The scariest fun I ever had...

...that I remember. I went through this phase in the mid to late 90s where I absolutely had to climb on buildings, high roofs, etc... and I'm sure I must of had fun if I kept doing it, I just don't particularly remember... but a few weeks back, we had the most scary fun ever, and it has been emblazoned upon my inner noggin, for all time....i went...4-wheeling...with my husband and kids!... that's "Pa", in his jeep, ahead of ours as we drove into "Carnage" (big red flag!!) in Left Hand Canyon near Boulder Colorado.

As some of you know, I did not have a driver's license until I was 25 years old. I only got one then because we were months away from Chloe, our first daughter. (I am only 4"11" and was soooo pregnant I looked like an alien pod when I went to the exam. Oh yeah, baby, I played the pregnant-girl card...at one point, Joe could see the test guy yelling at me and waving his arms as we drove by the DMV.) Anyway. I don't drive well, I don't really enjoy driving (not much creative license), and I fail to understand why you would make your journey more "interesting" by driving over big rocks to get to your destination. However, I'm quite certain that my husband doesn't understand my newest fascination--rug hooking, my latest thing I want to know everything about--perma-culture, or why I really must wear red shoes. But he's so swell, he does a passable job of feigning interest!! So...I thought that a family outing, a foray into all things jeep, would be a lovely gesture of returned, feigned, interest.

See this is what I mean. Do you see those 2 areas on either side of the jeep where you could just drive on through, slick as a whistle??? (sigh)

Now, I searched My Playlist for that song...is it "Sugar High"? From Empire Records...because on the way to Carnage, Pa gave Chloe and Maggie one whole dollar each to spend at the gas station!!! And lo and behold, they had bags of candy...2 for $1!!! (yeah...can't post that song on this family blog...not nearly as bad as the Italian Leather Sofa blog entry...but it was a close call.)

So that set the, uh, "physiological tone" for the day.

Maggie road in the jeep for a few...yards...and then it was "scary!" (no kidding!!!)

The key to understanding the experience is to note the scale of the picture. That little guy driving over that big rock is my husband. And that tiny woman in the passenger seat is me...the wee tots in the back, our precious children.

I really like Maggie's HUGE eyeball in this pic.! LOL (she's right behind her Dad...)

The girls and I got out and walked.

Chloe the Fearless was fine, of course--the kid has no sense of mortality...but I think us girls were all missing the little river spot where the boys had done "stuff" to their jeeps before we started into the canyon...

It was the sweetest little mountain nook...a tiny river, picnic table, pretty river rocks and this beautiful little tuft of moss... the girls got to sit on a rock in the river! That was pretty cool, of course.

Doesn't the moss look like a little faerie seat? It had these tiny little yellow star shapes...

...the girls and I walked up the canyon to the side of the line of jeeps going up with, and behind, our jeep...a few moments later, Joe got stuck on 2 really big rocks. It was absolutely dreadful and amazing, all at the same time. And I did not get a picture!...the moment I raised the camera and zeroed in was exactly when he crashed to the earth, un-scathed of course...

Those jeep fellas (and gals too!) are an interesting community...you end up in a sort of caravan, and if the ride behind you is stuck, you don't go forward until they're free, out of courtesy. They do the same for you. When Joe was on the 2 big rocks, we ended up with a whole group of people standing around watching, taking pictures and video. Now, you'd think that seeing my husband do that would discourage others from taking "that line"...but oh no. Pa did the exact same thing, on purpose, a few days later. Just to see. It ends up being this whole geometry thing, with figuring out the angles, etc. etc. Which I do find fascinating--it's the same with drafting a new bear pattern--I am just much more invested in the "math" of it if I am safely observing. Who knew I'd grow up to be such a sissy??? It's true, I am no longer "Megan the Fearless"--and no need to be, as I have Chloe. :)

And speaking of drafting patterns--another, flawless, segue! Look what I made!!!

This 7" mushroom is sewn from wool felt, with needle felted details...it's a little pinkeeper that will be home to a couple of owlies I'm working on. But I just might offer this as an ePattern, with a 5" and 3.5" version too...that is, if I can brave the 40mph winds to go borrow a scanner! I needed something to show the scale of it...because it seems larger to me than 7", but it really does measure to that. Now, I told you last post that Joe's helping run the biz now...and so, we arrived at his first helpful task:

Please don't mind the blackness on the wall behind his head...it's really not a big squashed spider--it's Maggie's art...she hasn't decided on a specific medium yet--it's between murals or tattoos, at present. (sigh)

What a guy, huh? And guess what? I've had a crush on him for 10 years. :)

New work in a few days...a new bear design--1930s style, a Mother's Day pinkeeper, and my FIRST Halloween offering of 2008!! I can't wait! Be sure to vote on our new poll...

Blessings,

Meg