Holiday Whirlwind!

Here are the results of our holiday whirlwind, with photos and video!

Thursday, December 12th, 5:15 pm. Visitors' Day, Tap Class.

Rosie's Advanced Tap Class had a "Visitor's Day." The class pretty much went on as it typically does, only parents are not allowed to observe; this is the only day of the year we get to sit in and see their progress in class.

Rosie and her class got to show off her excellent tap skills while performing to music, such as "King of New York" from the musical, "Newsies."




Same Day, 6:30 pm. Holiday Concert at School.

Immediately after tap, we ran home  to get Rosie in her outfit for the Winter Concert: white top, black bottoms, black shoes. We were late. Thankfully, she left her cello at school because we probably would have forgotten it. Somehow, I managed to still get a seat in the second row of the audience (thanks to a friend). Here, Rosie's intermediate strings class (5th grade) plays "Jingle Bells."



I was surprised to see Rosie join the chorus group to sing during the choral program. She didn't sign up for chorus, and her name wasn't in the program for chorus! What she explained to me later is that her entire class signed up for chorus and if she didn't go, she would be alone in the classroom. So she just went, and enjoyed herself!



After the concert was over, I left immediately for my dance class — it was our last practice together before (foreshadowing...) our Holiday Performance on Sunday. 

Saturday, December 14, 10:30 am. Tae Kwon Do Belt Test.

We were invited to the Tae Kwon Do studio's Holiday Party on Friday afternoon, but were already feeling harried after all the driving around on Thursday. We took Friday off from all the hectic festivities, but were back on for Saturday.

At 10 am, I drove Rosie to the dojang to practice before she started her belt test at 10:30. I was excited for her especially because this would be her first time breaking boards at a test. She was testing for her Blue-Stripe belt (between green and blue).

There were some rough points for her test, and a bit of stress and handwringing on my part, but she did pass. Her best parts were her forms, which she performed beautifully, and the boardbreaking, shown in this video.


After the belt test and lunch (the test was over two hours!), the kids packed their suitcases for an overnight at Auntie M's. Always a fun time. It's an hour and a half drive, round trip, so by the time Monkeyrotica and I arrived home, there was just enough time for us to get showered, primped, and coiffed for...

Same day, 6 pm. Company Holiday Party.

 Monkeyrotica and I had RSVP'd yes to my new company's holiday party. I have been working there a few days shy of exactly one year, so I missed the prior year's fête by a slim margin. Attire was "cocktail" and the venue a suave tony nightclub in DC, so we dressed to the nines. In our own way. Monkey's idea of cocktail, or at least party attire is his black leather blazer and pants, black turtleneck, and motorcycle boots. We looked pretty good, anyway. I loved the colored glass chandelier!

I had fun with my favorite coworkers in the photo booth!

I was the designated driver, since I needed to be sharp for the dance performance the next day...

Veterans Day

We thank all veterans for their bravery and their service to our country. 

Rosie and Dash's school had an outdoor assembly to salute Veterans today and I happened to arrive while all the children were lining up. After a moving speech, all the students staked their little flags into the soil all around the sidewalks. It was very sweet. 

Buy handmade this season, a pledge

I know it's "black Friday" and many people went out at midnight, camped out and already purchased hugely discounted, large-scale electronics made in China and shipped to big box stores. I hope you all got some great deals on things you needed or gifts you intend for deserving loved ones.

From here forward, I have a suggestion. Rather than ordering another crate of miscellaneous, anonymous, ubiquitous items to be shipped from Amazon.com's largest warehouse, consider these other, more sustainable choices:

• Buying from a local artist or craftsperson

• Shopping at a small business, and getting to know the owner — you'll know exactly where your money is going.

• Making gifts yourself — the most beloved and unique gifts are DIY from the heart; whether it's a painting, a knit scarf, or baked goods, a gift made with love with the recipient in mind is most welcome.

badge courtesy of buyhandmade.org

If buying online is the best option for you, these websites support artists who hand-make their goods (list compiled by re-nest):

Online Handmade Marketplaces
There is no shortage of handmade items, nor marketplaces. Here are some top choices from around the globe:

• Artfire: Not just for paintings and original art pieces, this marketplace is now open to all sorts of handmade goods.
  
• Best of Handmade - This site searches multiple handmade sites at once.
  
• DaWanda: This is Europe's version of Etsy.
  
• Etsy: This is easily the largest global online community of handmade goods.
  
• Folksy: This is the UK's online shop for handmade items.
  
• iCraft: This is Canada's own Etsy-esque online community.
  
• MadeitMyself: This site is similar to Etsy as an online community of handmade buyers and sellers.
  
• Shop Handmade: This has a slight eco twist to the traditional craft store listings with carbon mitigation and rainforest conservation donations.
  
• Ten Thousand Villages: This is both an online store and a brick and mortar shop that features fair trade items from around the World.
  
• Try Handmade: This site highlights and shares handmade finds and shops.

Take the pledge this season to buy handmade. It's easy, just a shift of perspective. Many people have already chosen for years to only buy handmade goods as gifts. I ask you to do the same for yourselves and for me.

So very thankful...

I'm thankful that I slept in today, but was woken up gently by a 6-year-old bouncing on the mattress near my feet.

I'm thankful that Monkeyrotica brought me delicious coffee in bed and made the four of us a lovely breakfast.

I'm thankful that my family helped me to maintain order in the house this week so that it wasn't too difficult to prepare for our dinner guests.

I'm incredibly thankful for a quick-thinking husband who, when given an obstacle like, say, A POWER OUTAGE ON THANKSGIVING right after the turkey went into the oven, has a plan B ready to go and put the turkey in the smoker without missing a beat. He was planning to cook the beans and peas on the camp stove, but thankfully (!) the power came back on.

I'm thankful that my sister and parents live so close to us and can visit regularly without hardship. I'm incredibly thankful that they let my children know that they love them in so many ways, all the time.

I'm thankful that we were able to have such plenty on our table this Thanksgiving, all healthy food made from scratch with love.

Monkeyrotica cooked the turkey using a Julia Child recipe that reduces the cook-time by deboning and stuffing the turkey thighs.

My plate: slices of turkey meat, stuffing, sauteed green beans, Brussels sprout slaw, roasted red potato, and a little homemade gravy.

Dash: always moving, always playful and so sweet. He's the most imaginative little guy; I'm never sure what is going to come out of his mouth next. He's so very much his own wonderful six-year-old boy and I'm glad he's my son.

Rosie: adorable, affectionate, and inquisitive. She's becoming such a wonderful person, caring deeply about her friends, helping around the house, doing her schoolwork without too much prodding. She does the "I'm-the-cutest-kitten-in-the-world-with-sad-eyes-how-could-you-deny-me" look so well! I'm so thankful for her hugs and her love. I feel lucky every day to have a daughter like Rosie.

I'm thankful for all my friends, who are out there having their own Thanksgivings. I send you love, warmth, and hope, and a wish to see you all soon. I have thanks and an embrace to give you in person.

XOXOX, Nylonthread

The Egg Hunt

I knew my darling readers are thirsting for more art, so quench yourselves on this lovely pen and ink drawing, composed by Rosie, titled "The Egg Hunt."


If you are having trouble with the penmanship or the narrative, I believe this is her characters' dialog:

Rosie: Hey, mom I found one!

Mom: Dear, there's some more up there. (pointing to impossible-to-reach-spot)

Rosie: Okay.

The Easter bunny, pictured amazingly close to our dear protagonist, is very nicely drawn, don't you think?

Dash's new Tri-Bot criticizes my housekeeping skills.

Yeah, this is going over really well with me. The remote-controlled talking Tri-Bot says, "wow, you really need to vacuum your floor!" after it bumps into several things in a row. Perfect.

Feast of Lights: flashback

Back when my dad worked at the National Labs, many of his coworkers came from all over the globe. Highly educated engineers, physicists, and scientists from Germany, Poland, China, India, or Russia all found important work to do in their fields alongside Americans from across the country. No matter their religion, when December came around in the '70s, there was an office Christmas Party, complete with Santas everywhere, angels and reindeer, and songs about glorifying the savior's birth. Christianity was assumed, but if you were Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim you came to the party anyway, because you were expected to or just to celebrate the spirit of the season (and there was free food!). In the time before political correctness, expecting a nod toward any non-Christian religion at a mainstream office party was too much to hope for.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my sister M. and I featured regularly in the singing at the ANL Xmas parties. We dutifully learned our songs in elementary school chorus class to prepare for the annual Christmas choral program. We were pretty good! Our little eight- and six-year-old voices were sweet and earnest. One year at his office party, my dad asked us to sing our favorite Christmas carol. After a brief conference (in which I argued for my favorite, a beautiful song in a haunting minor key), we sang this lovely song:

I remember Mama lighting the Menorah,
Then covering her head she'd start to pray.
When Papa finished reading from the Torah, 

Mama, smiling down on me, would say:

May your days and nights
Be a feast of lights
The eternal flame, may it glow in you,
And the Holy One,
May He know in you only love.

May the light of peace
Shine and never cease
And the glow of wisdom illumine in you
May you never hate, though it's human to
May you know love.

May you go through life
With your head up to the sky
May you never walk in shame
In sight of the light of the One
Who has no name

This I wish for you.

May your days and nights
Be a feast of lights
Have a warmth for all of humanity
For without it, life is but vanity
May you have love.

May you have faith, and
May you have strength, and
May the Lord grant
Your life will have length
May it be sweet but strong 

May your days and nights  
Be a feast of lights
Your whole life long. 


(There are more verses, but the Internets fail me for locating them. Update: third verse contributed by Anonymous! Thanks! 2nd Update: More verses added by additional anonymous readers! Again, many thanks.)

Of all the many unsuspecting, long-suffering Jewish coworkers at the Christmas party? There was not a dry eye.

Happy Belated Chanukah, Merry Christmas, or whichever holiday you celebrate this season. May you know love.

Office Christmas Parties Past

This past Sunday, Monkeyrotica and I took Rosie and Dash to a Christmas party at our friend Kathryn's apartment. She served Jul Glögg, a traditional Swedish Christmas punch, and the guests trimmed the tree. Or, to be more accurate, my kids (they were the only under-20 contingent) decorated the bottom half of the tree by themselves and several other guests added ornaments to the upper half. We had a lovely time, catching up with friends we haven't seen in forever, like Ed (been staying on the down-low), or Carri and William (down from NYC). The glögg was tasty, but I preferred the champagne cocktails; Monkey, can you get that recipe from Fritz?

Even though the setting was nothing like Christmas parties from my childhood, it nevertheless felt familiar. I remember holiday parties with my dad's coworkers, all researchers and scientists at Argonne National Labs, where my sister and I were virtually the only kids there. The parties would be very casual and open-ended. We would be mingling with intellectual adults, listening in and attempting to keep up with their conversations (my, aren't your children precocious, Jim!), playing pool (there was always a billiards table), sampling from the buffet, and there would always be the singing!

Back then, it was the '70s and folk music was king, but today I don't know anyone who brings a guitar to a party and gets everyone to sing along, do you? At those parties, a couple of those scientists would bring along lyric sheet copies (mimeographed?), start strumming away, and we would all carol our hearts out. M. and I were fair singers at the time (or at least our parents liked to volunteer us) and occasionally we would sing a duet of a favorite tune we'd learned in grade school for the group.

Ok, there wasn't any singing at Fritz and Kathryn's party, but just the same, the kids were the entertainment, with an audience of adults watching them, carefully, with focus and enthusiasm, perform a creative task well. They were complimented on what a good job they were doing, hanging those tiny, delicate ornaments, and how well behaved they were! I'll see if I can get some photos of K & F's tree and post later! It looked gorgeous!!

How not to celebrate an anniversary

This past September, Monkeyrotica and I celebrated our eleventh anniversary. And by celebrated, I really just mean acknowledged (on my part, mostly). He bought me a gorgeous dress that I was surprised and thrilled about (and he got... [crickets chirping...] get back to you later). But man, this September and October? It was such a total bust. For various reasons (related to the economy, maybe? maybe???) I was absolutely freaked out and cancelled many plans. The anniversary dinner was just one of many things that I promised to reschedule.

We did dress up and go out on October 11 for a black tie wedding and I got to wear the dress!! It was so fabulous, I forgot that going to somebody else's wedding doesn't really count as celebrating your own anniversary.

So (this list assumes you're in charge of your family budget), here are some notes, so you don't screw up like me for your anniversaries to come:

1. Months ahead, put some $$ aside just for your spouse's gift and dinner.
2. Set a date for your dinner, & if you have kids, book a sitter at least four weeks ahead (and put some $$ aside for that too).
3. Make a reservation at least two weeks ahead at a restaurant you both like or are wanting to try.
4. Set a fabulous outfit aside a couple of days ahead, with accessories (if, like me, you are hiding in the bathroom 15 minutes before you're supposed to be leaving while you are making custom jewelry for our outfit, your spouse will not appreciate it).
5. Check with the sitter the night before to confirm; confirm with the restaurant too, while you're at it. Couldn't hurt.
6. Leave enough time to get to the restaurant at a leisurely pace.
7. If you can view the restaurant's menu ahead of time, get an idea of what you'd like to order.
8. Whatever your meal tastes like, DON'T COMPLAIN! If your spouse is anything like Monkeyrotica, any complaining will ruin, RUIN the entire experience, done, game over, try again next time. If it's easily fixed, catch the waiter on your way to powder your nose. If it's really just not right, make up your calories with a fabulous dessert.
9. ABOVE ALL, enjoy being out with each other! If you don't have kids yet, savor your time alone and linger. If you do have kids, try to talk about other things. It's tough, I know. Imagine that you have other personal pursuits, life dreams and goals and focus on them. Listen to your spouse.
10. Pretend you're on a first date. Play footsie! Sit next to each other and neck a bit like teenagers. You deserve it and it's fun!

I'm thinking I'll be able to make this up to him in December, possibly January. I'm working on #1 and #2.

World holidays & festivals, a theme

Native American Museum
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

A few other folks I know who are participating in NaBloPoMo have chosen a theme for their posts this month—this is totally at the blogger's discretion, only suggested as a tool for getting those posts written.

That said, given the content of my last two day's posts and some historical avoidings leanings of mine, my November theme is World Holidays & Festivals. I may or may not stick to it, bear with me.

If you have a favorite holiday/festival that you'd like me to feature, add it into the comments; I'd totally love that!

Some background to this theme idea: years ago, after college—but before marriage and kids—it was just me and my fine arts degree in graphic design. My dad, ever looking ahead, found the perfect way for me to rake in a boatload of cash (a way that I mostly stonewalled). It was a brilliant idea, only it was a lot of work, required an entrepreneurial spirit, and wasn't the direction that I saw my career going.

The Idea: design, illustrate, write, produce, and sell greeting cards for non-Hallmark holidays. Or, not even non-Hallmark but particularly celestial holidays that focus on getting back to seasonal rhythms. For example, a celestial event that would be appropriate (and that coincidentally falls on or near my dad's birthday) is the Vernal or Autumnal Equinox. I bought a few books on the subject of celestial events at the time and even threw an equinox party one year, complete with planting sapling trees and a harvest feast. Anyway, details on those celebrations will be saved for another post. Suffice to say, this is a subject that has been floating in my periphery, though I have not actualized the greeting card concept.

For the world end of things, I have access (through work) to many international projects, holidays, travelers, and customs that I may feature when I'm searching for a good topic. I'm looking forward to this!

I leave you with a delightful image of Rosie, with her gorgeous paper flower that we made at the Smithsonian's Dia de los Muertos Festival.

Flood: An Act of Kenmore

Today, I hate water. It seems like all the major repairs we've had in our house have had to do with water damage. First, the pipe under the deck burst, then the downstairs shower leaked (tile repair), then the skylight leaked (replace skylight), then the gutters failed and water leaked into the basement, and now this. Is it because we are all Water Signs here (Scorpio & Cancer/2ea)?

3:15 a.m. at the Strings' house: Dash is crying for me. I go to calm him down and while in his room, hear splattering water from inside the house. I go downstairs to the basement to see water pouring out of a light fixture onto the floor. Must find bucket; checked laundry room for buckets, found more water. I headed back upstairs and checked outside for rain; all dry. WhereTF is the water coming from?!? I step into an inch of water in the flooded kitchen and learn: The Dishwasher is spewing hot water everywhere. I scream for Monkeyrotica's help.

Father's Day can suck hard, too!

4 a.m.: Dash is still crying for us. Monkey is downstairs doing damage control on the massive amount of water in the laundry room, getting all the clothing, etc. off the floor so he can mop up the puddles. I'm still in the kitchen using dishrags and a bucket to sop up the pool kitchen floor. Opening the dishwasher stemmed the flow of water, but when it's shut, it continues. Once I've sent all the water on the floor down the sink, I get to work on bailing water from the dishwasher until it no longer leaks when shut. I run downstairs to check on Monkey, still in the laundry room, grab all of the towels in the house and toss them his way to put on the 50+ square feet of carpeting that's soaked. I ask him to start setting up fans to circulate air & help dry the carpet.

4:30 a.m.: Dash is still up, Monkey lets him out of bed. He comes downstairs to see all the action, of course! Monkey and I are busy, alternately wringing out towels and laying towels out on the carpet, and also keeping Dash out of trouble. A comment Monkey makes about having a old-school crank-wringer + basin in his first house gives me a eureka moment! I'll use our washer's spin cycle to get the water out of the towels.

5:00 a.m.: I enlist Dash in stomping towels to help get the water out of the carpet. He says, "I'm very good at marching on towels!!" I agree with him! And am glad to have his help, despite messing up his needed sleep. Monkey and & are still wringing out/spinning wet towels and laying them out. Dash gets bored and Monkey takes him upstairs for a snack. I continue wringing, laying out. and putting towels in the spin cycle.

6:00 a.m.: Rosie wakes up and Monkey gives her breakfast. I'm still on towel duty. Monkey brings me coffee and I start smelling yummy breakfast odors. Both kids are with me in the basement, playing and occasionally stomping towels. Seems like the carpet is less squishy in some places. Still squishy in others.

7:00 a.m.: Monkey calls me up for breakfast. I eat a delicious cheese omelet and then grab the kids to give him his Father's Day gifts (just practical stuff like socks, underpants, & a cotton bathrobe; I did get him two t-shirts, Superman and flying monkeys!).

8:00 a.m.: I change the towels again. No more wringing—my arms are dead & I have washerwoman hands—just spin cycles from here out.

9:00 a.m.: I blog about it. Coming up: a phone call to a dishwasher repairman and shopping for a new hose for our wet/dry vac; maybe a nap. But, I'll leave you, dear readers, out of that minutia.

Happy Father's Day to all dads out there! I hope your day is better than ours.

merriest xmas!

We had a wonderful time this year with friends and family! As KellyO and Wrekehavoc have already documented on
their blogs, we enjoyed a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner with all our kids at Wreke's place. The kids all played (some of them actually ate real food), Wreke had an eclectic collection of holiday tunes playing on her stereo, and we all had fun drinking wine, eating too much, and taunting AJS with forks.

At my parents' house the next day, the Strings (that's us) all showed up, loaded down with a perfectly cooked leg of lamb, and all our gifts for each other, including the kids, my folks, and Auntie M. AJS's lamb was delicious! Dash ate some of it, but only while sitting in my lap and from my fork (Rosie had Cheerios); Auntie M. made her most wondrously fluffy and tasty mashed taters, and we also had minted carrots and steamed green beans. Auntie M. had baked a carrot cake, which I LOVED!! and we all came back for dessert after opening gifts.

Dash opened the enormous towering gift that was labeled his; it was literally taller than him, in the box. When it was revealed to be a Tonka Firetruck with motorized parts, well, he was just lost for anything else; we just heard a lot of "YAY-HOO!" and "COOL!" from his part of the room. I'll try to post some vids later. Later on, he did extend some interest in two other gifts: a ping-pong-tube-air-gun set from AJS (guns? sigh; AJS wants the boy to learn about/respect guns. Dash was running around with them like a Stormtrooper with a laserpistol), and a
space-ship shaped tent, where Dash and Rosie can hide out (it's big enough for a couple of friends, too!).

Rosie got a few dolls, notably an "Emma" American Girl Doll from Grandma, and soft "Toy Story 2" Woody & Jesse dolls from me. AJS ordered her a doll house, but it hasn't arrived. Auntie M. got her some more figure sets for the Unicorn Village of chokeables (my silly name for it) that stays at Grandma's; she and Rosie really do have lots of fun with it. Auntie M. has a way with creative playtime! Rosie also has lots of new books, puzzles, and drawing sets. Thanks everyone!!!

I have a new phone, which I've already posted about, and am loving it! I just need to figure out the volume situation (if I'm outside, I can't hear what callers are saying, even though the volume is at max). But I generally don't use my cell phone for phone calls, mostly for IM, texting, and emails. And now, for posting to my blog!

AJS isn't thrilled with the gifts that I gave him (even though three of them WERE on his Amazon.com wishlist and the other one is for emergencies only), so I offered to help fund his projector TV project, which has only been a dream of his for the past five years or more. It's quite pricey. I hereby am putting my portion of my parents' generous monetary gift toward it.

Happy Holidays EVERYONE! And an early happy birthday to Thea-O, who will be four tomorrow! They are all growing up so fast.

new phone!

Hey everybody! I'm posting to Blogger from my new Sidekick LX! I don't mean I'm emailing a post, but actually logged in through the browser!

I'm even more psyched that I can comment on my blogspot friends' blogs when they're blocked at work. Such a relief!

Thanks, AJS, for the xlnt xmas gift. :-*