Mummy Dearest

Z has been asking me for many, many months now to mummify something with him. He started with a chicken, but I have to be honest, I am just a little too squeamish to gut and prep a dead chicken for proper mummification. Not to mention, that's a rather large dead thing to display on the boat.

So after some research we settled on a potato. Apparently, potatoes decompose much like people do, only faster, smaller, and cleaner. So we cut a person shape from a potato and set him in a container of salt and baking soda for 2 weeks to decompose. The funny thing was Z insisted on putting him in a sarcophagus and tucked the rotting container deep into the bowels of the closet for the proper mood.




We got him out 2 weeks later and Zach started to wrap him up.




Then with a lovely coffin from the craft store painted by Z, we laid our friend to eternal peace in the afterlife. Or rather to temporary stinking of our life on the boat.

The boy LOVES his mummy. He brings it everywhere to show to people. He's named him "King Jones". Right now the mummy lives in the salon on the nature table with all of our fall/ Halloween stuff. I am hoping I can secretly do away with him by Thanksgiving. ;)




If you want to try this at home, check out the instructions we followed in DIG MAGAZINE.
page 28

Concentration

Z now loves to sew. Not sure where he got that from since my sewing skills just about equate his. But I love watching him concentrate and happily create using color and texture, and yes a real needle. Luckily we have good friends and neighbors who actually know how to sew in case he wants to pursue this further. And he has an invite from Dan at the marina canvas shop to come by on a cold day in the off season and spend the afternoon sewing pirate flags! He keeps asking me, "is it cold enough yet to go work with Dan now?"

Things That Make My Heart Sing

The look of concentration and peace when Zach is painting.

The look of sheer joy and the happy dance that happens when he hears the song Space Oddity by David Bowie.

The Gratuitous Pumpkin Patch Shots

Me and every other parent in North America .

Water Taxi

A sunset ride back to the boat on the water taxi with a boy who has ice cream pulsing through this veins.

The Fort

Playsilks are the ultimate form of amusement. They pack away small and play big. You can never have enough of them.

Beach School

Even at the tender age of 4, spending the week at the beach in late September/ early October raises eyebrows and draws out the inevitable question, "what about school?!"

What ABOUT school?

I couldn't help but think of the myriads of 4 year old sitting in "kindergarten prep" all day long with the average 15 minutes of outside play time. This is the most incredibly beautiful time of the year, and little children should be out using all of their senses, all of the day, soaking all of it up.

BUT... that doesn't mean no time for ABC's.



In fact, while I was lazing about the beach concentrating on the hunt for the perfect shell (which I never found), Zach discovered that when you take the broken tail of a horseshoes crab and pop it on the tip of a common seagull feather... VOILA! A classic quill pen! He decided he wanted to practice his writing on the beach. So he used a flat piece of driftwood as his eraser/ Zamboni. Then he declared that he would only be writing the names of famous pirates, scoundrels, and sea captains.





This is Zach writing "AHAB", as in Captain Ahab of Moby Dick.





He framed in sticks and shells his favorite of them all. Captain Bligh (he spelled it phonetically) from his new favorite book Mutiny On The Bounty.



Now that's what we call school!

The Beach (Rehoboth Oct 2008)

Psychedelic Playdough

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/4 cup salt
• food coloring or pastry coloring for brighter colors
• glitter and/ or peppermint, lavender, or sweet orange essential oils
  

Mix flour, cream of tartar, oil, and salt in an old cooking pot you don't care too much about.

In a separate container (coloring MAY stain container), mix food coloring with warm water and pour into pot. (add essential oil and glitter too if desired)

Stir over medium heat until smooth.

Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth.

Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled, and it will last for a long time.