The Family Speedcuber

Miriam got a Rubiks Speed Cube for Christmas, and she's been making good use of it:

51 seconds!!!

She spent most of Tech Week playing around with our older, stiffer Rubiks, memorizing algorithms, when all the actors were spending a lot of time sitting around waiting to rehearse.  (Because, of course, doing school work was out of the question, with all your friends around!)

It's for your own good, really.

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago -- right now I can hear the kids playing outside in the sunshine through my open window.  Virginia weather is so weird.

Sorry, kitty.  No outside today.

...Just trust me on this one.

it was SO COLD for so long that my giant rain barrel froze solid

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So kitty had a little adventure the other day.  We went out of town for a couple days, and even though we had a pet sitter come and play with Soot Sprite, he wasn't allowed outside for 48 whole hours which just about killed him.  We let him out the day after we got back, and he insisted on spending the whole rest of the day outside, even his afternoon naptime!  He would. not. come. in.  Katie and I, and then later Mr. Pickles, spent 7 hours on and off trying to catch him: chasing him, calling him, banging his dinner bowl, but he was in psycho kitty mode and would not be caught.  So guess what -- he got to sleep outside!  Thankfully it only got down to the upper 20s.  He's got a lovely fluffy coat so he wasn't in any danger, but it definitely was not comfortable weather for a kitty used to sleeping on a down comforter at night.

The next morning I woke up with visions of frost-bitten ears, or scars from tussles with the neighborhood fox, or someone kidnapping him (he had managed to lose his collar somewhere).  But when I opened the back door at 6:30 am wondering if we were going to have to hunt for his cold, lifeless body, he came trotting right in, ran straight to his bowl and ate and ate and ate and then spent the rest of the day sleeping on Miriam's bed.  Serves him right, the little rotter.

He is so grounded.

Christmas 2017

So, despite the bout of influenza that made its slow rounds through the fam, we were still able to have a good Christmas break. 

Opportunist Kitty makes good use of feverish people -- they are so comfy!

Greetings of the Season

Merry Chrismas from our home (cough cough) to yours:

Western Trek of 2017

This is still a post-in-progress; no commentary yet.  We're experiecing computer difficulties and are trying an experiment to salvage some pictures.

Welcome to the sick ward.

I hope they all get over it before Christmas, at least.

All the couches were taken, but thankfully he's small enough that he fits comfortably in the easy chair.

Prayers that Miriam doesn't get it, so she can sing in the choir, and that I don't get it, so I can actually ensure Christmas prep happens, greatly appreciated!

You know you're doing homeschooling right when...

...your 15 year old says, "This reading from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is fascinating!!"

Pasta Night

This is what making pasta for dinner looks like in a household with food allergies:

that's every pot from my cupboard

Clockwise from bottom left: hamburger for everyone, gluten-free noodles for two, white sauce for 6, wheat noodles for 6.  On counter is small pot waiting for space to heat up tomato sauce for 1.  (One person got plain noodles and hamburger with dairy-free cheese b/c said person can't have dairy OR tomatoes.)

We're almost at the point where we're considering having certain family members ingest a parasite, just so their bodies have a real enemy to focus their fighting energies on, rather than themselves.

Sheesh.

The Trials of the Artist

subtitled: Why Miriam is Going to Get to Heaven Before the Rest of Us

For the curious: Miriam is wearing gloves b/c her hands were freezing cold.  [Turns out her perpetually icy hands and feet are actually due to Primary Reynaud's Disease!  (which is basically Scary Medical Speak for "colder hands and feet than most other people")]

Audition Season... again

When you're practicing 16 bars of music for an audition, your siblings get to know those 16 bars reeeeeeally well.

Keep in mind that Miriam is not singing at her best -- she actually sounds better than this.  I can't imagine what could have been distracting her....

So even though she's currently in the middle of rehearsals for Elf Jr., to be held in December, auditions are going on for The Music Man, to be held in June -- thankfully rehearsals won't start until the New Year!  She actually got a call back to try for Marian the Librarian -- which surprised us all! (although it probably shouldn't have!)  Keep your fingers crossed!