some recent pics

This is my cat Frederick.  Hes the nicest cat in the whole world.  I think he knows all of life's secrets because he is always so content.

 Celia and I both got skates and Rowan likes to ride bikes.  He recently has mastered the 2 wheeler, with training wheels of course, but here he is on the tricycle:

This is our learning room.  The kids like their new puzzle boards which help them learn to spell, and associate letters with sounds too.

This pic is a little older, it was taken on the solstice.  Mike and Celia are playing hungry hippos.

Self Portrait Tuesday

Well I just got a camera so I played a few songs just to see if this all works!  And apparently, here on xanga, it doesn't.  I couldnt get my video to play here so I am linking to my youtube channel:

www.youtube.com/sadiejaneramsey

I haven't been as up-to-date online as I wanted to, so it goes.. I homeschool my kids, have them in a group that meets once a week, give guitar lessons, and the kids visit their dad once a week.

I'll give a quick update... I have several new students and so therefore Ive been busy.  Rowan just learned to ride a bike and Celia has another loose tooth.  I'll get some pics of Rowan on the big two wheeler, with training wheels of course, next time we go to the park...  Celia and I both got rollerskates, thats a lot of fun, too.  

A photo update

 Well a lot has gone down in the last few months.  I havent had a home phone or internet access.. these bills have been killing me.  But, Im back.  and because its been so long.. instead of writing a huge, long-winded update I dont have time for , I figured Id post a bit of a photo journal of our summer and fall.  It's in chronological order, more or less.

{I thought Id add music you can listen to while you read up on us.  I recorded this one back in aug or something.. }

This was on one of the many drives I go on with my boyfriend, Aris.  He has a nice jeep and we like to drive way off and look for wildlife.

My father came to visit.. notice the dog is barking, what's new?

This is our friend Caitlyn, with Celia and I.  A classic pic.  I gave Caitlyn guitar lessons for a while before her family moved away.  We miss them very much.

I cut Celia's hair short.

We did an awful lot of this over the summer!  I had a killer tan, lol.

Here I am with Jack.  Can you tell the kids have been in bed awhile?  notice the drunken glaze in my eyes..

This toad is my friend.  He lives in my yard.. trapped in the stone walls.  He's bigger than a softball, easily.  I am careful not to use poisons for his sake, and he eats the bugs for me instead.  I keep the dogs away, or leashed, when its the rainy season. He's been with us for a good few years now.  Its a colorado river toad if anyone's wondering.

This incredible view was from the top of a mountain, we went to see some ruins of the Salado people here in AZ.  it was a precarious hike, with dogs and all, but we were with good friends so it wasn't too nerve-wracking!

and here are the ruins..

thats Rowan, with no regard for the height we are at!

Caitlyn was sketching the mortar and pestle..

and here's the view from inside.

Afterwards we took the kids to a nearby lake.

Rowan loves to make the biggest splash he can!

I cut Rowan's hair short too, sometime between these next pics!

Halloween.  Celia was a princess, Rowan was a dragon.  The kids' father takes them to a park for safe trick or treat type stuff every year while I get to stay home in the quiet.  Its nice.

My mom came to visit recently, too.

These 2 pics are from the very last time Rowan and I had "bugga" together.  He was almost 4.

I sure do miss those sweet faces they both made as nurslings. 

Celia lost her first tooth!

I couldn't fit the whole thing in the frame but this is just one rainbow..

there was another one behind it but it didnt come out in the pics.  we get fantastic rainbows out here in the "monsoon" season. 

so, I missed everybody!  I have so much to catch up on online.. I dont know if Ill ever get to read all the entries Ive missed, but I will try to keep up from now on!  

Well!  We have had such a busy weekend.  I took the kids to their first rainbow gathering, since Celia was a baby.  There was a regional here in AZ, up in Payson.  We didnt get to stay too long, because the cops were already chasing everybody out of the woods, like usual.  It had been waaay too long since I had been to a gathering and that was so nice for me, even for an afternoon.  Just hearing somebody say, "welcome home" and give me a hug, well it affected me.  Then yesterday we went to the earth day festival, as some of the rainbows asked us to meet there.  That was really cool!  For once I didnt  stand out, it was such a counterculture scene.   There were live djs, singers, rappers, etc.  There was a kids' area with bean bag tossing games and such.  THere was a separate dj spinning jungle beats, which  I like.  Practically half of the ppl there had dreads, and probably more than half of everyone there was drinking.  They were selling the beer to raise money.  Rowan enjoyed the kids' games, and Celia enjoyed making friends with some rainbows.  After the music started to get louder, etc, there were kids dancing up onstage and Rowan went up there, in front of all these people!  He was dancing onstage.  I had no idea Rowan is a ham.  Then we went off by the water and there was drumming, and I was singing and everyone loved it, it was great.  That shit just fills me up inside.  I hated to have to go.. Then one of our friends took out these things, I forget what theyre called, but theyre chains with a thick pad at the end, that you soak in gas, and light on fire, and twirl them in the air, etc.  The kids were amazed by this, of course.  But then we had to go.  I wish we could do things like that all the time.  All the rainbows wanted to know why I didnt just get a bus and travel with the kids.  Silly hippies. 

if you dont listen to much of my music, pick this one.  this song is so difficult to play its giving me carpal tunnel's in one hand. or maybe its tendonitis. but its really fun to play. very complicated. when I was a street musician I played this one on the streets of new york with a drunk recovering addict named gus. he stole the book for this album for me. I left it on the side of the road in northern florida when I was a hitchhiker, by accident of course. a trucker pulled over to give us a ride, very early in the morning, and as we collected our things he pulled away a bit. he was impatient. so it goes. that was over 5 yrs ago. I bought the book again recently, and I have a much better understanding of music theory and picking styles so its even nicer than before. But I couldnt get the recording flawless as usual, because its just so damned difficult. so I finally uploaded an imperfect song.

radiohead's paranoid android. I altered it some, as Ive only got one acoustic guitar, and no effects, etc.