Miki sings a sad song, happily

Sophie D'Amato: the quiet heat

So, yes, Samson was a true attraction, and did help us by distracting the young girls for periods of time. He took a lot of abuse, with good-nature. But did he ever actually lift a finger to help us? Now his fine sister, Sophie, on the other hand, peeled a lot of potatoes! Check it out (photo by Ida)! Sophie's Mom is a powerful lawyer nearing her fifth decade and can't even make mashed potatoes.

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons that Sophie's cool. For one, she is like a state champion swimmer, can swim vast distances, and all four strokes, unlike some famous swimmers in our family. Samson suggests that he could beat Sophie in a sprint, but we can't really even begin to entertain that possibility.

Danger.  Word!

Now why Sophie has a tendency to flash gang signs, I'm not sure. I am alerting my sister, now, that gang affiliation, even amid academic superstar swimmers, can lead to trouble. Tupac!

This is at the OG, Original Pancake House!  Sophie is meditating on whether or not she would even eat a pancake until later when they were her Mom's leftovers in the mini-van.  But whatever, man, teenagerhood is on the horizon.  Sweetness persists:

Miki has a sweet spot for Sophie, as do we all.  Here, a little tour of ReedCo, so much more verdant and quiet over Spring Break.

Sophie, come back!

Samson D'Amato, heartthrob

Okay, so, yes! The whole D'Amato clan came to Portland, which some people said they'd never do. And here they were. It's hard to know where to start--it'll likely take many posts to unravel it--but why not choose the hot center. I mean, Samson is like a magnet to these young girls. They love him (that's Fred back there, who's also magnetic, but doesn't quite work the "kind of a boy, but kind of like a man" excitement that Ida sees in Sam).

Friday night we were fortunate to hang with the Bradfords, and Elsie and Theo agreed that Samson was irresistible!

Later they buried him under a pile of pillows and cushions.  Maggie, who'd just cleaned up the living room, really appreciated this.  (But who could blame them!)

Sam was very patient, and he is also an attractive soccer star.

At the Original Pancake House, he was quite polite and had crepes with whipped cream and strawberries.  It seemed even the waitresses, there, took a shine to him.

The girls are still talking about him!  Ida has some questions about his spelling, for instance.

More about our other adventures, and other D'Amatos, quite soon...

Rebuilding

Well, yes, a rainy Saturday, and Ella had a desire to go up to the Rebuilding Center to look at sinks and such. The girls spent a lot of time measuring things:

We managed to get rid of two cabinet doors, but came away with 5 new plastic stacking kid chairs. So, result of decluttering: -2 + 5 = 3 And then we got a sink at another place while the girls and I were drinking hot chocolate. Ella!

Also at TRC, the girls found this old-fashioned wheelchair. After a spell of playing "Grandpa Vining," they went on this little ride:

Haircuts

Yes. 

 If Ida didn't insist on chewing on her hair, and thereby having really gross sticky knives of hair jutting out and giving her a rash on her face (that's a TANG mustache, today, though), maybe we'd grow longer hair.  But our girls don't roll like that, really.  They're tough.

So, yeah, for us these days something like a haircut would classify as adventure.  After all, we can't all be the LeBlancs.  We have to work all the time, like Americans, even if we are surrounded by culture.

It's true that you get a fancy hot chocolate with pink sprinkles shaped like pigs at Blue Kangaroo if you get a haircut and act like a lady--and these two do not want their parents to interrupt their haircuts; they'd rather chat with their stylists about cats, school, holidays, etc.

Meanwhile, here's a thought-provoking random flier I saw at ReedCo.

conversations with Theo, upon trying to get out the door to get to school (repeated)

Theo:  Petuh, I don't really have a coat to wear.

Pete:  Well, you're wearing one.

T:  But it's not really warm enough/the right color/like Miki's.

P:  It'll be fine.

T:  Can I borrow one?

P:  We're kind of short on coats.

T:  Can I look in Ida's room?  Ida might have a coat I could wear.

P:  We're late.  I have to get to work.

T:  How about that coat, hanging right there?

P:  I think the coat you're wearing is going to be great!

T (beginning to cry):  It's not right.  This coat, I can't wear this coat.

P:  Theo, we can't give you a new coat every morning.

T:  But this coat won't work.

P:  Didn't you choose that coat, at your house?

T:  That was before.  That was different.

Miki:  I have a fleece in my room.

T:  That works for me (throwing her coat on the floor).

P:  Theo!

T (crying):  I'm taking my shoes off, I know.

P:  Keep them on, we're going to the car.

T:  But what about my coat?