Oh boy!

What ever happened to my determination to keep my posts updated? I think I happened, thinking I had to have the "time" to really sit down and write, but that's not gotten me anywhere, now has it? So, a mid-year resolution (or "revolution," as Oliver puts it).

So . . . summer has finally arrived in Boulder after a VERY slow start. Now we are waking up to sunny, cool mornings, having warm, dry days and are back to cool at night. Ahhhh. Already lots of beach time at the lake--kayaking, jumping off the dock (kids, no me into that freezing snowmelt), picnicing with neighbors and friends.

We're off next week for our annual Clinton Beach/Cape Cod trip. We'll get to see our new niece while there. She did us the favor of arriving quite early so we could meet her! Siri Elisabeth Chung, weighing in at just under 6 lbs. Welcome, Siri!

What We've Learned Recently

Well, Oliver learned that you can indeed get cereal stuck in your nose. Levi learned that the advice to carve away from yourself is sage--he cut a flap of skin off the top of his hand, resulting in an early morning ER visit. I've learned (for the millionth time, so perhaps I haven't really learned it yet), that it's absolutely useless and futile to rush children. And that cats are truly curious creatures.

Susan Ohanian: Congress Sponsoring Disastrous Literacy Bill

Susan Ohanian: Congress Sponsoring Disastrous Literacy Bill

The above link is from the Huffington Post about yet more educational legislation--a national law dictating how children will learn to read. Take a read and see what you think. I agree with Ms. Ohanian. Arggghh!

Adam and Oliver went to the pool today and Oliver came home looking like this. Yikes! He was doing a back flip off of the diving board and bonked his chin. I'm soooooo glad I wasn't there to witness it. Adam said his blood sugar was sky high afterwards--and stress affects blood sugar levels.

We've been busy. The kids have been spending lots of time with friends, especially Levi. We had plans to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Monday to see the exhibit on Genghis Khan and to see the permanent exhibit on Gems and Minerals. But the kids got into a huge fight on the way out the door. I'm talking hitting, kicking and screaming to a pitch we don't usually see here. It took so long for them to cool off and work it out that we never made it to the museum. We learned something--but it wasn't what I had planned! And so goes the journey of living and learning!

Lynx sighting

On Christmas eve, at about 5 pm, we were sitting in our living room with friends. I looked out the window and saw the lynx that we think lives under a vacant house across the street. Last summer we saw it briefly, stalking across the yard. About a month ago, the kids and I came home at dusk and as we turned into the driveway, I saw it on the road. It ran away from the house and toward some trees and brush so our look at it was quick. But this time, it came from the right side of the house and walked slowly all the way along the back of the house, almost up to the neighbors front porch, and then continued on to the left until we couldn't see it anymore.

Sorry, no photos. I couldn't tear myself away from the window. We've debated whether it's a lynx or a bobcat because they're look very similar with only a few distinctive markings that can be hard to see unless you're quite close. Yesterday I picked up the current issue of National
Geographic Kids magazine. On the cover is a photo of a lynx with the title this title--Lynx: The Comeback Cat. The article begins: These wild cats are back on the prowl in Colorado.

According to the article, the lynx was wiped out in this area of its range in the 1970s. A decade later, about 200 lynx were reintroduced. It looks like the reintroduction is working!

Happy New Year!

Among my New Year's "Revolutions," as Oliver calls then, is to get back to writing here more regularly--mostly for myself because it's a good place for me to capture thoughts--but also for any of you who check in on us this way. At my yoga class today, the instructor talked about making resolutions from a place of abundance rather than from a place of lack. I liked that because it focused me on building on the positive and helps me look forward to what I'd like to have in my life instead of looking backward at what I feel like I did poorly.

Our first week of Christmas vacation saw just the four of us here. We got in 2 days of skiing at nearby Eldora Ski Area. The kids played a lot and it seems Adam and I rushed around (too much!) preparing for the arrival of Santa. It was a Lego Christmas here, various Lego kits being on the top of both of the kids' lists.

The day after Christmas brought us most but not all of the Baker clan. We had thirteen of us here, including two cousins that are the boys' ages and our almost two year-old nephew/cousin, the newest Baker addition. It was fun to see the older kids play with him. As he's just starting to talk, the kids spent lots of time asking him, "Can you say . . . ?" Among the words they taught him were lightbulb, waterbottle, mountain!

We had a great time. We had a day of skiing together, walks around the lake, lots of good good (lots of good cooks!), a trip for some of the group to Rocky Mountain National Park, hiking and yoga. With thirteen of us here and three cars, one which is not very snow worthy, trips as a group almost required a flow chart and seating chart. Happily, we never left anyone behind!

Our house is VERY quiet now and we miss everyone. And I'm trying to figure out where the small ladle, kitchen shears and the vegetable peeler is.

My Latest Obsession

I've discovered felting, a process of taking unspun wool and making felt out of it. My first project (at a class at a local to-die-for yarn store) was a hat. We started with unspun wool which we laid out in tufts across our template, first vertical then horizontal, in any layers since we wanted this to felt fairly thickly. Once I had my wool laid out, I had about 1" of fluffy wool sitting there looking distinctly like a bad wig or a very black yeti. I couldn't believe it would ever turn into anything much less a hat.

Once the wool is laid you, it is wetted with warm soapy water and then agitated by rubbing, VERY gently. Wool is like our own hair. It has small scales along the shaft. The soap makes it "happy" and the scales open up. As the fibers are agitated, they essentially start to tangle together. The warm water also helps the fibers to shrink. After a lot of time gently agitating, adding more soap and water, agitating somemore, over and over, you end up with thick, stiff felt. For hats, the last part of the process is to shape them over a mold and

then to continue the agitation process so that the fibers shrink and "harden" in the shape of the mold.

So first, a photo of my hat. The brim is still untrimmed and unfinished.

I have made another sheet of felt that I plan to cut with a rotary cutter into long strips and then to make into napkin rings. This one has random pieces of yarns, strings and sparkly things felted into it. I am also working on a piece that will be fashioned into a small handbag.
Another method of felting is called dry felting. With dry felting, you also use unspun wool. Using a long barbed needle, you bind the wool together. You can use this method to put designs onto felt you've already made or you can make three-dimensional items. Levi made this adorable owl and I am at work on a cat. I think his body and head look pretty good but I'm having a lot of trouble getting the shape and proportion of his legs right. Perhaps he'll turn into a lounging vs. standing cat!