Did you know you could have a conversation about pencils?

Yesterday Mike and I were driving in the car to IKEA (they of shorty, stubby, eraser-less pencils). On was the radio. Of the talk variety. Of the tirade variety (but of the local kind, from the one person I can stand...) He was going on about something and said something about what he'd written with his Ticonderoga.

Ticonderoga.

This spurred a conversation about pencils. I knew I'd heard that word before. Mike knew specifically which pencil was referenced. He could describe it, down to the color band on the metal band just below the eraser (green lines). Can't say I could. I've been living off the same bunch of One-Spot Target pencils (Christmas ones from several years ago, Napolean Dynamite, Cars...in a word: crappy). I had a memory of a great pencil. The name I couldn't quite remember. Black- something. Mike did too- the Black Warrior. I knew mine was Black, but not Warrior. And something to do with Indians.
Thank you Google -Blackfeet Indian Pencil. Read all about it on Pencil.com. Yes, Pencil.com.
I loved those pencils. I think my Dad had them (I must have been rifling thru his desk...). #2, but the lead was softer and wrote darker. That's what Mike liked about the Black Warriors- they were good for drawing.

When I worked at a music instrument building shop we send along a pencil with every order. Those pencils were very much like the Blackfeet pencils, and the Black Warrior I suspect. Nice pencil.
Makes me want to go on a search for some nice pencils.

Wow. More pencil talk.. So many gradients!

christmas eve again

Roman, looking all dapper.


And looking to catch some flies





Hanging with Uncle Andy, who's checking his phone. I added this one because I really wonder what the technology will be when you are his age. I tend to think it will be dramatically different, but who knows? By the way, Andy was waiting for a call from his friend Kai, who was driving into town from out East..He made it safely.



Dapper Roman, pick pacifier in tow. Kind of hard to take the tie seriously, no?



Mom plucked the pacifier out


But it's got to go back in!


Grandma Loves me.
Sometimes I can't believe I've turned into the sickly sweet tagline blogger. But that's what kids will do to you!

Christmas Eve

All I want for Christmas. Miss Zoe was "after" the tree. AFTER THE TREE for to touch and possibly disassemble the decorations. Ugh. At home and at Grandma & Grandpa's. Our Christmas tree at home lasted one week. By Sunday I was very tired of saying "nooooo" to the little hands that went after the (plastic) ornaments and lights. Bad visions of little hands in danger - the tree got put away.

But Zoe above looks very child-like in this picture. I guess that's only fitting! Christmas is for children. It's fun again.




We made an attempt at getting a picture of Zoe with grandpa.



No go. Fussy. Feisty? Selective. There are few people she'll sit with.



But of course she'll try to upstage the brother.



Little man with Grandpa Jon.



Gotta go Gramps. People to see, places to go. Grandpa had a good time with some of the Roman pictures, looking like Mr. Business in his little suit.



I got nothing! We hadn't opened presents yet.



But I gotta skee-daddle?(those little footsteps!)

dadSongs - Breezin

Breezin'
George Benson

Your dad and I are in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Winter 2004. A nearby beachside restaurant's music spills over into our path. "Is that live?" your dad asks. He tells me it's "Breezin." Wonders never cease. I am amazed. Not something I expected from your dad. He was heavy into Led Zeppelin when we first met. And as you read this you might know your dad goes thru phases of obsession, so we were hearing a lot of the Zep, at least until I gave the "this is giving me a headache" look. Breezin,huh? At some point your dad explained to me that he was a big fan of Muzak- the kind of stuff that hotels pipe in as neutral, non-intrusive background music. He told me he'd crank it up when he was out on the road on "jobs", much to the chagrin of his co-workers. The mental image of that still makes me grin. Your dad, he's one of a kind - and isn't that why we fall in love with someone? I recently saw a preview for a remake of the movie Fame. There's a line in there about the side of you that you want to hide. It's your power. It's you. That hit home. What is different about you is what makes you. Don't be afraid of it Roman and Zoe. Embrace it and nurture it.

Christmas Eve

Playing hide and seek with uncle Dan.


Zoe LOVES to carry around her blanket. Or, in a pinch, Roman's blanket.


Uncle Dan spent some good old playtime at Roman altitude (on the floor), so now they are best buds.


Your cousins Zach and Mina. Compare to last year




What? Says Zach?
Note mama's choice of socks. I told your dad those were the only dark socks we had for him and they looked black to me. They are the same color as my black socks. Daddy said it's time to get new black socks. Yes. Agreed.



That's a good thing, eh Roman?



Okay here we are. Zach, Roman, Mina, Zoe (being fussy about who she'll pose with, sitting on Grandma Jane's lap).


Cousin Mina and mama.
Boy, it's so fun to have a title (mama).

The Christmas outfits

Courtesy of Grandma Candy.

Christmas 2009 -We are family

Ah, if only there were time for perfect composition and oeswews (that's a typo that I have no idea how to translate, 5 minutes later), logical blogging.
It's turned into a lazy weekend. Once I get past a certain amount of days at home I turn into a lump. Having way too many Christmas cookies at my disposal does not help. Oh well. That's it. That's all the complaining I choose to do tonight.

Meanwhile, I blog on my new gift - a netbook. Something I can have upstairs, something I can plop on the coffee table or on the kitchen table. Something mobile, something small. Something Daddy and Grandma Candy went together on. Daddy made the following my desktop wallpaper:

I thought he'd put 2 snowmen, one without a hat (Zoe!), on it on purpose. Nope, just a background he added text to. Pretty good.

So many pictures from Christmas (and some I still want to take - Grandma Candy with Zoe and Roman in their Christmas outfits; we never got around to it on Christmas day, we all spent the day in our jammies).

Meanwhile a random sampling of photos to get us started.

Zoe and me on Christmas Eve. Zoe's not yet dolled up in her Christmas dress. We put her in that later.




I had to get Miss Zoe with Grandma Jane. Both of us wearing Santa hats, eh? Like mother like daughter. Zoe looks like she's about to sneeze. AH-Choo! She is adept at blowing her nose. Not that you needed to know that, but it's kind of funny.



Grandpa Jon and Cousin Mina - what ARE they doing? Mina's showing off the latest dance craze for all you hep cats? (Sorry, channelling the thoughts of a bygone era). Is that a bowling move I see Mina perfecting?



Well, Zoe's now in the mix, and your soon to be Aunt Laura...



Roman's catching the tv. Wii. Me, I'm so out of the loop on all that stuff. I know there will come a day when I won't be. You two will educate me



Your cousin Zach, cousin Mina and Uncle Andy battle it out in a game of tennis.



Again, Roman is glued to the tv. Later they had fun with the game console. Never a dull moment...

I see...

Daddy's Christmas trees.



Daddy's Christmas trees because he put them up. And every night around dinner we use the remote control in the kitchen to light them up. At least for a few more nights... Daddy took this picture Christmas night. We were threatened with a big snowstorm. We got snow.

Budding Photographer

Watch out Dorothea Lange.
Wait, she probably doesn't have the ability to watch out.







Grandma Candy said she knew what she'd have to get you next year...

Thanks Sister Helenette!

Roman and Zoe's first presents were waiting for them under Grandma Jane and Grandpa Jon's Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. Well, under one of the two trees! Twin trees I guess. It's spreading.
A lion (ROAR!) for Roman and a doggie (arf! arf!) for Zoe.
It's probably a good thing I work outside the home or I'd be talking like this 24/7).




They loved them - thank you Sister Helenette!

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Packages arrived on Wednesday. Christmas packages from the Chicago family. Thanks Mike, Pam, Jared, Amanda and Shannon! This is stage one of the fun, as demonstrated by Roman and Zoe.

Fun to climb

Fun to examine.



Really fun to climb.

And fun to sit on. A new perch from which to examine the world.




At that's exactly what it seems like. Zoe got up there and just looked around. Huh. So this is what it's like up here.

Roman decided to tackle the mountain instead.

No Sherpa guides for Roman. He ascends...

Ta da!

Time to take a look around the summit.

He successfully descended as well. Good job!