::Little Tree::

A little tree for little people.

:: {UPDATED} I never win anything... ::

I have got to stop jumping headlong into things. I even had a warning this time. Sara kindly sent me a link to a review of this movie, (see it it the comments section below), which I skimmed and decided not to heed. To be fair, the review did not capture the darkness this movie actually presented, but I probably shouldn't have risked it. I knew the movie was based on a storybook I remember as being whimsically benign, but having no cable TV, I had never seen a trailer for the film. Had I done so, I might never have entered the contest.

Tara came along to help me with my three eldest. When the lights dimmed, and the movie began, it was clear from the very beginning that something was off. The tone was disturbing. It presented a seriously unhappy child, venting his misery through violence. And the violence progressed steadily through the first 15 minutes. By the time we got to the island of "Wild Things" I was deeply disturbed, only to be made more deeply uncomfortable by the evil looking creatures who had my skin crawling.

That's when we got up and left. My guys were done, and so was I. There was no redeeming element to convince us to persevere through more of the movie. Tara and I discussed our memories of the original story book on the way home. We are having a hard time finding many similarities. I told the kids I would get it from the library and let them see for themselves how far removed the film was from the childhood classic.

So, in short, I am very thankful the tickets were free. But had I known more about the film, I would have left them for another family to claim.

***

...but I won today! 4 FREE tickets to Where the Wild Things Are, courtesy of:


Great site for cheap kids events.
Frugal Fun Ottawa

I am so excited. FREE is good.

::Green Whirlwind::

hange of plans. As always. . . I posted HERE that the basement would be white and orange, but kept coming back to my curiosity about black walls. I couldn't help but wonder what that would look like. I figured it would make things more cozy down there, and be far less likely to need scrubbing. So, we made a complete switch to black. The ceiling is black, with plans for black and silver tin panels to cover the plumbing pipes. The floor is black--painted right onto the concrete. The walls are black for the first four feet, and will be given a wainscoting shortly. Lots of dark paint. That being said, I accented with a lemongrass green that breaks up the black and makes for an amazing contrast.

Before taking the plunge, I played with my photo program to come with the most sloppy attempt at a black and green "pub" look:

For more inspiration:

Then we went for it:

More of a lemongrass colour, than green. We are happy with it. I will post more pictures as the room progresses. What excites me most is that the TV, and all the toys, are now off the main floor. That means there is now a room available upstairs for all of my craft supplies. . . but that is a project for another day.

::Coyote problem::

e are having a bit of a coyote problem out here. What I find most disturbing is this one travels alone. They are pack animals, aren't they? This guy has been hanging around for a month or so, howling outside living room windows, terrorizing chickens and horses, and coming WAY too close to people. A few days ago he came out into the road in front of Aidan and the dogs. I guess he was smart enough to know he was outnumbered and slunk back into the field. But I wouldn't have had the advantage this morning if I had been much farther from home.

I had popped on the headphones and jogged down the road. Normally I am so preoccupied with the music and finding my pace that I don't really look around. I did today, and saw one big brown coyote barrelling across the neighbours field right at me. I know you are supposed to holler and be aggressive, but yeah right! I turned and sprinted as fast I could back down the road. He made it to the edge of the field before I lost track of him, and by then I was near enough to home that our dogs were barking and whimpering.

Aidan wasn't nearly as alarmed as I was, having grown up with coyotes on all sides, but I will never be comfortable with wild dogs running towards me. Time to pull out the treadmill. No more early morning jogs in the fresh air for me!

::All dressed up with somewhere to go::

ress-up time. . .

This year Elijah went as a highway. I have no idea where the idea came from, I just thought it up out of a necessity to keep things cheap. I dug up black clothing, painted and taped, then wired toy cars in the appropriate spots. His back actually read; "100 km." Everyone got such a kick out it.

Caelah was a daisy. Wire and tissue are favourite craft materials of mine, so I fell comfortably back into using them for costume construction. Caelah sacrificed yet another hairband for the costume and we came up with a very pretty lightweight headpiece. I attached a dragonfly for embellishment. And we made leaves for her wrists and shoes. She was unimpressed, the evening of the 31st, when she had to stuff a coat under her green top to keep warm. I tried to convince her to wear her coat over the costume and not worry about it. She insisted, however, that "flowers HAVE to have GREEN stems." Sigh.

Two homemade costumes was my limit. Gabriel was happy to slip into a clown costume donated by a friend. He looked adorable, and knew it. At one house I overheard the woman at the door tell him he was a really cute clown. "Yes, I am," Gabriel agreed, as he trotted away.

Another night of dress-up and candy--LOADS of candy.
KitKat anyone?

{::Dad's yearly pumpkin-carving masterpiece::}

::World's Largest Puzzle::

uzzles make my list of favourite things. . .

{Click to see larger}

. . . And this one makes me want to do a happy dance. Oooooh, I want it!!! I have always ADORED puzzles and this one is complete eye-candy. It is 24,000 pieces, which translates to 14 feet by 5 feet! Unfortunately it costs about $300. Also, I would have to explain the falsehood of the explosion depicting the "Big Bang," in the upper portion of the puzzle. But I want to make this baby and hang it up! I think I will have to see if the price drops over the next year though.

See the official site for the World's Largest Puzzle
HERE

::Pretty Pumpkins::