Archery!

Miran has taken up a new hobby and is getting very into it. He bought a recurve bow a little over a month ago - which is the Olympic style of bow. And there are lots of accessories for his bow - like sights and fletching tools. He is really enjoying researching and trying different things.

When he first got it, he took his bow to an archery shop in town for a little instruction and to buy some arrows. They let him test it out on their range.

And here he is just after a release in our back yard.

Here is the target after an average set of shots. He hits the box almost every time and is getting better about getting in the red or yellow. An occassional arrow still misses altogether and leads to a hunt in the grass.

And here he is fletching arrows. The arrows come in pieces and he has to put the points and other tips on as well as attach the feathers using this little gadget he bought.

My Birthday

Miran planned an action packed birthday for me this year. First, we had cookies and cream ice cream cake for lunch and I opened my gift - a big digital frame.

Then we went to see a modern adaptation of the ballet Sleeping Beauty. The music was Tchaikovsky but the story and the choreography were totally changed. Prince Charming was a vampire (thats how he could still be around to wake her up 100 years later).

Then we went to the mall and I bought a sweater and a dress. I later returned the dress because it was pretty expensive and not the kind of thing I'd get much use out of.

November Work Week-End

In November Mom and Dad visited and we worked on some house projects - mostly forcused on transforming the master bedroom into a new bird room / office for Miran.

Dad and Miran removed the ceiling fan and installed a sliding track across the middle of the room.

Mommy and I repainted ...

And prepared components to build a new bird cage stand - including painted some cabinets I bought at home depot as well as putting peel and stick tile on a door to make an easy-clean surface.

Everyone was involved in the assembly of this new bird cage stand / table:

And here is the room so far (still not quite done) - bird room side and office side:

Mommy and I also struggled to recover one of my dining chairs with pale gray fake leather to help tie the dining room together with the new living room. We only got one done, and hope to finish the other seven on her next visit in January.

Anderson's Visit

We had a wonderful week-end with a visit from the Anderson family and now its very quite in our house now and I am all alone. Everyone left this morning - Harald for work in Richmond at 6:00, Miran for work in Charlotte at 8:30, and Cecilia and the girls for Staunton about 9:15. I've been cleanin, straightening, doing laundry, and catching up on email since everyone left.

Cecilia and the girls arrived Friday afternoon and we headed to the playground.

After that the girl's helped get ready for dinner, and then waited anxiously for Uncle Miran to get home from work. After dinner they watched a movie.

Saturday we spent the whole day at the Renaissance Festival and everyone had a great time. Uncle Miran enjoyed participating in all activities - with the girls and with Harald. Cecilia and I joined the girls on the da vinci flying machine swing ride.

 

It was pre-Halloween week-end so costumes were encouraged - we had a couple of princesses with us, but they made friends with some scary other monsters. They could trick-or-treat at the different shops and there was also a treasure chest at the end that they could get soemthing from if they got stamps at all the kids rides.

Sunday Cecilia and I went to an exhibition at the Mint Museum uptown and Harald and Miran played with the girls - they went back to the playground and ran around in the yard a lot. Miran is trying to play soccer with the girls here, but I think they are pretending to be cats.

laminate flooring

Our week-end wasn't nearly as productive as the Gunzburgers', but we did manage to finish installing the laminate flooring in our former master bedroom. Actually we still have to do the quarter round and the door sills, but that will probably happen next week. 

I'm pretty thrilled with how it turned out. It isn't a great color match with the rest of the house, but it is so much better than the carpet that was in there before. Its going to make a great new bird room / office for Miran. But we aren't going to move forward on that switch until after the Andersons' visit this week-end so they can use it as a guest room.