Nefarious has become quite completely obsessed with the level creator in Little Big World and is ignoring me… It’s really amazing how quickly a child progresses — be it swimming, reading, gaming, or any other inspiring form of play; it develops incredibly rapidly if they enjoy it. So I do my best to keep her targeted on things that have productive value in developing her overall potential (the gaming also helps with reading and motivates her to learn to do it better), and encourage her to play at them.
Last night I sketched out “The Cure of Folly“, based on a Hieronymus Bosch painting that I’m sure many recognize. I’m quite thrilled with how it is going so far (shameless plug: buy my 2009 art calendar or my bod-mod calendar — or a t-shirt — if you like my art).
It’s totally overcast and rainy today so I couldn’t get a good shot of The Opium Den, but here’s a photo of it with a flash — you can see that it’s quite luminous in the right lighting and perhaps the difference between this and the previous photo show you just how tricky it is to capture. This picture is actually probably closer to the real thing than the previous one.
Another morning of trapeze class today… I think Nefarious took them by surprise when she scampered up the rope nearly to the ceiling — our time rock climbing has paid off. Or maybe it’s our less-encumbered-by-safety-gear climbing at the park? In terms of physical education, I’m hoping to nab some of the other parents at her school into taking judo with us… Judo I think would appeal to Nefarious, who of course loves tumbling and fighting (yeah, I think I might watch the big PPV tonight).
And as someone else pointed out when I mentioned it before, judo really teaches you how to take a fall, which truly is an invaluable skill when you find yourself needing it! I remember once as a child (my parents forced me into judo after I strangled some kid on the school bus after he called me a ‘kraut’) slipping and falling on an icy playground, doing an instinctual breakfall, and realizing “wow, this really works!” Plus joint-locks are an equalizer, and I think everyone should be able to defend themselves.
Caitlin went to the Royal Winter Fair yesterday, so maybe I’ll do that today still, but I think more likely we’ll just go swimming. She brought me back some delicious maple tarts, adding to my enormous girth, especially since I also bought a cake earlier in the day. Haha, well, hopefully now that I’m back at the gym I can get back to eating anything I want without consequences.
Oh, and isn’t this the ultimate phone booth? (Chatting with mommy).