What I did during my school vacation - an essay!

Joyfully, the week began with a Valentine's Day party with our special SCA families - calzones, pizzas, two salads and a heart shaped white chocolate cake with strawberry icing. Yumm. Both the food and the company. Don't forget the pretty handmade valentines.

We started off the week with a couple surprise visitors and a sale, unusual for us in winter because the skiers rather be on the slopes. Then on Wednesday we had a flower doll workshop with Zoe and Eva. Very special doll maker friends.We designed and embroidered and chose fabrics and took a lunch break. Then we washed our hands and sewed our creations together and stuffed them. Aren't they fantastic? Did we forget this was the day that Olive View image came back for her second vacation? She loved the girls because she has two girls who love her too, but they are in Florida and she is our girl for ten days. Silvio reunited with her instantaneously with a kiss through her carrier door, and the rest is mellow time. Yes, there is evidence of run-throughs where rugs are turned up, but generally, it is a good report to her family. Thursday is always homeschool day for Grammie and Poppy. Up and at 'em for the hour and a half road trip, arriving with mom multitasking with five children and a sixth fast on his little feet. We do science and social studies but first listen to readers, enforce grammar lessons and do flash cards. They devoured a veggie pizza and then onto our projects - a timeline on George Washington and some portraits. At recess Grammie was doing notes, Poppy was capturing the snowballs and smiles, and the children were collecting grasses, twigs, dirt to build a bird's nest. We added hair from our various heads (including Silvio's but not Beatrice's) and dryer lint. We added a couple strings of dental floss into the mud since birds do not have a sense of smell. Shiloh and Samuel checked on the green bean seeds we planted a week ago, and those in eggshells sprouted versus those simply planted in the egg carton. We returned home exhausted but smarter! Friday we had another workshop here at the Gallery. Kai and Bella came to finish theirDecorator Dollies started at Bella's birthday party in the company of Grandma Diana. She'll be proud. This family is our neighbor at the Quechee Hot Air Balloon Festival and we can't wait to be together again. Kai's "Lew" had handcut black squares to make the hunting jacket. I asked him to eat a graham cracker in the shape of a gun to add to his hunter! Pizza, chocolate chip cookies and hugs. Joyful. Late hat afternoon we took an hour walk on our favorite Main Street and picked up a Yankee magazine to design our ad, a birthday journal for Margie, and a fan for spreading the warmth from the woodstove into the kitchen. Saturday we opened up and cleaned our heritage room View image (the old Bundle showroom) for the season and lit off a cozy fire. Bonnie, Lew, Silvio and Olive all enjoyed dinner and the evening together, finally catching some Olympic moments. Did you say this was a vacation? Weren't we in Arizona recently?