An Extra 20 in the Morn

I discovered that we were ahead of schedule this morning.  So, I hollered
to MarCh, "Let's go on an adventure!"  Like lightning she was out the door . . .
"adventure" is rocket fuel.

We drove to Bronson Park near her school.  Hit the swings, then
MarCh suggested an obstacle course.  We checked the time . . . 8 minutes
til we had to go in order to avoid a tardy slip.  MarCh pointed to the woods.
I announced our quest:  Find our way back to the car through the forest.

Say, what, Robert Frost?  About that path?

"I took the one less traveled by,   
And that has made all the difference."

Amen and get in the car.

PLANTED!

On the way home from school today, we spotted a piano on the sidewalk planted with flowers… a sight worthy of a u-turn.  I asked my daughter and her friend, “What do you think?  Does a planted piano still play?”  They considered the question as they hopped from the car to the sidewalk where the piano stood.  I challenged them to inspect the piano first with their eyes only- don’t touch it.  The two looked the piano up, down and all around pointing out “There’s not too much dirt in the wires” and “None of the keys are jammed.”  ”So, what’s your guess?”  ”Yes!  We think it will play!”  ”Go ahead, try it out.”

And sure enough… they were right!  A happy experience… and experiment.  A few simple questions turned the sidewalk into a science lab and the two friends into scientists making observations, creating a hypothesis and conducting a test… also known as the Scientific Method.

As we drove home, I asked the two, “What would you call a planted piano?”  Zippy piped up, “A pi-lant-o!”

Pitching Pasta

We had pasta last night.
And a great deal of plain spaghetti noodles left over.
Just sitting in the colander... like an Italian bird's nest.

What to do? Wrap it up, stick in the fridge with the very unreal notion
that we'd eat it?  Leftover plain pasta just doesn't have a second life in our
house. 

But I couldn't just throw it away.

So I called MarCh into the kitchen and tossed it to her.  The whole clump.
Shock!  "Momma!"  Oh, the look was delicious!
We then proceeded to have a good ol' game of pasta catch in the yard,
laughing til we got the hiccups and stopping only to drink a cup of
water upside down.

Highly recommended.... the game of Catch the Pasta (upside down water drinking optional).

Teeny, Tiny & Sweet

A teeny-tiny BIG Thank You!
Ink & Watercolors
of Favorite Homes, Haunts & Hangouts
The story behind this painting:
To celebrate 20 years of stellar leadership at The Hollywood Schoolhouse, Lisa commissioned a tiny, desk-size painting for Ilise, the extraordinary Assistant Head of the school.

Who would you like to surprise with a Thank You?

Where Did It All Begin For Your Dad?

Surprise Dad with a painting of his boyhood home . . . or prized fishing spot or the 19th hole. For Father's Day, frame his favorite home, haunt or hang out!

President Clinton told me, "Hilary and I have a wall of paintings of all of the homes we've lived in. I'm hanging this one on Friday." (**sigh**)