Ze Plane! Ze Plane!

The Airplane finally came!
First, they decided to buy one, then they joined the right clubs, a national and a local. Then they researched planes and THEN they ordered it. And waited for it to come, and waited.



Then it came and they had to put it together. It is what they call RTF. Ready To Fly. As little assembly as possible, but it still had to fit in a box to ship.

The last step of assembly is figuring out what you forgot to buy.
Then they played with the box.



What is it about cats and kids? They love to sit in boxes.


The cats, Mary Shelley and Whiskers, are just out of the frame, waiting for their turn.

Primitive Bowl Fillers

Here is the stuff I got in the Beneath The Attic Eaves exchange! Remember I posted a picture of what I sent?

Bowl fillers from Mr Als Primitives!

Bowl fillers are made to put in a bowl or basket as a casual centerpiece or shelf decoration.
I couldn't decide how to photograph them, and then I saw the daffodils that have come up in my yard.

They are 'primitive' which means they are made to look old, like something found in the attic, left over from Grandmother's day.

Beneath The Attic Eaves is an artist group that specializes in Primitive Folk Art. My work isn't exactly primitive, but I like them, they are a friendly bunch, and their great stuff has influenced my own work.


Click on this picture to take you to all the art they have listed on Ebay.

Pack 92 Bridging

The Cub Scout Pack 92 Webelos II Bridging Ceremony was last Sunday afternoon. It rained hard in the morning but cleared up in time. I was afraid we'd all get soaked!
Here is Joseph crossing the bridge to Boy Scouts. He has to give up his Webelos neckerchief and cap before he crosses.
The scouts from the troup he has chosen help him across, as they will help him when he joins their troup and he in turn will help the yopunger scouts when he is older.

Each troup that the Webelos chose to join sent representatives to help thier newbies across and welcome them to the troup.

He gets the neckerchief of the new troup and a new woggle when he gets across. Mom gets to go to the Scout Shop in San Jose and buy the correct hat and pants etc.

In front, surrounded by scouts of Troop 92 and Adult leaders, are the new scouts; Gary, Nick, James, Joseph, Sahil and Jeremy.
Here is the color guard retiring the colors. They were mere Webelos when they presented the colors at the beginning of the ceremony. That's James, Joseph, and Neil.

Design Wall

This is what my design wall looks like now.

I just finished reading a book: Mrs. Kimble, a novel by Jennifer Haigh. It was kind of an odd book. Very good, but not my favorite kind of book, I guess. It's about three wives of Ken Kimble, a very likeable opportunistic liar. I guess it tells about how our minds fill in the blanks with wishes so we don't even notice them. I was glad to finish it so I could move on to something else.

I just started a different novel by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It is a very different novel, different from Mrs. Kimble as well as different from anything I have read. It is about the investigation of the murder of a dog by someone whose mind operatates on an entirely different plane from mine. Maybe it's about the investigator rather than the dog, or maybe it will be about how people react to the investigator and how they incorpaorate that(or fail to) into their reality

Blue and Gold

The Cub Scout Pack 92 Blue and Gold awards banguest was at the beginning of this month. It was a Hawaiian theme, catered by a local Hawaiian restaraunt.



Blake, Joseph, Jeremy and Ryan hanging out before the banquet.


Jeremy, Joseph, Haris take the Scout Oath with an Akela, or parent guide.



Nick, Jeremy, Vincent and Joe with Akelas getting awards they have earned. Vincent's Akela ahd the flu and it took her a while to get up there. Somebody had to get her from the powder room, we waited, of course.

Here is Joseph, getting his Arrow of Light from Mr. Brobst. The highest Cub Scout achievement, it was earned by 12 of the 13 members in his pack(the thirteenth was not a scout long enough to complete all teh requirements) This kind of group success can be atributed to Mr. Brobst, who led this Den from 1st grade Tigers to 5th grade Webelos II.

Mr. Brobst also made each Scout a plaque to display their arrow. This was not purchased from the scout shop or furnished by the pack, Mr. Brobst did this by his own design. Wow!


Here is all of Pack 92, with Den and pack leaders and activity chair, and representatives of Boy Scout Troop 92 that many of the graduating Webelos II have chosen to join. In the dark blue shirt with a tie is Milpitas Mayor Henry Manayan.

Valentine

I signed up for the Valntine Ornament Swap with my artists group: Beneath The Attic Eaves. If you are unfamiliar with a swap, it works like this--You sign up. Whoever is running the swap assigns you a recipeint who also signed up. You make a thing, whatever the swap is for, and send it to your recipient. In turn, someone gets your name, and they make something for you. You don't know who got you until your thing comes.


This swap is for a Valentine's Day ornament. There are some people who actually keep Holiday Trees, like Christmas trees but the redecorate for each holiday and occaision throughout the year.

I'm still waiting for my thing. I don't have a holiday tree, but I'll hang it somewhere!

Dressage Pads

Here are the saddle pads I appliqued those block onto.

I really like how they turned out, and they are both sold now, so I'm making more.

Twiggy the Stick Horse

BTAE* Issued a challenge: Make something using a stick from your yard.

This is my answer to the challenge. Who would have guessed I'd make a horse?
Twiggy is made of burlap and denim and named after a real horse I knew. The stick was not actually in my yard, but I found it under an oak tree in Ed Levin Park. It's a nature park with hiking trails and fishing lakes, not like a city park with lawns. I cleaned it vigorously with an SOS pad, then dried it in my oven. It is exactly as long as my oven is when measured diagonally.

*BTAE stands for Beneath the Attic Eaves. It's an online group of primitive folk artists. I don't usually make primitive things, but I like the people. You can see some ot the things they have made by clicking on the banner.


You can see Twiggy on ebay in the BTAE listings, or by clicking on this link:
Twiggy on ebay

Tuesday Arrival

Here she is, Whiskers! She is fitting in nicely, but seems to have a bit of PTSD from her days at the shelter and as a stray. The poo has been clipped and washed off, and she seems to have spent most or her first night here cleaning off the poo smell.

Here she is with Dave. Dave appears to have believed I was taking a picture of Whiskers only. I don't think he knew he was in the picure too.

She is called Whiskers here, as she was in the shelter. I think they assigned her that name at the shelter, all the animals had names. It reminded me a little bit of Cider House Rules by John Irving. The orphans were named by the staff in turns. Often, when an orphan found a home, a new baby would get the same name.

I suspect the shelter usually has a cat named Whiskers.

The bottom cat is Mary Shelley. At first, it seems they look alike, but not really. Aside from a different demeanor, Mary Shelley has a white chin. Whiskers' is black.