My husband's hidden talent

Some men watch video games to wind down....my husband builds hammocks.

Some of you who think you know Scott Dyreng may not know that he is a closet hammock maker/designer. Not just any hammocks, either. He makes his own back-packing hammocks. Last year he took over my 15-year-old sewing machine and became a sewing maniac, staying up until all hours of the night producing long stretches of hemmed nylon that is, at times, wall to wall on the floor of our living room. (He has surpassed my sewing skills and now I come to him for advice.) For fun, when he is not making hammocks, he talks to his hammock buddies on the internet. Take a look at his favorite site.

Naomi helping out

Using my weights to anchor the hammock.

Daddy's hammocks are very comfortable and roomy. Notice the child in the background is wearing a princess dress. Real princesses like hammocks.

This is the finished product, complete with bug net, rain tarp, and insulating quilt (the green thing). Better than the Marriot.

Last week he took the young men in our ward on a backpacking trip to the Appalachian mountains. Almost everyone had a hammock.

This is how I imagine Robin Hood's hideout must have looked like:
(Scott is in the green shirt.)

Scott has made so many hammocks now that we get the different designs mixed up so he has started naming the hammocks. The most recent (the yellow one in the photos) he dubbed "the banana hammock." The young men on the trip informed Scott that "banana hammock" has already been used for something else so Scott wisely changed the name to "The Golden Gate Bridge Hammock."

Unedited

Some of you mentioned my unedited character examination of the Disney princesses. I took it out of the original because I didn't want people to think I obsessed about the disney princesses. There were some requests for it to reappear, so here it is in all of its glory:

Shall we discuss the princesses individually?

Cinderella-- As far as cartoon characters go Cinderella is a pretty good role model. She is a hard worker, she doesn't complain, she is smart, kind to those who are cruel, creative (she did make clothes for mice, after all) and she shows a lot of grace under pressure. She also dresses modestly. (Three cheers for Cindy!) However, she is a little obsessed with "dreams" and "dreaming" and virtually all of her friends are animals unless you count the prince.

Ariel--Ariel, Ariel, Ariel. Let us all pray we never have child like this. Besides wearing nothing but a bikini top for most of the show, she likes to keep secrets, she isn't dependable, she takes unnecessary risks, and as my friend Melissa put it, "she runs away from home, sells her soul to the devil and when it is time for her to face her consequences her daddy caves in and gives her legs." We don't watch this movie in our house.

Jasmine--I like Jasmine. She is the only princess who dreams about living OUT of a palace instead of IN the palace. She wants to be loved for who she is rather than what she is. Although I have to keep reminding the girls that it is not okay to dress like Jasmine.

Sleeping Beauty--my least favorite princess because she has no personality. The prince in this show has more personality than her. The prince's horse has more personality than her. She has less speaking parts than any other character in the movie and she spends most of the movie asleep or in a trance.

Snow White--I can't give her a fair rating since I haven't see the movie for about 15 years. However she does get high marks for modesty.

Belle--Now here is a good princess. She honors her father by defending him against the ridicule of townspeople, Gaston and the beast. She then sacrifices her freedom for his safety. She is smart (reads a lot), brave, and in the end she chooses love over appearance. It is a good thing, too, because I think the beast looked better as an animal than the girly-looking guy he turned into. Thumbs down for modest gowns, however.

The Disney Princesses

The Disney Princesses have invaded my life. My kids wear Disney princess underwear, eat Disney princess crackers and lug Disney princess suitcases. When I go to Wal-Mart little hands stop me every five feet when they see a new product with the princesses' syrupy smiles on the packaging.

I have mixed feelings about this little obsession my children have. Half of me is disappointed that my kids couldn't choose better role models (Susan B. Anthony? Mary Fielding Smith? Harriet Tubman? Come on!), but the other half of me is grateful to have another "lever" to pull when things get out of hand. ("Cinderella is a hard worker--she always takes her dishes to the sink." "Do you think Sleeping Beauty gets out of her bed after bedtime? Are you kidding?" )

But really, do they HAVE to have the princesses EVERYWHERE? Is there any way out of this? Is there any way a mother can steer clear of mass marketing that elbows its way into the lives of our defensless five-year-old girls? Why can't they sell Susan B. Anthony panties, anyway??

I would welcome and appreciate your opinions on this. Is marketing for children getting out of hand, or should I go with the flow? Will my girls become preening snobs if I indulge them in their princess fantasies or will this just be a harmless phase?

Your thoughts? The floor is yours for comments.