All of the ants are named Henry. There is no queen, so my son wanted to pick a ‘kingly’ sounding name. He said he knows there were at least 8 Henry’s, so now there are a few more.

We got our son (13) an ant farm for Christmas. He’s always loved watching insects. I am absolutely loving this project too. These little guys are amazing.

Find the cats: (With answer key)

Midsummer. My daughter chose names from Shakespeare titles for this litter of fosters.

Maybelle. Always elegant.

Some of mom’s foster kitties, for this year. Three have found new homes, but there are still 6 left.

My oldest daughter is enjoying her jewelry making course. She’s been creating these neat glasses-chains. She made one for me and, it’s the best 😁

My daughter is crocheting a blanket with a night sky pattern.

Google image searches have been… less than useful, so I’d not used it in a while. I saw this cheesy AI image supposedly of Stephen Hillenburg, drawing SpongeBob, along with an ‘inspirational biography.’ Just curious, I tried a search, and, Oh my!😳 I took a screenshot of the results…

One of the beaches we visited had these little pebbles along the waterline, in all sorts of colors: treasures! I filled a bag I’d brought, then put them in a jar when we got home and found a plate for a base I’ve struggled to finish (or begin!) projects…things I’d normally enjoy. But, I can do this:

We took a weekend trip to the coast, before the kids started the new school year. The Air B&B where we stayed was really nicely set up. Besides the puzzles and books we’d brought there were board games and a dozen or so books. My found they had an earlier edition of the same book she was reading:

Our first time going to the Grand Canyon. It IS amazing… so grateful for our National Parks. The kiddos got up at 3:30 in the morning so we could take a bus to a sunrise viewing spot. Absolutely worth it; my 12 year old son was in awe.

It’s been a while, but I finished an egg. The end result isn’t exactly what I was visualizing, but just completing a project feels good.

One more. My mom got this little guy cleaned up and he’s beautiful. The eye ointment helped a lot and he’s taking a bottle well. Here are before and after photos:

A while ago my mom saw an advertisement for seeds that would grow “flowers that look like kittens.” (scam) She was kind of disappointed it wasn’t real. A friend from college makes lovely felt flowers. I asked if I could buy a custom bouquet. Behold, the wonder of kitten-flowers!

My mom almost made it to June without a litter of kittens. Almost. These sweeties were brought in yesterday. They are adjusting well.

My son loves caring for this little lizard. Casper the Dragon has two terrariums. His day-time tank is in the family room, near the kids’ Lego table, where he can keep an eye on us. His night time terrarium is in my son’s room, where he can curl up in his little ‘bed.’

My son’s little dragon is such a delightful pet. We make sure he gets LOTS of (closely supervised) out-of-tank time. He has several mesh play-pens as well as a favorite free-range perch by the window.

Here’s an egg I did a while ago, based on a tapestry that appears in the opening credits of The Last Unicorn. I’ve been meaning to try this idea again (this was my second attempt).

An egg I made for my great aunt.

Pet sitting for my mom. She has 10 very well loved cats. She’s found homes for many fosters, but she keeps the ones that need a special place.🩷 The tipped-ear calico is named flower. She is in charge of asking for treats for everyone. Theo, the orange kitty, is blind, but his hearing is amazing.

My son had a violin recital at our house today. He played through his book with his teacher. His sister made sure his lizard, Casper, got to be in the ‘audience.’ (She put him back in his tank when he started to get wiggly, but I honestly think he enjoyed being included ☺️)

Kind of a goofy egg idea. It’s not quite coming together, but the thought makes me smile. Totoro-egg? Maybe. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Second attempt at an aquarium inspired egg (cracked the first one) I needed a project. Something I will actually finish… So, here’s a start.

Casper looks much more comfortable in his new tank. I think he has a better view of the family room now too. Such a good little dragon. ☺️

We took the kids on a mini-adventure; enjoying some northern California-stuff. I didn’t even know Oakland had a zoo, but we figured it would be nice to go somewhere we’d not been before. It was very worth the visit. 😊 Some zoo doodles:

Finished an egg based on a design my daughter drew. 😊 Colors are a bit ‘off’ but I enjoyed the process.

Bathing the lizard counts as ‘doing something.’

My high school U.S. history teacher had us read ‘The Jungle,’ by Upton Sinclair. I have a squeamish stomach, and it’s not a FUN book, but that, and ‘How the Other Half Lives,’ by Jacob Riis made an impression that has stuck with me. Good history teacher

Got some sketching done for a new egg. Trying something based on a design my daughter drew.

Finished an egg. So, that’s a win.

Working on an egg. Very slowly. Enjoying the process, but I’ve gotten to the part in the project where it looks like a mess and all I see are ‘mistakes’. Going to finish it anyway.

The weather is nice enough to take Casper outside in his playpen. Happy dragon.

Just doodling. Needed a distraction today, so now I have an egg ready for wax.

My kiddos spent the weekend creating and photographing interchangeable Lego gardens that fit into a base they built:

My kiddos spent the weekend creating and photographing interchangeable Lego gardens that fit into a base they built:

Finished an egg. First time using a brown egg as a base; the texture was interesting. The pattern is based on a painted egg a friend was given in Ukraine. I added chickens because everything’s better with chickens (which sort of look like ducks, but close enough)

I finished an egg. Second attempt at a fairly simple silhouette scene; trying to do something ‘Christmas-y’.

Casper the Sleepy Dragon is awake, after a month-long winter’s nap. He’s not really hungry yet, but he’s drinking his water and looking pretty alert. Good dragon.

My Christmas tradition is screaming out loud at the scene in The Muppet Christmas Carol when the Marley brothers show up. Somehow, not everyone remembers this is my tradition, which only makes it a better tradition. One or two of my kids might not speak to me until Christmas.

Working on a new egg. I haven’t done this in a while and I’m not sure how this design will turn out; it’s always kind of a surprise when I get the wax off. My son made the Lego minifigure “egg dying lady” for inspiration 🙂

Butterfly pysanky egg.

Cat sitting for my mom. These are the INSIDE cats.

Just some happy sparrows. I always keep some birdseed in my purse. When I drop the kiddos off at school, we give the birds some breakfast. Started doing this when my daughter was in kindergarten (now she’s in middle school). A way to start the day with kindness.

Maybelle’s glorious winter coat.

Our first year growing pumpkins in the garden.