V is for Veggie Bites - ABCs of Homeschooling

This past weekend Sophia made Veggie Bites. The recipe is from the children's cookbook called Alpha-Bakery, and we're using that as part of Sophia's homeschool home economics class.

We used cauliflower for the fresh vegetable which turned out well. When the Veggie Bites are eaten shortly after coming out of the oven, they are still crisp and taste great.

If there are leftovers that need to be re-heated. Well...that's a different story. The flavor is still good, but they are no longer crisp. So, it's best to eat the Veggie Bites in one sitting.

Veggie Bites made from cauliflower and

sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter, melted (we used dairy-free butter)
1 egg
2 teaspoon water
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup fresh vegetables (of your choice)

Directions

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Brush bottom of 13x9x2 inch pan with about 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Beat egg and water with fork in a shallow dish. Mix flour and salt in another shallow dish. Dip about 1/4 of vegetables into egg mixture.

Remove 1 vegetable piece at a time with a slotted spoon, fork or hands. Roll in flour mixture to coat. Place in pan. Repeat with remaining vegetables.

Pour remaining butter carefully over each vegetable piece and into pan. Bake uncovered, turning once until vegetables are crisp-tender and coating is golden brown (10-12 minutes) drain sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese if desired.

Makes 2 cups of Veggie Bites.

(Linked to the ABCs of Homeschooling.)

Heartwarming Animal Stories Review - Wesley the Owl

For the third book of the Heartwarming Animal Stories 2012 Reading Challenge, I chose Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien.

Briefly, the book centers around Stacey O'Brien (a biologist and barn owl expert) who chronicles her rescue of an adorable, abandoned baby barn owl - and their astonishing and unprecedented nineteen-year life together.

The author states that "...since this story took place, federal laws protecting wild birds have become more stringent. It is against the law to keep any wild bird or indigenous wildlife without a permit."

Thankfully for Wesley, Stacey, and those interested in barn owls that these laws went into effect more recently - not when she first met Wesley. Because of Stacey's long-term commitment to his care, Wesley had a chance at living  a full and happy life.

Had Stacey not adopted him, Wesley would never have been able to survive in the wild nor had such a long life.  When he was found by a group of hikers, hhad nerve damage in one wing. He could have hunted sporadically, but not consistently enough to provide the nutrition he needed. Wesley also would not have had the stamina to fly for extended periods of time.

What I enjoyed about Wesley the Owl is that the author wove in so many interesting facts about barn owls throughout the book. For example, barn owls are "about 18 inches from head to tail. They weigh only about one pound full grown, but their wingspan is magnificent - averaging three feet, eight inches - almost four feet acrss. And barn owls are strikingly beautiful, their feathers are largely golden and white and their faces a startling white heart shape."

She said that owls are "very sensitive and easily stressed." Simple mishaps or accidents could upset an owl so much that they would turn their "head away from life" and die. She continued, "Owl mate for life, and when a owl's mate dies, he doesn't necessarily go out and find another partner. Instead, he might turn his head to face the tree in which he's sitting and stare fixedly in a deep depression until he dies. Such profound grief is indicative of how passionately owls can feel and how devoted they are to their mates."

What's also interesting is that a female owl will lay about five eggs over a period of five days. The eggs hatch in the order that they were laid. Consequently, the oldest (and largest) owl baby gets more food. In the wild, the youngest (and smallest) owl babies die.

Stacey did a phenomenal job caring for Wesley. According to the book, "In the wild, barn owls do not live that long. Only one out of fifteen even lives through the first year." There is a multitude of reasons why this occurs: they get hit by cars; fly into live electrical wires; consume poisoned meat (e.g., a mouse that's eaten poison); experience the loss of their habitat; and are eaten by domestic cats and other predators.

Wesley lived for over 19 years. He was the equivalent of a 120 year old man. His impact on Stacey was clear as she looked back on her life and her own health challenges (she had a brain tumor which caused a host of problems and side effects): "He was my teacher, my companion, my child, my playmate, my reminder of God. Sometimes I even wondered if he was actually an angel who had been sent to live with me and help me through all the alone times."

I would highly recommend Wesley the Owl. It, by far, was my favorite book that I've read this year as part of the Heartwarming Animal Stories challenge.

Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff - Update

Over on Love My Little Flower, the author has a Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff schedule for the 40 days of Lent. The plan was originally written by Dale O'Leary, a freelance journalist and radio talk show host.

Here's how we've done for the past few days:

Day 6 (Tuesday, February 28): Throw out all old catalogs. They will send new ones. [On Day 28, we'll tackle all the magazines in our houses.]

I recycled 15 magazines that were by the side of the bed. This filled a grocery-store-size plastic bags. I still need to go through the magazines in my office at home. Maybe on Day 28 I'll finish recyling catalogs as well as magazines.

Day 7 (Wednesday, February 29): Throw out all expired coupons and sale notices.

I have a little basket on my desk that has coupons, gift cards, and gift certificates. There weren't many coupons since I tend to buy generic items at the grocery store. Often times, even with a coupon, the generic-brand item is less expensive than that of a name-brand item. However, there were some expired coupons. With the exception of a coupouple of coupons the rest all have no expiration date.

What was nice as I went through the basket was finding gift cards that I didn't even know I had. Perhaps a better place for the gift cards would be my bag so that they are with me when I go out and I would be more likely to use them.

Items for recycling on the left; and

the finished basket with gift cards, gift certificates, and coupons on the right.

Day 8 (Thursday, March 1): Give every gift you received and never used to someone who needs it or could use it more than you. If you can't think of anyone, donate it.

The only gift I could find was that I have never used was a plastic table cover. I'm donating it to the local second-hand store.


Day 9 (Friday, March 2): Go through your photos. Toss those of people whose names you can't remember and all ugly or unflattering photos.

I've actually been working since mid-January on a project where I'm removing all photos from non-photo safe albums. This has been a rather time-consuming project, so my goal with this activity today was simply to remove photos from the last five photo albums (another bag for the trash).

As I've been going through the albums, I've left all photos that were blurry, unflattering, or weren't meaningful images to keep. With the exception of photos in five albums, all the photos now are in photo-safe boxes. My goal is to go through the remaining five albums and remove the good pictures within a week.

The next step is to go through the photos again and label the back of each one with the name(s) of the person on the photo, approximate date the photo was taken, and location. This is a longer-term project than one day.

Day 10 (Saturday, March 3): Give every can of food that has been in your kitchen cabinets for more than a month to a food kitchen.

I went through the kitchen cabinets and organized two of them. One of the cabinets has pots, pans, potatoes, and onions. It also had some food that I dried during the summer in jars and rice. I transferred over these latter two items to another food cabinet.

Found electric cords that belonged to nothing, a haven't-been-used-in-ages-and-in-poor-shape fry pan, and five reusuable lunch bags. Tossed the first two items and donated the last item.

The three upper food cabinets all have food that was purchased in bulk so it is in glass jars. These items cannot be donated. There is only one cabinet with food that can be donated. I've been using up food in this cabinet during the January and February Fiscal Fasts I've been doing as a way to save money and use what is on hand. I also donated a bag of food during January as part of the 12 in 12 challenge that the girls and I are doing.

What's left are jars of partially-used liquids (e.g., olive oil, vinegars), opened items (e.g., oatmeal, rice, Bisquick), and unopened food in jars and packages.  Looking at this last category, I was able to put together a small bag of items to donate to the food shelf.

What's coming up for the next week?  These activities:

Day 11 (Monday, March 5): Collect all stained and ripped clothing hanging in your closets. Either mend it or throw it out immediately.

Day 12 (Tuesday, March 6): Dispose of all the recipes you cut out and haven't used.

Day 13 (Wednesday, March 7): Go through your clothes. Give away everything that doesn't fit or doesn't flatter.

Day 14 (Thursday, March 8): Throw away all broken toys and games with missing parts.

Day 15 (Friday, March 9): Go through old paint and throw out what is unusable. (Ed note: Bring to recycling place that takes paint and other hazardous household materials.)

Day 16 (Saturday, March 10): Throw away medicine that has expired.

Take a Stitch Tuesday - Couching Stitch - Week 9

This week for Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), the featured stitch is the couching stitch.

This is one of the samples I did using the couching stitch.

The multi-color yarn is of varying widths.

It is hand-embroidered onto a piece of green, wool felt

using two strands of gold embroidery floss.

Victorian Embroidery and Crafts said that "Couching is an English corruption of the French word coucher, to lay. This form of embroidery is laid on the surface of the ground material instead of being sewed through."

On Wikipedia it says that, "Underside couching of metal thread was characteristic of earlier Opus Anglicanum in Medieval England and was also used historically in Sicily,....Italy, and France. Couching is also characteristic of Japanese metal-thread embroidery and Central Asian suzani work."

Wikipedia continued, "There is a strong tradition of couching stitch in Palestine. Production centered on Bethlehem and its two neighboring villages Beit Sahour and Beit Jalla [where it is] used for wedding dresses and formal wear."

This is another sampler I did using two types of yarns.

Each has its own unique texture and varying widths.

The background is hand-dyed wool felt.

There are several ways to do couching stitches. Here are some examples:

As I'm doing for the year-long Take a Stitch Tuesday project, I put the samples I did of the couching stitch (which I enjoyed doing!) in my embroidery journal.

There's a personal reflection about what happened during the past week, a list of things for which I am grateful, the name of the stitch I learned this week, and an image that I thought was pretty. Nature always inspires me...calms me...and provides insight that seems to be needed at the time. 

Simple Woman's Daybook on 3/1/12

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...there's still snow covering the branches of some of the pine trees.

I am thinking...about my mom who is in the hospital after falling on Tuesday morning. Not sure what the next couple of months will look like as she recovers.

I am thankful...to have had time yesterday to build snowmen with my daughters.

In the kitchen...we're trying new recipes as part of homeschooling. Olivia will be making oat cookies as part of her Five in a Row curriculum, and Sophia will be making Vegie Bites that is in her Alpha-Bakery cookbook.

I am wearing...a sweatshirt, pajama pants, and warm socks. It's still early in the morning.

I am creating...a sampler for my embroidery journal using the couching stitch - a new stitch I am learning. Last week I learned how to do the chain stitch by creating two versions of the letter "A" (the initial of my first name).

I am going...to visit my mom today and see how she's doing, and stop by her home. I want to take some more things from my dad's offices to go through and determine if they need to be kept, donated, or shared in some way. Am learning a lot about the inspiring life he led and the impact he made on thousands of lives. He was so humble and never boasted about what he had accomplished. It is only after his death that I am learning even more about him and what made him truly a special person...and wonderful dad.

I am wondering...why I haven't heard owls this year. Last year in February and early March I heard quite a few owls at night. Miss their calls to one another.

I am reading..."Wesley the Owl." It's about a researcher who adopts a baby owl and care for it for over 19 years. It had nerve damage to one of its wings and would not be able to survive in the wild. I've learned a lot about owls in just the few chapters I've read so far. It's a very good book. Last month, I read "Homer's Odyssey" about a cat who was blind.

I am hoping...that the roads are safe to drive on today, and that there isn't ice on them.

I am looking forward to...going to the library today.

I am learning...about Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois right now as part of the girls' multi-disciplinary geography curriculum. It would be nice to be able to do a driving trip through these four states to see some of the things about which we've been learning. 

Around the house...I've been doing "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff" which is focused on getting rid of 40 bags of things in 40 days. As more items are being donated, more space is being freed. It's a great feeling.

I am pondering...why things seem to be so easy for some people while others have to struggle with just getting through the day...the week...or their life when there's challenge after challenge presented to them.

A favorite quote for today...is from Thomas Merton: “The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.”

One of my favorite things...open land. I like the natural beauty of land that isn't impacted by people.

A few plans for the rest of the week...homeschooling. Beyond that, I can only go day-by-day given the fact that I don't know what's going to happen with my mom.

A peek into my day...right now things are quiet with the girls still asleep in their bedrooms. Maggie and Meenie (two of the cats) are surprisingly sitting within two feel of one another. These two female cats are not friends by any stretch of the imagination. So it's nice to see them peacefully co-existing. Gretel  and Montague (the dogs) are oblivious to anything...they're both fast asleep.

A picture...of Montague sitting outside yesterday on Leap Day. He's taking a break after playing with Gretel in the snow.

(Linked with the Simple Woman's Daybook.)

3 in 30 - March Goals

For the 3 in 30 challenge during March, my three goals are:

1. Do "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent." When I was growing up, we would focus on giving up something like candy or desserts during the 40 days of Lent. This year, I stumbled across "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent" on My Little Flower. After receiving a PDF schedule with one activity per day, I thought it looked like something beneficial to do.

Basically, the 40 days focus on "greed - the desire for more than we need - a lust for material objects," according to the plan. It continues, "For some reason, we don't mind admitting to our gluttony, but shy away from admitting to our greed. Maybe because most of don't consider ourselves rich, we don't realize just how tied we are to our stuff."

The reality is, if a person complains about not having enough storage space; and closets, drawers, and basements or attics are full...then most likely it would be best to get rid of items.

The goal of "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent" is to get rid of 40 bags in 40 days. Ideally, the majority of items should be donated. However, from the plan it looks like there are items that will simply be destined for the recycling bin. This is fine...the point is to reduce the amount of stuff cluttering one's life and home. Here's how we did during the first few days of the challenge.

2. Finish taxes; and determine a budget for homeschooling curricula and supplies for April.  The taxes need to be submitted to the CPA after I total each category and enter those figures on the worksheet/booklet she provides.

Once the taxes are returned, I need to see what will be available for the homeschool conference in April where I purchase the majority of items for the upcoming school year.

Concurrent with budgeting for homeschooling curricula and supplies is establishing a rough outline and goals for the upcoming year, and determining what is needed to reach those goals. As I did this year, I would like to continue using as many materials as I can that I already have on hand and limit what I need to purchase.

3. Trim trees before spring. The apple trees need to be pruned before they start to bud, and this is a good time to do that. I also would like to clean up some of the lower branches of trees that I have to duck under while mowing the backyard.

In the pasture, there's a section of trees that would benefit from some trimming so that the horses, girls, and I can go through that area without pushing branches out of the way when we go on nature walks.

P52 Photo Challenge - A Great Leap - Week 9

For the ninth week of the P52 Photo Challenge, the theme is "A Great Leap."  Since Leap Day was on Wednesday, February 29th, I thought I'd focus on a literal leap on Leap Day.

On Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, there was a big snowstorm - the first major one of the winter season. By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, well over a half of a foot of snow had fallen.

It was the heavy, wet kind of snow. The back-breaking kind that needed to be shoveled; and provided a formidable challenge when pulling garbage and recycling cans over 150 feet to the end of the driveway. 

Despite the challenges this type of snow presented...it also was the perfect snowman-making snow. The snow packed well; and easily rolled and picked up even more snow to create snowman parts.

So the first thing each of us did after we finished homeschooling for the day was make a snowman - adding carrots and raisins for noses, eyes, and buttons. Sophia created a rather large snowman - it was almost her height.

Olivia created a medium-size snowman which she proudly noted was her first snowman she has ever made.

My snowman was the miniature variety - about a foot tall.

For the picture, the girls said it would be impossible to leap over Sophia's snowman. "It's too tall!"

"That's okay. Why don't you try Olivia's snowman and see if you can jump over it?" I encouraged. Despite being of moderate height, it still posed a challenge for the girls to jump over. Perhaps it was trying to run through dense, heavy snow in clunky boots and puffy snowsuits.

Regardless, the poor snowman was decapitated after a few runs and leaps.  So much for using any pictures of the headless snowman. So, onto the tiny snowman.

We moved the little snowman from the limb of the apple tree to the middle of the backyard - a place where the girls could get a running start before leaping.

Olivia jumping over the snowman.

The only minor injury the little snowman received was that its nose fell off. 

Sophia leaping over the snowman.

If you look closely, you can see its little stick arms

behind Sophia's calf.

The girls had a lot of fun jumping over the snowmen...and certainly have a memory of something they did that was a bit out of the ordinary on Leap Day 2012.

*~*~*~*~*~*

A bit of trivia from Frugal Friends Network: you can tell if it's a leap year by what day of the week it is.  How?

Every year January 1st and December 31st (the first and last day of the year) fall on the same day of the week.  Unless, of course, it's a Leap Year. See the example below.

2007 Monday January 1 – Monday December 31 Not a Leap Year 2008 Tuesday January 1 - Wednesday December 31  Leap Year! 2009 Thursday January 1 – Thursday December 31 Not a Leap Year 2010 Friday January 1 – Friday December 31 Not a Leap Year 2011 Saturday January 1 – Saturday December 31 Not a Leap Year 2012 Sunday January 1 - Monday December 31 Leap Year! 2013 Tuesday January 1 – Tuesday December 31 Not a Leap Year

On Teach With Me, there was some interesting information about animals and insects that leap.

"Most sources agreed that the highest leaper is the puma or mountain lion that can leap 5-6 times their height in a single bound, but when you compare the 'contestant'” in terms of their actual height that they can jump, relative to their body size, the tiny flea wins the gold medal!

"For example, kangaroos are about 6 feet tall; they can jump 2 times their height, but fleas, can leap more than 130 times theirs!

"This means if we would scale up a flea to our size, that would be like us jumping  halfway up the Empire State Building in New York!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At Time and Date, "According to an old Irish legend, or possibly history, St Bridget struck a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men – and not just the other way around – every four years. This is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how Leap Day balances the calendar.

"In some places, Leap Day has been known as “Bachelors’ Day” for the same reason. A man was expected to pay a penalty, such as a gown or money, if he refused a marriage proposal from a woman on Leap Day.

"In many European countries, especially in the upper classes of society, tradition dictates that any man who refuses a woman's proposal on February 29 has to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The intention is that the woman can wear the gloves to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. During the middle ages there were laws governing this tradition."

Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff

Over on Love My Little Flower, the author has a Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff schedule for the 40 days of Lent. The plan was originally written by Dale O'Leary, a freelance journalist and radio talk show host.

Here's how we've done so far:

Day 1 (Ash Wednesday, February 22): Make a decision to stay out of stores until after Easter - or at least, not to make a single impulse purchase until after Easter. If you absolutely must shop for your family, make a list and stick to it. However, it's easier all the way around if you just don't shop. Every time you buy something during Lent, write it down.

I think applying this goal to real life over the next 40 days is to focus on not making impulse purchases by making a list and sticking to it. Avoiding stores if there isn't a critical reason to go in them also is realistic and attainable.

Day 2 (Thursday, February 23): Clear all the trash out of your car. Make a decision to stop picking up free stuff and bringing it home.

I ended up doing this on Monday afternoon with Sophia's and Olivia's help. Each of us was responsible for one section of the car. In the front of the car, I gathered eight diet pop cans that I had put under the seat at some time. There was one small, serving-size bag of Cheetos that needed to be tossed.

In the back seat, each of the girls took a grocery bag from the grocery store and put garbage in it. In another they put things that needed to go inside. I was pleasantly surprised that both bags weren't even a quarter full. They've done a nice job with trying to keep the area they sit in clean.

In the far back, I put things related to tires and jump-starting the car in the hidden area where the spare tire is kept. The only things remaining are a wool blanket (in case the car breaks down and it is cold outside), a bit of extra coolant, and a bit of windshield wiper fluid. Otherwise, the entire area is cleaned out.

I've been carrying a large bag (trash bag size) full of plastic bags from the grocery store and Target. Found out that Cub recycles the bags, so I was able to get rid of that big bag from the far back of the car.

Day 3 (Friday, February 24): Collect all unmatched socks and put them in a plastic bag. Set aside. [You'll see on Day 40 that if you haven't yet discovered the matches to the socks, you'll joyfully throw those mismatched socks away.]

There's about a half a grocery-size plastic bag filled with socks that I have been collecting over the past couple of months. Looks like on Day 40 (if not before then) I'll see if any of them match.

Day 4 (Saturday, February 25): Recycle newspapers over one week old, even if you haven't read them. [On Day 6 we'll throw out catalogs. On Day 28 we'll toss magazines, so you need tackle only newspapers today. If you are feeling super ambitious, tackle all three today and then tackle something different on Days 6 and 28!]

Because we've been using the woodstove to reduce propane use this winter (and hopefully save some money), we've been using newspaper to start fires. So, as I went from room to room I only found one local paper and two days of the city paper. That was easy.

Day 5 (Monday, February 27): Empty your laundry room completely. Wash, fold, mend, iron, and return every item to its proper place, or give it to your church or Goodwill.

That sure would be nice to have a whole room dedicated to laundry. However, living in a home that was built in 1890, I need to be content with the tiny closet-like space that an upright, stacked washer/dryer combination can fit.

This washer/dryer duo is from 1996 and has to be one of the smallest washer/dryer combinations that was on the market at the time. Thus, to  accomplish washing, drying, and putting away the laundry - including all the sheets and a rug in addition to the normal laundry - I needed to start doing this on Saturday.

At some point, I will be more than happy to get an efficient dryer that doesn't take multiple cycles to dry. Until then, I just need to plan to do laundry over several days.

That being said, the laundry is done and put away. There is mending, but it hasn't been done. (At this point there are several more pressing matters that need to be addressed.) And ironing? Honestly? That's only done as needed. All of the clothes we wear with homeschooling don't need ironing (thankfully!). So, there's still a bit more left with this task, but for the most part it's done.

Day 6 (Tuesday, February 28): Throw out all old catalogs. They will send new ones. [On Day 28, we'll tackle all the magazines in our houses.]

I haven't had a chance to do this yet. I'm thinking that I'll work on this project over the weekend when I can take a block of time and go through my office closet and make sure I get rid of all the catalogs that are there.

There also are some catalogs by the side of the bed that I was thinking of going through. In reality, though, I'm not planning on buying anything, so why waste my time looking at them? 

What's coming up for the next few days?  These activities:

Day 7 (Wednesday, February 29): Throw out all expired coupons and sale notices.

Day 8 (Thursday, March 1): Give every gift you received and never used to someone who needs it or could use it more than you. If you can't think of anyone, donate it.

Day 9 (Friday, March 2): Go through your photos. Toss those of people whose names you can't remember and all ugly or unflattering photos.

Day 10 (Saturday, March 3): Give every can of food that has been in your kitchen cabinets for more than a month to a food kitchen.

U is for Upside-down Pineapple Cake - ABCs of Homeschooling

Last Friday night, Sophia made upside-down pineapple cake from the Alpha-Bakery cookbook she's been using as part of her homeschool home-economics class. It is a simple - yet delicious - recipe that was a wonderful way to end a meal.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter (we used dairy-free butter)
2/3 cup (firmly) packed brown sugar
1 can (16 ounces) sliced pineapple, drained
maraschino cherries, if desired
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk (we used dairy-free milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat butter in 9x9x2 pan until melted. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter, arrange pineapple slices on top. Place cherry in center of each pineapple.

Beat remaining ingredients on low speed 30 seconds. Scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Scraping bowl constantly.

Pour over fruit in pan. Spread evenly.

Bake until center comes out clean when you insert a toothpick(55-60 minutes) immediately turn pan upside down on heat proof plate. Remove pan.

Makes 9 servings.

Take a Stitch Tuesday - Chain Stitch - Week 8

This week for Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), the featured stitch is the chain stitch.

"Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern," according to Wikipedia. "Chain stitch is an ancient craft - examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated to the Warring States period (5th-3rd century BC)."

On a website focused on Chinese art and culture, it was noted that "...archaeological discoveries reveal that while embroidery remained crudely simple throughout the Chou dynasty, it became increasingly sophisticated during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), and reached an aesthetic peak in the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-221 A.D.)."

It went on to say that, "Originally used to signify one's caste position, embroidery later came to have a purely ornamental value and evolved into a favored art form of the common people. As embroidery developed, its artistic features multiplied."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wikipedia explains that "handmade chain stitch embroidery does not require that the needle pass through more than one layer of fabric. For this reason the stitch is an effective surface embellishment near seams on finished fabric. Because chain stitches can form flowing, curved lines, they are used in many surface embroidery styles that mimic 'drawing' in thread."

Photo Source

E-how said that "...the embroidered chain stitch is often used to create flowers or letters in embroidered designs. Once you have mastered this stitch, the row of chains work up quickly. This embroidery chain stitch looks like a crocheted chain stitch once the row is finished."

*~*~*~*~*~*

This week, as I have been doing each week in my TAST Embroidery Journal, I've included a personal reflection, list of items for which I'm grateful, the name of the stitch, a collage of different images, and samples of the embroidery stitch.

I enjoyed doing two different variations of the letter "A" (which is the first letter of my first name). 

The letters were from the Pattern Maker Charts - a wonderful free resource that has a variety of vintage alphabet and pattern books. The two variations that I used are both from France.

The chain stitch was an enjoyable stitch to do, and one that I will use in the future with other embroidery projects.

Embroidery Journal Project - February

This month for the Embroidery Journal Project I found a pattern for a mandala that had some symbols in it that I found personally meaningful. In addition to the symbols, the colors I chose for each symbol represent something. 

First, this piece is about 12" in diameter. The fabric is 100% cotton as is the embroidery floss. I plan to embroider 12 designs of the same size over the course of 2012. At the end of the year, I'll combine the squares with other fabric to create a quilt.

This month I chose a mandala because (to me) it is a peaceful and calm image. I like how the design is repetitive and orderly. This reflects many of my activities at home in February that were focused on getting things back in order, simplifying, and de-cluttering (and then donating usable items to several organizations).

Starting at the core of the mandala, the shape is outlined in purple - one of my favorite colors.

There is - to me - what looks like a tree trunk with a heart above it (where the branches and leaves would be). I used brown embroidery floss for the trunk and a dark green floss for the heart.

This "tree" to me represents my foundation and core of who I am. I thought of my Dad as I did this because I was and continue to be inspired by how he lived his life. If I could do a fraction of what he did; and be able to inspire, serve, and care for others like he did...I would consider my life well lived.

The dark-blue hearts are empty because February has been a tough month for me. With my Dad's funeral done; and a lot of the the post-funeral legal, thank you letters, and "busy work" complete, it leaves more time to reflect upon what has happened not only last month, but for the 2 1/2 years leading up my Dad's death and the toll Alzheimer's took on him and our family. 

Needless to say, there has been a sense of emptiness, loneliness, and sadness at times during Feburary. Thus, the empty hearts.

Under the blue hearts is an orange "arrow" pointing to a golden yellow heart. I chose these colors because I thought of the "coldness" of grief slowly warming...changing...lessening...to hope and happiness.

The joyful color of yellow - the warmth of good memories - will (I can only hope) return. The yellow hearts all have a little piece missing out of them.  This is truly how I feel right now...that there will always be a piece of my heart missing. Always. I will always miss my Dad...for so many reasons. And, there is nothing that can replace him or his reassuring presence in my life.

But I can hope that grief will subside...that happiness will return...and that love (as symbolized by the red outline) will be a more strongly-felt emotion than sadness.

T is for Turtle Bread - ABCs of Homeschooling

A few days ago, Sophia made "Turtle Bread" - a recipe that is in her Alpha-Bakery cookbook. She was given the cookbook from her cooking teacher at the homeschool co-op she attends. Each week, she has been making a recipe from the book.

The Turtle Bread is a simple recipe that makes enough for a family to enjoy. The bread is best right out of the oven with some butter on it.

Turtle bread.

The photo is a bit dark and the turtle is casting a shadow.

Perhaps making the bread during the day and

not having it at 7:00 at night would have yielded a better photo.

Nonetheless, the bread was delicious and well worth the wait!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package of quick-acting dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon of butter
1 egg
2 raisins

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix 1 1/2 cups of flour, the yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

2. Heat water, milk and butter to 125 -130 degrees; stir into yeast mixture. Stir in egg. Stir in enough of remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle.

3. Sprinkle a surface lightly with flour. Turn the dough onto the surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

4. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Shape a 2-inch piece of dough into a ball for head. Shape 4 walnut-size pieces of dough into balls for feet. Shape 1 walnut-size piece of dough into tail. Shape remaining dough into a ball for body; place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Attach head, feet and tail to secure. Press raisins into head for eyes. Cover and let rise 20 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Make crisscross cuts in body, 1/4 inch deep to look like a turtle’s shell. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Philip Sousa - Composer Study and Appreciation

"A rich and full homeschool education is sure to include some study of classical music and the famous composers who write its music," according to the Squidoo lens called "Composer Sudy - Charlotte Mason Style."

It went on to say, "The Charlotte Mason style of studying composers is an easy and inexpensive way to expose your children to the masters of music so that they grow up both appreciating classical music and knowing a bit about it."

Following this advice, we've been studying different composers this year as part of the girls' homeschooling education. I looked at the Simply Charlotte Mason's website and decided to use Module 6 for this year since the focus was on contemporary composers. This era is what Sophia is currently studying for history, so it seemed like a logical fit.

The six composers include:
- Telemann,
- Joplin,
- Sousa,
- Gershwin,
- Copland, and
- Foster.

During the fall we focused on Telemann and Joplin.  Out of the two, the girls preferred Joplin. In fact, Sophia wants to learn how to play some of Joplin's music on the piano.

John Philip Sousa

Photo Source

We just finished learning about and listening to John Philip Sousa's music. There is a very good CD that features Sousa's music as performed by the Band of the Grenadier Guards.  As we were listening to the music, we recognized one tthat we heard performed by the Minnesota Orchestra a couple of years ago when we attended a youth concert.

According to the Squidoo lens, it is recommended that when studying a composer that "...you simply listen to a lot of that composer's music. The objective is to listen to so much of the particular artist's music that you internalize his style and can recognize the music played elsewhere. This is not a cram session to memorize pieces and names. This is a slow and steady stream of exposure to a certain type of music."

It continued, "A little bit often is a common refrain among CM practitioners. Listening to two music selections each day while preparing a meal is much more effective than sitting the children down on the couch and forcing them to endure an hour of classical music. Let the music become the background of your home. And its rhythms and moods will seep into your children's heads and hearts. It's learning at its easiest. You simply hit play and let the music do its work. You do want the children to associate the music they are hearing with the composer's name. So do mention his name frequently, 'Let's put on the Tchaikovsky disc!' or 'I love this piece by Mozart.'"

This sounds like an ideal way to learn about composers and their music. However, the reality is that we simply listened to six different pieces of music over an extended period of time given the challenges with caregiving for my parents and my father's death in January. Perhaps next year I'll be able to achieve the above-suggested method for doing composer study and appreciation. 

We
- The Thunderer
- The Washington Post
- The High School Cadets
- Semper Fidelis
- The Stars and Stripes Forever
- The Lambs' March

Even though we're not following exactly how Charlotte Mason would have taught, I'm happy that the girls are and will be learning about six composers and at least 36 pieces of music over the course of this homeschooling year.

Five in a Row - "Another Celebrated Dancing Bear"

This year I have been using the Five in a Row series with Olivia. One of the books that we read recently was "Another Celebrated Dancing Bear." It is set in Russia with two bears as the main characters.  Needless to say for animal lover (like Olivia), this was a good book.

With each book in the series, we are making two or three recipes that tie into the book. The recipes are from a companion cookbook called "Five in a Row Cookbook." The recipes are simple for children to make and have been delicious.

For "Another Celebrated Dancing Bear," Olivia made cabbage soup. Although she didn't particularly care for it, it was a good soup.

 

Olivia putting cut cabbage into the soup kettle.


The only thing that I would change would be the meat. It would be fine without it. However, if meat is preferred, then a less expensive cut of meat would be sufficient (e.g., soup bone versus a beef roast).

 A small bowl of the soup with a variety of ingredients.

The soup did have quite a bit of cabbage in it. With the cabbage, onions, celery, and tomatoes it is a frugal and hearty lunch or dinner.

 

The soup simmering in the kettle.

The other recipe Olivia made was for Russian Buns. Like the soup, the buns are easy to make and have only a few ingredients.

Olivia using the mixer to mix the dough.

The recipe made quite a few Russian Buns which we ended up not only having with the soup, but for breakfast. Served warm with butter and homemade jam, they were an easy breakfast for many mornings.

The finished Russian Buns.

Since we already had studied about Russia last year, we didn't spend much time with geography or culture this year. Some other activities we did included:

- Language/Vocabulary. There were 11 vocabulary words in the teacher's guide. I asked what Olivia thought each word meant. She knew what each word meant which good. A new word she learned through listening to "Another Celebrated Dancing Bear" was  samovar.

I had not heard of a samovar either before reading this book. It's a metal urn with an internal heating tube used in Russia for making tea.

Samovar.

Photo Source

- Language/Drama - Both Olivia and Sophia acted out nine action words from the story (e.g., beamed, giggling, chattering, mopping his brow, kicking, leaping). They had a lot of fun with this and said they'd like to do with all the books from now on.

The Five in a Row series of books have been a delightful part of homeschooling this year. We plan to continue using the series for the next couple of years. With each volume of books, the activities get progessively more difficult to match the age and learning abilities of the children using them. We're looking forward to seeing what's in store for the rest of the year and in upcoming years.

- Science  - We discussed boiling and freezing points.

- Social Studies/Occupations  - We discussed occupations that were held by the characters of the book as well as some other occupations of characters in books we read this year through the Five in a Row series.

- Art -We looked at the illustrator's use of color throughout the book. There are many shades of brown, red-orange, and other warm colors. This conveyed a sense of hospitality of a hearth on a winter's night.

3 in 30 - February Check-in - Week 4

This year, I'm participating in the 3 in 30 Challenge. During January I had three goals and worked towards them each week. During February, I'm continuing to work on my January goals:

- Finish taking photos out of the scrapbooks that aren't photo-safe, and put them in boxes that are archival-safe.

I took photographs out of five more photo albums - only five left to go. This will be a huge sense of accomplishment (and relief) to have this done by the end of February.

- Finish the master bedroom by washing all the walls and windows; and then painting the accent areas dark green (behind the bed and over the window on the west side of the room) and the walls white.  I also want to go through the books on each side of the bed, and determine if they can be donated or I want to keep them.

I did not do anything on this goal this week. It looks like washing the walls and windows; and painting will have to wait until next month. At least I got the sides of the bed cleaned and items donated last week...so there was some progress in February.

- Continue going outside each day for 15 minutes.

Some days I did go outside for 15 minutes...others I didn't. The cold weather makes it less appealing to spend extended periods of time outside. Every day I'm outside, though, because of the horses and/or taking the girls to activities.

In addition, my three goals for February are:

1. Do a one-week fiscal fast.

For some reason, the February fiscal fast was more challenging than the January one. It seemed like there was some problem almost every day that needed a financial solution - running out of cat food; drains backed up in the bathroom and needing Drano; needing a new prescription after an appointment with a specialist; and getting gasoline so that we could visit grandparents (100 mile round trip) and make donations to a variety of organizations. (The last item relates to the 12 in 12 challenge that Sophia, Olivia, and I are doing during 2012. The link is to what we did during February.)

Hopefully the fiscal fast during March will be like January where I could refrain from spending. The good thing about this round - despite the spending during the fiscal fast - is that I am much more conscious and careful with spending, and only am getting what is absolutely necessary.

2. Reduce diet-pop consumption and increase water consumption. I'm doing fine with this goal. There was only one day that I drank three cans of diet coke instead of two cans. Every day I'm able to drink 2-3 large glasses of water.

3. File everything so I can begin working on taxes. Last week I got everything in file folders and put in alphabetical order. I did not begin working on taxes this week. However, this weekend I want to get everything done so it is ready for my accountant early next week.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Seems like there was one discouraging thing happening after another (and that definitely affected how motivated I was to really push myself to do more than what I normally do).

All in all...it was not a terribly productive week in terms of these goals.  It was kind of a "down" week...not feeling particularly happy with the lack of progress during the past seven days. But, it is what it is.