Food for thought...

...from The Parent's Tao Te Ching: A New Interpretation by William Martin

76. Hold tight only to compassion
It has been said by experts,
"You must be consistent,
or your children will be confused."
Nonsense.
Who among us is consistent?
Circumstances are always changing.

Children become confused
when parents become rigid,
holding rules above love.
Be consistently flexible.
Hold tight only to compassion.

Male Pattern Baldness Convertable Igloo...

Just something to think about...Bret wanted to make sure I noted that the sun did this to the igloo...it has nothing to do with his workmanship...Guess this is spring in the mountains. Kind of like the great spring flower photos we keep seeing...just different.

More clay class creations

These are some bowls Sabine made...and the thing in the lower left corner is a "whistle" she made for Vivian.


This is a birthday box. Sabine says that every year on your birthday you can put something special in it. The next year you take that item out and put in something new that is special to you. Each side represents a member of our family.


One of the reasons I think she likes this class (and one of the reasons I like it) is that when she wanted to add the piece on the right (above -- below it's on the left) the box was basically done. Tasha, the teacher, just said -- sure -- not "no, you can't put a piece there...what's that for?..." etc...Nice to see that kind of respect for kids.

Who says TV kills creativity?

Sabine made this in her homeschool clay class. It's the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin with his daughter Bindi. There's a daddy and a baby croc in the water (along with some fish you can put in different locations) and a chinchilla standing by Bindi...Yeah, have to say the Crocodile Hunter is not something we would have though to introduce her to...but she loves everything about him and his family...and animals as well...

Under-represented second child

Poor Vivian...she really gets the short end of the stick sometimes...but just so you know, we do take photos of her too!

Happy first day of spring

Sunset: Planet Earth
Credit: Expedition 15 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Today, the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north at 0548 UT. Known as the equinox, the geocentric astronomical event marks the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the south. Equinox means equal night and with the Sun on the celestial equator, Earth dwellers will experience nearly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Of course, for those in the north, the days will grow longer with the Sun marching higher in the sky as summer approaches. To celebrate the equinox, consider this colorful view of the setting Sun. Recorded last June from the International Space Station, the Sun's limb still peeks above the distant horizon as seen from Earth orbit. Clouds appear in silhouette as the sunlight is reddened by dust in the dense lower atmosphere. Molecules in the more tenuous upper atmosphere are preferentially scattering blue light.

From this webpage.

I found this from neatorama.com which was advertised in Mental Floss magazine, one of several new periodicals I subscribed to this year. Others include: Life Learning magazine, and Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. I had subscribed to Newsweek and Real Simple for years (among others, thanks, Granny Jean and Boopy for the continued Utne subscription). Nothing personal, Newsweek and Real Simple, just needed something new here...

Oudoor winter fun...

Sabine has her own style of skiing...Vivian had given up on her skis...

Vivian...not so sure about the igloo...

And just in case you haven't gotten enough of the igloo-cam...