Lovelihood

My hexagon project has been slow-going, as you might expect of a work involving the hand-piecing of what will end up being thousands of cat-paw-sized hexagons. But I did a pressing and started popping out the piecing papers from the internal shapes, and with all the handling and crumpling and folding required to work those pieces into place, the thing is developing the pliant softness of something I can't wait to curl up under. Oh, and the cat likes to hang out while I sew.

Faced with a second sick day with the kids, and a sky full of rain, I put up the chalkboard wall decals that had previously sat unopened in a corner. In their first day of usage, they functioned more as energy release than conduits for artistic expression.

Don't get me wrong. Sick days around here usually involve much time cuddled up with an iPad. And today was no different, with two children home with raw noses and throats. But sometimes, even technology gets tiring, and the old-school boardgames find new allure.

I'm the sort to leave the ones I like best for the end. In this batch, it will be the salt caramels that cary the day. It's all moot, though, when you finish the entirety of the box, small as it is, in two nights.

By the time I got home the kids had safely in bed, sleeping off all the sugar they must have consumed today. But they did leave behind for me some treats and sweet sentiments.

Whipped up an extra small batch of bubblegum-pink frosting to go with the dairy and eggless cookies for The Boy's Valentine party tomorrow. Am I the sort of person who keeps a tub of soy cream cheese in the fridge for this sort of occasion? Indeed, I am.

Is it too much to say that I'm over-the-moon in love with the Valentines The Boy and I worked up this year? Labor intensive as they sometimes were (I mean, what possessed me to have us press our own paper pulp seed pucks?), the end product kicks some serious Valentine ass. If I do say so myself. And, finishing them up this afternoon, The Boy put his shoelace-tying skills to some practical use.