Making Valentines

Ben is learning to write his name (he's only been at it for 2 or 3 days-- look at his progress!). We spent the afternoon making Valentines for Ben's daycare Valentines party on Thursday. He wrote his name on the back of all of the hearts & did some of the cutting and gluing as well. His favorite job was peeling the backs from the foam heart stickers and putting them on the Valentines for the finishing touch. We had a great time & we're so proud of how well he's doing with his name writing! :)

Play in the snow

Exhausted and HOME

Jay arrived home shortly before 4am this morning. He had a long (and turbulent) flight from the DR to NY, then a layover followed by delay. He finally got on the flight and made it to Portland in the middle of a white-out. Traffic was traveling at 25 south of Topsham so it took him a while to make it home. But he's HERE! He's sleeping in the barn (smart) and Ben and I anxiously await his wake-up so we can visit with him and hear all about his trip! Thanks again for all the thoughts while he was away. It sure is nice that the snow held off for the entire time he was gone! :)

On his way home

Jay is scheduled to leave Santo Domingo, DR later this afternoon and arrive in Portland (via a layover in NY) around 11:30pm tonight. I hear we're supposed to get some snow, but am hoping this won't slow down his travels at all. If all goes according to plan, Jay will arrive back in Winthrop early, early tomorrow morning! Yay! :)

Jay's DR trip

Jay is still in the Dominican Republic, scheduled to be home late Sunday evening. From emails I've gotten from him, all is well with his Yestermorrow crew. They are on the Semana Peninsula, which is on the north east border of the DR, while the earthquake hit Port-au-Prince Haiti, on the south part of the island. According to Jay, they didn't feel any of the actual earthquake where he is located. I am uncertain as to how any of the aftermath may have affected them, though I don't think it has. I have not spoken to him on the phone since the earthquake, but continue to receive emails telling me all is well.

What a sad and devastating event this earthquake is for the people and the country of Haiti. Please consider donating to the Red Cross in an effort to help victims of the earthquake.

Hanging Out

Here's Ben with his newest kitty- Gilbert. Good thing Gilbert likes a lot of attention.
Ben loves to be outside & spent a good hour crawling around in the snow (eating a lot of it) during the last big snow storm.
And B got a new Adirondack chair for Christmas that he loves to hang out in. :)

7 1/2 months pregnant.

Christmas in Florida. Talk about a *white* belly! :)

Ben at Christmas in 'Tween Waters, Captiva Island, FL

Ben was brave enough to sit on Santa's lap (I think it was the candy cane bribe) and smiled for the picture even. He loved the 'Tween Waters Express and wished he could get a ride on it (though it didn't move). The lights and decorations at 'Tween Waters were really something else, but photos wouldn't do the scene justice...

On the beach

Mumma getting buried in the sand

Ben getting buried in the sand

7 1/2 months preggers

Jewett Family Christmas

We went to Florida for Christmas this year. Here are two family photos of us at 'Tween Waters on Captiva Island.

Christmas Tree

Ben helping Pops get the tree ready

Gilbert under the tree

Ben and Jay decorating our funny-shaped tree. We love it!

Concrete Countertops

As most of you probably gathered, Jay and I are making our own concrete countertops for our kitchen. We attended a weekend-long workshop at Yestermorrow in Vermont this summer and learned the process. Well, the time has come! I'm tired of washing our dishes in the bathroom sink, and am very much looking forward to a countertop in the kitchen as well as a dishwasher. Last weekend we did our first piece of countertop-- photos to follow.

The prep for the whole process is quite time-consuming. We decided to start with a free-standing piece (a stand-alone countertop that is the espresso/coffee bar). The process: measure cubic inches of the space (we did 1.5" thick countertops), figure out cubic feet, and figure out how much weight (in lbs) the concrete mixture needs to be to adequately fill that space. Once total weight is figured, the total has to be divided into 4 parts: aggregate, sand, concrete (including the weight of the dye-- we used jet black), and water... All those parts need to be weighed out and, once the mold is ready, mixed.

Getting the mold ready was mostly Jay's department, as I'm the calculations guru (apparently). The mold needs to be made on the plexiglass surface, so the whole thing is kind of sandwiched down. The edges of the mold are measured and screwed down into the table to keep the whole thing in place. The table needs to be sturdy enough to hold all of the weight (our first piece was close to 200 lbs, and that's a fairly small piece), and level so that when the piece sets it too is level... The photos help give a better idea. As I mentioned, Jay could give pages of detail about making the mold...

1st pour (part 1)

The mold is on the table & Jay is prepping everything (which is the most time consuming part of the process). Plexiglass is the surface that the mold is placed on, so top of counter will be smooth...

Mixing the concrete:
So, we decided it was worth it to rent a cement mixer for future projects. It was HARD work for Jay and took a lot of the energy that was needed to 'mallet' the table & vibrate the mixture once it was poured. Jay was a machine this day).

1st pour (part 2)

Here is the form with scoopfuls of concrete mixture added. After this, Jay and I (with Ben's help) used rubber mallets to vibrate the table. This causes the mixture to settle in and air bubbles to rise to the top, so the top surface (which is actually the bottom of the mold) is smooth.

The concrete is all poured, with metal supports added half-way through. The bottom surface (which is the top in the photo) has been smoothed and troweled (is that a verb?). Now to sit and set...

Here's the finished piece (minus sealant) in all it's glory. We learned a lot about the process, and are hoping to continue to improve our techniques. You can see the glossy surface of the countertop- that's all due to the vibrating of the mixture and the careful prep of the plexiglass prior to pouring in the concrete. So no, our countertops will not look like a sidewalk. ;-)

Another new kitten

Jay thought that our Ragdoll kitty, Marley, needed a friend so he brought Gilbert home. Gilbert was named by Ben (as was Marley) and is definitely Ben's kitty. Gilbert is ALL kitten and both kitties spend the night in the basement (thank goodness we HAVE a basement now!) so that the rest of us can get some sleep. I really didn't know how much trouble a little couple-pound cat could get into, but it's quite stunning. It's a good thing he's so darn cute.
It was touch and go for the first couple of days as to whether Marley was going to allow the new addition, but the two kitties play hard together and seem to be friends now.

Things that make you go huh...

My friend Kirsten lent me this "Bumbo" chair to use (for the Baby)...
Benjamin found it this morning and discovered a whole world of entertainment when he stripped off his pants to sit in the chair...
Boys will be boys...

Edisto Island

I was lucky enough to go on a short get-away to Edisto Island, South Carolina this past weekend with my mom. One of Mom's friend's has a beach house there and I went for 3+ days. It was absolutely beautiful and just what I needed. I read, ate, knitted, walked the beach, and slept. Of course I missed my boys and was happy to get back home, but it was a really great get-away (thanks, Mum!!)...
The second picture is of me sitting on the beach, watching the sunrise...

Renovations

These two pics show the new dining/living area. The orange half-wall and yellow walls are the kitchen...

Benny loving his baby brother or sister

Jay caught a great scene of Ben giving his baby brother or sister a kiss...
He's gonna be the best big brother ever! ;)

My Little Photographer

Pretty serious about taking a photo of his Mum. Check out the tongue. That's his usual expression when he's really concentrating.