Once Upon a Time Last Friday

Hello! Ola! It's me, Daniel. I want to tell you another story, Okay? Good! Ta bom!

Once upon a time last Friday it was very-very cold.  I came to my GiGi and HeyYea's house wearing a big fluffy coat with a big fat hood that covered my head. There was ice on the car and ice on the streets and ice on GiGi's garden.  That's really strange because in Brasil and south Texas the only place I've seen ice is from the freezer.

Anyway, I came to play with GiGi and HeyYea because they get lonely on Fridays and need my help. Papai said goodbye to HeyYea while I explored a tent that GiGi made under the table. There were books and pillows and a flashlight inside the table tent. I mostly liked the flashlight, so we crawled out and went to play in the big room.

There were these bright hearts on the cold glass. Red yellow blue green. They were cold too!

 

I put them all up high, because I'm a big boy.

 I asked, "Wanna' go outside?!" because we always play outside at GiGiHeyYea's house. "It's too cold," they both said. GiGi lifted me up to look out our bird-watching window.  She showed me the rain and the ice on our tree. "We'll stay inside."

Maybe they'll change their minds.
Wanna' go outside?!

 Since we couldn't go out, GiGi taught me how to take pictures with her camera for a little minute.

Here's me being still for a picture.



Here's a picture I took of HeyYea.

 Then I got really busy with my very most favorite thing. Can you guess what it is?

WHEELS!

Wheels up high in the sky.  Wheels on the table.
A truck book with wheels.  A train.
Wheels on a bridge.

HeyYea likes wheels too.

Fire truck.  Helicopter.  Orange car.  Green wagon.
See the green car with the man inside?  That's Daniel driving.

The green car is the best.
I drove it through the tunnel.
The Bitsy 'Pider was tall enough to be a tunnel too.

There's a big fire truck with a ladder,

and a little fire truck with a man inside.

 Mr. Potato Head was fun to play when HeyYea needed a break from all the wheels.

I'll tell you a secret.
Mr. Potato Head has a bunda.
(That's Portuguese for bottom.)

I helped HeyYea make Potato Head look like this.

 HeyYea has two very special cars. He lets me play with one of them every time I ask. I'm very careful cuidado. Today HeyYea shared his big car!

HeyYea's big car had front wheels that turn.

The doors and trunk opened up too.

It was awesome!

 When my GiGi started fixing my lunch, I came in the kitchen to help her.

I made rice.  I made pasta.

I made feijoa--that's beans in Portuguese.

Of course I helped GiGi wash things in the sink.

I like the faucet.

Two chairs (and lots of towels
make it just right for working.

 After all that work and helping HeyYea with wheels and Potato Head, I was really hungry.  Then I was really tired.  My GiGi gave me my little sheep Baa and my pacifier that I call Pah. She zipped me into a suit that she called a blanket sleeper and we snuggled in the rocker.

Like we always do, she read Goodnight Moon. Today, I could barely keep my eyes open when the quiet old lady was whispering "Hush."  It was one "Jesus Loves Me," one "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and I was out. I think  heard GiGi sing one more song about Jesus' names in my dreams.  "Master . . . Savior . . . Jesus.  Like the fragrance after the rain."

With Baa and Pah and my blanket sleeper, I took a nap for 3 hours! (I had to catch up a little because lately I don't like to take a nap at school.)

It was such a cold day that, when I woke up, GiGi had cooked some warm cinnamon apples for my frutinha snack.


Yumm!  I also had a honey almond flax bar
that we call duro because it's very chewy.
I like to chew como ratinho-like a little mouse.

 



We had some time left to read Curious George before we drove home to Mamae and Papai. There were a few more games GiGi and HeyYea wanted to play too.

Here's a fun puzzle.
I spent lots of time helping GiGi fit
straws, pipe cleaners, and shiny puffy balls
into those holes.

HeyYea blew ping pong balls out of this tube.
They bonked me on my tummy, and we all laughed.

 And of course, I had to ask GiGi to get the vacuum out. And the broom with the red handle. And the broom with the yellow handle.  Grown-ups can be so messy, and I was there to help.

See my light-up shoes?

 No matter how many times I asked, it was never warm enough to go play outside that Friday. But it was a cozy good day inside at GiGiHeyYea's house.

Busy, busy, busy!

Bye Bye!  Tchau Tchau!

See you later!  The End.

Snow People Tutorial

This has been one of the most fun projects I've done in a while.  A little addictive, I have to warn you.  This is a great way to use those mysterious single socks.  By the time you purchase a 12-pack of men's tube socks and find some pairs of crew or ankle socks that make you smile, you may be hooked too.

The idea came from a Better Homes and Gardens website: Cute Sock Snowman with a few modifications.

You will need:

1. Men's white tube sock/s (one sock can make 2 snow people bodies)
2. Decorative crew or ankle sock/s (one sock yields 1 sweater and 1 cap)
3. Scissors
4. Needle and white thread
5. Colored jute twine
6. Hot-glue gun loaded
7. Felt scraps in black (for eyes) and assorted colors (for scarves)
8. Hole punch
9. Tiny buttons, jingle bells, pompoms, etc.
10. Orange chenille sticks
11. Thin wire cutters or utility scissors (to cut chenille sticks)**I can still hear my mother saying, "You'll ruin my scissors if you cut that with them!"
12. RICE, RICE, and more RICE
13. To make it easier (though not necessary):

          Tweezers (to apply hot glue to eyes)
          Canning funnel (to fill socks with rice)



You'll need up to 5 cups of rice for each snowman--
especially the long, tall ones.

Thin colored jute twine (from another project) worked well.

Eyes can be made from black felt with a hole punch.
[safer alternative for toddler people?]

Or eyes can be tiny black buttons.

Tube socks for bodies, top of crew socks for sweaters,
crew sock toes for hats

Canning funnel kept the rice going in the right direction.

You know how hot glue melts your fingers?!
Yep, that's why I found my tweezers.

Use felt scraps for scarves.

Now that all your materials are gathered, time to play!
1.  Cut tube sock in two pieces.  Turn the tubes inside-out.  With knotted double thread on the needle, gather one end of a tube and stitch securely.

If you use the toe end of the tube sock,

Gather the toe end below any decoration
and stitch into a tight bunch.

Remember to stitch wrong-side-out.
Then turn it right-side-out.
This makes the bottom of the snowman.

If you use the top part of the tube sock,
gather up the cut end of the tube and stitch
to make the bottom of the snowman.

Doesn't matter if you use the top or the bottom of the sock,
you still get a nice snowman body.
Experiment with the length.
I found that I liked my snow people a little shorter.

2.  Fill the sewn sock body with rice until it's plump and stretchy.  For a longer sock body, it may take 5 cups of rice or more.  Tap the bottom of your snowman on a flat surface to allow rice to settle and plump up.


You'll use lots more rice than you would imagine.

When you think it's full enough,
tap the rice-filled tube on a flat surface
to settle it.  Then add some more.

You'll want that little body to be plump,
with enough room (~2") at the top
to stitch shut.

3.  Again with thread doubled and knotted on the needle, gather up the top of the tube and stitch securely closed.  No rice should escape if you've stitched it tight.

The tube sock top has a finished edge
that may be a little thicker to stitch,
but I like the texture of the body.

The tube sock bottom/toe end
has a cut end to stitch closed.
Make sure to leave ~2" to close.

4.  For sweater, cut top of crew sock straight across just above the heel.  For hat, cut toe/foot of crew sock straight across just below the heel.

This makes a tall cap and sweater.



You might decide to mix some of the sock tops and toes.

If you cut the toe portion a little shorter,
it makes a smaller cap--just as cute.

5.  To dress your snowman, pull the sock top/sweater over the snowman body from the bottom; situate it so that a little white shows from the bottom, and enough white shows at the top for the head.  Squeeze the body at the bottom edge of the sweater, letting the rice distribute itself for the snowman base.  Tie a length of jute twine around the bottom of the sweater. 

This long-bodied snowman will have
3 parts--a base, a body, and a head.

Tie jute twine in a double knot, then a bow.

6.  I prefer a two-segment snowman, like this:

Just tie the twine around the top of the sweater,
and your snowman is a squatty body.

7.  Caps come next.  There are two ways to secure the hat in place.  Take it from me, the hat needs to be very well attached, because most people will pick it up by the hat.

If you left a bit of sock above the stitching,
you now have a nice little anchor on which to tie your snowman's cap.

Pull the hat all the way down so you can find
the sock 'anchor' underneath.

Tie the cap together with its sock anchor securely with a tight double knot.
Finish with a bow--or not.
No need to glue.

If you're using the long stocking cap,
or don't have enough of an anchor underneath,

you'll need to apply a bead of hot glue like this.

Quickly place the hat over the glue
and hold in place to set.
Tie a double knot with jute twine on the top
for decoration.

8.  How about some eyes and noses?!

The best noses are chenille strips
cut to about 3/4" to 1" long to start.

Bend the clipped piece until completely doubled over.

Put a dab of hot glue on the cut ends
and insert the nose into the sock just a tad if possible.

Unless you have asbestos fingers, it helps to use tweezers
when applying the tiniest dab of hot glue to the eyes.
If you have a hole punch and scrap of black felt,
make your own eyes.
If not, craft stores usually carry tiny black buttons that work.

9.  Embellish your snowman with a jingle bell, pompoms, or a felt scarf if you want.
BTW--the scarf does not take the place of the jute twine used to tie and shape the neck.  It goes on top.

Scarves:  cut a strip of felt about 1 1/2" to 2" wide.
Before you cut the length--try tying the scarf in place.
You may be surprised how long it needs to be.
When you've determined and cut the length, snip ends to make 'fringe.'
Tie scarf in place, securing with a drop of hot glue underneath.

Cozy and red.

Clothes make the snowman!

Glitter pom is just the right accessory.

Armed for a snowball fight, if he just had arms?!

Jingle bell is tied on with a double knot.

This would be a great winter craft to do with children.  An adult/child team would be best for those who can't yet thread and use a sharp needle or handle a hot-glue gun.

Consider using plastic pellets in place of rice for a permanent snowman.  Otherwise, I suggest emptying the rice and not storing the plump snow people.  (Who wants to invite rice weevils to the attic?)

Better yet, why not stuff the snow people with some fancy rice and give as a gift with a pair of scissors and cooking directions?


To see my gallery of snow people, check this.