tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36947816679506033522024-03-14T00:47:08.039-04:00Gingerbread Starsgingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-30031282196815387372010-03-23T18:34:00.004-04:002010-03-23T20:06:55.995-04:00The Bears on Hemlock Mountain<div>A fun little book "The Bears on Hemlock Mountain" was the start for a fun project done over Christmas break. Thanks Nana for all the 'on the spot training' in painting and doll making.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lFWmWKf1I/AAAAAAAAAIE/ZkSjVYtl05U/s1600-h/IMG_0854_edited.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 335px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451965078461644626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lFWmWKf1I/AAAAAAAAAIE/ZkSjVYtl05U/s400/IMG_0854_edited.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lFWatTAfI/AAAAAAAAAH8/alw8wYKRs6A/s1600-h/IMG_0855.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451965075337445874" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lFWatTAfI/AAAAAAAAAH8/alw8wYKRs6A/s400/IMG_0855.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lFWJo0OZI/AAAAAAAAAH0/hOcmt5P_qT0/s1600-h/IMG_0858.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451965070755248530" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lFWJo0OZI/AAAAAAAAAH0/hOcmt5P_qT0/s400/IMG_0858.JPG" /></a> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 294px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 261px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451984385475609170" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6lW6alAAlI/AAAAAAAAAIM/4qnMOo-Eh6c/s400/Bears+on+Hemlock+Mt002.jpg" /> <div> </div></div></div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-24999001939902481122010-03-19T14:04:00.005-04:002010-03-19T14:14:44.080-04:00Spring Corners<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6O-nnc5kgI/AAAAAAAAAHs/HHlPKJv8HiY/s1600-h/Spring+Trees001.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450409561862803970" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6O-nnc5kgI/AAAAAAAAAHs/HHlPKJv8HiY/s400/Spring+Trees001.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6O-nDeLDTI/AAAAAAAAAHk/ojaFipotQxI/s1600-h/Spring+Trees004.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450409552204467506" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6O-nDeLDTI/AAAAAAAAAHk/ojaFipotQxI/s400/Spring+Trees004.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6O-mt1Ss3I/AAAAAAAAAHc/TMm3Y8sRHwg/s1600-h/Spring+Trees008.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450409546395857778" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/S6O-mt1Ss3I/AAAAAAAAAHc/TMm3Y8sRHwg/s400/Spring+Trees008.jpg" /></a> <div><div> </div></div></div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-56806813531145960402009-10-14T20:17:00.007-04:002009-10-14T21:13:33.068-04:00NeglectingLife is a series of choices on what you will neglect. I find this statement to be true. My life (as well as yours, I’m sure) is full of way too many responsibilities and way, way too many fun things that divert my attention from those responsibilities and as a result it has been a while since my last post. I like writing and sharing glimpses of my life, but to keep both my and my families sanity I have chosen to neglect my blog. This is not to say that now I am going to be a regular poster, but I hope that you will see me posting more often. But, as the saying goes, “Don’t hold your breath!”<br /><br />So what have I been up to all this time?<br />Over the past several months I’ve been re-evaluating my teaching techniques and the curriculum I’ve been using, and have come to the conclusion that I needed to make some changes. One of the drawbacks of homeschooling is that there is a lot of on the job training, but this year I really feel that I’m on the right track and I’m very happy at the progress we’ve made so far.<br /><br />I’ve also spent much of my time on my soap box complaining to anyone who will listen about how much I hate this new digital television stuff. I will not go into it here. Just thought others might want to leave a comment about their experiences with the change over to digital. The only positive experience of this is that I receive a very interesting Japanese channel, which I watch a lot since I can’t get anything else in! Moving on.<br /><br />We went “Ballistic” with our oldest 8th birthday this year! He received a book from his Grands called “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Ballistics-Cannons-Cincinnati-Dynamite/dp/1556523750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255567513&sr=8-1">Backyard Ballistics</a>”. Honestly, this was really a gift for the big boys. The morning of his party was spent driving around looking for all the supplies needed to make a Tennis Ball Mortar. It turned out to be a lot of fun for the big boys and the little boy!!! <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w_MnEHMqBAw/SsExxNHf_PI/AAAAAAAAAA4/OeGV7DZmEFI/s320/scan0004.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w_MnEHMqBAw/SsExxNHf_PI/AAAAAAAAAA4/OeGV7DZmEFI/s320/scan0004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My husband has started his own blog, “<a href="http://floatingaxe.blogspot.com/">Floating Axe</a>”. It is turning into a great resource for anyone interested in woodworking, it is also a showcase for some of his drawings. He is a very eloquent writer and a very talented woodworker and artist. Check it out!<br /><br />Now fast-forward to today. The weather has cooled and so the field mice have started to leave their pretty field and live in my pretty home. This week we have caught a mouse and a snake (aggghhhh!!!) and last night I saw another mouse. I think we have been watching a little too much “Swiss Family Robinson” around here. The kids got the idea to design their own mouse traps. Chaim had the idea of luring the mouse to some cardboard tubes with an empty jar that still smelled like peanut butter. Aby is trying to entice the mouse to walk onto her sticky trap of tape with a little crumb of biscuit. We will see if either of these works, but I have my back up plans in place!<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/StZ2EjJ1JWI/AAAAAAAAAG8/ZTNUu5rRqdw/s1600-h/100_2950_edited.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392627424350774626" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/StZ2EjJ1JWI/AAAAAAAAAG8/ZTNUu5rRqdw/s200/100_2950_edited.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/StZ1qfc2eNI/AAAAAAAAAG0/zv3AUrxFXVI/s1600-h/100_2948_edited.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392626976680212690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 187px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 136px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/StZ1qfc2eNI/AAAAAAAAAG0/zv3AUrxFXVI/s200/100_2948_edited.JPG" border="0" /></a>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-71844118386377392162009-05-07T06:00:00.002-04:002009-05-07T09:15:51.823-04:00Apple Butter (on the thrift)<a href="http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/"><img height="182" alt="swap blogpost" src="http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa99/ihavetosay/recipeswap.jpg" width="278" border="0" /></a><br />Recently I was able to try out another experiment in 'living on the thrift'. I have been filling a gallon size freezer bag with all of our left over apple cores and peels, with the plan to make apple butter in the future when the bag was full. With bag now full, my mad science experiment was ready, and the results were successful. After cooking and mashing I was left with about half a cup of yummy apple butter. The yield was a less then I hoped for, but I plan to improve that by buying some <a href="http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Canning_and_Preserving___Food_Mills___The__Foley__Food_Mill___H620971?Args=">proper equipment</a>. It isn't a jar full but with minimal supplies and time I was able to produce something tasty from something that would otherwise been thrown away.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332867106356568082" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 299px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 219px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SgImYOS_oBI/AAAAAAAAAGc/POUbe40Otbw/s320/100_2325.JPG" border="0" /><br /><strong>Thrifty Apple Butter</strong><br />1 gallon size ziploc bag of apple cores and peels<br />enough water to cover bottom of heavy pan<br /><br />Place water and apple parts in heavy bottom pan. Bring water to a boil over medium heat, then turn down to a simmer and cover. Simmer for about a hour until the apple parts are very soft. Place colander over a large bowl. When apple parts are soft pour mixture into colander and press mixture through holes. If you have a food mill use it instead, you will be able to get a lot more apple pulp with a mill. Pour pulp back into pan and bring to a slow simmer. Cook (about an hour) until water has been evaporated and butter is a thick consistency.gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-40873683870918163312009-05-06T20:44:00.004-04:002009-05-06T20:53:32.444-04:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff6600;">"The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen."</span></strong><br />-G.K. Chesterton from <em>The Innocence of Father Brown</em></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-61866293410338807802009-02-18T19:04:00.011-05:002009-02-18T21:31:40.049-05:00Little Hands, Big CardsHere is my honest and openhearted confession- I don't so much like to play games with the kids. It is kind of like playing a game against yourself. When playing card games I am quickly annoyed by constantly having to re-adjust the cards for the kids. One thing I do enjoy doing with the kids is craft projects. Crafty solution- Card holder!!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SZzAQ6TXLAI/AAAAAAAAAF0/XJ_9pFD3tu4/s1600-h/100_2296_edited.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304325857896508418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 305px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 295px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SZzAQ6TXLAI/AAAAAAAAAF0/XJ_9pFD3tu4/s320/100_2296_edited.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Grab your Sculpey clay and get rolling. My daughter did the rolling. We rolled logs to 5 in. (but any size will do). The diameter is about a 1/4in., but I think I would make them thicker next time round. </div><div><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304324867407883250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SZy_XQceK_I/AAAAAAAAAFU/OxwUMBr0OsI/s320/100_2275.JPG" border="0" /> </div><div></div><div>With the basic log made now comes the creative part, embellish to your hearts content. </div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304324875336994594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SZy_Xt-6zyI/AAAAAAAAAFc/jiRtgTrOeXQ/s320/100_2283.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div></div><div>Next, using a playing card (or a knife) make slashes every half inch or so. Just make sure not to go to deep. It helped to use a card to know how if the cut was deep enough to hold the card up and not to deep to cause a break in the log.<br /><br /><div></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304324875557596978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SZy_Xuzg7zI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6oD_TPgA5Nk/s320/100_2287.JPG" border="0" /></div><div></div><div></div><div>Now for the waiting part- cook according to clay directions.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304324876816104882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SZy_XzfkPbI/AAAAAAAAAFs/K5xtVQYbgFk/s320/100_2291.JPG" border="0" /><br /></div><div>This was a fun quick project and something my family will get a lot of use out of. </div><div>Enjoy!</div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-4152024432324777122009-01-22T18:08:00.008-05:002009-01-22T18:59:11.385-05:00Knitting With Nana<div align="center"><em><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff9966;">"Memories are stitched with love." ~Author Unknown</span></strong></em></div><div align="left"><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Reposted with permission from Nana.<br /></span></em><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong>Knitting With Nana</strong></div>Aby's Wristies - My Grand-daughters 1st time knitting. She did a great job!Check out the pics.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SWy5FQI/AAAAAAAAAEM/DBYIl8lCzEo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274242_4552.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294259853772526850" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SWy5FQI/AAAAAAAAAEM/DBYIl8lCzEo/s320/a1145326066_274242_4552.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SWy5FQI/AAAAAAAAAEM/DBYIl8lCzEo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274242_4552.jpg"></a><br />Aby's Pattern<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294259860417085826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s320/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Knitting w/ Nanna<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SuC0U_I/AAAAAAAAAEc/LICqRS76cJE/s1600-h/a1145326066_274246_2718.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294259860013339634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SuC0U_I/AAAAAAAAAEc/LICqRS76cJE/s320/a1145326066_274246_2718.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"></a>by george....I think she's got it :0)Time for the training wheels to come off. "Actually Nanna, I'm controlling your hands."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294259856466355442" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 172px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 228px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s320/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br />Making progress.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294259860816048114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s320/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SvjFAYI/AAAAAAAAAEU/C2ZE-Y5VPQ4/s1600-h/a1145326066_274243_3057.jpg"></a><br />what happened Nanna?<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SuC0U_I/AAAAAAAAAEc/LICqRS76cJE/s1600-h/a1145326066_274246_2718.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9Sg1JpPI/AAAAAAAAAEk/QQEGjeW9Dc8/s1600-h/a1145326066_274252_6154.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXkApA-PuVI/AAAAAAAAAE0/WEf6sLwAJDo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274261_9906.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294263541586442578" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXkApA-PuVI/AAAAAAAAAE0/WEf6sLwAJDo/s320/a1145326066_274261_9906.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a><p><br /><br />Shhhhhhh......I'm counting<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXkApVULWqI/AAAAAAAAAE8/3t2uzeg0o_g/s1600-h/a1145326066_274262_9353.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294263547047140002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXkApVULWqI/AAAAAAAAAE8/3t2uzeg0o_g/s320/a1145326066_274262_9353.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a>Tada!!!!! Aby's Wristies...Good Job!!!! <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SuC0U_I/AAAAAAAAAEc/LICqRS76cJE/s1600-h/a1145326066_274246_2718.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p align="center">Thanks Nana for a day of memories and for teaching us both to knit!!!<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SXj9SxCMr_I/AAAAAAAAAEs/OMoYCvTuuCo/s1600-h/a1145326066_274259_3529.jpg"></a><br /><span style="color:#ff9966;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">"I like making a piece of string into something I can wear." </span></strong></span><span style="color:#ff9966;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">~Author Unknown</span></strong></span></p><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff9966;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff9966;"></span></strong></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-79909602263230125282009-01-06T20:52:00.010-05:002009-05-06T20:42:22.113-04:00Excuses and HedgehogsThe holidays are over and it is back to business as usual. At least I am trying to get back to normal. The no more sleeping in, is wearing on me! Pass me another pot of coffee please!!<br /><br />I droped off the grid about Thanksgiving, sorry for the long hiatus. I should have let ya know I was going to be away for a while but I didn’t know myself. Before Thanksgiving I had phone troubles (I know- dial-up is from the dark ages, but it is what I’ve got!). This is my first excuse. Then when the phone was finally fixed (which took about 2 weeks-ahhh!) I went into just get through Christmas mode. That sounds really Scrogge-ish but my father passed away in August and this was the first Thanksgiving and Christmas without him. I was in a bit of “let’s get this over with” kind of mood. I won’t say it was a good Christmas but better than expected.<br /><br />During Christmas break I was very productive trying out lots of new crochet projects and when Nana got here even a few knitting projects. Yea, you heard me right KNITTING! I made a knitted then felted star that was way fun. My husband was teasing me that I used knitting and fun in the same sentence. I also made a hat from a pattern that was written wrong – this was a big boost to the knitting ego! And now I am trying to finish a pair of slippers. Though it was agreed upon that I could have crocheted the slippers faster it was a good learning and muscle building experience (the slippers are knitted with two strands so I have tender finger tips and sore shoulders).<br /><br />I am trying to get school spirit back up. It is hard to compete with Christmas. Chocolate is always a good motivator (for the kids and mom)! Little Chief is reading “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milly-Molly-Mandy-Storybook-Joyce-Lankester-Brisley/dp/0753453320">Milly-Molly-Mandy</a>.” If you have never read this book check it out at your library. Sometimes a good kid’s book is just what the doctor ordered for a damp and dreary winter’s day. Today Milly-Molly-Mandy found a hedgehog. Chocolate + Hedgehog makes for a pleasant enough evening (until the kids are running around yelling from the sugar high! You have to take the good with the bad in life!)<br /><br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/3175793796_1cec98152d_m.jpg"></a>Chocolate Hedgehog Cookies <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3175793800_5f668524fc_m.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 176px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3175793800_5f668524fc_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />1 C chocolate chips (or more!)<br />1 C marshmallows<br />1 C chunky peanut butter<br />2 Tbs butter<br />1-2 C Chinese noodles<br />Melt the first 4 ingredients over low heat. When melted take off heat and stir in noodles. Scope onto wax paper and place in freezer.<br /><br />These are a little crumbly and the kids kept saying “ouch!” with every bite, since they 'are' hedgehogs. But once you get past their prickles hedgehogs can go down quite smoothly. Lots of chocolate is the key!!gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-39728150783033217112008-12-24T10:02:00.003-05:002008-12-24T10:08:44.034-05:00<div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SVJPj_ROXbI/AAAAAAAAADM/0ORqF8OiyNQ/s1600-h/IMG.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283372792556707250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 162px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SVJPj_ROXbI/AAAAAAAAADM/0ORqF8OiyNQ/s320/IMG.jpg" border="0" /></a> <strong><span style="font-size:130%;">"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"</span></strong></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-28960066213328268672008-12-07T20:08:00.003-05:002008-12-07T20:45:44.125-05:00Advent Conspiracy<p><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><p><a href="http://theadamantlearningacademy.blogspot.com/">via Dacia at Our Crazy Homeschool Life</a></p>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-56666839297080630642008-11-27T10:48:00.002-05:002008-11-27T11:03:54.657-05:00Happy Thanksgiving!<div align="center"><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3063008337_9101172826.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 361px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 500px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3063008337_9101172826.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><strong> <blockquote><p align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#993300;"><strong>"Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, - a grateful heart; Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if Thy blessings had spare days, But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise." ~George Herbert</p></strong></span></blockquote></strong></span><br /></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-32601749666736023632008-11-22T17:46:00.006-05:002008-11-24T20:03:23.438-05:00Sneak PeeksShhhh!!!! Don't let *** and *** know I am busy at work on gifts for them. I thought I would tease them a bit and offer up some sneak peeks of things to come. And since I haven't revealed the lucky recipients the suspense is heightened in my little mystery peeks. So be nice to me- these could be the start of special gifts for you! <div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 354px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/3057591632_f0d313a035.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 375px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/3057598492_1f687c052f.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>My son entertained me by coming up with word scrabbles for me to decipher while I crocheted. Where was Mom and Rebecca (word masters extraordinaire) when I needed them?</p>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-1757242355949606642008-11-17T19:36:00.003-05:002008-11-17T22:11:20.480-05:00Mending Day<div>Today was mending day. I am trying to keep my mending basket empty but with two young kids (what is it with boys and blown out knees!) this seems to be hard. I like sewing- not so much mending. I am finding that having a mending buddy seems to make an unpleasant task a little more enjoyable. My daughter volunteered for the j<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SSIxaKzJ2SI/AAAAAAAAADE/P6TmYI7S3_c/s1600-h/Mending+Day011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269828839622170914" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SSIxaKzJ2SI/AAAAAAAAADE/P6TmYI7S3_c/s320/Mending+Day011.JPG" border="0" /></a>ob. Seeing me have soooo much fun mending one day, she decided to get in on some sewing action (or “knitting” action as she likes to call it). I set her up with a small heart shaped piece of plastic canvas, a little scrap yarn and a blunt needle. Her heart is stored in my sewing box, so every time I sit down to mend, out comes the heart. It has been nice to have someone to sew with, even when I am being asked a thousand questions and I have to rethread the needle a gazillion times. Today I mended a wounded doggy and she worked on her heart. Afterwards she wanted to help take a picture of our work for the blog- so enjoy a picture of our handiwork taken by my daughter.</div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-84958306742185897812008-11-14T09:59:00.011-05:002008-11-16T16:19:17.659-05:00How To: Making a Scarf into a Hat<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/3029032258_722ba7c442.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 375px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 500px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/3029032258_722ba7c442.jpg" border="0" /></a>My <a href="http://gingerbreadstars.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-think-i-can.html">grand knitting adventure </a>has come to an end. I set out to finish a knitted project and I did it. Though my grand plan was to knit a scarf, along the way my scarf started talking to me, and it said "I want to be done!" Now just so you don't think I'm a little messed up in the head, the fact of the matter is I was getting tired of knitting the scarf and getting short on yarn. I decided to dream up an end to this madness. Something that wouldn't involve me pulling all my stitches out. My scarf plan has now turned into a "How To: Finish a scarf before it's done." Follow me on this crazy journey....<br /><br /><div><div><div>The scarf pattern I started with is the <a href="http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70809AD.html?noImages=0">Meandering Rib Scarf</a>. It was knitted with chunky yarn and size 10 1/2 needles which is different from the pattern. But since this is a fly by the seat of your pants type of <em>"How To"</em> it doesn't matter what patten you use or what needles you choose. Be crazy and spontaneous, it might just work even better than you think (that is what happened here). </div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 191px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/3028790694_504232762d_m.jpg" border="0" />My finished scarf (knitted scrap) was 11"W x 20"L. Along with this you will need scrap yarn and a crochet hook.<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/3028790700_754eea77ca_m.jpg" border="0" /> Fold rectangle in half, with right sides together and pin up each side.<br /><br /><div><br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3228/3028192469_ff49039737_m.jpg" border="0" /> With crochet hook, start at open edge and single crochet up one edge. </div><div><br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/3028169957_d6b0734509_m.jpg"></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/3028144173_cb9c800ef4_m.jpg"></a><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/3028169957_4d585b3d96_m.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/3028169957_4d585b3d96_m.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 183px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/3028144173_f3e999ae28_m.jpg" border="0" />Then, match crocheted seam with pinned seam and execute a squash fold (think origami.) After squash fold, seams will be running along the center front and center back.<br /><br />Turn over and insert hook into top edge and make a single crochet that pulls the top two stitches from both seams together. Now continue single crochet down other edge. Weave in loose yarn. <div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 167px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3245/3028790678_6305eb3f6e_m.jpg" border="0" />Turn right side out and roll up bottom edge. </div></div><div><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 142px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3289/3028790696_1596326a9a_m.jpg" border="0" /> Add your own crazy additions!<br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/3032769861_8fa967474c_m.jpg" border="0" />Alternative ideas: Add loop and button for a neck warmer. Fold rectangle in half and seam sides, add handle and you have a bag. With folded rectangle seam one edge and you have a fun elf hat! Share anymore ideas you might have- what can be done with a knitted rectangle? <em>Thinking... thinking....</em><br /><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/3028983862_2c8c1a1fdb_m.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-6030145887127923302008-11-11T21:12:00.008-05:002008-11-11T22:12:26.989-05:00Thanks to the IndiansIt was a perfect Indian summer this past weekend. Nana and Papa came up to visit and the house was full of activity. When they come it seems to get all of our creative juices flowing. There is always a long planning session of all the cool things we could build or do if we had a month to be together. Then reality sets in, they are only going to be here for the weekend so we need to just hit the highlights of the plan and hope for more visits<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRo-M-kzORI/AAAAAAAAACE/m-qgR0dS1Tk/s1600-h/IMG_0118.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267591106839918866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 297px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 222px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRo-M-kzORI/AAAAAAAAACE/m-qgR0dS1Tk/s320/IMG_0118.JPG" border="0" /></a>.<br />The “summer” days seemed to last forever this weekend. This was a nice change from the usually gone in a flash weekday I am so used too. Every one found some creative outlet and it kept us busy all day, Saturday.<br />Papa and the kids enjoyed the back yard. Papa was mowing (he is a good Papa to travel all this way to mow our lawn) and the kids played “Lord of the Rings” and other such made up on the spot games. Then Papa enticed the kids into helping rake leaves (did I mention what a great Papa he is?!). The thought of a towering pile of leaves is powerful enough to get a kid to drop what he is doing and rake. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpH8cSkBtI/AAAAAAAAAC0/LnlyfP5Q_lI/s1600-h/IMG_0105.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267601817874990802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpH8cSkBtI/AAAAAAAAAC0/LnlyfP5Q_lI/s200/IMG_0105.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpJD4sNweI/AAAAAAAAAC8/EXo1Rxs53bo/s1600-h/IMG_0112.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267603045269488098" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpJD4sNweI/AAAAAAAAAC8/EXo1Rxs53bo/s200/IMG_0112.JPG" border="0" /></a>Nana and Josh sat on the porch and painted. Our plan for the weekend had been to paint the porch but with the arrival of the Grands it changed to painting fish instead! I am no painter so I joined in the conversation on the porch and worked at my scarf.<br /><br />Weekends that seem to last forever are sometimes too quickly forgotten. I think this is why I was reluctant to write this post too quickly, trying desperately to slow the progression of this week. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpDjOaFE1I/AAAAAAAAACc/iRYqMxAOb9k/s1600-h/Indian+Summer004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267596986605179730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpDjOaFE1I/AAAAAAAAACc/iRYqMxAOb9k/s320/Indian+Summer004.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267599664804144450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRpF_HeeJUI/AAAAAAAAACs/rUUojlLKS9o/s320/Indian+Summer030.JPG" border="0" />gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-23648980611604985112008-11-06T12:58:00.005-05:002008-11-06T13:13:12.513-05:00God made dirt, dirt don't hurt!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRMyUpmONwI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Rny-_XrfdaE/s1600-h/Dirt003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265607719671183106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRMyUpmONwI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Rny-_XrfdaE/s320/Dirt003.JPG" border="0" /></a> Got dirt? No? Go get your daily serving of the letter "D"! Just make make it chocolate flavored with a little Oreo mixed in! You won't be disappointed. And don't forget the gummy worms! This is a good dessert to eat while reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Fried-Worms-Thomas-Rockwell/dp/0440445450">"How to Eat Fried Worms."</a>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-48218144875326427232008-11-05T21:03:00.004-05:002008-11-05T22:02:12.553-05:00Fall in Picts<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><blockquote><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><p></span><span style="font-size:100%;color:#cc6600;">"The North Wind came along one day,<br />So strong and full of fun;<br />He called the leaves down from the trees,<br />And said, 'Run, children, run!'<br />They came in red and yellow dress,<br />In shaded green and brown,<br />And all the short November day,<br />He chased them round the town."</span><span style="font-size:100%;color:#cc6600;"><br />-Emilie Poulsson </span></strong></span></strong><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/3006185823_ecfc0997f9_m.jpg"></p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 204px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/3006185823_ecfc0997f9_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/3006185817_7c743f33de_m.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/3006185819_8ff0d85184_m.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/3006283909_4f44901ff8_m.jpg" border="0" /> <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 500px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/3006283913_257bf10939.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/3006283895_b330cbb5ce_m.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3017/3006185811_ba99a106ac_m.jpg" border="0" /> This is our visiting friend. I hope he stays for a while!</p><p> </p></blockquote></div><br /><div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-28034866521542210342008-11-04T20:33:00.008-05:002008-11-04T21:04:53.170-05:00The autumn of your soul<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRD8z6RtZYI/AAAAAAAAABs/Nr4oeAUeQoM/s1600-h/Fall006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264985933143172482" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRD8z6RtZYI/AAAAAAAAABs/Nr4oeAUeQoM/s320/Fall006.JPG" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">(Josh Post)</span> It’s November here in Northern Virginia and the trees are all ablaze in their fall colors. For many people spring is their favorite time of the year and while I love spring, with its bright feelings of hope as things emerge from the earth, fall has always been the season that captures my imagination. Fall has what I call “a quiet melancholy” that always seems to inspire my mind and draw my attention away from the hustle and bustle and out into the wilds, into stirring leaves chattering with animals making their final preparations for winter colds, and out to the lake where the wind ripples across the water and the fish make one more strike at the line. In our society we seldom notice the seasons. With supermarkets and all of our modern conveniences we no longer need to put up feed for our animals and make sure that the produce of the garden is canned and safely stored away. Few of us stack the wood pile anymore to make sure that we remain snug through the winter, or oil and sharpen the tools before storing them away for the year. Yet even with all our activity there is still a feeling to fall that makes room for thought and contemplation, there is beauty, yes, with the Maples looking like living torches and the Birches gracefully pointing to the sky, but sadness too in knowing that soon the beauty will blow away and winter will come to stretch its cold hands across the earth. Fall, like life, blazes brilliantly for a little while and then fades away but rather than regret the shortness of the season, pause... and enjoy the wonders all around.<br /><div><div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264984429813520098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRD7cZ7_VuI/AAAAAAAAABk/mxc06OcQahc/s320/Fall004.JPG" border="0" /> <span style="color:#993300;">“...It was not yet very cold, the mild melancholy of November still lingering gold in it, in falling leaves and slanting amber light. All the apples were in the loft, all the corn milled, the hay long stacked, the sheep turned into the stubble fields. A time to pause, to look round, to make sure nothing had been neglected, no fence unrepaired, against the winter. He has never before been so acutely aware of the particular quality and function of November, its ripeness and its hushed sadness. The year proceeds not in a straight line through the seasons, but in a circle that brings the world and man back to the dimness and mystery in which both began, and out of which a new seed time and a new generation are about to begin. Old men, thought Cadfael, believe in that new beginning but experience only the ending. It may be that God is reminding me that I am approaching my November. Well, why regret it? November has beauty, has seen the harvest into the barns, even laid by next years seed. No need to fret about not being allowed to stay and sow it, someone else will do that. So go contentedly into the earth with the moist, gentle, skeletal leaves, worn to cobweb fragility, like the skins of very old men, that bruise and stain at the mere brushing of the breeze, and that flower into brown blotches as the leaves into rotting gold. The colours of late autumn are the colours of the sunset: the farewell of the year and the farewell of the day. And of the life of man? Well if it ends in a flourish of gold, that is no bad ending. –</span> <a href="http://www.bookslut.com/fiction/2006_05_008757.php">Ellis Peters “Brother Cadfael’s Penance”</a></div></div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-55749781817732673952008-11-01T20:17:00.013-04:002008-11-01T21:34:50.418-04:00"T" Time<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2993804134_5204b9b18f.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 461px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 366px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2993804134_5204b9b18f.jpg" border="0" /></a>Friday was brought to us by the letter "T"! To celebrate the new letter of the week (because every letter should have some celebration!) my daughter hosted a "T" ParTy! This project was perfect for my fairy tale minded daughter!! We sat down the day before and made a check list of all she wanted to have for her parTy. She set to work making a invitation that was to be emailed to Grandma. Grandma gladly accepted and so Friday morning was a buzz of parTy preparation. This was a very low key affair but high priority in her eyes. "T"s were cut for the table and place settings. All of our play dishes were Tastefully arranged. She felt that we needed to pile every dish up as high as we could. "This is to remind us of the Tower of Babel," she said. The Tower of Babel is our Bible topic of the week. <a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2993804126_ab1ddb9627.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 324px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 231px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/2993804126_ab1ddb9627.jpg" border="0" /></a>Very fitting for our week of "T"s! (You could say that I planned it that way, but I wouldn't;) Our menu for the affair was Tuna salad on biscuits, Chocolate Chip Tookies and of course Tea.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><em>"Terrific....", "Tantalizing...." , "Triumphant.....", "Tasty..."</em></strong> these are just a few of the reviews that were given of the event.gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-56098204309979817462008-10-31T12:00:00.005-04:002008-11-16T16:47:28.098-05:00Practice, Practice, Practice!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRJlSHuYUKI/AAAAAAAAAB0/R9i0dgvx_jA/s1600-h/hm12.png"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265382276335161506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SRJlSHuYUKI/AAAAAAAAAB0/R9i0dgvx_jA/s320/hm12.png" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2956016621_65c3dc03d8_m.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 158px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2956016621_65c3dc03d8_m.jpg" border="0" /></a> Fridays are unofficially called "goof off in school day". I have <em>not</em> shared this name with the kids. Our work load is a little less than the rest of the week, so this frees me up to “kick it up a notch.” While we start every school day with memory work, on Fridays I try to do a memory game of some sort. Last Friday we played memory hopscotch.<br /><br />This idea came to me via <a href="http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/timeline.htm">H.O.T.T. Tips newsletter from Amy Pak</a>. Amy puts out an amazing newsletter! She gives great ideas for history unit studies and other teaching tips - she puts a lot of time into these newsletters. They have been a tremendous help!<br /><br />My kids are a bit young to play hopscotch “professionally.” So the rules were adjusted and the game was quite informal. Questions are asked and the one that knows the answer gets to toss the bean bag and hop along! It is nice to have a little change of pace for me and the kids. Yet, please, don’t tell them they are learning!!!<br /><br /><div><div><div>P.S. I looked up <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopscotch">Hopscotch</a> on wikipedia. It was kind of fun to learn some of the origins of the game. You might enjoy a little trivia reading.</div></div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-4980678635736824022008-10-29T18:49:00.004-04:002008-10-30T13:07:10.025-04:00Knitting Day 2<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/2985410310_4764f7a5ce.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 439px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 343px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/2985410310_4764f7a5ce.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-61053866554613183412008-10-28T22:00:00.007-04:002008-10-29T13:59:09.190-04:00Happy Birthday Dad!<em><span style="font-size:85%;">(Josh Post)</span></em><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2981132841_2fe07e1eca.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 265px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 411px" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2981132841_2fe07e1eca.jpg" border="0" /></a> Well with all the various trials that have gone on this year it should come as no surprise that not very many new projects have come out of the shop this year but at last the wheels of progress have begun to turn and new pieces are beginning to emerge once more.<br /><br />The life of this project began as a design idea for a relative in WI who was looking for a small table and so I drew up a design and saw the initial project completed by my Grandfather in his shop in <a href="http://cable4fun.com/">Cable, Wisconsin</a>.<br /><br />Having seen the project in photographs I decided that it would be a fun project to build for myself and so I began to construct a matching pair the first of which is seen here while the second is entering the final stages of construction. (See future posts for details!)<br /><br />I am holding this table hostage here at our home in Northern VA to encourage my parents to come and visit, because, “Happy Birthday Dad!”, this one’s for you.<br /><div></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#cc6600;">"True ornament is not a matter of prettifying externals. It is organic with the structure it adorns, whether a person, a building, or a park. At its best it is an emphasis of structure, a realization in graceful terms of the nature of that which is ornamented."</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#cc6600;">-Frank Lloyd Wright </span></strong></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-54197450244881344992008-10-28T15:24:00.013-04:002008-10-29T18:59:30.720-04:00I Think I Can....<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/2981227919_385a77e3fe.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 438px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 349px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/2981227919_385a77e3fe.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Day 1</span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:0;"></span>I am going to attempt what seems to be the impossible – finishing a knitted project. My sweet MIL (mother-in-law) taught me to knit this year, and I am forever in her debt for introducing me to this headache that I have had ever since. </p><p class="MsoNormal">I taught myself to crochet about five years ago and I have enjoyed this pastime. Yet, in so many ways, I wish I had learned to knit before I learned to crochet. There are so many things that are just done so much easier with crocheting. For instance, if you make a mistake crocheting just pull out the stitches until you are to where you made your mistake. In knitting this is a grueling process of pulling your stitches and sticking them back on your needles and hoping you didn’t drop any stitches. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Now that I have gotten my complaining out of the way let’s move on to what I love about knitting: knitting has a nice, calming rhythm and I love the feel of knitted items. I want to get good at both knitting and crocheting for there are many fun projects that incorporate both. </p><p class="MsoNormal">So this is my first real attempt to finish a knitting project. No more playing around with the needles pretending I am busy (Quiet! I am counting!) It is time to get down to work and make something with this new skill! I will be posting a picture of my work each day. I hope this will keep me motivated to finish.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Besides it would be nice to have a new scarf this winter!</p><p class="MsoNormal">Note: Scarf pattern is <a href="http://www.lionbrand.com/">Meandering Rib Scarf</a>.<span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><strong><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"></p><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:130%;color:#cc6600;"><strong>"The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the<br />dictionary." ~Mary Kurtz</strong></span></span></strong></span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></div></div></div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-9303430134990881632008-10-23T19:48:00.010-04:002008-10-24T09:53:33.227-04:00I know it's early...........<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SQHSuItcWbI/AAAAAAAAABU/1Emiz1M2O1U/s1600-h/Saint+Nick.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260717529799350706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 248px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5Yjk4vnKeho/SQHSuItcWbI/AAAAAAAAABU/1Emiz1M2O1U/s320/Saint+Nick.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I know, I know.... Christmas is still 2 months away. But hey, I'm not the first to bring this topic up lately. The stores seem to be ready for it and I have seen a large number of blog posts about the topic already. So that being the case I just wanted to pass on some info that might help you on your way to having a "Peace on Earth" Christmas. For the past 4 years or so I have been following <a href="http://organizedchristmas.com/">Cynthia Townley Ewer's Christmas Countdown</a>. It starts at the end of October every year and is a great tool to get yourself organized for Christmas. For six weeks she posts planning sheets, ideas and to do's. </div><br /><div>I'm a person who loves lists so this site feeds my check off <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">addiction</span><span style="font-family:webdings;">a</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">. </span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">I</span><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"> have used the site for so many years now and have found what things work for my family which saves me a lot of time and as we all know time is a precious commodity at Christmas. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">One of the best lists is an evaluation sheet. It helps you to decide what made the season special last year and what was not worth the time. I also ask the kids each year what they remember about last year's Christmas and what would make this year memorable. We all seem to go year to year not remembering any of the gifts we gave or the gifts we received, but we do remember the special things we did with family and friends. This is why it helps to take a few moments each week before the rush of the season comes to really think what is truly important. The countdown starts Sunday so check it out.</span></div><br /><br /><blockquote><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">"When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at<br />Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with<br />legs?" -G. K. Chesterton</span></strong></p></blockquote>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3694781667950603352.post-1523720846080199782008-10-21T19:10:00.006-04:002008-10-29T18:52:37.423-04:00I Draw Pictures All Day...<div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#cc6600;">"If you foolishly ignore beauty, you'll soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you wisely invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life." - Frank Lloyd Wright</span></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2961872773_195b53976a_b.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2961872773_195b53976a_b.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">(Josh post)</span></em> My lovely wife is always encouraging me in new creative endeavors and after seeing the enjoyment that she has had sharing her projects and thoughts here I have decided to join in (after much prodding to do so) and share some of the things that are happening on my side of the family too. As with anything, starting is always the most difficult part and so instead of wringing my hands and looking for just the right type of thing to begin with I've decided to start with the thing that I am most often doing which is design.<br /><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/2961914375_aeb1d58aa3_b.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />People often have a lot of conceptions about what I do as a landscape architect and most of them usually revolve around a central idea which is, "Landscape Architects, you guys draw dirt...right?" Well to a certain extent that's true but fortunately my days are also full of a lot more.<br /><div><br /><div></div><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2961825783_0309e7734b_b.jpg" border="0" /></div><div></div><div>The one idea that I find people have most often is that they expect you to have a "philosophy" which guides everything you design. This does seem to be the case with all the shows on cable these days (although I am unsure as to what philosophy directs someone to paint rooms hot pink and glue grass to the ceiling) but it would seem to me after being in this business for going on ten years that tv is really the only place where it exists. Now certainly I have ideas about how things should be done and the other designers that I know do as well but either we just don't have enough ego or a lot of all that talk on tv is just glam for the cameras, for me, my philosophy comes down to this, I am "Dedicated to the Proposition that All Designs are Created Equal" (to steal a phrase from one of my favorite composers, <a href="http://www.schickele.com/">Peter Schickele</a>) and to steal a phrase from Duke Ellington "If it looks good it is good." It may not sound as good as the guys on HGTV but in the end it works for me.....</div></div>gingerbread starshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230457313395891836noreply@blogger.com1