Weekends. Especially unscheduled, freeform weekends spent together.
Monthly Archives: December 2011
“Welcome to Indiana basketball.”
My faith in the saving power of college basketball has been restored.
On Saturday night, years of frustration were released in a catharsis that manifested itself in shouting, leaping, and general revelry. High fives all round, fist pumps, running in circles — hands-over-the-eyes while balanced on the edge of the sofa knees almost touching the floor. Leaning forward on every free-throw, leaning back on every three-point attempt. It was pure.
It was a picture of Rockford circa 1994, a reminder of a time before mortgages and smart phones, hanging out at my grandparents’ house on a Saturday watching the CBS Big Ten game of the week. Bobby Knight prowling the sidelines. I wouldn’t miss an IU game when I was younger. I was defined by my allegiances: The Hoosiers, the Cubs, 1970s singers and songwriters, leather vests, red T-shirts, sports cards in piles around my coffee table. The sports cards have been replaced by stacks of bills, the T-shirts have given way to … more T-shirts. And the allegiances have lost their luster (for many, many reasons… too much to tackle here).
But on Saturday night, in the company of friends, my faith was renewed, my joy boundless, the moment not soon to be forgotten. The good guys won, the foes were vanquished, Kentucky was sent back to Lexington with the concusive boom of 17,000 crazed fans letting go of the same frustration I had held onto for years.
Even after watching the shot over 20 times in replay, it is still hard to believe. Crean’s face says it all. It represents how we all really felt, feel and will continue to feel for days to come. He made the shot. We won the game.
Go. Big. Red.
We totally (snow)flaked on this one
Last night was windy and frigid, and we had what I think were our first snow flurries of the season. None of it stuck, although I can see some snow-capped mountains from the living room window. The sudden burst of winter — and it was sudden; it was 64 degrees out on Tuesday night! — put us in the mood to make some snowflakes today.
It turns out that it is not easy (for me, anyway) to take pictures of paper snowflakes in progress. The kids’ scissors and their little hands weren’t quite up to the task of cutting through the folded paper, so I had them draw where they wanted me to cut. Between the folding and the cutting, I forgot to take pictures of the kids unfolding their snowflakes.
But I did get a picture of the final product:
Maybe in the future I won’t need to look up how to do this rather simple craft, but I don’t think I’ve ever successfully made a paper snowflake before today. I’m pretty sure I’ve always had a problem with overzealous cutting. Which manifests itself when you unfold your creation and it all flutters to the ground in tiny bits and strips. I didn’t want the kids to experience that particular trauma, though, so today I asked the internet for help. We followed Martha’s “how to make paper snowflakes” instructions. They’re very straightforward, which is important to a non-crafter such as myself.
We used some plain white paper and some scrapbooking paper to make our snowflakes. I really like the way Michele of MicheleMadeMe.com thinks, though. She uses junk mail to make paper snowflakes! It’s “green,” it turns out a lovely finished product, and it might be easier for the kids to cut through.
If you’re feeling very industrious and fancy, you might be interested in these quilled snowflakes at Reese Dixon or 3D Lacy Snowflakes at How About Orange. They’re both stunning.
Also stunning: These paper snowflake pendant lamps from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. They’d be a lovely addition to my holiday decor.
