Race Cars, Cakes and Quakes

This week was pretty fun! I finally finished the "Sniderville" playmat for my nephews for their Christmas gift. I would have to say that it was definitely worth every hour that I put into it, so much so that I am looking forward to making another one someday for my future grandsons. :)

Everything is made from felt, except for the blue parking garage on the lower left, and the tunnel. For those, I incorporated a nice craft foam with felt to cover them.

 

The craft foam for the tunnel and parking garage works wonderfully to hold its shape, but collapses easily when rolled up for storage.

Also this week, I had my niece, Ana, color my hair. Since she colors hers all the time, I figured she'd be a good replacement for my husband's skilled hands. She did not disappoint. 

Before - During - and After:

Here in Ukiah, they had a special performance at the local theater for a new church movie, "Out of Liberty." So I went with an older lady from the ward, and we sat with a couple other ward members. It was a movie about Joseph Smith and his associates during the many months they spent in Liberty Jail (Missouri). But I think the focus was more on the jailer, Sam Tillery, and also an enlightening spotlight on Sidney Rigdon. It created a yearning in me for more information about both of them, so I'm planning to do some research. It seemed like it had less to do with Joseph Smith and more about these two men (in my humble opinion). But it worked. It was not disappointing.

About an hour into the movie, we felt the entire theater rumble and shake for about 1-2 seconds, then stop. Stephanie, sitting next to me, said, "That was an earthquake! Did you feel it?" Well of course I did, but that certainly confirmed it. She contentedly went back to watching the movie (being a native of the area and all of its regular earthquakes), but I started taking note of things around me: where is the exit, where is my purse, what is my plan of action if a bigger earthquake happens, etc. Once I had it all figured out in my mind, then I went back to enjoying the movie.

As soon as I could, after the movie was done, I called Scott. I had him look up if there had been an earthquake and what number was it rated. The epicenter was less than a mile from Charmaine's house!! And then later that night, as I was lying in bed in the dark, I felt another one. I sent Scott a text telling him I felt another one - mainly to mark the time that I felt it so that I could look it up in the morning. ha ha

Here is what the newspaper had to say: OR you can go to this website: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc73306046/executive

Later in the week, I took Charmaine and the girls up to my Dad's house north of Willits for a birthday dinner. It was in honor of my step-mom Michelle. She made a mean clam chowder with garlic bread and a tasty salad on the side. And a friend of theirs baked a fabulous and delectable German chocolate cake (I'm sure she knew it was my favorite). 

And I was FINALLY able to meet my step-brother, Craig, after 20+ years of my Dad being married to Michelle. She has three boys: Craig is the oldest, then Jeremy, and Troy (for whom my dad and Michelle are building the house). I have never met Craig all these years! He was wonderful and chatty, intelligent and fun. I especially enjoyed visiting with his wife, Autumn. She dabbles in many things, including a non-profit that allows people to come work on organic farms to learn valuable skills, all while contributing to the farm. We talked about having food storage and our own personal canning adventures and I found her to be just delightful. Their 7 year old son, Noah, is pretty much a genius. He has a vast knowledge of math and science at his young age, and could hardly sit still. Ever. ha ha. You'll even notice in this picture that he is a blur with his hands. He was constantly in motion. 

Craig, Autumn and Noah - 

Okay. Now prepare yourself for this next bit. So my niece, Ana, wants to make a career out of doing theatrical makeup. She commented recently that she should probably start practicing more on other people's faces, since all she ever does is her own. I offered to be her guinea pig. That made her very happy. So Friday night was our designated night. My only suggestion to her was please don't do anything dark or Satanic on my face.

Here is the before picture: (no makeup at all. Sorry.)

During the makeup phase:

After the makeup, and prepping for a wig:

And the finished product:

So while it is a BIT SCARY (Scott's only comment was: Eeek), this is very toned down from what she might have done otherwise, ha ha. Her plan was to make me into an angel. Like an ice angel, I guess. I asked her what is that on my forehead. She said it is a prayer of protection.

I took one more picture when I got home to show the makeup a little closer. And then I washed it all off.

So let's just say that this was an experience. A once in a lifetime experience. When would I ever do this? Probably never. So why not with my niece who needed some practice?!! :)

And LASTLY - a cute picture of Scott during one of our video chats. He is still doing the same: he's happy and healthy and safe. Muy bien.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm super excited because Jacob and Hannah are coming out to visit me for the week!! We have some fun plans in store . . .