tinkering

Since last time I wrote here I have
: :  fixed the eyes, head, shoulder and back of a 30 year old doll that (who!) happens to be the most popular "baby" in the house
: :  grown hair on a cloth doll that had its moment of glory upon the transformation (she does not beat Corentaine, though)
: :  sew a pink elephant pillow that Leila cuddles every night
: :  knitted a pair of cabled arm warmers out of hand-died lambswool using a set of four double-pointed needle and a cable needle and got amazed at how doable it actually is thanks to this book. And then knitted another pair because Leila wanted one too (out of acrylic (junk), because there apparently is no wool-wool in our little town), and also a hat because there was actually a bit of wool and cotton thread left. For the hat I modified a free pattern found here.

and felt so grateful for the appreciation of my fiddling with wool and thread that I get around here.

and also...
: :  coped with one week without Cristiano and unsynchronized sleep between rebelling Coline and provocating Leila
: :  read this quote in a sewing book :

"be pleasant until ten o'clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself" 

(Elbert Hubbard, American philosopher, as it reads in the book "growing up sew liberated" found here)
: :  suddenly and firmly took on to manage my anger in the context of family, or in other words find an alternative to shouting at Leila however annoyed I may be.
: :  watched "Dark Shadows" by Tim Burton and had the best laughs in quite some time with Cristiano. He now understands why I like Johnny Depp so much.
: :  enjoyed walks in the botanical garden with Coline at such a pace that we can hear every bird, spot every butterfly, pick up leaves and seeds.
: : had ups and downs, felt inspired by friends and "Pinterest" and books and bloggers and all in all felt good about being fully involved in being part of my family.
: : walked and picnicked at the "parque do Itacolomi", our favorite green spot outside Ouro Preto.

Just soak it in warm water is what the doctor said we should do with Coline's cast after she had it on for 2 weeks. It sounded quite simple. It was not exactly a piece of cake but she had fun in the process and her arm is free again. She does not use it as much as she used to, and feels pain if pressure is applied, so we are watching it closely.

Since she is allowed to play in and under the water again, she is making the most of it and it is quite clear that the sound of rain on the roof is a call for us to take a walk outside. Just as others seek shelter, she rushes down the stairs to get her boots and raincoat. Except for that day when rain started on our way home. She refused to get inside or wear anything else that her dress and only decided to hold the umbrella because she liked the sound of raindrops on it. That day it made sense dancing in the rain anyway: five minutes earlier the air was so hot that she took off her nappy, lifter her dress and pressed her belly onto a fridge door. we were at the bakery.