The Lady with the Yellow Hat and Curious, But Precise George

Tif just sent me this little conversation she had with KC.  Having just been with my granddaughter, I had to laugh.  Tif says she can't understand where KC acquired this need for precision.  Ummm... I could have told her, but I kept silent.

KC loves her Curious George books and since she was going to be wearing her monkey suit, Tif decided to be the Man with the Yellow Hat when they attended a Halloween party at a friend's house.

Tiffany and KC

Tif:  KC, I’m going to be the Man with the Yellow Hat for Halloween.  I'm wearing my yellow shirt, yellow hat, olive cargo pants and tall black boots.

KC: Your shirt isn’t yellow, it’s orange.

Tif:  It’s orangey-yellow.

KC: No, it’s light orange.

(Next, KC goes to her book shelf to get a Curious George book for reference.)

KC: Your pants aren’t yellow, your boots aren’t brown and you’re not wearing a brown belt. 

Tif: Close enough, I’m the Man with the Yellow Hat.

KC: No, you’re not. 



Tiffany and Art



A blogger friend asked me what my children looked like when I dressed them as rice bags.  Suffice to say none of our Illinois neighbors figured out what was going through my mind.  



Tiffany and Jonathan

  And a few years later, Jon became the rice bag.  I think they both later decided they would choose their own costumes.

After seeing these photos, I suspect KC will never let me choose her costume either.

Happy Halloween, everybody! 

Shirley Temple's Japanese Songs

Art got the following message forwarded to him by a high school classmate.  I was pretty astonished to hear Shirley Temple singing in Japanese when she was 9 years old.  I had my mother listen to it and she was delighted.  I remember hearing my mother sing these songs to me many times when I was a child.

This is a very rare 'novelty' recording; most people have never heard of this recording before. Shirley Temple, the all-time great child actress, sings two famous Japanese nursery rhymes, "Yuyake Koyake (夕焼け小焼け)", and "Kutsu ga naru (靴が鳴る)", in Japanese. Recorded on March 11th, 1937, at Japan Polydor Studio at Tokyo, Japan. Temple was briefly visiting Japan for promoting her film "Dimples". Despite the fact she learned the lyrics phonetically, there's basically no errors on pronunciations; and it is pretty astonishing for a 9 year-old girl.

I found this translation for Yuyake Koyake on the web:

"Fiery Sunset"
The day ends with a fiery sunset
The mountain temple's bell rings
Let everyone go home, hand in hand
The crows go home together too.
After the children returned home
Appeared the big, round moon.
While the baby birds dream,
In the sky the golden stars twinkle.

There are also a bunch of translations to Kutsu ga naru at this site.

Duvet/Futon Cover

Mom mentioned a while ago that she needed a new cover for her futon.

We'd looked at several stores including in Japan, but couldn't find one.  People will sometimes sew a sheet on but that's such a bother to launder.  You have to resew it every time you wanted to wash it.  Hmmm... I remember doing this as a kid.  I had to baste the cover back on the futon.

When we were at Ikea in Illinois, Art noticed some duvet covers.  Even the twin size looked like it would be too big.  Still, the cost was reasonable so Art decided it was worth a try.  The liked the snap closures.

We all thought this purple pattern would really appeal to mom and we were right.  She loved it.  I used the old futon cover to measure the size and sewed the sides of the duvet cover to fit the smaller futon.

Oh happy day!  It worked beautifully!  I still can't for the life of me understand how mom can sleep with a futon, but that's what she likes.  In fact, I remember growing up sleeping under a futon.  I wonder how I could have liked sleeping under a futon when it's so hot in Hawaii.  Come to think of it, my brother still uses a futon.

I think my blood must have become thicker while living on the mainland.  Whatever the case, mom is happy with her omiyage (gift) from Illinois.  She's happy, so we're happy.

Photo from Wikipedia

POSTSCRIPT:  Oops!  From the comments I've been getting, I realize that people don't know that mom's futon is like a comforter, but heavier.  She sleeps on a regular firm mattress on a low box spring.  She didn't want her bed on a bed frame because it would make it too high and she was afraid of falling off.  In Japan many people still sleep on a firm futon or folding mattress below and a softer futon on top for a cover.

PS:  I'm sorry I had to put the Word Verification on again.  I'm getting way too much spam lately.  It's really aggravating.  Unfortunately Blogger is not able to catch everything.

Why I Love Hawaii

Whenever I complain to my kids in January that it's too hot and humid, I get no sympathy.  Yes, there's a lot about Hawaii to love.  Here's a few of my reasons.

1.  When strangers talk to you, you're not at all surprised.  People smile a lot.  Customer service associates are cheerful and friendly.... usually.  Yes, we do have a very few grouchy, had-a-bad-day, chip on the shoulder type sales people, but they're pretty hard to find.

2.  You're bound to bump into somebody you know no matter where you go.  The islands are pretty darn small.  They tell you not to yell at anybody in traffic because they could be a relative or neighbor.

3.  Pot Lucks!  Parties are more casual and everybody pitches in.

4.  Rainbows

5.  Shave Ice, malasadas, andagi (for my son-in-law)

6.  Food:  The islands are full of all kinds of ethnic food.  Saimin is a noodle soup dish that I LOVE, but can't get anywhere on the mainland.

African Tulips

7.  There's always flowers blooming somewhere.  I love the African tulip trees.  When the shower trees are blooming, it's really spectacular.

8.  Surfing:  I'm definitely not a surfer, but my son loves it.  It's how I can entice him to come to Hawaii.

9.  Yes, yes... The weather is pretty wonderful.  I do especially enjoy it when I'm wearing shorts and t-shirts during my evening walks in January.

Tiffany and KC

10.  There are amazing white sandy beaches and warm ocean water.  You don't need a wet suit to go into the water.

11.  You only need clothes for one season.  You don't need to have gargantuan closets to store winter clothes.  It's t-shirts year round.

12.  NO snakes, skunks, chipmunks (yes, I know they're cute), and other nuisance creatures.  We do have mice and mongoose, although I only see them darting across the road.

13.  Volcano National Park is pretty darn awesome!

14.  Solar panels get a lot more sun.

Art and KC doing laundry

15.  You can hang your clothes out all year long if you avoid the micro rainstorms that pass through.  AND you don't have to pay for heat in the winter.

16.  It's closer to Asia, so traveling there is a lot easier. 

17.  Everybody remembers to take off their shoes when they come to your house.

18.  The laid back, casual life style is quite peaceful and they say life expectancy is higher here despite the fact that so much Spam is eaten.


I guess no matter where you live, you will find wonderful and not so wonderful things about it.  It's all in your outlook and what you make of your life.


Hmmmm.... I just had a thought.  I haven't had shave ice in a long time.

Why I Love the Mainland

Since we've just returned from the mainland (Illinois) I thought I'd list why I loved living there.  I won't be listing my children, grandchild and friends because that's a given and would head any list I write.  I'll do one for Hawaii after that.

1. The seasons:  We've just returned from seeing leaves turn gold and crimson.  The incredible beauty of that last hurrah of Mother Nature is breathtaking.  With the cold and starkness of winter around the bend, Fall becomes that much more amazing.  Although winter has its own beauty, spring is euphoric!

2.  For women:  You only have to shave 6 months or so out of the year.  The rest of the time, you're covered up.

3.  Trader Joe and Ikea

4.  No exorbitant shipping costs

5.  Lots to do:  Tons of OUTLET malls everywhere, tons of cultural events

6.  You can drive to another state on the Interstate unlike in Hawaii where the Interstate doesn't cross state lines.

7.  No termites, I think

Chicago Botanic Garden

8.  Lots of botanical gardens and museums

9.  Fresh picked apples, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.

10.  Electricity, gas and water are cheaper.

11.  Lots of tall trees

12.  Things don't spoil as quickly.  Bugs won't grow in your flour if you leave it out.

13.  Plastic stays plastic and don't become brittle.  The salt air in Hawaii destroys window screens and rusts all metal.

14.  More jobs with better pay

15.  Lots more coupons in the Sunday paper

16.  The weather forecasters are usually accurate.  Hawaii has too many micro-climates.  Forecasters will tell you to expect rain... but let's be honest.  They should just say partly sunny, cloudy, rainy because somewhere on the island they'd be right.

17.  You don't have to be last to: vote, know election results, celebrate New Years, know sports scores, etc.

I'll bet you'll think of even more things you like about being on the mainland.  Tomorrow, I'll post about Hawaii.

Returning Home From Home

I suppose this painful day of farewell had to come.  We just avoided thinking about it.

We came with only one suitcase and 2 back packs to Illinois because we've got clothes and footwear for every season packed in the attic.  However, our purchases in Illinois required more space.

Tiffany had an extra hand-carry luggage so she gave it to us to use.  We told her we'd return it next year.

That last moment is always the hardest.  That last hug, that last wave...
It was gut wrenching to see KC's tiny hand waving and waving until they were out of sight.

Tiffany already had a plan in place to take KC's mind off the parting.  She took her to a huge Halloween fest at one of the shopping malls that afternoon.  KC had a terrific time!

Art decided to pay the $25.00 to have our silver hand-carry shipped straight to Hawaii since we'd have that same stop-over in Phoenix where we had to run to catch our connecting flight and almost missed it.  Running with extra luggage did not appeal to him.

We noticed that O'Hare Airport already had a sink in place at the security gate so you could empty your water bottle and fill it on the other side.  We had already emptied our water bottle at home.

When we got to the gate, we heard the announcement that they were offering to send hand-carry luggage to our FINAL destination for FREE!  Arrrghhhh!  We wouldn't have had to pay!

When we got to Phoenix, the gates were different.  We didn't have to rush because our arrival and departure gates were close together.  We even had time to grab a quick burger.  Arrrrghhhh!

The rest of the flight went smoothly and my brother, Dennis was waiting for us with a smile, a hug and news of all that had happened in the month that we were gone. 

Mom had some nishime (Japanese stew), namasu (pickled cucumbers), rice and kabocha (pumpkins) waiting on the kitchen table.  She usually eats at 5:00 or earlier, but she'd waited 2 hours so she could eat with us. 

It was hard leaving home, but it's nice to be home too.

Farewell Massage

"Please Grandma, could I have a back massage and a foot massage?" KC begged with a smile to melt a grandmother's heart.

KC remembered me giving her a foot massage in Yellowstone earlier in the year when we were doing that marathon car trip throughout the national parks.

It was funny to see KC with this sublime, peaceful look on her face.  Her body melted like butter.

Then I offered to give Tiffany a back massage.  She has been ticklish since she was a baby.  It still hasn't changed.

"Let's do a pattern," said KC.  "First you do me and then you do mommy and then you do me..."

KC was getting a bit impatient when I was massaging her mother so she decided to help.  I showed her how to do the foot massage.

It was a lovely relaxing evening.  When the massage was over (I was tired), KC suddenly wrapped her arms tight around my neck, kissed my cheek exuberantly and said, "Thank you, Grandma."

And yes, that did melt my heart.

Message to my son-in-law:  "Eddie, bring the family over to Hawaii soon and I'll give you a foot massage too."

Punch List All Done... Sort Of

The day we arrived in Illinois Tiffany smiled sheepishly and said, "Dad, here's a list of the things I'd love your help with."

We may not have finished everything, but we almost did. Art replaced two light fixtures as well as this three way light switch.


We weren't able to get to everything until the 2nd half of our trip because we were sick and jet-lagged.


We did do all the outdoor landscape maintenance from trimming hedges to cutting down buckthorn bushes and trees.

I took off all the old caulking, bleached the tile and replaced it with this super duper caulk that's supposed to resist mold build up for 5 years. I had to use mineral spirits to clean up. I really don't enjoy using mineral spirits. Art said the old moldy caulk should come off easily. Nope! It was a LOT of work!

We helped Tif hang up a lot of paintings and wall hangings that were still in boxes after 2 years.



Our son-in-law is often on business trips so when he comes home, he spends the precious time doing better things with his family.

Tiffany asked Art to take down a door that was never used and to put up moulding to cover the hinge holes.

Then it was my turn to caulk the gaps and prime and paint the wood.

It really does give Tif more space in the kitchen now that the door is gone.

Then there was that leaking bathroom vanity.

We were very lucky that the weather cleared and warmed up for us to finish so much of this work.

I think we'll take a break before we start working on our home projects in Hawaii.

POSTSCRIPT 1:  In my rush to delete this post on Sunday which came up a day early, I also deleted Dina's comment.  Here's what she wrote.

"Ah, a working vacation.

And knowing you, Kay, you will take all of one or two days for your "break."
Good luck with your farewell. "

POSTSCRIPT 2: When I returned to Hawaii, my brother told me that they sell an L shaped caulk cutter/remover that I could have used. Darn!  Next time...

I Love Ikea!

Ikea has always been one of our favorite stores.  They have wonderfully fun, affordable and creative things that look beautiful in your home.  

However, I have to laugh when I see things posted on Craigslist in Hawaii asking for more than what the item cost new at the store.  I have a feeling some people in Hawaii think Ikea is a high end store.

Tiffany loves their very "affordable" lunches so, of course that's where we ate.

And here are the treasures we are bringing home to Hawaii:  a duvet cover for my mom's futon, ceramic knives (which I hope will be as good as Tif's which she bought at a high end store), 2 bath rugs, 3 night lights, a wall socket unit and some colorful plastic bowls that were dishwasher safe.  I hope everything works out well when we use them in Hawaii.  Whatever the case, we had a lot of fun.  I wish we had an Ikea in Hawaii.   

Where in the World is Milt Popovic?

Milt was the auto repair guy we could always TRUST.  We loved Milt.  We even brought some coffee from Hawaii to give him when we returned to Illinois.  Tif and Ed needed the oil in their car changed so we brought it over to Milt along with our coffee.  What a shock!  Milt was gone!  Where is he?  We were heart broken.

We met Milt when something went wrong with our Camry four or five years ago.  We took our car to four places to get an estimate.  They all said the repair would cost between $400 to $600. 

When we brought the Camry to Milt, he checked it over and said the car should fall just within the limits of the warranty.  "Take it to the dealer and get them to repair it," he told us.  "If they give you any trouble, have them call me."  We did. 

At first the dealership didn't think the warranty would cover the problem.  They counted out the months and we fell just within a month of the warranty expiring.  Amazing!  Milt saved us a lot of money. 

From that point on we always brought our car into Milt to have it serviced.  We recommended him to others.  Tif brought their cars into Milt also.  Milt would list what things really needed to be fixed and what could wait.  We trusted Milt.

When we went to Merlin's they said Milt was no longer the owner.  "He's probably retired," they added.  The franchise was now corporately owned and they didn't know where Milt was.  I tried to find him on the Internet but couldn't locate him.  I can't believe he retired because he was too young.


So where the heck is Milt?

Speaking of which, does anybody know a really good mechanic on Oahu who's amazing, honest and not too expensive?

Breakfast With Gerri

Gerri and I taught together in a school close by for many years.  She was the Behavior Disorder teacher and really helped me get started in teaching first grade.  Whenever I was at wit's end, she was there to offer advice.  However, she was more than a colleague, she is one of those friends that you can always count on.

I sincerely believe that the Girlfriends Club (group of 9 teachers) keeps together because of Gerri.  She makes sure that the next meeting date is organized.  She sends birthday greetings to everybody.  If anyone is ill or is having difficulty, Gerri will let everyone know and will organize a collection to send a gift or support.  When we get together in a large group at the monthly gatherings, Gerri will discretely insure that everyone gets heard.  If someone hasn't been able to get a word in edgewise, she'll direct questions to ask how their lives are going.  I've always admired that about her.

What I really love about Gerri is that often times we get so immersed in the needs of our families that we forget our friends... we don't make enough time for them.  Not Gerri.

Gerri is very busy!  She's got grandchildren she babysits several times a week.  However, she insisted we have one more time to be together before I left for Hawaii.  She picked me up and treated me to a Starbucks breakfast.  We could have sat there all morning pouring out our thoughts and hearts.  After a year and a half, it was like no time had passed.

We all have challenges and trials that we must deal with in life.  I've been fortunate in the friends I grew up with in Hawaii, in the friends I met on the mainland and the friends I've made in the land of Blogs.  Each friend is very precious and has enriched my life in countless ways.  I just wish everybody could live close by so I could see them more often.

Tomorrow, Art will be having breakfast with his friend.  I wonder if guys talk about the same sort of things...

Ginkgo Luck!

Fresh from the ecstasy of presenting her hard-to-find acorns to her extremely surprised and delighted teachers, KC was now desperately wanting to find a ginkgo tree.  She is fascinated by the fan shaped leaves.

Actually Tif and I have both loved the gingko leaf.  Art bought me a silver ginkgo leaf pendant a long time ago that I loved.  In my  exuberant desire to have it shine, I rubbed it too hard and broke it.  The same thing happened to Tiffany with her ginkgo shaped earrings.

So anyway, KC has asked Tif several times to stop the car when she saw a ginkgo tree in some one's yard on the way to school.  She wanted to collect a leaf or two.  Knowing KC, she probably wanted pile of it.  Whatever the case, Tif hasn't been able to get that leaf for KC.  

I remembered her wanting them today so I asked Art to stop the car and I jumped out in the autumn wind and rain to collect a few leaves from a neighbor's yard before it blew out onto the street.  One does these things for a granddaughter.  We then drove home. 

What a shock awaited us!

Right there in front of our house was a new ginkgo tree!   The village truck was just pulling away after planting it because the wind had knocked down the ash tree that was near that area.  Tif had a choice of three tree possibilities and the village had planted her first choice (for free).  Because it was so late in the year, Tif thought they wouldn't be planting a tree until next year.

I wasn't with them when Art and Tif went to pick KC up at pre-school.  We'd wondered if KC would notice the new tree in the front yard. 

They all came in laughing.  KC was squealing in delight, "Look Grandma!  A ginkgo tree!" 

Art says as soon as our house came into view KC was yelling, "A ginkgo tree!  A ginkgo tree!  We have a ginkgo tree!"

KC can hardly believe it!  Neither can we.  We told her she is certainly a lucky girl.  First, she was able to get all the acorns she wanted and now she'll have as many ginkgo leaves as she can possibly play with.  I wonder if she'll try to make a necklace with it.

I wish we could be here to see the leaves turn to gold.   

"Aunt Peggy is My Ideal"

As we were getting ready for our trip down south early yesterday morning to visit Peggy of  Musings of Meggie Tif said, "You know what, Mom?  Aunt Peggy is my ideal.  She never lets any adversity get her down.  She's always cheerful and thinking about others.  I never see her without a smile."

It's true.  Peggy has been battling leukemia and just completed a regimen of chemotherapy.  She's feeling better, but her legs are still too weak for her to be able to walk and needs to use her scooter to get around.  She now has to have surgery on Friday, but still remains optimistic and cheerful.  Yes, Peggy is my ideal too! 

It was interesting to see again how flat the Illinois landscape is compared to Hawaii.  There were miles and miles of flat farmlands on the way to Peggy's house.

We ordered take-out lunches from Biaggi's and discovered that Peggy had called ahead telling them to expect us and had already paid for the lunch before we even got there. We told her that next time we wouldn't tell her where we're going to get lunch.

Her son was there and it was such a pleasure to see what a handsome, kind and friendly man he had grown to be.  We could still remember when he, Tiffany and Jon used to run around the neighborhood on their childhood adventures.

Peggy and I were able to catch up on our lives.  I think that is what is  so wonderful about Peggy.  No matter how stressful her life is, she wants to know about all that's happening in yours and is excited for your happy times.  She listens with rapt attention letting you know she really cares.

It was wonderful being together again.  Peggy said she has somehow been locked out of her blog and she can't figure out how to get back in.  She's tried contacting Blogger and hasn't gotten much help so far.  She will probably just start up another blog and I'll let you know where her site is once she's on board again.

In the meantime, please keep Peggy in your prayers and thoughts.  She has always been in mine.

Tools Make the Difference

Incredibly, we had a string of warm, sunny days a week ago that enabled us to do a lot of yard work.  One of the things I wanted to do after tackling the Buckthorns in the backyard was to trim the hedge in front of the house.  Tif said she wanted to borrow our neighbor's electric hedge trimmer.

I wasn't so sure I wanted to use anything that looked as lethal as that.  I was envisioning my fingers being cut off or my hand or my foot.  Don't they make scary movies with machines like this?

You know what?  Once you got over the fear of it, it's really wonderful.  You could get the hedge trimmed in half the time and more smoothly.  It was like giving a crew cut with an electric trimmer!

Too bad we don't have a hedge in Hawaii.  I wouldn't mind getting one for ourselves...except...

Well, yard work is my mother's domain and she really doesn't like for us to encroach on what she considers her area of expertise.  Ah well...  I'm certainly not complaining.

A Day at Mrs. H's Woods

KC came home from pre-school on Friday asking for the acorn that she'd found a month ago.  Tiffany had long since discarded it since KC often collects treasures on their outings.  Apparently KC's teacher had asked if anybody had an acorn they could bring to school.  KC said she did and would bring it to school next week.

Filled with guilt, Tif said she no longer had it.  KC then decided to bring a plastic acorn from one of her games.  Tif told her that wouldn't be a good idea and KC began sobbing tearfully.  The anguish was difficult for me to see so I can imagine how poor Tif felt. 

Art and I were leaving for an evening dinner engagement so we couldn't stay to help.  Tif called her husband to go hunt down an acorn outside his office and Tiffany took KC to the park to find some.  They returned with only a couple of broken shells.  KC was utterly disappointed, but accepted the sad conclusion that it would be all she could give to her teacher.

On Saturday we went to see an old friend who owns a large wooded property out west.  We brought her lunch as we usually do when we go for a visit.  Mrs. H was introduced to us by Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo when Tif  and Dina's Naomi were in kindergarten.  Mrs. H was Dina's high school teacher in Chicago. 

We mentioned to Mrs. H about poor KC's plight with the dearth of acorns in Illinois.  Mrs. H burst out laughing.  She said she had mountains of acorns in her woods and backyard. 

After lunch, she brought out a box for KC to collect acorns to her heart's content.  There were a variety of different kinds of acorns from various species of oak trees.

We couldn't believe how many acorns were scattered on the ground.  I asked her why the squirrels and chipmunks hadn't taken it.  She said she's got so many oak trees that the squirrels just can't keep up with the supply.

Ever the teacher, she showed KC and Art how acorns in her garbage can were sprouting new oak trees.

There were so many things to discover and enjoy.  KC was absolutely ecstatic to be outdoors with a treasure trove of glorious outdoor wonders.

KC had been unhappy that the yard crew had come and taken away all her tiny mountains of fallen leaves on Friday.

Now she had all the leaves she could hope for and loved rolling in them.  She even wanted to bring some home but we assured her that our White Swamp Oak tree had lots more leaves that  would be falling.  It has lots of leaves, just no acorns.

KC loves jumping into piles of leaves.  As I recall, her mother and uncle also thought that was the most fun in the whole wide world.

And then KC got Art to help her create a leaf shower.  They were both throwing armfuls of leaves into the air and just loving Autumn.

This is what we miss in Hawaii.  Granted... raking leaves isn't always fun, but today... Falling leaves was magic!

Won't KC's teacher be surprised?

A House Full of Sick People!

The day we arrived in Illinois, Art caught a cold and I got jet lagged.  It took me 2 weeks to recover and Art is better, but not quite perfect yet.

One week after we arrived, my son-in-law returned from Singapore and promptly caught what seemed like the flu.  He recovered from jet-lag in a couple of days and the flu after what seemed like only 4-5 days.  Good grief!  How does he do it?

Then Tif got sick.  And KC has that occasional sniffle that threatens to become worse.

I am hanging on here... just barely.

I keep waiting for that other shoe to drop.  Tif says I'm being pessimistic.  I suppose.  I'm taking my vitamins.  I'm taking Airborne.  I'm washing my hands.  I'm spraying the bathroom sink handles with germ killing spray.  I'm trying to do more of the cooking. 

Still... I think it's just a matter of time.  I'm just hoping and hoping that I can stay healthy for another week and a half.  Then I'll have my mother to take care of me.

What Can a Little Kid Do?

When I was teaching first grade my teammates would often wonder if the kindergarten teachers could do a bit more with their class.  It would be great if the kindergartners could learn the beginnings of how to form their letters and how to hold a pencil properly.  We were told that it was a developmental kindergarten and that developmentally children do not have the fine motor skills to hold that pencil correctly or to write on any kind of lined paper.  That was all supposed to happen magically in first grade.  For many it did.  Some children could probably have done it earlier and some could have used more time.

We had the ESL (English as a Second Language) program with children from mostly Asian countries in our classrooms.  Surprisingly, these children came in already able to write and draw beautifully.  I mentioned this to a kindergarten teacher friend and she said it was because they used chopsticks.  Sigh...

When I visited with another teacher friend a week ago and gave her grandchildren a few toys, they wrote thank you notes to me.  One grandson is only 3 months older than my 4 year old KC and he actually wrote a beautifully written note. 

I thought I'd see what KC could do.  Tiffany had a lined white board so we practiced writing 1s and 0s on the lines.  Soon we practiced writing her name properly with only the first letter of her name capitalized.

I put dots on the lines so she would know where to start.  She was soon making a game of it and making her own dots.

I'm pleased to see KC excited about writing and able to do a little of it.  But this is enough.  There are too many other things that KC wants to do.

Aside from being a picky eater, there's so much of her mother in her.  When playing with a tinker toy set she took out the instruction sheet and then methodically counted out and collected all the pieces she needed first.  Only then did she start assembling her tinker toy fairy car. 

KC is definitely a mixture of both her parents.  It's fun to see when bits of both emerge for us to smile at.

And some times we do have to roll our eyes and laugh too.

The Deck that Art Built

Some 25 years ago after we finished renovating our home, we decided we needed something outside of the family room where Tif and Jon could play.  We also wanted a large area for hosting parties.

We used to have a lot of fun having parties at our house.

Art took a lot of time to design just what we wanted.  We wanted tables for all the food and lots of sitting areas.  We wanted lots of play space.  We wanted a table right outside of the kitchen window so we could pass food right out to the deck.

Art actually wanted to put down a brick or stone flooring, but friends told us a raised wooden deck would be better since it would be an extension of the house.  You could step right out of the family room without dropping down a step or two.

So this is what Art did.

HOWEVER, there are some problems.  Skunks, opposums, chipmunks, racoons love having this nice basement apartment for their own.  It's miserable keeping them out. Keeping the deck nice looking requires painting every 3-4 years.  Carpenter ants weakened one of the benches and it had to be replaced.

The other unfortunate thing is that once Art finally finished the deck, I'd gone back to work teaching and no longer had the energy to host larger parties. 

It's very nice to see that Tif and Ed are now able to happily use the deck for their parties.  It sure makes Art happy!