kismet art

Back to School, 2014

Ben, age 12, 7th grade.

Current favorites:  his sister, Legos, Monty Python, reading, pasta with marinara and meatballs, sleeping in the tent, water slides, stop-motion animation, his parents (right Ben?), thinking about Winter Break, Legos, Legos, Legos... and much more. 

Emma, age 6, 1st grade.

Current favorites:  her brother, art, getting messy, cooking,waking up in the middle of the night, pasta pesto, pink (the color), dancing in the kitchen to Pink (the singer) as well as to other singers, stuffed animals, Legos, school, her parents, hugs, UniKitty, fall apples, making messes, stalling at bedtime, sleeping in the tent, M&M's, getting mail, adventures, and much more...

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 4

I believe this weeks look at the pumpkins can be summed up by the words of a very wise 4 year old girl:

"This is gross."

Until next week.

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 3

Oh yes, it is that crazy time of the week again, the time when you just can't help but click on my blog to see how the pumpkins decompostion has progressed.  Forget the laundry.  Dinner can wait.  But checking on the pumpkins, now that is a priority.  And boy are they progressing, fewer animals chewing on them (but, can you really blame them with all that mold growth?)  They are full of rain and slugs and some dead bugs.  They look bad and smell worse.  But they certainly give me something to write about on a dark and stormy day.  And if you have missed any of this exciting science experiment just click on the link below, see you next Monday!

Week One and Week Two

Monday Pumpkin Science Minute, week 2

A little mold, a little sinkage, a little nibble here and there, why, it must be time for this weeks installment of Monday Pumpkin Science Minute.  Yes, it is nothing if not exciting around the ol' Ackerman household this fall, for a view of last weeks pumpkin photo click here.

And until next Monday, try not to have more excitement than us, it just makes us feel bad...

Dragonfly Walk

At the beginning of September (yes, I realize it is now the beginning of October) my dad, Steve, and his friend Cary, and co-author of the book, Dragonflies and Damselflies of Oregon: A Field Guide, took our family and some friends on a nature walk where the kids and adults alike were able to observe, as well as catch and release, several species of dragonflies and damselflies.  The trail we walked on was near the freeway and behind an industrial area, but the preservation and restoration of the area made you almost forget that you weren't miles from civilization.

And being surrounded by all that natural beauty, as well as the magical feeling of having a dragonfly rest briefly on your hand, made for an unforgettable morning.

Thankful

for this 15 lb., juicy, Shelton turkey...

for eating Thanksgiving dinner using Dave's Grandma Davis' lace tablecloth, a vase from our friend Grayce full of garden herbs that survived last week's frost, flame-less candles (especially thankful after Emma dumped both water and paper in them), and the beautiful bird dishes given to us by Dave's Aunt Peggy...

for Emma using my childhood silverware to eat dinner...

for spinach salad with feta/roasted walnuts/cranberries and rosemary-balsamic dressing, for the turkey, for my mom's homemade rice/rye bread stuffing, for marina-marinated brussels sprouts, for homemade cranberry sauce with orange zest, for mashed potatoes and gravy, for sweet potatoes, and olives brought from California by our friend Carey...

for seconds...

for Dave (we celebrated his birthday a day early with my mom's Chocolate-Kahlua cheesecake with fudge sauce, didn't really miss the pumpkin pie all that much) and for enthusiastic Emma... 

for my mom and my brother, Joe... for my dad and Ben...

really thankful for a nice, relaxing day spent with family, a great start to the very welcome hustle and bustle of the next few weeks...

Pink Boots

I am so very happy that this past Sunday afternoon turned sunny and slightly warm so Emma could have a chance to try out her new Hello Kitty boots (a gift from Grandma and Papa) for an hour.  She found plenty of puddles and leaf piles to jump in, mud to get stuck in, and finished it off with a round in the sandbox (the lid wasn't on tight so it had a lot of rainwater inside, yuck, but this did not deter Emma...)She found a little rubber duck, he looked thrilled about taking a swim in the sandy puddles. 

Yes giggle-box, it is ok if your duck says "whack-whack"...

This wet visit to the sandbox was followed by a quick play period in a bucket of dirt which was in turn followed by a long playtime in the tub.  Sun is supposed to make a return visit tomorrow.  I better go clean off some pink boots.

The Best of Halloween, 2009

    
 

 

Halloween Wall Hangings

Just wanted to do a quick share of a couple of Halloween wall hangings I just finished for Ben and Emma- I used a de-constructed garland from Tinkering Ink and covered them with some patterned papers.  I inked the edges with Distress Ink in Tea Dye and Walnut then ran a bead of Stickles in Frosted around the edges.  Mini-bingo cards from Jenni Bowlin and a bunch of random collected Halloween scrap supplies (on a side note I love how the ghost "mask" turned out on Ben's wall hanging- I sprayed an iridescent mist on the ghost mask then used a 3-inch scallop punch to make the circle.)

           

My favorite part about the above wall hangings is that I decorated them for Christmas on the flip side- how's that for double duty?  And they look pretty darn festive hanging on Ben and Emma's bedroom doors.

                                      

Halloween Button Tree

I really love buttons, collecting and displaying jars of buttons, using buttons on cards and layouts, and for decor projects.  This is one of my favorite projects from last fall, a Halloween button tree (I made several in Christmas colors too.)  A fun, quick project for a cold night- I bought my tree-shaped cones at the Dollar Tree, glued ribbon down four sides and along the bottom, then started pinning buttons on in random order.  The tree looked a little short so I added the antique wooden spool at the end.  I may just have to pull out the red-pink-white buttons this winter and make a Valentine's tree too.  Happy Crafting!