kids and memories

have been net surfing a a lot. found this comment:*(that i definitely agree with)

"Ever noticed how the word Make-up screams that what you have is not enough? That you need something more to Make-up for what you do not have. Do not use it as far as possible. It is just a lot of chemicals that you can easily do without. Save it for special occasions if you will? And wait till you are old enough to use it? As for me, I have liked my lipsticks and in recent past nail polish. But, I have never felt the need to have those on every time I step out and find myself being more comfortable in my skin as is. I don't expect you to get there young, but least you know you can try!"

and found that this was penned as part of a letter to her kids by mamma-mia . 

and today i am wondering, what mesage will i give my kids? do they even realize the messages i am trying to give them, by example? or do they only see the mom who pushes them out of bed at an ungodly hour and huffs and puffs and pushes them out the door and into a bus-waiting-because -they-got-ready-just-in-time?

should i be writing letters to my kids to clarify my manifesto?
maybe i should.

KCWS day 3 _ peasant top tutorial links

76/365, a photo by Jaya Q on Flickr.

a simple set, for playwear.

peasant blouse and half circle skirt . the fabric, i had chosen on my last trip to india.. makes me happy just looking at it.

want to make your own peasant dress?
click on the pictures to take you to the tutorials

A tunic top _ with pattern and tutorial links

75/365, a photo by Jaya Q on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
day 2 of Kids Clothes Sewing Week, i am sewing a tunic top for my eldest. she has her own design ideas, so this will take a while.

wanna make one of your own? click on the image to go to the tutorial

sewing pajama pants

62/365, a photo by Jaya Q on Flickr.

sewing pajama pants is one of the easiest sewing projects. you can trace around one you already have, to make a pattern.

one of the simplest tutorials for making pajama pants, can be found here

KCW day1 _ with half circle skirt tutorial links

73/365, a photo by Jaya Q on Flickr.

A half circle skirt.. out of half meter of fabric.

want to make your own?
here are some free tutorials: click on the image to go to the tutorial

free japanese sewing pattern, apron dress from nani iro - a tutorial

 

this was made with  a  free nani iro  pattern for an apron dress: (click on the pic for more free patterns at the nani iro website)

it was  graciously translated into english by  yifarn of http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com, you can get the free translation  at her page here. 

I made the floral dress with cotton voile, so that it is very lightweight and airy.. it became an instant favorite as sleepwear. 

 the apron, however, I made with cotton organza..  it was a fabric painting attempt by my sister, that i wanted to cut up and make a pretty apron. The apron  actually is way bigger than my daughter's twig of a waist. so, because it "is so loose!" she declined to wear it. 

the pattern is pretty straightforward, if you take the time to try and understand the way a japanese sewing pattern works.   they write it like a cartoon..  

 this is a rough outline of how i decoded it..  

• first they have the pattern, 
• then the instructions
• they have numbered the steps, 
•  they detail each step with small illustrations...(these are much  easier  to understand than full color photographs)
• ALL numbers are in centimeters
• you have to draw the pattern  on a paper first
• this makes the actual cutting of fabric very easy, because you know how each piece goes..

tips for making this dress:

• use a pencil to draw the pattern on newspaper or tracing paper.
• add seam allowances (given inside the circles) on the paper.
• cut the fabric
• follow the steps to finish the garment. 

(edited: submitting this post to the following link parties:)

CETAAQ ladies celebrate Green Day -( a test to see if i can "write")

 -----

(Informal writeup)

The event was arranged at the clubhouse of palm city gardens, and the theme of the day was “Go Green”.   The entire hall was decorated in green, interspersed with posters promoting eco-friendly living.

 The ladies arrived wearing gorgeous green-colored clothes,  and the function started with Cetaaq Lady Member Rukzana Siyad welcoming everyone. Nisha and Sheina kicked off the event with a game, bombing the city. As groups of participants got ‘out’ and crowds thinned, it turned out that our senior members were the luckiest.

Then it was time for self-introductions by everyone. Being Cetaaq, the ladies did not need names to start talking; this introduction was for the benefit of a game, where they were supposed to identify members in a set of childhood pictures. All those present put their observation skills to the test.  Suma and Jahan both identified ten out of thirteen girls from their baby pictures, and for this impressive feat, they were declared the winners. 

Murphy and Lola brought music to the stage and were much appreciated. A feisty game of dumb charades followed, where everyone had a great time guessing the names of movies and more. The audience was divided into two teams,  each one trying to out-guess the other into mistakes,  sparking heated debates and plenty of laughter. Team B managed to win by a slight margin, and prizes were distributed to all.

Mrs. Munni Raja demonstrated craft projects using paper. Old newspapers, catalogues and magazines turned into pretty little baskets, coasters and pencil holders by her hands.  The technique fascinated many, and we all left with the intent to go cut up at least one old magazine and try the idea.

The group took a tea break then, and everyone enjoyed homemade goodness prepared by talented ladies of the food committee. The food was prepared following the motto of going green : no artificial flavors, all traditional ‘slow’ foods.. no fast food or fizzy drinks on this table! 

As the ladies settled into the well known chit chat mode, Mrs. Munni Raja set up a craft display table with her handiwork.. beautiful jewellery made with paper, terracotta and beadwork, the table was an inspiration to every crafter in attendance. Many pretty items changed hands, and there were many happy customers.

There followed a Quiz anchored by the vivacious Nisha, who had the audience in splits throughout the contest.  The audience were divided into teams and team A won the prize, though everyone learned a bit or two of interesting information in the course of the game.

As the evening drew to a close, the ladies were reluctant to leave this happy space and return to the normalcy of their daily routine. We could see groups lingering on, long after the official end of the program.. And that is the mark of a successful show, ladies and gentlemen. All credit goes to Rukzana Siyad who co-ordinated the various talented graceful ladies, who all contributed to make one of the best ‘ladies day’s that cetaaq has organized over the years.

 

(formal writeup)

College of Engineering Alumni Association Qatar (CETAAQ) recently organized a Ladies’ Day  at Palm City Gardens . The theme of the program was “Go Green”. The event aimed to develop a healthy awareness and responsibility towards our environment, starting from our homes. Special emphasis was made on decreasing processed foods and recycling household items like old magazines by crafting. 

The ladies wore green clothes in solidarity with the theme. The venue was decorated with green trim and motivational posters reflecting the motto. There were many games and contests to color the evening. Mrs. Munni Raja demonstrated recycling projects with paper. The General Knowledge quiz  conducted by Mrs Nisha Babu was enjoyed by everyone. Delicious food was served, in accordance to the “Go Green” theme, all hand made by the members of the association, with no fizzy drinks or fast food.

The event generated a positive vibe among the participants, and recycling was on everyone’s minds as the  program drew to a close.

(so, what do you think of the writeup? tell me!)

soul searching, and some sadness

Some days are better than others.

Here I am, trying my level best to hack my brain into submission, I am expected to write a fifty word blurb on the cetaaq ladies day.. and I am so thought-blocked I am wondering  if I should go and  sleep this day away.  Thinking about it, I’m trying to run away. There are a zillion thoughts flying around in my head, and my recent sleepless nights have not improved the situation by any measure.

Ranimmanty left doha.. (after a torturous twenty years, according to her) and there goes one of my family.. again.  I have been blocking this sadness for days,  Ranimmanty and Shirley chechy were my extended family when I first came to Doha.. these past ten years, as I settled into the mantle of a wife and mother and homemaker, these two were the ones who were there for me , to give me recipes, to teach me the basics and more of homemaking, to  encourage me to be the woman that they knew I could be.. to motivate me to find a job, to literally drop a  job in my lap and push  me to go and work…   to try to make me  understand family, and relationships and  how to navigate the intense web of human emotional interaction…

 For a girl who always preferred the imaginary world painted by books ( a girl who was found nosedeep in the nearest book at every family function),  this was a real education..  I can honestly say that I talked ten times more to these two ladies than my own parents in the past ten years..  Shirley chechy left last year, I thought I did not mind.. she had bigger, better things to do, I am very happy for her..  and really, I did not miss her much, because she is one of my soul sisters..  she never leaves, because she is in my heart.  And yesterday, as Ranimmanty left, with a turmoil of hope and tension and dreams and resignation, I find that this  thread I had woven around myself..  this blanket that I had worn, of their love..  has disappeared into nothingness. 

 Yes, I have  wards of my own now, it is not like I have no family here now..  but these ladies were my mentors.  I don’t know.. I feel like I’ve lost my umbrella, in this harsh desert sun. excuse me , while I shed a few tears.

And tomorrow, nida and her mom are leaving. That is my other mentor right there.  My neighbors, who took me and mine  like their own family.. who never forgot to bring us a part of their Friday lunch.. who invited us to all  their parties, like one of their own brood. Who is so emphatically mad about cleanliness that I feel that my house is a pigsty whenever I come back from their house. (hmm,  I really do have a lot of cleaning to do.) The one who taught me that life can hand you bitter poison, and you CAN accept it with grace.  The one who taught me that you can be traditional in your beliefs and modern in your outlook. The ones who demonstrated to me that a burqa can be  just a piece of cloth, not a sign of oppression.  They are leaving too.  And I will miss them . a lot. 

And now I send up a prayer that  their little girls find joy in life.  Each completed schooling, looking for colleges..  ready , so eager for life to start, just like any highschool graduate.  I wish them all success in life.

bitten by the sewing bug

There is something beautiful about the end of winter.. that brings out the happiness in everyone.  Just as  easter approached, i was away from the pc.. a LOT.. and the kids had vacation.. that made eager models/helpers for the ton of clothes i had in mind. Consequently, there has been a flurry of sewing in my home in the past month.

here are some of them..

 

this was made with  a  free nani iro  pattern, 

graciously translated into english by  yifarn of http://www.japanesesewingbooks.com, you can get the free pattern at her page here.  you can find my clarification and  tutorial here.

  This is me drafting a maxi dress for my eldest, simply because she wanted one.  yes,  i know how to draft patterns.. and it is far easier than following a pattern,  once you learn how to make a basic sloper. 

 and the finished dress..  happy to see that she loved it, but there are not many places around here, where we can wear it.
 I made a kinda-sorta tutorial for this one.. will add that as a separate post.

 and yes, i made a set of easter dresses this year too.. took the girls to choose fabric, and got the same fabric in 3 different colors..

gosh this fabric was a huge pain to work with. the threads kept falling off, ruining the shape of the cut out pieces.. finally i had to zigzag stitch the edges right after i cut them, even before i sewed the pieces together.. by the time i was sewing the third one, i managed to conquer the fabric :D

and, as usual, i was at the sewing table ten minutes before church.. but i did manage to make the dresses in time!

amme, can you make an orange dress?

"of course i can, little dear."

The idea was simple.. On the last thursday of every month, her class has a color dress day. This month, the color was orange.  She has no orange clothes. What can i do but make her one?

She chose the fabric, among the four(!) oranges i had.
she chose the design off the computer, because her mom is cool like that.

she waited patiently for me to measure her, but i used one of her existing dresses for measurement. (much easier tracing) wow! the skirt of that dress uses four times the fabric of the bodice! (wastage of perfectly good fabric.. grumble grumble.. but look how well it twirls.. mm hmm.. )

but amme, you did not use that blue thing! what? oh.. tape measure. so i act like i am taking a few measurements.  the satisfied customer runs away to watch Dora..

especially proud of what a good job i did on the inside

Then i cut out the skirt part,  traced the bodice off the other dress, made facing and things like that.. she said, amme, i want ties at the sides! hmm the customer is demanding, what can the tailor do.. cut off some length from the skirt portion, to make the sash. (Oh! but then, the skirt is too short! no worries, attach a handy dandy ruffled lace to the edge! see, no hemming, but end result looks like I went a few hundred extra miles!)

Then..creativity calls. Is the dress too orangey? Needs something.. (lightbulb) Why don't I use the flower lace I  have kept rolled up since I bought it five years ago?  (but then handstitching each of them... ) Why? just use a drop of fabric glue to attach them!

and ta da! a new dress is born. 

now to wait till she gets home, to try it on..
EDITED
adding the results:

 One Happy Customer!

(be still, my heart. you know it is not so easy to make them so glad,  once they grow up!)

would you beleive that!

Monica of Happy Zombie sent me this veritable treasure trove of goodness  in the name of a swap. Monica, you have no idea how happy you have made me.. and even though i feel a bit bad about sending you only that one thing you requested,  i am so deliriously thankful for this box of generosity. (hugs)

(wanna know what i sent? here.)

a half circle dress with a tutorial

I made another one of my signature dresses. I call it my signature because, unlike every other dress i make, i have made this exact pattern four times.. all for this particular girl..  I made this pattern for the first time because she was too big ... one meter of cloth, the measure i always buy, is too little to make a dress for her,. she is ten years old.
but then, i cannot leave well enough alone. i am determined to make her some clothes out of easy wash-dry material, and the only fabric  i had on hand was one meter long.. so i decided to cut a half circle skirt.. and cut a bodice from the leftover. of course it is not wide enough to give a full bodice, I  had to scrimp and save to get that ruffle on the front.. but i made it!

this is the one dress that never sits in her shelf.. she wears it as soon as it is out of the wash.. very good that i made it with chiffon and satin.. it washes very well!

tutorial: 

I do  not know exactly what is wrong with my search words, but i cannot seem to hit on a perfect tutorial for this one. maybe there is not one on the web yet? is that the universe's way of telling me i need to make my second(ever) tutorial?
the bodice is made like the front of this one, and the skirt ... there is a handy dandy diagram over here that shows how to make a circle/half circle skirt.. I attached the two.. the top is loose, no closures at all..  the whole dress takes one hour to make. not bad for a summer's worth of use.

edited to add: 
submitting this post to the make it wear it link party at the train to crazy.

Expectations - a quote

We train school children to expect to be recognized for the slightest effort. Janet receives a certificate of achievement for saying her "ABC's," for memorizing her multiplication facts, or for cleaning the whiteboard. Does anyone stop long enough to explain to Janet that each task, well-done, contains a joy all its own? Would anyone dare suggest that she clean the class whiteboards simply because it is the right thing to do?

What are we expecting when we appear before God--a standing ovation? When asked about meeting his reward in heaven, an old Jewish rabbi once remarked, "God will say to me, 'Were you good to your wife,' and I will reply, 'Yes.' Then He will say, 'Were you a good father,' and I will say, 'Yes.' Next He will ask me, 'Were you good to your fellow-man,' to which I will reply, 'You, Lord God, know everything, and you know that I was!' to which He will reply, 'Good, then you did what you were supposed to do!' and that will be that!"


Raising good daughters today means that we must learn to back away from the "diva" and "prima dona" mentalities. Nothing is owed us, everything is expected. It should never be a matter of what we can get, but what we can give, always keeping in mind that we would never be able to do anything good apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus!

- reblogged  from  the lady of virtue

Looking back at 2012

2012 was a year of great revelation to me. It showed me that i can easily find it in me to  run away from my responsibilities, into a world within myself.it showed me that when life gets tough, i am one of those who roll in a ball and wait for it to be over.

  It showed me that i have an amazing imagination. It showed me that i can write well.. It gave me the first laurel  in writing accomplishment .. i won second place in a short story writing competition. It showed me that being comfortable in my own skin is not that difficult.. that I dont have to apologize for being me.

 2012 showed me that my family is indeed very precious to me.  My littlest one joined the school tedium.. and although i was a bit too eager to start on her schooling, i was in no way prepared to the feeling when all my kids were in school.  I did not know how to divide my time, i did not know how to spend my (absolutely) free time,  I did not know how to manage three kids getting ready for school  in the morning or bedtime in the evening... and i found out that practice is the best teacher.

it showed me that  gaining weight is simply a matter of how much you eat. it showed me that if i suddenly stop exercising, i might gain a few kilos extra in the weeks following. it showed me how good I'd feel after a brisk walk around the block, when i have a friend to gupshup with.

2012 taught me that i have it in me to be blindly addicted to something. It cured me of the same addiction, by ways known only to God.. but after it was over, i know what it did to me, and my family... and i found out that my husband was not joking when he said his wedding vows. I appreciate him a lot more, i think i am finally grown up enough to appreciate his devotion.

I read a lot this year.. not only fiction, but nonfiction too.. and i see my little ones curled up in corners of the home, lost in their books, I am content.. and my only regret is not being able to provide them enough books to broaden their horizons.. sadly, the school library stocks mostly nancy drew and famous five and enid blyton.. and that is definitely not the genre of books i want my kids to read.I will do something to make it right.. I WILL!

towards the end of the year, I got introduced to podcasts and monetizing and blogging as a business.. i am intrigued, and a whole lot curious. I have decided to to a project 365 in the year 2013, because the number of photos in my house have been terribly reduced because I donot know how to operate the new DSLR.. and i am eager to learn.  I will be starting a new blog for the 365, hence this is adios..

thanks to all who left comments here, encouraged me, and used the patterns off this site..  check my pinterest on the sidebar, you will find a ton of free patterns and tutorials from across the internet.. Enjoy your life. carpe diem!

edited to add: just when I try to stop a blog, a new reason comes. hence I take back the adios :)

Arnav & Khushi's Love Story | Iss Pyar ko Kya Naam Doon

call me an idiot, but this is what i fell in love with. 
got hopelessly addicted to.
cannot drop it, even now. 
glad that it ended,  so i did not have to choose. 
yes, i am a dweeb, i can still point out the exact scenes and conversations and significant moments that this VM is made up of.
here is something I wrote as a eulogy

watched "the departed".
yes, i live under a rock, its been eons since the movie came out on tv.. but was captivated. the moves, reactions, countermoves, the thin slice of unreal connection so expertly woven.. and then wanted to hit something when the movie ended.. "seriously? i mean really? thats it? thats IT?? " "ugh why? why????? "

then i gave it a day to simmer. (i love the way leo acts) (i love matt damon, though he's not the chocolate boy anymore) (gosh that Jack Nicholson.. i'd marry a man like that!)

somehow, i'm glad i saw that movie..

and (here goes) this movie reminds me so much of IPK.

so special applause to the directors of IPK.. who melds, links and weaves all the threads.. the story, the acting, the editing, the screenplay, the sublime background music, the videography.. who gave us something worth watching.. something that had multiple layers of magic woven into something as simple as a hate-turned-love story.


for having the same pull as a movie.. for converting a movie person like me and hooking me onto a daily soap. for having something more with every rewatch.. for telling stories that unfolded through months.. always keeping me interested.. it was not only for the lead pair that i watched the story, though the lead pair is absolute eye candy in both looks and acting skill.. the story itself intrigued me.

me, who can rip through an M&B in one hour, was hooked to 8pm tv..
me, who never watched hindi dramas unless it was on youtube.. (flexitime access, finished story..)
me,who had no time between mommying and taxying and biwiying.. dropped everything and flabbergasted my family by plopping myself in front of the tv come 8 pm. my kids, who had never had a whiff of bollywood drama.. became pickled in arnav and khushi and hello hi bye bye.

my hubby, so used to the "take it or leave it" biwi, rolled his eyes for the first month. closed his eyes the second month.. started narrowing his eyes by the third( the swami drama had started by then)... his biwi had changed color. no amount of riffing or heckling seemed to work.. kiddos were singing rabba ve on the toilet... and trying out "swami" as an assault weapon. "whats happening in this house??!!"

thankfully, that mania has ended.
finally, God heard his prayers.
now no tv during the pm primetime. just like before.
peace in the house. just like before.
kids do homework. just like before.

thank you, 4lions, for dissing the show.
i did not know i owed you my sanity, until i regained it. 
thank you, barun sobti.
your quitting has indeed been a good thing.

snapshots on the web

Sometimes it is really hard to keep your privacy online. Well, not sometimes. Every time.  If I publish a picture, I assume that anyone trying to find it can and will find it. So I am a bit reluctant to "publish" any photo of mine that I don't want to float on the cesspool that is the interwebs.

I know that everyone does not think the same. they post pictures of everything from their cats to their  address without a care. I am not one of them. This is one of the reasons I purposely edit some of the pictures on this blog.

christmas 'gifts'

first, let me say, i grew up in an environment where gifts were unheard of. the only 'gifts' you got (all through the year) were the small packets of candy that one(!) uncle brought for us kids  when he visited.   that does not mean we were poor..  we were a wealthy family, and everything we needed.. even everything we kids wanted.. were simply bought as and when requested.. never a 'gift'. we got the best of everything.. but nothing was presented as a  'gift'.  no 'gifts' for birthdays, no 'gifts' for christmas. instead, we went to church, prayed and was thankful on our birthdays, mom baked a cake, we ate it together, that was it.. lots of love, no gifts. we celebrated Christmas with long visits to the ancestral home, meeting every family member, having a lot of fun(we were kids, no recollection of vacation planning or itinerary or leave scheduling)..

then, i got married.  here was a family  that was great on gifts. something special on your birthday, a new dress for christmas.  something gold on your anniversary.. a little trinket when you come back from an overseas trip...

and now, i realize how good you can feel when someone gives you a gift.  something they chose, thinking specifically of you, because you are special to them.  not something that  you asked for, not something generic for everyone..  I love the feeling. 

so, do not wait until the holidays to shop for gifts.  have a running list in your phone.. buy something which reminds you of someone.  yes, the holiday season is terrible for shopping.. because people are so stressed, living up to mental expectations... status- appearance- price range of the gifts.. what will the receiver think of the gift??

 my kids have already started expecting gifts for occasions. requesting them.. and now i am struggling to reinstate the status quo as in my dad's house. because expectations are a terrible thing. and though i have money to get whatever they want,  i think it is important that the children learn how to appreciate the concept of a  gift.

 this little comment made me realize what a big gift my parents gave me.. they raised me without the gimme syndrome. thanks for the post.

a quote, and a note

Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé; you become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.( "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.)I had been tamed. Books were my sanctuary and my curse. The enticement of romance stories, the universe of fiction and fantasy were so alluring for me, they made it impossible for anyone around me to measure up. I was spoiled. I was no good for the real world.

 this  quote came from a book i read.. and i did not want to lose it.. so posting it here. 

 It has been a long time since I posted anything on the blog, not because of lack of time, not because I have not been sewing, but because I have a new interest to take up my internet time.
 It is an indian TV soap called Iss Pyar ka Kya Naam Doon? and  I spend a lot of time of its forum.

 Since this blog is read only by a handful of people, I did not really feel any obligation to keep up the posting frequency,but have decided to do something constructive and start back on the blogging bandwagon..  wish me luck!

fabric shopping at souq wakif, and the first project of 2012

Souq Wakif.. it is a landmark tourist spot in Qatar. Every visitor who stays for a week will have seen at least a glimpse of it.  The area was developed to look like the really old souqs(markets) of arabia, with tiny shops and narrow alleyways, mostly shaded to escape the desert sun. (if you're the couch surfing type, here is a link to a gallery) It is a real market, selling everything from spices to shovels and everything in between.

I went there to buy fabric.  The labyrinth is amazingly confusing , especially if you're as directionally-challenged as I am, but I bravely marched in.  This corridor  leads to  the fabric-shop lane. 

Sadly, I am rather shy to take pictures of random strangers. so I   did not take any pics inside the shops, nor their owners. The majority of fabric shops there sell really shiny, sparkly  fabric, more satins and polyester and chiffon and sequins and embellished tulle.

If you have time to explore, you will find a few gems, shops that sell japanese cotton and indonesian rayon, korean satin and thai silk.  and many varieties.. cotton satin, charmeuse, poplin, lawn..(well. if you're not into fabric, these words are gibberish.) After browsing through at least ten or twenty shops, I make some purchases. I bargain on the price. I agree with random Arab ladies who say the price is too high in arabic, though I don't know any arabic, i get the gist of the conversation. bargain hunting transcends language barriers :) I let my little one play with the old men tending the shops.. i feel really sad for them.. living so far away from their families, making a living without a life.

then we go to explore the pet souq. where there are many varieties of birds, small animals like rabbits, puppies, kittens, hamsters, and lots of varieties of fish, turtles, lizards,  etc etc. she was enthralled by the rabbits, but were scared to go near.  she did have lots to say about them later :)

The souq authorities work hard to keep the old world feel of the place, as the covered ATMs suggest.  We saw the cavalry patrol through the souq. They were happy to pose for pictures.

I came back with my new purchases, drawing pictures in my head. Spring is in the air. The winter cold is gone. new clothes for the girls, new clothes as gifts.Today, the girls had holiday.  so I measured one, drafted, cut and sewed. Took a long time, but finished now.  The inspiration, Burda 9697. I am glad to say it turned out almost exactly the same. She wanted wider straps, she got.  The tulle peeking out is a separate underskirt, just like the pattern. She loves her new dress, extra points for twirl-ability.

new year celebrations

We went to the beach to celebrate the new year. It was really cold outside, so I dressed the kids in normal clothes. That did not keep them from jumping in the water...

the water was very shallow, the tide was out.  since this area is behind a breaker, there were only tiny shells left from the dance of water.. I found a hermit crab, but forgot to take its picture. Here is a picture of flotsam  instead:
Here's to a  calm and peaceful year!