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The project my daughters did with me!

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Here's something I'm rather proud of. . . I have raised two successful babysitters. When they were starting out babysitting, I was as nervous as they were! What if something happens? Will they have to cook? What if the kids are hard to handle? I went over instructions with them right until they walked out the door. I canceled my plans and stayed home in case they called for help. When they got home, I'd want all the details and then go over what to do for next time. They got better and better with each job and my nerves calmed down when I realized they were great babysitters who knew how to keep kids safe AND have fun with them at the same time. Hearing from friends and neighbors what awesome babysitters my daughters are made me so proud!   But now they are getting older and getting different jobs, and spending more weekend nights with friends rather than babysitting, they're ready to pass the torch on to younger babysitters. We had the idea to put together a guide/kit ...
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Things don't always go as planned. . .

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Thought I'd confess to a couple failed projects. . . First of all, I have this darling Japanese craft book which has been translated into English. There are drool marks on most of the pages. The projects are darling, the instructions are charming. I've been meaning to try a bunch of the patterns, but settled on this one. . . tiny stuffed bears for babies to gum and teethe on. I thought, PERFECT! I have the most fruitful bunch of friends and family imaginable and I always need baby gifts. . . Here is the picture from the book. So cute, right? Here are the two I made: Not so cute. . . it's really hard to work this small! These little guys are only about 4 inches tall. I did the blue one first and then tried the brown one scaled up to see if it was any easier. Nope. Horrible. I won't be giving these to anyone, its too embarrassing. I think I probably should have used stretch terrycloth, but it didn't specify. I may try again in the future after the pain of this failure...
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Japan - Part 3

Believe it or not, I tried to just pick my favorite pictures to post! So, I'll finish up the set with a slideshow. Japan was so beautiful, so picturesque, so full of contrasts and visual irony. I loved it. I hope that comes through in these pictures. First you'll see some shrines and temples in the park of Nara, which has famous free-roaming deer. They're believed to be messengers of the gods. . . they're like fearless squirrels in Central Park only more abundant. . . almost as abundant as the school kids which roam in packs of thousands. Some of them would liked to try their English out on us. I just got comments like, "Hi! How are you? Where you from?" Mike got comments like, "Handsome" and "Nice body!" No joke. Weird side note, this one day we spent in Nara and Kyoto we saw the largest wooden building in the world ( the Todai-ji Temple, that housed this huge bronze Buddha), the oldest wooden building in the world (a five story pagoda at...
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Japan - Part 2

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Hakone The next morning we hopped on a gondola or ropeway to get back over the volcanic mountain we were staying on. About halfway over we stopped and got off to see the steaming pots along the Owakudani Nature Trail. . . Owakudani means "great boiling valley." Breakfast, for some reason, was impossible to find that morning so we were happy to have eggs which turned black after being hard-boiled in the sulphuric hot pots to commemorate our little hike. So black eggs, hot dogs and fuji apples for breakfast that morning. . . with this view of Mount Fuji. After the ropeway, we took a cable car and then a train to the Hakone Open-air Museum. One of the most delightful settings I've ever seen for modern art. . . outdoors! My brother, Jon, declared this was the best art museum he's ever seen. I have to agree. . . this is the least stuffy art museum I've ever seen. It was easier to enjoy without worrying about being quiet, or which rooms to see, or reading signs. . . My...
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