Where did she come from?!?

The girls have interacted with this exhibit many times over the last few years. This may have been the first time they used it in the way that the designers had intended it!

One thing I love about our museum membership is that we have the opportunity to come back to the same exhibits over and over and see them with new eyes. The fact that they have their own ideas about using them and the interesting ways those ideas change is just as wonderful to me as when they follow the intended instructions. All interactions are learning and all learning is awesome!

Tuesday afternoons are All About Dance!

(And using your tap shoes as castanets, too, apparently!!)

Tomorrow we’ll say good bye to our trusty old steed, Penelope. There are many mixed feelings among the four of us tonight, but none of us can deny the eight-plus long years of wonderful adventures we’ve had in her.

The girls and I got our hands on a great game from my childhood! Enchanted Forest!

There are so many lovely things about this game! It has wooden dice that feel so good in your hand. The little game pawns are classic and the trees are so sweet. All the treasures in the forest are drawn from fairy tales, without referencing Disney. It has an unique two dice/multi-directional play that forces more planning when moving your pawn.

Really, though. It’s just lovely.

Today’s photo came from the very first moments of the day. Late night knitting plus Doc Martin plus an Esme who “just can’t sleep, mama” equals a lovely 12am hour.

Driveway panoramic, by Esme.

A last minute decision to grocery shop means a backseat assistant writing the list while I drive.

In the fall of 2008 I bought a queen flannel sheet at Savers. I used that sheet to make a crib sized fitted sheet and pillow case for Catherine’s tiny bed. I even blogged about it way back when (almost to the day!).

The sheet set lasted through Catherine and lived on to keep Esme snuggly warm for her years sleeping on that crib mattress. When both had moved on to bigger beds I tucked the fabric away in my stores.

Today, in true Joseph Had a Little Overcoat fashion, I have taken the sheet and pillowcase and transformed them into some nice, soft, new hankies. Waste not, want not!

Taking advantage of our Salem resident status by sneaking into the Peabody Essex for a little Maker fun just before closing. How lucky are we to have a great art museum so close to home!