crafty foreign service

baby gift

2012-02-06T14:14:00.000-08:00

My lovely wonderful former Montessori co-teacher is having another baby. So I needed to whip something up - a pair of mittens for big brother, a cute red and pink polka dotted corduroy shirt, some stripy socks - because I love, love, love all things stripy on children and a little hand knit plain vest, knit up in some Chinese market red cotton tape type yarn held double with some Chinese market wool-cashmere blend. I am pleased with how it turned out and I hope baby is too. Not too girly, but still meets my need for modern cute.

making

2012-01-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

Here are a little cute pair of mittens I whipped up on Friday. I wish they fit either of my young children, but they don't. So I will send them off to a friend in North Carolina and hope they get some use from her little guy.

Also, the quilt has a back, and was made into a quilt sandwich. I did not follow the directions for the back because I didn't have enough large fabric, so I made it up to make it work. I am very happy with how it looks. Now to order more thread and get it quilted.

the swap is on!

2012-01-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

So the deadline came and went last night for the fs swap sign up. I ended up with 26 people. Not too bad considering I did not do my usual begging routine this time around....I am sure these are 26 awesome people, no flakes in the bunch!

Look for you swap pal assignment in your inbox later today. Happy swapping!

Why don't I sew more?

2012-01-23T07:31:00.001-08:00

Since I am a lonely crafter, I sometimes join internet a-longs. This is the current one at ohfransson. I bought the fabric off etsy - someone was selling odds and ends, obviously left over from their own sewing projects. For the white background I used a Chinese white sheet. fyi - if you posted to China and have sheets made, either don't expect them to last long or be more choosey than I was. Almost all of them have had the elastic go bad already. So sad.

Anyway, below is the almost finished product. This is one of the more intense quilts I have made, it is not full size and now I am crazy enough to believe I can make any quilt top. The blog it came from is excellent for how-to tips as well, I am very down with the modern quilting.

And finally the fs swap is slowing growing. I think we are probably up to 18 people. Please feel free to spread the word, far and wide.

how to swap

2012-01-17T07:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the somewhat annual FS swap. I started the Swap about 4 years ago when we were posted to Southeast Asia and I was somewhat bored out of my mind. Swaps are very popular in the crafty blog community so I hoped it would work within the FS too. So far so good, I think? This is the 3rd FS swap, both previous times I have had 50-60 odd people around the world signup.

The way this swap works is - you leave a comment on the blog saying - your name, current location and email address. Or you can email that info to kennedyas@yahoo.com Feel free to include your blog address if you want. People may sign up on or before January 26th. On the 27th I will match everyone up and send you and your partner each others details. I will do my very best not to match anyone in the same country. Also - to join, you or your husband or wife type MUST actually be in the FS. Like on your first tour at the very least. And I cannot take special requests - unless someone asks to only swap with labrador mad people who spend every free moment sewing, knitting, cooking and reading design blogs....then your MY swap partner.

Once your matched up - you swap emails back and forth to get to know a little something about your partner and maybe about their current post. This, by the way, is an EXCELLENT bidding tool. You will then start getting together a fun little package of goodies to send them. If you happen to be lucky enough to be at a pouch only post, no worries, you can cram a lot in a VHS tape sized box or envelope. You just have to be creative and we all understand, really we do. If you are concerned about cost - then go ahead and email your partner and agree upon a budget. What if your in DC? Well, DC is, in fact, a post. Go head and sign up! The deadline to mail your package is February 26th - a whole month.

You can make this kid centric if you want - "See, sweetie, everyone has our couch" or not. If you learn your partner lets her 3 year old swig Coke while playing X box all day, then really think before you send her those Montessori handbooks....she probably isn't interested. If your in DC and your pal in Harare has bemoaned the lack of pretty cupcake liners - there you go - an idea! Just be creative, have fun and don't stress.

Please help spread the word - the more people, the better the swap turns out to be. I will have a blog button to send out this evening, if anyone would like one just let me know. Also, if you have questions, just send those along too.

The 3rd - somewhat - annual FS Swap - coming soon!

2012-01-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

Coming soon! Details on the blog tomorrow.

we are going to be quilt rich

2012-01-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

My husband was sweet enough to get me this fabric bundle. I love Liberty of London. I love it so much I decided I could not cut it up. I am so far happy with the result and it feels so so nice.

I am already thinking about organizing the 3rd somewhat annual FS Swap. I wonder if there is any interest?

the life list

2011-12-31T19:27:00.000-08:00

So how am I doing on the life list? I think I need to edit and re-vamp it being a new year and all...

I have finished the following in the last year or so -

taken my daughter to see the Nutcracker, the Canadian Nutcracker, but still..
train a guide dog
teach my daughter to knit
ice skate down a canal
learn how to put in a zipper
teach the kids the pledge - all 3 now know it, thank you 1st ever US Girl Scout troop in Canada
learn to snow shoe
finished one of my mother's 1980's quilts, and have two others underway in various stages

Maybe tomorrow I will get around to a new improved life list. Everything will feel new again.
Happy 2012!

the tree

2011-12-30T05:26:00.000-08:00

Was 'get our tree at a Xmas tree farm' on my life list? If it were, we could cross it off.

and the cat came back but not the very next day..

2011-12-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

Our naughty cat did come back - after a 9 day jaunt around the neighborhood, or maybe a 9 day stay in the next door neighbor's garage. He was very pathetic for days.

The above is what is in my project basket at the moment. A very addictive Long Dog sampler, a Gap- tastic cowl made from Lion Brand chunky yarn which is shockingly soft so far, and a pair of boring man Paton yarn socks.

The crafting does continue..

a tough week

2011-11-26T16:59:00.001-08:00

So this has been a tough week for me. Last week we got the call that the sweet wonderful beautiful perfect guide dog had to leave us. This photo was taken the afternoon she left at her new digs - she is the smiling one on the far left.

Last week our Malay cat also ran away. The babysitter must have let him out. It has been a full 8 days and no sign of him. I am trying to keep it together by sewing obsessively.

I do sometimes finish things

2011-11-15T10:32:00.001-08:00

This is a quilt that my mother put somewhat together in about 1982. I finally finished it up. I am pleased with it and have moved onto another of her quilt tops - probably circa 1983ish.

the cuteness is killing me

2011-10-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Our time with our guide dog in training will end sometime between now and June. She is a perfect dog. So when our wonderful dog trainer emailed to tell us about a guide dog flunky puppy - we jumped at the chance to give him a home. Wonder boy has been with us for about a month. He is Wonder-ful.

There is a lot of cuteness going on at our house.

R & R - backwards

2011-07-22T07:32:00.001-07:00

Our final stop - for a week - Folly Beach, South Carolina.

Any guesses where this is? Pigeon Forge, TN. That's right - I made my husband go to Dollywood! It was very white and wholesome. They should add some walk in dental clinics and they would make out. They do have a couple very good roller coasters according to some in my party.

Some random park we always go to in Nashville.

A stop at the Columbus zoo. It was good. And very hot.

MarineLand - Everyone loves Marineland...It was good too. It was not nearly as white as Dollywood, and they sell beer. The beluga whales were pretty friendly.

A not so super part of Marineland. The deer park. All the deer are fawns who obviously like humans. Where do the grown up deer who like humans go I wonder?

Niagara Falls. You sort of have to do the Maid of the Mist. This is from the ferris wheel. The town could be described as the Canadian Gaitlinburg.

There are dinosaurs there too.

Collections

2011-07-21T15:54:00.000-07:00

First a shot of the guide dog in training 'puppy' enjoying the backyard. Such a pretty girl!

The weekly round up this week has 'Collections' as the theme. I guess I collect lucky cats? I am too embarrassed to show my yarn and fabric 'collections'...I am a bit too afraid someone might call one of those hoarder shows.....

FS Weekly Round up

2011-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

The theme offered up for this week was 'Manners' but there was only 1 taker, so thanks to Nomads by Nature who wrote about minding your P's and Q's. Some excellent suggestions on being supportive of your fellow fs family.

So, now what? I thought I would poke around and see what people are up to worldwide.

Kate at Pulling Stakes sat through my personal version of hell - a 4 hour poetry cafe at her children's elementary school.

Moppyseed Puffin just found out they are going to Columbo. I remember flag day - so exciting!

Stephanie at WhereIntheWorld went basketshopping - or at least posed with some awesome looking baskets in India.

Over at What Were We Thinking they were on a Lincoln kick. I love their family photo btw - it seems to scream Tijuana to me.

Heather at The Wandering Drays just got the world's cutest little puppy. Not a labrador, but still cute.

The employee at The B Files scored very well on her Spanish test. Congrats!

At Fabling after a trip to Shape they seem to be well on their way to settling into their new home in Belgium. I used to love going to Shape as a kid - I wonder if they still call it Shape?

And Corinna at Knettles Travel is at the other end, just packing up to head to Dhaka. Is it me or are there a lot of bloggers in Dhaka?

I think that is about it for my round up. I checked in with some long time bloggers and some that were new to me.

If you would like to host the Weekly Round up, check here for sign ups. Thanks Kolbi!

Round up and school's out!

2011-06-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

School is finally out! Yahoo! I hope to sleep in tomorrow - at least till, say, 7:30! The crazy get up my youngest is wearing is the end result of the school fair. Fun times.

I am hosting the Weekly FS Round-Up this week. I think for the first time ever. I suggested manners as a topic, but am open to anything. Feel free to send me links to your blog. I may start looking at new to me fs blogs and include them too. New blogs can be fun.

Now to get through one more after school is over picnic tomorrow, Embassy mail pick up and then swimming lessons Friday morning....

Summer planning

2011-06-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

These mittens are my new project...once the final last baby blanket is done this weekend. Perfect timing since it is finally hot. Really hot. Yesterday I brought all our fans to the children's school as it has no AC and was over 100 with the humidex -whatever that really is... I also brought juice ice pops. I think both kids only walked away with some mild heat exhaustion. A good day?

What have we been doing?

2011-05-26T13:51:00.001-07:00

In an effort to offer photographic proof that we do leave the house from time to time...we went for a walk in Gatineau Park in Quebec this weekend. It was nice and pretty and full of mosquitoes already.

This is a swamp that beavers made/live in. It is also a park where you can hand feed chickadees...if you are not a small girl with little patience who is prone to whining that is...

And this is our duckling. As in 'The Ugly Ducking' ballet. I love our new ballet school. The girls do real ballet and no one looks like they are in a strip club apprenticeship program.

some fun things to hand sew

2011-05-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

This is a long dog sampler I did when we were still in China. It was addictive. SERIOUSLY addictive. I would love to do another one of their samplers. The French can do samplers.

Source: rosylittlethings.typepad.com via Chriseda on Pinterest

a kit to order from this awesome blog, I have also ordered and made up most of her Xmas ornament kits. I also have her second book and it has fun and very lovely things to make in it.

Some drama to make the day more fun

2011-05-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

Oh man. Am I glad the kids are switching schools next year. Wow. Today the youngest was sickly so the husband dropped off the middle kid. So I was surprised to get an excited phone call from another mother at 8:35 about the state of things at school this morning at drop off. The whole school board was there. It was tense. Something was wrong. Then later in the morning another mother calls and mentions the police were there a little later. WHAT?! Turns out a parent who wasn't supposed to be there turned up and didn't handle a talking to all that well.

Oh my. That took up my whole day. Did I mention I am glad the kids are moving to another school even if it is for just one year and it's a major pain? At least all the moms at the new school seem nice...and sane.

finishing things up

2011-05-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

So I am bored, nothing new. Actually I am probably not bored, I am just not that impressed with all the school business that is May and June. All the school seems to want of parents is to make them exhausted. How many different types of end of year parties can there really be?! So, in an effort to bring on the happy, I have been working hard on my mitired blanket. I bought all the wool-cashmere blend at the infamous Wool Spinning City in Beijing. I then sat at a cafe through almost every child Chinese lesson in KL...well, after I sat through listening to the other mothers make disparaging comments about me before they realized my Mandarin is actually ok...

So all the squares are done now, I think, I have not counted lately. But I moved on to adding an edging. So I have about 30 odd more squares to edge. Then I sew it up and figure out some kind of backing. I think currently thinking cream or wild flannel backing.

I don't think this is on the official life list, but I have been carting these things around far too long. Plus we no longer have a lamp in the tv room so knitting is all I can do blind at night...maybe when it is done I will look into buying a new lamp.

In other more boring and unrelated news...pre-bidding continues. I have agreed to my husband's top pick and he has agreed to mine. Both are hardships posts, I mean Hardship posts - with a capital H. And that ear tube/adenoid surgery the youngest had last November seems to have been a total waste - she is back to poor hearing and chronic ear infections. Awesome.

cooking

2011-05-04T12:23:00.001-07:00

I went away for the weekend. It was not super fun but springtime in Vermont is lovely. I am back in the cooking saddle again so to speak and we are having this for dinner. Not super Chinese but yummy nonetheless. I am going to do better with trying some new recipes. I have been in a cooking rut.

What bugs me

2011-05-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

I have not been a very regular blogger as of late...ok, ever really. Things keep coming up. Life drama. Nothing life or death or anything, just regular life.

I have also recently come to the conclusion I hate a lot of the blogs I read. Obviously I read a lot of crafty type blogs. And mothering type blogs. I have absolutely decided that I hate the blogs that tout the perfectness of the bloggers children. You know the ones, Suzy is a perfect 4 year old. She gets stright A's, speaks 4 languages,has just memorized and preformed a Bethoveen piano sonata and is a ballet and soccer star and has memorized the periodic table because it fasinates her. There is never ever any mention of the fact that Suzie spends a lot of her free time whining at her mother and said mother is ready to sell Suzie to gypsies. I hate the whole my kid is perfect boastfullness thing.

I also have come to not like all these newish how to live life guide blogs. They are all very slick in appearance and these women have sponsors. They blog about how to organize your life, or live more simply or whatever it is they feel they are an expert in. It bugs me. A lot. I don't think any of these women are real experts on whatever their niche is, they just figured out a way to do whatever that works for them. I am a knitting sewing machine but I really don't think I could ever write pretending to be an expert. I am always doing everything by the seat of my pants, in crazy ways that are not in how to books. I make a lot of mistakes but usually I do learn from them.

Ok all that is now off my chest. Now I am going to be boastful. A friend told me I am mother of the year 2011 for what I used as punishment on the oldest yesterday. I had parent teacher conferences, they did not go well at all mostly, so the next day, I drug his sorry behind to the Emily Dickinson museum. Where he had to go on the 90 minute house tour. Followed by the garden tour! Mother of the year 2011, that is me!

Guest post from the lovely crafty Heather

2011-04-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hi! I am Heather from over at Way off Base and we are headed to our first overseas post in Guyana courtesy of the U.S. Navy. I have been thinking of ways to continue my crafty fascination without the ease of running to the local Micheal's for supplies...and one main way keeps coming to mind: printables!

Easter Bunny Cupcake toppers {source}

Printables are fantastic: you can find almost anything via the web, print it off on card stock (or on regular paper and then glued to recycled cereal boxes, etc. if you need the weight), and feel like you just got back from your neighborhood party store!

Spring Swag Banner {source}

(Don't have ribbon on hand? Try yarn, raffia, or twine...)

Organizing the embassy egg hunt? Help the little kids find the loot with this printable Easter Hunt Kit

Live in a country with ambiguous seasons? Keep a picture frame on the shelf with seasonal word art to help you remember what season it is supposed to feel like! Start with Easter/Spring:

{source}

Unless you are like us and live where Kool-Aid is essentially banned and you have some drink packets laying around, check out this inventive way to dye eggs!

Got a hardware store but no craft store? Maybe you can get your hands on some paint sample cards and whip up this cute Easter swag:

(Can't get paint cards? Print the egg template on plain paper and put the kids to work "decorating" their eggs with crayons, stickers, glitter, etc.!)

I hope you can use some of these fun (and free!) Easter crafts to add a little seasonal flair to that fabulous post housing!

day 2 of a super fun week

2011-04-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at about 5 am there was a thunderstorm here. When I saw a tweet from the weatherman about checking his basement, I thought, huh...maybe I should go check ours. Turns out we had some flooding. There was a few inches of standing water in half the basement. The landlord came over and though he was nice has sort of said 'It rained a lot, that is the problem. The end.' I am not so down with that but really there is little we can do about it. He wanted us to move out last spring so he could sell the house...I guess we should have listened and done it. Oh well.

So that was my day. My evening was baking apple pies for international day. Nothing too crazy happened with that. Then about 2 am the stomach flu fairy paid us a visit. She has not yet left. My 5 year old is pretty tough and besides her ear issues rarely gets sick - I thank ayi for feeding her all variety of street foods while in China. But she is down for the count today.

I posted to the fs blogger group about guest postings but so far have only had 2 takers. Once again I sort of feel like I am not on the same page with anyone else. Oh well - off to check on the de humidifier which may belong to a Canadian Ambassador from a recently evacuated middle eastern country.

I am doing well

2011-04-07T12:20:00.001-07:00

So 1/2 of the red bed project is done. My daughter LOVES her new bed. The brother's bed is currently in our bathroom, painted in hot pink primer. I have high hopes I might get it painted by tomorrow and by Sunday will be dry enough to set back up. Fingers crossed that works out.

And here are the goodies my two swap pals sent me. Yes, two, as the organizer I felt like I had to luck out, I mean, take on two people when there ended up being an odd number....The groovy blue bag and the half covered up metal lizard which is 1/3 of a set - are from the lovely Shannon. The eagle batik type fabric, the red crochet bag and bangles are from a lovely woman in Freetown. The other two lizards have already found a home in the Playmobil doll house I think....Thanks to you both, I hope everyone else has felt the swap pal love as I have!

So how did I do?

2011-04-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Hmm...well I wish I could say I finished my previous to - do list. Not even close but I did make some progress.

2 p/t conferences for fabulous, smart and easy kids - check!

bidding - crossed one tropical place off the list after someone was honest! Thanks J! and the husband had a phone interview with another tropical place last night which went well I think.

I started painting bed frame #1 this afternoon - so far it is about 1/2 done in hot pink primer. The 5 year old wants it to stay pink....not so much the look I was going for.

Bought 2 birthday presents for yet another joint b-day party. I am over the joint b-day parties.

I did find 3/4 rain boots and they fit...no idea where that missing 4th boot might be.

I also tore the playroom apart today and it is still not remotely back together yet. Not a good sign since it is already after 5.

So still a lot to do. Maybe if I work harder it will take my mind off the oldest who is doing his best to disappoint in almost every way possible. Today's heartbreak - he dropped music. I have only carted his sorry behind to cello lessons in 4 different countries. For 12 years. sigh.

the spring to do list keeps growing

2011-03-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

In no particular order is my spring - next week or 2 to do list. I am apparently going to be a very busy bee...of course, knowing me, the above knitting is going to keep me from getting a lot done on my list. At least I try...sort of.

order mulch

find a window washer and hire them

finish baby blanket #2

start looking for gift boxes for baby blankets #1 and #2

sand 2 bed frames

paint 2 bed frames bright red - after buying said paint

finish putting pictures in some frames which are already up on the wall...

finish a quilt - 'a' not 'all'

make a pair of baby pants

haul 2 duvets to the coin laundry

drive south to a nice quilt store and buy backing for next quilt

finish fixing an African chair we have - this might go on the husband's to do list

buy birthday gifts for 2 parties this Sunday

check rain boot situation and order as needed

work on bidding - nice how this is just hidden in the list!

buy dirt and start seeds indoors

Figure out how to train cat not to destroy all seeds started indoors

label toys bins

sort all random photos for start of huge photo project

wash and mail Eve's diapers

send someone in KL something super

another baby gift under way

2011-03-27T17:03:00.000-07:00

We are finally back from our 'vacation' - it was a very long two weeks. But I did finish the baby blanket for the first blanketand have started on another for a super sweet friend back home. Again with the cotton fleece, I love this stuff for baby blankets.

A little of the crafty

2011-03-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Since my husband joined the fs I have been pretty crafty. This is not even the half of it, probably not even a quarter of it...I am really bad at remembering to take pictures. I should do better with that..

Something fun and Happy!

2011-03-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Fun!

Fabric!

2011-03-10T07:54:00.001-08:00

Last Friday (I know I am behind and slow and it is awful of me!) I got this wonderful envelope in the mail. Full of fabric goodness. I just have one question - Jennifer, Where is the other 3 or so odd yards of the Japanese prints so I can make myself some clothes?! No really, it is all wonderful and fun. I would have taken more photos, but my helper dog was too helpful - as seen below....

GSO Love

2011-03-03T05:40:00.000-08:00

On my other blog, www.at-post.blogspot.com we have a new theme going - GSO Love, or Drexel around the world or Are you kidding me, this is my couch?!

So far we have a lovely living room set from someone sweet in Dhaka and tomorrow I promise the same - Beijing style. If you have any furniture pictures, feel free to check out the blog and send them in because you KNOW that is one thing everybody wonders about when bidding.

more knitting

2011-02-28T07:13:00.001-08:00

This is the kind of knitting I love. Easy, mindless knitting with yarn that goes perfectly with the needles. This is a baby blanket for a fellow mother in my daughter's class. Love this blanket.

Can you bring the bread?

2011-02-25T15:56:00.000-08:00

"Can you bring the bread?" If ever I am invited anywhere, I always get asked to bring the bread. I make excellent bread if I do say so myself. I also make really good hummus. Hummus with flavor, not the kind of stuff from a plastic tub or the kind a lot of Middle Eastern women have served me...with lots of oil and no real taste. I thank Ina Gardner for the hummus recipe. I love her. I also have perfected the olive oil, baslmic vinegar with salt and pepper recipe. It is so yummy you would think you were at Macaroni Grill....I think. Is it Macaroni Grill that gives you that with the bread? Some chain Italian place that would seem super good right now. I think.

Well that was a fun week end

2011-02-22T17:36:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get my health in order this year. It is sort of on 'the list' and because of that I have been to the dreaded dentist and to the dreaded oral surgeon. I had my wisdom teeth out on Thursday morning. All FOUR wisdom teeth. I spent the week end in bed dutifully taking my narcotics. It was actually not quite as bad as I had been warned but I really feel like they sent me home too early...as in I have no recollection of the hour plus drive home. None whatsoever. I can only assume they did not ask me anything at the border...

I am glad it is done. Next up - the eye doctor.

2011-02-14T05:51:00.000-08:00

yes or no - that is the question

2011-02-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

We have been less than pleased with the quality of education in our host country. The oldest goes to boarding school and I am unsure if the middle child has learned anything other than how to sing the national anthem...not our own, but that of our host country.

The youngest would adjust quickly and do fine anywhere. She is the child always with the most stickers on the good behavior chart. She knows what to do and does it. Teachers love her.

The middle child is a different ballgame. He is easily stressed. He spent most of first grade crying that he did not want to go to school. The year has been better but recently he had his first migraine and chronic 'tension' headaches ever since. Since Xmas break he has had a new teacher, who is perky and nice, but has ramped up the homework quite a bit, though he is doing fine with it.

We did go visit a Waldorf school last year, it was lovely but maybe too weird. We also went to visit a Montessori school which was ok, but in a church basement and had a mold feeling going on - which the middle one is allergic to.

Recently we visited another private school with a good science program. The head of the school seemed sane, kind and smart. The building is pretty good for here. The kids spent the day and reportedly liked it and did fine. However, since then the headaches began and they both whine they don't want to go. I should also add that if the youngest stays at the current school she will likely be the only girl in grade 1 next year. Which she would be fine with, she can hold her own, but her sappy mother is thinking 'what about playdates and birthday parties?' I could also add that no one will come over for a playdate this year because one mom doesn't like me and the other is afraid of the guide dog puppy...whatever.

I am starting to think more and more about homeschooling them both next year. Everyone I say that to here says that is a stupid idea and I should put it out of my mind. I should add that I happen to actually be a Montessori elementary teacher with a zillion years of experience preFS. I know I could do a much better job than any school here.

But here lies the question - how do people homeschool in a country with no real support and not loose their minds? I am afraid if I never have a break from the fighty twins I will go insane and my hair will turn white the first week.

I also don't really know the ins and outs of the home school allowance. Like will they pay for a set of racks and tubes? A Montessori division material for those of you who don't speak Montessori.

Something to think about hard I guess.

I might need to add more to the life list...

2011-02-06T14:59:00.001-08:00

Today we went skating down the canal. I wish I could say it was magical and lovely but....I went with my children. One who doesn't listen and the other who whines. The ice was also crazy rough, complete with drill holes exposing water. But at least we can check it off our post bucket list and my life list.

When we were finally done we lined up for a local delicacy.

Next up - I have written down the ingredients to make my own pain au chocolat. And I am thinking we should plan a vacation to the Virgin Islands next winter. That would be a two fer - swim in clear water AND learn to snorkel. How clever am I?!

How's the swap going?

2011-02-04T05:38:00.000-08:00

As the organizer of the fs swap I have to come clean - I am LATE sending out my box. As in this morning I am going shopping and hope the husband comes home with some boxes. But I told my pal so no one is going to be upset and with pouch it might take a while anyway.

Why am I late? I had a day to shop all planned out. And then the youngest got sick. And then there was the blizzard at the boarding school drama and then it snowed here. So this morning, all kids are off at school and come 10 am I am hitting the shops.

I wonder how everyone else is doing? Have you sent out your box? Have you received your box? Do you have a new FS BFF because of the swap?

what is going on today

2011-02-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

This stack of books and the sock knitting is what I have on the agenda for today. And maybe figuring out dinner and supervising homework..

And this little miss has been nursing a bad cough all week. This is her current passion - spool knitting. She is watching 'Little Bear' when I snapped the picture. I wonder where she got the genes to be able to do handwork while watching tv???

more in the series

2011-02-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

More in the series called 'you can't make this stuff up' I think part one was the visiting mother who fell down the stairs the day of the ballet recital and part two was running over a bear.

Let's visit part 3 which unfolded over the last 24 hours.

My oldest son attends boarding school in Vermont. It is a lovely albeit slightly hippy dippy sort of place. They were due for a short break on Wednesday. Monday at 2 pm they moved the break up by 28 hours due to the blizzard that was on the way. Ack! So first we deal with Carson Wagonlit. Finally they get his flight changed after much complaining on my part.

This morning I say to the husband, I don't think the kid is coming home today. He tells me I am once again being ridiculous. I email away and make sure his dorm head checks to see that he is awake and out the door at the right time to catch the shuttle. He is.

At nine-ish I check the flight status. The same flight earlier in the day has been canceled. But his looks fine. At noon I check again - CANCELED.

Super. I call the school. After chatting with the woman on the other end of the line and trying not to freak out, she says "So let me get this straight. He has no cell phone. His laptop is fried. And you have no idea if he even has a calling card since he has never called you on the telephone since he started school here." Followed by, "I guess you do not have any friends or family in CT?"

They finally figured out the the shuttle bus company that was to drop him off was having such a hard time driving in the snow that they had no even reached the airport. So back they came and when they reach town he will be farmed out to a local family with kids at the school.

It has been a super fun morning. He is apparently also very mad about the unfolding of events. I can't wait to talk to him on the phone. Of course I can control the weather and USAirways. I am powerful like that. I can also remotely make him not get around to doing his English assignments and make him overuse his computer so much that in 5 months he burns up 1 battery AND a hard drive. I should channel my powers to fixing the mess in the Middle East - then maybe some good can come from it.

We watch zany movies

2011-01-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

So we watch a lot of zany movies at my house, some recently with a State Department theme. The above is certainly campy and dated but that makes it even more entertaining. Don't you love how he is holding the gun - love the acting in 1949 B movies.

Operation get my health in order in underway

2011-01-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

Barring snow, I will be driving very far 4 times in the next two weeks to get medical care. After having child #3 in China I have a bum hip...don't even ask. And I have to get it fixed or at least looked at. Said child is about to turn 6 so it is getting a little embarrassing.

For some reason though I have decided that I need to fix everything else first. So Monday I go to the chair of torture...I mean dentist. I already went once where I was told I need 4 fillings fixed and all 4 wisdom teeth out. Come Monday I am on step a. Tuesday will be a trip to the dermatology NP. Fun times. But at least it's in a different town where you have to watch out for Amish. I mean, watch out for Amish in their buggies so you don't run over them. The Amish themselves seem ok, though a lot of them clearly have birth defects...but I digress.

Then we have a trip to the oral surgeon for a consult. Have to make sure they have the full on drugs before I agree to anything.

Then final stop in this epic drama is a trip to the midwife. No, no babies here. I need my thyroid checked and she does it. What is crazy about this midwife is that I live in a foreign country and she lives in a very economically depressed US city. Very. I walk in and hear her accent, I ask "Where are you from?" - alwasy good to break the ice on your first visit, right? She says Chapel Hill. I say "But I am from Chapel Hill" then it takes the two of us 5 seconds to realize we know some of the same people. Such a small world so very far from Chapel Hill.

Mighty Life List

2011-01-23T05:48:00.000-08:00

So I wrote up a short life list a while back. I got the idea from here. Her's is probably more interesting, and longer and she had a paid sponsorship to get several of her things done. I would be more than happy to get them done faster if someone paid me!

Anyway, how am I doing with it?

My 5 year old can knit. Garter stitch, but she is pretty good and she will be a knitter.

I have bookmarked a recipe for pain au chocolat. So that is something.

I am going snowshoeing for the first time this Friday. Thanks to my fellow Austrian.

Graphic design. I taught myself how to make a blog button, the one for the swap. I think I could even make a banner. That might be enough for now.

I think we know for certain what the #2 kid is allergic to for right now. So far this winter his skin is not like red sandpaper, so that is something.

I think whole wheat bread love it coming off the list. I have tried. Really I have. But the only whole wheat bread I will eat is so packed full of sugar and other stuff it hardly makes it worth it. I blame my fs upbringing for my ability to only eat white bread. And my milk issues. Try being forced to drink powdered milk in Africa as a child and see how you turn out.

Thanks to my high school friend, Elliott, I have some nice new piano books. I am playing everyday.

Train a guide dog - check. The guide dog is doing really well. She will probably leave us before the summer. She is a super dog and will make some local and their family very very happy and hopefully make their life easier. We will miss her, but if we get Africa next - we ARE getting a dog. A labrador. The husband is unaware as of yet.

I am working on the quilts and have made a few more pairs of socks.

So it is all coming along.

What did you do today?

2011-01-21T07:13:00.001-08:00

Here we have my morning. Working on the sock, there is always a sock going, always. Working on a garter stitch helmet from a vintage pattern I bought from etsy...the jury is still out if it will actually be wearable. The never ending quilt. And my new book 'The Best Things in Life' which was recommended by my man, Fareed. Fareed Zakaria is not actually my man, I am married to someone with a less exotic name, he is just smart and I have taken to reading books he recommends.
My afternoon will be spent ice skating with small children.

the swap is on

2011-01-18T06:04:00.001-08:00

On Saturday everyone got matched up with their partners. As you can see from the picture it was very scientifically done. I pulled slips of paper out of a bag and matched them as I went. If you are reading this and did not get an email from me, or your swap pal has not gotten in touch or responded to you getting in touch, let me know. I had a few people drop out for various reasons, and with only my by the book husband to give me advice, I left off a couple of people who mentioned in passing they might be interested, but did not sign up via the instructions. If you are one of those people, I am sorry. I wasn't sure how serious you were and certainly did not want to match up anyone who later said "I wasn't serious about that!" Maybe I will run one again in the fall, after PCSing is over, and R & R's and the kids all go back to school. If summer at home with 3 kids doesn't do me in...

fs swap update

2011-01-15T15:22:00.000-08:00

It looks like an even 50 people have signed up. Yah! So later this evening I am going to send all 50 people an email just checking in and to double check that everyone's email addresses work. If you do not get an email from me tonight EST please contact me as something has gone wrong.

Look for your swap pal match up email tomorrow - probably in the afternoon - I need to go sledding first thing in the morning with two small members of my household - we are getting about 6 inches of new snow tonight!

sweater baby pants

2011-01-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are some sweater baby pants I made. Easy peasy, directions here. Or a hundred other places on the web. They are often called soakers, though this pair is made of a cotton sweater and would not do well with a cloth diaper alone under it - no soaking of anything I think. So if you have any beat up, faded sweaters you can make a pair of pants AND a skirt. This one is going to be shipped off to a little friend back in North Carolina. These are pretty big - he is 18 months or so...I think they came from an XL sweater at the thrift store. I did not add another waist band as per the instructions because they are already pretty roomy.

Back to the knitting by the fire while the snow keeps coming down. I dread ballet this afternoon, do we brave it or do I call to ask if its on and have the person on the other end of the phone laugh hysterically?

FS Swap deadline is tomorrow

2011-01-14T16:35:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Becky at Small Bits who listed the FS swap first in this weeks round up! Tomorrow night EST is the deadline for signing up to participate in the swap. I think at last count there were 49 people signed up so far. If you want to still sign up, just click on the FS Swap button thing to the right. I will send out an email to everyone late tomorrow just to double check emails and then you'll get your pal a day or two later. The more the merrier and frankly doesn't everyone need some fun mail in February?!

Funnily enough super nice Becky also mentioned my crafty blog right in the same sentence with this blog - who's author I actually know in real life, or in my real life such that it was back in Beijing. The FS is a small world.

A skirt for my niece

2011-01-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

I read a lot of crafty blogs. Sometimes they have wonderful directions for things that make me want to drop everything and try. This is one. I would put a link but I don't remember the first place I read about this and if you google it there are probably 100's of places.

This is a recycled small girls skirt. It is made out of an old Gap sweater of mine...very old, as in it went to storage for the past 5 years or so. These things are so easy and quite addictive to make. My daughter has several made out of old cotton turtlenecks from the Ancient Maritime store.

Here are my simple sewing by the seat of your pants directions. Wash sweater and dry it in the dryer, even it is wool. You want it to felt a little.

Then cut along skirt out - to do this you just cut right where the body and the sleeves join. The cut part is actually going to be the unhemmed bottom. The sides just stay sewn up as they were sewn by some poor woman in a sweatshop somewhere. To 'hem' the bottom, you use the zig zag stitch on the machine and pull on the sweater as you do it. The pulling will help make a little ruffle at the bottom if it is a wool sweater - cotton not so much.

Then to make the waist band - the proper bottom of the sweater is your waist band, you just flip it over, either inside or outside and zig zag around, not pulling this time if it's a wool sweater. Leave a little opening and then thread your elastic through on a safety pin. Then stitch elastic together - this can be a little fiddly and stitch the little opening closed on the waist band. This will fit probably a 2-3-4 year old.

If your into this, you can also save the top half and sleeves and make other things - baby pants for example. Maybe I will show some of those tomorrow...it's supposed to snow 5 cm or 20 cm.

How I shop for kids clothes

2011-01-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

My two youngest kids usually look pretty cute. The oldest - who knows? he is away at boarding school plus he looses EVERYTHING. So no point in buying him anything good!

I have some tips for online kids clothing shoppers. Sign up for email notices from your favorite companies. You will become aware of sales and often they might send free shipping to boot. I sometimes buy from Hanna Andersson, Olive Juice or Polern O Pyret USA or Lands End/LL Bean too, but only on sale. I think maybe once I have bought a pair of tights not on sale. I also hit ebay from time to time. And I am not afraid to buy for the next season. Kids do grow usually...ebay is the place to go for those Stride Rite mary janes to wear to the Amb party of the season. Or a holiday dress. Or Hanna Andersson snow pants which are last years model but someone in my house loves flowers so perfect. Lands End especially seems to sell clothes very cheaply at the end of the season.

When I am in the States I look for stuff everywhere. Target, the Gap sale rack, the usual mall stores, even Wal-mart. And consignment stores in the South are excellent for used smocked dresses. I can keep putting my daughter in them till she is 15, right?

Another tip - which came about mostly because I hate little girl t-shirts with silly things on them - if you stock up on plain white, pink t-shirts, they go a lot farther. They match almost everything and since I am somewhat crafty - those stains can be covered up with some freezer paper stenciling or ribbon or who knows what.

I am also big on stripes, but that might be just me...I think if we ever moved to Scandanavia our bank account would be in BIG trouble. Our little kids only wear stripey HA pajamas which I buy on sale every year. I have now quit buy the 5 year old any because she is starting to be able to wear her brothers hand me downs and the more those things are washed the softer and better they feel. Seriously! My daughter just grew into one pair that her brother has worn almost non stop for the past 2ish years - if she wears them 2 more years then the $28 sale price was well worth it as far as I am concerned.

So there is my official position on children's clothes. I have never actually met in person anyone who shares my views, so if you do - please send me a comment so I don't feel quite as crazy! Or if you have similar clothing suggestions - I would LOVE to hear them.

The swap is coming along

2011-01-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

We are up to 37 takers so far! So far we have people from - DC, Uraguay, Bermuda, Sierra Leone, Oman, Moscow, Turkey, Greece, Poland, Puerto Rico, Kenya, NYC, Macedonia, Jerusalem, Norway, Belgium, Canada, Austria, Ecuador, Manila, Malawi, Dhaka, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Mexico.

Pretty good mix.

Email me if you would like a button or have questions or ideas on how to spread the word by this Saturday.

Back to the uneventfulness.

I bore myself

2011-01-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

What on earth is there is blog about today - absolutely nothing.

It snowed the last two days.

After a record 4 full days back at school the 7 year old likely has streph throat. I think it might be about time to talk to our health care provider - who I have to drive to another whole country to see - about how many times he has had streph and what the magic number is for tonsil removal. After the ear tube/adenoid removal fiasco for the 5 year old I can hardly contain my excitement about that idea. really.

My big goal this winter, besides not going crazy from total boredom and cabin fever - is to make stuff like crazy and lighten our load. We still have another 18 long months or so at post but my fs biological clock is ticking like crazy - "tick, tick, must get rid of 500 lbs! tick, tick." It is even worse this time because a. I want to take the piano with us for the first time ever and b. we have a lot more of our Hagerstown crap here so it just seems way worse than ever before and finally c. we live in the worlds smallest house. Thank you LQA.

In an effort to embrace winter I think I will now go outside and clean the car off so it might not be quite so bad tomorrow morning...I love winter.

paper dolls

2011-01-06T08:11:00.001-08:00

I am, I think, the lone person who still likes simple things for my kids. Santa brought these paper dolls for my 5 year old this year and they are a hit. They are from Lily and Thistle and they are lovely. They also come with a cd of all the dolls so if your paper doll has an accident, you can reprint another. I think she also sells them in pdf versions, so this would be super for a fs person with not so reliable mail but who has a good supply of printer ink. I am eyeing the birthday party set - it would be unique around here at least!

I should confess I sort of needed to buy paper dolls because when we unpacked all our junk from Hagerstown, I unearthed my Prince Charles and Lady Di paper dolls, which I will not let the 5 year old touch!

Off to work on the never ending quilt - at least it's snowing and the fire is going, so I don't feel like I am supposed to be doing anything else.

The year of major making has started

2011-01-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

The first new pair of socks for the new year. For the oldest at boarding school. They are made from some cheapy washable Paton's wool...not that I think for a minute they will be washed before March break!

This is the yarn for pair #2 I think. The husband let my 5 year old pick out yarn online for my Xmas gift. I am not really a purple person, but I guess I should just be happy the yarn is not hot pink with glitter...

And the swap is up to 27 takers, hopefully the numbers will continue to climb.

winter here is sometimes cool

2011-01-03T16:08:00.001-08:00

This is a horse drawn wagon, complete with sleigh bells. It is down the street from our little LQA house and we took a ride the week before Christmas. There was caroling AND snow coming down. It was somewhat magical.

The fs swap is coming along nicely. We have 24 people signed up so far and I hope for many more takers this week as people are back at post and kids return to school. So far we have a pretty varied list of locales - NYC, DC, San Jose, Kenya, Poland, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Canada, Austria, Ecuador, Philipines, Malawi, Belgium, Bangladesh, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Mexico. If you need directions on how to sign up - I think if you click on the button to the right it will take you to the appropriate post. Feel free to spread the word and email me, or leave a comment, if you would like a copy of that button.

Almost Happy New Year

2010-12-31T06:21:00.001-08:00

If you are here for the fs swap - super! The directions are in the post below. I think we have about 15 takers already. The more the merrier!

And even though we are at the dullest post in the fs most days, there are some things they do well here. In every neighborhood they have free ice rinks in the winter. This is one of 2 within walking distance of our house. This winters ice skating is already a lot more fun since everyone can stand up and move under their own power.

And I love these skates #2 kid is wearing. I think they are Italian but bought in Romania, (I think - someplace like Romania) given to us in KL and now used in North America.

2nd ever (not annual) FS Swap!

2010-12-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

Since I am living in what might well be the dullest post in the fs, and I love mail and 'meeting' new people, I am hosting the 2nd annual FS Swap.

I did one a few years ago and got 60 odd takers, I think everyone was pleased, I certainly was! With way more fs blogs around now, I am hoping to get even more takers. By the way, if you have a blog and want to stick one of those fs swap buttons on it, email me and I will tell you how. You do not need to have a blog to join in though, just an email address.

Ok, so what on earth is a swap anyway and why would I want to do it? I am somewhat crafty and swaps are BIG in the crafty - bloggy world. BIG. The way it will all work is - you leave me a comment to this post or email me at kennedyas@yahoo.com You need to tell me where you are posted and include your email address. I think I will make the cut-off date January 15th - as I know how some fs people are - busy! So let me know by the 15th, then a couple of days past then, I will send you an email letting you know your swap pal is Ms. Wonderful (men can totally join in but last time I don't think we had any..) in CountryFabulous and here is her email. Then you contact one another. You may want to find out if she has any children and what are their ages. Does she have a hobby or passion for something? In various swaps I have done in the past I have included odd local candy, a local language magazine or comic for the kids, a Christmas ornament, fabric and on and on. So all you fs people who only have pouch can also join in - flat envelopes can also be fun! Also, if your in DC, DC is in fact a post, so feel free to join in.

I will randomly assign swap pals, and I will not assign people serving at the same post, because that might not be quite as fun...Shipping date should be around February 1 if you are going to be late with you mailing, please let your pal know so she can be understanding.

I think that covers everything. So please join in the fun. Tell all your fs friends. Post a link on your blog so other fs types can read about it and if you have any questions please ask.

guide dog training is going great!

2010-12-28T06:49:00.001-08:00

This is the 'plays well with dollies and unicorns' lesson.

atmosphere

2010-12-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

Maybe this is why I feel somewhat frazzled all the time without a maid. My atmosphere is poor.

Merry Christmas to me

2010-12-26T12:37:00.001-08:00

Santa was good to me this year. He brought me a fancy new sewing machine. So far I have made 1 thing - the little handing house ornament. It's from this book.

I am going to try harder to post more often. North American postings are dull. I feel dull. I am tired of the other mothers at the kindergarten. I am going to try and hit the crafty much much harder and thus blog about it - oh and work on our projected bid list. And finish training the dog. Her days with us are numbered - maybe just a couple more months. Sob.

The knitting

2010-12-16T13:26:00.001-08:00

This is the now completed Dutch art teacher's scarf. She loved it. I love knitting for knitters, they always get it. It is made from 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon.

The green is Dax's jacket from IK Weekend 2009. It is for a certain toddler I know in North Carolina. I am glad he is super cute because all that moss stitch is turning out to not be my wisest choice of hand knits ever. It's made from some Chinese wool-cashmere blend from the infamous Wool Spinning City.

Christmas

2010-12-06T10:00:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to play the piano everyday. Something to do that uses my brain I guess. We are doing the Playmobil Advent calendar and there has not been too much crying over whose turn it is every morning. The wooden house is a Chinese nativity scene, which sadly is missing many pieces. And the framed elves I made last year from here.

something occasionally does happen here

2010-11-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

So we have had a lot of non life threatening medical drama around here lately. The middle son had an ENT emergency the other day so we drove down to upstate New York. New York where when you call for a doctor's appointment they say comforting things like ' we can see you this afternoon' or 'what time is good for you?' A little different than my host country where maybe an ENT could have seen the middle son in late January for his ENT emergency. And I only know he had an ENT emergency because when the ENT looked in his ear he said, "You know, this IS an ENT emergency!" He is sort of a weird guy...

Anyway, on the drive back, I RAN OVER A BEAR. I did not hit and kill the bear, the mini van in front of me did. The children did not stop fighting or even notice, so they were not traumatized in the least. I however, could not believe my eyes, so I pulled over and yelled at the guy standing next to his wreaked mini-van, "Is that a BEAR?" He says, I kid you not, "It looks like it, EH?"

Okay then. I drive home. The middle one has choir, the husband is locked out of the house because he has forgotten how to carry his own keys and the night goes on.

The next morning I am driving the husband to work - because he is in a 15 lb adjustable cast for the next 3 months because he thinks he is still 20 years old - anyway, the car is making a noise. A noise so loud that we notice people looking at us. He says "What is that noise?" I say, "Oh, I forgot, last night I ran over a BEAR."

After he told his office buddies that his wife ran over a BEAR and then forgot to mention it, they made him tell EVERYONE. And the best part was always that part that I FORGOT to tell him I ran over a BEAR. One of his office buddies came down to look at the thing making the noise and he walks over to my side and I roll the window down, he says "So did you hit something?" This is especially funny because he has been making the husband retell the story all day long. I say, "Yes, a BEAR."

So things so sometimes happen here at the dullest post in the world.

next project

2010-11-18T15:16:00.001-08:00

next project, as soon as the dog bed I found for $9.99 on amazon shows up. pattern from here.

the swing

2010-11-11T04:22:00.000-08:00

Fall in Vermont at the oldest's boarding school. His brother was annoyed that the swings are for big kids and adults, but after thinking it over decided that was ok, as long as they were still there when he goes to the school. Only 2 more posts with this boy and then he will be old enough to go to the very same boarding school. Sob.

Home Cure

2010-11-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have recently been very into Apartment Therapy's Home Cure 20/20. I have been enjoying doing some of the tasks and the videos are growing funnier by the day. I wish we had friends like the at couple.

A few days ago was the top 6 home projects task. Here are mine:

the basement. Get rid of all that stuff that appeared from Hagerstown. It is a pit down there and I hate it...

put pictures in the stair case frames and unearth all the unused frames and see what can be done with them

find coco straw carpet runner for front steps - asap

find my daughter a bedframe that matches her brothers and then paint them both really red

paint the crappy dresser white

get the curtains in order. they are all on awful plastic rods and falling off the wall in some rooms. also zero privacy and everyone who walks by looks in. hello neighbors!

There are my 6. I think I have a lead on the stair carpet, which is good because it is going to start snowing tomorrow and the whole point of the carpet is to cut down on the ice...so better order that quick!

if I homeschooled

2010-11-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

if we pull the kids out of their private school I already know what I would teach them -

knitting

embriodery

lots of art

handwriting

Singapore math

some Kumon basics thrown in

probably some Montessori too

Puzzle maps

Pin maps

how to research Montessori style

how to plan

how to read for pleasure

musical instruments with lots more time to practice

I have a secret soft spot for the grammar boxes

how to plan and follow through

activities with the seasons

more time in nature

winter sports -all kinds

some basic American things - the pledge for example, the whole idea of states, the basics...

Good to keep track because 2nd grade is slowly going downhill I feel....

Halloween

2010-11-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

We had a clone trooper of some sort, Orchid the flower and Little Red Riding Hood.

And here is a little preHalloween pumpkin shopping and no, sadly, the doggie did not get to pick out her own pumpkin....

ongoing craft

2010-10-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

I ordered these a while ago from Alicia at posie gets cozy I love them and may have to order the other 2 kits she has for sale. Obviously still hitting the crafts hard here in American's hat where we got our very first snow of the year last night. Hope those snowsuits fit under the Halloween costumes...

sewing as therapy

2010-10-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

After a crazy couple of weeks, this is the plan for the afternoon.

sigh

2010-10-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

sigh. This video is great. I feel like I am only do a 1/3 good job with the kids because of it. The oldest goes to a school where I can bet 100% of the faculty have watched this video. They get it. They live it. The other two kids? Not so much at all. I wanted to cry when all the homework worksheets were sent home, all the homework worksheets from the year so far - probably over 100. So sad.

Slowly working on a plan for next year and perhaps for bidding next year. Slowly slowly.

Boarding school

2010-10-07T17:54:00.001-07:00

We are in rural Vermont for parent weekend at the oldest son's boarding school. It is also a time when siblings can have an 'interview' with the Dean of Admissions - Luke is thinking it over....I think I know how his interview would go - he would lay on the floor with the Dean's old dog, and answer all questions with "I don't know" or "I guess" I am sure they would save him a spot right then and there!

Fingers crossed the weekend goes well - so far so good. We saw a real life wild wolf running around in NY. We started a new tradition of stopping at an old timey country store on the way. When we pulled up to our American style chain hotel, Luke asks, "Is this a retirement home?" And we have been to Target. A good trip so far. Plus - I hear there might be masses of yarn for sale at the schools harvest festival tomorrow - yippee!

Halloween

2010-09-30T04:37:00.001-07:00

Halloween costumes 1/2 done. Luckily her brother will want something store bought and made of polyester.

7269.4 miles is too far

2010-09-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

I chatted online with an old friend today from our first post. She is now posted 7269.4 miles away. It was nice and that is way too far. It was even nicer that she ended it with 'it's just nice to talk to someone who gets me' No kidding!

Our first post was good in many ways. The other women there made it for me. Almost none of us worked. No one thought less of you if you went crazy with a hobby. There was no Martha Stewart like competition there because we all had plenty of free time to devote to the children, or the cooking or any type of domesticity. Or learning the difficult local language. It was good and I miss it.

best chicken ever

2010-09-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

My newly finicky 5 year old now loves chicken. I should have cooked more tonight. What did I do? I threw some thin chicken breast in a ziplock bag to marinate in the following:

some lemon juice

pepper

salt

little olive oil

plain yogurt

squeeze of honey

garlic

It makes for some tender juicy chicken. Yum

Heaven

2010-09-25T04:44:00.001-07:00

I am in heaven. npr all day every day.

A year after we arrive---

2010-09-24T05:50:00.001-07:00

I finally am getting around to doing up the tiny bedroom the two youngest share. First thing - box spring covers out of the above. The whole girl/boy sharing room is tough, can't have too much pink or blue. Red, I hope, can go either way. I am a little worried as I think sewing fitted sheets is at the very limits of my sewing abilities. If it goes badly I plan to mutter things about never again going to an LGA post - Never!

I suppose I should thank Donna, who I don't know in real life, for including me in the FS blog round up this week. Thanks Donna! I think I sent her a fan email after reading one of her pieces in either FS Journal or That's Beijing. I think the topic may have been tai tai life. Of course, her tai tai life was a touch different than mine, like she has a career she could keep going. I worked under the table at a Chinese run Montessori school as a short term sub. A school where they strongly encouraged abortion in their local staff. I bet that rarely comes up at the Washington Post or other publications Donna has written for.

What did you do today?

2010-09-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our volunteer project, aka Orchid the wonder dog, had 1/2 of her 1 year old puppy assessment. She passed. Part two is a sleep over at the dog trainers house. Seriously. That is actually a beanie baby or something in her mouth, not an actual living thing dangling limp.

And here is what I spent much of the day on. A little pillowcase embroidery from Alicia Paulson's awful book (and I only mean awful because from the day I got it in the mail I have been cranking out projects from it - abandoning all others), a quick knit hat for an Emb homeless donation project that may or may not get off the ground. If I had to bet I would bet no. The fabric for someone's red cape for Halloween and the never ending miter square blanket that may or may not get finished one day.

I also fed some children, walked them to and from school, am thinking about feeding them again, did some laundry and made bread - but that is all so boring it puts me to sleep just thinking about it.

What to do if....

2010-09-22T12:48:00.001-07:00

the other mothers at the kindergarten make you want to scream?!

I have no idea but I am working on it - a lot.

Do what you can

2010-09-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

So Donna asked for knife fights and bug eating. I have neither. What I do have are interesting ideas on how to volunteer at post. Or not that interesting ideas depending on how you look at it.

This is clearly our biggest volunteer opportunity to date. We are in a mostly English speaking country and were able to become puppy walkers for the national guide dog group. This has been great, except for that time she ate the stairs. Yes we will be sad to let her go, yes she will 'pass' and we know that we did our part to make life much better for a local. And she loves Embassy trivia night and Happy Hour at the Marine House - added bonus!

This is one of dozens of pairs of mittens I cranked out for the school mitten tree last winter. It was easy enough, I did not have to go anywhere and my kids loved hanging so many pairs on the tree. I will gloss over the fact that I ended up making so many because I cannot pay attention and kept putting the thumb on the same side for each pair, thus the need for another whole pair.

And this was the easiest of all. In Beijing I could not stand going into the special needs orphanage run by foreigners. I knew I wanted to bring them all home. Luckily I found another way to help out. We had a yahoogroup for expats so everytime the people who ran it needed something or it was packout time, I put out the call. I think this load might have been a call for winter clothes. There was also that time I ended up with about 1000 used baby bottles in the garage, that was a kind of crazy one.

So, in summary, do what you can. Look for ways to help out in your host country and make the locals think fondly of Americans. End of PSA.

another baby sweater for a woman I do know

2010-09-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is Elizabeth Zimmermann's Feb. baby sweater. Easy peasy though it looks lacey and impressive. This baby mama I do know. My wonderfully sweet knitting pal from Malaysia. I feel pretty confident that she will love it!

What is up next for me and my crafty zen? Well, I did just get a CD of over 300 vintage Barbie clothes. That could get out of hand. I have a Little Red Riding Hood cape to whip up a la Angry Chicken. I have countless Japanese sewing books yet to be sewn from. I have numerous quilts to put together and/or quilt. I think I have 2 dresser to paint, and a bed frame to buy and then paint and on and on and on.

Apparently I have big plans to just stay home and make this fall and winter. Fine with me!

baby sweaters o r knitting for pregnant women you don't really know that well

2010-08-10T12:52:00.001-07:00

Daisy baby sweater made from Chinese - Wool Spinning City - wool/cashmere blend. With crazy vintage pink plastic buttons from my mom.

Hope the foreign woman I don't really know all that well likes it....

pair 31

2010-08-10T12:45:00.001-07:00

Slightly dull brown socks for the husband. Fancy yarn, but ball band long since lost.

we should do it more often

2010-07-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

So last night we had a new family over. And then we decided to invite other EMB folks who live in the neighbourhood. 30 odd people ended up coming and it was fun.

So I will remember what was a hit, here is what people super loved -

Gucamole a la Ina Gardner (former FS spouse who knows how to party)

Grilled chicken salad a la Foster Cookbook

Jalapeno yogurt dip from Costco

Diet Coke in mass

I really enjoyed the party, cleaning up was even not that bad. Maybe it's because of the one less kid stress? Who knows? But I enjoyed it all.

an old crafty project

2010-07-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I have been going back and forth between dropping the blog altogether, bringing back the old one or just giving up and living life without the boring commentary. I guess try and put a bit more effort into this won. So without further ado - more of the crafty

An older craft project - but an almost freebie. Pictures frames from the thrift store for almost nothing. Redwork elves from wee wonderfuls for free.

stay-cation mostly

2010-06-20T04:27:00.000-07:00

Mr Snaggle tooth actually liked the lock/waterfall thing.

A gift from the Turkish Embassy in a very weird place. Claire says 'Thanks Alyin" Her Turkish friend.

And Luke trying to crush our town, luckily it is made of bronze or something really hard and sturdy. He was annoyed our house was not on it....

So thanks to some awesome planning at work - David can have NO leave at all, all summer long. Good work guys - I always love it when you do stuff like that. Really, I do.

So I am stuck at home all summer with 3 kids - oh wait, there is the 6-8 hour drive to take the oldest to camp and then the trip to pick him up and maybe even the trip to drop him off at boarding school. Boarding school?!

You can't make this stuff up

2010-06-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

I have had a week and a half. My mom arrived to post to be here for our 5 year olds birthday. The day before she comes down with lice (should be read in a voice in your head usually reserved for snakes or cholora or something along those lines) 3 girls don't show up at the party - one has it too (but the mom has since said it was 'just sand') another mother couldn't handle it and he other mother (from an Axis of Evil country) called to say she could not send her daughter because she had to take her to the doctor to be checked for lice. I asked if she thought she had it too - 'No, my daughter would never have it because it is a filthy thing. ' Um, whatever.

Thing go along as normal until the day of the ballet recital (which turned out to be more a way for the school to teach 5 year olds who to either prepare for a cheerleading career or one of pole dancer) mom still here. I let the other kid play with all the German boys after school on the playground and I come home at 3:30 (recital is at 6) My mom is at the table with a weird towel on her arm chatting. Finally I insist she show me what she has hidden under the towel - that would be a shattered and dislocated wrist. Super news. I think she thought she could just hide it all night.

And since I live in America's hat aka a true hardship post if ever there was one. Seriously if yo have children or think you might need to see a doctor in a 2-3 year tour - don't come. Or if you like to eat cheap cheese a lot. We had to drive into the US because ER wait times are 27 hours on average here. I missed my daughters first pole dancing/cheerleading/'ballet' recital. Sob.

That was followed by a trip to the US the next day and the following day for surgery.

It gets better.

After she comes out of surgery and is fine but loopy I call the husband to tell him. Some random guy answers his phone and says "Um, he went home." Pardon? Why?! "Um, I think a kid got sick or hurt or something." Turns out our pole dancer daughter ruptured her ear drum for the 2nd time in 5 weeks. Super news.

The moral of this story? Don't invite my mom to your house because bad things will happen? Life happens? If your another parent at school it is not a good time to hassle me for things as the crazy German mother found out on Friday "A, why have you not turned in your son's 10 page essay on why he loves his teacher, complete with watercolours and styled photos?"

70 more

2010-05-24T18:18:00.001-07:00

75 more

2010-05-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

only 80 more to go now

2010-05-24T18:15:00.001-07:00

only 85 more to go

2010-05-24T18:13:00.001-07:00

only 90 more to go

2010-05-24T18:04:00.001-07:00

only 95 more to go

2010-05-24T18:01:00.001-07:00

bread making in the FS

2010-05-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

I have become a pretty good bread maker in the last few years. Bread at our last 2 posts left a lot to be desired. Enter the bread above. I use the Master boule recipe from 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day' The book is great but can be a little intimidating for a non baker. It is easy peasy. Really you just throw all the stuff in some tupperwear, I use a Lock & Lock container and only close up 2 sides. We almost always have some bread dough in the fridge.

I also seem to have consistent luck with making my bread in more a baguette shape. I also do not use a stone, just a regular baking sheet. And for the water you throw in? I have an old baking sheet on a bottom rack and throw it on that. If you have the dough already in the fridge it takes 40 minutes to get an awesome loaf of bread. With the same dough I have made cinnamon rolls and nann. Yum!

Good things about North American posts

2010-05-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

So our North American posting is a little on the dull side. No ayis or amahs, no foot massages to be had, they don't even give you a head massage with your haircut - shocking! But you can sometimes score. Last week I stumbled into the sort of icky thrift store and scored the above.

A paper mache egg made in Western Germany. It was crammed into a polyester bag with some other easter do-dads, for $1.50 Score!

The quilt top it is on is one my Mom put together probably in the 80's in Africa. I bought some Kona cotton and now it sits ready for a backing and some hand quilting.

more decorating

2010-05-04T08:56:00.001-07:00

Usually my decorating projects involve cheapness and DIY. This one does not - well, it was cheap. When we lived in China everything was cheap. We had lovely slipcovers made for all our living room furniture.

And as an added bonus we got to listen to our ayi and tailor Li Yi yell at one another in Sichuanese - all while laughing and smiling.

So sad these now live in a box in our basement.

pack out

2010-05-04T08:50:00.001-07:00

This is what post pack out looked like when we left our last post.

Toys strewn about the floor? Chinese made soon to be going to the trash room left overs.