Plymouth: Indiana Gavin and the Dogs of DOOM

Posted on 2018/11/11 by circuskitchen

Sunday, November 11th 2018

What a terrifying close encounter we had today!

2018-11-11 Indiana Gavin and the Dogs of DOOM [28 seconds]:

#lol!

Honestly this may be the most favorite video I’ve made since Froot Loops.

♥

Posted in animals, childhood, comedy, evidence they get along, family, health, love, making art, mental health, nature, Performing Life | 1 Comment

Plymouth: Five or More Beasts of Knotty Pines

Posted on 2018/11/11 by circuskitchen

Saturday, November 11th 2018

My sister Liz keeps some pretty fabulous company down in Plymouth, Mass.

2018-11-11 Five or More Beasts of Knotty Pines [1:09]:

 

Here is a 34 second version of same:

2018-11-11 Five Knotty Pine Beasts [34 seconds]:

 

The question remains; is more than five enough?

😸

Posted in animals, art, comedy, evidence they get along, family, food, health, love, nature | Leave a comment

At Rise: Very Stupid

Posted on 2018/11/10 by circuskitchen

Saturday, November 10th 2018

delete cat-fart

 

AT RISE:  Mom is snuggling the children to bed in dark, peaceful, cozy quietude.

All:  [Quiet & peaceful.]

Mom:  Oh!  you guys;  [Pause.]  *Pffffft.*  [Fart noise.]

ClaraJane:  Mom, du-uh!  We know that.  You’ve said that millions of times!

Mom:  Oh sorry, my bad.  [Pause, stifling a laugh.]  What’s it like having a mom who is less mature than you are?

ClaraJane:  VERY STUPID.

 SCENE. 

♥

Posted in childhood, comedy, family, forgiveness, health, love, making art, mental health, music, nature, parenthood, Performing Life, Secret Juggler, siblings | Leave a comment

Frank’s with Pops & Zachary

Posted on 2018/11/09 by circuskitchen

Friday, November 9th 2018

@Frank’s Steakhouse, Cambridge MA

Lucky us; dinner with Pops!

 

Pops can still hold off his 15 y/o nephew… for now!

 

OMG these two cousins:

I had no idea until I scrutinized these photos how much they make the same faces.

 

ClaraJane was a bit of a hot mess this evening.  As a calming effort Gavin offered to braid her hair.   To be honest I feel this goes beyond “Evidence They Get Along.”

 

Here they are thinking about desert together.  Sometimes the depth and breadth of our privileges makes it hard to hold back tears.

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OMG the plates upon plates of feast we feast upon. Seriously there is nothing I know of I ever did to deserve such riches.

 

And the requisite VIDEO version of the evening of course, for posterity.  Sacred in the (purported) “Mundane” you know…

2018-11-09 Frank’s with Pops and Zachary [27 seconds]: 

 

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”     ~Karl Barth

♥

Posted in childhood, comedy, cousins, evidence they get along, family, food, Friendship, grandparenthood, health, love, money, parenthood, patience | 1 Comment

ClaraJane In & Out of Rollerskates

Posted on 2018/11/09 by circuskitchen

Friday, November 9th 2018

Normal lately is my daughter rollerskating all around overtly whistling.

This afternoon she showcased yet another couple of tricks.

2018-11-09 ClaraJane In & Out of Rollerskates [14 seconds]:

 

del wow png

♥

Posted in childhood, comedy, domestic life, evidence they get along, faith, health, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

You Know When Pops is Coming Cuz He’s Here

Posted on 2018/11/08 by circuskitchen

Thursday, November 8th 2018

Sometimes we’re not sure when Grandpa Pops is going to arrive when he visits us from Minnesota.  Today we have a pretty good hunch.  And when I mentioned this to the kids there was much rejoicing.

The Grandpa Pops Dance

♥♥♥

Posted in childhood, comedy, evidence they get along, family, grandparenthood, health, love, siblings, travel, work-life balance | Leave a comment

LEARNING TO JUGGLE with Jenny

Posted on 2018/11/08 by circuskitchen

November 8th 2018

del balls.jpg

Among other things I have fallen in love with teaching juggling.  Today in fact I had the best teaching session I’ve ever had; with my son and about 20 of his classmates!  It is adorable how these 4th and 5th graders responded to my positive reward system of stickers.  It is so endearing when big kids can still be kids.  (Even the tough ones who are too cool got into it, according to their teacher.)  I can hardly wait for our next session.

For posterity here is my working curriculum.

Learning to Juggling with Jenny - JPG 1 of 2

Learning to Juggling with Jenny - JPG 2 of 2

All skills must start somewhere, such as at The Very Beginning perchance.  To be sure, the hardest thing is to get people to isolate one single throw of one single ball.  The self-regulation required is rarely automatic.  And that is why I call it the IMPOSSIBLE Challenge.

Remember:  Growth Mindset!

 

♥♣♦

Posted in art, childhood, education, health, learning, love, making art, mental health, patience, Performing Life, school, Secret Juggler, work-life balance | 1 Comment

Gillum, Abrams, Beto

Posted on 2018/11/07 by circuskitchen
Wednesday, November 7th 2018

My son’s first question this morning, “Did the Democrats gain a majority?”

Well… in half of Congress we did (the House).  So there is hope yet.

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Andrew Gillum (FL), Stacey Abrams (GA) & Beto O’Rourke (TX)

And though I am seriously bummed about Beto O’Rourke losing his Senate campaign to a human piece of slime (immigrant-hating immigrant Rafael Cruz) in TEXAS, Andrew Gillum losing to a revolting racist in FLORIDA, and corrupt ballot manipulation against Stacey Abrams in GEORGIA… (whose race is still TBD) there is a fair amount of good news.

To celebrate:

Furthermore:

img_9548

OK so this should be fun.

And in the “Sayonara” Department:  

Pardon my french, mais s’il vous plait aller tout le chemin de l’enfer.

And let’s keep in mind:

I think of U.S. as a modern Titanic and there is some hope of turning it around.

del money titanic

Or as Samantha Bee puts it;

That went ok!

That Went Ok! | November 7, 2018 Act 1 | Full Frontal on TBS [8:49]:

 

 

img_9540

Not a perfect graphic but pretty damn great. For now.

♠

Posted in activism, border family separation, education, fight, fighting Fascism, health, history, money, patience, politics, racial injustice, Religious Hypocrisy, social justice, The Progressive Movement, work | 1 Comment

Voting Day 2018

Posted on 2018/11/06 by circuskitchen

Election Day – Tuesday, November 6th 2018

Voting Day itself was so enjoyable this year.  For a split second We-the-Constituents get to put our hands on the steering wheel.  It reminded me of July 2016 when I was filled with hope for Bernie Sanders’ nomination.  #Possibility!

I enjoyed delegating my Civic Responsibilities to Child Labor:

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Meanwhile the internet was bursting with a downright celebratory mood, as people from all corners posted pictures of themselves wearing their “I Voted” stickers.

This friend here [L] made a “VOTE” collage with her kids and dog, while this one over here [R] shared this amazing shot of her daughters (whom I adore) as suffragettes!

Q: When will Kentucky stop shitting on us with this McConnell Scourge?

 

Then there was this “Me in 2016 vs. 2018” trend, with one friend featuring her own daughter [R].

And also my super engaged, super pissed fellow liberal mom right here [L].

Come to find out my husband’s uncle was even running in his local county:

 

Overall a very unifying feeling of a day.

Although of course you can’t win them all:

My friend and colleague, Yo Joe What a Guy.

♥♠

Posted in activism, Bernie Sanders, education, faith, fight, fighting Fascism, history, parenthood, patience, politics, racial injustice, social justice, The Progressive Movement, work | Tagged | Leave a comment

Riding the Blue Wave to VICTORY!!!

Posted on 2018/11/05 by circuskitchen

Monday, November 5th 2018

OK so tomorrow’s the BIG DAY!

Ready team??

We GOT THIS!!!

Or as Saturday Night Live puts it;

Midterm Ad – SNL [1:50]:

 

#ThanksSNL!

♠♣

Posted in activism, art, Bernie Sanders, comedy, education, faith, fight, fighting Fascism, history, mental health, money, patience, politics, social justice, Socialism?, The Progressive Movement, work, work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment