ONE

 

Painting a Pikachu face. 

2022 week one

I feel that this week really ought to be 2021 week fifty-three, but my calendar insists this past week was the first week of the year... so we'll go with it. 

After she finished Theo's face, Matt offered to paint her as a Pikachu as well. I found her 5 minutes later sobbing in her bed that it looked so bad. This is a photo of her struggling against me trying to bury her weepy painted face into my clothes simultaneously angry that she's crying and Matt is trying to take a photo. 

We went roller skating with all the cousins. Theo struggled existentially but he came to it in the end -after much tears and suffering on his part and mine

He's so proud that he finally figured it out. 

This week I finished my Christmas break project. I wanted a Revolutionary War era dress to display in my classroom while we study that unit. It took me about a week to sew all the underpinnings and final gown and accessories. My mom generously bought the stays for me for Christmas so it would be fitted correctly. 

Matt, Sam, and Larissa took the kids to Oklahoma for 24 hours and I set up my station in the kitchen and basically didn't move much except between the sewing machine and tea kettle for refills. It was a gloriously sunny and silent day. I finished everything up at about 6 pm. It was made even better by finding the new episodes of All Creatures Great and Small and watching the entire season. 

I didn't realize until the end that i had subconsciously made my dress to almost exactly match my old Felicity doll. I always wanted the matching dresses to her when I was little; it only took my 26 years to get them.  

And then trouble struck. Matt was in the car alone driving through an intersection when an oncoming car just pulled out and t-boned him. It crushed in the two driver side doors and the airbag deployed. Matt hasn't gone to the doctor yet to assess the damage but he was alright enough to walk away. The offending car unfortunately (for them) drove away without stopping, but the police caught them quickly. The rest of the week was pretty well consumed with talking to insurance and car lots trying to figure out our next moves. It was not a pleasant end to the week/year. 

Sam the chicken whisperer.

And Sam the cat whisperer. 

My mushrooms grew quite quickly and we enjoyed both batches this week. 

As always I cook them our favorite way: browned in butter and olive oil, then add garlic, parsley, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar for the last minute of quick tossing. Then served piping hot with a good crack of pepper. That is the absolute best way to enjoy a good mushroom. 

Happy New Year!