Spring Break 2012

Not as many people came out to visit as we thought were coming, but we had a great time anyway.  Many miles were put on the car as we travelled to Annapolis, downtown Baltimore, DC, and Shenandoah National Park.  So much to see and do!  We had lovely cool weather, which made our miles of walking much more bearable, and our pictures that much nicer.
Check them out HERE.

Science Project or Pets?

Not too long ago we picked up a small packet at the store for $5. We brought it home and emptied the smallest item into a tank of spring water, and waited to see what would happen. It took a few days, but we ended up with two Triops inhabiting the tank.

The Triops (both named "Fishy") are somewhat like incredibly small horseshoe crabs, swimming speedily around the small tank. They feed off a slice of carrot and a pellet or two of fish food each day.

So far Norah has not decided to investigate.

Treasure Hunt

(from Jamie's latest composition)
Digging is fun, especially when you're digging for gold. I have been digging in the garden, but I have not found any gold or treasure.

I have a hole 15 inches deep and 27 1/2 inches wide. I'm going to make it two feet deep soon! The dirt is hard, but I do not make a lot of sweat because it is winter + spring.
The end.

Family in February

A long-overdue visit from a sister living far away prompted our trip back to Ohio. We spent the winter days indoors for the most part, in the house, in the grocery store, in the thrift store. The company was exceptional, the food was delicious, the week went by too quickly. What a respite in the long, rote days of winter.

Photos, HERE.

A Quiet Autumn Hike

Just what we needed, an hour or so away from the hustle and bustle of the city. A short drive, a few dollars for admission, finding the right spot. We chose to hike the Vineyard Springs trail in Glen Artney, supposedly popular with the mountain bikers. We crossed paths with just three. The path was easy at the start, and other than one short but steep climb uphill, remained that way. The colors were beautiful, the air was crisp, the quiet was wonderful.
Enjoy photos HERE.

My birth, by Jamie

I was born on June 17th, on a Tuesday. I looked cute like all babies. I was given lots and lots of cards and presents and Dorth got some too.

a third list

Jamie would like:

just about anything Pokemon, but specifically the items found at this wish list.

Other things: Legos, Star Wars, fun/character t-shirts (size 10 or larger), science experiments (especially ones that explode!), nerf

another's list

Dot's wishes







http://hopefullyhelpful2u.blogspot.com/2011/09/wishlist-for-2011.html

Christmas List

DVD list:
Wizard of Oz
King & I
Sound of Music
Brigadoon
Hello Dolly
(any classic musicals!)
Young Victoria
Jane Eyre (new this year)
Sherlock (new BBC version, season 1 and/or 2)
(Of course, if you find the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes at a thrift store, I wouldn't be opposed to that!)

plain gold hoop earrings
turquoise jewelry (not with silver)
sapphire jewelry (not with silver)

bathroom hand towels (cream or blue)
vintage pillowcases

as always: Fiestaware, vintage sewing patterns

Colonial Life

This past weekend we took off on a mini-vacation (or, extended field trip) in Virginia. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown were offering steep discounts for homeschoolers. We chose to visit Williamsburg and Jamestown over two days.

While Williamsburg is lovely, and large, I don't think I would suggest anyone pay full price for admission. There are countless other re-enactment sites throughout the nation that are just as educational, even if they don't have a wigmaker on staff. That said, we did have a nice time visiting. This year they instituted a new program, RevQuest: Sign of the Rhinoceros. We were given a bandana to identify ourselves and a packet containing a puzzle book, code book, and "colonial money." We spent about 2 hours to tour the town and figure out the who, what, and where of the puzzle. In the afternoon ceremony we were given a brass coin to celebrate solving the mystery.

At Jamestown we were signed up for a 2-hour tour. Again, the site is nice, but we wouldn't have gone at full price. Jamie was the most engaged on the tour (it was geared toward his age level), but we enjoyed seeing the sites as well. My take-away? Those ships were tiny! I can't imagine the trip across the ocean!

Overall, the kids thought the trip was fun, if sneakily educational. The best part, of course, was the hotel: pool, cable tv, and bacon for breakfast!

See Pictures HERE.

Rain, rain, go away

Last week Hurricane Irene came and left her mark in our basement. Now we have an mostly empty basement ready for fixing up a bit, and a garage full of stuff with no room for a car.
This week Tropical Storm Lee has come to visit while Jim is in California. We tried out the new generator, and it keeps the sump pump going. That's all we ask of it, really. Keep our basement as dry as possible.
We could use a dry autumn now, as our ground is like a sopping wet sponge. A day of sun, with a nice breeze to dry things up a bit, now that would be nice.
Pictures from Irene, HERE.

Summertime creativity

Even though we aren't doing school, the kids don't get to have the entire day to waste. We still meet for a short while each morning to read from a book (currently, Names of God), during which time the kids can draw or color. To help them, I have brought home Ed Emberly's drawing books. They have really enjoyed his thumbprint book. Here is Dot's "choir" picture, full of action.

Jamie, on the other hand, has decided to move into more 3D artwork. Actually, he only decided this during dinner the other night. (Our children do not like eggs right now, and I have been trying different ways of cooking them to see if they will change their minds. So far, no luck.) We had soft-cooked eggs, which while they weren't good enough to tempt them to eat, they were terribly fun to crack open and spill out over the plate. This is Jamie's "mess of eggs."

My sewing machine has been busy. Not only have I made many pieces of clothing, I have also begun a series of baby quilts (there are lots of church babies due this summer!). The first was for a mom of two boys who is expecting her first girl. She loves shabby chic, so I made a simple 9-patch quilt and added in blocks with rosettes. Very girly!

NASA visit

Saturday was NASA/Goddard's open house, and after a trip to Dot's recital, we headed over to check out what they had on display. Lines, lines, lines... there were so many people! Jamie did not get to go to the Lego program (someone said that it was just an hour of letting 200 kids play with legos on the floor, so I suppose we didn't miss too much!), but Dot did get to hear a woman speak about being an astronomer. We visited quite a few booths and picked up lots of posters, stickers, and bookmarks. We looked at lots of models and pictures of satellites, and wandered through a rocket garden. The highlight, for Jamie, was what we took pictures of...

story time

The Hidden Treasure

by Jamie

April 8, 2011

Two boys were playing in the back yard. One decided to dig a hole under the house. He wanted to trap people in their scary basement. While they were digging they found a treasure map. “Wow!” they said. The treasure was on an island, Australia.

The boys went to a pilot, and offered to pay him with gold coins after they found their treasure. He flew them there. As they followed the map, they found a forest. A boy ran by, saying, “Don’t go in there! There is a skeleton in there!” The boys were not afraid, and went on in. They found the spot and got out their shovels. They dug up the treasure. Then they met a skeleton that said, “Put me treasure back!” The boys said, “ If you come back with us we could make the ultimate scary house! We’ll pay you two gold coins!” The pirate skeleton said, “Only if they have a 10 on them!” The boys agreed. As they left the forest with their treasure, they met the scared boy again. He asked how they got the skeleton to come with them. They said, “We paid him two ten-gold coins!”

The boys paid the pilot and flew back home. The skeleton and the boys put on parachutes and jumped out over their house. They dug down to their basement and put the skeleton inside. “Tomorrow is Halloween. When you hear people coming, say ‘Aaarrr!’ and scare them! We’ll make sure they come in. This will be the perfect trap. It will be a rubber hole gag – they will fall in and you will get them!” said the boys.

The next day was Halloween, and the whole neighborhood fell into the trap. The boys were happy because they got all the candy, which they shared with the skeleton. They couldn’t wait to do it again the next year.

updated photos

I wanted to take advantage of Snapfish's 11th anniversary sale (111 photos for $1.11 plus S/H), but had to get my photos ready first. I now have more photos up on Picasa, including this past Christmas, a couple of snowstorms, and a field trip or two. Check them out here. (Of course, they don't compare to the tropical beauty that KJ has posted recently on FB...)

Second grade writing

My Funniest Relative
by Jamie

Uncle Andy is very funny because he makes things make-believe seem real! He tells jokes. he even told us to go on the table for breakfast! He is weird and funny. He is a Rupert.

A special treat for me

Not eating anything made of milk is hard. All the good stuff has milk in it! Think of it: cheesecake, ice cream, cheese, just about anything Italian... Even going to restaurants with large menus can be tricky - most places believe that cheese makes anything better. Sigh. I have to agree. Cheese does make things better. But not for me.

Ice cream is wonderful. I can find Rice Dream every so often, but it is expensive! I'd make my own, but I hadn't found a replacement for cream. While searching online I found a new resource: Mimicream. I bought some on sale (clearance because they need to have dual language boxes!), and it was on the porch this morning.


This afternoon I used one box to make chocolate ice cream. Jamie helped me put in the salt and ice, and sat by as the machine went to work. Sadly, even when the machine is done, the ice cream isn't. Into the freezer it went for a few more hours.


After dinner we scooped out this treat. Some had plain chocolate, some had cookie dough tidbits mixed in, some had whipped cream on top. All enjoyed!

Fun with fondant

Aah... the season of holiday treats! It's time to get into the kitchen and make something wonderfully delicious without worrying over the fat/calorie/carbs content.

This past week I went to work on our list of Christmas treats. I have two types of cookies in dough form in the freezer now. I also finished the two treats that need fondant, and that is what I want to share with you today.

Candy making can be tricky for those of us who avoid milk products. So many are based on butter, or sweetened condensed milk, or cream (I miss you, dairy products!). In trying to make an old-fashioned candy called Martha Washingtons, I found I needed to make my own fondant for the base, as all the modern recipes used sweetened condensed milk to start out. Traditional fondant is tricky when your candy thermometer is off by an unknown number of degrees! I searched the internet for another, easier recipe, and found marshmallow fondant to be the one. Originally meant to be used to cover cakes, it works well as a base for candies, too.

1 bag marshmallows + 2-5 Tbsp. water + confectioners sugar + crisco
Melt your marshmallows and water in the microwave. Stir until smooth. Knead or beat in enough confectioners sugar to make a smooth non-sticky dough, using crisco to keep it from sticking to your hands or mixer beaters.
*Flavorings and colors can be added before the sugar.

With one full batch of fondant I made my Martha Washingtons. In the food processor I chopped 1 cup pecans + 1 cup dried cherries + 1 cup coconut. These I formed into small logs to be dipped in chocolate. Yummy!

My small dark chocolate cookie needed a topping of mint, and I didn't want to use fudge that needed to be kept cold, or frosting that might be too sweet. I used a half batch of fondant, tinted green and flavored with peppermint. I rolled it out thin and cut it with a small circle cookie cutter. It needed a little smear of icing to stick to the cookie, and then a drizzle of chocolate to finish.

Christmas wishlist 2010: Laura

It's hard to find things for my wishlist that aren't completely out of the usual price range. I have been blessed to be able to buy most of the small-ticket items I want... but I have come up with a few items that might work:

Half-sheet pan size cooling rack

Oneida Easton serving utensils

Large shawl, like THIS

Fiesta dinnerware

Emma
Wind in the Willows
The Railway Children
Under the Greenwood Tree
Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Christmas Wishlist 2010: Jamie

from Lego:
army men
knights battle pack
lego minifigure grab bag
Meltdown
Preston Stormer
William Furno
Star Wars Echo Base
Shave a Sheep game
Creationary game
Ramses Pyramid game
Minotaurus game

from Amazon:

PS2 PacMan World 3
PS2 PacMan Fever
PS2 Snoopy vs. the Red Baron

Danny Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster
Danny Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-wiener


any dvds of these characters
Tom & Jerry
Phineas & Ferb
Scooby Doo
Darkwing Duck (not volume 1)

thrift store / yard sale options:
legos
magazines for kids (Highlights, Cricket, Spider, etc)