Home's Jewels

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

The little boys and I made turkey softies for Thanksgiving. The pattern uses their hand print for the body of the turkey. I have paper hand prints of the older kids, but they remain stuck in boxes stored away. This is a neat idea to use their hand prints on fabric to make a softie which can be used in centerpieces year after year. Love it!

I got it the idea from this site: Bella Dia

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The making of a TNT top: New Look 6735

2011-10-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

What a process, whew! This had previously been my favorite TNT top pattern, but the pattern was misplaced. I forgot that the pattern had been altered quite a bit to become my favorite pattern. So, I bought a new pattern and the following are my working notes:

Fabric requirements: 1-2/3 yards 60-in. wide for 3/4 length sleeve
1-1/2 for short sleeve

1st top = hot pink = Made Size 16. Shaped to 18 at hips. Added 4-1/4 in. in length (because I'm TALL). Turned out way too big!!! Back to the drawing table. Neckline was too low - revealing my bra when bending over. Gap in back neckline, wrinkly back and too loose under armholes. Wadder! (This knit is a rib knit with not much recovery - bad choice!)

Way too loose in the back - gaping neck, excess under arms


Too long, too big, way too low in front especially if I bend over

2nd top = green top: Redrew neckline, raising it about an inch, went down a size. Still loose under arm, still gape at back and neckline. This was another rib knit with poor recovery.

Still too big in back

This fabric was horrible to work with - a cheap knit rib. Never again!

3rd top = orange multi 3/4-length top: Ok, this is a success! (cotton blend knit)

In addition to raising the neckline about one inch (from before), I altered the neckline again because felt the neck opening was too wide.
Took in 1/4 inch width from armholes.
Pinched a tuck in the back neckline about 1/4 inch to solve the gaping neck problem.
Reduced the added length from 4-1/4 to 3-1/4 in.. Previous adjustment was too long.
Added 3/8- in. width to neckline binding piece.
Decreased length of binding piece by total of 2 inches.


Finally a winner! Made 3/4-in. sleeves, fixed the gaping back issue, the excess under arms. Yea!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Playing Around Home

2011-10-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Fantastic bike trails nearby

Sweet Brothers

New Kind of Fun

2011-10-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

Our new home is located very close to a river. Dh bought a used boat off Craigslist and are taking advantage of the beautiful weather. It was 75 and gorgeous today. While they are boating, I think I'll head downstairs and do something productive in the sewing room.

Move and File Boxes

2011-09-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while. In June, we moved to WA state. Over the past few months, we have sold our home in Oregon, moved into a temporary apartment (8 people in 1200 SF), and moved again to our new home. We love the home, the neighborhood and are trying to get adjusted and back on some sort of a schedule. Do all of the boxes ever get emptied?

One exciting thing about the home is the unfinished basement. It will be divided in half: sewing room for me on one side and workroom for the boys on the other. I'm thrilled. I'll post more on that later.

I just found out about these file boxes and wanted to pass along: Staples has document file boxes on sale for $5 each (picture below). They are check size, but I will be using them for other purposes.

One will be for homeschooling (to help me organize lapbook projects). I will store each week's items into a section. The other one will used to hold my circular knitting needles - 1 section per needle size.

The dividers go all the way to the bottom of the box (unlike others that are open), so you won't lose anything between the divider sections.

How Cooks Are Born

2011-04-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Pearly and Bunny reading through smoothie recipes to see if we have all of the ingredients on hand.

Margrathea

2011-04-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun knitting the Boneyard shawl, I decided to knit another one. I love to learn at least one new skill whenever sewing or knitting. This is the first time I've knitted a real lace pattern and used a chart. It is amazing how a single strand of yarn can produce an beautifully detailed lace design feature. It amazes me the talent of designers and also it reminds me of the Master Designer. Knitting makes think deep thoughts - kind of the same way when I get lost playing the piano. I think that's why I like it so much. It's a quiet and personal time of reflecting. I need that in my rat race of a life.

This pattern is Margrathea by Martina Behm. I loved the pattern. I am using Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in the Winter Wheat colorway using my Addi Turbos US #4. I will probably change to Knit Picks interchangeables in the same size when I get a chance to purchase them - really like sharper points when knitting lace.

I discovered a mistake in my knitting about 2 inches down from where I currently am working. It’s not completely obvious unless you are really looking at it and after thinking about it for a minute, I have decided to keep it there. Even though I am normally a perfectionist, considering this is my first chart/lace project, and also keeping in mind how the Amish always leave or incorporate one mistake in their quilts “because only God is perfect”, I will leave it there. I’m okay with that. Knitting is a wonderful time to think deep thoughts and with this one mistake, I will remind myself that life is full of hurdles; we can make mistakes in life and still have something unique and beautiful in the end.

Boneyard Shawl

2011-04-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a knitting project for the San Francisco choir tour, so I selected a pattern that would be very easy to do in case of interruptions (with 60 students, this was a given). This pattern was great - very easy. My favorite was the yarn: Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Cove colorway. YUMMY! It feels good to have needles in my hands once again. It blocked beautifully. I made a few revisions by adding eyelet around the edge. You can find my notes on Ravelry with my user name: homejewel.

San Fran!

2011-04-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

Pearly and I spent 4 days touring San Francisco area with her choir. I am their accompanist and "choir mom". We had a great time. They sang at Southern Oregon University, Chico High School, Pier 39 in San Francisco, and also at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA. I especially enjoyed the Alcatraz tour. What a fun time with my daughter and 59 other students (and 10 chaperones).

Finished Knitting Project

2011-03-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

I finished the Chalet Brioche Cowl after a rough start. You can read my review on Ravelry. Here is the pattern link. I like it - it's a bit funky, but it is sure nice and warm to wear around the neck on some of these bone-chilling mornings. This is my first experience with Malibrigo - yummy!

Brioche!!

2011-02-24T10:52:00.000-08:00

Still around, still working on the house, putting excess into boxes!

In my idle time waiting for children to get done with music lessons or in between volleyball games, I have been taking my knitting with me. I found a pattern using the Brioche stitch. It's quite an easy stitch once you figure it out.

The pattern I was using is called Chalet Brioche (Ravelry link) and was giving me fits until I contacted the designer and also read up on various websites and looked at youtube videos. BTW, I cannot find any Continental style knitters demonstrating Brioche with audio. I may have to do my own video to upload because in my Google searching, I found quite a few others who were stumbling with this stitch. I have detailed notes on my project page explaining what worked for me on Ravelry.

Anyway, here is progress and I really like it. The stitch is extra thick, so the perfect stitch for cowls, scarves, cold weather attire.

Head Spinning

2011-01-20T23:37:00.000-08:00

That's what I feel like lately. I realized lately that there is not one room in our home that is "finished". We've had lots of remodeling going on, windows replaced, carpeting, flooring, trimming, drywall, granite countertops, you name it, and now I begin to paint so we can get our house on the market. It's a bit of a challenge doing the single mom thing during the week, but we're doing okay. The unemployment is still 10.6% in our area so I am thankful that my husband has a job.

As if our life were dull, Pearly is busy occupying herself with more volleyball. She has grown and is now 6'3-1/4". Yes, every 1/4-in counts! She is thrilled. She is on two teams. One is a club and the other is the private league that she has played on for years. The club is a special treat. The coach has really taken her under his wings and wants to develop her. He's had one-on-one training with her and videotaped the session so she could see the details in slow motion and fine tune her skills.

Aside from volleyball, Orange Boy and Brown Eyes are also on local rec leagues playing basketball. They both love that.

In the meantime, I take special pleasure in seeing sights like this - Caboose decided he wanted to sleep in the closet of the newly carpeted room. Can you believe this is my baby? He's almost FIVE. No way!

If I can get the boys' room painted, I will be rewarding myself with some sewing time!

Home Happenings

2010-12-15T11:59:00.000-08:00

Life seems to be going at such a fast pace. This is the kind of activity that has been consuming me lately. I've been accompanying daily at the local high school. I used to accompany only my daughter's class, but lately have been accompanying as needed with another choir and it has taken a good bit of time.

In other news, my husband was laid off last year in February. In June, took a 6-month contract job located 4 hours from home (coming home on the weekends). A week or so ago, he signed on with this company as a permanent employee. We are very thankful to have permanent job status, but sad in that it means we will have to leave what has home for over ten years with so many friends, family, and memories and move four hours away and start over. This will no doubt be a challenge for us a family, but in Oregon's economy (with more than 10% unemployment and not much hope for improvement in his field), it made sense to take what was available. Four hours is not too far from family.

So now we begin the process of decluttering and preparing our house to put on the market. Life is never dull, is it?

New Version of Kwik Sew 3740

2010-11-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

I snagged a gorgeous sweater knit at JoAnn's (amazing sweater knit from :::gasp:::: JoAnn's ) and decided to try and revise this great top pattern to a dress length as I have also done with another TNT pattern, Kwik Sew 2694.

It's quite easy to add length to make a dress from this pattern. I simply measured how much additional length needed at the bottom of the top and then figured out how width was needed. In this case, I used my previous dress from Kwik Sew 2694 as the guide. I measured 15.5 inches from the fold and then drew a straight line angled down from the bottom of the bodice to my new dress length. Voila!

This took 2 hours from cutting to completion. I will probably make this again in a solid next. If you haven't given this pattern a try, I highly recommend it.

Burp Cloths

2010-11-06T14:12:00.001-07:00

I had a baby shower to go to for two lovely mamas from church. I ran across this online tutorial for making burp cloths. I've only used white cloth diapers for burp cloths and after making these, I have to say I almost had an itch to have another baby. They are adorable and so easy to make.

The instructions have you cutting out the fabric and then washing. I think it is better to prewash the fabric first so you don't have to deal with all of the frayed ends on each piece. I was able to easily get 6 burp clothes from 2 one-yard pieces. If using a rotary cutter (by far the easiest way), make the 17-inch cuts going lengthwise (parallel with the selvage edges) and the 11-inch cuts going horizontally from once side of the selvage edge to the other. This will be my new standby for baby shower gifts. It is so simple and practical.

More Kwik Sew 2694

2010-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

When in a sewing funk, solution = Kwik Sew 2694. This time I lengthened the top to tunic length. It works for me.

At the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Whidbey Island

2010-08-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. We're surviving life with a husband/father who lives 4 hrs away and commutes home on days off. It's been challenging, but at least the bills are being paid.

In the meantime, I took the boys to our yearly family camp on Whidbey Island. It was gorgeous 4 out of the 5.5 days. We didn't complain one bit knowing how past years have been so rainy. We had a great time.

Pearly stayed back home to attend volleyball try-outs. She made varsity - yea! But she was sure missed at camp. High school is the time where teens have to learn to weigh tough decisions and she is no stranger to that anymore.

Here are a few of my favorite pics. It was great that Tall Dude could go this year. He was a big help and was so sweet with his younger siblings. I don't know many 20-yr olds who take the time play with their younger siblings. What wonderful memories for these boys.

Tall Dude and Caboose (4 yrs)

Brown eyes, 12 yrs

Bunny, almost 8

3 youngest boys

Bunny (almost 8) and Tall Dude, 20 yrs.

On the ferry leaving Whidbey Island

Caboose and His Hangy Thingy

2010-05-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Caboose was given a flannel train blanket as an infant by a friend from church. It's just a large flannel blanket with a special train track stitchs around the edge in red thread. This is his beloved blanket. It is very well used, dingy, but you know how kids and blankies go.

Well, it has seen better days. It had many holes in it. It was in such bad shape, I didn't know how to fix it. He had asked me a number of times to fix it, but I hesitated because I didn't know if he would then reject it because it was smaller. His persistence won. It was taken to the sewing table where I figured the best way to "fix" it was to take off a 9-inch strip down one side. There was still a big hole beyond the 9-inch strip, but I figured it could probably be patched up. That's what I did and it worked well. I don't have a train track stitch on my sewing machine, so I used red thread and the closest matching stitch I could find.

So, I brought it upstairs to give to him. He was thrilled to know that it had been fixed. I carefully showed him what I had done. He then took the blanket from me and looked at the corners. Then, with a very worried look on his face, he said, "where's the hangy thingy"? Well, there were "hangy thingies" all over the place because the blanket was in shreds. As he asked the question, his chin started quivering and he was on the verge of crying. I quickly went downstairs and grabbed the 9-inch strip I had cut off earlier and brought it upstairs to show him. I asked him where the "hangy thingy" was. He pointed to the corner where there were 2 little pieces of fabric hanging - we're talking disgustingly, dingy, torn, ratty-looking "hangy thingies". I couldn't bear to see him cry. He wanted them sewn back on his blanket.

So, I cut the 2 "hangy thingies" off the strip and somehow figured out a way to attach them to the corner of the blanket. Go ahead, click on the picture. It's not pretty.

But it works. This is what he does with his "hangy thingy".

He wraps it around his finger and then he lifts it up by his face, and his nose, and plays with it, rubs his upper lip and his nose. His blanket smells like him. I love the smell of it - it's the smell of my son.

That, my friends, is the look of contentment (I know it's hard to tell behind the stoic facade, but Mama knows.) Caboose is happy. Mama is happy. I wish all of life's problems could be solved with hangy-thingies!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day started like this: Orange Boy (12 yrs old) made homemade cinnamon rolls. This is the 2nd time he's made them. He put them together last night and put them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, he put them in the oven on very low to rise and then baked them. This kid is amazing. He was craving cinnamon rolls about a month ago and decided to find a recipe and go for it. Some young lady is going to be very blessed to have him as a husband some day!

Can you say YUM?!!!

After church, we had a picnic lunch at a state park and went for a walk in the woods - right in the middle of Portland. Can you believe all of this in the middle of Portland? I love Oregon!!!

My two oldest sons!

Found a snake along the path.

Oldest three kids

The whole family - yea! We should have taken a family shot BEFORE the hike. Oh well. I love it anyway! What a great Mother's Day. I am so blessed.

Kwik Sew 2694 Again, but Modified to Dress

2010-05-03T00:50:00.000-07:00

Pattern modifications: I had already added quite a few inches to the length of the top when I originally sewed it (pattern runs quite short), but I added an additional 19 inches to the bottom of the top pattern (keep in mind I'm over 6 feet tall) to make it into a dress. Because this was to be a dress, I didn't want it to be quite as fitted around the hips, so I widened the pattern of the bodice about 1/2 inch on both sides around the hips. I then drew a line at a very slight angle from the hips down. I didn't want the skirt part of the dress to be straight up and down, but also didn't want the look of a full A-Line. I made sure the angle was the same on the front and back pieces and then sewed the dress using the same directions as the top.

Before I continue - the necklace in the picture was on loan to me by my 15-yr old daughter Pearly. Unfortunately, when I checked my jewelry box this morning for a necklace to wear, I discovered THREE of my necklaces had been broken. It seems my 4-yr old Caboose has been lasso-ing things using my necklaces. I bribed my daughter by telling her I'd publicly give her credit for the use of her necklace and she obliged.

My additions to the pattern include using Fusible Tape (SewkeysE brand Extremely Fine knit stay tape) around anything that needed to be hemmed and also the neckline. I use this method in all of my knit tops because I find that my coverstitch machine is temperamental and skips stitches. If I apply the fusible tape, I do not have that problem. 3/8-in. clear elastic was used to stabilize the shoulder seam. I use this in all knit shoulder seams. It really works great.

My easy way of applying elastic to shoulder seams: put the end of elastic under the presser foot and start sewing until the elastic is sewn maybe 1/4-in. This helps to secure it. I then put the front/back shoulder underneath the presser foot while holding the elastic on top of the fabric and stitch across the shoulder seam. The elastic is already "anchored" with stitches, so it is fairly easy to guide the elastic as the shoulder seam is sewn. You may have a little slot on your presser foot for applying ribbons/elastic, etc, and if you do, that is easier than my method.

Oh - one more difference with this dress - I made it a sleeveless dress by applying the fusible tape, turning over about 3/8 inch and then using the coverstitch to hem. This dress was so easy to make. The hardest part was ironing the fusible tape to the bottom hemline because I find ITY a challenge to work with - it rolls! You will definitely see more variations of this pattern to come. It will pay for itself in no time by making simple revisions. I was very slow on the bandwagon, but plan on making up for lost time.

Kwik Sew 2694

2010-04-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

This top is so great. I used an interlock knit from JoAnn's. I am normally not impressed with their selection, but when I saw this, I snagged it. I have other plans for this top pattern - maybe a tunic with leggings for summer? Maybe I'm too old at 45 for that look. What do you think?

Here are the fine details: Pay attention to the length on this top - this is an older pattern that was drafted when shorter tops were in style. Also, the sleeve seems to be tighter than most patterns.

Great pattern instructions.

Pattern modifications: added 1 inch to waist, FIVE inches to bottom of bodice tapering out to a large at the hips. Widened sleeves. Took a tuck form the front neckline = SBA.

Ironed fusible webbing around neckline and for all hems. Coverstitched around neckline and hems.

Very easy pattern pattern. I will definitely make it again.

The new online sewing forum is growing - over 1,000 members now: Check it out: mysewingcircle.com

New Sewing Website

2010-04-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

I've been a member of ravelry.com for knitters for quite a while and love the clean look and simple interface of the site and wondered why there was nothing of that quality for sewists. It looks like there is: mysewingcircle.com

Right now it is in the baby stages, but so far there are over 800 members. The owners are really paying attention to the members and implementing their suggestions. This may be the site I've been dreaming of.

Go take a look: mysewingcircle.com

Kwik Sew 3740

2010-03-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is a great pattern. I LOVE it. It is nearly instant gratification.

Click to enlarge

The Proven Tomato Cage for Tall Tomato Plants

2010-03-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

I was just reading Pioneer Woman's blog and she posted about her favorite tomato cages. I took a look at those tomato cages and knew that they wouldn't work for those of us blessed with huge tomato plants.

By far, the post that gets the most search hits on my blog is this post on homemade tomato cages. I want to post an update on the new method we tried last year as I believe it far surpasses anything we have ever tried in our 17 yrs of gardening. In Oregon, the tomato plants grow quite large and most tomato cages will only support half the plant, if that. This new method we discovered is fantastic. It is sturdy, holds the whole plant very nicely without damaging limbs, and allows easy access to the tomatoes. This was the first year all of our tomato plants stayed upright and no limbs collapsed from the weight of tomatoes. (think $$ savings!!!) I took pictures from different angles so hopefully this will be clear to understand. Click on pictures if you'd like to see a closeup.

You can see 3 rows of metal fencing posts - they are around 6 feet tall (before hammering in the ground) my husband in the picture is 6'5". The first row of fencing was for our green beans (bottom of the pictiure), so look at the other 2 rows above.

Instructions:

Plant a row of young tomato plants. Hammer metal fence posts in a row on both sides of the tomato plants - about 4 feet apart between posts and 4 feet between each row. Roll out concrete reinforcing wire and attach to the fence posts using zip ties. As the tomato plants mature and needs support, use narrow sticks (approx 5 feet long) by pushing the stick through one side of the concrete reinforcing wire and all the way through the other side of the concrete reinforcing wire. Weekly, check the tomato plant and see if more limbs need support. This picture is showing how we inserted the wooden sticks through the reinforcing wire. When the tomatoes are ripe, simply reach through the reinforcing wire.

Wooden sticks through the reinforcing wire

Side view showing 2 rows of fence posts zip tied with concrete reinforcing web with tomato plants growing down the row and a runaway squash summer squash plant trying to get in on the action.

Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures when the big tomatoes were huge. These pictures were taken when the cherry tomatoes were just starting to ripen, so the plants weren't even full height.

This method is a great one in that everything can be reused each year. I found the fence posts on Craigslist very inexpensively.

If you use this method, please let me know how it works for you.

Happy gardening!!!

Family Day at Seaside, Oregon

2010-03-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge picture

We spent a wonderful day at the Oregon coast yesterday. Tall Dude didn't have school or work, so we made a family day of it and it was so beautiful. On the way there, it was really rainy until we made it over the mountain pass and then it was beautiful sunshine. The hike was great, but a bit muddy. We then went to the beach and the kids played in the waves with their bare feet, flew a kite. We ended the day with a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. Such a sweet family day!

Pearly and VBall

2010-03-04T18:08:00.000-08:00

Pearly completed her 2nd and final season of volleyball this year. Her Mustangs team was undefeated and league champions. Proud Mama is hugging the 1st team All Star - woohoo!!!

Here are the 2 coaches who have made her what she is today. This was at the banquet and awards ceremony. You couldn't ask for better coaching.

Pearly's nickname: The Wall - because she's a middle blocker and it's a little challenge to spike a ball with a 6 ft 2-3/4-in. blocker standing in front of you! I love her nickname!

Although I will actually miss the crazy business, I look forward to slowing down and more crafting/sewing!

Orange Boy, Orange Ball

2010-02-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

That's my boy! Orange Boy has ventured into a new season of life: basketball. This is his first year playing on a basketball team and he is doing amazingly well. Between Orange Boy's bball and Pearly's volleyball and all the music stuff going on, it's been a bit crazy on the homefront.

I was talking to my husband the other day about his basketball as a kid. He doesn't remember his parents going to his games and it made me so sad to think about. I cannot fathom not going to my kids' games. I did notice a few girls on my daughter's vball team whose parents didn't show up. I understand not showing up for every game or even some games, but not even one game? Wow, so sad. I want my kids to know that we are their biggest cheerleaders. I can't imagine it any other way.

Activewear Contest

2010-01-31T19:32:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge

I'm still here. I've been sewing a lot lately. I just finished this pants top/sports bra workout outfit. I love it. I had to tweak everything a little bit. You can read my reviews on the Pattern Review side bar. The pants are Kwik Sew 3115. I LOVE them. The top and sports bra are from Kwik Sew 3660. I will never buy a store-bought sports bra again. It only takes 1/2 yard. Not only can I wear them for exercising, but I can wear it in place of a camisole under tops. That will be especially nice in the summer when you don't want to be wearing 2 layers. It's so nice to have patterns tweaked out to fit. I still shake my head that I have to add SEVEN, yes, SEVEN inches to the inseam of all the pants I sew. Wow!

My 16-day old iMac has a worm!!! Do I have the only Mac with a worm?

2010-01-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken almost 2 hrs before the bottom two pictures. (Click to enlarge . . . if you dare.)

After 12 years of putting up with a piece-of-junk-virus-ridden PC, my beloved husband surprised me with a new iMac for Christmas. I was happy beyond belief - - - that is until today, 16 days later, when it had a worm. Not just any computer-virus-type-worm, but a live one. It was moving across the entire screen as I typed.

I tried to explain the situation to my very tired husband before his nap and he thought I was pulling a practical joke on him - playing some sort of program that fakes a "worm" across the screen. I was not/am not.

This real worm/bug thing is behind my computer screen INSIDE my computer. For a while, I had updated my status about the worm and he was moving right under the letters as I typed - talk about creepy. I cannot wipe my screen off to get rid of him. A science teacher friend of mine said perhaps a microscopic egg was on a part during assembly. EWWWWWW.

I'm pretty sure he is dead, but he is definitely there and it feels weird to see "him" over there on the side of my screen as I'm even typing this!

Now I need to figure out what to do next. Any ideas?

Present

2009-12-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

I received a priceless gift from my daughters this year. My eldest daughter asked a friend to do a photo shoot of she and her sister. I love my sweet girls!! They are 8 years apart, but they sure love each other and had a great time together making this gift for me. I am so happy with these pictures. Birdie is 23 and Pearly is 15.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T01:53:00.001-08:00

Last week, our children participated in the Christmas performance and Caboose was all too thrilled to be Joseph. Actually, he did very well as a stoic Joseph. He is such a serious kid and it's always a challenge to get a smile. See how much better he looks when he doesn't realize Mama Paparazzi is shooting him? LOL Here he is before he saw me with the camera:

And here is after - lol!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with our family. I felt especially spoiled with my dh getting me an iMac - wow, I forgot how wonderful they are.

Here are a few pics from our sweet day together.

Eating our traditional Christmas breakfast - homemade crepes with Oregon raspberries. We have a new "adopted" son hanging out with us. He's in the Coast Guard and his parents were stationed with us in Maine years ago when we lived there. His parents are overseas and so we are "keeping an eye" on him.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to enjoy special times with your loved ones.

BRRRRRR - Fleece Pullover Kwik Sew 3094

2009-12-08T11:47:00.001-08:00

I just whipped this up last night. It's been in the teens in the Pacific Northwest and I needed something to keep me warm in our house which has cool spots (due to heating with wood stove). This fits the bill! Click on the picture to enlarge.

More warm clothes to come.

Dress and Cardigan

2009-11-29T18:35:00.000-08:00

I sewed a couple more items recently. The dress is New Look 6922 - very simple dress made of a knit. I love the colors. Click on photos for close ups.

And then I made a knit cardigan from Kwik Sew 3693. These are so comfortable - - stress free dressing and perfect for travel as they can be folded in a suitcase and then worn immediately. I LOVE knits!!

Simplicity 2766 Jacket

2009-11-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

I've been sewing a lot lately and have more pictures and reviews to upload. Here's a new jacket. I should have picked a heavier weight fabric, but for a "muslin", it went together nicely and now I can pick another more substantial weight fabric to make another one. You can read the sewing review in my sidebar.

Edited to add: I received a comment that this is boxy and pilgrim-like. I appreciate the comment. The pictures show it on the dark gray side, but it is really more black with little white specks. What do you think? Too boxy, pilgrimy? I don't think pilgrims would be using those flashy buttons - lol. I was thinking of making a shorter version - not as short as the pattern, and also a different color.

Pearly's volleyball season is over at the local high school. Her JV team didn't do too well, but she was able to play Varsity and this week she will suit up with the Varsity. That has been a pretty big thrill for her as a freshman.

Silly Boy

2009-10-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is right after I cut Bunny's hair. He had a squirt bottle with water and was having a little fun looking at himself in the mirror. I could eat him up.

And again Simplicity 4076

2009-10-07T09:55:00.001-07:00

This pattern is really incredible with all the variations from summer to fall. This is my "muslin". It's a good start. I'm going to redraft the neckline so hopefully I won't have to wear a camisole. I also want a thicker fabric with more lycra to avoid some of the wrinkling. Check out the length of my sleeves - that is a rare thing for a 6'3" mama! Woohoo!

Sewing and More

2009-09-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

Several of you guessed correctly on what was in the pear - an airsoft pellet. There are lots of airsoft pellets in my yard! Boys!!

Since school has begun again, life is crazy busy. Pearly is playing volleyball for the public high school and made JV team as a freshman. Just last week, the Varsity coach asked her to swing up to Varsity. So it looks like she sill do both JV and Varsity (maybe more on the bench at Varsity games). What a thrill for her (and her mama).

I've made a sewn a few things. If you would like details - checkout my sidebar to read the review on patternreview.com

Hope all is well with YOU!

Boy Antics

2009-09-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

So . . . . I’m still in the midst of processing pears for canning and came across a peculiar-looking pear with a “worm hole”. I looked closer and found that it was not a worm. Can you see it? What is it? This is just every day life at the Smith house full of boys.

Pears!

2009-09-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is occupying part of my time and I probably have twice this amount of pears still on the trees! Gotta get moving!

Back Home Again

2009-08-31T10:38:00.000-07:00

Our favorite meal is the grilled salmon dinner: Caesar salad, fruit salad, seasoned oven-baked potatoes, bread, strawberry lemonade, and the most delicious salmon EVER!!!

For the third year in a row, my parents came along. It's great for the kids to have those special memories with grandparents.

I love my Mom's face here!

We've had quite an amazing summer. My dh had his 8-wk sabbatical and so we have been doing lots of traveling and playing. We finished up our travels with our yearly homeschool family camp in Whidbey Island, WA and had a blast. The weather was sunny and in the 70s all week. It doesn't get much better than that for WA!

Cool Pic

2009-08-15T22:25:00.001-07:00

I was just going through my daughter's pictures from vacation and found this. Isn't it cool? The sun was setting and it made the very dry CA hillside that vibrant golden color.

More Vacation

2009-08-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to keep up with this blog on our vacation, but unfortunately about two weeks of pictures are stuck in a broken computer. The kids were playing with the laptop on a bed and it overheated. Now we don't know the password (the initial password before the Windows screen). I hope some computer sleuth can help us out. There are fantastic pictures of Napa Valley, San Francisco and all of the tourist attractions, Santa Cruz, and sadly, Yosemite.

After we went to all of the above-mentioned places, we rented a cabin for a week about 1-1/2 hrs away from Yosemite, which also happened to be 5 miles from my aunt and uncle's place, so we had a great visit with them.

Here we are at Pinecrest Lake - a gorgeous lake with great swimming/boating. We spent two full days there and enjoyed great barbeques (to you Southerners - we enjoyed "grilling" our meat - lol).

Notice Caboose's war paint - lol.

I'm sure glad dh took Brown Eyes swimming for the months before vacation. It paid off!

Uncle Fred bought a used boat right before we came and so we were able to use it while we were there.

This picture was taken at dusk and it really is darker than it appears in the picture and yes, it's blurry, but the kids had a blast walking on these logs.

Another new family favorite is Mexican Train. My aunt taught us and we spent quite a few hours playing it.

These 2 were inseperable the whole time. It was actually pretty funny. They are both math brains and have quite a few similarities. They were like two peas in a pod.
And here we are right before leaving - dh took the picture.
There's more vacation to come!

Vacation

2009-07-29T00:37:00.000-07:00

We've been on a much-deserved vacation for the last several weeks with very limited internet access. It's amazing to discover in our travels how many places are not connected with the internet. It never dawned on me until this trip how high tech our area is. So many times I have wanted to look up something pertaining to our trip, but remember I have to do it the old fashioned way - by going to the library! Crazy!

This was during our first week of vacation where we spent a day visiting the California Redwoods. This was a first time for our kids - they loved it!

No Words Necessary

2009-07-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things just come together - lighting for the camera, attitudes, smiles, and you are left with pictures that make your heart all warm inside. That is what happened here. These are so precious to me, a rare treat, definitely!

And I couldn't have done it without older brother, Brown Eyes, giving them a reason to be happy:)

You Make Me Smile Again - Like a Child of 3

2009-06-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

After much prodding, Caboose, aka very serious boy, decided to bless me with his sweet smile and I happened to have the camera. Oh, happy day!

Fiddlin' Around

2009-06-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

We were at music camp today and then drove downtown for Pearly to perform in her fiddle recital this evening. She makes her mama proud!

Strawberries!!

2009-06-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

The kids picked 112 pounds of strawberries today. Yeah! Our freezer is full again.

Do I dare?

2009-06-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm just about to attempt to sew a swimsuit. Here I've laid out the pieces so you get the idea. I'm using Kwik Sew 3238, View B. It's got a brown band and panties in contrast solid brown. This is my practice suit. I'm also going to try to add a little modesty panel because I'm not into showing a lot of skin and I'm actually one who swims in my suit instead of sunbathing. I'm afraid that if I swam in this, there would be too much exposure.

ACK - here goes! I'll report back later. See I need to post this for accountability - lol!

Little Ones

2009-06-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a different kind of day. It was standardized testing day for my three oldest homeschooled children. However, Pearly and I forgot that she had agreed to babysit 2 other children and so I decided to watch the children instead. So at our house today, we had an extra 3-yr old (curly redhead you see here) and her brother who is about 14 months old.

It was a special treat to take them to take them for a walk where we smelled the roses, saw the horses, played on the swingset and hung out in the backyard.

Don't you think this little redhead girl could be my child? I think so and tell her parents all the time. Her parents and I have been talking about an "arranged" marriage so that we can keep the redhead genes going. These two are only a couple weeks apart in age. She is Miss I-Can-Do-It-By-Myself and very intellectual. Caboose is Mr. Laid-Back-Whatever-You- Say Boy. Could be an interesting combination.

Unfortunately, the horses did not want to come up to the fence today, but we had a nice walk anyway. I love the back of children's heads. My dh used to ask me why I would take such a picture because he wanted to see faces. I like pictures like this because it forces you to look at the little things, their posture, hand gestures, just the simple cuteness of little ones. I love this. Look at Bunny on the far right - I highly doubt he will stand like that at age 13. That is 6-yr old posture - 6-yr old cuteness!

New Look 6735

2009-06-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

New Look 6735

Closeup of the coverstitching around neckline

New Look 6735

I love this pattern. To sew something that fits (after minor alterations) is a joy.

This is actually a top and skirt, but doesn't it look like a dress? This was made from a wonderful rayon lycra knit. This is the perfect kind of clothes to throw in a suitcase for a trip. Even if you put it in a wad, the wrinkles will be gone within minutes - plus, it is lightweight. This is so comfortable, I could sleep in it.

Five Years Ago and Now

2009-06-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Pearly with her new haircuts - 5 years ago and now:

Simplicity 4076

2009-05-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Another top finished: Simplicity 4076 . . again. I love the colors. This is the same pattern I made earlier, but this time one inch longer in bodice and no flouncy sleeves. The camisole I'm wearing is really more orange than appears in the photo - weird. I can't believe how nice it feels to have feminine-looking clothing that fits. This is why I sew.

Mystery Pictures

2009-05-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Interesting things happen when the camera is left around the house. I came upon some very dark images the last time I uploaded my pictures. I lightened the pictures up and here's what I found!

Pictures drawn by Bunny - age 6

Toothless Bunny

This is Pearly holding a picture of Bunny from a couple years ago and taking a picture of him at the same time. Kind of cool.

McCalls 5039

2009-05-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

I finished this dress this weekend. I love it. I love the print, the ribbon - everything about it. I just realized that I don't have many dresses at all. I've been living the last 20 years of my life with primarily skirts and blouses because of all of my nursing babies. I don't think I even had many maternity dresses. This will is perfect for a hot summer day! I made a lot of revisions to the bodice because I'm broad in the back.

Steps for Life

2009-05-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

Some of our family participated in the 2-mile Steps for Life in downtown Portland on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day and we were glad to join the effort to raise support for women who need help during and after their unplanned pregnancies.

Caboose complained that his legs hurt when walking, so he was held quite a bit. I'm wondering if he is going through growing pains. A few of our boys have gone through this at his age.

My Wonderful Mother's Day

2009-05-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

I was going to post a whole bunch of pictures of my Mother's Day, but thought this slide show summed it up better. It was such a gorgeous day and having my whole family together was the best gift of all.

From Movies

Go Cart

2009-05-08T21:54:00.001-07:00

Orange Boy is making a lot of progress on his go cart. It's great to see his excitement! Much of the go cart was salvaged from an old riding lawn mower. I love this kind of schooling!

They kind of temporarily put things on so you can get the idea of what it will look like.

Still Going - I mean Sewing - New Look 6810

2009-05-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

Pearly had her eyes set on this pattern long before me. She made the first one and then I had to find something to use to make it, too. From cutting to completion = about 2 hours! I love instant gratification sewing! I think I want to make the sleeveless with ties next.

The fabric was a red dot clearance item from JoAnn's - poly/rayon/lycra. I buy the cheapo stuff from JoAnn's to "practice" on. Obviously with my height, there are a lot of pattern revisions to make, so by using practice fabric, I avoid losing a lot of $$ in case the piece doesn't fit. So far, because of very careful measuring, I haven't had to discard anything. Woohoo!

My next goal is to try pants, I think. Yikes, the thought of that scares me.

I'm thinking of these pants:
I like the lower left top, too, but that can wait for another day.

Cool Spring in Oregon and Sewing

2009-05-03T18:55:00.001-07:00

There are still some very chilly days in May Oregon and I find myself grabbing this hoody I made a few months ago. I thought I'd post a finished picture of it. Pearly and I have been pouring over pattern catalogs online trying to pick out just the right patterns.

Here is KWIK SEW 3094 - an older pattern, but Kwik Sew tends to stick with more classical styles instead of following the very trendy looks. Kwik Sew's patterns are on regular paper, not tissue, which makes it ideal for copying on to tracing material (which is great for me since I end up redrafting patterns by adding 7 inches to pants length and 3+ inches to arm length). Another great thing about Kwik Sew patterns is that it has all sizes on the pattern from XS to XL.

I picked up this funky embroidered polar fleece at JoAnn's on the clearance section (half off clearance and it was about $2 p/yard, so this is one inexpensive "muslin"). My husband says it suits me. It's a bit funky and very casual, but sometimes it's the first thing I grab if it's chilly out. It's very comfortable and check out those long sleeves!

With the hoody on - pardon me, the camera caught me pulling a piece of stray piece of hair off - lol.

Simplicity 4076

2009-04-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

I sewed this top Saturday night (Simplicity 4076). It took about 2 hours from start to finish.The 3 inches added to the bodice was definitely needed! This is a great pattern with a number of variations. It will be very well used by the time I'm done with it. In fact, I better trace it on better pattern material so the tissue won't get trashed.

It's made of a cotton/lycra knit. I lengthened the sleeves about 1/2 inch and mine sure turned out more flouncy than the pic. I guess it's okay.

If you click on this picture, you can see the double row coverstitching around the sleeve hem and neckline. I love my new coverstitch machine!

And yes, I really am that tall - see the doorway behind me? I think it's a short door frame as I never have to duck in doorways. This is the vacant house next door. The developer who bought the property hasn't done a thing with it. Last week, I took some senior pictures for a friend's son and had never noticed the "barn door" look of the back door. It makes a great background for taking pictures of people who are of "normal" height - HA! Oh well!

Who Needs Worms?

2009-04-23T17:14:00.001-07:00

A day in the life of a homeschool family. We've got worm dissecting going on at the dining table this afternoon, folks. Hopefully, we can get this all cleaned up before dinnertime!

This is from Pearly's high school biology class she is taking at home. Orange boy was also able to dissect because we had an extra worm in the kit, so he's learning along with her as she explained how to dissect and identify all the body parts. Oops - Orange Boy accidently cut the intestines.

And the beauty of homeschooling when you have a large family is that there are always younger children around who want to get in on the action. And when they are naturally curious, they have a lot of questions. And they ask those questions to their older siblings who in turn answer them or try to find out answers to the questions. (Who needs written tests when you have younger siblings who are natural test givers? LOL)

Where's the heart?
How does it breathe?
Where is the mouth?
Where's the stomach?

Are you getting the picture here? We've got kids wanting to learn, asking questions, getting answers, absorbing the answers because they are the questions they thought up themselves. What better way is there to learn? This is the beauty of homeschooling, I tell you!

Bunny and Brown Eyes loved watching the action.

"My Cute Brother"

2009-04-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

click to enlarge

Tall dude was on his way to the bank and the library when Caboose came to him and asked him where he was going. Tall Dude responded and then Caboose said, "Give me a kiss good-bye." Tall Dude obliged and then temporarily postponed his trip to come inside to tell me how cute his little brother is. (He also told me about the peanut butter that was smeared on his face after kissing his little brother - lol.) They are 16 yrs apart in age, yet look how close they are relationally. This warms my heart. I hope that 16 years from now Caboose will still feel the closeness of his older siblings.

Easter Dress - Kwik Sew 3521

2009-04-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. We had a nice time with all of my family over for the day.

Pearly sewed this dress for Easter. She’s 6’2” so she added length to the skirt. I put in an invisible zipper (that was a first for me) and hand sewed the lining, but she did the rest! I’m so proud of her for taking the time to learn the skill of sewing!

The pattern is Kwik Sew 3521. The only revisions to the pattern were adding the velvet and netting to the hemline and using invisible zipper.

Go, Pearly!

Crossing That Line

2009-04-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Bunny has grown into a new stage in his life. He once used to like to give Mama kisses, but now must be bribed, coerced, manipulated, ahem . . . forced to kiss the Mama who carried him for a full 9-month pregnancy term PLUS 19 days overdue. Hello????? If that doesn't deserve a kiss or two, I don't know what else does. Anyway - Pearly snapped the shot so that at least we both will have proof that he did used to kiss his Mama.

Wasn't that worth it? I think so!

Music and Sewing

2009-04-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

Last night Tall Dude had his spring concert in which I accompany on the piano. He did such a nice job - he sang in 3 different choirs, a handful of different languages, all memorized, and one piece choreographed. So cool.

Here are a couple shots before the concert. I love how my son towers over me. I'm nearly 6'4", so to have someone stand next to me at this height is an awesome feeling.

A couple hours before the concert, I began working on this top. I had made another top from the same pattern and the fabric was already cut out, so it was pretty easy. I've been lacking something neutral to wear and this light gray knit fit the bill. It was perfect for accompanying. I am really enjoying my new coverstitch machine. (If you click on the above picture, the coverstitch is the double-line stitching you see around the hemlines at sleeve and top.)

Spring Blossoms

2009-04-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

Last year, our plum tree had beautiful blossoms like this:

But for some reason the bees were not out like usual and our tree only produced two plums.

Over the weekend, we had gorgeous sunny weather and the plum tree was in full bloom. I decided to go out and see if the bees were out and brought my camera with me. These next shots make me smile.

Look at the bees doing their thing.

This is what we're hoping for this summer:

The plum picture was our biggest plum year - in 2005. We had so many plums, I was scouring cookbooks and the internet for plum recipes. We discovered that we adore plum crisp and plum pies. We also figured out that plums are easy to freeze for smoothies throughout the year. Although they do not provide a lot of flavor, they do provide sweetness and fiber, so they are a great addition.

Let's hope the bees got it right this year!

French Onion Soup

2009-04-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

I made this French Onion Soup yesterday. It was pretty good. I know what I will do next time to make it a 5-star recipe. The sherry seemed to overpower the soup and gave it too much sweetness. So, I put a bit of red wine vinegar in it to take away the sweetness and that really helped. The beef broth I used was Trader Joe's organic beef broth. I wouldn't skimp on the broth. The onions really must be carmelized for the best flavor. I toasted thick slices of Trader Joe's French baguettes and put Trader Joe's "Quattro Formaggio" on top. Quattro Formaggio is a cheese blend of Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and mild Provolone which was a wonderful blend of cheeses to compliment the French onion soup.

Mama Paparazzi

2009-03-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

So we have this old car sitting in our driveway. It was in the way of another vehicle, so Pearly went out to move it for us. She's not old enough for her license, but enjoys starting up the engine and moving it forward and in reverse every now and then to keep it running. (Hmm, Mom, does that sound familiar???) So, she was moving the car and happened to be wearing my old curlers. I quickly grabbed the camera because it so reminded me of the days when we would see ladies in curlers driving cars (why did ladies really do this? I don't get the purpose of putting your hair in curlers and showing them in public - what was up with that???) Well, next thing you know, I'm being yelled at, "Mama Paparazzi - quit taking pictures of me!" LOL Oh yea, and you better believe I uploaded it to her Facebook wall - the paparazzi mom that I am :)

Tall Dude

2009-03-24T18:22:00.001-07:00

Tall Dude holding his cousin after a Christmas performance.

Warming up for a concert choir competition.

Tall Dude "officially" graduated from HS last year, but there were a couple things that we as parents thought that he still needed to work on. We decided that it was best if he stayed home one more year with the purpose of working on a few things and also to give him the opportunity to fine tune his goals for the future so that he wouldn't be wasting time in college taking classes that wouldn't be beneficial to him. This proved to be a good choice. He was able to take a class called Engineering as a Profession which is taught by a local businessman. The class is funded by the local public high school, so he is bused to the center to take the class. Tall Dude was thinking of taking business classes in college, but part of me wondered if he might like some engineering as well because he's great at math and building things. So this class was wonderful in that it confirmed to him that engineering is indeed a good fit for him now his plans are to combine engineering with business.

Another great benefit to taking one more year of HS classes was his opportunity to sing in choir. I directed a 12-voice ensemble a couple years ago and he loved it, but I was hoping he could get another chance to use his beautiful bass voice. He joined a 65-voice concert choir and also was selected to sing in the 16-voice a capella choir. This classes meets at 6:30 a.m. I wasn't sure how this would work out because the previous year homeschooling, we didn't see him up nearly that early. We have been thrilled to see him motivated to make it to choir on his own every morning. He has indeed put forth the effort and stepped up to the challenge. It's been a great year for him and I'm so proud.

Playin' Around

2009-03-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

I picked up Scrapbook Factory Deluxe at a rummage sale for $2. I was greatly surprised to open up the package and find that the CDs were in a sealed package! Here are a couple shots from my new sister's recent visit.
Obviously, Orange boy really enjoyed having a cute and cuddly cousin around. So sweet.
The visit from my new sisters was precious. Of course there never is enough time, but I think we got a good thing started and I'm glad we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other.

My Sisters

2009-03-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

My new sisters and me. We are all lacking sleep and an amazing orange object was out today keeping our eyes squinty, but here we are - happy sisters!

Roller Coaster Week

2009-03-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

Sunday night, I was about to go to bed wondering if I would be able to sleep because the following day, my husband was going to be notified if he still had his job or not. We had known for about 2 months of the impending layoffs and my mind had traveled through all sorts of scenarios of "what ifs" and "how can we do it with only unemployment" to a lot of simply praying, "God, you are in control, You've always taken care of us" and trying to rest in that thought.

So, before going to bed, I checked my Facebook acct and found out some sad news regarding long-time acquaintances (and reconnections newly established on Facebook). Their 16-yr old son, Nathan, who has Down Syndrome was in a terrible accident. You can read about it here.

That put it all into perspective for me. This family whose father who has been unemployed for 18-months now has a child who is teetering on death (with no health insurance), and I am whining about the possibility of a job loss. I did stay up all night. Not due to our job situation, but with a heavy heart for the Vredevelt family and prayed.

The next day, my husband called me with the news: he still has his job. All is well for now.

So, today is Wednesday, Nathan is still in critical condition and my mind has been on him and his family constantly.

But tonight . . . . I am switching gears. My two half-sisters I recently discovered after years and years of searching are coming to Oregon and I will meet them for the first time in person. What a sweet gift I have been given - an opportunity to learn about my biological father from the 2 daughters that he raised.

Pearly Pics

2009-02-26T10:15:00.001-08:00

My good friend (the one who yanked me away to a ladies retreat last weekend) has an 18-yr old daughter who is getting into photography. She took pictures of my daughter's volleyball team. I thought she did a great job. Here's Pearly:

The next one is my favorite!

Sweater for Caboose

2009-02-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a sweater. This free pattern is here: Child's Aran Pullover.
It's a very easy pattern to follow except now looking at it, I think I messed up on the left cable. Hmm, do I leave it or fix it? What would you do? (Nevermind - I fixed it. It would have bugged me every time I looked at it.)

I'm using gorgeous Dream in Color Classy yarn in the Nightwatch colorway, on Size 7/8 needles for a Child's Size 8 (yes, for my THREE yr old). I'm hoping he's swimming in it for a couple yrs of wear. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this Dream in Classy yarn. It feels so good and the subtle color changes are gorgeous.

I'm hoping to get away this weekend to a ladies retreat. A dear friend invited me at the last minute and I so need the time away. My brain has been overwhelmed with the thoughts of a possible pending layoff (we find out in a couple weeks) and I keep going back and forth on what am I doing spending $$ on a ladies retreat when my husband may soon be out of a job. Maybe it's hormones, but today the tears just keep coming. After speaking to my friend today, she reminded me that as homeschooling mothers, we do not get time away from our job. It is never ending. And there is a price to pay for mental sanity and it might be better to pay this extra $$ to be refreshed mentally and spiritually and trust God to work out the rest. I think there is wisdom in that.

Well, I guess this post got a little personal.

New Do

2009-02-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of me taken last week. I have lots of natural curl, but it has looked old, tired, frumpy and I've been tired of it. I tried to keep my hair long because my husband likes long hair - he thinks it is sexier when it is long. After he saw my new cut, he told me he liked it, but still preferred it longer because long hair is "sexy". I told him I beg to differ - that if I feel frumpy, then I'm not feeling too sexy. He finally caught on and said - "by all means, keep it short". LOL

Here's my new do I got yesterday. I straightened it. I like it because I do have the option of just letting the curls dry naturally and have a different look, but it is a nice change. Ignore the not-so-lovely lighting in my very dark home.

My Baby

2009-02-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

My baby is THREE! How can that be? While we were at Tall Dude's basketball game, Caboose noticed the popcorn machine. We don't typically buy snacks at events. We bring snacks from home, but in order to stay within our budget, we teach our kids to not even ask for snacks at concession stands. Well, except for Caboose . . . on his birthday. He's always had a thing for popcorn. So while we were watching the game, he very politely asked me if he could have some popcorn. How could I resist?

Happy birthday, my sweet baby! You are such a joy to our family and can't imagine life without you!

That smile melts my heart!

That Crazy Time of Year

2009-02-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

We have hit that time of year where our hours are consumed with baskeball and volleyball.

Here's Tall Dude playing basketball after missing about 10 days of basketball due to pneumonia. Can you say 2 points? He's so happy to be playing again. Oh, and at the doctor, they measured him at 6'8" - he's grown another inch - yikes!

And here's Pearly girl doing the thing she loves most: volleyball. They went in for the kill and she got the block. Yea!

And now I seem to fighting similar symptoms as Tall Dude. I've had a fever since Friday and a very deep cough. I'll get that checked out day.

It is not so easy to knit when your kids are playing sports. There are great intentions, but usually the knitting stays in the bag. Oh well, it can wait. My kids' games can't!

Tagged

2009-01-26T08:47:00.000-08:00

I normally don't do the tag/blog things, but this one is kind of fun. I was tagged by Northwest Ladybug (long-time online buddy) with the following instructions: "Go to the 4th folder with pictures on your computer and then upload the 4th picture in that folder. Discuss."

So, here is the 4th folder, 4th picture on my computer:

I took this picture of a picture in my house in Dec of 2002. I had just bought my first digital camera for the primary purpose of selling on eBay and so I went around the house taking pictures testing it out and I have no idea why it was never deleted.

This picture does have an interesting story. My husband was active duty Navy and we were stationed in the Philippines in 1988-1990. Filipinos are famous for copying things and they do it remarkably well. During this time, my husband was sent to Bahrain during the beginning of the build-up prior to the Gulf War (Desert Shield). He was obviously feeling lonely for me and found this card and sent it to me with the instructions that I was to find an artist to paint it because he wanted to hang it in our bedroom. That's exactly what I did. I love this painting and the story behind it.

What I think is particularly funny is that every one of our children has thought that it is my husband and me, despite the fact that in the picture the lady shows cleavage and wears heels. My boobs can't "do" a cleavage unless I'm nursing and get into weird contortions and I do not wear heels, tyvm.

Okay, so now I will tag 4 people and hope they will think this is fun:
Audrey's Playground - mommy of 2 gorgeous daughters, tackling life's twists and turns with optimism, and is having fun with her fairly new camera
Glob al Nomads - an expat living in the Persian Gulf who takes gorgeous pics of her life/journeys - oh, and she knits!
There's nothing like a daughter to love . . . - another mommy of 2 gorgeous daughters (one is a redhead) and who recently bought a new Nikon and enjoys photography
My Life as Mama Jodi - a sweet lady I met on a scrapbooking board years ago

Go Mustangs!

2009-01-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

It's volleyball season for Pearly. She is a starter and thrilled about that. Her 6'2" height definitely has given her an advantage in this sport. I'm glad for her because it's hard to be extremely tall and in volleyball, being tall is an asset. Thankfully, she only has eyes for volleyball and seems to be taking the height in stride. We're looking forward to a great season. We love this team with great coaches. This is primarily a homeschool team and they compete with private schools up to 3-1/2 hours away.

Day 1

2009-01-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Day 1 of potty training

7 accidents on the floor and/or carpet
2 times on the floor around the toilet, but not in the toilet
2 times on the floor and IN the toilet
1 time completely successful (well, minus a couple drips)
Total Cost = lots of mama's patience, siblings' patience, lots of dirty towels, lots of gummy bears and apple juice

I don't ever remembering it wearing on me so badly. Last 2 times, dh took the duty on himself. I wish I could give it to him this time, but it's my turn :(

For Coffee Drinkers Only

2009-01-19T15:37:00.000-08:00

Back in late September, some online buddies were discussing how they like their coffee from a French press. I was clueless. We don't drink a lot of coffee - maybe only with desserts and so I skimmed their comments. But when these ladies kept at it, it made me wonder what was the big deal. They told me that when you use a filter, it also filters out the natural oils from the coffee beans that keep the coffee from being bitter. That made sense to me as it was the primary reason I did not like coffee - that bitter taste. My husband's birthday was just around the corner, so I bought him a French press since he started drinking coffee more regularly (due to his office making it available to employees).

No doubt about it - French press coffee is definitely different than coffee from a coffee maker. We were sold.

So, this Bonjour Unbreakable is the one I bought after talking with a customer at the store who already had one. The carafe is unbreakable plastic and I thought that might be a good buy because so many people had posted reviews on other French presses that glass carafes break easily.

After a couple months, my husband noticed a crack on the plastic press. Within a week, the press had broken to bits. This is what it looked like after 2-1/2 months of use (click on picture to enlarge):

Okay, let me just add by this time, we had gone from occasional coffee drinkers to daily coffee drinkers and only from the French press. One day, the husband took the French press to work since he didn't have enough time to make his coffee in the morning. Wife was not happy.

Now we had a broken French press and dh was resorting to using his engineering degree to invent his own French press with a strainer.

We needed a replacement, and fast. I went online and after reading quite a few reviews, decided to purchase this at Clive Coffee not only because they had the best price online and reasonable shipping, but also because they are local and I could hopefully get it more quickly. Not only did I get this gorgeous French press, the people at Clive Coffee included a bag of Tres Rios hand-roasted coffee beans from Costa Rica! Woohoo! I ordered it on Friday and received it Monday.

I also sent the husband pics of it so he can drool at work. So far so good. The quality is superb and the press part looks well made. There are no plastic parts. My first cup was excellent.

Happy days are here again!

Sewed In and Blog Anniversary!

2009-01-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

While a lot of people were complaining about being snowed-in a few weeks ago. I was blissfully sewed-in. The boys were outside sledding all hours of the day, the house was quiet, and much was accomplished.

Here are 4 of the 14 prs of pj bottoms I sewed with the help of Pearly who did a lot of cutting and prep work. It was a great team effort. The brown was for my daughter, Hannah, the blue pairs were given to my 6'3" sister, Denise (hi, Nise!!!), and the pink for my Mom. My absolute favorite part of Christmas was the thrill of watching my long-limbed family try their pjs on and see the excitement in their eyes when they noticed that they fit in length. My mom actually did a little jig, and once she put them on, refused to take them off even though we were having another family over for Christmas dinner. Well, that was all the encouragement I needed to remain in my pjs. So, that's how we ate our dinner - some of us were in pjs! Fun!

I made a pair for Tall Dude (who was 6'7" the last time we measured him), but they were about an inch too long. So I told him I'd quickly go hem them and he retorted, "Are you SERIOUS????". Ummm, I did not hem them. He's never experienced pants that drag on the floor, so he wanted to keep them that way. I originally wasn't even sure he'd wear them, because he typically wears his gymn shorts to bed, but he's been wearing them every night.

I had to laugh at this one morning when I went downstairs to begin my sewing. I'm trying to ignore the fact that my beloved Rowenta iron got knocked over, but check out the army guys all lined up ready for battle. And be sure to check beneath the ironing board - we have a paratrooper who snuck down to get in a better position. For what???? I do not know. Boys!!

I also happened to notice that it's been 4 years since I began this blog. It first began as a place to document my knitting projects so I wouldn't forget details like name of yarn, needle size, gauge, etc, but now it is a diary of the happenings in our home as we raise our remaining six children. I am amazed at how many people from all over the world are interested in our seemingly mundane life, but thank you for your supportive posts and communication along the way.

Facebook Reconnections

2009-01-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, these past few weeks have been an emotional whirlwind to say the least. Finding the answers to my questions about my biological father and family so suddenly was amazing. I'm still sad about the fact that I never got to ever see or talk with my biological father. That is a pain in the soul that is very hard to find words to explain. How could I have love for a father who seemingly abandoned me, yet then find out that he carried my picture in his wallet for years? I was told awful things about my father my whole life. Most of them were true. But yet, I still feel an unconditional love toward this man. So, that chapter of my life was taken from me in his death, yet a new one unfolds with the meeting of my new half-brother and sisters and extended family. I still haven't met one half-brother and I'll probably leave it in his court since he knows how he can get a hold of me. At least I know about him and he is in my thoughts and prayers.

Interestingly, since all of this transpired, I posted my reunion story (the same story I posted here) on my Facebook wall. What I didn't know was how many other people have similar stories. Two people e-mailed me privately on Facebook telling me their story and how my story encouraged them to look for long lost friends/relatives. One person actually found her maid of honor after 25 years of no contact. Isn't that great? After that, I decided I should try to find friends from our college group where dh and I met. We were a close-knit group and it was during a pivotal time in all of our lives; yet as often happens, we lost track of each other.

I was able to find two friends from that college group on Facebook. We decided to make a Facebook Group so we could have a central location to reconnect, share stories, and pictures. In less than one week, we've found close to 20 people from that old college group and now pictures and memories are being posted. I thought I'd share a few here from my younger years.

This was where we held retreats at the Oregon coast. I was probably 20 years old. I'm right smack in the middle with the blue sweater and dh is to the left of me with the gray/striped sweater. This was probably the beginning of our courtship.

And what I found more interesting is the guy who took the above picture was also connected with me in the youth group and youth choir I was in when I was about 16 years old. He was an avid photographer back then and saved every slide! I was thrilled to be able to see these old memories.

This was when we were on a choir tour when I was probably 16 years old. What great memories! I am the far left person in the top row.

This must have been a quick stop at a convenient store for snacks, just a guess. I'm in the back with the light blue sweater.

And here I am sleeping on the tour bus. Seriously, who keeps these kinds of pictures for nearly 30 years?! I love it!

Now this picture really got me. I recognized the guy and befriended him on Facebook when I saw him posting on our mutual friend's picture. I remembered him from the high school choir, but then through our correspondence, he told me that he remembered me from further back than that. He was a student teacher in my choir class in 8th grade and remembered that I also played the piano for the class. This guy remembered me from over 30 years ago! That floors me. I remember looking up to him as an 8th grader because he played so well and aspired to play the piano just like him some day.

So, do you have lost friends or loved ones? Start searching on Facebook! And if you do find someone because of my post encouraging you, please drop me a note. I'd love to read your story!

Any Resemblance?

2009-01-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

My new sister sent me some pictures of the dad I never knew. When I saw them, I was amazed at the resemblance, so I had to crop head shots for comparison.

Put a Smile on This Mama Bear's Face

2009-01-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

See that flyer posted on my fridge? That is the flyer that was sent out to a lot of people informing them of camps available for children, mothers/daughters, sons/fathers, etc, this coming year at the camp we go to each summer. Do you see that picture in the upper left-hand corner? That's MY boy, affectionately known as Orange Boy here.

I take lots of pictures at camp of my kids (of course) and random pictures of campers. Last summer, the staff asked if they could make copies from our memory cards to use for slideshows, etc. Unbeknownst to me, they used my picture of my boy for this flyer. It's not the fact that my picture was used, it is the fact that they chose my boy - the boy who has a prominent birth mark on his left cheek - specifically a Portwine Stain birthmark right smack in the middle of his face - and made that the largest picture on the flyer. Do you get what I'm talking about? This is the kid who gets stopped in public all the time with strangers saying, "Who beat you up?" "Wow, what happened to you?" "Did your sister do that to your face?" I have had a police officer ask me what happened to him (and then went to a neighbor to verify). Countless (yes, countless) medical professionals have asked what happened to his cheek. This is something that is very noticeable, yet someone at camp decided that his face was worthy enough for the picture to be blown up and used as an advertisement for camp.

So, when talking to Orange Boy, he mentioned to me that he was surprised that they used his picture because of his birthmark. I told him that they probably never even noticed the birthmark - that the excitement shown on his eyes and face is what made them choose this picture. What a gift they gave my son (and his teary-eyed mama).

PS - We are aware that there is treatment available for Portwine Stain. It would require numerous laser treatments. The treatments cause scabbing and staying out of the sun for days. At this point, Orange Boy has decided that he is not interested. The ball is in his court and we will support whatever decision he chooses.

I've told him over the years that God must have been kissing him an awful lot on that cheek because it is sooooo soft. I sure love this kid.

Here's the original:

Reality Check

2008-12-31T15:21:00.000-08:00

I made a cheesecake for Christmas and followed the instructions to a tee, but still ended up with a crack in the middle. So, when we were invited to a New Year's Eve party, I decided to try it again with a different baking method to see if the crack could be avoided. Woohoo - success!!

Until I had a little help from Caboose. It really was too good to be true. Heavy sigh:::::

Oh well, it will be topped with homemade loganberry sauce and will still have the same delicious taste. Reminds me of a verse I know - "Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart". So true.

Happy New Years, everyone!

A Very Special Gift, but Bittersweet

2008-12-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is the only picture I have ever seen of my parents together and me. (I zoomed in with my camera to take this picture and the following pictures - the originals are quite small.)

Forty-something years ago, my mom was married to Frank VanC___. I was born during that first year of marriage. My parents did not have a happy marriage. They divorced after one year. Frank had issues with drugs and the ramifications of a lifestyle with drugs. He wasn't a good dad or husband at that time. My mom remarried when I was 3 yrs old and my step-dad legally adopted me. My new dad and I didn't have a great relationship and I always wondered about my biological father, Frank. I only had three very small pictures of Frank. That was my only connection to this man because legally, he had no more connection with me. As a child, I found myself staring at them wondering who this man was and what happened to him.

When I was about 19 years old, my mom helped me to try to find Frank. We found Frank's parents' phone number and called. That was the first time I had ever spoken to those grandparents. They were very sweet and asked about my life. They didn't have Frank's phone number because he had recently moved, but gave me an uncle's phone number. If I remember correctly, we did call an uncle, but I lost the courage to call Frank. Many years passed.

I don't know anything about this picture except that the man standing in front of the car is my father.

Ever since internet searches have been available, I have searched for Frank. Last summer after a Google search, I found an old address in Salem, Oregon for him and went to the house asking the resident and neighbors if they knew or had heard of Frank. No one had heard of him. On the 20th of December, I typed Van C in the search field on Facebook and scrolled through the names. I knew the names of my uncles and some of their children. I e-mailed one person whose name sounded familiar and she e--mailed me - no connection. Then I found a Facebook group for people who are connected with the Van C's. There were several Van C's listed. I joined the group and posted on the wall that I was looking for a Frank Van C.

Today, I found the answer I've been looking for. Jeff Van C. read my note on the wall and contacted me saying that Frank is his uncle. He called Robyne who is my half-sister and gave her my phone number. Within one hour of the original note from Jeff, I was on the phone speaking for the first time with my half-sister, Robyne. It was then that I found out that I had been living in the same city where my father died and was buried. Although I was not living in Oregon when he died, I was living in Oregon for many of the years he was living here.

It is sad that I never had the opportunity to see his eyes, to hear his voice, to touch his hands. But it is comforting to know that he spoke of me to his daughters. He did think of me. I wish I could have told him that I have his wavy red hair and his love for music. I always wished I could have seen his expression when telling him that he had seven grandchildren - and they are all TALL (he was 6'5").

This is the only picture I have of Frank where his eyes are open and looking at the camera. These three pictures were the only pictures I had of my biological father. I don't know how many times I looked at this picture wondering about this man who fathered me.

So finally, the missing pieces of my puzzle have been found. I don't understand why I didn't contact Frank earlier when I had the opportunity, but am thankful for the new relationships I will have now and thank God for the amazing sequence of events on this day.

This is Carrie and Robyne - my half-sisters on the day my father died.

Driving in Portland Metro Area in the Arctic Freeze '08

2008-12-24T02:11:00.000-08:00

You all are probably tired of me posting about snow. How many days of snow have we had now? I've lost track. I went out today and took a couple pictures. This is why so many businesses are shut down. What you see on the normally busy 2-lane road is compacted snow and ice - maybe 4-6 inches deep. Along with the hazard of ice, people not knowing how to drive in snow/ice, is the big hazard of manholes. The manholes have been piling up ice like a volcano - sometimes one feet high. So cars have been dodging the manholes in addition to trying to stay on the road. It is pretty crazy here.

Below is a 4-lane street. This road is notorious for traffic. Thank God it is not now. Again, it's hard to see, but what we're dealing with is tire ruts in the road. The ruts could be 6 inches deep. Trying to change lanes can be very dangerous. The ruts in the road when crossing a major intersection is another big challenge. I counted an average of two cars getting through on one green light because it took so long to maneuver the ruts. There are simply not enough plows to clean this mess up. We won't even talk about neighborhood roads. It's amazing to see how many people have just hunkered down and are riding this thing out. There is a median - can you see it? Neither can many other people - quite a few people have driven up on the median without knowing it was there until too late. This can really wreak havoc on drivers who are unaware of the topography of the area. Another popular site is downed mailboxes - "oops, was that a curb I just hit?".

The mall tonight had stores closed at 8 pm. Crazy - on the eve before Christmas Eve! Oh, another weird thing - not too many stores have shoveled their sidewalks. I think we need to learn some snow etiquette here!

They are expecting more snow on Christmas Eve. We will have a white Christmas!

PS - When they sell snow shovels here, they are typically plastic. Go figure!

Snow Day and Sew Day

2008-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

We got a major dump of snow in the Pacific NW - between 6-12 inches depending on the elevation. This is a rare storm for us. We haven't seen it like this in the last 8 years we've lived here. Last night we got freezing rain and here you can see Orange Boy holding up the top layer of ice.

The house is pretty quiet and so I have been sewing a LOT. Here are my new flannel PJ bottoms that are long enough for my nearly 6'4" frame.

I've never had a pair of pjs that fit my long legs before, so it is a delightful treat. I will be wearing them all day, thank you very much. I've lost track of how many pjs we've made for the family (Pearly has been helping, too). Pearly and I are also making other clothes. We just discovered that Pearly wears the same size top as me. She's now 6'2" at the age of 14, and still growing. Oh yes, baby, she IS learning how to sew. Because of all the snow, our church had the services on Saturday morning. That was very smart because we wouldn't have been able to make the drive today. I love this weather. I love being snowed-in. We have our pantry stocked, wood stove going, hot apple cider, stew or chili ready to put on the stove. This is the life.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2008-12-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

We got snow yesterday. Church was canceled and the kids played their hearts out - until 11:30 pm!! I hope there wasn't a curfew in effect? LOL

Pearly Girl took all the pics except the one I took of her. I stayed in my pjs all day and sewed. What a great day!

Brown Eyes

Orange Boy played the most - from morning until 11:30 pm!

This is the wonderful hill just a few houses down from us. All of the neighborhood kids come to this hill to sled. I wish someone would put barricades at the top and bottom of the hill so the people showing off in their SUVs don't trash the good snow on the hill. My kids watched 2 SUVs go in the ditch. I'm not sure that I feel sorry for them.

Caboose was thrilled - and actually stayed out quite a bit.

This little strawberry-blond is turning into a carbon copy of Orange Boy - he can't get enough of the outdoors and is quite the trooper.

They are calling this storm the Arctic Blast. We will continue to have lows in the 20s for the rest of the week. More snow could come on Wednesday and Sunday again.

Sweetness

2008-12-14T21:55:00.001-08:00

We enjoyed homemade cinnamon rolls the night we decorated our tree. We like to do something a little special. Orange Boy, immediately grabbed the camera and started snapping pictures. I've got a bunch of Blogger Juniors here. I think perhaps they will be great photojournalists as they get older. That's not a bad thing.

PS - I did not take one of these shots. I'm glad they are capturing these great memories. (Click picture to enlarge.)

Oh Christmas Tree

2008-12-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

We were running late to get our Christmas tree and I was really bummed because I knew the pictures wouldn't turn out. Well, most of them didn't. But we were greeted with such a beautiful sky. This really is a family shot (missing 2 kids) silhouetted, but check out the sky!

On this shot, we moved so the sun was facing us and I had to lighten it up quite a bit.

I love the pink hues in the sky from the glorious sunset.

And once again, the sunset provided really cool lighting for this picture of me and Orange Boy.

This is the 2nd time we've cut our Christmas tree from this farm. They are friends of ours and have 6 acres. They use no pesticides and we got a gorgeous noble fir for $30. Gotta love Oregon!

2008-12-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

In seems our new cat has prompted a little bit of art practice on drawing cats. I love how interests lead to other interests, skills are learned, subjects are studied without realizing they are "doing school". This kind of studying needs no tests - they are learning because they want to learn and soak up information like a sponge. No time is wasted and pure pleasure is attained in the learning process. Now why couldn't I have "done" school like that?!

A New Addition

2008-12-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

No, not that kind of addition. My parents gave us this cat. We originally didn't want the cat (or I didn't want the cat). It's not that I don't like cats, I don't like dealing with the negative aspects of animals (poops, clawing, hassle of finding someone to watch animal when away, etc). But my parents were very desperate. They said they would pay for his food and any vet bills AND "he's an outside cat". When my husband went to visit my parents, the cat came out and met my husband and kids. My husband, being a big sucker for animals then called me on the phone giving me some sort of poor kitty story. I told my husband that I wanted no part of this decision. The cat obviously won my husband's heart.

Well, for the first week or so, he was an outside cat . . . . until yesterday. I was in the kitchen drinking my breakfast smoothy and heard him meow. It was very cold outside. I opened the door and that was the end of that "outside cat" story.

He is a beautiful cat with a great temperment - especially considering my kids have been pet-deprived and can't keep from touching him. This cat has never known such love. Okay, I admit it - he is pretty sweet. Even sweet enough for me to grab the camera and take a few shots.

Isn't he handsome?

Boys and Their Toys

2008-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

One of the wonderful blessings of homeschooling is that a lot of our schooling takes place in life, not in a school with four walls with texts, class interruptions, etc. A bigger blessing is that we are able to take advantage of wonderful resources around us to enrich the learning process. Not long ago, a semi-retired man from church asked us if our boys would like to learn welding. Orange Boy, in particular, took an interest. One thing led to another and now this welding class has turned into a go-cart building class. The "boys" (as in Papa, Orange Boy, and our semi-retired friend) meet weekly to learn skills, talk about plans, etc.

Not wanting this project to be a huge expense, we were able to find a used tractor lawn mower on Craigslist for $140. This tractor has been disassembled by Orange Boy and a large percentage will be able to be "repurposed" for the go-cart. Here you see the tractor and then the process of disassembling. (Click the picture to enlarge.) I'm really excited about this school project. The little boys don't know about the go-cart. They will sure be in for a surprise! More updates to follow!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T16:43:00.000-08:00

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home. Typically we have people over, but not this year. Even our eldest daughter was away, so that was sad. We will see her tomorrow, though.

But one topic of discussion came up. We are definitely food snobs. We love good food. We all decided that there is no better Thanksgiving meal than our own. Nobody has a better sweet potato casserole recipe than the one we got from Martha when we lived in GA. Nobody makes a better turkey than my husband who seems to have done away with the common problem of dry breast meat. This meal was so delicious. It was a combined effort: Tall dude made the stuffed mushrooms, dh always makes turkey/stuffing/gravy, mashed potatoes, Pearly made the sweet potato casserole, I made pumpkin pies and cranberry sauce.

Tall Dude's plate (stuffing is missing)

We tried a new cranberry sauce recipe this year: Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire. When I saw my children shoveling it in their mouths like jello, I knew we had added a new tradition to our feast.

See the cranberry sauce cranberry sauce evidence? He was already asking for more at the point.

And this little boy decided the cranberry sauce made a nice addition to the sweet potato casserole.

Biology and Homeschooling

2008-11-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

Mushroom

Looking at mushroom spores

Pearly is studying biology. Some people wonder how we can teach high school level biology if the teacher (ahem, me) has little biology background. We use Apologia science texts (info on Apologia on my sidebar) for high school (and grade school). These were written for homeschooled students and are very readible. We have purchased a nice microscope and also lab kits from Home Science Tools (incredibly fast shipping and great customer service). Once or twice a week, Pearly's friend comes over to do their labs together. This has been working very well. They have a daily schedule to keep up with and come prepared to begin labs on Fridays or every other Friday.

One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is seeing children get exciting about their studies on their own (let me tell you, this mom is not fond of science, but I've been careful to not let that out of the bag). It has blown me away to see that not only has my daughter caught the science bug, but she has considered pursuing it in college. (Whew - my disdain for science really hasn't rubbed off.) When I think about it, perhaps it wasn't that I didn't like science, but the way it was taught was unappealing to me (don't get me on the subject of history which I now love). Give children the foundation of the love of learning and reading, the tools they need, and they will fly. I love homeschooling. I really do.

Gerbil

2008-11-17T20:24:00.000-08:00