I've never seen this much snow in Seattle

And I've been here for the better part of 16 years.

At least Zoya and Banelli had a good time!

WHEW!

If only he really WAS a Socialist...

Here's to hoping the great damage done in the last 8 years is not so great that it can't be UNDONE in the coming 4 (8?)...

I GREW AN EGGPLANT (!!!)

Our Soccer Star

Zoya is playing soccer this fall, and what a great player she is! She has clearly inherited her dad’s athleticism on the field. She gravitates toward defense and ends up saving all the goals when she’s in the game, although last week she scored 3. We’re trying to get her to be more competitive (do you think that’s a bad thing when she’s only 5?) and to be more aggressive when going for the ball. When I told her before the last game that she should kick the ball instead of waiting for her teammates to kick it, she replied that she didn’t want to kick it because her teammate would cry if she didn’t get to kick it, and Zoya didn’t want her friend to feel bad. Competitive and sweet, too – what more could you ask for in a little soccer player?

Picture time

Go Little Ducks!

Inspecting the Turf

"Strategizing"

A Boy and his Dog

Dylan had a sleepover with a friend a few weeks back, and they hauled the mattresses out to sleep on the floor. This is the scene we awoke to the following morning:

Note the percentage of the bed that Dylan occupies compared to that which Cooper has taken over.

Death to Drosophila

While I appreciate the contributions of the common fruit fly to the world of science, their never-ending presence in my kitchen is a different matter entirely. As much as I dislike the little !@#$s silently hovering over my fresh summer fruit, I have resisted using any kind of chemical to kill them because a) said chemical would occupy the same space as our food, and b) I have small children in the house and I’d prefer not to introduce potential carcinogens or other nasties that may cause them neuroses or reproductive harm. So this is my solution (I can’t take credit for the idea, but I can’t remember which website had the instructions):

Jam jar + APPLE CIDER vinegar + funnel-shaped paper + tape = certain death, without undesirable side effects (for the peeps in the house, anyway)

(husband watched as I stuck the camera lens down the jar to capture the essence of drowned fruit fly, and immediately proclaimed that I had way, WAY too much time on my hands:))

If you try this in YOUR kitchen, here are a couple of hints:
1. Make sure the hole in the bottom of the paper funnel is not too big (I usually keep it at about 1cm or slightly less). Otherwise the flies can find their way back out. Don’t forget to tape the seam in the funnel too – they are sneaky buggers and find all the little cracks.

2. The tape must cover any and all gaps between the mouth of the jar and the paper.

3. You have to remove the fruit (I just throw mine in the fridge) at the same time you put the traps out. I should probably just keep my fruit there in the first place, and I probably wouldn’t invite the flies in, but then I can’t eat it when I want to because it’s too cold and my teeth are very sensitive!

That concludes this episode of Useless Tidbits with Wendy.

Scenes from the Garden

We get so much joy from wandering through our garden(s) and harvesting the goods! I thought I would share some of our enjoyment.