Kid and Caboodle

My husband Chris finished building and painting two model rockets, and I finished my first serious beading project this week. Here are pictures of the results:

Chris with his Alpha

My new necklace

Hmm, I wonder how much these would go for if we tried to sell them on eBay or at an arts-and-crafts festival?
 

This is the last official “think positive” post I’ll be making. This 30-day experiment to find at least one good thing to write about each day has been interesting, but I don’t think it has made a permanent change in my outlook on life. I think it is a healthy attitude to try to find something good in everything, but I also think it is important to acknowledge when things really are beyond saving.

Last weekend was enjoyable. Attended a birthday party for the daughter of a friend on Saturday and got to socialize with some of my college friends. It was nice talking to people who appreciate my personality quirks rather than judging me for them and who understand the challenges of balancing work, family and personal obligations. Saturday I also had dinner with several family members and friends who are part of a football pool. It was very nice to see them; we don’t get together nearly often enough. On Sunday, my husband and his stepfather went boating while my mother-in-law, A.J. and I went to an arts-and-crafts store. We had a grand time going through the bead section — even A.J. picked out several things he liked. One of these days I really should take a beading class …. I think I do fine stringing together artistic combinations of beads, but I don’t know how to finish things off yet.

While I have been figuring out how to do beadwork, my husband has been working on model rockets. He had a frustrating time with some spray paint last week because he couldn’t really control it. So, on Sunday I also bought him some enamel paint and some detail brushes. Things are starting to come together! We’ll be visiting some friends in Charlottesville next weekend. Not sure if the rockets will be ready to launch by then, but it is interesting to see the progress he is making.

Right now I am multitasking. In addition to writing this blog entry, I have been cooking tomorrow night’s dinner (oven barbequed chicken) and doing laundry. I also need to do some writing and editing, but I think I’ll leave that for tomorrow night.  It’s late.

Yesterday I put together my first beading project — a necklace for the young daughter of a friend. Although I used the wrong type of thread so can’t knot it properly, I think the end result is attractive. Considering how young the girl is, it is probably better that I not make the necklace a set length anyway; if for some reason she wants to continue wearing it as she grows, she would need to be able to continue adjusting it. Since the beads are not secured tightly on the thread, they also can be taken off and sewn onto a book bag, blouse, or some other object if desired.

I had an entertaining train operator during my evening commute. As we were leaving L’Enfant Plaza, he said, “The next stop is in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Now leaving the District. Say, ‘bye-bye.’” That woke me up!

Last week I ordered some waterproof windbreakers for my parents. My father had admired a jacket I had worn often during our Taiwan trip and asked me to get him one. I asked him whether or not he wanted me to give him one as a birthday present in August, but he said he wanted one right away since he does a lot of gardening these days. So, I ordered him one, and threw in one for my mother at the same time. My mother called me this evening to thank me for them. She said that they had arrived that afternoon and that she and my father were eager to try them out; they were thinking of going for a walk that evening even though it was drizzling. I guess they really like the windbreakers!