Little Big Planet 2

November 16th. It is coming!


I believe in gaming, and the benefits of play. I believe Little Big Planet is a phenomenal tool that leads passive entertainment into a fantastic realm of cognitive processing, three dimensional thinking, and interactive engagement with media. Plus it is totally fun.

I believe this will call for a Big Screen Party!

Yay! Thank you for commenting Laura Jane. I was afraid I finally scared everyone off!

I meet a lot of people that completely dismiss video games, mostly as time wasters or promoters of violence. Video games can be both time wasters and senselessly violent, but I think a lot entertainment-hobbies can be guilty of that. What amuses me is that so many people fail to see that video games are not going away, and they are not mindless or insignificant...

Little Big Planet really is amazing. The game is a tool, that gives the players the resources to create other games within the game, to design levels, characters, and to engineer inventions that behave and respond with real physics.

And it is SteamPunk friendly, because it is about creating with materials on hand, and seeing the possibilities in those materials... making something new, something useful, simply beautiful, or all three. It takes strategy, and it challenges the gamer to think ahead and visualize how things fit together, and what components will do when they are put together.

My children have created robots, puzzles, locks, vehicles, mechanical mazes... and every part of their creations are so intricate and purposefully designed, because they have to be to work, and because the game allows for elaborate design. The game developers celebrate the contributions of the gamers and allow for their play to become a part of the game. It is unique and exciting, and I think it is something like a window peeking in to the next generation of media entertainment.

In the preview... all those images, the levels, characters, and activities... they are fan made, gamer contributions, player creations. They are shared, and expanded, and included in the game. Imagine the possibilities.

From The Stash :: What Do You Think?

For The Record: Chango loves our bed just as it is. He is not particular. Geoff, likely, is also not particular.

Back Story: In 2001 I bought the first bed covering for our bed since the comforter Grandma Nancy gave us as a wedding gift. The wedding comforter is still around, but somebody should take mercy on it and give it a proper burial. The quilt I bought almost eleven years ago is still beautiful, but its days are numbered... it is fraying all over. I put the quilt in the closet for summer, since it is heavy, and also to prolong its life.

Very recently I spent big money (29$) at Target and brought home a summer weight bed cover. It has two tones of aqua blue and a simple egg-shaped quilted pattern. I love it. It doesn't really go with anything else on the bed, or in the room, but that is typical of everything in the room and on the bed, so there you go.

Chango is resting against the thrift shop shams, and across the thrift shop duvet. Love the duvet, which is really too small for our bed, but is too cheery to resist. The sheets are not my best buy. They are almost too dark, too serious. I settled for them in desperation, and hoped they would make me sophisticated. I am not sure anything will ever make me "sophisticated."

Ready for the Pity Party portion of this post?


RIP.
Yup.
Only two weeks old, and the bed cover came out of the washing machine seriously damaged. Seriously: What in the world goes on in that washer? And why am I still using the darn thing?


Big rip, right?
I was so sad when I saw this.
But also, I was super calm and mature. No F bombs were uttered, or teeth gnashed during this pitiable occurrence. Hey, maybe I am a little bit sophisticated. However, when you see my solution, my idea for salvaging the not-really-very pricey bed cover, then my sophistication rating might drop again...


Could I-Should I patch it?

Okay, maybe it won't be classy enough for a bed, but it would preserve it for picnics, camping, spreading on the lawn activities. And honestly, I would still put it on my bed, I think. It could look good.

What do you think?


This I am prepared to veto outright, but it's there for general contemplation.


In real life the blues are not quite a match, but overall it's a pleasant combination. I like keeping it cool.


Cool, yes, but maybe too blue?


Now, this is the best color match, working with what I have on hand, but it's kind of eh. Or maybe, not? I often admire subtle and yes, sophisticated, but I usually fail to achieve the look of subtle and sophisticated... S&S Oh, but wait I am talking about patching a cheap bed cover, so I think I have already tossed out all hope of S&S.


So, moving away from subtle, I thought: Color!

But. Hmmmm...

I love this print. Is love a good enough reason to execute a plan? Either I go subtle and sort of be on the down low about patching the hole, or I declare it boldly: This is a patch. Bright and beautiful. Isn't it interesting?

Yeah, not sure which way I am going.

Possibilities. I have enough to make a pillow, maybe a throw quilt.

Chango, what do you think?
Chango?


Oh dear. I guess I cannot expect everyone to find this as interesting a debate as I do.


Like I said: I am not concerned with "matching" anything in the room. Our budget style has always been Ethnic-American Eclectic... very cutting edge. It has taken me four years to post this picture of the green bed. Either the color and super sheen have calmed over time, or my senses have deadened.


Do I have something here?
I mean something pretty?
Should I bother?

I was going to say our look is Mix-n-Match, but I think it's more like: Mix and Mix and Mix, and maybe something good will come of it.

Sister Maria Patience

Maria has a cold, and so she and I have had some extra time together at home. She's slowed down a bit, and of course her coughing is worse at night, so she's very drowsy in the morning, and she even napped (once) during the day. Otherwise, her energy doesn't seem to wane. It's quite possible she even has as much, or more, energy than Ferris El Gato Spazo... remarkably, I caught him napping, but it only lasted three minutes.


Her first day home, she and I found some charm packs, pre-cut quilting squares, in the fabric stash, and we spent a good while laying them out and deciding on our favorite configuration for a quilt. That was fun, and it's a shame Max wasn't with us, because he has terrific quilt design skills. The prints we found are old-fashioned reproduction style prints, so our Get Well Quilt will have a classic and sweet patchwork look. Maria snipped threads and supplied pins while I pieced the twelve nine patch blocks.

Maria has always been by my side while I sew. And for more than three years she has been happy to snip threads, sort buttons, reconfigure straight pins, and even cut her own fabric scraps. It really should come as no surprise that she is ready for new challenges with a needle and thread.

Her second day home, Maria really, really wanted me to find something fun to do with her. And while she rattled off suggestions, I kept going back to sewing... what could she and I do together with a needle and thread?


Embroidery!

I love to embroider, and recently Alicia Paulson, of Posy Gets Cozy, has been re-sparking my interest. Even when she isn't sewing I always find beauty and thoughtfulness at Posy Gets Cozy. Her new book is available, and it looks as full and inspiring as Stitched In Time, her first book. (Santa? How are you? Are you paying attention? ... hint hint)

When I asked Maria if she would like to learn how to embroider, make pictures by sewing, she reached a new level of animated and vocalized joy!


We started with a pencil drawing, and I resisted suggesting she "add more" or ask "what else do you want in your picture?" I knew her simple and dear daisy would be perfect for a beginner. I was very concerned about not overwhelming her, because even an experienced stitcher can run in to frustrating snags.


She chose her brown for the soil, and I pulled three threads of floss, then threaded the wide eyed needle. With a knot at the bottom, I positioned the needle at the base of her garden soil, and she took over from there.


I showed her how to make smaller stitches as she went around curves. We chatted amiably about the patience it takes to sew, and she agreed it was important to go slowly, not rush. She asked again, about how long to make a stitch, or where to put the needle when coming through the bottom. She kept the thread from tangling, or slipping off the needle, and she said things like, "My heart comes truly love." And "This makes my life come true." And "Mommy, you and I are sewing like ladies. I love this so much."

Sigh.


She was so calm, and so immersed in the quiet pleasure, that it was like sewing with a much more experienced student, and I was even able to do a little sewing too. She anticipated the colors she wanted to use for the petals. She worked well independently, and she was never disappointed about accepting help.


I have been sewing for a long time, and as I try to remember my first experience I can be almost certain that I was never this patient or naturally skilled. In fact, I am not sure I am as calm and serene, as she is, even now! I think she is a good influence on me.

She finished the dirt, the stem, and the curved leaves, she even finished the round, yellow flower head. And this morning, between coughs, she is asking if we can mix thread colors for the petals. "I want to finishing sewing Mom. Can we get started sewing, please?"

You'll excuse me, please...

Found My Camera...

It wasn't "lost," but it's been one of those weeks when anything three feet out of the way may as well have been lost.

All in brown, but staying home. Maria missed school picture day. *sad face*

And now it's Friday?
We've almost made it?
Is it too soon to take a head count, check for collateral damages? Give thanks, and breath a sigh of semi-relief?

1. Chango does not have cancer. Don't you love getting the good news first, and skipping the anxious bad news?


Oh, Professor Moriarty. He looks more handsome than ever on a misty morning.

2. Alex is a cyclist. Our summer test runs worked, and now he is his own ride. I promised I would give him a car ride anytime it snows.

3. William has a new school. He is navigating a big campus and big changes, and I am in awe of his heart, mind, soul, and handsome smile.


Zoltar is about twelve inches tall. Our neighbor says she loves the chickens! What a relief. Her home is nearest the cocky-doodle doers, so we were a bit worried about her opinion of them.

4. Today is Brown Day, and Maria is all dressed for Brown Day, and she is still sick. So. There's that. But yesterday we worked played together and began a patchwork quilt we are calling a Get Well Quilt. I think we achieved as much schooling and learning as a kindygarten girl could hope for, and the quilt is really coming along nicely.

5. Max's good friend Lucas is home sick, as are two other students from his class... so is it any surprise Max is coughing-asleep in our bed? He loathes missing school, when it means falling behind, so it is easy to gauge when staying home is actually necessary.

6. Geoff did something to his back.
(Insert my sympathetic sighs, and concern, and prayerful appeals to make it all better, please. Thank you.)

7. A professional someone gave me a kindly gaze, and a warm hug, and suggested-prescribed a massage and therapy... she knows pretty well some of the challenges we cope with, and I feel fortunate to have her on our side. Wasn't she amazing to think of the Momma?

8. Maria is leading Ferris in a parade. She holds a stick and string above her head, counting and marching, and the kitty follows close behind.

She is waiting for me to do something, like make a show, or color, or read, or watch a movie, or sew, or something! please, right now.

Sneezes, coughs, runny noses, fevers... these never do seem to slow her down, not too much.


Those hot days made a nice difference in the garden. It wasn't the best gardening season, but tomatoes are ripening, and the basil is picking up steam. And I think I will need a recipe for eggplant after all!

9. It really is Friday. And it's already the third day of September. Outside there is a gorgeous misty-foggyness, and in the garden there were things to harvest, like tomatoes, basil, and green beans. Betty laid an egg.
10. Time for a book, Pooh, Winnie ther Pooh will do nicely I think, and tea...

September

My camera is out of reach, which is unfortunate. This is the first moment I have even thought of taking a picture in almost a week.

Benjamin. He is looking so sweet and serene. He is sweet and serene. We hardly recognize him. Benjamin used to be the rascal, the meddlesome youngster kitty, getting in to mischief and being pesky. No more. Ever since Ferris came on the scene, Benjamin has retreated and retired. Benjamin is meek, mild, and mellow. He is defenseless against Ferris attacks, and seems almost emotionally injured by the high energy antics of his new room mate.

I was about to find the camera and take a picture of Benjamin Franklin stretched out like a meditative sphinx on my sewing table... so handsome, and comfortable, but then Ferris sprang on the scene, pouncing from behind a stack of school papers. Moment lost.

If only Benjamin would swat him firmly across the noggin, then I think he would get his due respect. It worked for Chango, who gave Ferris a much deserved smack on the posterior that sent the youngster in a spin. Ferris does not harass Chango.

Gee, I sound a bit violent, like I think smacks and swats are the means to peace. Cats. I am talking about cats. They have a system. I have tried the brotherly love approach, but they seem to act like cats no matter how many times I quote Ghandi to them.

All the children are at school. Right now. I have both phones beside me, and an anxious, shallow breath. I know some of them are fine, some of them will excel, some of them want to be there for purple day. I know that not everyone enjoys the prospect of being in a crowd, working against the clock, facing challenges invisible to most. I also know that some way, by some means, each of them will find a path and happiness, and their own flavor of success, and I keep this faith in my thoughts and heart.

A quote was going around about how ~we must be kind to everyone, because each of us has a story, a personal struggle, something we are coping with~ Something like that. I am botching the quote, but I know the idea of it is true, which is why I did not smack the guy who cussed me out for not crossing the rails when a train was coming and the crossing guard was coming down. Just saying.

Yesterday, and the day before, were hard, long days, full of expected and unexpected challenges. Somehow I kept smiling. Somehow, I was able to reflect on how much I love my husband and children, and how eager I was to get to a space and time when we could be under the same roof... it felt like the promise of sanctuary... there's no place like home, there's no place like home. And driving home, I was overcome with happiness and gratitude, because it is beautiful here. I cannot take a picture of that either, but I can see it.