6th graders are a joy.

Luckily for me, I have an abundance of 6th grade girls in my life.

I haven't written in a while, but I am going to skip right past catching you all up... since I am not so sure that anyone noticed the lack of posts except my father! :)

I wanted to share two things: the gifts I made for my sister (6th grade) to give to her friends for Christmas, as well as some of the joys of teaching.

Part one: Super Shawls.


Back in 2008, I made my sister a furry shawl for her birthday. She gratified my creative venture by wearing it all the time, and apparently her friends began to try it out and fell in love. Christmas 2009 rolled around with a plan in her mind: she asked if she could purchase three personalized shawls for her friends.


Armed with cuddle fur fleece, polar fleece, and some scrap felt, I came up withe these quick-to-make and comfy gifts.



I was well pleased with them. I even liked the back side, which featured the stitched outline of the flower on the other side:


Part two: Sugary Science Club

I barely felt motivated to post during the last few months, largely due to the bad quality of my old camera and the feeling I had that talking about my teaching job needed pictoral accents. Luckily for me, I am the proud owner of a new Nikon(!) and can now post pictures.

The girls I teach are amazing and so amusing. I could regale you for hours, but I will content myself to share some evidence of the fun I am having via these shots from today's Science Club.


Our activity of the day was nutrition-focused, in keeping with a recent focus at school on healthy choices. We measured out the sugar content of a few favorite snacks in teaspoons and were shocked and appalled to see the sugar we are eating! Then we made "sugar warning" posters that I can't wait to put up!





Essentially that's what I'm up to these days. You can't seem me anywhere here...but I was behind the camera, in my lab coat! :)

In other news, I am addicted to Christian rock these days. Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, and John Waller, mostly. I think its improving my overall mood, so I am thinking it's one addiction I don't need to kick.

In hopes I will be posting more soon,

Papermoon

The Mysterious Book Club Society.

I am in a book club.

The members range in age from 11.5 to 23.5.

We will be varying our locations between NYC, suburban NJ, and a nearby university.

We are all sisters, and the book of the month is "The Mysterious Benedict Society".


How can you resist a cover like that?!

-Papermoon

A break ( after a break. )

Well... camp #2 kept me busy. (And cranky.) I haven't posted here in a while.

I am headed off for a last bout of relaxation, pre-job, today. I'll be here:


Au revoir / Auf Wiedersehen.

-Papermoon

Darnit!

I finally got around to darning my jeans yesterday, after four months of putting down on each daily 'to-do list' I wrote. Procrastination, anyone?

I shouldn't have dawdled, considering how easy it is to do. Before yesterday, I'd only darned by hand (a pain). With my machine, this quick denim rejuvenation was painless and satisfying! I feel like I have three new pairs to wear!

Here's how to do it:

Before you start, round up your hole-y jeans, your sewing machine, some matching thread (or go nuts with some funky colors! Your choice!), some pins, and a thin, somewhat stretchy, soft material for reinforcing. I used some scraps from a pair of my sister's jeans which we'd just turned to shorts. I would also recommend shirting, thin corduroy, or even polar fleece–which I hear works very well. On to the process.

First, locate your holes and worn areas. (Mine always seem to fall apart at the inner leg on the left side. Consistent problem...odd.)



Second, turn your jeans inside out and cut a patch of your reinforcement material to fit the worn area. Make sure you encompass the area right around any holes you have–the area is likely very weak. (Look for buckling, fraying and super-softness.) Pin on your patch.



Third, put a denim needle in your machine and set it for a darning stitch, inserting the proper foot. (In case you don't have a computer of a machine like I do, a darning stitch should look something like 21 or 32, shown below. Darning is basically weaving–your stitch should feature many small stitches running into each other, close together. I used 21, figuring the 'zig zag' would favor my slightly-spandex jeans a bit better.)



Fourth, darn that business! Run the stitch over the fabric to cover the weakened area. When you're done, tie your knots, cut off any lagging patch corners, and turn your jeans right side out! VOILA!


Alright... your turn! Go make new clothes out of the old! A recession-era pastime...and a lot of fun.

-Papermoon

Crown Thy Good With Brotherhood.

America...

The Free.

The Beautiful.

The Bountiful.

The Winner!

-Papermoon

Bleeds and Paint.

Prime quotes from camp today:

"Painting outside?... Did you ask if you could do this with us?"

"Ugh. I don't want to go home. I wish you could come over for a playdate."

(One girl to another:) "Did you get hurt? Is that really a bleed? Or did you paint yourself? DON'T TRICK ME, OKAY?!"

Oh, children... you are so strange and wonderful. I particularly like this hilariously common kid-practice of calling scrapes and cuts "bleeds" or even "bleeders". There is something very Dennis the Menace/Leave It To Beaver about it.

Camp has been eating up my time, as we've gotten quite a lot of rain. Kids come to camp with the primary objective of playing on the playground and screaming down the waterslide, so it's been a huge effort to cheer them up with crafts. But, I'm making it work. Today we had some sunshine, so our art effort was some watercolor painting, en plein air. A very interesting activity with five year olds. I think they initially thought it was illegal.


On another note, related to my last post, sister Maggie and I finished a painting yesterday based on the delightful aesthetic of A Hundred and One Dalmatians. Nice, eh? And it will match her room!



Summer is excellent.

-Papermoon

Camp. / Up.

First day of camp job #1. This being a very general, half day, primary-grades day camp, I felt that I was running the risk of planning too many activities for such young folks. After today I had to kick myself... these almost-first graders wanted a lot more out of me. Tomorrow I will have a much more chock-full schedule for them, I think.

Not that I had a bad first day... we opened with visor and backpack decorating, which (due to the inclusion of Sharpies and stickers) was a hit. We then moved on to some waterslide time; a good idea except for how cold they get, and how looooooooong little girls take to change into their bathing suits. If only women didn't talk so much.

Next up we played some games (a variation of 'heads up, seven up' and some playground tag) until lunchtime. Despite the fact that no child under the age of eight years eats real food unless forced, lunch went alright, too. After lunch we took a vote and decided on another round of playground time, before finishing out the day with pastels and colored paper. This last bit was a 'fly by the seat of my pants' moment because I got some very flawed advice from a fellow camp counselor, and had banked in a 'storytime' period. Which I knew wouldn't work... Should have trusted my gut.

Tomorrow I am going to give it a go this way:

9 AM Arrival, hopefully wrapping up by 9:15.
9:15-10:00 Model Magic 'fake food' craft–usually a big hit.
10:00-10:30 Water games, hopefully extending well past this time period.
10:30-11:00 Team obstacle courses. The two counselors will each champion a team.
11:00-11:30 Changing out of bathing suits.
(You would not believe how long this takes. It's unbelievable. I think I will have a sidewalk chalk or obstacle course game going on out on the blacktop so that once kids are done they can go join an activity. This, or the playground.)
11:30-12:00 LUNCH
12:00-12:30 Playground time.
12:30- 1:00 Simple paper kites (with popsicle sticks).


Hopefully it will work out.

* * * * *

On an another (though still vaguely child-related) note, I saw Up! today with a friend and my sister and mother. It was wonderful. Simultaneously evocative of childhood enjoyment of Disney movies while also drawing a very nuanced, adult tear from my eye, it was a real story achieved through absolutely breathtaking animation. I am pleased to say this was a movie (like Finding Nemo) that was better because it was digital. Purist that I am, that really matters. The balloons carrying that dear old man's house looked SO real, and that wasn't something that classic animation could have achieved. Reality was surely suspended!

I am too tired (ah, first graders) to go on... but everyone should see the film. The little boy's character is made to seem pesky in the commercials, but he is actually irresistable on the screen. Likewise, what can seem to be an annoying dog character in a quick preview is actually hilarious.

One warning: I cried throughout the movie. My face was consistently soaked. So was my eleven year old sister's. While we are both sentimental, I don't think I could fairly say our reaction would be unusual. You have been warned.

-Papermoon

Quiet.

A grey afternoon, two months worth of The New Criterion, my new favorite Pandora radio station*–enhanced by my sister playing piano downstairs, my red armchair, and a rabbit friend.

A much-needed detox moment.

-Papermoon

*After many tries, I have found the perfect station for background music. Type "Limehouse Blues" and choose the Tyree Glenn version. Summery, mellow, and varied, it suggests gin and tonics and beautiful clothing. Enjoy.

Goodbye, Chicago!

Well, it's official. My move has begun. My parents have texted me "On the way!" and the view outside my bedroom window already looks more nostalgic.

I am not going to allow much sadness over this move. I have been here for five years, enjoying what Chicagoland has to offer, and that makes me lucky. I am heading for a lot of good things: great summer jobs, time with my wonderful family this summer at home, and a new, exciting job come September. I will dearly miss my roomie and friends, and this city, but I will be back. I see no point in getting too sad. This isn't a forever goodbye...Chicago, after all, is only a matter of hours (and no oceans!) away.

Time to wrap up the packing, enjoy some sunshine, vacuum the carpet, and then welcome my parents!

Thanks for the fun, Chicago!

I'll likely post next week, when the crazies settle down...

-Papermoon

one of the best days of my whole life.

all throughout my childhood i was a compulsive lister. i don't think much has changed. i was constantly revising lists: in my head, in my diary, on scraps of paper and on chalkboards. i loved planners and pocket notebooks and post-it notes, and have written myself at least one daily 'to-do' list since i was about twelve. (i used to include 'wake up' every morning!) the back of my first diary--pink with ballet slippers, and my name in stickers-- held a running list of 'best friends' that is hilarious too look at, both for the ridiculous reasons i crossed people off the list, only to add them back on, and for the fact that the word 'best' didn't seem to limit my quantity! 12 best friends, really?

one of my mental lists through my growing up years was that of the 'best days of my whole life'. some were very specific events--one particular Palm Sunday in which i felt very grown up, my eighth and ninth birthdays, the day my brother and i filled up a top hat with snow and made beautiful 'snow cake', some family vacations, a 24 hour period i spent exclusively painting as a freshman in college, a very hilarious fancy dinner in which my sister katie and i accidentally got drunk... there are too many to count.

today was one of the best days of my life, despite being entirely solitary and without much to speficically define it. i suppose i will just list everything, in keeping with the theme!

• woke up (without an alarm) to good weather
• spent a lovely almost-hour talking to my littlest sister on the phone (SHE called ME! so nice!)
• cinnamon toast and coffee
• did the underpainting for something new i am working on (mother's day!)
• showered, got dressed in the new ($20) Audrey Hepburn pants i bought yesterday (sorry, it's a cellphone picture)

• lunch on my sun deck, pretending i was on an enormous cruise ship (delicious egg salad and iced tea!)

• read C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves: Friendship
  

and in an hour i will finish it off with Mass. the best.

-papermoon

ever feel like your brain is running too fast?

i think of my mind like a computer. in general, i think i have good hardware and even good software, but in general i contend that i am lazy with software updates. however, in the last two weeks i think i must have gone into the mac store for some repair, and then they must have done all my updates for me and now everything is lightning fast. they fixed my trackpad, too.

did i take that analogy too far?

in any case. i feel wired, and busy, and fast-paced lately. i am sure this is largely due to a busier life than i have had in six months, now that i am actually doing something. plus, i've been really social lately! i am not a seriously social girl but man i have been amping it up lately with the peopled activity thing. i think it's nice, actually.

anna's visit was so great... i wish i could have elongated it. we packed it in, though... we went for a REALLY late dinner at the hopleaf as valentines... and we got a perfect seat right away! love must have been in the air. :) i got mussels (of course) and saison dupont. anna had a cashew butter and fig jam sandwich and a chocolate stout. mmmmmm delectable, with the great frites to boot.

we then woke up early and rushed around to get to Mass in evanston (with becca!). sheil was packed! we had lunch with her relatives at the lucky platter (mmm) and then split ways so she could pursue some of her other chicago people. i had some coffee time with becca and some dinner with lucy. we ended up on my couch that night watching priceless--the movie that is inspiring the growing out of my hair at the moment-- in and out of sleep, totally full, and totally dehydrated and exhausted.

we woke up feeling sick! but we were in good moods. just sad to say goodbye! i miss her so much already.

i had work today and i felt a bit like i didn't get enough done... i need to use some of my day off tomorrow to get in a bit of reading/research. it sure is nice to have research to do on the kind of thing i e-mail my sister about... playing with miniatures and dollhouses! work with kids is AWESOME.

speaking of that, check out maggie's great picture of her little critters:

they are soo cute. i love calico critters.
i keep my little hamster family on my tea shelf. one sits in my pretty teacup.

ah, little anthropomorphic creatures!!!!

ooo... i have to get this recipe i cooked with my friend aamna and upload it. it was this very delicious fish recipe with a TON of paprika in it and i feel so delicious right now as a result of it. her company was also delicious. food and friends are very nice.

well, i wish i hadn't had coffee in a soy freezie tonight. i am tired but mentally buzzing!

goodnight!

-papermoon

last day at home

well... i love chicago, but it sure seems odd to be headed back.

it's been nice to be here at home, seeing my enormous family and my puppy dog, eating meat (who knew... i currently enjoy it), watching movies on a big screen, and seeing friends who reside east of the west. last night maggie and katie and i watched 'the secret of roan inish' and i was PERFECT as usual. i haven't gotten that lovely, muted mood out of my system yet. i need to order that on dvd, stat. it's nice to have ample excuses to watch kids' movies.

sometimes chicago really pulls at me when i'm away, but it didn't this last month-and-some. i am sure that once i land that familiar feeling will hit me again, though, and i will wonder at how i wasn't dying to return. not to mention, i will get to see the lovely roomie once more.

it was a good thanksgiving, a great christmas and a good first few days of 2009. my family does what a good family should... they build me up. i will miss the activity and all the good debate!

off to treasure today!

-papermoon

tiny little books and a great board game

last night we played a great new board game that my father bought at my suggestion, as i saw it a year or so ago in the newberry library's store. it's called "it was a dark and stormy night". the question cards contain the first line of a book, and the object is to guess either the author or the title of the book. we played in teams and it was a nerdy load of fun.


the whole thing is simple and fun-- diverse sections, ample in the supply of "children's books" cards so that you can make your younger friends included, a mix of simple/approachable/hard, and a box for the cards disguised as a drawer from the card catalogue. the librarian in me swooned.

the one drawback of the game was the ugly little tokens you get when you receive a point--they were shaped like books (cute!) but made of all-black wood (boring). my sister and i rejuvenated them with some acrylic paint, however, and now our game is gorgeous.






all this...but none of the things on my to-do list today. *(writing two essays for internships and finishing work on my dad/brother's presents.) ho hum.

AND ONE MORE THING!!!!!! I HAVE A BRAND NEW COUSIN!
MATTHEW JOHN DOWD... I LOVE YOU ALREADY!

-papermoon