Nature wins again!

 Hi! i felt like something different today, so i'm using the permanent marker font. maybe it balances out the not-so-wispy mist that has befallen us, causing the second fog delay-turned-cancellation day of the year.

i love the drips on the ends of the fronds. remember, you can enlarge photos by clicking on them.

Spider web in the gooseberries

if you look really closely you might be able to see the spider webs dangling from the branches. 

we lived twenty minutes north of here for about 8 years, and during sketchy weather we'd always hear about this southern district on a delay or cancelling. i used to laugh, "those kids are never in school!" 

now i laugh that the northern kids are always in school. i'm amazed we made it an entire academic quarter without even a delay this year, but we're making up for it now. having driven in it yesterday, i can assure you that there is an almost physical line where the fog stops. it's amazing. once you hit it, you go, "oh, so that's why we're always delaying and they're always on time!" i dunno if it's the actual school district boundary or what, but it's as if a wizard has planted his staff to declare to the fog, "you shall not pass!" 

i love it, though. even though this fog had a decidedly icy-seeping-into-your-bones feel, it is beautiful to me. i think it was a good call on behalf of the kiddos and poor bus drivers. i have already heard sirens this morning and i'm glad we get to stay in out of the damp. be safe out there and have a positive energy thursday!

Tea and ... snowflakes?

I've drunk enough tea in 2015 to become an honorary Brit. Brit? Briton? British? Hmm. Anyway, hot or cold, I've been going through tea like it's going out of style. I'm not even sure why.

And I've been accused of baking a lot. I can't help it. Now that we're in a cold snap, of course I'M cold, and cold people need comfort food. So I baked a cake. And I baked some cookies. And I might not be finished. Especially if it doesn't warm up.

So where's my cake? It's a chocolate cake with chocolate minty pudding in it and baked in a Bundt pan. Excellent. I shared with my moms' group. I do blame Dada for that one, as I said, "if you don't please put the cake platter away I'll have to bake another cake." He replied, "You better bake a cake then!" See? Totally his fault.

The cookies I blame email for. I got an email about 10 irresistible cookie recipes which of course I had to check out. One of them was cake batter cookies. I'd helped make them at camp before, but never at home, so I thought I'd give it a try. I had a box of confetti cake which happened to be yellow, like the recipe called for, and frozen egg yolks from when I'd made a white cake and needed only egg whites. Anyway, I threw all 5 thawed egg yolks and one fresh egg in there with the cake mix and a stick of unsalted butter. It said to mix in about a 1/4 cup of sprinkles, but confetti cake already has fun stuff in it, so I just dumped it all in there. It also said to use an ice cream scoop but I just used my usual tablespoon to measure them out. They turned out nice and golden and kid-approved. I'm kind of afraid to test out the recipes because of the sweets we already have in the house, hehe!

Yesterday I got a text from sweet Zita: I might have seen snow.

She was right. It was raining tiny snowballs when I went to pick up Damon from preschool. Nobody on Facebook was happy about it, either. There were plenty of "snow!" posts. Fickle Spring and her nofucks. It made me think of 3 Dog Night's "Pieces of April" and hope fervently that I will NOT be having "pieces of April, but it's a morning in May..."

I still haven't forgotten the lightning bug post or our new-to-us park post, but I need to steal pictures from Dada's phone for that, so it might be awhile. Technology, you know.

Have a great rest of your Positive Energy Thursday!

Lemmings

Like everybody else, we've been crazy busy now that the holidays are approaching.

Sessions at the Y are winding down until the New Year, so Damon will have his last swimming lesson in an hour. He really likes his class and his teacher and being in the water. In fact, he'd rather be in the water more than anything else. It will be interesting to see if his instructor will promote him or keep him at the same level until he follows directions (like staying on the wall) a little closer...

Carrie had her Christmas concert last Thursday and tonight is her very first strings concert, featuring her on the viola for the first time. I'm at once proud and mentally trying to remember where we keep our stash of ear plugs. Not that'd we'd need them for HER, of course, but who knows if those other kids pick up their instument at home. *wink wink*  I thought about posting her former concert stuff, but I think I'll wait until after the pictures tonight and do them all at once.

Today Liam presents his report on Gandhi. The entire second grade has been researching biographies on people of their choice, and he picked Gandhi. He's going in with two pillowcases folded and pinned into a sash and my hair towel for his turban. I can't wait to hear how it went.

I've been trying to Christmas shop while the big kids are in school. Shopping with a three-year-old takes more talent than I possess, however, as proven by me leaving $55 of gift cards at the store where I bought them yesterday. I called customer service once I got home and realized I didn't have them and called myself an idiot. I was informed there was no such thing, that they get that call all the time, and that they'd be waiting for me at the service desk. Whew! Tis the season.

We haven't had as much snow as some of you, but I'm betting we have permafrost. It hasn't been above freezing in a long time now. Every time I go out to shovel, it snows more. Therefore, I quit. Triskal enjoys the snow for about 2 minutes, rubbing her face in it and galloping about, and then sits on the step giving us pitiful eyes as soon as she realizes snow = cold. Apparently some things take awhile to be learned, even after 8 years of it. Silly old girl.

Have a wonderful Positive Energy Thursday!