Are you SURE it's our Anniversary?

Today is our 26th wedding anniversary. I got up with the kids who wanted to be awake before I did, and Richard slept. Then I went walking, while he didn't. When I got home, we made 2 batches of soap for his Rossoaps shop... Cedarmint Scrub and Scent Slayer (anise). Our house at least SMELLS wonderful.

He went to work, and I got to work here. Made about a dozen shafts for CD drop spindles, which I let the kids paint (and I painted a couple). I let the girls make "Kin-dles," which is my name for Kids' Spindles, out of wood shapes and 1/4" dowels. They painted them so cute! Des painted the one that looks like an eyeball. The ones with the suns, were pre-made and painted shapes. They all spin pretty well too! (Yes I know that in this pic the hooks are still closed. Didn't find my needle-nose pliers until after I took the picture!)

We also made 52, 1" buttons from some type of sculpting clay. I needed buttons with large holes that could be threaded onto some handspun yarn, and couldn't find any anywhere. So I made and baked them. Hope I did it right, since the clay was made in Italy, wasn't written in English on the label, and didn't come with instructions. LoL! I let the kids paint those too. Des says because I am fun. I think I do it, just because I am nuts. LoL.

Anyway, what I need the buttons for. Tomorrow is Heritage Day at the local public school. It kind of combines a school carnival/free day with "revival" arts to give the kids exposure to them. Last year we did a table with Richard's soaps and did a couple soapmaking demos during the day. In between demos, I took my swift and a sweater to recycle and the kids were fascinated with that.

So this year the girls are going with me, and we are going to do drop-spindling demos and have some raw wool, some cleaned wool, the drum carder, and some carded, brightly dyed wool. I thought I would let kids try their hand at the spindle, then thread their yarn through a button and tie it, let it twist back on itself and the loop formed at the end can be put over the button to make a bracelet or choker. Maybe a hare-brained idea, or not. We shall see how it works.

B has been trying her hand at photography again. Yesterday she had the digicam and kept following me around pressing the thing into my upper, outer thigh. I finally figured out that she liked my sleeping pants and wanted a picture of them. So I helped her hold the camera far enough away, and here it is. Boy a person can't have any secrets.

Two of my kids spent the night at Des' house last night, so she brought them home this evening. We all had Italian-sausage hoagies with green peppers and onions on them. Beverly was BAD this evening. Wow. Des took her in the bedroom, dressed her up in a dress, and put "makeups" on her. Lipgloss, mascara, and blusher, oh my! Then we took her picture. I think she was tired! Her eyes are so red! And the MINUTE they left, she fell asleep.

And, seeing as we have to be AT the school at 8 in the morning, and have to get soap oils together and load the car and all that first... going to bed is just what I am going to do too!