December, 2009

The holidays have come and gone. The season was such a whirlwind that we didn't have a breather to update the blog. So, here in one swoop, is December 2009 for the Porterpeople.


Above: Julia models a hat I made for her. No, I won't make you one. That pattern was a major pain.

Above: Newsflash! Emma is now old ... << MORE >>

December 30, 2009

It's...RUBY!


Well, now we've done it! We waited until our Christmas travels were over (20 hours, to be exact). Travis and I met at the Idaho Humane Society for lunch and looked at the dogs that were up for adoption. And, well, we fell in love.


This is Ruby, a 4-month-old lab mix. She is sooooo calm. It's weird. I know, I know, ... << MORE >>

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, we now have the green (and red) light to
OBSESS ABOUT CHRISTMAS FOR THE NEXT 8% OF THE CALENDAR YEAR!!!

(...Not counting the 5 months I worked on Christmas stockings...)

I've been known to design and bake gingerbread houses, making my own royal icing and decorating the 25-pound structures painstakingly (even tried to make "stained glass" windows with crushed Life Savers--yeah, it was the thought that counts on that one). ... << MORE >>

Stockings for family, 2009~

Here are photos of the stockings I managed to finish before this holiday season. Each one takes about a month of my spare time, if I stay focused. So, they take a while. I have at least six more either started or planned for 2010!







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Thanksgiving with the Raths!

There was something extra yummy about this year's meal. Was it because Mom's turkey was really moist? Maybe it was Breesha's addition of gourmet au gratin potatoes along with the mashed and the yams? Or Dad's foofy beer? Or apple pie AND pumpkin? Nope...must have been the extra salt in the stuffing.






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Performance at the 2009 Boise Festival of Trees. This is the jazz performance - not the tap performance - as Julia pointed out quite emphatically.

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Julia (wearing pink skirt with white ribbons in her hair) and Sophie (blue skirt and glasses - behind and right of Julia) performing a Christmas jazz dance at the 2009 Boise Festival of Trees. This was one of two dances the troupe performed this morning.

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November 8, 2009

Happy as clams in Porter World to be able to see They Might Be Giants live in Boise on a lovely fall afternoon, in a lovely restored theater, with our lovely niece Sophie.

Above: Travis, Julia, and Sophie pose under the marquise.

TMBG have had a long 20+ year career, totally entertaining my own Generation X during high school and college, but more recently they have been donating their quirk and talent to children's music. Intelligent children's music, no less. Yahoo!



Check it! It's them! I know it sounds weird, but I was...surprised? amused?... that John and John actually sound like themselves in real life while talking. They have very distinct nerdy voices. Viva nerds!

Above: there were not one, but TWO confetti cannon moments. Oooooooooo!

Above: Julia and Sophie having fun.

Above: "The Avatars of They" sing don't cross the street in the middle in the middle
in the middle in the middle in the middle of the block...

The concert lasted for a bit over an hour and was almost exclusively songs from their children's albums, except for the generous offerings of "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" for the parents. I would have liked more of their old stuff...because, really. Couldn't most of TMBG music pass as kids' music?

 

Above: the full band, consisting of two Johns, two Dans, one Marty, and another guy I can't remember. Sorry, other guy.

How can you not love a band who's latest album is called "Here Comes Science" which has lyrics such as the following along with the most joyful catchy tunes:

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium, at a temperature of millions of degrees
(From "Why Does the Sun Shine?")

or...

Hey, who let in all these elephants?
Did you know that elephants are made of elements?
Elephants are mostly made of four elements
And every living thing is mostly made of four elements
Plants, bugs, birds, fish, bacteria and men
Are mostly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen
(From "Meet the Elements")

or...

Could it be an herbivore, crushing plants with rounded teeth
Or perhaps she's carnivore, moves so quickly on its feet
It's like pieces of a puzzle, that I love to try and solve
It's so fun to think about how a species has evolved
(From "I Am a Paleontologist")

Above: Sophie and Julia at the after-show pizza joint.

The End.

    

October 24-25, 2009

This weekend was fun and busy.

Julia had her last game of the Fall 2009 season. The Blah Blah Blahs did great!

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