5th Grade Research & Paper Maché (Grandma Report)

Two weeks ago, the kids told me they had a big assignment from Sr. Rosanne. They had to create a mini-float representing their assigned state. Last year, they each researched a state as an extra project. They were given a few extra projects in class while other kids received some scholastic support. Bridget kept hers, Stephen had a new one.

On working with kids long term home work project - it's supposed to be an opportunity to research a state and figure out a way to represent it. We talked over their ideas - even allowed them to think about how they would create a float to the scale of one of Stephen's old Tonka trucks. They said some of their class mates might make a cake. I suggested we stick with craft/art ideas - then I blurted out "paper maché."

They're very creative in their ideas; some of them inspired by their excellent Banana Factory classes or summer camp activities (Thank you, Banana Factory, Northampton Community College, and Baum School of Art). But they also had to research how to make paper maché, use hot glue guns, melt crayons, print textural patterns, free draw Mr. Peanut, and texturized painting techniques. Along the way, they learned the states' main industry and capitals.

We got started straight away - even though they had a good three weeks to work on it. Their enthusiasm wasn't going to be squelched by a last minute frenzy. They knew what they wanted to do - and I knew the weekend before it was due was the Celtic Classic and other chaos. I was actually thinking about how to build a proportionally accurate trailer to be pulled by the Tonka truck. When I realized that meant axels and wheels.... never mind.

Last weekend was the paper maché. Steve as out of town, so what the heck? Let's just make the chaos of single parenting that much better. Still had the regular weekend work: course prep, student monitoring, my own assignments and the regular domestic stuff. Additionally, a significant research interview opportunity, and Nutcracker auditions - but what's a little mess?

Walking around town with flour paste all over my pants, is what happened. Only a tad embarrassing when I was trying to hide in the back of the room at the Ballet Nutcracker Parent meeting. Those ladies are styling even on Sunday afternoons. But we got the first part of the project done in time to get to the interview and even enjoy the evening book reading. By golly, they really do look like a volcano and a hot air balloon.

Fast forward to this weekend - Stephen's heading into tech week then opening night on Friday. Tech week means 6:30pm call time and prepare to stay until 11pm each night this week. Bridget still has her ballet/ harp/ Girl Scouts, and I'm still getting that together, too. Also - next weekend is CELTIC CLASSIC, another guest artist at Zoellner AND - Peggy Orenstein on Thursday.

Stephen was kind enough to wake up early on Saturday. He and Bridget painted their paper maché creations. Then I assisted Stephen attach the pebbles with the hot glue gun while Bridget free drew her Mr. Peanut.

I needed to get to Lehigh for the first Saturday Socratic Rounds (M. Ed intellectual dialogue and networking) and then stop by the Celtic Classic grounds to meet with the other Education committee members to sort out craft supplies. (By golly, we're ready to go - except I still need to cut the sheep - later). Steve took the kids around the Historic neighborhood for their annual rummage sale. Bridget got her annual sparkly old lady jewelry (including vintage clip on earrings)
We met up (kind of) at Mayflower diner - me with the committee at a booth. Steve and the kids at the counter. It seemed so...... normal.

When I got home, we were back at the projects in between loads of laundry and races with the vacuum cleaner. Stephen had to shave a lot of crayons, and Bridget started making her basket. In between, each took turns on the computer researching more info on their states. I was still not sure how we were going to get the melted wax onto the volcano by Saturday bed time. I decided to let it go for the night; pulling up a movie Steve and I hadn't seen yet - The Social Network. Microwave popcorn, and a sugar free Butterbeer (see later) - gosh, this almost felt like a date night.

I woke up at the crack of too early on Sunday morning with a creative breakthrough. The way to get the wax onto the volcano was to heat it like heroine.... Breaking Bad style. I've honestly never tried heroine. Stephen woke up a little after me, so he was able to drip the melted wax onto his project, after I handled the fire part.

Other fun things that happened this weekend - we rescued a praying mantis in the Zoellner parking garage. Stephen named him Copper. Apparently, we have a thing for bugs. After "Gripper" the spider stayed in our right side rear view mirror for nearly three weeks; surviving highway speeds to Baltimore, Philadelphia and back - we needed another critter to tend to.

Friday, I had 30 minutes in between picking up Bridget from Ballet and Stephen from his rehearsal. Of course that's enough time to run to Wegmans for Butterbeer ingredients. Came home and whipped out the blender. By golly, these tasted really good. I also have a really old bottle of Butterscotch Schapps for the grown up version.

Sunday after cinnamon rolls, Bridget and I helped out our friend Candi at the Pancreatic Cancer Research walk in Allentown Parkway. Lovely park. Glorious day. Bridget wanted to walk around the park after we finished our duties. I'll not say "no" to my daughter who still wants to hold my hand when we walk. Some folks might think she's a little old for this - but it still makes me feel all warm and loving.

 

Sunday night, I was able to make a couple of meals ahead for the week; broccoli cheese calzones, banana bread, and red lentil stew.

I guess this was a busy weekend. But we're heading into another great week, full of opportunity and blessings. I get to play with a router to cut a flock of styrofoam sheep at Lehigh, figure out how to realize the idea of green screen technology for the pre-show lobby activity before LEO, escort Peggy Orenstein around campus this Thursday, and volunteer at the Celtic Classic.

There's also a school board meeting, and a City Safety Council meeting I hope to attend - some things I read about in the local newspaper got me a little upset and I intend to get to the bottom of it (more later).

Well, by this time - the food is cool enough to store away for the week. I gotta hit the sack for a 7am MRI on the left shoulder. If I'm more than just old, and am truly broken, I hope the MRI can tell the good doctor that I'm not exaggerating. I only wish I could meet an orthopedic doctor that actually was sympathetic toward overweight moms with life long alignment issues.

Good night, mom. I love you.

Over the Top

Last night I gave a speech for a local program that I participated in two years ago, Leadership Lehigh Valley. Here's a brief description of the program from their website:

Leadership Lehigh Valley (LLV) is a regional leadership development program designed to prepare and enable future community leaders. LLV's mission is to build a continuum of civic leaders committed to our community's excellence by serving as a catalyst for civic engagement.

I've always been civically engaged. This was unconsciously encouraged by my mother, simply by watching her read from the altar at church, shopping at the local farmer's market, singing at hootenannies, reading books from the public library, voting, and listening to the adult conversations she had with her friends. Later in school, I remember feeling challenged and frustrated at the contradictions of statements vs. behaviors of grown ups. In college, as I began to realize a highly complicated and troubled world, I became overwhelmed. What in the heck was I supposed to do to change the world as a bassoonist? I was developing serious delusions of grandeur with all of my lists, goals and aspirations.

A few career twists, some other momentous milestones happened, and I find myself in this moment of numerous blessings:
1. a great marriage (If you haven't met my husband yet, consider your life incomplete until you do),
2. two wonderful kids (I know every mom is supposed to say that, but my kids really are awesome),
3. an incredible employment situation with challenging work, supportive colleagues and enough of a brain trust around me to meet daily issues,
4. generous friends both near and far, and as many ways to stay connected with all of them as there are memories to cherish,
5. a lovely neighborhood and community in which I live.

So back to last night's speech. I was asked by the program director to offer some "reflection and motivation" for the new class. I started searching for a few "leadership" quotes to find inspiration, looked over notes from some educational leadership courses I've taken at Lehigh, and then came to the conclusion for my speech.

Leadership isn't a noun; it's a verb. It's something one does when they see something that needs to be done. I often call leaders around me, "superheroes." It's not that they have super powers. It's that they have a conscience and act on it. They participate, they follow the rules, they make mistakes and find ways to make up for them. Their deeds don't always get noticed or celebrated, yet superheroes do them anyway. The best superheroes in my book don't seek praise. In fact, if it's heaped upon them, they blush and are sometimes very uncomfortable. They just do their thing.

From all of models of leadership in my life, both good and bad, I have learned to take actions that aren't intended to qualify for a leadership label on my LinkedIn account. I just want to contribute something to this world that will make a difference; something that will help others, bring a little joy, or ease a burden.

I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream about my Aunt Bernice. She's been in my dreams a lot lately. I've written about Auntie Bernice before. She and my mom were also pretty good friends. Beyond her cooking, she was also a feminist and sang SUPER loudly (albeit beautifully) in church. She said the congregational prayers loudly, too. Maybe it was her way to drown out the BS that may have been swirling in the parish (I remember that pastor being particularly dick-ish). Her generosity, humility, and integrity was huge. Mostly, I remember her living life "over the top." She was a leader to me - and a superhero.

My mom lives her life "over the top" by volunteering at the Kenosha Public Museum and at the Anderson Arts Center across the street from her house. She still reads, and has a book club, she still drives, and is doing some AMAZING things in genealogy. She and my sister still do multiple trips to Spring Green, WI to watch theatre, and she still shops at the local farmer's market and sings at hootenannies. She's starting to share secrets with me. Like, as I get older, my body will take longer to recover from a fall. When I acknowledge the undeniable fact that I'm getting older, I panic. I feel like I'm running out of time to meet my aspirations.

But..... I'm already living my aspirations when I live "over the top" just like Auntie Bernice and my mom. They didn't analyze their actions worrying about if others call them a "leader" or not. They just embraced life, found joy, and did what needed to be done.

And how do I live life "over the top?" I'm going to leave that up to my kids to figure out when they reach my age. If they want to.

Don't Know What You've Got 'til it's Gone

Yes, Joni Mitchell, you are wise.

But I write not about a love gone away - unless one regards my love of the comforts and conveniences of 21st century. You really don't know how much you rely on electricity until you don't have it. Our community has had plenty of opportunity to learn how to rough it without electricity (and heat) during a couple of freak storms. We just happened to live in a certain spot on the grid that we didn't lose power during either the Frankenstorm or Super Storm Sandy. We offered our home to others without, but no body ever took our invitations. We knew we were lucky both times - even though the first storm knocked a tree limb on the house that resulted in a substantial amount of money to remove the damaged green house.

While the green house was being dismantled, the contractors found the fan switch we'd been looking for since we moved into the house. Too late now - it's gone. So was one year of tuition for one kids' college. After Super Storm Sandy, we knew we needed to remove the huge liability-waiting-to-have-another-limb-fall-on-another-part-of-the-house tree. Bye-bye tree. And another chunk of college tuition savings.

We seem to be spending home improvement money on having less to show for it.

Murphy's Law also plays a good part in our household drama. On Wednesday night, the first night of a long holiday weekend - the electricity went out. It's happened before, but now it's going out more than once a day. On the holiday, the electricity popped out five times. The main breaker box kept shutting off. We turned off all electronics we weren't using. Unplugged all but the essentials. We ran the dishwasher - and yes, the electricity went out one more time.

Friday, we called an emergency electrician. The fee and the visit confirmed we need to replace the breaker box. The one we have now is more than 50 years old, and the company that recalled it is out of business. Steve read up on it - and oh joy, it's a fire hazard.

I had to get to campus to finish an overdue report. Steve worked at home, sweating over a laptop and kept an eye on things at home.

We opt to stay in the ridiculously hot house Friday night - even though our kind neighbor offered his couch -  to keep an eye on the breaker box, and the make sure we can reset it to not lose the fridge full of food. I should also mention that more than half of the windows are sealed shut - so cross breeze isn't happening. At least the kids could swim in our neighbor's pool so that their body temps were low, their figer tips pruney, and they were tried out from a day of "marco - polo."

Saturday afternoon, we took the neighbors' kids to a movie with us - just to give their parents a break from all the pool time.  We couldn't leave the house for longer than 2 hours at a stretch. We ate dinner outside again, and got ready for another over night battle of the hot and humid house. We put bed sheets in the downstairs freezer. We all slept in our undies.

Sunday morning, we decided to find the happy switch. A long, slow brunch at a diner, leisurely walks down the isles of K Mart and WalMart, and then Lady B and I hit the laundromat. All of these locations have A/C. Even though our neighbor offered to use their washer and dryer - we got seven loads washed, fluffy dry and folded in three hours. Lots of quarters, but at least I don't feel like I've lost an entire weekend.

Tonight - we gave up on the heat and the house. As much as we'd love to take our neighbor up on the offer for a couch, Steve's back would have taken such a beating. We found a hotels.com deal and we're entering the den of sin.... staying at the casino hotel. At least this is a hotel we didn't have to drive seven hours to get to. Most of our hotel stays are rest stops on our way to Detroit.

The kids really needed something adventurous for the holiday weekend from hell. We got to the hotel in time for a dinner at Emeril's Burger joint. While the kids swam in the indoor pool, Steve went back the house to check on the breaker box and the animals. Tomorrow, Steve goes straight to work and the kids start their first day at Camp Touchstone.

I want my house working. Let's see if an electrician can make things right tomorrow. According to weather.com, this heat isn't going anywhere.

... Don't it always seem to go? That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

It gets easier?

Every time I see a mom challenged by baby/toddler multiples, I remember thinking how overwhelming my life was. Every time another mother of multiples said, "It'll get easier," I always answered with exasperation, "When!?"

In all honesty, motherhood has become easier. The challenges are still there; just different.

Today's challenge - not worrying about them as they walk themselves from school to my work place. It's only 6 blocks, and they'll be walking together. How else are they going to learn to be independently responsible? It's not like I'll ask a friend in the local police force to follow them in his cruiser.... (or maybe I will)

Here comes the "when I was their age" reflection:
When I was in third grade, I had to walk a little over one mile from my house to get to school. Here's the route:

I can also honestly share that there were mornings I had to walk in a snow storm (No, it wasn't uphill in both directions). I remember walking with my younger sister, who was in first grade at the time. We were plowing through the long stretch of side walk that framed the cemetery on Sheridan Rd. The snow hadn't been cleared yet, and since we were kind of short, there were drifts that were higher than the top edge of our boots. These boots went over our shoes. At one point, Shaun's foot slipped out of her shoe/boot and she took a step in the wet snow. She howled like Randy in "A Christmas Story" when he couldn't put his arms down.
[note for geography buffs: Terra Haute, Indiana is in the same snow belt as Kenosha, Wisconsin.]

In fourth grade, our family moved to a new home seven blocks away from school. It was only .4 miles. From this new address, I could walk home for lunch. One bonus to this situation, was that my grandparents lived two blocks away from the new house. I even walked there for lunch.

Grandma's Irish spaghetti looked suspicious - her tomato sauce was condensed soup and she added chopped overcooked strip steak. But I ate it - because it would have hurt her feelings not to, and I was always rewarded with a light, crispy sugar cookie.

Oh gosh, it was just too friggin' simple.

I'm getting a sense of how complicated I tend to make parenthood. I'm trying to figure out how to work around their schedule. More honestly, I'm still trying to figure out how to work them into MY schedule. I'm being selfish when I put work before them too much.

I'm incredibly blessed with a wonderful, challenging position in an institution which encourages me to seek solutions as an academically minded administrator. The opportunities to investigate systems, create new ideas at the edges of multiple disciplines, to forge relationships with forward thinking people, and to facilitate learning for students while being actively engaged in my community.... it doesn't get much better than this.

I'm surrounded by good people. My husband is ridiculously supportive of my urgent desire to make a difference. But this year, my kids started to complain about my leaving the house after dinner, or their need to quietly wait outside the board rooms. They are always well-behaved. But what kind of memory will that give them?

Moving forward, there will still be times they'll need to patiently wait outside the room while Mommy does her thing. Their patience is usually rewarded with simple things; a special trip to the library, a chance to explore the Monocacy creek in their school uniforms, or a round of Putt golf with the girl scout troop later in the evening. The latter is the activity I did with Bridget after she and Stephen had to wait in the lobby of the Hotel B while I live-tweeted the last Mayoral Debate. Don't worry, Stephen had his reward, too. They both ate a few too many bacon wrapped scallops and sesame chicken skewers. Good thing they aren't picky eaters.

Last month, I resigned from two boards. I'm making room to return to an academic program to support research and publishing goals in my field. I'm certain that this kind of focus will also give me more time with my kids. There will still be afternoons when I have meetings that go beyond their 3pm end of school day.

This summer starts an investigation into balance. I'm trying to balance my time better for taking care of things that will mean better memories for our kids. I'm also trying to balance things I take on to stay focused on work goals. I have learned to say no - now I have to say "yes" to things that may not be as exciting in the moment - but worth the dedication in the long run.

Time to create balance for simpler things. I don't need to do it all. I don't want to do it all.

I just want to know I'm making the right decisions. Giving my career the focus it needs, giving my family the attention they deserve, giving myself a break.

oh...., but I can't forget; there's the local history hobby/research I want to publish, too.

smack me.

Waffle Week

 After realizing a doubled-batch of waffles for my son's birthday sleep over was too many, I quickly turned to Twitter crowd sourcing for ideas on what to do with all my left overs. One of my friends said,

@silagh "Double Waffles" and "Needless" should never be in the same sentence, FYI.Waffles and ice cream? Chicken and waffles?
— Jennifer C. (@TheJennC) March 24, 2013

While I plan to curate the week through Storify when it's over, I thought I'd document the beginning of #WaffleWeek with a summary of plans.

Storage

Once upon a time, I stacked the waffles on a plate, hot off the iron. While the waffles were light and fluffy with a thin crispy toasted texture due to the extra butter in the batter... the weight of them crushed the ones on the bottom of the plate. I saw this serving piece on an episode of Downton Abbey; a toast rack. I thought I could use this to cool the waffles so they'd maintain their crispy outer layer and not get soggy from the steam. Not that I'm going to get a percentage of any sales of this item through Amazon.com; but here's a link if you decide this is a simply must have thing for your kitchen. Oh, and if you order this, make sure you get the very wise banana slicer. Oh, the products that get green lighted sometimes make you wonder. At least the comments on the product are worth the time to read. But I digress.

This is my waffle rack. It's actually more helpful to me when making large batches of waffles than a regular cooling rack. The only bother about this piece is it's a real bugger for storage. Now if some enterprising young inventor wanted to design a collapsible version - I'm sure we'd get the best of both vintage serving and modern storage needs.

You know, when I was poking about the internets for a link to show a picture of a Downton Abbey episode featuring said toast server - I was slightly distracted by all the foodie sites related to Downton Abbey. Cocktails, proper teas, and even vintage recipes and service are abundant. My favorite blog is Downton Abbey Cooks; a great combo blog of episode recaps and full out recipes. In another life I'd be a culinary historian. But I digress.

I have 15 left-over waffles. In order to get the best of the waffles for the week, I divided them into separate piles; three four-packs for lunches or dinners, and three individually wrapped for my own experiments. I can take my family on this journey for only so long. I'm channeling as much of my mother's genius about left-overs as I can this week. Not sure my kids will appreciate the efforts. Herein is the cycle of life.

For the stacked packaging, I put a little square of parchment in between each waffle to make sure they stay separated.

Into the freezer they go, laying vertically again to try to keep them from flattening. I'm not going to bother about cleaning my freezer before taking pictures of its contents for this post. Same attitude applied to the pictures of the waffles or any manipulations of them. I'm not a food stylist. Nor am I a decent photographer. Every once in a while I surprise myself with a well grabbed image on the iPhone. I do wish I could indulge more time and money into better cameras. But I digress.



Menu Planning
Thanks to suggestions from the morning crowd sourcing exercise, I've come up with these ideas:

Suggested by @hillarykwiatek and @TheJennC

Chicken and Waffles for Monday dinner.
Found a great recipe on Allrecipes.com. I actually have all the ingredients in my kitchen already. This either means I cook a variety of foods, or I never throw anything away. I'll have to check the expiration date on a few items. I'll post a review of the recipe after I've given it a go. This meal will use 4 waffles.

Pulled Pork over Waffles for Wednesday dinner
This idea inspired by a NYC Food truck - Wafles and Dinges. I'm not making another batch of waffles just for the cornbread flavor. Instead, I'll top the waffle with some of the BBQ pulled pork in the freezer (made last month - I'm so awesome at this left-over business!), add buttery corn niblets on top and a bit of shredded cheddar. I'll pop those puppies under the broiler for a touch. This meal will use another 4 waffles.

Suggested by @DrTimony 

Waffle Monte Cristo sandwiches for Thursday lunch with the kids.
They love Monte Cristo sandwiches. I'm sure if I put enough powered sugar on them, they won't complain. I'll even throw in a scoop of vanilla ice cream with salted caramel sauce (another left over from the brownies I made last week), with a slightly toasted waffle quarter on the side (another suggestion by @TheJennC). This Thursday, the kids are off school for Easter break. This meal will need to be eaten at my office before I teach class. The ice cream dessert will be their reward for good behavior. I don't like rewarding them with food. This will actually come after we take the dog on a 2 mile walk, then enjoy some treats before the "Not waffles again, Mom" dinner.

I'll eat the other three waffles for breakfast this week with the following modifications:
1. topped with low-fat vanilla yogurt, fresh raspberries and a sprinkle of Granola Factory "Bethlehem Inn" mix
2. spread peanut butter and sliced banana - that I will suffer by cutting said banana with a knife
3. topped with scrambled egg and slice of ham

Feeling pretty good about this plan. Not sure how much more obsession I can make about waffles. This has been a delightful distraction. I'm supposed to go for a run with the dog and finish the girl scout cookie paperwork. The run I'm actually looking forward to doing. It's been a week since the 5K and I miss it. I also downloaded the new Justin Timberlake album as a birthday present. Behold, the mid-life crisis begins. Buddy could also use a good sniffing. I'll admit to being completely passive-aggressive about the Girl Scout Cookie paperwork. That's been a huge lesson in what I'm not good at, no matter how much I want to be.

.... but I digress.

Well worn

I had turned off this blog for a while; a story I might write about another time. I'm back - because I need to blog my thoughts again. There's an energy bottled up in my head. I need a purge. If you choose to read this, blessings on your heart.

I can't even remember when she made it for me. It was in a very productive time for her. I think it was after Dad died. She taught herself to knit to occupy her time when dad was at the VA hospital for his visits. She sat for hours in the waiting room. She was an occupational therapist, but when she had her children in the 1960s, she became a traditional home-maker/mom. She managed the household incredibly well. She was crafty then, and brilliant with repurposing ground beef and white rice. When Dad came home from work, she would run to any art/craft/make something class she could. She told me once,

"As fulfilling as motherhood is, it can be incredibly boring."

I may have mentioned I was raised a Catholic. She had five children in the span of six years. Her time of raising children was that same time as Mad Men - but without the hip, New York life style. Her time of motherhood was the same as Jackie Kennedy, but she had no pearls.

Now that I've had my turn at the baby/toddler/early childhood years, I get it. It's not that we don't love our children - but at a certain point in motherhood, one could possibly lose their minds if they don't disengage with feeding, burping, wiping, diapers and toy possession peace talks.

She set a goal to knit one for all of her children. She let us pick out the patterns from a catalog. She made each one in birth order. I think she made mine when I was in undergrad; more than 25 years ago. I stupidly put it through the washing machine. Even in cold water, it shrunk. I've been working to stretch it back, either by hand pulling or over eating. This is a sweater that I will never throw away.

There's some spots on it. I've tried to work them out with gentle soaps over the years. Just tried to loosen some of them with Oxy-clean. The dirty spots have shadows.

I wear this most cold weather weekends around the house. It's my "go-to" mobile blanket. Every time I wear it, I think of the love she poured into it. It feels like she's holding me. It smells of my perfume. But I imagine there's a lingering scent of her hands tightly woven into every stitch.

She also knitted sweaters for her seven grandchildren. When she made the sweaters for my kids, they were toddlers. She's knitted other Aran pattern projects - but she's not going to knit me another one.

Here's a bit of info about Aran knitting from a reliable source:

From the beginning, the Irish sweater has been intimately linked to clans and their identities. Aran women shared their knitting patterns and skills and passed them from one generation to the next. An official register of these historic patterns has been compiled, and can be seen in the Aran Sweater Museum on the Aran Islands.


Aran knitting is an Irish tradition that may soon be lost if the next generation doesn't learn how to make them. I suspect the reason why she is passive-aggressively not knitting me another - no matter how much I beg her to do it - is her way of encouraging me to learn how to knit. Last year, I signed up with my daughter to learn Aran knitting from a woman who is a member of the Ladies auxiliary of the Allentown Hibernians. Her name is Kathy. She fell in love with Lady B; who has some pretty good finger dexterity and ability to make even stitches. I, on the other hand, was a hopeless case. I kept losing stitches every time I had to answer a text or a tweet on my mobile devices. I know there's places in the Lehigh Valley where I can learn - I just have to make the time to do it.

Until then, I will wear this sweater over a few layers tomorrow for the Bethlehem parade. It looks to be a chilly day. I'll wear my Aran knit sweater to balance the kilt - which no self-respecting Irish person should wear. But when you're a board member for the Celtic Cultural Alliance; you wear the costume.

If you see the dirty spots, know they came from years of studying, practicing, reed making, vacuuming, dusting, baking, cooking, feedings, diaper changes, sick day cuddles and lots of family movie nights.

I wear this one-of-a-kind sweater with the greatest admiration and affection for the woman who made it.