AUSTIN'S MINI-MAKER-FAIRE

Today we met up with the kids in Austin for an event that was just so...well...so Austin! (although I'm sure they probably have them in other cities as well) When Lex first asked me if we wanted to go, I thought she was talking about a craft fair of some sort, where people sell stuff, but it was not that at all. Instead, it's where you go to experience things, and make some yourself. Here is a very small sampling of those experiences:

You could ride a bat bike...

or a, well, I'm not sure what this is, but it looks fun!

You could see a 3-D printer in action...

or a MakerBot Replicator.

You could learn how to build your own Tiny House...

build something from Legos...

try your hand at felting, spinning, or screen printing...

or even fly a drone!

There were robots to play with, all kinds of fun summer camps to sign up for, and even some pretty cool stuff to buy, such as neat little electronic kits, and these wonderful True Beauty dolls, which started out as those garish Bratz dolls, but were refurbished to look more like actual little girls. I love them so much!

Last, but certainly not least, there was this:

I finally got to try me some Kimchi Fries and Bulgogi Tacos, and they were goooood!

All I can say is, why didn't they have one of these maker faires when my kids were younger! If you missed it today, live anywhere in the Austin area, and have a kid, or one you can borrow, you really need to head over the Palmer Event Center tomorrow to check it out for yourself. If you do, be sure to say hi to our Alexis, who should be volunteering somewhere in the fiber arts section.

P.S. Won't be able to blog for the next few days, but never fear. I'll be back!

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD

Had to get up early to hide eggs for the kids...

Happy Easter ever-buddy!
 

IS THERE ANYTHING MORE FUN...

than a big ol' pile of dirt?

 
I think not!

SUPER BOWL TIME IS THE VERY BEST FOR...

getting uninterrupted time at one's art table!

So last night I decided to pull out this...

and get to work!

I also did a bit more research on the interwebs...

and according to Google, Sudanese brides...

• usually hibernate at home with their female relatives for a least a month leading up to the wedding. During that time they are scrubbed, massaged, "smoked", pampered and transformed for the big day.
• are decorated with henna and scented with perfumes and incense which the women may gather to make and apply at perfume and/or henna parties.
• wear red for good luck
• sometimes learn up to 100 dance steps or routines, which they then perform in front of a large group of women. This bridal dancing, or Sobheya , may involve as many as four costume changes.
• Dokhan (the getting smoked part) is a tradition where, every day for at least a month, the bride-to-be spends a bit of time wrapped in a tent-like robe while seated on a special chair over burning Taleh (fragrant ember-wood) in order to make her skin glow, among other things.

 
Hurray for the Super Bowl!

TEA PEOPLE

 
Hubby and I do not drink coffee. For some reason, we just never acquired a taste for it. Kind of odd, when you think about it, since we each grew up in households where both parents loved it. Nope, we're tea people. Which is why our drawers and cabinets are filled with stuff like this...

and this...

and this.

Our daughter Lex is a tea person as well, and that is why she and I are celebrating her birthday with the High Tea at Full English today, and were so excited to hear that this was coming to Austin. We also enjoyed attending several episodes of this at the Lakeline Alamo Drafthouse. My boss in Bahrain once told me that I could not really be American, if I did not like coffee. Which makes it even odder still that our Lexi managed to marry into a whole family of American tea people!

Strangest of all, however, is the fact that, despite being surrounded by all this tea accoutrement his entire life, our son Austin turned out to be a coffee person. And not just a latte-lovin' pseudo coffee person either. He's the kind who loves everything from shots of espresso, to cups of freshly ground French-pressed café, and even Turkish coffee -- the kind that is so strong and thick it can stand on its own!

Which is turning out to be a good thing, since his fiancé Areej comes from a very long line of coffee people. Young Austin was most appreciative when her aunt went to the trouble to roast and grind her own coffee beans, then blend them with a variety of aromatic spices, in order to brew the perfect cup of Sudanese coffee just for him.

Here's to finding not only your soulmate, but also your true beveragemate!

OUR BIGGEST ADVENTURE YET

As you know, we just finished up with one child's wedding, and now we're on to the next one!  Well, make that next two. Austin and Areej have already set a date in early October, booked a country venue between Dripping Springs and Austin, and started interviewing caterers (they are leaning towards Middle Eastern food), so I was feeling pretty laid back about it all. But then Areej got word through a third party that her maternal relatives, who all still live in Sudan, were a bit distraught over there not being a traditional Sudanese wedding first. Soooo, it was decided that there would be two weddings -- one in Khartoum this summer, followed by one here in Texas in October. With that bit of news, my anxiety level zoomed from negligible to off the chart. And, it's not just my hubby's health issues, the difficulty of air travel in general, much less traveling to a place that even Lonely Planet is warning people away from, and obtaining all the necessary visas and immunizations. No, it's mostly the fact that I love my daughter-in-law to be, and want to be the best guest possible, not doing anything to embarrass or horrify her and her family.

You see, I'm a firm believer in that old adage "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." But, one must always remember that it's a two-way street. It doesn't just apply to visitors and immigrants coming here to the U.S. You can't demand that everyone here try to speak English, and adapt to our customs, if you're not willing to put forth that same effort when you travel abroad. Believe it or not, the American way of doing things isn't the only way, or even always the best way. It never ceases to amaze me how many Americans claim that "French people are so rude!", when they've never been anything but friendly and helpful to us. On our last trip there, however, it finally clicked.  On more than one occasion I saw a belligerent American in a French restaurant getting disgruntled because the food wasn't done the way he was used to back home -- the salad had some "weird" lettuce in it other than iceberg, or they brought him sparkling water instead of flat. To make things worse, "that stupid waiter couldn't even understand plain English!" This person's solution? Just get louder and more obnoxious until the "moron" finally figures out what you want. But it's the waiter who was "rude and haughty", right? In my humble opinion, if you want everything to be just like it is back home, then Just. Stay. Home!

Me, well, I try really, really hard not to be "The Ugly American", which is why I've already started doing research for our trip to Sudan. When I was having lunch with the muses the other day, I was stressing out over what kind of clothes would be appropriate for the trip in general, but most especially for a Sudanese wedding, which can go on for several days.  That's when Fiber Woman asked "why don't you just google 'what to wear to a Sudanese wedding?'" Hmmmm, why didn't I think of that? Well, I did that just this morning, and not only did I find a plethora of photos, I also found myself checking the source of each photo, which led me to at least a dozen blogs which might hold helpful information. I already found this one link which had a marvelous description of a traditional Sudanese wedding celebration.

In the meantime, I was killing time just walking around the mall in Austin the other day, waiting for a movie to start, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted these.

It was the luscious colors that grabbed my attention, but when I went over for a closer look, it got me to thinkin'.

What better to cover my bare arms and hair with, in the heat of an African summer, than a whisper-thin scarf/shawl like this? Especially when you consider that I already own a long black sheath dress, almost identical to the one upon which these were displayed!

And, just like that, I'm suddenly breathing just a wee bit easier, feeling a tad less anxious about this whole "adventure." Baby steps, right?

But wait, there's more! On the way home it occurred to me that maybe I should have a special journal for this very special adventure -- not just for a record of what happens once we get there, but also for all my thoughts, worries, and research leading up to the big event. Well, guess what I spotted as soon as I walked into the house, sitting atop a small pile of Christmas gifts that I hadn't yet found a place for?

This!

Ah Synchronicity, how I do love thee!

ALL IS BRIGHT!

I was mulling over yesterday's post, wondering just how I would complete it today, when I came across a throw pillow or something which said "All is calm, all is bright." Suddenly I realized that those two phrases perfectly described the contrast in Hubby's and my Christmas styles, and that I simply had to go back and change the title of yesterday's post! To give you an example of what I'm talking about, this is what greeted us yesterday morning, before the sun was even up.

The two newest members of the family couldn't quite understand why they had to be dragged out of bed at such an early hour, but we had a whooooole lotta prezzies to open before we could even think about starting breakfast.

Austin may be used to the Christmas Morning Crazies, but he'd never manage it without coffee!

And, when I say "a lot"...

I mean a LOT.

Most of which were bought my Mr. Claus, who always begins shopping mid-summer.  But, before we can open prezzies, we have to do stockings!

This entire chair full is what he considers to be "a filled stocking."

The kids pretty much tear through their stuff, but I like to take my time, watching to see what each person opens.

It just ain't Christmas without goofy robes, right?

The Wedding "Tattoos" Become Full-Sized Art

Usually I'm barely getting started on my stocking when they're ready to hand out packages, and barely getting started on those when someone whines "Hurry up Mom, we're starving!"

This year, instead of the usual mass of bacon, eggs and sweetrolls cooked up by Big Daddy, Lex suggested a Bavarian-Style Brunch Buffet (assorted breads, cheeses, black forest ham, gourmet jams, honey, soft-boiled eggs served in egg cups, and a few pretty pastries from Sugar Shack). Quick to assemble, easy to clean up, and oh so yummy! But I was only halfway through that when hubby said "Time to get dressed, if we're gonna beat the crowds to see Into the Woods!"

The kids are accustomed to going to an afternoon movie on Christmas day, but what they didn't know was that a brand new movie theater opened recently in nearby Kyle -- one that also contains a restaurant, bar, bowling alley, and arcade! After the movie, when the kids thought we were headed out to our cars, Hubby paused at the entrance to the arcade and said "Oh yeah, hold on a minute, I forgot something." He then handed them each a ten dollar bill and told them to "go have fun." And they did!

Just like old times! Especially when it came time to cash in their tickets, and Lex was miffed because she didn't have enough for "anything good!" Hubby's still giggling about that.

Can you believe this is the same guy who used to go around saying "Bah, humbug!" when we first got married, and thought stockings were just for little kids?

Now comes the fun part -- deciding what to get rid of from our already chock-full closets and shelves, to make room for all the new stuff!