NJ Trip

 Finally got away to see my folks in NJ this past weekend and I brought my mom this fine war llama.  I mean it's a llama in shining armor- who wouldn't love that?!

I think I mentioned that my mom kept sneaking sheep into my car every time I visited her, so the last few times I went up, I kept sneaking her this llama.  Unfortunately she almost always snuck it back in my car before I left.

You might think, "Why don't you just check your car before you leave?"  Because she's VERY GOOD AT HIDING THINGS! 

Anyway, she loved the llama and actually kept it, so I figured I'd won this round.  Silly me!

Halfway through the weekend I found this creepy sheep stuck under some large fragile objects (in my car) that would be a huge pain to unpack.

Well, at least I knew what she was up to.

In other news, my dad had a really nice retirement party.

They gave him this cool poster and this neat carved wooden plaque.

 And this clock. I know clocks are a traditional  retirement gift, but this one is pretty special: it's built into a landmine! 

Do I need to say the mine is inert?  It is.  It's a clock, not a time bomb.

Anyway, I got to spend some time with my dad going through lots of special stuff in the house.  Not bombs or fuzes, more personal stuff.

It's always fascinated me that my dad had such an interesting and creatively challenging job, but in his spare time he spent a lot of time making things.

Now I recognize that he was making art, really.

 This is a piece of plaster that he poured, then carved into a bas relief.  I presume it's some historically accurate soldier.

He was always reading history and poetry, and making things like this.  He made an astonishingly beautiful copper etching that was a replica of a Medieval knight's sarcophagus.

He also carved wood, did pottery, wood and metal working- a little bit of everything.

My mom also did pottery, macrame, weaving, sewing and other stuff.

 That's all besides their work raising kids, helping people, and doing a ton of work on their "fixer upper" house.

 It's really not surprising that both my brother and sister became professional (if part time) artists: there was a lot of creativity going around our house!

This is a recent painting my sister did that I just love!


 And my mom continues to creatively surprise me. 


24 hours after I got back I discovered that she had stashed a second creepy sheep in my car!!

Seriously!  It's not like she's sneaking them into my huge van, this is the teeny tiny car!

How is she even doing this!!??