Old McDonald

Sunday was Open Farm Day in Maine. Farms across the state opened their gates for free to show people how they are run. I don't know about you, but I end up spending most of my weekends running errands or sitting on the couch putting off running errands. I finally had enough of never doing anything and decided we were heading to a farm. I packed up my city kids and we headed to the small rural town of Westbrook.

Actually, I'm kidding. Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook is only about 10 minutes from Portland and closer to the Mall and airport than my house is. In my mind though, we were heading to the country. I just couldn't be bothered with a long drive. Besides, I could run some errands out there afterwards.
There was a very picturesque cow parked right next to the fence. I know this is not the best view of her but I couldn't get her to turn around. We had a very informative anatomy lesson too when she lifted her tail and peed out a small lake. Declan was delighted at that. I was glad that was all she did or I would never have heard the end of it.
The highlight of the trip was the ice cream of course. That is, until I grossed them out by telling them it was made from the milk of the cows right in front of us. Grace started gagging a little. I think I have to spend more time explaining to them where the food in the supermarket comes from.
That was the last straw for Grace. She didn't feel it was cool to be at a farm with her mother and brother. It was fine with me by then. The farm "smell" was starting to get to me. Next year we are going to visit an Alpaca farm.

Progress

Grace's new room is coming along and hopefully she will be in it by the time schools starts. Two weeks ago, this room was down to the bare studs so this is progress. Tim has done all of the work so far. I will step in more once the painting process starts. I hate painting but it has to be done.

We have 2 new windows in. It was an added expense but we needed them. This room had the original single pane windows from the 1920's. Drafty.
Speaking of added expenses, this door doesn't actually go in this room but we're keeping it there for now. Declan was fooling around last week and slammed the door out to the enclosed front porch very hard. A couple hours later, I went to open that door and found out it was wedged shut and we were trapped in the house. Tim has to take it off of the hinges to get it out. I hated the door anyway so I'm sort of glad he did it. Now we just have to figure out how to get it up without messing up. I have a feeling we are going to call in a professional for this.
There have been a few miscalculations that will be taken care of....
....and the floor is a mess.
Soon, it will all be cleaned up. Grace has been making plans for this room like she's moving into her own apartment. She has a stack of paint samples and changes her mind on that everyday. She'll need some more furniture like a nightstand and a bookcase. More painting for me!
There has been someone living in the room during all of this. We have Carly's crate in there but she hasn't complained.

Double Digits

I told her she wasn't allowed to but Grace went ahead and turned 10 today. It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today we met her. It seems like just yesterday but also a lifetime ago.

She had her annual sleepover birthday party. I insist we keep it small but it still exhausts me. So much girl drama-you forget what that was like at that age. We used the cupcake tower again this year. This thing is such a time saver. You just make some cupcakes, throw on some frosting and some colored sugar, then stack them on it and it looks like you made more effort than you did.
Little brothers can be a pain at girl parties but we used various bribes to keep him away from them.
For some reason, she wanted to go to a Sea Dogs game so we went. She doesn't like baseball so I think she just wanted to go for the snacks and the gift shop.
She got a new WebKinz who went everywhere with us today.
It was boiling hot so I was miserable. I got some cold wet paper towels from the bathroom and Declan used his to good effect.
We lasted 3 innings and then we left. I realized too late that our sunblock was past its useful date so we all got a little color. So now I have a 10 year old. I tried to explain to her that for the rest of her life she will always have 2 digits in her age and how there was no going back. She answered that she is gunning for 100 so then she will have 3 digits in her age.

Terrariums

I read this New York Times story about the comeback of terrariums.I loved them and I ran right out to Goodwill and found some cool glass containers that looked like they would work. I bought some plants and couldn't wait to get started. That was about 6 weeks ago. I guess I got sidetracked.

Today, I finally got sick of this enormous brandy snifter being on my kitchen counter. People were starting to talk. I had last made one of these things in the 5th grade and I mostly remember it smelling. The new ones don't all have covers so I hope this goes better. First, you have to fill the bottom with small stones.
I bought these polished stones about 5 or 6 years ago. I used them to glue onto a wooden frame and I was going to put a picture of Rangeley in it. I really liked it. I must get back to that project. Anyway, they are pretty and have been sitting in my basement until today.
One of the important ingredients in terrariums is moss. I've never seen live moss sold at the garden center but I have a lot of it mixed in on my lawn. I watered a patch and dug it up to transplant it. This is a first for me and could cause the whole thing to fail so I just have to wait and see.
The article showed a lot of cool expensive looking plants. I went cheaper as you can tell. I planted the ivy and some other vines I got then laid in the moss.
Now, I just have to keep them watered. They look nothing like the ones in the article. I don't know if these count as real terrariums because the plants are growing out of the top but I like them.

Paper Beads

I was in the mood for another kiddie craft. I think paper beads are some sort of Girl Scouts craft but I didn't care. I saw some nice ones for sale on Etsy so I thought I would try them.

First, you have to get some brightly colored paper. Magazine ads work really well. You can see Martha down in the corner because I used her magazine. Her ads were a little better than the ones I saw in Newsweek.
Then, you take a scary sharp cutting wheel and cut them into triangle shapes. In the future, I will make them thinner because they are easier to roll in a straight shape.
Next, you start at the fat end and roll it around something round-I used a toothpick. Once it's rolled tight, then just put a dab of glue on the very tip and that's all it takes to hold them shut.
After about an hour of endless rolling, you're left with a pile of paper beads. I think mine are a little long but it was my first try. The instructions I used said you can shellac them to make them stronger but that was more work than I was interested in.
After they dried, I just strung them on some thread and the kids had some new necklaces to play with.
Declan liked his so much...
...that we had to make a special one for Carly to wear.

Poor Owen

See this cute little face? (Carly the puppy, not Declan.) Does it look like she could cause distress in anyone? Besides me that is. Surprisingly, she has...
Carly has driven Owen the Cat over the edge and we didn't see it coming. We always held off on a dog because we didn't want to freak out Peter the Cat who was dealing with enough stuff as it was. We never gave Owens reaction much thought. He always just goes with the flow and he has his own busy life outside of the house. We thought he would just check out the puppy and then get on with his days. The opposite has happened. He has turned skittish and afraid when he is inside. Carly is not helping because she rushes him every time she sees him. Owen does not appreciate this and has changed his whole life to avoid this dog.
Carly hasn't figured out the stairs very well so she has just stayed downstairs. Owen has turned the upstairs into his place. We now have to put his food upstairs because he won't come to the kitchen anymore. I've discovered that cat food doesn't smell very good when you want to sleep.

I don't know what Owen will do once Carly figures out how to get upstairs but I know I don't want to be around when it happens. Owen might pack his stuff and leave for good.