This is the next addition of the Arapahoe Acres interiors. This home was the last to be completed in AA. It has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths, and a great room on the lower level; all which were not photographed. I had no idea the home was this large! Yvonne, you were holding out on me. The upper level combines living, dining and kitchen; which is what I photographed.
This home was photographed weeks before having Zedekiah and it was just printed in the AA neighborhood newsletter. Since I did not write the article, I am not publishing it in its entirety here. This is a great home. A couple of months after photographing it one of our friends asked if it was for sale (there was a designer’s sign placed on the grass). “That is such a beautiful home. We’d love to buy it!” But alas, I think Yvonne and Phil will remain our neighbors for a long time to come. It is a beauty and very well preserved and loved.

We wanted to host India’s party away from home this year. With an infant in the house, we felt this would be easier for everyone. Zach was afraid I would try to make too many things if we had it at home. He knows me too well.

After listing a few places India decided Mini Golf would be the most fun. Instead of making things for the house, India and I made the invites. She drew a picture and I carved it in a block, then we used tempura paint to print them. I haven’t done that before, I have always used Speedball ink. The paint gave more texture to the prints… it was a bit more difficult to get the image readable. I did most of the inking and printing to keep the brush strokes to a minimum.

We didn’t use the back print since someone might not be able to read the info, oh and we changed the time.

India had decided she wanted Crunch Bar ice cream Popsicles for the party. Things couldn’t get much easier! But Zach’s mom convinced us that we needed some sort of cake for the birthday girl. I guess you’ve got to blow out candles at your party, right. So with her help I made some cupcakes. With the leftover batter I made golf balls for the tops with the tiny muffin pan I bought years ago and have NEVER used. It finally came in handy!

It was so windy that day we couldn’t light the candles. I tried for about a second and realized it wasn’t going to happen. Thankfully India was willing to pretend to blow out the candles. Ha! There was singing too, of course. We didn’t have to throw out all the traditions. She was actually sung to twice. Once by her party guests and a second time by all the Lacrosse players at the park that day. The park was filled with them! I have never seen that park so crowded. Some of the teenage girls thought it was so cute that India was having a party there and they decided to sing to her.

Ezra wanted a pink ball, not the white one. HA! I think it was because he knew I covered it with pink sugar.

A few cupcakes were devoured, but most were hardly eaten. They were good, I promise. I even made the butter cream frosting. The kids were ready to get golfing already. No photos of that, though. I had to nurse baby Zed so I passed the camera to Zach and only 2 or 3 images were taken the rest of the day.

The kids all had a blast and I’m glad India was able to have a party this year. Phew.

Since Zedekiah was almost 2 weeks early, it seemed like forever before my mom came to help. It was great having her around. The number of adults equaled the number of kids for a week… now we’re outnumbered but we’re getting used to it.

After my mom’s visit we had another couple of weeks before Zach’s parents came out. I’m a total lamer and didn’t take any pictures of the with Zed. So there isn’t any photographic evidence of their visit. But there is still proof that they came!
We had scheduled Zed’s father’s blessing for his parents’ visit and I had been knitting a vest for the babe to wear. When Zach’s mom saw it she quickly decided that he needed a pair of pants. She knitted these up in a day and a half. Unbelievable.


I took these photos a few days after they left. Don’t you just love Zedekiah’s quiet smile? He really began smiling the day of his blessing (the 17th). After the blessing we had our neighbors and friends come and visit. Kind of a welcome party for Zedekiah, but very low key with folks in and out throughout the afternoon. It was very nice.

Eyes open and content to be. Gotta love it.


This is the blanket I knitted for him. I actually knitted it twice. The first go it was super wide and skinny. I would have rolled him up in it and it still wouldn’t have covered his toes. I think I had 180 stitches across and gave up trying to make it square, so bound it off and ended up with a shawl. But I wanted a blanket. That’s what I get for not using a pattern.
I began again, casting on about 80 stitches the second go ’round. I knitted the even rows and purled the odd until about 70 rows. Now it’s the perfect size and oh so soft.

The baby is here, home and doing quite well. The belly shot was taken a week and a half before Zed arrived. The after shot taken just before he was 2 weeks old.

On our way home from the hospital!


The kids really enjoy holding little Zed. They also enjoyed all the hospital snacks in the kitchen. Pudding, crackers, jello. Ezra had to have 2 or 3 little cups of frozen cranberry juice each time he came and India especially enjoyed the jello. Once Ezra even came and took a nap with me in my bed. He really wanted to stay the entire night, but thankfully that wasn’t allowed. I’m happy to say that the two nights at the hospital were not my last decent nights of sleep. While the baby does wake often, he typically goes right back to sleep. Except for last night. I was up for a couple of hours before dawn. This is only the beginning…

This year our Easter gift was a little 7 pound baby. The day before he was born my friend Heather, her kids and mine all had their Easter portraits taken. Easter Sunday was a bit crazy, but India and Ezra looked pretty much like this… Except Ezra’s hair was styled much better by Daddy.
The day these were taken, I could hardly move. India, since she was out of school, was doing all the fetching of snacks and water for Ez… oh, and switching of shows. Lots of TV was watched that day She’s such a good helper.

Zed started life at 7:27am looking very blue. We were a bit worried until the nurse said all Denver babies come out like grapes. She said it’s totally normal at this high altitude.

He was 7lbs. 9oz. and 20 inches long. A good sized kid, but our smallest. They say that babies in utero don’t get as big at high altitude as they do at sea level.

There he is. Zedekiah. Zed for short. His name the topic of many songs in our home.

Spring is a time when families get back together.  Kids are out of school and return home for a little R&R. It was great to see this family all together with the eldest home from his 1st year of college. We wanted to get a great family portrait and a few of the boys… especially the eldest at this time of his life.

I’ve been doing a lot of crazy things to get ready for this baby.  Mostly I’ve been trying to get the house organized… in spurts that has left the place a mess.  Who’s going to clean that up?  I have also been doing quite a bit of volunteer work, which always adds to the chaos.  The other thing I have been doing a lot of is knitting… as the title of this post says.

Ezra adopted my first creation as his own.  I wanted to wear this scarf to the park on St. Patrick’s Day since it was a bit chilly in the morn’.  Once I put it on, Ezra said “Hey, that’s mine!”  So he got it, mostly to convince him to be photographed.

I had combed his hair (I’ve discovered the benefits of water and a fine toothed comb to get out the knots) and he had chosen to wear his boots with his shorts, which didn’t leave much room for his legs to show.  It was a funny look and I wanted to capture it.  It wasn’t until he put the scarf on (”I want it to cover my mooouth”) that he agreed to a photograph.

My second project is for baby X.  He will need a few hats.  My friend Heather and I made a trip to this super cute yarn shop called Knitty Cat south of here.  After the owner, Ann, helped Heather figure out which combination of patterns she should use, she gave us tips on which yarn to choose.  We were then left to find the best colors for the job.  I really wanted to make something too and I since I have no idea what I’m doing when it come to knitting, I decided we could each make the hat.  Heather thought that was a good idea and reminded me that this babe will need a few things that are just his.

This is how the little hat has turned out.  A few mistakes, but nothing earth shattering.  I figure the mistakes will make it obvious that someone, rather than a machine, made this hat.

I guess I should finish this project, but I’ve already moved onto a blanket.  I need to give these little needles back the Heather.  It’s just so tedious getting the tail knitted.  Tonight, I’ll do it tonight.

They say a baby is just a baby: they eat, poop and sleep.  I think this little one was showing off a bit.  Not only was she sporting the perfect amount of chunk; at 5 weeks she smiled, gave me smoldering eyes, and even a sleepy hug.  This little one had so many great moments for me to capture.

The smile,

A bit of the smoldering eye,

and the sleepy hug.

I love the squishy face.  Babies make the funniest faces when kissed.

The other day we spent after school time at our neighbor’s house.  They have this super comfortable rocking chair that is also super modern.  It reminded me of my chair search a couple weeks ago that turned up some uber-chic rocking chairs.  After that search I looked at the more standard, and affordable, chairs… blah!  Why would I want another one of those?  The last one, although wonderfully useful while it lasted, was very noisy and not very stylish.

Anyway, Zach came to our neighbors to help round up the kids and I mentioned their rocking chair and how we really need one.  Once home, my researcher began a looking on Craig’s List while I was busy getting dinner ready.  By dinner time he had found the chair.  A white Herman Miller shell with arms and a rocker to boot.  For those of you not into vintage modern furniture, let’s just say it’s a very cool chair.  Maybe you’d think this isn’t the most comfortable chair in the world, but our shell chairs for the bar are actually quite comfortable.

So, I called the seller and he was free that night.  After dinner we began to head out when there was a knock at the door.  I had completely forgotten we had an appointment with the EQ.  Well, we said our apologies and headed out the door.  Nesting errands trump visits from people.  Ha!  Sorry guys.

Anyway we got to the seller’s house and he had an upholstered rocker.  Even better.  I sat, rocked, checked it out and we chatted about the history of these chairs.  He said the rockers were made for expecting office workers.  Cool.  It looked good and fit me well; we paid the man and headed home with our treasure.

Once home I realized I could really use this chair in my office while waiting for the baby.  So comfortable.  Not sure I’ll be able to give it up once the baby comes.  I’ll just be nursing and surfing all day long.

This Arapahoe Acres home was built in 1954 by Edward Hawkins.  It is situated in the middle of the block, nestled into the slope. Hawkins did not bulldoze the natural slope found on the land; he incorporated it into his designs. Therefore the lower level of the home abuts the hill while the upper level rests atop it. When entering, one is ushered into a tiny foyer with beautiful mahogany paneling. It is surprisingly light owing to the wide stairwell and the fretted glass panels surrounding the front and interior door.

While the main living space is upstairs at garden level, downstairs has what was originally a small family room, two bedrooms, and a bath.

There are so many wonderful details that one cannot help but notice in this home. The first, and most dramatic, has to be the latticed stair enclosure one climbs to enter the heart of the home. Once atop the staircase a view of the beautiful garden, along with the salvaged sculpture from National Jewish Hospital, is seen through the south facing window wall.

A more subtle detail, but no less important, is the fireplace wall in the living room. The concrete hearth and mahogany shelves create a composition on the roman brick wall that reinforces the horizontal character of the room.   A series of panoramic photographs from neighbor Ron Pollard have been placed along the longest shelf. The images show a bit of Englewood history. They were taken of Cinderella City Mall as it was being demolished in 1998.

The vaulted ceiling throughout and clerestory windows on the east and west walls both attribute to the open feeling in the space. Pony walls enclose the kitchen and a former patio just outside the kitchen is now a sun filled room. The addition, dubbed “the lounge”, stays true to the original design. Dark lapped wood paneling along with south and west facing window walls, keep the lounge light and open to the outdoors.

This little nook has a desk that appears to have been built with the original construction of the home.  The window seat seems to be an extension of the original desk, added at some later date.  The tell tale signs are a partially covered outlet and some unpainted paneling behind the seat.

A very beautiful, well preserved home here in Arapahoe Acres.

I say that not because they donated seeds, starter trays, and pots to our school but because they really are the best.  Friendly, informative staff and they even have popcorn to satisfy the munchies.  They also have great selection and good prices.  Hey, maybe not Walmart prices.  But really, wouldn’t you rather support a local store and have your gardening questions answered?

They are the tops and have been my favorite since I first visited.

I keep getting that question.  Oh, and “How are you feeling?”  That one too.

Here’s the answer:

This is our friend Anson Holmes the cabinet maker:

This guy has been keeping me quite busy.  He is trying to get a nice brochure together and has wrangled 7.5 month pregnant me into the mix.  Unlike shooting babies and people, there are deadlines involved with photographing objects.  It seems that everyone in that realm wants the final product yesterday.  Which is fine with me, since I only have until tomorrow before the baby is here.

So last Monday I photographed this kitchen:

Isn’t that cool wood?  Not to mention that Anson designed and built the pulls.

Then Saturday he got me to drive to Woodland Park (only about 2 hours away) to photograph this home:

Some exquisite work and well worth the drive.  Not to mention the cool forest the kids got to run through all day.  Oh and the Spook House the owner built for Halloweens.  But that’s another story.

I love this family.  It is so nice that they are no longer just two.  Now they’ve got this little guy to cuddle and love.  He was a long time coming.  He may have been a month early but having mom on bedrest and in the hospital makes folks a bit impatient.

I arrived and, of course, he was tired.  What newborn isn’t?  He didn’t want to be moved about and he sure didn’t care that I was there trying to take his picture.  Babies.  They think they’re running the show.  Probably because they are.  We got past the usual newborn grumpiness and he showed us his cuteness from every angle.

I chose this beautiful blanket from their stack of Indian blankets.  It made for a very nice background.

Little and big toes.  Mom had a hard time not touching those little piggies.

I thought I wanted dad’s hand to show off this tiny hand.  But I love how he is just brushing across mom’s arm.  Perfect.

This one is my favorite.  So relaxed and so beautiful.

There is an dad and baby shot that I love, but I’ll see what dad has to say about it.  There may be a second instalment…

When Ezra saw this grouping of meters, he got very excited.  When asked if he would like a picture next to them he said “Yes!”

Ezra is totally boy.  He loves fight scenes in movies and tv shows, he loves cars, but mostly he loves, loves, loves any kind of weapon and often asks if he can have a blood sword.  Lately he has been asking if he can have a knife from the kitchen to walk around with.  Oh, he wants to draw blood very badly.  Sounds like he might need a shrink…

Over the past few months we have made quite a few more of these freezer paper shirts.  They are quite easy and pretty fun to make with the kids.  I have even hosted a shirt making demo/party and taught a few home schooled kids how to make these shirts.

These images are from the demo at my house in December.  It was very hot working in that room.  I sometimes wish for curtains on these windows… but only when entertaining in the day.

That was a great day and it is always nice when everyone is happy with what they created.  I think the most fun is peeling off the stencil to reveal the finished product.

This next shirt was the one that I probably learned the most on.

I learned that the background color cannot be painted too dark, or it will bubble if I try to iron on another stencil.  So we painted the figures first and made masks for them so we could paint the red over Leah and C3PO.  In any case this shirt was a huge hit and the girl who received it was wearing it the last time we saw her.

This was our next venture.  If you notice, the yellow of the toilet is not painted solidly.  I think we painted the blue of the water last, so could make it a solid layer.

Below are a few images of the reaction this shirt got:

He had to put this shirt on immediately.  Was it the toilet or the cape that made him so excited?  Who knows.  All I know is that he was ecstatic to receive clothing.  Ha!

We had fun putting this one together.  This was India’s first sunset to paint.  It was also our first attempt to fade the color… if I added water to the paint would I have achieved a smoother gradation?  We’ll have to try that next time.  This shirt was for a tiny baby who’s father is Indian.  I can’t wait until he’s big enough to wear it!

We all got hats from Grandma this Christmas.  Not just any hats, either.  She knitted a hat for all her kids and their spouces and their children.  The whole family got hats… Hummm, I wonder if the if Jennifer and Jay got hats.  They live in Arizona where it is too hot for anything like a stocking cap to be worn, ever.

Anyway, to say “Thank you” and as a birthday gift I took photographs of the kids in their hats and made a nice storyboard wall hanging for Grandma.  When the box came, I think it took her only a minute before she called to let me know how much she likes it.  Of course I had to get one too.  It is hanging in my office, which I am slowly trying to fill up with images.

Last Christmas update.  I just thought this too cute to skip.  We made a whole bunch of gingerbread cookies.  Both kids decorated a lot.  Well, India made about half while Ezra ate what he made.

Often our front room gets really warm in the winter, that’s why no shirts.  Even if it is 20 degrees outside, it’s a balmy 70 in our front room.  The rest of the house is a different story.  I love all the sun, especially after living in the north side of our Victorian through Boston’s cold, long winters.  It reminds me of the sliding glass door growing up.  I used to curl up in the sun like a cat and enjoy the rays.  There are no sliding glass doors in old Victorians or Colonials, which we lived in while in Baltimore.

If you’re wondering; the sun does not shine through these windows in the summer and the house often stays nice and cool throughout the hot season.  I believe we use the swamp cooler about 15-20 days out of the year.

Christmas in February?  Well, it has taken me awhile to get everything updated since I now have a faster moving computer.  Ironic, I know.

This Christmas we spent at home and had a very special guest of Uncle Noah.  It was great having him around.  The kids love to play with him and it is really convenient having another adult in the house.  I hope he might return in March… but I think he may have missed the cheap ticket prices that were being offered by Frontier Airlines after the Super Bowl.  Some good came from watching those ads.  The in-laws and my mom got tickets for after the baby is born… Um, I’m having a baby in April, for all those of you who do not know.  I guess along with not updating the blog, this announcement has been skipped.  Sorry.

Here is what our day looked like.  Pretty fun morning!

The other day I put pin curls in India’s hair.  After a day of wearing them, we took them out.  This is what unraveled.

There be pirates ahead!
We went all out for Ezra’s 3rd birthday. We sunk a pirate ship with cannon balls, had a treasure hunt, put jewels on personal treasure chests and had a few sword fights here and there. Oh yes, there was cake and ice cream too.

Our front room had a bit of a makeover.  We needed to turn the house into a ship… this was what we came up with.

The treasure map, thanks to India’s artistic skills.

The treasure chests coming together.

The booty was found inside this treasure chest.

(Plain trunk purchased at craft store.  With a little paint and glitter glue we made a beautiful treasure chest).

The ship they were to sink with cannon balls.  I think this was an activity to shut the door on and let them have at it.  Whiffle balls were flying!

Two puffs is all it took.  He’d been practicing.

Sharing a seat… for a little while anyway.  Once Ezra noticed, he pushed India off.  Brotherly love.

Just waiting for our new computer to live.  I’ve got updates just waiting in the wings…

I am really digging this Little Travelers Blog.  I have been reading a bit today and have been inspired in many ways.  One entry is on cooperative games.  Imagine playing a game where all players are working together to win the game.  What a concept.  I have always thought competition is overrated.  I actually can’t stand playing competitive games.  Maybe we’ll have to add a few of these games into our collection.