Weed eater

With the onset of Spring in full swing, the yard needs mowing and weed eating for the second time already. We have a little extra help!

Ah, the fresh air...

and sunshine on these first days of spring!

Yeah, we got it made and we know it. Javamom is trying to catch and save an injured neighborhood cat, who just happens to look a whole lot like me (Tigger) and bring him back to health. Darn cat keeps limping away before she can catch him. She's gone and left food out for him and everything!

posted by the protesting Javacats

~ TP'd again ~

Our boys had some fun tp-ing our friends' home...so said friends got even :-). Though said friends have also gotten us two or three times now, and one of our boys participated in the aforementioned activity only once.

Yes, our boys had to clean it all up, with a little help from Dread Pirate Sparsebeard. He can wield the extend-a-poll a lot better than Jr. High arms can. He's strong from all that Swabbing of the decks, raising of the sails, and all that "piratey" stuff, LOL.

Switching Gears

Time to lighten up with some of our favorite things:

~ Hanging out in hammocks
~ our kitties
~ good books and good art

11.5 yos called me from his room to point out Tigger hamming it up in the hammock for relaxation. Here is mittens on H.E. Marshall's _English Literature for Boys and Girls_. She had been admiring Monet's "The Corn Poppies" that you see behind her. I catch her napping behind that easel fairly often.


Mittens is more literate than Tigger. She has always preferred being near the books, on the books, and even looks on while the kids read their books! You think I jest?



:-D Javamom

And the new year begins!

On New Year's Eve, we spent much of the day with some of our friends from church at their home, six families together in all. Just about every three months, the men and the boys get together for "Age of Empires" battles. We're talking a computer for every player; multiple hours, multiple games. We gals spend the time visiting, we watch a movie or two, and play "pass the babies." We had three babies to share this year! I made the customary espresso and cappuccino for those who wanted them.



After all the babies went home (before midnight) and our older kids went off to their lock-in or over to another family's home for their own New Year's party, we played "Pit." It was a vintage version of the game, too. Do any of you remember it or still play? Everyone trades one, two, three or four cards to get a full house of "wheat" or "corn" or "rye" etc. You only want the "bull" card if you have a handful of the same card and are about to win. You don't ever want the "bear" card. Twice I had both in my hand when someone went out. That meant -50 pts. for each of those cards. Somehow, I still won the game and was the first one to (almost) get to 500. They called it finished at 490. In between each hand, we all took a turn reading aloud to each other from the Gullah Nyew Testament. That was rich fun!

Here is an example: from 1 Thes. 5: 16-22

"Rejaice all de time. Neba stop da pray. Ain mek no nebamind wa happen, oona mus tell God tankya fa ebryting. Cause dat how God wahn oona fa lib, oona wa done come fa be one een Jedus Christ. Mus dohn stop de Holy Sperit fom do e wok eenside oona. Wen people da taak wod wa God pit een dey haat, oona mus dohn hole em cheap. Mus listen ta um. Mus look at ebryting good fashion fa mek sho weza e fom God fa true. Den ef e good, oona mus hole fast ta um. Mus stay way fom ebry kind ob ebil."

...and that is how we spent our New Year's Eve and early New Year's Day. How about you?

Javamom

Summer according to Androcles

Crafts ~ air soft pellet mosaics

A funny from the oldest son

My hubby was talking with AnselAdams, our 17 yo humanities and philosophically oriented son, in the kitchen a few nights ago. Hubby was telling him of a couple of possible opportunities for AA to travel to Africa (something he has wanted to do for a couple of years, now) and do some humanitarian and mission work. Hubby was beside himself at the chances for our son. After about ten minutes of discussion about this dream, AA said, "That's great, Dad, but what I REALLY want to talk about is the incredible sandwich I made today..."

Okay, so I guess you had to be there...but it's good to know that serious and intense people can lighten up and just want to talk about something as simple and uncomplicated as a really great sandwich sometimes :-).

Javamom

Night Noises Everywhere

...in which certain sounds made their way into my dream about King Kong in the wee hours of the morning.

Oldest son Ansel, soon to be 17, has been working on a project for a certain Science teacher and program related to hubby's school. Certain software programs were not working as he was accustomed to, from his videography experiences with his job this summer for the solar car team and race.

Said teen was up throughout the night editing and waiting (snoozing) patiently over each step of the rendering and movie editing process.

Then I had this dream of the great King Kong...the aforementioned teen had been asleep briefly for only about twenty minutes. Throughout the night, he was trying to be as quiet as possible. Still, I do not sleep well if my children are still up studying or working on a school project.

My dream was an exciting one, very much like the old movie from my childhood. We were in a building, my family, some friends and I, and King Kong was there, too, complete with the building up of intense drum beats (rather like the Irish clog dancing? huh? Oh, I now recognize it as the double timpani action from our evening at the symphony this past weekend listening to Mahler's Symphony #1 in D major ~ snicker, snort). There was this rumbling and growling from Old Kong...the building was going to be brought down by the feared beast! I pleadedwith everyone to leave the building, for it was coming down and we must all run! I struggled to gather everyone, and help lead them out to safety...the beats kept beating and the rumbles kept rumbling. I could not get everyone out of the building, no matter how hard I tried. It was as if they could not hear me...then upon waking, I continued to to hear the rumbling.........which.......turned out to be.............someone's snoring ;-).

It was not my own!

I shall now dub Hubster "King Kong," affectionately.

{huge grin}

Javamom

Cerebral Enhance-o-tron

Update: Inspired by his favorite cartoon, Calvin & Hobbes, and with the help of a metal pasta strainer and some old cords and earphones, Andrewcles re-created... a type of thinking cap!

Virtual Toblerone for anyone who knows what this is!

Our 10 yo son created one all his very own. He is our busy, distracted child. Once he can settle down and focus, it is astounding what he can actually accomplish or create!

I'll share a photo soon :-)

Javamom

Funny Thanksgiving photo

Scholar and Cat

~ Tigger ~
The print on display is a but a small section of Botticelli's painting "Birth of Venus" that dd and I picked up for 2 euro in Florence. The real painting is the size of a wall in a standard room in an average home.

We love our kitties, who bring laughter and sweet moments to our days. This poem seemed rather fitting...dh is a scholar and English Teacher, and he doesn't engage with our pets so much.

The Scholar and The Cat
by an Irish Monk, 8th or 9th Century

I and white Felix,
each of us two (keeps) at his specialty:
his mind is set on hunting,
my mind on my special subject.

I love (it is better than all fame)
to be quiet beside my book, with persistent inquiry.
Not envious of me White Felix;
he loves his childish art.

When we two are (tale without boredom)
alone in our house,
we have something to which we may apply our skill,
an endless sport.

It is customary at times for a mouse to stick in his net,
as a result of warlike struggles (feats of valor).
For my part, into my net falls
some difficult crux of hard meaning.

He directs his bright perfect eye
against an enclosing wall.
Though my (once) clear eye is very weak
I direct it against acuteness of knowledge

He is joyful with swift movement
when a mouse sticks in his sharp claw.
I too am joyful
when I understand a dearly loved difficult question.

Though we are always like this,
neither of us bothers the other:
each of us likes his craft,
rejoicing alone each in his.

He it is who is master for himself
of the work which he does every day.
I can perform my own task,
directed toward understanding clearly that which is difficult.

Our youngest...he is into all things fun!

The quilt on the bed is my first attempt at quilting.