Quilt of postage stamps

I am very bad about going to the post office to mail a card and purchasing a whole book of stamps ... and then the next time I need to mail something I forget or can't find the book of stamps so I buy another one. My sweet honey lamb has changed all that! He has collected all my partial books of stamps from over the years ... all different denominations reflecting the different postage rates over time .... then he bought some 1c, 2c, 3c, and 5c stamps and now every time I need a stamp he pulls out the big envelope and comes up with a combination of stamps for me to use. As you can see from my christmas cards (pictured below .... 3 or 4 stamps for each one!!!!) this makes for a very colorful patchwork on my envelopes! The more postage I need ... the bigger the quilt of stamps!

Contumacious ... my new favorite word.

Definition: stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient

Seriously .... I know several people whose picture shoulde be in the dictionary next to this word.

A friend heard it used in court to describe their opponent. I think it is perfect. I told my husband tonight that he was contumacious. He denied it.

A Community Affair

Parker was asked to play bass guitar to accompany the choir at his middle schools choir/band concert last night. I was able to attend and am so pleased that I did. While the musical talent displayed was not unusual for middle school level (although the 6th grade band was particularly adorable), the level of community involvement was surprising and heart-warming. The concert was held in the school gymnasium and if you have ever been to a middle-school concert before, you would understand me saying that normally you would have no problem getting a seat. However at this one .... it was standing room only!! I am serious that there had to be 75 or 100 people standing around the edges of the gym .... plus the bleachers were full as well as the folding chairs ... kids sitting on laps ... it was complete mayhem.

The school makes an effort to include a large portion of their students in the event ... they had a theme 'The Starry Night' and the art classes made decorations themed after Van Gogh's painting entitled the same. The faculty also participated in the program with a joint faculty/student choir and the science teacher (wearing a spiderman santa cap) played electric guitar as part of the choral accompaniment. It was a riot.

Gingerbread Cookies

We were getting ready to decorate gingerbread cookies and when Ed got the huge stacks of nonpareils from the cupboard, Matthew's eyes got wide and he exclaimed 'Oh. Oh. Oh!!' I thought we might have to ride herd on him to keep from dumping huge piles of them on top of every cookie ... but instead he decorated all three of his gingerbread men the same way: White frosting, red sprinkles, and silver balls. All those choices must have overwhelmed him!

The stacks of non-pareils:

The resulting gingerbread cookies:

Rudolph the Red Nosed Taurus.....

Miriam gave me a costume for my car .... It is a red velour stuffed nose and antlers. So my car is rudolph. And as I drive around in my reindeer car, I sing Christmas songs and laugh about my 'sleigh' ... I perform my Christmas errands with extra verve and zest ... I am one of Santa's helpers!

Note to self: In future, do not unroll window while driving through Burger King for sustenance during your Christmas errands as your antler might fall off and you will have to get out in the drive through and go pick it up!