Ethan's 12th Birthday

Right after breakfast Ethan asked if he could please at least open the letter from Grandma Val and Grandpa John. (The rest of his gifts had not yet been wrapped.) His generous gift was a $25 check. Later in the afternoon we went to the bank to cash it.
Amber used her money and bought Ethan a package of "dessert" gum. It's a new thing. Amber has had the key lime pie and one other. This one is mint chocolate chip.
Ian decided to make his gift big and heavy ... as you may have guessed, it was not a big and heavy gift!
Out came the extra paper for stuffing ...
... next came the hand weights ...
... and then the small CD. It was something he has been asking for for quite a while. The music from his favorite movie ...
How to Train Your Dragon!
Evyn gave him a little black and white cat ... a Webkinz. He has a bit of a cat collection going on. As he's allergic to real cats, this is the next best thing for him.
Daryn and I gave him the rest of his gifties: a tablet of paper, followed by this book on how to draw dragons.
We also gave him a new deck of Magic cards,
as well as some booster packs. I also made him some shrinky dink markers (they are in his hand). Ian helped me select the pictures to put on the markers. He was thrilled.
We are also members of the Barnes and Noble Kids Club. They sent a coupon in our e-mail for a free cookie. Off we went to Silverdale ... he wanted to have his free cookie. He also got a book of his choice.
Later in the afternoon his friend, Ely Dawson, came by to play and give his gift ... a dragon!
Lastly, his cake; lemon with vanilla frosting and chocolate piping. I was also lucky enough to find this dragon earlier in the day when I went for "French Vanilla" ice cream (his request).
The presentation of the cake ...
... could he be any more excited????
I was so glad he was happy with his cake!
Make a wish, blow out the candles, and don't talk while you eat your cake! (Otherwise your wish won't come true!)

Lanthir Lamath - the hooded scarf

Amber was kind enough to model this for me this morning before I started to block it. The sun is out, but it is doggone chilly. It would be a great day to wear this on a walk.
Here it is. It soaked 15 minutes (probably 20) in the sink in Soak (that's the name of the soap), and then I pinned it to my new knitter's blocks. Hoping the sun will dry it this afternoon.

First Batch into the Bottles

Daryn has decided he wants to try his hand a making home brew. He started with frozen apple juice concentrate. Last night he began his bottling process.

Smells ready ...
Yup, smells very, very good ... time to bottle!
He had purchased a new container to syphon off the clear liquid from the sludge in the bottom.
Half way done with the transfer from the original brewing tank.
Now he's tubing his brew into the prepped bottles, readily waiting in the kitchen sink.
Still syphoning ...
Pretty little bubbles in pretty brown bottles ...
Almost ready for capping ...
Yeah, I think he's already had a taste, don't you? Capping process now. Labeling will come at the end, I think.
Almost ready to box up ...
And there they go, into their brown box to go into hiding in a dark, cool place ... a cooler in our bedroom closet.
Of course, everyone had to try to cap at least one bottle!
Not as easy as it looks. Leverage is the key, I think!

Pacific Northwest Ballet's Cinderella

While the boys stayed home to watch football, Amber and I were blessed to be able to make a trip to Seattle to go and see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Cinderella. Daryn bought us the tickets. Amber had been hinting that she wanted to see it, so it was a nice surprize when he said he'd ordered them.

We left shortly after 9 a.m. to catch the 9:45 a.m. ferry out of Bremerton to Seattle. After we parked the car on the ferry and went topside to find a seat, we saw Amber's ballet teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Branner! She and her family were also heading toward Seattle Center for the Harry Potter Exhibition. She wished us a good time. We were at the parking lot across from PNB about 11 a.m. We had been told there would be activities for children and a ballet class about an hour prior to the show, which started at 1 p.m.

When we walked in there were a couple cases with costumes. They were costumes for Shakespeare's A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, which will be presented March through April (guess where Amber would like to go???).

These are a couple of the costumes and crowns on display in the lobby.

Amber also found this wonderful statue. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get her to do this. There really weren't any people around, and I thought it would be a lovely photo. (She's dressed in her ballet costume from last year, for the ballet class in which we'd hoped she'd be able to participate.)
We did not go in for lunch in the dining area, but had a bite while waiting. We shared the sandwich, had a cookie and water ... all to the tune of $24.41! City prices!
This is the ballet class. It was more of a discussion and show and tell for little children. The woman told them about PNB's interpretation of the ballet, had some photos to show them of some of the actual characters, played some of the music, and had them dance a bit. There really was no ballet class, for which we were disappointed. This part of the class they are pretending to dance at the ball. See the little girl watching Amber?
More dancing at the ball.
Lastly, a chance to try on an actual tutu from PNB's Sleeping Beauty. Amber was so excited. There are 100 hours, at least, in the tulle alone (under portion of that pancake tutu), and then another 100 hours for the decorated top. Each tutu is hand sewn. They also showed them ballet slippers (like Amber wore) and pointe shoes. The lady explained how the hard toes are from fabric and glue. As I recall, Mom told me her toe shoes were plaster? Will have to ask to confirm that information. Toes shoes have certainly come a long way. The lady also said as how most girls were ready by the time they were 11 or 12. Amber had thanked the lady afterward, and the woman asked how old she was and where she danced. Amber said she was 10 and danced at Just For Kicks. The lady then asked about her teacher and Amber told her it was Mrs. Branner. The lady said, "Oh, she's a professional!" Amber was beaming. The woman then told her it wouldn't be long and she'd be up, too. We did discuss this later and I reminded her that it would only happen when Mrs. Branner felt it was the right time AND the doctor gave the okay after examining her growth plates and xrays. She totally understood.
And, the opening curtain. There are no other photos. All the beauty remains in our memories. We thoroughly enjoyed the ballet, the experience, and our time together.

Brave Little Knitters Cut Their Knitting!

Wee Tiny Steeked Sock

I am a member of the Wee Tiny Sock Club on Ravelry and our most recent adventure was into steeking! ACK! I've NEVER cut my knitting (at least not on purpose!). This is something I've wanted to learn but have been afraid to try. I was not going to venture out on a huge beautiful garment and then mess it up ... so those projects have stayed in hiding!

However, this club has afforded me the opportunity to attempt such a feat, and here it is as I went through each heart-pounding moment.

Ready.
Back stitching with needle and thread to make sure the stitches, after cut, will remain secure. The best part of this was the fact the yarn we used is very "grabby" and had already proven itself difficult to "pull out" when trying to repair a mistake. I knew if I missed something in my stitching, the yarn would save me later!
Both rows of stitches have been completed.
I turned my work inside out to make it easier to find the stitches I would have to cut.
Snip ... snip ... snip ... heart pounding away here! And, as I'm cutting, I'm realizing what wonderful fabric this yarn has created. It's thick, resilient, and the fibers are holding. I'm going to make it!
Almost there. Just half way to go!
DONE! I've done it! I've cut my knitting!
My project is complete. The steeking yielded an area to knit ribbing on both sides, one with button holes. I LOVE this project and look forward to making another Wee Tiny Steeked Sock.
This is the other side.