A Coqui in Winterfell

My lastest project: Nintendo DS carrying bags for the girls

A and Z. are getting a pair of pre-owned Nintendo DS's for Christmas.  While I know the girls will be over the moon over their new gadgets, I didn't feel it was a good enough gift without something I made.

It has been about a year since I last made them homemade gift of some kind, so I took inspiration from the Nintendo DS, and decided to make them some cute carrying bags, that will protect the gadget, and hold games and chargers when not in use.  I had the fabric (both the flannel and fleece lining) in my stash from previous projects, so I didn't spend any additional money for this other than 1.79 for the zipper.

I had no pattern for this, only ideas gleaned from browsing other people's homemade projects.

I was originally going to make it entirely out of fleece, but quickly realized that it would not hold its shape under the weight of the DS, thankfully I had lots of flannel that coordinated well with the fleece I already cut. The bag is now very soft but sturdy. I hope to add some elastic to inside to store hold the games in place, but I am not going to do that till later, since the games are all packed away right now.

I cut a long rectangular piece (eyeballed it), 1 smaller rectangle piece to fold over into a pocket and then two smaller rectangular side panels, and then sewed it together by hand, with exposed seams. I then added the straps and velcro closures. Today I added the zipper to make the inner pocket more useful.

I hope they like them...

 

Koinonia Cooking

This is the second year and the 4th time I have cooked a Koinonia supper.  Koinonia Supper is RCRC's weekly fellowship meal. Wednesday are a very busy day at RCRC, several choirs meet (3 Bell and 3 voice), along with Junior High youth group plus on alternating weeks the Cadets and GEMS.

When we first moved to Rochester, the weekly meal then known as Family Night had just been discontinued. I thought it was a shame, but figured they knew best.

About a year and half ago, they restarted it. And I look forward to it every week, even if it is a struggle to find people who are willing to cook and clean afterward.  The thing is it isn't that hard.  You just need to plan ahead and come up with the idea of something that is simple but tasty. 

Today I cooked up some of my favorite food and something that gets me a in holiday mood for our last meal fo the year. (hopefully I have cooked enough, have two crockpots of rice and gandules, 1.5 pots of Picadillo, 6 Christmas logs and salad)...

Proud of my fearless GRRL!

Today I had the opportunity to give kids from A.'s class a ride to RCRC so they could practice for their Winter Concert tonight.  The teacher apologetically handed me a list full of boys and A, saying that one of the boy drivers had backed out and they were sending them with me. I did mind at all, after all A. plays well with boys and has always counted boys among her best friends. Now I know several of these boys, some are quite friendly with A., while two of them are self-described hater of all things girly.

While we waited in the car for the other groups to be ready, I heard the boys teasing her about her Rainbow Magic books...asking if there was a Fairy of Loserdom...and such. A. never once blinked, she just dished it right back at them, never wavering or shying away from her love of the books, instead opening up the book and giving them a dramatic reading of the first page.

Eventually one of the boys told her..."You are so weird, you are like part boy and part girl and have crazy love for these fairies."  That is about right, A. is not about to be fit anyones box. She is going to play spies and secret agents...she is going to run and play baseball, she is going to wear a pink frilly dress and carry her panda bear with pride...and I am incredibly proud of her.

waiting for Cinderella This message

my cookie making girl This

The end of the semster blues

I am in the last few days of my semester...most of the big time consuming papers and projects are behind me, and all I have left is a couple of discussion posts and a paper to write. And it is so hard to focus and get it done.

I find that I have been assigning myself smaller more appealing projects (decorate a tree, put out the Christmas ornaments, order Christmas Cards, create the gift photo calendars,  work on the props for Sundays' Christmas Program, do the laundry...wash dishes (see me scrapping bottom of the barrel)...

sigh...

what I did instead of

surprised Z. at school This

surprised Z. at school



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the girls are obviously thankful

Enjoyably exhausting...

I really enjoy my family getting together...but it can get exhausting...shopping trips...cooking...together ness plus the fact that half of us are currently students...so it is paricularly great to see my brother wrestling with the girls or having them have special time with their grandparents to make it all worthwhile.