My Favorite Photos - January 2019

These are my favorite photos from January. It's hard to believe the month went by so quickly.

We started the month out by going out to eat at the Chinese restaurant to celebrate the New Year. The year started out better than last year when we didn't have water thanks to the line freezing between the well and house. So, we had good reason to celebrate this hear: we had water!!

On Janaury 11th-12th, we went to the Mid-Winter District Conventions for the Lions. The girls came with since they are involved with the Leo Club. The theme was Italy, so the club president got hats for them to wear. Someone dressed up as a Lion and walked around all evening. 

On the 12th, we made a few fleece tied blankets that will be donated to children with cancer. Pediatric cancer is one of the key issues that the Lions are interested in.

On January 14th, Olivia needed a photo of herself to use with a wildlife group she is involved with through 4-H. Cooper sat nicely next to her for the photo. He looks big in the photo, but he's only about 68 pounds.

My friend, Yoshiko, sent me this hat from Japan. It came at the perfect time because the temperature started going down during the middle to the end of the month. This was a typical look for most of January when I went outside. The west pasture is behind me.

On the 17th of January, there was a beautiful sunset. If you look closely, there's an ice pillar (the ray of light that goes from the horizon to the clouds).

The next day, it was Olivia's birthday. She and I get up early, so she wasn't expecting anyone else to be up for her birthday breakfast. While she was outside taking care of the horses, I told Sophia and Paige they should get up quickly and surprise her. They came downstairs and sat at the table. When she came in, they yelled, "Surprise!" Needless to say, Olivia was pleasantly surprised.

For her birthday, Olivia wanted to see the new Bell Museum and Planetarium. The dioramas from the old museum were transferred to the new ones, and the glass was between the public and dioramas was improved. You can't even tell it is there in photos which is nice. 

The wood duck in the tree reminded me of my dad and how he loved putting the wood duck house by the lake each Spring. We had a lot of wood ducks raise families in the house throughout the years. It was always a joy to see them.

There was a wall of squares at the museum that Olivia stood by. I can't believe she's already 16 years old. Time went by way too quickly!

This is a close-up of the wall.

Another diorama was of sandhill cranes. I had never heard or seen a sandhill crane before moving to the farm. Now, each year - late Spring to early-Fall - I hear and see these beautiful birds.

After going through the museum, we saw a show in the planetarium. I haven't been in one since I was a kid. There used to be a planetarium in the downtown Minneapolis Public Library. It was closed and now the Bell Museum built one when they built their new museum.

It was interesting learning about dark matter (which I had never heard of) and seeing some of the constellations that are visible now in the winter sky.

Before the show, the screen in the planetarium was lavender, so that's why the photo of the girls is lavender.

We all enjoyed birthday cake after Olivia blew out the candles.

Sophia was having fun with the tissue-paper decorations. There were 16 flowers - 4 large light-blue ones and 12 little navy blue ones that were hung from the ceiling.

On January 23rd, Olivia and I took a tour with a group from the arts center to see the current exhibit at the Walker Art Center. Olivia is standing by a large piece that is collaged.

We had some extra time after the tour, so went outside to walk around the Sculpture Garden.

We saw the spoon bridge and cherry plus the blue rooster. The former sculpture is one that's been around for a long time; and when we used to visit the Sculpture Garden when the girls were younger, they would go close to it and watch the spray come out of the cherry stem.

There was a sculpture that was new (or at least new to us since we hadn't been to the Walker in many years).

The next day, January 24th, I got a couple pieces back from the kiln at the art center. I was so happy with the colors of the glazes. There are actually only two glazes. The blue in the middle is the color that you get when the two glazes on the outer sides overlap.

The is another piece that I made using the same glazes.

I made another piece that is ready to be fired. It is a tracing of my hand that I cut out and decorated with three different stamps in a random pattern. The hand sign means, "I love you." It will be fired and ready or glazing when I go back to class on February 7th.

On the 26th, I taught a class about Chinese New Year and the 4-H Global Connections project to eight youth who were at a Winter Workshop Day. Olivia helped me set up which I appreciated. She and the other kids in the class are choosing which Chinese candies they want to try.

Sophia was at the Winter Workshop teaching Cloverbuds (5-7 year olds) about how to make a kite. She had fun teaching them, and the kids were happy with what they created.

That evening, there were fireworks at the community center. Sophia wanted to see them since she has missed the 4th of July fireworks for the past two years because of being at the Take Action Camp in Arizona.

It was about 8 degrees out, so we bundled up to watch the fireworks.

There were ones that were low to the ground that went off and others that were higher in the sky.

We both had a great time watching the fireworks...though our hands got a bit cold since we had to take one glove off to take photos and video.

My favorite colors were the blue and silver ones.

By the end of the month - January 31st - I completed the first blocks for a Mystery Quilt that I am doing with the Minnesota Quilters. Each month, they give directions for one part of the quilt. This month, it was using three different colors to create a tri-color block. The little blocks with two colors are leftovers. They can be used either to incorporate into the back of the quilt or for another project.

As I look at the other people who are posting photos of their finished blocks, it looks like I'm cutting my wrong. I don't know how people are cutting them so they get the yellow section to meet exactly at the corners. (You need to trim the larger block down to a smaller size.) I may have a rather odd-looking quilt by the time I'm done. At least it will be colorful.

Something that Made Me Happy - October 2018

During the past month, there have been many things that have made me happy.

Something I've been enjoying a lot are the amazing sunsets here at the farm. This one was taken on October 16th.

In a matter of minutes, the sky changed to lighter colors as sun went further down on the horizon.

Another pretty sunset was on October 30th.

Again, in a matter of minutes, the sky has a different look to it with different shades of blues, purples, and pinks.  

This past month, in addition to my weekly pottery class, the girls and I took some art classes together. One that they wanted to do (so I thought I'd try my hand at it) was hand-sewing  leather. We each chose several projects to make. Below, Olivia is ready to start work on making a case for her sunglasses.

Sophia made three projects including a keychain (finished and to the right of the photo), coin purse, and a wallet which she is sewing in the photo below.

The three projects I made were a field note holder (to the left) which holds a little notebook, cards, and money; a keychain; and a clutch.

The clutch can hold an iPad mini, the field note holder, or other items.

This is the inside of the fieldnote holder. I need to get a little notebook that will on the right side of the holder.

We all said that we would want to take a hand-sewing leather class again.

On Halloween, during the middle of the day, Sophia and I took a SAORI weaving class at White Bear Center for the Arts. For two hours, we wove alongside ladies from Bloom.

Bloom is a SAORI weaving group made up of eight ladies. While these ladies happen to have developmental disabilities, they have had two nearly sold-out shows at Homewood Studios in Minneapolis. They gain teaching experience through workshops held during their shows and at White Bear Center for the Arts.

Below - from left to right - is me, one of the ladies from Bloom (dressed as Elvis for Halloween), and Sophia. Sophia went to town weaving and has a very long - and beautiful scarf.

Both of us still need to finish off the ends and cut the strings so they are even. Sophia is really happy with her scarf. For some reason, the yarn on my loom kept breaking (this is the first time this has ever happened), so the finished piece is lopsided. Oh well...it still was fun to create the weaving.

Another thing that made our entire family happy was finding a bin of Halloween decorations in the basement. I thought that some of them were still in the hobby shed when it burned down unexpectedly in May 2018.

Needless to say, I was so happy to find that we had some decorations that were passed down to us by Paige's mother and step-father, like the witch below.

The pumpkin that I used when I was a child was in the bin too!

The pumpkin still has my name on it with a scribble/swirl under it. When I sign my first name only I still will often put a line or swirl under it. I didn't realize I did that earlier in my life as a kid.

I was particularly happy to find both Sophia's and Olivia's candy bags. Since the first time each of them went trick-or-treating and dressed up, I traced one of their hands, wrote their name in the center along with their costume and year. When they got older, they began writing their own name and decorating the handprints.

October also brought many opportunities to volunteer together which made me happy. Olivia and I volunteered to help pack up a nearby library. We packed four racks (six shelves each) of fiction books; the large-print books, and about half a wall of non-fiction books.

We volunteered at the Lions Pancake Breakfast in the middle of the month, and enjoyed talking with some of the senior members of the Lions. The woman on the left helped paint the barn quilts that Olivia designed four years ago. She told us she's the same age as Micky Mouse, which would put her at about 90 years old now!

I coordinated a Service Project Sampler Day for Lions, Leos (the teen version of the Lions), and community members who wanted to volunteer. We ended up doing 14 projects or collecting items for 13 non-profits locally and globally. Afterwards, we had a healthy diabetes-friendly lunch together. (Diabetes is one of the key issues that the Lions work on.)

One of the projects we did was make 16 birthday bags for children whose families are struggling to put food on the table. We donated half to the local food shelf and then the other eight bags to a food shelf about 10 miles away. In addition, we donated over 50 pounds of food to the local food shelf.

At the Lions' Sponsor Appreciation Dinner, Sophia played the harp during the social hour and dinner. Olivia helped her get set-up and the speakers attached and working for her harp.

After having dinner together, the teens who volunteered to help had fun talking with one another, learning to play the harp (for the two exchange students from India and Mali, it was the first time they had touched a harp!), and talking about upcoming events.

So, it was a fun month - filled with beautiful things in nature, crafting, weaving, creative expression, learning new skills, special celebrations and holidays, volunteering, meeting new people, and deepening friendships through service and activities.

There is much to be grateful for and happy about as I look back at October.

Hobbies that Begin with "V" - Blogging from A to Z Challenge

During the 2018 Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I will be focusing on hobbies that I have introduced to my daughters to through their childhood and teen years. Some were done as part of homeschooling, while others were areas that we explored because we were interested in the subject or activity. These are hobbies that anyone of any age could try as well.

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There are three hobbies that Sophia and Olivia have explored that begin with the letter "V": video production, violet growing, and volunteering.

Video Production

In April 2017, Olivia took a video production online course through Minnesota 4-H. It was an excellent class and she learned a lot about how to create videos.

After a self-introduction video, the course focused on learning some different camera shots. The next assignment was to create a short 30-second video using several types of shots. Olivia's video was "Cooper and the Peanut Butter Ball." We took Cooper into the backyard and hid a ball filled with peanut butter. She took video of him searching around the backyard and then finding the ball.

The next part of the course focused on creating a longer, five-minute video for the final project.

On April 23, 2017, Olivia began brainstorming different ideas she could do for a longer video.

She had to come up with a few different ideas and think about what the video would entail.

Once she figured out what she wanted to focus on, she thought about each scene and what would be included.

By April 30, 2017, she was planning her video project in much greater detail.

She noted each scene, the type of shot, who was in it, and what lighting was needed.

The planning process was far more complex and time-consuming than Olivia anticipated. Yet, it gave her great appreciation for what is involved with longer videos and films.

If all this work goes into creating a five-minute video, imagine what a two-hour move must be like!

The focus of her movie was imagining a world in which all animals were adopted and lived in loving homes. So, Olivia went to Northwoods Humane Society (where we have adopted four of our dogs). She took photos and videos of different parts of the shelter.

She spent time with some of the animals.

Olivia shared how some of the animals arrive at Northwoods including the ones who are rescued from high-kill shelters in Texas and brought to Minnesota to find loving families who will adopt them. 

Below is a photo of two dogs who we were able to spend time with. The white dog (who is hugging the black dog) were a bonded pair and, thankfully, adopted together from Northwoods. 

Olivia took video of staff doing their jobs as well as conducted interviews with them.

We "borrowed" some of the animals for shooting scenes.

It was a way to showcase all the animals who were there who were waiting to be adopted.

At the end of the video, Olivia showed photos of some of the animals who had been adopted from Northwoods Humane Society - including our pets. Below, Olivia is holding Cooper when he was a puppy.

She entered her video as a 4-H project in the county fair and won a grand champion ribbon for it.

July 19, 2017

She was very happy to receive the top award in the Video category.

July 20, 2017

She took it to the Minnesota State Fair where she did very well.

It was her first time competing in the Video project category, so earning a blue ribbon was a great accomplishment!

The video played throughout the fair in the 4-H building so people could watch it and see her work.
 
Violet Growing

In January 2013, I purchased some African Violet plants in memory of my dad who died on January 5, 2012. He loved African Violets and had a talent in keeping them beautiful and in bloom.

January 12, 2013

On March 21, 2016, Sophia, Olivia, and I went to an African Violet show that was about 45 minutes from us. There were so many beautiful colors and type of violets.

We bought some tiny plants and leaves. To propagate violets, you just need a leaf that's put into a special potting mixture.

Then, the girls sprayed some water onto the soil and inserted the leaves into it.

They kept each type of African Violet separated so they knew what type it was when they began to grow.

They closed the lid on their greenhouses and labeled the container with the type of plant each was so that they would remember the type.

The violets did well and we had quite a few growing at one time. Some bloomed and others didn't. It was an interesting experience in propagating and growing African Violets.

Volunteering

This is a major component of our homeschooling and lives. Although we did volunteering and donating items to non-profits prior to 2011, in January 2011, we did a special project that we called "52 Weeks of Giving."

Each week, we did a different volunteer activity or donated items to a non-profit. It was a great way to learn about a variety of organizations locally and globally. One of the projects the girls enjoyed was cutting newspaper to line cages of wild animals who were being treated for injuries at a wildlife rehabilitation center.

January 12, 2011

We also responded to national disasters by creating care kits with basic hygiene items. These were sent to people who went through a tsunami.

February 27, 2011

One of our family friends is married to a man who grew up in Africa. He since immigrated to the U.S. and became an American citizen. However, they were going to go back to his village for a visit and bring items the community could use. One of the items was clothing. So, the girls went through their clothes and chose items to give to the children in Africa.

June 18, 2011

Later in 2011, my dad went to a nursing home because his medical needs exceeded what we could provide at home for him. He loved seeing our cats whenever he came to visit us at the farm. So, we brought Eenie to visit him one day. My dad enjoyed petting Eenie.

November 12, 2011

Afterwards, as my dad rested, the girls brought Eenie to visit other seniors in another area of the nursing home.

November 12, 2011

Each year, Christ Lutheran Church does a Service Sunday. In 2012, we made sandwiches for an organization that distributed them to people who were homeless.

September 23, 2012

Several times a year, the Sharing Shop in Lindstrom does a clothing giveaway. All the clothes donated to the church/Sharing Shop are displayed in a big gathering room. The clothes are divided by gender and size. In addition, there are household items.

We go the night before the clothing giveaway to help set up the event. It's something we have enjoyed doing throughout the years.

October 18, 2012

In December 2012, Sophia played the harp for the first time at Christian Community Home. The seniors and their families were so appreciative of her playing the harp. She's been there each December since then.

December 17, 2012

In 2013, we talked as a family about how we wanted to spend our time volunteering. During 2012, we did a "12 in 12" project that we thought of that was a lot of fun and very meaningful. Each month, we did 12 service projects or donated items to 12 non-profits.

The catch with doing something of this nature is that we were able to impact quite a few people and organizations. However, there wasn't consistent and long periods of time we were at any one organization.

So, we decided to focus our efforts on two organizations: Northwoods Humane Society and Christian Community Home.

Our first official volunteer session at the nursing home was in February 2013 when we helped the residents make pies.

February 9, 2013

The following month, we began what would become a yearly tradition: making Shamrock Shakes.

March 15, 2013

We helped with events - like Farm Day - which is pictured below.

July 23, 2013

Sometimes we created our own programs and offered them. For example, the girls and I did a presentation about China. They created display boards with items of theirs from China. Olivia could still fit into one of her Chinese dresses, so she wore that.

August 20, 2013

Something else that we did annually for a while was that Olivia dressed up as Santa Lucia and passed out Swedish heart-shaped baskets that we made that were filled with Swedish fish.

December 13, 2013

Sophia would play the harp for the residents in the assisted living facility while Olivia, John, and I would pass out gifts and cards to the residents.

December 13, 2013

Tia would sing along to some of the songs and get the residents singing.

December 13, 2013

As close to Christmas as we can, the girls do a concert for the residents and their families. Sophia plays the harp and piano; and Olivia plays the piano. Tia sings some of the songs and the residents (who are able) join her in song.

December 23, 2013

For about 1 1/2 months in early 2014, we created and led an intergenerational project in which we interviewed many seniors and did hands-on creative projects.

January 30, 2014

The seniors were asked questions by youth and then they were able to share memories. I typed their answers and added photos. We added their artwork, and then created a book for each of the residents who participated in the program.

February 6, 2014

On Valentine's Day 2014, we presented the books. The seniors didn't know they were going to get a book, so it was a special surprise and gift for them. The books ended up being legacy gifts to their families after the residents passed away. They had interviews that were done with their loved ones as well as artwork that was created by them.

During the warmer months, we sometimes took the seniors out on the exercise trail so they could enjoy the nice weather. Afterwards, we would drink some juice together and talk.

June 27, 2014

In June 2015, after two months of work on creating, painting, and installing barn quilts in Scandia and Marine on St. Croix, we led a tour of the barn quilts. We stopped in Marine on St. Croix and had lunch and listened to the story The Quiltmaker's Gift which the Washington County Barn Quilt Trail is based on.

June 25, 2015

Sophia gave a presentation one year about beekeeping. It was interesting to hear the stories from some of the seniors who had been beekeepers in their younger years.

June 26, 2015

The girls led a multi-session program about quilts in November and December 2015. They led different creative activities which was fun and challenging for the seniors.

December 29, 2015

Another type of volunteering the girls did was with children. In April 2016, the girls did a Healthy Living/Tooth Care program at Scandia Elementary School. Olivia did a presentation about the amount of sugar in different beverages. It was an eye-opener not only for her to see how much sugar is in different beverages, but all of the students.

April 11, 2016

During the same program, Sophia taught the Kindergartners how to prepare healthy snacks that supported healthy teeth.

April 11, 2016

In May 2016, we began volunteering at Feed My Starving Children. Sophia had packed food through a summer 4-H program in June 2015. However, this was the first time that both the girls had packed food together.

May 26, 2016

An ambitious project that Olivia did took two years to complete. The first year, she designed, created, and installed seven barn quilts. She oversaw 100+ volunteers who helped with building, painting, and installing the barn quilts.

In 2016, she did the second phase of the project which included making 11 more barn quilts. 

June 15, 2016

The girls also were involved with a major environmental project: creating a 1.7 acre pollinator park in Scandia. They had worked on the project from August 2015 when they made a video presentation to the Parks and Recreation Committee, attended City Council meetings, and helped plan a community event. 

At the event, Sophia did four presentations for groups of youth about bees and beekeeping.

June 17, 2016

Olivia help plant over 400 wildflower and native grass plants for a demonstration garden.

June 17, 2016

A project that we started at the nursing home was creating welcome baskets for those who are staying temporarily and/or living permanently at Christian Community Home. We shop for items for the baskets and combine them with things that the nursing home provides. The incoming residents receive a basket and welcome card on their first day at the nursing home.

The hope is that it lessens the stress of moving to a new place, provides a variety of items they may have forgotten, and gives them a sense of friendship as the other residents welcome them to CCHO.

July 6, 2016

In October 2016, the girls received several flats of additional wildflowers from Prairie Restorations. Rather than have the plants  go to waste, Prairie Restorations donated them to the park, and the girls planted them. 

October 12, 2016

In November 2016, we coordinated a One Stop Donation Drop that involved two 4-H clubs and the community. The event benefited over 20 non-profits locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. There was a lot of sorting and packaging of items to make sure that items were going to the right organization.

November 19, 2016

In 2017, Sophia led for the third year in a row, a Wildlife Project Bowl team through our 4-H club. She prepared 4th-8th grade youth for a regional and state competition by holding weekly practice sessions. The team also did fun hands-on activities to help them learn about wildlife.

January 26, 2017

In February 2017, we went back to Feed My Starving Children in Coon Rapids to pack more food for children experiencing severe hunger.

February 16, 2017

Sophia and I began volunteering in a different way at Northwoods Humane Society by becoming cat socializers. Spending time with the cats helped them get comfortable with people and prepare them to be adopted.

March 27, 2017

Sophia's Wildlife Project Bowl teams always did very well and earned trips to compete at the state level. She quizzed them on questions they may have during the competition in between each of the meets.

April 8, 2017

The welcome baskets were so popular and well-received that the girls helped the seniors created some more for incoming residents.

April 17, 2017

It was a good way for the seniors to do service work and help others.

April 17, 2017

One of the residents enjoys listening to Sophia play the piano after some of the events. She will stay and Sophia will play several songs...a kind of personal concert for her. 

May 10, 2017

The girls continue to enjoy spending time with the dogs each month at Northwoods. The dogs seem to respond very well to listening to harp music.

June 9, 2017

During the summer, we volunteer in the malt wagon at the county fair. In exchange for two hours of volunteering, the girls receive half of their State Fair trip paid for which is a nice incentive.

July 21, 2017

They like that the malt wagon is nice and cool compared to the outdoors. They have fun making malts for customers.

July 21, 2017

From September-December 2017, Sophia took a Social Entrepreneurship PSEO course through Crown College. She created an organization and event in which she hosted a blood drive and created 30 bags for children with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy. 

December 3, 2017

We spent more time at Northwoods Humane Society in December.

December 8, 2017

In January 2018, Sophia helped the Scandia-Marine Lions with a service project at a membership event they held. She showed them how to tie fleece blankets that were donated to the Fire Station for people who experienced a house fire.

January 9, 2018

Later in the month, they volunteered to wash dishes at the Lions pancake breakfast. 

January 27, 2018

In March 2018, Sophia held another One Stop Donation Drop + Blood Drive. Over 26 non-profit organizations were represented at the event - either by having people there and/or collections done for them.

Olivia taught people how to knit hats for newborns using circular looms. These will be donated to a local hospital.

March 3, 2018

Sophia donated blood at the event. She has done this as often as is possible (about every 60 days) since she turned 16 years old.

March 3, 2018

The girls also collected books at the event to create the first-ever library for 465 orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi, Africa.

March 3, 2018

They helped the seniors at the nursing home make more baskets for incoming residents. This time they did 20 baskets!

March 15, 2018

They are still making Shamrock Shakes at the nursing home.

March 16, 2018

It's become a tradition that we look forward to doing each year.

March 16, 2018

The girls packed food with Feed My Starving Children through the Lions District 5M-6 Day of Service.

March 27, 2018

Sophia donated platelets for the first time April 2018. We have to drive about 40 miles one way to go to the Red Cross where platelets can be collected and processed.

April 9, 2018

The girls participated in the Festival of Cultures at Forest Lake High School. They hosted a table about Malawi and shared information about the book drive they are doing to create a library in Malawi.

April 13, 2018

Sophia participated in another packing event for Feed My Starving Children. 

April 21, 2018

The team packed over 20 boxes which represents over 4,300 meals!