The Bogu Arrived!

William has been working to earn money for his own set of bogu. This is a huge investment (and I half fear he will lose interest in this sport after 2+ years now that he has the bogu!) We contributed 1/2 the cost and he had to raise the rest. This gave him great latitude in which set he purchased. He has looked for months and made up his mind several times only to change it again. Ultimately he purchased bogu from Tozando. Their customer service was outstanding! 3 other Kenshi with the Memphis dojo have dealt favorably with them and that influenced our decision in the end. I worry the men is a bit too small and will ask his sensei to double check. While he would be upset to have to send it back and exchange, this is his first big purchase and I sure don't want it to be wrong.

knitted gifts, lacy scarf

Thanks to Andrea, I have a copy of Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but I lent it to someone and it hasn't come home. Fortunately I have one of these scarves that I whipped up for myself a few years ago. Now I've made several as gifts. Quick and easy, they are perfect for those office gift swaps. One skein of KnitPicks lace has yeilded FOUR of these scarves! The small white scarf is only loosely based on that pattern and is for a little girl who watches her brother at Kendo practice. These are not outerwear scarves, but fashionable scarves a la the 50's when a scarf at your neck was a perfect light accessory.

Thanksgiving on the road and other fun

After finally recovering from our youngest's bar mitzvah celebration, we tackled Thanksgiving. Most years we travel. when we were in OK we came to TN when we are in TN we travel to OK. Make sense? It's because it's a 4 day weekend and the easiest travel time of the year. This year my brother and sister in law are cooking. Mom is making her fabulous dressing and we are in charge of desserts, rolls and wine. Easy(not) and Messy. Here are some fun pics to give you a "taste" of the journey. Maxwell made a chocolate fudge cake (from scrach, no boxes here!) and raspberry reduction for filling. Chocolate ganache on top just to guild the lily. William made triple berry pie. He fell asleep and wouldn't wake up to help with the crust so I did not make pretty tops and forgot to cut slits in the top and it bubbled over wickedly. The pumpkin pie was great. The clover rolls were good, but the Parker House rolls were over done (though they got eaten). We enjoyed letting the cousins just hang out for 4 days of games, games, movies and bowling. We didn't watch TV once the entire time! They were busy with hide and seek, board games, Wii and basketball. Thanks to Andy and Roxanne for opening their home!!! Thanks to Mom and Dad for opening their home and giving up a bedroom to us. The boys had a great time at the gun range with dad one afternoon too and Ginger and I had a wonderful visit with my Aunt Mary and Uncle David and cousin Tim. Too bad I forgot the camera for that one.

Bar Mitzvah celebration

Our youngest celebrated this milestone a few weeks ago. It has taken several weeks for me to recover from the exhaustion. The food was plentiful, the decorations perfect and the guests charming. Here are a few photos to give you a glimpse into the wonderful evening.