I stopped at an antique store today on my way home from visiting my aunt and uncle.  I figured I would see something really pricey that I would want and not be able to have, so I braced myself for that.  But oh my goodness.

Do you see the money on the doll house dresser tray?  That stack of money was laying in the antique store on top of a wooden box.  As soon as I saw it, I thought of The Year of the Doll House.  I asked how much I could buy it for, for our doll house, and they just gave it to me.  ???  So I am thinking that this little project was supposed to come our way. 

And guess how much money it is?

9271 dollars.  Why that amount?  I am not sure how to turn this into a fun lesson.  Before I counted the money, I was going to set it as a pretend budget for her doll house and then everything we purchased for the doll house would come out of it, even if only on paper –  just to show her how expensive things can be, but I can’t do that.  I can’t spend 9271 real dollars on the doll house! 

But what if I wrote that amount down and used it for our real house?  Nine-thousand two-hundred seventy-one dollars will sound like SO much to my daughter.  And what if, for math, we subtracted everything I have to buy for our own home in 2008 from that amount?

I think she could really get a sense of budgeting.  I am thinking that that is the amount I am supposed to work with.  After all, there it was and it was given to me.

How cool is that?  I will let you know what we do with it.

Lynn

No, it’s not a rock band. 

I went to see my aunt and uncle today — two of the best people in the world.  It seems like not too long ago that they got their batch of chicks in for their new farm.  Chicks grow fast.  It is now a bunch of chickENS.

My aunt offered to let me inside the fence to get a better picture.  I declined only because of the damp weather.  I’ll go back when it’s sunny and get some better shots.

This is Oddball.

He’s recently learned to crow and he wanted all of us to know it.  Continually.  He made a big show of his new-found crowing skills.  His name is Oddball because he was the oddball in the bunch when the chicks all came in.  Yes, there did end up being another rooster in the batch, but no one else looks like this.

And this is Marley.

Marley is a sweet-natured English bulldog who likes to get right in front of you and stop.  She lays nearly flat on the ground, wagging her tail and hoping you’ll speak to her.  It’s hard not to oblige.  What’s not to love about a face like this:

So that’s where I’ve been today.

Lynn ~:-D

Why do I love pretty things so?  I love “girly” things.  (My daughter claims to be a tomboy, but I think she is going to love them too.)

Pretty things like little buttons at the ankles of these pajama bottoms.

Or a ribbon tied around put-up hair.

Or a pretty shawl with pale pink stripes over a vintage dress.

Because they make me happy.

Lynn