What a Week

Little Man has become comfortable handling DH's small drill (designed for inserting screws into cabinet door hardware) - it came in very handy as his fort had a much more sophisticated design this time around.  

Those leftover fence boards, a tarp, and a few other odds and ends became something pretty wonderful.

The construction crew (photo taken before the "wall" on the far end was fully installed).

We continued last week's celebration of birthday number 7 with one gift bag of goodies each day while he was here.  

So much better than being overwhelmed with everything all at once.

He and DeeDah spent part of one morning making home made slime and a batch of rock candy along with several other "experiments."

LM spent several interludes learning the basics of chess (his first exposure to the game).  

By the end of his last day with us, he beat DeeDah after DD missed a critical move.  

You can see by LM's expression, he was surprised, elated, and downright overjoyed.

He also spent some time with DeeDah learning how to build a fire.

(DeeDah was a BSA leader/scoutmaster for many years and understands well how the minds of younger boys work when it comes to curiosity and learning).

The fruits of their labors resulted in a perfectly toasted marshmallow (or two) sandwiched between cinnamon graham crackers.

LM wasn't interested in getting his photo taken with the donation quilt or taking it to the post office - but happily the quilt was indeed shipped and finally delivered this morning to Nancy in PA.  

Instead, LM told me later in the week that he wants to make a quilt using only his favorite shape - triangles. 

We worked out an off center bullseye design using 6" squares that will (unless things change) feature gold (his new favorite color) and dark blues.  No plans to start this right away as he wants to die cut the HSTs so I've set the drawing aside for another visit.

However, I showed him Gone Dotty  but he didn't like the planned lemur backing.  He immediately keyed on the rainbow backing that was hanging nearby.  

He wanted gold borders - no other option would suffice and decisively chose the lightning bolt yardage from the stash shelves.  

I added the gold below his fabric as a binding option but later went ahead and ordered another yard of his fabric (the piece he pulled is only about 1/2 yard which isn't enough to meet his requirements).

He asked me to wait until he is here for two weeks in September (aside from school time) so that he could help with the process.  I suggested I go ahead and add the borders since that part is kind of boring but he quickly replied "NO, I want to help - I like spending time with you when we are working on a quilt."

That was more than good enough for me.

Side note - if you haven't read Mrs. Goodneedle's recent post about "ordinary times" and "everyday moments" please go read it (here).

And in preparation for today's first day of first grade, a new haircut was in order over the weekend.  He and his parents also went to an amazing outdoor splashdown event complete with a foam machine, water slides, etc., and caught an afternoon movie matinee.

* * *

DH is installing our new dishwasher today - it was delivered a week ago but along with LM being here DH had dental work done (pre-implant bone graft) that precluded the necessary contortions under our kitchen sink to hook up the connections.  

I am still catching up on stuff that was set aside, including most anything in the studio.

But it's all good -  everything will fall into place in due time. 

Quiltdivajulie

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"A day lived without doing something good for others is a day not worth living."

Mother Teresa