Doll Clothes

"Little girls love dolls.

They just don't love doll clothes.

We've got four thousand dolls

and ain't one of them got a stitch of clothes on."

Jeff Foxworthy

The Rainbow Connection

Tuesday

Functional Art

On Saturday we also went to the Earth Day Fair on the City Pier on Port Angeles where Imogen carefully painted this reusable shopping bag (that painted my jeans on the way to the car).

Junior Ranger

Last Saturday, Imogen became a Junior Ranger with the National Park Service. She had to do five activities at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles to earn her badge, patch and certificate. She looked at mounted bees and flies, did an outdoor scavenger hunt and a Going Camping program, made a flying squirrel necklace with a bottle lid and played in the Discovery Room. Our Ranger friends Brian, Tracy and Dean helped Immy with her accomplishment.

The White Balloon

Grammy and her friend Sue took Immy and her cousins to the Quillayute Airport near Forks to watch a person send up a weather balloon for the National Weather Service. It's done every day.

Photos: Sue K.

SKWIM

Pronunciation Guide of Washington Place Names

Giving Earth

Earth Day Sunset from Ediz Hook

Secrets and Surprises

"I had lots of secrets and surprises today."

-Imogen yesterday, on the phone from Grammy's

Little Bit

"Mama, your 'little bit' is actually a long time." -Imogen

Where Water Comes Together

Today

Tongue Point, Strait of Juan de Fuca

Gonna Watch You Shine

Tonight, Hollywood Beach

Jorge el Curioso

"Around the world, the adventures of Curious George have been translated in many languages, and George takes on names such as 'Peter Pedal' in Denmark, 'Nysgjerrige Nils' in Norway, 'Nicke Nyfiken' in Sweden, 'Hitomane Kozaru' in Japan, 'Choni Ha'Sakran' in Israel and 'Jorge el Curioso' in Spanish speaking countries." -Wikipedia

Photo: Filmweb.no

Best Art, Real Life

Hopscotch

This Evening

All Too Real

"It was, perhaps, the ultimate cultural rebuke, a reminder from the heavens that maybe we should not have been fixating on the man who publicly humiliated his wife and seemingly took for granted all that has been given him. Because right there in front of us was the man who was shuttling his wife to cancer treatments and handling a pain that is all too real to so many."

Lynn Zinser, "Mickelson Writes His Own Masters Script." The New York Times, April 12, 2010. Link.

A Troll Bridge

Getting to see the Fremont Troll was especially exciting for Imogen because The Three Billy Goats Gruff is one of her favorite stories

Her Pink Period

A Breast of Politics

"Nursing mothers will now get additional support, thanks to page 1239 of the health care bill that President Obama recently signed into law. It requires employers to provide 'a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.' Only companies with less than 50 employees can claim it's an undue hardship."

-CNN.com

Le Hero!

A French tourist who rescued a toddler who fell into New York's East River says he didn't think twice about diving in to save the girl.

Two-year-old Bridget Sheridan fell off a gangplank at the South Street Seaport museum Saturday. Her father, David Anderson, says she slipped through guardrails when he averted his eyes to adjust his camera.

Julien Duret, of Lyon, France, jumped into the water. Anderson followed closely behind. Duret scooped up the girl and gave her to her father.

The New York Daily News says the 29-year-old tourist got in a cab after the rescue. Duret says he doesn't think he's a hero and that anyone would do the same thing.

Anderson says his daughter was unhurt. He says he feels guilty about momentarily taking his eyes off her.

-The Associated Press (with information from Daily News)

Photo: STAN HONDA / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A Stone's Throw

Lake Crescent

Sunday

Stand Up

While she was dying eggs with her cousins, Imogen set up a "stand" for dying rocks. Although we didn't actually try dying rocks that day, it does sound worth a try!

As we were leaving, Imogen said to her cousins, "Um, guys, can you please tell your 'fodder' to not take down my stand?"

Life is Not Linear

"Children do not share your priorities about schedules, clean houses, and building for the future. They want to play and are most concerned about the next five minutes. They want your attention and approval. They want to experience a sense that you actually enjoy them. It's easier to do that if you stop worrying so much about what they are going to be like when they grow up. Life is not linear. Your children will change in dramatic and unpredictable ways as they mature into adults."

Kalman M. Heller, Ph.D.

Egging

A Serious Matter

“I do not believe that the accident of birth makes people sisters and brothers. It makes them siblings. Gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood are conditions people have to work at. It's a serious matter. You compromise, you give, you take, you stand firm, and you're relentless...And it is an investment. Sisterhood means if you happen to be in Burma and I happen to be in San Diego and I'm married to someone who is very jealous and you're married to somebody who is very possessive, if you call me in the middle of the night, I have to come.”

-Maya Angelou

Birth of a Nation

In 2008 United States births declined in rate and numbers for women of all ages, except those over 40, for whom it rose.

USA Today

It Was All Gravy

Today Marks
Three Years of Pure Gravy

"It was all gravy, every minute of it." -Raymond Carver

Imogen at 11 mos. with the late, loved Giacomo

"A Profound Difference"

"The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women breast-fed their babies for the first six months of life."

Lindsey Tanner. "Study: Breast-feeding would save lives, money."  The Associated Press. Web. April 5, 2010. Link.

A Short Time Ago

Immy with Princess Leia hair

Tuesday

Make a Difference

"There is no act
that is too small
to make a difference."
-Geoffrey Canada, Social Activist and Educator, Harlem Children's Zone

Poetry of the Foot

Toddler Dance Party
Port Angeles Library
Sat. May 1, 10:30 am
1-4 years

"A Really Fantastic City"

A couple days ago Seattle's July 4th Lake Union fireworks show was cancelled, sparking a grassroots donation effort that saved the show.

Read how it happened.

Source: The Seattle Times

Immy and the Little Lamb

Imogen wants me to make this cake for her fourth birthday in late May (with either pink velvet or chocolate). She really likes the "mushrooms."

Cake: Parents Magazine, April 2007