Creepy Ornament Party + Cute Doxies!

We got a late start on our annual tradition of creating ornaments this year. At last count, we were going to make one for each of our 8 years together. Last year we made a blue bird, fried chicken drumstick, pink snuggie, christmas tree, star, and yellow popple. For other people, I made a fly fishing vest, a leopard snuggie and a candy cane.

Our good pals came over last night for pizza, ornament making and eggnog spiked with Snap liquor. Mike rounded out our count of 8 ornaments with the creepiest elf ever (and boyfriend to Shona's scary ornament), and a sweet pink and white candy cane. Olivia made a cute ornament of her greyhound Salty, and inspired me to make canine ornaments for my cousins in NYC.

They have 2 rescue daschunds named Mr. and Mrs. Beasley. I adore my cousins and the dogs, so thought they deserved their own ornaments. Mr. B had a health scare too, so I thought this could cheer them up a bit.

Here are their names with some holly (inspired by ornaments my Mom and Godmother made with felt back in the 70s!).

And the back! I will not lie. I am damn proud of these ornaments. The colors are lovely, and they're just so cute!

I may have a few more ornaments left in me this year. Here's hoping!

Oh, and the fourth member of our group made his own creepy ornament to put Mike's to shame. It may have been my idea, to commemorate a Halloween costume that our friend made to document the trash and chicken bones that are constantly littering our street...

Ah, Christmas cheer!

Chop Chop and a Falcon

October was eaten up by two trips to Indiana on consecutive weekends for yours truly. Mike stayed for the week, so I did a round trip road trip, with a round trip flight from Indy to Philly sandwiched in between. It was wonderful because I also got to spend time with one of my best friends Tracy, and have brunch with some very special people.

We had two weddings to attend, our niece's and Mike's best friend's wedding.

Right before the trips, I made a spontaneous decision to chop off 10 inches of my hair. It was only going to be a few inches, but I figured, who knows when it will be this long again, and wanted to donate it. Not completely selfishly, mind you. I did want to donate, but I also wanted to have an excuse for myself when I missed my long hair that said, "Get over yourself, Merce, you gave your hair to some kid in need. Quit whining!"

So yeah. I'm happy, and actually, it gave me some much needed polish for work. I was feeling blah hair wise. Oddly, my short hair is harder to care for, since it sticks up in the morning. Ha.

As I said, Mike's BFF had a wedding in Indiana. Well, it was Halloween themed! And it had a taco bar! And tombstone shaped cakes that Mike helped make! We dressed up nice and wedding-like beforehand, especially since Mike was in Sheila's wedding party. Aw, how cute.

Then, yours truly ended up in a parking lot with Mike's entire family (Mike was diligently taking wedding photos) where we all changed discreetly by the cars and put on makeup (hawk-like eyeliner for me, more vampire powder for others). No seriously, check out that eyeshadow!

I jumped at the chance to be part of a Royal Tenenbaum themed couples costume, as the third wheel to Richie and Margot Tenenbaum. I could have easily found a curly black wig and red tracksuit, but that would be no fun. Not when I had the best idea ever for a Mordecai Tenenbaum costume. (This is the pet falcon that belongs to Richie Tenenbaum).

How amazing do we look?! Susan (one of my amazing sisters-in-law) even made the wooden finger that Margot has. It was the most fun...

Then we have one of Mordecai and Mike. I can't tell you how much fun I had with these wings. And it was the easiest costume to make. Hot glue gun, feathers, scraps of fabric and a little glitter.

Mike and I couldn't do the couple's costume because I did not feel like being the mate to a pink gorilla. Though I have been called a crazy banana before...

There's always next year!

Happiness is....

I was tagged by both Ambika and Andrea for meme type things. Like Ambika did, I'll combine them both and try to think of 10 things that make me happy. It would be a nice reminder to myself to get out of my Monday induced less than desirable mood today!

My list will probably border on the materialistic today. What can I say, we're living in a material world, and I'm a material girl....(please read that like Adam Sandler in Wedding Singer).



1. The perfect brown boots that I've been eyeing for some time now. They were more than 1/2 off and my mom treated me to them! Thanks, Mom.

2. Much needed new running shoes. They make me want to work out and don't make my feet hurt!

3. Happiness is how texting has gotten me in much more regular contact with my best friend. Our schedules are not in sync for regular phone calls, but texting works great for us. Plus, it lets me receive more photos of my favorite little boy.

4. Sonny! My godson makes me so happy. Just thinking of his laugh or seeing a picture of him brightens my mood instantly. He calls me "Meesa" and my mom "Lola" (grandma in Tagalog). My heart breaks in a good way every time he says, "MeesaLolaMeesaLola" on speaker phone.

5. New music. I'm in love with the song Dead Sound by the Raveonettes. I found it on the Whip It soundtrack, which is rather fun!

6. Working out makes me much happier. If the work day is stressful or aggravating, I can leave my aggressions in the gym, or work it out on the treadmill. I also enjoy just letting my mind wander and think out all the creative things I want to do. Endorphins are good.

7. New to me podcasts from The Skirted Roundtable. These three generous ladies have a wonderful set of podcasts where they interview famous designers and most recently, the Editor-In-Chief of House Beautiful, Stephen Drucker. He was such an intelligent and gracious man, that I'm subscribing to the magazine next paycheck! Oh, and he loves grilled cheese and is best friends with Ina Garten. The grilled cheese was all I needed to know, being friends with Ina was a bonus).

8. My new electric toothbrush. I am working on keeping my gums healthy, my dentist recommended it, and after 3 days, I'm a fullblown convert. I really need to protect my gums since I have a dental implant and don't want to waste the investment in my grill. Thanks again, mom and dad. If you're thinking of getting an electric toothbrush, I recommend the Oral B Sonic Complete S-320. I found one on Amazon for about half of what I've seen in the stores, and yes, it was new and in the plastic impossible to open stuff! (Try using a can opener for the impossible plastic stuff, it totally works!)

9. Citrus fruit! I don't want scurvy, and I find myself craving naranjas or oranges in this weather. I made a blood orange salad the other day, and it was delicious! I'd like to get my hands on some famous Florida Honeybells as well...we shall see.

10. Warmth! Being happy to have indoor heating (not to mention shelter), snuggly down blankets, hot coffee and a boy to hold hands with. Yay for coziness.

How bout y'all? Let's see your list? Tag yo'self before you wreck yo'self. (Excluding Susan. We know how she's scared of the memes! Kidding!).

xo, Mariss

P.S. Work is making me loopy today. Could you tell?!

$76 Champagne Punch

The past few years, my friends Rich and Alice brought a delicious champagne punch to my birthday party. It was lemony, electric blue, and made everyone's teeth and tongue match the punch. Potent is an understatement.

This year, I told them to not worry about the punch. After all, they have a new baby and deserve a break. Their little guy is awesome, he ended up at the party and being one of the last people there!



Since it was time for a new punch, I found a new one from Gourmet Magazine's July 1992 issue on Epicurious. It's refreshing and lighter than the bright blue one. At first, we weren't sure if we liked it. However, the first batch was quickly gone and I had several requests to refill it.

I will warn you, unless you have a stocked bar, this punch is rather expensive. I'm not a huge drinker, so I didn't pay attention to the multiple liquors needed for the recipe. I figured it was an opportunity to add to our tiny bar, and forced myself to get over the price. There's also something in just letting go so that you can get everything done in time and not have to look up a new recipe! Plus, it got rave reviews on Epicurious.com.

The punch is made with champagne, Chambord, Triple Sec, Brandy, pineapple juice and ginger ale. Make sure to follow the directions on the above link and prep the first step of the ingredients the night before your event. This would be perfect for a holiday party or a New Year's Eve bash.

Enjoy!

Fried Chicken Ornaments

Last year, Mike and I started an annual tradition of creating handmade ornaments for each other for Christmas. This year, I started early by ordering a sixty color mini bundle of felt from Lupin Handmade.



We started off normally. Mike made a Christmas tree ornament for our Christmas tree. I made something that I fondly remember. My yellow Popple stuffed animal from 1985. Andrew and I both had one, and they were the best toy. The Popple ornament has a seam on the back (for it's head to pop out), and a miniature pom-pom that I made with tufts of yarn in my stash. Though small, it was a mighty effort! Ha.



Then things just got silly. The big stash of felt started to beckon us. "What is ridiculous that needs to be made out of felt? I have your perfect color right here!"

Uh, obviously a pink Snuggie ornament had to be made. Mike bought one for me as a joke for my birthday. It is not perfect for an outdoor sporting event, by the way, because my butt would freeze! That is why I will be developing the "Snoncho" in 2010. That's right, it will be a poncho with sleeves, and perhaps a beer cozy. I cannot wait to act in my own infomercial.



Mike crafted a Frankenstein-looking fried chicken leg. I love it.



We've also decided to make up for the past 8 Christmases where we did not partake in this tradition. Hilarity to surely ensue... Our new fake tree loves us.

Impromptu Flowers

My new space makes it so easy to decide to create spur of the moment hand carved stamps.



I carved a quick flower, printed shades of reds and oranges, and used the oil based ink I have, since I don't have any stamping inks. I covered an old attempt at goccoing, that had way too much negative space. It was fun to create and send and write lots of thank you cards and notes to friends.



If you have never carved a stamp, Geninne Zlatkis has an amazing and fun to watch video tutorial here.

She is quite prolific, and uses such vibrant colors in her work. I have purchased two of her prints in her Etsy shop, and will surely purchase more in the future.

Stamp Carving from Geninne D. Zlatkis on Vimeo.

A Studio of My Own!

Mike had his studio in the back of our apartment for the past three years. His friend Meghan asked him to share a studio with her, which has a great view of downtown, and is quite affordable. This means that we moved all of his supplies out of the studio in our apartment, and my things right in!



The room has windows facing south and west, so it gets amazing light at the end of the day. We relocated a small sofa into the room, which creates a cozy little reading nook. (This also improves the layout in our living room drastically!)



My bike fits right underneath the mountain of books. This meant that we could get rid of the wall rack that was getting to be an eyesore, and the kitchen is less crowded.



There huge graphite drawing is Mike's, which is a view from the opposite side of the room. The pretty Florida scarf is from Shona, and has certainly inspired our wedding palette and Save the Date cards. (I'll show them soon).



This wall was a mess from the start, so it's practically a bulletin board by now. We will fix it up quite nicely when it's time to move out. It is so wonderful to have an actual room for myself. I can listen to music or podcasts and work on whatever my heart desires!

If you were thinking of carving out a space for yourself, I highly recommend it. Whether it's an entire room or a desk in your kitchen, it's great to have a place that inspires you to create.

I'll have lots of things to show you soon!

Finnegan's Wake of Excuses

Yeah, yeah, yeah...took a "quick" 25 day break here. I missed you guys, if you're still around (wink). Me, quiet?! I know. But it happens each August, what can I do?

Without further ado, here are my excuses for not writing. Oh, and it's going to be long.

1. I've been attending green design events and tours in Philly after work and on weekends. I've been seeing such amazing things, and may (fingers crossed) be able to do some rooftop gardening. We shall see. The place that I originally wanted to help out with does not really need my type of expertise right now, but I'm still meeting some great people and enjoying myself. I'll just keep trying, persevering and keep learning.



2. I blocked my huge Pi Shawl and got to wear it to a wedding in Indianpolis! The groom is the little brother of one of my best friends. I adore her family, and it was so good to see them. We laughed and talked and had a wonderful time. To my delight, my favorite type of cake was served at the reception. It's Carvel ice cream cake with the wonderful chocolate crunchies, I know you were wondering.



There was an instance my friend's aunt and I raced to the dance floor and started an enthusiastic rendition of the Chicken Dance, only to realize that it was a traditional Polka song. We stared at each other sadly, half attempted to try the Polka dance, and walked away to our table full of folks laughing. It was one of the best moments!



3. I found myself visiting KJ in Brooklyn when she told me one Friday morning that due to some fluke, she had a free weekend from her busy restaurant schedule! This rarely happens, so I hopped in my truck to hang out. What a relaxing weekend of having nothing to do but walk around, talk and eat with one of my favorite people.

We watched the roller skaters in Central Park balancing water bottles on their heads and pirouette in hot pink spandex (jealously from the sides), saw turtles, witnessed the good deed of a fighting couple help a stranded canoer whose paddle had fallen into the lake, and ate like kings at the Shake Shack where KJ's friend is the manager. I mean do you see these ice cream sundaes that were brought out for us? It pays off being a hanger on to the foodies.

Coincidentally, we were sharing our table with a man visiting his daughter in NYC so that he could cross things off of his Bucket List. The new Yankee Stadium was on the agenda that day. Isn't that cool? In addition to being awesome, he works for our health insurance provider. His daughter works for Fitness magazine. So they were there on hand in case we had a heart attack due to ice cream overload. What are the odds? Although they were the lucky ones, since we shared our table and desserts with them!



4. I went to a super sweet baby shower for my friend Alice. I had an excuse to buy teeny clothes with little footie pajamas in the shape of dinosaur paws or featuring an adorable monkey that was incognito as a bandit. A bandit of bananas I guess. What else do monkeys steal? I won a blue ribbon for pinning the "baby" on the "bump" which I proudly attached to my new dress. We also enjoyed delicious cupcakes from Flying Monkey bakery. Mmm!



5. I took my cousin Cara to Key West for a few days. This means I can cross something off of my own Bucket List if you will. It makes up for the cruise that I promised I'd take her on when she was 16 and I was 24. In my 24 year old mind, that by the time she was 21 and I 30, I'd have enough money saved to take her on a little special trip. Ha! It's been the family joke for six years, but it was really fun to hang out and have this time together. Cue some cheesy music and a video montage of our trip...

I didn't have my camera, but the entire drive from the tip of Florida to Key West is breathtaking. It's a one way highway which has you travelling over miles of various bridges, including the famous Seven Mile Bridge, or small pieces of land that have water on either side. They had a heat index of about 105 degrees. It was brutal. So we alternated between the pools and the ocean, rode on scooters, attended a drag show, drank icy beverages, went on a sunset reggae snorkeling outing with people so hilarious that I wrote down things that they said so I wouldn't forget, and conducted our own Key Lime Pie tour complete with a 50 point scale. Our final winner was the Blond Giraffe's delectable pie featuring a cookie crust, tart filling and a lovely meringue. We even saw an endangered Key Deer on our drive home, and made sure to alert other drivers so they would not hit the cute little guy.

6. After the hullabaloo of the Key West trip, I headed home to Plantation, Florida for a week with my parents and to get down on some serious wedding planning. Thanks again Mom for letting me borrow your car. I know you don't think it's a big deal, but I really appreciated it!



7. On August 1st I got to wear a pretty party dress (not this one, but something similarly cute) because I was asked to be my nephew's Godmother! What an honor! I love that little guy so incredibly much. And although I'm slightly biased, he is the brightest, cutest, funniest, most mischevious, charming and flirty little bilingual boy that I know. No. Seriously.

Are you really still reading?! I adore you guys.

8. I haven't really talked about my wedding yet, but that's because I didn't want to do anything until I went down to Florida, picked a place and set a date. We knew we wanted it to be June or July of next year, to make it easier for many of our family members (and the groom) who are either in school or teach and work for schools. Also, this would allow enough time for my mom's sisters to possibly come all the way from the Philippines! So, we found a place that we are all really excited and happy about. And set a date (07.17.10). This was the second place that we visited, and all because of a chance conversation with one of my mom's incredible friends. Who is owed a thank you note immediately!



9. On Thursday of last week, my Mom, Aunt Marty and best friend, Brooke went dress shopping. At the second store, I wasn't going to try anything on, but Brooke insisted I try on a fun mini-dress made of crinoline that I was eyeing. While I was changing, she brought out a fun 1980s style dress that didn't make the cut, and then just one more. "Just try it on!" exclaimed Little Miss Bossy. She laced up this dress (I thought I hated a bit of lacing) which took about 10 minutes. After she was done, we knew! And the four of us were just discussing (over a huge lunch and more dessert!) how maybe we weren't the type of people to get that gut feeling over the dress, since we also weren't in the mood to cry... But then I came out and we all got excited. There was a bit of crinoline to kick around, but not huge, and I felt like myself! It was on sale, in my budget, and may be crossed off the list. Oh, and it's so pretty! Hee hee!

10. I am 99.87% sure that I've found the soldier in the Gulf War who was my pen pal for two years thanks to Facebook. We were asked to write to a soldiers in Mrs. Gelman's sixth grade class. Well, mine was a writer, the nicest guy, and wordier than yours truly (if that's possible). He wrote and typed these amazing letters that my mom and I would read. He'd send postcards from all over Europe, and actually made a big impact on what I would end up reading for fun in high school. Mainly long novels based in Russia and a love of anything Camelot related. Anyway, he was a really nice person who had an impact, and it will be nice to see where his life ended up, and which of those girls he ended up with. Ha!



So there you have it, my Finnegan's Wake length post of excuses. I'll leave you with a small photo of my journal which shows the edge of the Earth, and me falling off of it. It is also documenting a strange man that we saw advertising a new Laundromat, in the most outrageous three-dimensional get up, that we thought he was a Pro-Life person wearing a shirt showing the insides of a pregnant belly. But no, it's a washing machine. Bless his heart. It makes you love your job, doesn't it?

Glad to be back, Mariss

P.S. I have not resorted to writing emoticons on my blog, I just don't want to. However, please insert winks, smiley faces and big squealing noises in the appropriate places.

P.P.S. This post is dedicated to my friend Nicole. You happy now?! Ha ha ha.

Tortoise Shell Sunglasses Needed

Why does this pair of sunglasses from 1996 outlast any other pair I've purchased in the past thirteen years? They're my new favorites again, since my cheap ones keep killing themselves.



Philadelphia has been gorgeous. After the two sunless weeks, we've been treated to bright, cloudless days, and weather that is not too hot. I have yet to hit the beach this year, but I hope to remedy that next weekend.

I've been doing some reading, drawing, biking, walking around town and seeing friends. I'll show you some new drawings soon!

I was so sad to not enjoy a Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpet for the storming of The Bastille with the Degenerate Knitters, as Hostess Twinkies sponsored the event this year. That was nice of Hostess and all, but as Lisa pointed out, Twinkies just do not have the impact resistance that Krimpets have. The Twinkies exploded and smashed on impact, and were not one bit appetizing. I went home and made a microwave S'mores instead.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

National Donut Day

This illustration serves three purposes. Illustration Friday's topic this week is "craving". Something I often crave are the fried sweet treats below. Donuts!



Apparently, the first Friday of June is National Doughnut Day. I did not get a free donut, but I treated myself to one Mike purchased for me.

Lastly, this image has been sitting in my head waiting to come out. It's so festive and calorie free! Sounds good to me.

In honor of this day, these are my favorites:
Entennmann's Chocolate Crumb Donuts
Entennmann's Rich Chocolate Frosted Donuts
Glazed Donuts (especially hot from the oven)
Sugar Twisty Donuts from Publix
Chocolate with Glazed
Chocolate Frosted
Anything with sprinkles.

Have I forgotten anything? What are your favorites?

Catching Up

I keep meaning to write summaries of these weekend trips I've been on, but the words are not coming out. I am tired! Here's a quick map instead. The markers are from college, and I couldn't reach the second set with the more neutral colors, I'm just saying...that green is not my favorite!



I went to Virginia to visit wineries and celebrate Heather's 30th birthday!



There was Baltimore to attend Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, which I've written extensively about (you'll remember the funnel cake).

We went to Washington D.C. to attend my cousin Cara's graduation from GW. Mike and I visited the Smithsonian Native American Museum (amazing, need to go back) and the Natural History one. We also walked down the Mall, visited Abe Lincoln, saw the monuments, and got told by a sweet old man that I was humming a wonderful tune. (He was clearly lying, but sweet nonetheless!) I'll admit that I got verklempt by all the history while standing next to a huge President Lincoln. It was so humid Mike could not believe I come from Florida with all my complaining. Yet, when we were by the Lincoln Monument debating whether we had time to run up and see it, we agreed that he helped free slaves, and we could walk up the damn stairs!"



It was really cool to see things that I've seen as a child (we visited DC twice for 4th of July as a family), and see them as an adult. I still loved the minerals and gems, since I loved collecting rocks as a kid. The dinosaurs weren't too bad either.



This weekend I visited my family in Jersey to celebrate my cousin Meghan's graduation from Rutgers. She was Magna Cum Laude from the School of Engineering. I am so proud of both of my cousins! Aunt Pam made her famous garlic crabs, yum!



I may just make it up to New York this weekend to see some middle school friends. We shall see. The tolls are kicking my butt!

Maryland Sheep + Wool Round-up

This Saturday marks my third anniversary of waking up at 6am, driving 1-1/2 hours to Maryland Sheep and Wool, tromping through fairgrounds and giggling over the enormous size of male sheep bits. The Degenerate Knitters returned with a vengeance this year.

Once again, Regina wore a t-shirt ("Likes to knit, while slightly lit") that prompted 27 strangers to comment their approval. I said that I did not want ribbon fries, but chastised Lisa for not adding chives, helped eat half the plate and accidentally dumped the remaining cheesy fries on Andrea, which she promptly licked off her arm.

Oh, was there ever a classier bunch than this group from Philly? It was one of those times that I was damn proud to be from Philadelphia. Yet, we did not key anyone's car (though they may have deserved it), nor did we cut in line to look at yarn. We just made complete strangers guffaw because we are such a crazy bunch. I have proof.

I had goals this year, friends. They were:

Goal One: Visit Heartburn City, but to engage in fried foods with caution. For example, I split a funnel cake, forsaked the cotton candy, shared a lemonade, and pretended not to eat any ribbon fries. (Lisa, sour cream! Add the sour cream!)



Goal Two: Visit cute animals. Sometimes alpaca are shy, but this adorable little fella was a flirt. I think he tried to bite my butt. He's a baby though, he doesn't know any better!



Goal Three: Meet some cool people. I finally attended the a Ravelry meet-up in a barn, and we got to see whom I call our Knitting Royalty. Jess and Casey really are the nicest people, and the entire knitting community wants them to succeed! Which they are completely doing, in a humble, moral and conscientious way. I did end up speaking to Jess' mother for a few minutes (by the funnel cake booth) and told her what a wonderful daughter she had.



Goal Four: Only purchase something if it was something I really would treasure and use. This shot below is something that I did not buy, but this little booth will get it's own post this week. I did ask Lisa if this was something I could register for. Kidding!



Goal Five: Don't buy any yarn unless it's really unique. My one skein is in the middle. Regina bought 2 skeins of yarn, and hadn't even pulled it out of the clear bag by the time we were running towards the booth. It's from a new vendor called Creatively Dyed Yarns which is run by a charming ex-computer programmer / yarn store owner from Trinidad and Tobago.



Lastly, I'll leave you with this photograph of hand knitted caps from Peruvian artisans. In the caps below, they create is this wonderful pliant, supple texture that has just the right amount of weightiness. Two of the Peruvian women were at the fair and demonstrating their knitting.



Summary: When is next May? I'll bring the Tums.

Pennant Banners

I'm not the first person to catch the fabric banner epidemic that has been going around. But who can resist them? They're festive, make people smile, and enliven any party, wedding or event.



Ever since I made the First Birthday Banner for my nephew, I can't stop thinking about them. It doesn't help that I'm peeking at all the gorgeous wedding blogs, and know that I want some type of hanging features involved in my own. Let's face it, it will probably be embellished with lights, sequins, bobbles, fringe, pom-poms, but you will all love it. (wink) Would it help if I stuck to a color palette of reds, pinks and melon...with room to spare?



Even though I was already enchanted with banners, I heard of something that makes all previous banners mundane. What is this, you ask?

Miniature banners. You heard me. I saw this one on Parallel Botany and immediately felt my fingers twitching to make my own. Her embroidery is amazing as well, but I'll have to learn that skill another time.



Miniature banners, it makes so much sense! The miniature version of anything is always eleven times cuter with the exception of cockroaches.



Note to self, procure some non-ghetto felt and learn to embroider semi-properly.

P.S. Thanks for everyone's sweet and inspiring words from my last post. You all are amazing, courageous and wonderful friends. Everything went fine. I'll tell you more about it as time goes on. xoxo.

Dyed Eggs and Missing Peeps

It must have started when I was running errands at the drugstore a few weeks ago, surprised at the high volume of Easter paraphernalia I generally don't notice. The mini Cadburry eggs and I have both agreed that it's best if we not meet often. Peeps you ask? I'd rather look at them and imagine enjoying them, or even paint one. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of marshmallows. But I've decided I like them best toasted, in Rocky Road ice cream, or in S'mores, where they belong.

So I was shocked when after 13 years of ambivalence towards Easter, I had the strongest urge to dye Easter eggs at 2:27PM on a Tuesday afternoon. I waited the remaining 153 minutes to ditch my bike at home, get a dozen eggs, and obtain a package of PAWS brand egg dye tablets that my Grandpa used to buy for us.

They still make them! They make special sparkly eggs too, but I actually resisted the glitter. The moment I put the tablets in my hand, I suddenly missed my Grandpa and my brother so much.



I don't know how many times we visited my Grandparents in New Jersey for Easter, but I have strong memories. It was where we saw snow for the first time one year, and made my only snowman ever. Grandpa used to say he would mail us snow in Florida, but no matter how much we pleaded, this never happened!

He took such care in making sure we drew our design with the crayon, and used the special dipper that he adjusted just so, to dye our Easter eggs. He wasn't a talkative man, but you knew how much he loved us through things like that. In fact, he must have bought 2 sets of dye, so that Andrew and I could each have our own dipper. He was a good Grandpa.



Mike needed no persuading for this endeavor. He believed me when I said I was only hard boiling 8 eggs, when I really made 13. I knew he'd want to dye more than his allotted share, and didn't want him taking up mine! Believe me, he was pleasantly surprised when he had fresh canvasses.



Paws no longer includes a crayon, to my mother's dismay. Even though she would have prefer to have a grandchild of her own to dye eggs with (yesterday), she wanted to make sure I was doing it right. In a house full of art supplies, we have not one crayon. After trying to melt candle wax and use pin-heads to draw, we gave up. Plus, we had to make it to Quizzo, and were on a tight schedule.



I was surprised that after all of that urgency, I wasn't that interested in dyeing too many eggs. I think I just wanted to remember good times with my Grandpa and brother. To let them enjoy a piece of life with me, from my heart where they reside.