Proofing the House

For about two months now, Tua has been advancing both in skill and bravery when it comes to stairs. When the stairway was completed last year, we figured that we had a good two years before we would have to worry about child-proofing. As the pictures below will show, we have already had to come up with a solution for keeping the climber at bay. Today, we created a ceiling newel out of an old barn rafter. This is the vertical piece which rises from stair 3 (visible below. Into this will run both the handrail (from the top of the stairway) and the gate (across stair 3). If all goes according to plan, this should keep Tua from unauthorized ascensions.





Tua, Bug and Tua's favorite book.

Mood Music

We had just sat down to a quiet evening meal of with just the three of us. Louis Armstong was on the radio and just to show Tua how fun eating potatoes, peas and carrots is, our plates were filled with potatoes, peas and carrots. She showed very little interest in the food itself. She was completetly enamored however, with Satchmo, turning her eyes to the sounds every so often and smiling when the rythym accellerated. We caught the following clip of Tua doing her best impression of the evening's music.

Costumes and Curtains

First Flurry

Snow always seems to fall lightly in November. It usually accompanies a high blustry wind and it generally never accumulates to much of any amount. Today there are a few flurries of snow in the air. I have counted 5 vehicles outfitted with snow plows and I heard no less than 10 rumors of an impending open day for Killington, the higher slopes of which are already covered with several inches of snow.

Since our last post, Bug and Tua have returned from the heartland, Seth has finished the bookshelves, and Tua has acquired two additional teeth. We'll post some pictures shortly of the latest adventure, one which involves the completed curtain detail.

Office Help

Tua was helping out her grandfather in the office when these shots were taken. What fun all the new objects were. Among her favorites were the paper clips and the pencils. The paper clips appealed to her as a fashion accessory. The pencils just tasted good and were fun to drop.

Gjush & GiGi

By now most of you know of our connection to Albania via Bug's folks David and Sarah, through their mission, Planters Seed Foundation (see link above under prayer requests). Therefore, it was no surprise to us when they offered their new titles as grandparents to be in the Albanian vernacular. Below are some great shots taken by Bug of Tua with her Gjush and GiGi, by now two of her most favorite people in the world.