Team Gray!

Last weekend, our microwave bit the dust. It rumbled, flashed, and, sadly, couldn’t even boil water. Imani and I had cold Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.

I let Curtis know, and he made a trip to Best Buy. Poor thing–what a sacrifice!

Curtis goes to Best Buy to get batteries. He goes to Best Buy to window shop, or when there’s nothing else to do. . .

So, he came home last Saturday with a shiny new microwave. He and Xay proceeded to install it, and it was all ready to go by the time Xay had to go to a bonfire for TBC.

Monday, I took the whole family to Yasha’s Dr. appointment. 3 hours later, we returned home. We were greeted by our old washer and drier in the garage. “Mommy! Do you think we have a new set in the laundry room?” “No!” I quickly replied, “Couldn’t be!” My jaw hit the floor as I gazed upon a beautiful, high end front loading washing machine. . . and a sign that read, ‘Dryer dead upon arrival. Will return in afternoon.’ boo.

The Best Buy guys came back after 4 with the new dryer. It still didn’t work.

Curtis remembered that he and Zeke had rigged something with the plug of the old dryer when we’d moved in. Curtis had the dryer working before Zeke made it over to help that evening.

The next day, the children were fighting each other to get a good view of the washing machine in action. Yanni and Joy used the excuse of Joy needing her hair done to watch the whole cycle. Imani threw a tantrum when I sent her away to do a chore. Xay excitedly announced when the load was done, and started another one.

My jaw returned from the floor the next day, when it was back to normal. Nobody volunteered to put away the clean clothes, nor bring down more dirty ones.

It was a young girl’s dream come true.

An artist captures her in the crowd (or rather, the face painting line)at the Black Arts Festival.

The next year, he asks permission to paint her picture.

Then, not only does he paint it, but he puts it in an exhibit!

artist James Palmore poses with Ayanna’s contemplation

Xay just finished the Jules Verne classic. He’s had the book from the library since September, or was it August? It was over 400 pages, and Xay told me about the captain and the shipmates at the end, so I take it that he understood what he was reading.

What impressed me most was that he volunteered to do a creative book report. Although, he didn’t know it was a book report until I told him it was. Xay wanted to make a jello aquarium with gummy fish and neon gummy worms, and jelly beans for stones.

It was his first time working with jello, and we bought the generic store brand. It took so long to set up that the jelly beans had lost most of their color by the time it was jelled. Many of the fish had sunken down to the bottom of the bowl by the time we had jello. The rest had to be stuffed in the opening of the *fishbowl.*

It was good snacking during the long Thanksgiving cooking time.