I Have a Coffee Buddy!

My two year old loves drinking coffee and tea.

I had always hoped she'd want to drink tea with me!

Elliott isn't really a coffee drinking buddy, but he does like to have a good snack and glass of milk along with the rest of us.
He's a big fan of coffee shops... and bagels.


Photos by me and Dave

Food for Thought

"Beware, brethren, lest there be
 in any of you an evil heart of unbelief
in departing from the living God;
but exhort one another daily, while
it is called "Today," lest any of you
be hardened through the deceitfulness
of sin. For we have become
partakers of Christ if we hold the
beginning of our confidence steadfast
to the end,"
Hebrews 3:12-14

Photo courtesy of David Escalante.  Latte art courtesy of Flying Goat Coffee in Healdsburg.

Boot liners on the fly

It rains a lot up here in Northern California.  Which means you really need a good pair of rainboots, sneakers just aren't gonna fly when there are puddles the size of a small pond in every parking lot.  The thing with rainboots, though, is that they're like little refrigerators for your feet.  It also gets really cold up here in Nor Cal, so that can be a problem, too.  I've seen boot liners, but they're not that cheap.  I've seen tutorials for making your own out of felt, but I don't have any felt.

I do have a felted wool sweater, though.  So here's what I did...

Makeshift boot liner on the fly:

1.  Felt a wool sweater by washing and drying it (mine was already done--thanks for accidentally ruining your sweater, Danielle)

2.  Put your foot into the arm hole (I put mine into the top of arm, by the arm pit) until it gets too tight to go in further

3.  Cut the arm of the sweater off, then do the next foot in the other arm

4.  Once you have your feet in the arms of the sweater, cut off the remaining excess fabric so it is the size of your foot.

5.  Sew the toe shut if you wish. (I didn't, because I was rushing out the door to head down to San Francisco and the airport)

6.  Voila! Toasty feet.

Now that this is actually up on my blog, I realize how ridiculous these look/seem, but I never claimed they were pretty, right?  Or professional.  One thing I will claim, though: they ARE warm.  They keep my feet toasty.  Just something to keep in mind if you're ever in a bind.

BAM!

Look me in the eye and tell me that picture didn't just make your day.  Or make you grin at the very least.  She's a crazy one, she is. She's always saying things like, "Poke ya in da EYE!" or "my shirt!" or "my haaar!"  Guess you have to be there...

Caiden Keats, you're a doll!

I Need Paper!

My little man, Elliott, is quite the pen pal these days.  In fact, he has used up every last writing paper, note card, envelope, and blank white paper that we own.  It is the cutest thing I have ever seen.  Almost every day he will sit down and "write" half a dozen letters-- most of them to me, Daddy, and sister.  He's already memorized how to spell "mom" and "dad" and no longer spells his own name like the martian "ET" which is what he was doing for a while.  I'm pleased that he's learning how to spell and can recognize letters and their sounds and is enjoying a creative outlet in the process; it makes him so happy.  However, I've run clean out of supplies!  And I have a couple of pen pals of my own to keep up with.  So if you find that your next letter is written on newspaper clippings and receipt stubs, you'll know why.

That's our house with me in it, I think. Oh wait, maybe that was his rendition of Noah's ark...

I must admit: he takes after his mom.  I was a faithful note and card writer to my mother.  I found a bunch of old notes and cards I wrote to her in an old suitcase somewhere.  Very sentimental and dramatic.  Here's a look at a memory lane, letters from little Cryn.

"you're somthin' special."





"I love you, hope I do not give you a brokan heart"

I better get some more paper, and soon, so I can have lots of these little letters of my own to look at once Elliott and Caiden are grown.

As my mother in law always says, "Happy Hump Day!"  Wednesday is hump day, don't ya know?  Its the middle of the week! You have successfully made it over the hump.  Congratulations.