Clog warning

Our grass is finally starting to green up. Spring has taken its sweet time arriving here. We may finally reach the 60's for a few days in a row this week. I can't wait to open up my windows. The House Wren's didn't take long to find the Nyger seed, and Yumi is enjoying making her little cat squawks to let us know there is prey on the deck. I'm hoping we can head out to search for wildflowers in the woods soon. I'm sure it will be soggy though.

I scored a cheap rate at the hotel we stayed at last year for our spring homeschooling conference. Now I just have to finish carving stamps and making log books for our Letterboxing workshop!

Letterboxing is sort of like Geocaching only you don't trade trinkets. You trade stamped images instead. You follow clues to a hidden box which contains a stamp, usually hand carved, and a log book. You carry with you your own stamp and log book. You exchange stamped images and then re-hide the box for other Letterboxers to find. Clues can be found online at www.letterboxing.org or www.atlasquest.com. You don't need an expensive GPS.

One thing I'd like to start doing is making Letterbox Artist Trading Cards. Regular ATCs are art cards artists trade one for one. They measure 3.5 by 2.5 like a baseball trading card. Letterbox trading cards are cards you've made with your hand carved stamps. You leave them in Letterboxes to share rather than trading directly with other artists. I've made RAK cards, (random acts of kindness) where you don't expect to receive an art card in return. I often leave these with tips at restaurants. The idea of leaving them in Letterboxes sounds like fun!

Last night we were bored. We didn't want to read out loud. We didn't want to watch TV. We decided to pose for silly pictures. (What I did before having a digital camera I don't know! Not having to worry about wasting film rocks!) We tried making angry faces but we'd always crack each other up before we'd get the photo snapped. I'll have to post them to my blog.

I have a new goal to get rid of 13 things every week. (Hmm... maybe I should post them on my Thursday 13?) I don't purge stuff as much as I like to, and I hope this helps me. Want to join in? I'll show you my 13 things if you show me yours! LOL!

This time next week, my parents should be rolling through on their way back from Arizona. I've got to get the guest room ready! I'm hoping my mom brings me another giant bottle of Mexican vanilla. Hopefully they'll bring some Arizona warmth with them too!

DS12 has been thinking about getting a hermit crab. DS9 wants a turtle. A turtle habitat seems like it would be more difficult to maintain. I'm leaning towards the hermit crab, but do they need lots of attention? One of the Posse Rats told us his mom threatened to give away his hermit crab because he didn't spend enough time with it. How much time do you have to spend with a hermit crab? They are hermits right?

Okay. I've sat here and rambled long enough. Time to get moving. Hope your Monday is a good one!

First Day of Spring....

Ahhh.... Such a lovely first day of spring! We don't need tulips and daffodils. Why would I want to feel grass between my toes? Isn't it more fun to pull on snow boots over two layers of socks?

Actually I feel really bad for the migratory birds that have already made their way this far. They are probably so confused right now. "Did we fly the right direction?"

I'm staying in today baking chocolate chip pies to stuff my family members with at Easter celebrations. The good thing about today's storm is it should be over by tomorrow. I'm also grateful it's hitting us on Good Friday. DH is home from work! Yeah!

More great news! The Badgers won last night!! I had to stop watching at the half because I was scared they'd blow it. The boys and I retreated into the bedroom to watch Shredderman. After the game DH and the boys headed to the boycave to celebrate the victory with a few rounds of pinball on the Wii. I passed out asleep.

DS12 has decided to write a book and doesn't want to use the PC. He wants to use my old typewriter. He says he likes the feel of the keys and their strike on the page. (I can't help but remember he's recently watch Misery with DH.) He has decided to write it with the chapters in chaotic order, for example, chapter 17 first, then chapter 3, then chapter 21 etc. This sounds really ambitious. I don't think I could write this way. I'd have to write the book in order and then rearrange them. It will be interesting to see if he is successful, but one thing is for sure. It will teach him more about writing.

Well the rest of my crew is now awake. I'm off to heat up the oven and get the pies baking.