"New, strange, uncharacteristic experience, coming at the needed moment, is sometimes as necessary in a person's life as a plow in a field." -Katharine Butler Hathaway
The lovely Miss Claire created the all the design work for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade Awards. I don't know a thing about the awards except I (not surprisingly) love the graphics. The picture above is her design and here's the link to the site.
I'm a little slow on the next item, as it involves the Christmas Card that Claire designed for Microsoft Games (click on image to enlarge). Yes, it was their 2008 card, which was pretty good for a kid who had only been working there for four months when they asked her to do the design. Now, if only Rob and I could get our 2008 Christmas cards finished...
This was Christmas morning at Casa de Hummel. Snoring pups snuggled up with sleepy children and one eager dad trying desperately to rouse them. When I look back on this Christmas, what I loved about it was the jumble of it all.
First, the pups opened their presents (literally).
It was an eBay Christmas. I had never bought a thing before November 2008. And by Christmas, I was up to 47 wins. Rob and the girls were impressed with my apparently latent auction skills. Among other things, I bought a vintage "Block Mother" civil defense sign for Emily, along with an awesome green geiger counter. And I bought a Yellowstone serving tray and an authentic Park Ranger hat for Claire. And a "Professor Smarty" Magician post card from 1912 which I framed for Rob. Wish I'd taken photos...
On Boxing Day we invited the family over for enchiladas. The whole family squished into the teeny house, but it didn't seem to matter that no one could move. It was wonderful to be together, and especially nice to have Aunt Tensie and Cousin Eric along. Here are photos of the event.
The girls decorate the tree, and I take it down. So it isn't until after Christmas, and after they've left town, that I stop to think about the ornaments. Six of the ornaments were made 22 years ago by a 3 year old Emily and me. I had a recipe for Apple Cinnamon ornaments, so together we made the dough, cut them out, let them dry and painted them. Em says it's pretty obvious who painted what, but I love them all. I always store them in a plastic baggie so we attempt to maintain that wonderful smell. I think they've finally lost most of their cinnamony-ness, but they will always make me smile.
3/4 c. ground cinnamon 2 tbsp. ground cloves 1 c. applesauce 1 tbsp. ground allspice 1 tbsp. nutmeg 1/8 or 1/4 inch ribbon
Mix the applesauce and the spices in a bowl. Make a ball with the dough and then roll it out between wax paper. Using Christmas cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes you can and lay them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Re-shape the scraps and repeat the procedure using all of the dough. Take a pencil and make a hole towards the top so that ribbon can pass through it later. Lay the cookie sheets in a convenient place to dry for 4 or 5 days to dry uncovered. When dry, thread the ribbon through the holes for hanging. You can decorate one side of the ornament either by gluing things to it or painting designs. Store these in a resealable plastic bag.
And last but not least, our Friendship 7 ornament. If you recall, Friendship 7 was the spacecraft in which John Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. Each time we plug in the tree lights, we hear John Glenn's voice from that historic flight. Strangely enough, John Glenn's voice means the start of Christmas for me.
One of my presents was a new video camera, since Rob's is so huge and looks like he should be doing a newscast from the sidelines of the SuperBowl. Mine is small and easy and my first video is of the ornament. It's only 24 seconds long and nothing moves. I just wanted to capture the sound. So turn up your volume and enjoy. Roger. Zero G and I feel fine.
Since Sparky and Miss Molly were itching to meet their new cousin, Skipper, who lives in Portland, we drove up together for Thanksgiving. Claire would meet us in Portland, and Em would stay in DC and go to Jack and Joanne's for dinner.
Our first night was in Medford, Oregon, in a "pet-friendly" Red Lion. Fortunately, it was the 99 cent WalMart toy that they chose to tear up rather than the motel cushions. The look on Sparky's face, however, is priceless.
The day we arrived, it was pouring rain in Woodland Hills, but crystal clear in Portland. Here's the view of Mt. Hood from Jeff and Marguerite's bedroom window. Wow...
Niece Abby was driving down from Canada so she stopped in Seattle so she could claim the title of "first person to visit Claire's apartment and spend the night." Then Abby drove Claire down to Portland. They stayed up late reminiscing about their 'N Sync days, watching "On the Line" and reading aloud from Abby's diary from long ago. Apparently "On the Line" was the best movie ever... Who knew?
Thanksgiving Day we had crayons and fancy edged scissors and each made cards that reflected all that we were grateful for. Here's Jeff's mom, Arlene, post-craft session, but pre-feast.
