Around Jablonka
the girl
Pumpkin
It must be a Polish Christmas cultural spill-over: we put out our lone Halloween decoration -- a modest Jack-o-Lantern -- on the twenty-ninth. Poles traditionally put up the Christmas tree just a day or two before Christmas, so I guess out late J-o-L is a sort of cultural cross-contamination. That or our hectic schedule.
This year, at least, we managed to make the time. Two years ago, we managed something, but last year it was a wash: the J-o-L-to-be sat in the carport, abandoned and unloved, until well after Halloween.
Naturally, as we worked on the pumpkin, the obvious comparisons came to mind: The Girl is now old enough to help, even if her help is a little more hindrance than anything else: a tentative hand in the pumpkin, a brush with the slimy entrails, followed by a sudden decision. "I don't want to help."
But she's already helped enough by planning the design and serving as a consultant. This year's J-o-l was simple: a princess with a crown.
The Girl choosing a princess: how unexpected.
The Queen’s Prisoner
Once upon a time, there was a terrible, wicked queen. As a prisoner, she held a poor girl from a small, humble village. She fed the girl daily, played with her, took her to school, and inflicted other tortures too sadistic to mention here among polite company.
She was especially fond of binding the young girl’s wrists with Mardi Gras beads and flinging the poor, frightened girl onto the couch.
How those binds tore at the little girl’s flesh! But tight as the queen made the beads, she could not break her little prisoner’s spirit.
Her little captive still had the ability to melt hearts and frustrate daddies in an instant.
Polish Lessons
Thank God for loving Babcias who send entire boxes of educational materials from Poland so that little granddaughters around the world can work on their Polish language skills.
Thank God for loving Polish mamas who daily work with stubborn half-Polish little girls in an effort to keep them bilingual.
Apples 2011
It's a yearly tradition now, the herald of autumn, and if we lived in a colder climate, it would serve as a bookend to the summer.
The selection is diminished at this time of year: the McIntoshes are long gone, if that's your apple. Honeycrisp tress are long bare, and Pink Ladies are still not ripe. Of course, there's always Red and Golden Delicious, as well as Granny Smiths, but those are at the very bottom of our list of favorites.
There are a few Cortlands on the tress, though, and if you look hard enough, you'll find a McIntosh or two still hanging around.
And of course there are loads of Fuji apples.
We can easily fill the baskets with Fuji, and the Girl adores that particular cultivar.
The apples, of course, are only a means to an end, which is spending time with close friends.
Posing
Another Return To Table Rock, Redux
There's a great trail along the stream and up the side of a mountain that's just right for short legs.
There's a fun swimming hole. There are tadpoles squirting about, drawing undue attention to themselves from would-be harassers.
There's a cooling waterfall with which L becomes more and more courageous. (The corollaries to this is a new ability to put her face in the water and a develop preference of showering over bathing.)
There are smaller waterfalls nearby that are positively picturesque.
There are nature shows that allow kids to handle frogs, turtles, and multiple snakes, as well as learn about how helpful some snakes can truly be.
And there's an ice cream shop just down the road.
Perhaps these are some of the reasons we keep returning to Table Rock State Park whenever we can.
Nap
We’ve been getting the Girl used to no nap: she won’t have one when she goes back to preschool next week.
But some days, she falls asleep in the back of the car and we relent. “Half an hour,” I whisper to her as I put her on the bed and cover her up.
Crafting with Nana
Prize
Read sixty books and you get a free meal at Chick-Fil-A.
