Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited

Elyse Schein had always known she was adopted, but it wasn't until her mid-thirties while living in Paris that she searched for her biological mother. When Elyse contacted her adoption agency, she was not prepared for the shocking, life-changing news she received: She had an identical twin sister. Elyse was then hit with another bombshell: she and her sister had been separated as infants, and for a time, had been part of a secret study on separated twins.



Just finished reading this. Anyone interested in families, twins, research or adoption would find it an interesting read.

You can also read more about the book on the book's website here.

Little Houses Made of Ticky Tacky

It's cold. Like really cold. -54 C windchill cold. So we are hibernating.

Today we made some more papercrafts from this site:
Canon Papercrafts

The little crafts are better for older children so I cut and glued everything and Jr played with them. Then we made a house he could help with out of a milk carton. He likes that the little people can go inside the milk carton house too.





I just used regular printer paper and glued it to construction paper to make it sturdier before cutting.

I would really like to get some cardstock though and make some of the really pretty papercrafts on this site:

The Toymaker






I really wish the chocolate truck would come to my house today.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

I highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys young adult literature. It's touching and funny.. I laughed and cried reading it.



from amazon, where you can read an excerpt from the book as well:

In his first book for young adults, bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

Ice on Whyte Fest

Thank You Tea Towel

A thank you gift for a family member. It was embroidered from a vintage pattern Mr Blackbird's grandmother gave me.

Beauty School Dropout

I've had this song in my head all week.

Lockbox, Spontaneous Letters and Cuteness

Now that Jr is allowed a bit of time in the bathroom alone we decided we should lock up our medications instead of just putting them up high. Mr. Blackbird made this lock box out of scrapwood. It's made to fit into our medicine cabinet but I think it's almost too nice looking to tuck away. It's hard to get a nice picture but the stain and sheen are really nice and I like the dovetails on the edges.







Blackbird Jr was also accomplished this week. He doesn't have much interest in drawing or writing so I haven't pushed it but while he and Mr Blackbird were in the garage he was colouring on some scrap wood and asked how to spell his cousin's name. Mr Blackbird told him and then he realized Jr was writing it down. I think this is the first time Jr has written anything that wasn't hand-over-hand.



And my cats are being ridiculously cute today.



And yes, I'm aware that posting pictures of my cats on my blog indicates a strong possibility of me being a future Cat Lady. I'm okay with that.