Baking Days

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pebbles

Coconut Macaroons

Sugar Cookies

Hickory Nut Pie

Pumpkin Bread

What did you bake or make?

Happy Blogoversary!

As of yesterday our blog turned three years old.  It has become a place to share and a way to keep connected with others.  I plan to keep posting and hope that you will keep reading.  If you do read our blog, please drop us a comment to let me know that you are there.  Thanks!

On The Last Day of Fall

It’s the last day of fall, and there is white all around

On the trees, on the roof, and especially on the ground.

When I think of autumn, this color I don’t see.

It’s reds, greens, oranges, browns showing on the leaves.

It’s the last day of fall, and it’s cold everywhere.

Temperatures in the twenties only bundled I can bear.

The milder days of pleasantry are now a thing of the past.

It’s icicles and falling flakes and skies overcast.

It’s the last day of fall, and while today’s December twentieth,

Outside it looks like winter and plants are belying death.

Even though fall is ending and winter officially starts tomorrow,

Creation is God’s work of art bringing joy and sometimes sorrow.

written by Lepidotera on 12/20/2010

What We Read

"Ah, my venerable friend," cried the Robin; "have you no confidence in the kind chance that has befriended you so often before?"

"I can never be sure it will do so again," murmured the Woodlark despondingly.

"But when that kind chance brings you one comfortable day after another, why should you sadden them all by these fears for by and by?"

"It is a weakness, I believe," responded the Woodlark.  "I will see what I can do towards enjoying myself more. You are very wise, little Robin; and it is a wisdom that will keep you happy all the year round."

 - From "Daily Bread" in Parables of Nature by Margaret S. Gatty

"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."  - Matthew 6:31-31

The Sweetest Thing

Cheez Wiz:  Tom (our gray, ever-be-adored kitten) is the cutest thing!

Ace:  I know what the sweetest thing is.  Jesus is the sweetest thing!

(Dear one, I am so thankful that you know!)

Pippin and dumplings

Last night I ate someone I knew for the first time.  I had wondered how I would feel about this experience.  It was strange and yet good.  Didn't seem to bother the children or dh a bit.

Our rooster Pippin had been patiently waiting in the frig for his time.  Yesterday was his debut on the dinner table - his first but not last.  As I sampled the first bite before putting it on the table to make sure that it was salty enough and edible, I thought, "This is good.  It tastes like chicken and dumplings.", and it did and it does.

Cannibals we are not.  It is just odd to eat something that you fed and watered and watched and had eye contact with.  Something new.

Snow

Thanksgiving snow.  First day of December snow.  Putting up the Christmas tree snow.

I like snow.

Quiet, soft, whispering, falling, white, cold snow.

Dying to Self

In the midst of the hubbub of the year, I find myself challenged today to give up my will and submit to the Lord's.  It is not what I want to do.  I want things to be my way - whether that is in tune with God or not.  This morning before I got up, I already had a full plate.  Ever since then things have not gone exactly the way I would have had them go, and I am struggling with that.  I admit it.

I need to let go but am holding on for dear life.  Then . . .

Everyone gets up late (myself included).

One child has a major meltdown before the day is hardly started.

Another child does her schoolwork completely wrong and seemingly nonsensically.  There is a need to do it again - twice.

It is lunchtime, and I already know that there is at least one person who will not be interested in the food that is put before them.

Grrrr . . . as I feel my temperature rising and my blood boiling, I keep telling myself that my attitude is all wrong.  In another child's Bible story for today, I read about Mary and Martha.  A lesson to self.  Is what I am doing worth anything?  Who am I doing it for?  Me or the Lord?  Is what I am doing what I am supposed to be doing right now?  Today?  Listen to God and quit worrying about all of the work that you think that you have to do today.  Stop looking at yourself period and start looking unto Jesus.  I confess that I have done it again, Lord.  Taken my eyes off of you.  Not worthy.  Father, forgive me and help me.  I need your enduring mercy every day.  How about you?

Thanksgiving Song

from Happy Jack by Thornton W. Burgess (1918)

Thanksgiving comes but once a year,

But when it comes it brings good cheer.

For in my storehouse on this day

Are piles of good things hid away.

Each day I've worked from early morn

To gather acorns, nuts, and corn,

Till now I've plenty and to spare

Without a worry or a care.

So light of heart the whole day long,

I'll sing a glad Thanksgiving song.

Whatever Happened to Thanksgiving?

A time to be thankful, a time for giving thanks.

This time of the year there is so much emphasis on Christmas on television, in the stores, in the ads, that I have been asking my family "Whatever happened to Thanksgiving?".  Even when I was growing up some bemoaned the commercialism of the holiday season.  Now I feel like bemoaning it myself.  I enjoy Christmas.  Really I do, but I would like to wait until December 1st or at least after Thanksgiving to be immersed in that time of the year.

In order to refocus and regroup, I told the children not to sing Christmas carols until December 1st (much like my wise mother once told me).  I also decided to start asking the children every day what they are thankful for.  This is something that we already do occasionally.  Why not focus on it for November?  It is time to pull down my Thanksgiving file from last year full of poems and whatnot for this season.  Time to think on those Bible verses that speak of being thankful.  Time to read about the Pilgrims and think of our blessed heritage and how God provides for us again.

""O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the people." - Psalm 105:1

Logan, Ohio - What We Did

Logan is known as the Gateway to Ohio's Scenic Wonderland, and there is plenty to see and do here.

Columbus Washboard Company, the one and only manufacturer of washboards still in operation in the United States.  Free, self-guided tours.

Hocking Hills State Park - Beautiful place to hike.

Lake Logan State Park - Nice place to picnic.

Hocking County Historical Society and Museum - We learned so much history here!

What We Read - October 2010

Gotta go!  Gotta go! by Sam Swope

Monarch migration - I gotta go to Mexico!

The crunching munching caterpillar by Sheridan Cain

Caterpillar wants to fly but does not have wings.  All of the animals he meets do.  Will he fly or have to give up on his dream?  My son liked this one best and wanted to hear it over and over again.

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

Bright, beautiful, poetic book of the life cycle of butterflies.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Wonderful classic and favorite of ours.

Hooray for Beauty Day! by Jane O'Connor

My daughter read and reread this one.  A Fancy Nancy book.

First Rooster

Friends of ours blessed us with chickens last fall.  Hens and a rooster.  Another first for our family, we soon found that we liked having them around.  Our rooster enjoyed being the sole man in the flock after competing with two others at his former home and losing.  One evening he was atop the coop crowing to his heart's content when the master tired of waiting.  It was time for that rooster to go in the coop for the night, and he decided to hurry him on his way. 

OBT grabbed Pippin from the roof of the coop and stuffed him inside.  Well, that must have hurt Pippin's feelings for he did crow again for the longest time.  Then one morning when I was in the chicken yard, Pippin found his crow.  I laughed again and again as he crowed over and over.

Pippin had his favorite hens, and he took good care of them.  There were others though that he attacked.  For a while after a neck mauling, one hen stayed out of the chicken yard and became more tame than the rest.  She stayed close to the house and even ate from the bird feeder.  As time wore on and our rooster attacked another hen, the head roo decided that Pippin must go.  He was captured and cooped up in the coop for a while with food and water.  At first his girls lingered near the coop in hopes that he would come out and watch over them again.  It was not to be.

Then the master found out about another rooster, reputed to be gentle with the hens.  I offered to pick it up since I would be in the area and did.  He too was in the coop when we arrived.  The children and I enjoyed his crowing on the way home.  Then it was decision time.  Time to get rid of the old rooster so that the new rooster could take his rightful place.

OBT used his hatchet (Every blade we had was dull) to chop away at Pippin's neck.  He soon went to sleep for good.  OBT had talked to his co-worker who grew up on a farm about how to properly do this; I had Living With Chickens from the library on hand.  He bled the bird while I boiled the water.  We dunked his feathery body in the hot water, and the feathers came right off.  In the house he went to be cleaned and gutted.  Then in the sink in an ice water bath, drained, and in the freezer until cooking time.  At church last Saturday I told some of the older sisters about him, and one of them said that rooster made good chicken and dumplings.  That sounds good to me, and so Mr. Pippin, soon into the pot you will go.  I sure hope that you taste good!  Oh, and by the way, the new, gentle roo is doing just fine.

Primitive

Last Sunday our family visited Smoky Mountain Primitive Baptist again.  We look forward to our times with the people there.  The pastor's wife is battling breast cancer, and I was thankful to get to visit with her again and maybe encourage her.  It made me think about my own battles with cancer and what was most important to me then.  Just knowing that someone cared about me, cared whether I lived or died, that mattered a lot then.  It does now, but in a different way.  Then I was in a scary place.  A place of fears and a feeling of a lack of control.  Then I really needed help on my way.  I could not face things on my own.  I needed a Savior - Someone who is all powerful and who loves me, really and truly loves me.  He was there.

Two Sundays ago our family was in Kentucky.  A church in Mt. Sterling asked OBT to come and preach during their annual meeting.  We had visited this church before and always enjoy our times with the saints gathered there.  We stayed at the pastor's home and are immeasurably blessed by their friendship and love for us.  We were blessed by the meeting and the fellowship of those we spent time with - some we know well; others we just met.  God richly fed us, and we thank Him for all blessings.

"For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." - Romans 14:17

Our house has problems that need to be fixed.  The estimate was very high.  The insurance denied coverage.  Then the Lord sent two preachers to help us.  He is good and worthy of all praise.

What We Read - August 2010

Encyclopedia Brown finds the clues by Donald J. Sobol

Eddycat teaches telephone skills by Ada Barnett

A Bedtime Book by Joan Walsh Anglund

Wildflower tea by Ethel Pochocki

ABC cats by Kathy Darling

Two little trains by Margaret Wise Brown

The vegetable show by Laurene Krasny Brown

Kirsten saves the day by Janet Beeler Shaw
Kirsten learns a lesson

The little lame prince by Rosemary Wells

Mountains and Molehills

Cheez Wiz and I have been talking about the difference between a mountain and a molehill lately.  There is a difference, and we all need to have the right perspective to be able to see it.  Too often I find myself drifting back into that state of consciousness where I do not have the mind of Christ and am walking by sight, my own sight, and not looking unto Jesus.  Then my Lord lovingly and graciously gets my attention again, and I wake up and wonder how long have I been in this dream-like condition trying to get by on my own strength and not doing a very good job of it.

Yesterday after OBT got home, these words strongly came to me 'His presence disperses my sorrows and fears, and bids me rejoice in my Lord."  Wow!  At first I could not remember which hymn these words are from.  Then I remembered "How Lovely the Place".  We are still waiting on the Lord and feeling closer to Him as we feel right now our need for Him.

Larva and Pupa

Last week after opening the front door for the Schwann's man, the children spotted a caterpillar.  We brought him in and by the next morning he had transformed into a chrysalis.  My best guess is that he is a Buckeye which seems appropriate seeing that we live in the Buckeye State.  If he emerges (hopefully in the next week or two), then we should be able to easily identify him.

Then one morning this week while Cheez Wiz and I were outside tending to the animals, CW heard the electric fence popping.  When I took a look, some Queen Anne's lace, wet with dew, was touching the fence and what was on the Queen Anne's lace?  A Swallowtail caterpillar!  I knew that they ate Queen Anne's lace and have looked for them off and on since we moved here (there is an abundance of QAL growing where we live).  This is the first cat I have seen.  We brought it in and fixed up a place for it complete with plenty of leaves and stick.  What more could a caterpillar ask for?

As of today it is in position and looks ready to form a chrysalis anytime now.  I would not be surprised to find one in its place tomorrow morning.  We hope!

Hope Realized

Today has been a day where I happily spent time in the kitchen.  Today is a day where we had no need to go anywhere and could stay home.  A favorite kind of day of mine.  So I took pumpkin, corn, and squash and chopped, baked, and blanched, then cooled and froze our produce blessings. 

Lately we have received some bad news.  It was unexpected, and right now we are taking it one day at a time.  Yet in light of this life does go on.  The world does not stop for bad news.  I think that is a good thing to help my mind not dwell on things that bring me down.  Also the Lord is giving us peace and strength to trust Him as the situation is in many ways out of our control.  We are praying more diligently and praying for the Lord's will - whatever that means. 

This summer I wrote myself a note in big letters and placed it in the kitchen where I would see it every day.  At the top it says R-E-L-A-X and underneath are the words L-E-A-N, R-E-S-T, B-E-L-I-E-V-E, T-R-U-S-T.  They are reminders to myself of how I ought to be living.  I need to be reminded.  How about you?

What We Read - July 2010

The man who walked between the towers by Mordicai Gerstein

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

LMNO peas by Keith Baker

All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant

Noodle Man by April Pulley Sayre

Being a pig is nice by Sally Lloyd-Jones

Primitive

A few Sundays ago the children surprised me. You never know what they are going to do. A recent widower, arriving for the first time since his wife died of breast cancer last year, to preach and having no way of knowing how it would be. His first time back to Washington Courthouse without his wife by his side.

It is traditional for us to have a handshake at the close of services. During this time a young girl - our daughter - slips her hand into his and stands by his side at the front of the sanctuary, bringing great joy to him and thereby supplying a need. On another occasion her sister draws a picture of the same preacher while he is feeding us with God's word at an association meeting. Afterwards I inquire whether she will give this illustration to the man, and she says, "Yes." He is delighted and says that he will put it on his refrigerator at home. Blessings!

Pumpkin promise

Last fall our neighbor gave us two big, dark green pumpkins from their garden with no promise of ripening.  We sat them on the front porch and waited to see what would happen.  Both did ripen in time, and I cooked the first one and we ate.  The second served as our fall front porch decoration up until the time it rotted.  I then tossed it on the side of our house, and there it stayed. 

This spring what I thought might be pumpkin seedlings appeared - two of them.  The vines have extended with leaves and flowers to boot and one small green bulge at the base of a stem where a flower used to be.  The promise of a pumpkin!

What We Read - June 2010

John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads by Christopher Canyon


A song we like to sing when traveling by car and also anytime we are in West Virginia.

My Dad
My Mom by Anthony Browne

Two books denoting the wonderful things about parents.

One step, two . . .
Say it!
Sleepy book  by Charlotte Zolotow

A blog directed me to check out this children's author's books at our library.  I am glad that I did.

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

Mommies Say Shhh
The Lemonade Club
Oh, Look! by Patricia Polacco

One of my favorite authors!

Encore for Eleanor by Bill Peet

An elephant tale of a former circus performer past her prime and her future purpose in life.

Going West by Jean Van Leeuwen

A good historical fiction for children reminding me of covered wagons and Little House on the Prairie a bit.

Who Made the Wild Woods? by Scharlotte Rich

God did!

Primitive

Our family has started visiting a church in Washington Courthouse, Ohio.  This church was built in 1889 and still has the original hardwood flooring, pews, and kerosene lamps (now converted to electricity).  No air conditioning and no indoor plumbing.  

On our first visit the children needed to use the facilities so we ventured back behind the church to find the outhouse. I had been told to use the women's as it was in the best condition and that door was unlocked.  Seeing one with a rope tied around the doorknob, I assumed that that one was not it.  So we walked behind it to find another outhouse waiting.  After opening the door, I could tell that this one had not been used in a while.  The church only meets once a month.  There were leaves on the floor.  The roof was missing a few boards, and spiders had been spinning their handiwork on the holes.  The children did not even want to go inside, but I insisted since they had said that they had to go to the bathroom.  In they went and did what needed to be done.

After church and lunch, I took the children outside so that they could play while OBT and the others visited.  As I walked around the backside of the building, I noticed a small portion of fence with a shed behind it.  I had assumed that this was where they kept their lawnmower for the lawn.  Instead it turned out to be the women's outhouse, the newer one.  I tried to open the door, but it was stuck and I could not get it to budge.

When I went inside, I shared our story of our outhouse adventure, and one of the brothers stated, "You used the real Primitive outhouse."  Yes, we did, but next time we knew better!

White Clover Summer

This summer I have been making necklaces and bracelets for the girls with white clover. This is something I remember doing as a girl. Our yard has a plentiful supply of clover, red and white. If you have never made one, you can find directions here. It is fun and easy too!

When we are not doing that, we are picking wild blackberries. One gallon freezer bag is already full. Blackberry tarts are planned for our future. Then again we might be picking honeysuckle flowers and tasting the sweet honey found therein or picnicking in our yard on a blanket while watching the butterflies fly by or playing hopscotch or catching fireflies. Before summer is through, I want to get some jars for the children to fill with lightning bugs and take to their room at night.

Summertime!

New names, new post

In my 'Flag Day' post, I referred to 'Cheez Wiz' and forgot to explain that some of our blog residents have new names.  Sarah, Leora, and the LP will now be known as 'Cheez Wiz', 'Chickadee', and 'the Ace' respectively.

Sorry about that!

Flag Day

As I was looking at the calendar, I read aloud that today is Flag Day. Cheez Wiz heard and asked, "What is Flag Day?". Good question. It turns out that Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States. That event took place on June 14 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

A funny story concerning one of our earlier presidents reads as follows:

1908, Theodore Roosevelt

On June 14, Theodore Roosevelt was dining outside Philadelphia, when he noticed a man wiping his nose with what he thought was the American Flag. In outrage, Roosevelt picked up a small wooden rod and began to whip the man for "defacing the symbol of America." After about five or six strong whacks, he noticed that the man was not wiping his nose with a flag, but with a blue handkerchief with white stars. Upon realization of this, he apologized to the man, but hit him once more for making him "riled up with national pride."

What do you know about the history of the United States flag?

Things we said

Leora:  What are those called?

Lepidoptera:  Mannequins.

Leora:  Are there womanequins too?

Lepidoptera:  No, they are all called mannequins.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Lepidoptera:  Why are you picking all of those flowers?

LP:  I am trying to make things handsomer.

Lepidoptera:  Well, I have never heard that before!

What's your name?

When I was growing up, I remember seeing a beetle in our backyard but did not know its name.  I still see this beetle on occasion where we live now.  Last week when I was looking at the latest issue of "Birds and Blooms", what do I see?  This beetle identified for me!

Meet the Pennsylvania leatherwing beetle!

The Plimouth Jacket

In the May/June 2010 issue of "Victoria" magazine, there is an article detailing a project that caught my eye.  For three years many people worked to create an article of clothing in a historically accurate manner.  The end result is the Plimouth Jacket.  To read the story and see the jacket for yourself, go here.

April showers bring May apples

While walking through the woods on the backside of our property, I have seen some large leaves on a stem growing this spring. 

 

 Curious as to what they were but having no idea, I was excited this week to find a flower blooming underneath the leaves.  As soon as I could, I took the wildflower field guide off the shelf and started looking.

It is the may apple.  Happily I shared my latest discovery with the children and OBT.  Last year I found the violet wood sorrel growing in the woods.  It attracted my attention because its leaves remind me so much of clover and yet the underside is purple.  Later when the flowers bloomed, I again consulted the wildflower field guide and found out exactly what it is.  Much to my joy, the violet wood sorrel is blooming in our woods again this year.

For more information on its medicinal uses, go here.

A wild hen chase

Pippin is our rooster.  His name came with him.  He is a Black Copper Maran.  One of our hens is the same breed so it seemed only fitting to name her Merry.  One day I noticed that Merry had been attacked.  The nape of her neck was bloody.  Researching this problem, I found that it is a common behavior among chickens.  Besides that corn can make chickens aggressive, and OBT had recently switched to a new feed containing corn.  Also Rhode Island Reds tend to be aggressive.  We have three RIR hens.  Uh oh.

At first Merry would hide in the woods during the day.  If the other chickens were after me, I would probably hide in the woods too.  Still and quiet, I would no longer be under attack.  Ah, but they also strike at night, and Merry's chicken instincts tell her to return to the coop when the sun goes down.  Once she is roosting, she becomes a sitting duck.

Instructed by my dear husband to catch Merry one morning, I chased that bird for many minutes fruitlessly.  As she ducked underneath the fence and back in the goatyard and meandered through the brambles and thorns in the woods, I did my best to catch up to her.  By the time I decided to give up, I was sweating, and Merry was no worse for wear.  When OBT came home, we resumed the chase.  I was to guard the back of the fence so that Merry would not gain access to the woods once more.  A fairly easy task.  OBT ":followed" Merry as she wandered around the goatyard.  Finally I asked if I could get Gal and sic her on Merry.  This has worked in the past.  Gal is small, fast, and likes to chase the chickens.  She also has not harmed one yet (surely due to the fact that she is restrained from doing so by being staked).  So off Gal went and in no time flat had that hen stopped in her tracks.  OBT rescued Merry and put her in the kennel where she has been recuperating

Dandy Girls

Dandy girls,

Giggle girls, 

Sisters are you.

Yellow sunshine bouquets bring much joy.

Picking wildflowers to brighten my day.

Like the hope on your faces

That I will enjoy 

the labor expended,

the love that is shown.

Your thoughtfulness blesses me.

The seed that is sown.

No richer gift would mean

more in my book

than these beautiful flowers

and the girls who looked,

Then thought of another

and gave what they had.

A gift from the Creator

to make me so glad.

When summer comes,

those two girls will be

at it again,

blowing and planting,

spreading lots of seeds.

The simple joys of childhood.

An afternoon's repast.

These flowers and these little girls

bloom and grow up fast.

by Lepidoptera

written 4-27-2010

Dueling Crayons

Dueling crayons,

Case and me,

Doing a book of activities.

Side by side

Together we sit

Sharing the day.

I have to admit

We're having fun,

Getting along,

Taking the time.

Smiles abound.

Turn by turn

We get things done.

Growing - 

Mother and son.

Learning and loving.

That's what life's about.

The simple things are important.

There's just no doubt.

by Lepidoptera

written 4-15-2010

Spring poem

Clattering, clanging wind chimes.

Spring is in the air.

Wind is whipping around the house.

Pollen everywhere.

Robin has returned now

Searching for earthworms.

Flowers are abloomin'.

Winter days are gone.

Time for kites to soar high

Right up to the clouds.

Cabin fever's dying.

Who wants to be inside now?

Sun stays out much longer.

Picnics on the lawn.

Rainy showers make things grow.

Spring has just begun.

by Lepidoptera

Amish Reading List

Amish Horses by Richard Ammon

The author drives Old Order Amish to horse sales and uses his knowledge to create picture books based on the Amish.

Barn Raising by Marc Brown

Depicting a communal work ethic common to the Amish, this book relates in picture form a barn being built by teamwork and lots of it.

The Journey by Sarah Small

Our second read by Sarah Small (The Library being the first), this work in journal form tells the story of a young Amish girl going to the big city for the first time.

Just Plain Fancy by Patricia Polacco

A fun read about a mixed-up egg situation, a possible shunning, and the misunderstandings of two young girls.

Colonial America Reading List

The girls and I are currently covering early American history, and I found some excellent books at the library to supplement our studies.

The Story of the Mayflower Compact by Norman Richards

Colonial Times from A to Z by Bobbie Kalman


On the Mayflower:  Voyage of the Ship's Apprentice and a Passenger Girl by Kate Waters

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving by Joyce K. Kessel

The last, though not a colonial book, I spotted and tossed in for good measure since we are studying America and its early history right now.

A is for America by Devin Scillian

The Quebe Sisters

My Dad recently clued me in to the Quebe Sisters, and I am so glad that he did.  These talented girls hailing from TX know how to play and they know how to sing.  I would not mind listening to some more of their music again and again.  Thanks, Dad!  To hear them for yourself, go here.

To learn more about them, visit their website.

What We Read - February 2010

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Dickens does not disappoint.  In this tale of uncle and nephew, Dickens once more gives us a view of human nature contrasting greed and disappointment with purity and goodness.  I saw the 2002 movie version first and then decided to read the book.  As with most movie adaptations, characters and scenes were completely omitted, but the movie did win an award for best acting by an ensemble from the National Board of Review.  It was an adequate adaptation with a few exceptions, and I would recommend it to those who have not seen it with few reservations.

Henry and Mudge in the Green Time by Cynthia Rylant

With winter still here, a book detailing Henry and Mudge's adventures in the out-of-doors was just the ticket to get us in the mood for warmer weather too.

Apples by Ken Robbins

A beautiful book filled with photographs of apples and words about apples too.


Bunny, My Honey by Anita Jeram

From the illustrator of Guess How Much I Love You comes this sweet book about a bunny and his mother's love for him.

Little One Step by Simon James

A book that teaches the lesson of taking things a little bit at a time - especially when they seem overwhelming from the start.

A Second is a Hiccup by H.J. Hutchins

A picture book that teaches concepts of time by comparing them to more familiar objects.

Signs of spring

Last weekend the temperature got all the way up to almost 40, and most of our snow melted.  While the ground was muddy, the children looked out in the backyard and saw many birds.  Being birdwatchers, they alerted me to this fact and were surprised that none of them were coming to the bird feeder.  I looked and saw the reason why.  They were robins - 16 of them - looking for worms.  These are the first robins I have seen this year.  Last year I did not notice them until March.  They and a few dark-eyed juncoes were visiting us on that day, and I was glad.  The next day the snow started falling again.  When I fed the animals that morning, one lone robin was in the hickory tree singing.  Maybe he was wondering about the snow.  Since then I have not seen one.  Lots of juncoes and some cardinals.  When the snow melts again, they will be back and so will spring.

Can you find all 16?

"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." - Genesis 8:22 KJV

Blooming Venus flytrap!

Last December when we were shopping, Sarah asked OBT if we could purchase a Venus flytrap.  They had them at Meijer's right there with the other plants.  OBT said, "yes", and we took it home with us.  Somehow that carnivorous plant is still alive, and last Sunday I looked at it and saw a flower.  A FLOWER!  I knew that one stalk looked a lot taller than the others but had no idea that it was going to bloom.  Never having seen a Venus flytrap flower in my life, this was a reason for excitement.  I went around making sure that everyone in our house saw it too.  After all it is not every day that a Venus flytrap blooms right in your own home and right while you are studying Botany in science that year.  Bloom on, little Venus flytrap!

The Long Winter

This winter has been hard.  Since moving to Ohio, the snows have been a change from the winters I knew as a child.  Never did I live anywhere that got this much snow.  A little?  Yes.  A few snow days off from school?  Yes, but never a lot.  Now we are in Ohio, and I cannot say that anymore.  I like the snow.  The beautiful flakes quietly falling transform the out-of-doors into a winter wonderland.  This year; however, I am ready for the end of winter.

Our driveway - can you see the culvert and miss the ditch?

The road in front of our house.  Yes, that is our mailbox.

The driveway view of our house and the truck that is not going anywhere any time soon.

The deck

The animals are surviving.  All but one.

Sunny, our first goat, had her kid early during a night of 40mph winds with snow on the ground.  To everything there is a season, and this was not the time for this kid to be born.  It died, and I found it two Wednesday mornings ago.  After calling the local 4-H goat club leader to ask her what to watch for next, I kept an eye on Sunny while she was in the process of passing the afterbirth.

Friday morning when I went out to check on the animals, Sunny did not come with the other goats as usual.  She did not even get up.  She ate a little hay that I fed her and barely touched the water.  I called again and was told that help could not come until that afternoon.  I understood that.  That afternoon I went out to check on them again.  Sunny had moved outside to where we feed them their hay.  She looked like she did not care what happened to her next.  The goats were out of water so I trekked back in for more.  Help arrived after that.

They were a lot more experienced than me who has just started learning about goats and has a lot more to learn.  They checked her temperature - low and started giving her shots, but it was just too late.  She died while we were there.  It seemed to happen so fast in my mind.  She had been full of life just a day before and now the life was gone out of her.  Final.  Not coming back.  Sadness.  What could we have done differently to prevent this?  Regret.  I cannot change what has happened, but I can learn from this experience.  Then we had to fight to get the helpers' car up our driveway.  I thanked them profusely for coming over.  They were sorry that this has happened.  Sometimes it does.  That is life.  We have three more goats still counting on us.  Dependent on our not giving up on them.  We are cast down but not destroyed.  Determined to go on as good stewards learning as much as we can along the way.

"A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." - Proverbs 12:10 KJV

Things We Said

Sarah (sings):  Indiana, we're going to Indiana.

Leora:  Wow!  We're going to see the Indians!

******************************************************

Lepidoptera:  You will need to double-click on the ziggurat icon in order to play the game.  Do you know what a ziggurat looks like?

Leora:  A cigarette?

Lepidoptera:  No, not the thing that you are not supposed to smoke.  A zig-gu-rat.  It looks like a pyramid.

Leora:  Oh, yes.  I think I know what that looks like.

What We Read - January 2010

The trucker by Brenda Weatherby

A boy imagines he is a real truck driver like his dad.  We liked this book and enjoyed the trucker lingo in the back of the book.

Mom and the polka dot boo-boo by Eileen Sutherland

Sarah first noticed the illustrations drawn by the author's daughter.  This is a good introduction to breast cancer and gave us a topic for a discussion which went very well.

Meet Molly by Valerie Tripp

Our first "American Girl" book.  Overall it was enjoyed by all.  It is a short chapter book, and the children found certain parts really funny.  Molly is not perfect, but she seems more like a real girl because of it.  We will look forward to reading more in this series.  The history tie-in throughout the book is a great way to learn more about days gone by.  Molly is a 1944 girl, and the era is WWII.  It was really interesting to learn that people put blue stars in their window if someone in their family was serving in the war and if they died, a golden star replaced the blue.

My shining prayer book by Linda Clearwater

Leora chose this one, and we both liked it.  A nice, sturdy board book with colorful pictures.

The First night of Hanukkah by Nicki Weiss

Leora also chose this book, and it was actually very interesting.

The story of a castle by John S. Goodall

A wonderful pictures-only book of a castle down through the ages.  The children really liked this one.  Well worth checking out.

Zat cat! by Chesley McLaren

A fun read about the Paris fashion industry and the way a cat influences it written and illustrated by she who did the pictures for Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries books.

Spy hops and belly flops by Lynda Graham-Barber

Another great nature find - a picture book detailing the way various animals move.

The big performance collection (Angelina Ballerina) by Katherine Holabird

Having an AB fan in the house means looking up the author's name at the library to see if you can find some of her books for your daughter to read.  Success!  Yes, she did enjoy reading these, and her sister did too.

Birthday girl

Come January our family is still celebrating.  It's time for birthday bashes, and this year Sarah wanted a Garden/Musical birthday tea party.  We culled ideas from Emilie Barnes' Let's Have a Tea Party.  This book gives tea party themes and suggestions for invitations, decorations, activities, and recipes.  OBT's mom supplied the birthday cake(s):  a big piece of homemade Red Velvet that was OBT's father's birthday cake from their church (his birthday is in January too) and a cake from the Balboa Dessert Company.  I like the fact that "Sweetness is used sparingly so the natural flavors are what you taste." according to their website.  Yum!

 The placemats were musical and purple, Sarah's favorite color.  Each one had a number on the back and shaped notes on the front.  Everyone present sang their notes in order and then guessed what the song might be.   "The Doxology", one of Sarah's favorite songs, was the right answer.

 

We ate flute cookies - pirouettes with black icing for keyholes,

piano key sandwiches - white bread with cream cheese and pineapple, pumpernickel with apple butter, thinly sliced apples and chopped walnuts,

 

sunny sandwiches - bread cut into circles with apricot preserves inside and raisin faces plus baby carrots for the rays of the sun,

snowballs - peppermint and vanilla ice cream balls rolled in coconut,

and drank raspberry tea.

Happy, Happy Birthday, birthday girl!

And happy birthday in January to me too!

TOG Y2U2 Celebration - Renaissance

Who says that you cannot have a Unit Celebration while on vacation?  Not us!  In fact this was a great time for our celebration as it enabled us to share it with OBT's parents.  For our menu this go-round, I did my research at the Alabama Renaissance Faire's 2002 Feast website.

The Furst Course

Manchet - dinner rolls

Botere - butter

Sallet - a spring mix & raisins, oranges, walnuts, dressed with vinegar, oil, and a little sugar

Apple Muse - We had made this earlier in the unit.  This time I used applesauce.

Potus - Hot Honey Lemonade and Raspberry Tisane (warm lemonade with honey added and raspberries & tea)

The Second Course

Funges - mushrooms and onion cooked in beef broth with a little black pepper and cloves

Carrots - carrots with a little honey added

Makerouns - homemade noodles layered with cheese & spices (medieval "macaroni-n-cheese") - Sarah and I used whole wheat egg noodles layered with grated parmesan and romano cheeses plus basil and parsley.

Poules Rostis - roast hen served with 3 different dipping sauces - We used a rotisserie chicken.

Cold Sage Sauce (savory) - parsley & sage, chicken broth, bread crumbs

Cameline Sauce (hot & spicy mustard) - Dijon mustard, cinnamon, honey, a touch of apple juice

Verjuice (sweet & sour cherry sauce) - canned cherries blended to a sauce consistency

Seed Cake - lemon poppyseed cake - Martha White to the rescue!

We skipped the Thrid Course so that there would be less food to eat and still had plenty.  We also skipped the Firenze Wafers from the Fourth Course.

The Fourth Course of Roial spicerye

Spiced Fruit - Leora made the orange slices in spices (orange slices in cinnamon & sugar)

We celebrated two weeks early as we will not finish Unit Two until next week.  It was great to have plenty of time to cook the food since we were not doing a full school day.  Sometimes we have our Unit Celebrations on Saturdays or Friday nights for this very reason.  The feast still took a while to prepare, but it was well worth it.  

Now on to Crowns and Colonies!

Two poems - one by Leora, one by her brother

Love comes to you,

love come to me

when you do what the Lord says.

Be kind to one another,

and you shall be a child of God.

Do His holy commandment,

and you shall be His child.

We are His creatures,

and He is our Lord.

He is God,

and we cannot see Him.

He is invisible.

We are not.

********

The Lord comes to you

if you do good.

You love the Lord's goodness,

and the Lord will be happy,

and then He will want you

to go to heaven some day.

He loves you so much.

He loves you all the way to heaven

even though you're dead,

even though He's invisible.

He doesn't like hell.

He still likes us.

You say tomato; I say tomato

This morning when I gave OBT the Morning Farm Report, I made sure to ask him if he had taken the trash out.  Now that is a job that I often do and sometimes it even gets forgotten until the week following, but since we live in the country where you can burn things legally and we have a garage, it is not that bad.

OBT assured me that he had taken the trash out.  I had gone out to take care of the animals and spotted the big, blue garbage can in the garage so that got me to wondering.  He took the garbage out.  Okay.  Later my mind said that I had better look out towards the mailbox to see if there was any garbage there.  I couldn't see any.  Uh-oh.

After lunch, I went to the garage and opened the garbage can.  Spying garbage inside and already having issues with my temper, my lack of desire to take out the trash today, and all of the things that are opposite to what I am trying to teach our children (primarily selflessness, i.e. do-it-anyway as you would have others do unto you, GRRRR!, basically fighting my own self), I decide that I simply must get this garbage to the roadside.  Since it is cold and there are about three inches of snow on the ground and our driveway is LONG, I decided to drive it there in the van.

Garbage can is in the van.  Then the van must be warmed up.  We are below freezing.  No coat for me.  This is going to be a quick trip.  While sitting in the van and listening to some new-to-me song on the radio and trying to figure out what it is about, I open the garage door.  As I am sitting there, I spot a car or two going by and then a big, white truck.  The garbage truck.  It goes by and then mysteriously backs up past our driveway.  Now is my chance or is it?  I jump out of the van and look to see one white bag of garbage lying in the snow at the end of our driveway.  He DID take the trash out!  The garbage men must have seen it too as they haul it in the back and continue on their way.  I also spot a FedEx box outside our garage and pick that up on my way back into the garage waving at the garbage man.  He waves back, and our garbage is on its way.  At least some of it.  The rest can wait for next time.  I get back in the van to turn it off and unload the remaining garbage and laugh.

Far From the Madding Crowd

by Nixon Waterman

It seems to me I'd like to go

Where bells don't ring, nor whistles blow,

Nor clocks don't strike, nor gongs sound,

And I'd have stillness all around.

Not real stillness, but just the trees,
Low whispering, or the hum of bees,
Or brooks faint babbling over stones,
In strangely, softly tangled tones.

Or maybe a cricket or katydid,

Or the songs of birds in the hedges hid,
Or just some such sweet sound as these,
To fill a tired heart with ease.

It 'tweren't for sight and sound and smell,
I'd like the city pretty well,
But when it comes to getting rest,
I like the country lots the best.

Sometimes it seems to me I must
Just quit the city's din and dust,
And get out where the sky is blue,
And say, now, how does it seem to you?

What We Read - December 2009

The Gingerbread doll by Susan Tews

Leora picked out several books this time. This was one of her choices, and it was very good. The tale of a family during the Great Depression whose oldest daughter dreamed of a porcelain doll being her gift for Christmas. The family could not afford to give it to her, and the mother comes up with a compromise present to show her love for her child.

Welcome to the river of grass by Jane Yolen

Beautiful pictures and words to match.  An Everglades book worth checking out.

Edna by Robert Burleigh

A book about American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay.  When looking at the author's website, I discovered that we will be reading another of his books later this year for school, Napoleon:  The Story of the Little Corporal.

Who was born this special day? by Eve Bunting

A book about the birth of Jesus in question form.

The legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi

In an effort to learn more about this man, I picked up this book that was set out at the library.