassembled.
Frost has a cough this morning (again) and they are both watching the Wiggles before yoga time. Wren slept in till 5.30am this morning so I am not too haggard and Josh will be taking the day off to watch Wren for my workshift AND do some pipe repair.
New snow is expected tomorrow and an even colder spell later in the week. You can watch our neighborhood temperatures for yourselves through this link.
This picture is for Natasha in Australia who inspired us to have flamingos. This is what happens to flamingos in the snow.
Anyway, the snow and cold are not all that festive. Schools are starting 2 hours late due to icy roads and Joshua has just left the house [7am, pitch dark, 19 degrees] heading to Lowes to buy a stronger blow-torch. Last night he discovered a section of hose bib in our back yard had frozen. He thawed it (ok, now that doesn't sound so smart in retrospect) and found the pipe had burst. Being Joshua he decided to effect a repair at 8pm despite the dark, cold, ice and lack of plumbing expertise. He had learned how to solder copper pipe by 9pm and by 9.30pm had assembled a repaired patch section. I went to bed.
I woke to find the water still shut off and did some dish washing in last night's bathwater which I had saved. Apparently the cheap blow-torch he bought is unable to heat pipe enough to melt solder in this cold. He ran out of butane and has now gone off to buy a BIGGER blow-torch. What projects can I get up to with the blow-torch we will now own? Heaven knows. He is going to try and cap the line if the patch doesn't work - I don't think it will refreeze quickly enough to stop the leak now that the line is drained and disassembled.
Frost has a cough this morning (again) and they are both watching the Wiggles before yoga time. Wren slept in till 5.30am this morning so I am not too haggard and Josh will be taking the day off to watch Wren for my workshift AND do some pipe repair.
New snow is expected tomorrow and an even colder spell later in the week. You can watch our neighborhood temperatures for yourselves through this link.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Quick post about the joy of mushrooms
Mum and I both share a love of collecting. We enjoy equally the hunt through a thrift store for a bargain and the forage through the undergrowth for a tasty mushroom. Last week Mum and I took Wren mushroom hunting (and walking) in Seward Park. It was a lovely gray day with low cloud but no rain. We didn't find any edible tasty mushrooms but Wren realized what we were doing and started to blunder through the bracken saying "MUSHOOM, I find MUSHOOM!"
He collected a mixed bag of little white mushrooms (which we told him you CAN NOT EAT IT) and was very proud. Here we are in Seward Park.
A few days before we found a large button of a shaggy lepiota (macrolepiota rachodes) under a fir. It was very easy to recognize and identify (we used a few guides to confirm it!) and we shared it on toast. DELICIOUS. I am now a voracious seeker of this mushroom. Unfortunately the cold freeze will have ruined the patch I found which included some more buttons which were not ready yet.
Here is Wren throwing a pebble into Lake Washington on the shores of Seward Park.
Frost types his first blog entry:
"my mom is part of a mushroom club."
He collected a mixed bag of little white mushrooms (which we told him you CAN NOT EAT IT) and was very proud. Here we are in Seward Park.
A few days before we found a large button of a shaggy lepiota (macrolepiota rachodes) under a fir. It was very easy to recognize and identify (we used a few guides to confirm it!) and we shared it on toast. DELICIOUS. I am now a voracious seeker of this mushroom. Unfortunately the cold freeze will have ruined the patch I found which included some more buttons which were not ready yet.
Here is Wren throwing a pebble into Lake Washington on the shores of Seward Park.
Frost types his first blog entry:
"my mom is part of a mushroom club."
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