Lionden Landing

One of Froggy's favorite parts of our regular winter breaks trips up north are the special trips she gets to take with her Aunt Adrian.  Adrian is not related by blood but is part of what we call our chosen family.  She has been part of our lives for the last 20 years.  She has such a special relationship with Froggy and is the only person Froggy and I both trust implicitly to recommend new books. Today they went to see the Gardner Museum which was according to Froggy, "cool cool super cool."  It is an old house turn museum with amazing tapestries, statues and a mosaic courtyard that captivated Froggy. They toured the first floor where the Greek statues were deemed "weird" and the portraits were awesome. To make the trip even more special they stopped for ice cream on the way home at a place where Froggy had choices.  For a little girl allergic to dairy this is truly special. 

Our big objective for the summer is to get Froggy proficient in really riding her bike.  Our first adventure was almost our last.  It was a one mile ride up to the library.  Froggy was insistent she could not make it up the hill.  She turned around and headed home.  At the bottom of the hill, she asked how far we were.  I told her we were about 2/3s.  She got determined, turned her bike around and conquered that hill.  Today, at her request, we tried a much harder 2 mile ride up to the ice cream store.  She had to walk about half a block up the last bit of one hill and pause to rest on two other hills but she did it.  And more importantly she did it of her own desire and without any whining or complaining at all.  My heart just about burst with pride.

My father and I have never had a good relationship for a variety of reasons.  Start with the fact that he really wanted a son and I was the third of four girls.  I was also a fat kid with less social graces than his collegues who have preferred.  I think he tried in the beginning but gave up eventually when he found nothing worth his time in me. By thirteen, I knew he didn't like me as much as my siblings.  At fifteen, I was told flat out I was asking to visit too often and so I never asked again without need. Sixteen was the last year I received any acknowledgement of my birthday and that was several months late and only after I cried to one of my sisters about the lack of acknowledgement.  Before I was married at 22, I had stopped being invited to the family winter celebration including my sister's birthday celebration. When Abba and I decided that we were going to make a life together, he asked to meet my father and I acquiesced  to his wishes. ...

The Smithsonian Natural History Muesum closed its Dinosaur exhibit at the end of April.  Knowing it was coming, we went to say goodbye.  We went with another family that was way more prepared than.  The mom made a neat scavenger hunt for the girls.  They completed it in record time. But then spent forever showing us all the things they found. We also got to visit a Touch-Me Station and talk with the docent about the fossils. This was Froggy's Favorite of the entire day Whereas my favorite was watching the paleontologists at work There was a disagreement of facts between the girls, so Froggy used the sign to win.   Once we finished with the dinosaurs, we went to the insect exhibit and saw all the creepy crawlers   including this black widow spider.

Abba and Froggy discovered a new fun activity to do together, ice skating. She did eventually get brave enough to try a trip around the rink without holding onto Abba

Froggy kept with her new love of archery and chose Brave as the theme for her brithday this year. We had tons of fun planning it and getting ready.  I made her a Merida dress and hair extensions.  Since we have a tiny house, the party was held in the field across the street.  We made wisps for the guests to follow to our field  The grandparents brought a pavilion that turned into Merida's castle We made blue wisps to mark the path to the 'castle' As the guests arrived, they got to choose their family tartan and make their own coat of arms.   Our first game gave the girls an opportunity to feed the bear. Teams were created by the tartans the guests had chosen. They then moved on to catapult.  It was hysterical watching them try to throw the "log". Even with repeated demonstrations, the girls were determined to do it their own (nonfunctional) way. The final and most popular game was archery.  We made pvc bows as part...

This is the first year ever we have had no paper decorations in our Sukkah.  We try every year to have new decorations for the Sukkah.  (These photos were all taken after the holiday since I ran out of time before.  The table really did look more festive during the holiday.)   Our walls are fabric.  Every year we add a new handprint.  Typically it is is Froggy's right hand but this year the cast made it be her left. It will make for a helpful reminder years from now about exactly which year she broke her arm.  We also try to add more stamped fruit each year to fill it in.      We added a chandelier thanks to Design Megillah   We made polymer clay apple to welcome the Ushpizin .  One side is painted with the male guests and one with the female guests.    We also made little pumpkins and stars.  You can get an idea of the relative size in the picture below. I want to find a better way to han...

Today is our son, Orin's first yahrzeit.  He should be 1 today, blowing out candles and getting his first taste of cake.  He should be having his dol and choosing his future. He should be here in my arms snuggling and snoozing, giggling and making us giggle. Instead he is with HaShem and we are left here feeling his absence and crying.  Last night, we as a family went to minyan and said Kaddish then came home and lit a candle for him and a few special words to him.  While it burned we opened the box that came home from the hospital in his place for the first time.  We touched his tiny little hand print and foot print. We held the cap he wore.  And finally we looked at his picture and his beautiful sleeping face.  I wanted so much just to reach out and kiss him.  My heart aches with missing him.  Later today, we will go to the cemetery and put stones on his grave.  It will be our first time back since the funeral.  Due more of...

We love going to Asseteague.  Whether we stay in a hotel or camp right by the beach, it is an important tradition for our family.    After last year's comedy of errors, it was nice to have a trip that actually worked.  The weather was magnificent.  We did not have a single rain storm.  The weather was cooler than usual so we actually daylight hours out of the water.    After burying Froggy, it was Abba's turn.  The horses are wild but some of them are very friendly.   This one decided Abba needed kisses  While it was fun watching a mom and baby , it is even more cool watching the horses play in the surf.  With Abba's help, Froggy was actually able to fly the kite.     After many years of talking about it, we finally made it down to Chincoteague. It was not Auction weekend so there were no crowds but also no swimming foals.  The first stop was the visitor's center so Froggy could be ...

Thanks to a couple of really kind friends, Froggy and I had the amazing opportunity to spend a week at Pennsic experiencing Medieval history in a fun manner.   This is what our camp looked like. Froggy and I were in the tent straight back   Our kitchen was the best camping kitchen I have ever used. .    Froggy got to try her hand at several different handwork options including stick weaving. It is easier than spool weaving with more utilitarian results   Froggy working on yet another new handwork project in one of the fabulous swings in camp.  THis is embroidery and her favorite of all the ones she tried.    The girls also had the opportunity to make poppets.  Here they are just getting started.   M. is making great progess on her stick weaving.  She, of all the girls, seemed most interested in the handwork projects.  You can see two of the finished poppets on the bench in front of her.   All...