I Love You, Boston

I was born in Boston.  Even though I only lived there until I was four years old, when I moved an entire state away to Rhode Island, I visited it, it seems, every weekend, since my entire extended family lived there, until we at last moved to Cleveland when I was eleven.  And even then, we loaded up the Malibu station wagon to visit every summer and, for a while Christmas.  My youngest sister, being four years my junior when we moved from Rhode Island, claims Michigan (where we eventually ended up) as her home, but I always considered Boston mine.  I wanted to move back there when I finally returned East fifteen or sixteen years ago, but in a compromise with my friend, with whom I made the move, we settled on New York City (he wanted to go to San Francisco).  I can't stop thinking about Boston tonight.

It's difficult to process horrible tragedies such as happened today.  It seems so senseless.  Why do innocent people have to suffer?  So many people will be scarred from this, including those of us, like me, who can only sit by their computers trying to understand the incomprehensible.  I love Boston.  I love the spectacle and accomplishment of a marathon.  So many people put in so many hours to do something heroic.  And a few awful, detestable human beings can do so much harm.  It is hard to not be cynical.  I can't help but relive that helpless feeling from 9/11 when all I could do is stand by and feel powerless.  It helps to know that heroes are always in our midst.  Just as I felt in awe of the first responders who ran towards the danger, who knew what to do and did it that horrible Tuesday over eleven years ago, I thank God for the officials who knew what to do today.  While others stumble about in fear and shock, it is their job to react in a crisis. 

Let's not forget to celebrate the champions,
the runners, the heroes, and the whole city.

For me, I will struggle, again, to figure out what to tell my daughter.  I have the luxury of choosing what and how much to tell.  Had we been there, as we have been in the past, I would be forced to try to explain to a young child the reasons these sort of things happen, of which I know none.  How does one explain this?  How does one not startle a child and cause her to have nightmares or live in fear?  How?

Boston, my thoughts are with you.  I am praying for the victims: to the man in a wheelchair without lower legs, to the parents of the eight year old who was killed, to the man knocked down just before the finish line, the masses who trained for this day and who overcame, and to the others that I cannot see tonight from my computer screen.  I want those people to know that most people are good.  Many, many more people rushed to help them, to comfort them, to pray for them, than the group of cowards that did this.  I hope that one day soon their faith in humanity will be restored.  I hope mine will be, too.

Birthday Party Already Out-of-Control

The party is one month from today, and it has spiraled completely off the charts.  The pinata and the menu plan are done.  I am working on goody bags, the songs for the thank you gift CD*, and the stick-your-head-in-a-hole photo doohickey.  If anyone knows what those things are called, please let me know.  If they do not actually have a name, may I suggest "silly photo op sign" or "Holey Wall". 

As my last post mentioned, sometimes web searches take me places I never dreamed.  I never would have known that I needed a "Holey Wall", for instance, had I not looked up "Hello Kitty Party Ideas" and spotted this photo.  Nor, would I have ever known that I needed to make our pet mouse a costume for the party.  What's that?  You'd like to know what key words I typed in to learn about this party requirement?  Why, dress up, of course, and "princess costume" as an google image search.  Here's some pictures that caught my eye.  And, if you think the look on these cats faces says "I hate you" or "why do you torture me so?", imagine that same look on a mouse's face!  Wouldn't that just be hysterical?!  And, this would not be completely unchartered territory, as this Gary (of Sponge Bob fame) costume attests.  I know, just because someone else did it doesn't make it any less crazy.  But, we already ordered a pink exercise ball for Snowflake.  Doesn't it make sense that she dress for the occasion?

Now aren't you glad I didn't call BounceU?

*  To the parents of the attendees: yes, I do realize the language in the songs that Tootie Pie selected are not for young girls.  Not for the radio, either, for that matter, but there you are.  But, since she still sings "You, be a mess" instead of "You PMS" in Hot n' Cold (and, again, I realize that this is the second time we've placed this very song on our thank you CD) because PMS is just nonsense to her, just remember that I thought that a song was actually refering to skyrockets in flight on a certain afternoon.  "Like a bitch" is sung quite clearly, though, because, honestly, she's not stupid.  I apologize.

 

A Dingo Really Did Take Her Baby, Political Correctness, Motherhood and the Media

This is how things happen in The Hard Way land.  I watched a great program on PBS called Australia: First 4 Billion Years, which was a terrific show about the beginnings of our planet, its atmosphere, and its life forms.  Right up my alley.  I've always wondered why creationists oppose evolution, but not the fact that the universe is 6 billion years old, but that's a different subject.  Towards the end of the first segment, the host visited "one of Australia's most famous rocks", to which I responded, "Ayers Rock".  But, no, the host said "Uluru Rocks".  So I asked my husband to look up Ayer's rock and whether it had been renamed.  He didn't oblige, so I took to my computer, and indeed, it was renamed, first in 1993 to "Ayers Rock / Uluru",  an Aboriginal word specific to the rock, and again in 2004 to "Uluru / Ayers Rock".  So, I learned something.  But my searching didn't stop there.

I was curious about the scale of Ayers Rock, sorry, Uluru rock.  One of the pictures was entitled "area where matinee jacket found".  I had stumbled upon a crucial piece of evidence that had exonerated Lindy Chamberlain, of "A dingo took my baby" fame, the mother of Azaria, the unfortunate nine week old baby who died almost 33 years ago.  That led me to an interview with this amazing woman who finally secured legal documentation that, indeed, a dingo did take her baby.

See where curiosity will get you?  All over
the map, actually. 

Now, I was too young at the time to form an opinion about this case as it unfolded, but from the things that I've read, the media played up all sorts of unsavory ideas about the Chamberlains, and Lindy was sentenced to life in prison.  I started to think about the cases that I have formed opinions about, though.  Mainly, Trayvon Martin.  I have very, very clear ideas about what I think happened that night, that I won't share with you, because that is not the focus of this blog.  I will say, however, that case has grown strangely silent lately; and I have theories about why that is so, also, of course.  Most cases that have struck chords with the American public I have not formed opinions on, though, as I tend to detest sensationalism.  Specifically, Casey Anthony.  She is a mother.  Lindy Chamberlain is a mother.  I am a mother.  Could a mother kill her own baby?  I don't know.  I wish I could say for a fact that it would never be possible.  I wish it were never possible.  I do know in my heart of hearts that Lindy Chamberlain did not kill her baby, and I am pleased that she now, very belatedly, has legal proof that this is so.  My own insider view of a murder and the coverage of it has shown me that the media doesn't just get things wrong, it gets things very, very wrong.  That case did not see justice at all.  I have not had the same faith in media since that episode.  But, as Lindy says in her interview, those people are not dead yet, and you can't speak the truth until a person is dead.  That is sad, isn't it?  She's right.  Unless that person is Margaret Thatcher! 

Oh my goodness, I should see lots of comments on this one.

A DIY Hello Kitty Piñata Tutorial - A Metaphor for Motherhood

This turned out better than I had
hoped.

The mini making is going to taper off again in the coming month.  I have to get ready for Tootie Pie's sixth birthday.  We are having it in our backyard.  Tootie Pie wanted to go to Bounce U or Kids N' Shape, but I want to hold onto the backyard bash as long as possible.  Sure, it's harder than making a reservation and letting a business handle everything, but where's the fun in that?  This blog ain't called "The Hard Way" for nothin. So, I started the preliminary planning around a month and a half before the big day.  If you'd like to see where it may be headed, check out my Kitty Cakes and birthday ideas board on Pinterest.  But one item is already completed: the piñata.  Yes, once again I spent hours building something that children will beat, take the good stuff out, and throw the rest in the trash, all in a matter of minutes.  It's a metaphor for motherhood!

Next, I'll try my hand at the goodie bags (which don't need to be filled, because, hello? piñata!).  Then, I'll need a week off to construct the cake, cook the food, and clean the house so that kids can come in and trash it (See?  There's that metaphor again.)  I'm planning on NOT involving my husband in any aspect, since five birthday parties past have taught me it is easier to do everything myself than dare ask him to spearhead anything, including cleaning up the pee from the rim of the toilet.  That really can only come from him, right?  No, I'll just have to do it.  Much easier.

So, for the instructions on how to make this:

Materials:

• One large ball
• newspapers, cut into strips
• flour and water in 1:2 ratio
• cardboard
• Xacto knife
• white paper
• crepe paper
• Elmer's glue
• hot glue
• hole punch
• fabric, ribbon or tulle for the bow
• black and yellow construction paper

Procedure:

• Make a mixture of 1 part flour to two parts water, heat in mic

  

  The completed crown

  rowave for 20-30 seconds.  Stir to an even consistency
• Take your newspaper strips, cover in flour paste, and cover the ball.  Cover the ball with three layers, allowing the paste to dry completely in between the layers.
• Meanwhile, cut a pattern for the ears and crown.  You'll need four copies of the ears and two for the crown.  Cut from cardboard.  Then, cut strips of cardboard around 1" thick.  With an Xacto knife, score around 1/8" along both edges of the cardboard strips and fold over.  Along the folded edge, cut V-shaped notches so that the strips will bend.



Kitty's bow made from large
floral ribbon, secured with
a "knot" of the same rolled
ribbon

• Hot glue the strips of cardboard along the edges of the ears and crown.  Cover with either crepe paper, or tissue paper.  Cover the edges with strips of plain white paper.

  

  The width of the
  ears and crown look
  better with a strip of
  paper covering the
  crepe paper

• When the papier mache is completely dry, cut a hole with a knife.  Remove the deflated ball.  This will be the top of the piñata.
• Cover the ball with crepe paper using the Elmer's glue.  I cut my crepe paper by cutting through many layers with scissors while it was stilled rolled.  Then, spin the ball rather than spinning the crepe paper, which will get twisted.
• Punch holes around 1" from the opening at the top and attach a ribbon for hanging.
• Meanwhile, fashion a bow for her head.  I used large floral ribbon that I folded like an accordian, and stapled in the middle.  Then, I rolled a section of matching ribbon and tied this around the stapled middle.  
• Hot glue the ears and crown on.
• Cut out black eyes and whiskers, and a yellow nose.  I put glued faces on both sides of the
  piñata.  

Fill the bugger with candy, plastic junk, or slime.  Your choice!  Give the kids a baseball bat and teach them the glory and beauty of violence and destruction.  Have fun!

Make Your Own Miniature Asian Three Dimensional Wall Art

Dining room chinoiserie
plaster cast

I really ought to come up with a catchier name for this "art".  "Asian Three Dimensional Wall Art" just isn't snazzy or concise enough.  In any case, I wanted to recreate the effect of plaster, so my sakura blossom branch designed to conjure up images of plaster chinoiserie.  Rather than paint a version on the wall, I wanted mine to have dimension. 


The inspiration, and the means

I was inspired by some texture on an inherited plastic folding house.  Not being an expert on resin casts, I figured I would make a mold from the plastic house, and then cast it.  Easy, right?  Of course not.  The molding went well; the casting not so much.  I do not recall if I used my mold release or not (I'm going to guess not), the detail was too fine, and the branches and flowers came off in bits and pieces.  So, I painstakingly removed just the blossoms, and then created a vine from hot glue. 


Demolded and grafted back
to its hot glue branches

After this dried, I sprayed it white.  I think it adds interest in the dining space without it being just another picture.  In my own house, I've been straying from framed art to dimensional work.  Of course, my little home should follow my lead.

Windows Done!



The white flowers don't exactly "pop" against
the white windows, but I think the front view
looks nice.  Now, to fix that front door!

Finally!

Another more boring job is finished; cross it off that to do list!  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had tried and tried to cast a copy of the one large original window that I had for my dollhouse, but after three or four failed attempts, and three or four maddening chiseling of the original from the latex, I had enough.  My replacement windows were made from a plastic basket for the panes, and polymer clay for the frame.  It is nowhere near the professional quality of Brae's work, but I'm just happy to finally have windows for the great room.  I put my "flower boxes" up, since the original 40+ year old fabric flowers were showing their age.  These new flowers are cut from a plastic stem of flowers and hot glued to a polymer clay strip.  I am getting closer and closer to being "finished".

Hello, Everybodeeeee!

I'm back.  My family just returned from vacation to New Mexico.  We were gone for five days.  I had such a wonderful time.  I really had no idea what there was to see, and my husband and I sort of just picked it out of a hat without researching anything (weather, sights, presence of deadly animals), but it turned out to be just the thing I needed.  There were wonderfully bizarre shaped rock formations and a whole different architecture than we get in Manhattan. 

I now have one month in which to finish the Undersized Urbanite contest and plan a sixth birthday party.  And, I have three months until the end of the school year, which is always a countdown I cherish.  So, back to work for me!