Wishful Thinking / Pet Peeve

There's been a lot of crafting around these parts lately. By me, and the girls.  Not so much Peter-- unless you count eating play-doh. I'm happy the girls are picking up the crafting bug-- it's something I remember Mom trying to get me to do when I was their age and it never stuck with me. Now I start doing it when I am a busy mother of 4 trying to do everything else that needs to be done around here. Why didn't I do it back when I had all the time in the world??  I must like a challenge!

I get a lot of my supplies from yard sales and thrift shops, or there's a good sale at the fabric store with half-off coupons. I'm lucky Andrew indulges me my crafting and encourages me when I get on a sewing binge. I try to return the favor and not break the bank on crafty purchases-- like I can afford a whole lot anyway.

Today for home school, the girls all wanted to sew and make dolls. So it turned into Home Ec class and the topic was embroidering doll features, sewing bodies on mama's sewing machine, turning inside out, stuffing and yarn hair. Finished 1 doll; halfway through a second; still need to assemble a third. Doll dresses are slated for tomorrow.  My patience ran out when, first, I was feeling like I needed to be mama octopus and help 3 girls all crying for help at the same time and Peter constantly screeching that ear-piercing scream while knocking down his blocks, and then Gretchen getting pickier and picker about the yarn hair or the eyes or the heart and how it wasn't looking like Evelyn's. I slammed my hand on the table, grabbed all the fabric, yard, thread, hoops and put it up. Went to the bedroom to get 5 minutes of peace and quiet.

I hope tomorrow will go smoother, brand new day and all that.

 With the girls jumping on the crafting bandwagon, I'm finding myself short on supplies to share. I hate that I have to run 45 minutes into the next big town for the closest store that sells fabric and supplies. It's been my mantra since the day we moved here. Why is the closest craft store 45 minutes away?! In six years, I still have not discovered any sort of crafting store around here and I know there are quilters in this area and lots of the town fairs are full of people hawking hand made stuff, so there are other crafty people here. I can't believe that they all go 45 minutes to the next big town for supplies??  Or else they have money and order online, which I wish I could do but online stuff is expensive and I like to see/touch what I'm buying first.

It would be nice to open up a shop of my own. Couldn't afford to lease out a store space, much less purchase all the stock. Plus, start up costs, liability insurance and all that expensive stuff. A woman I knew liked to quilt and she found it cheaper to order her fabrics whole-sale, by-the-bolt, but then she had too much fabric, so she opened a fabric store in her basement and, by-appointment-only, sold her surplus fabric. She had a nice shop, but way overpriced. I ended up just buying a  teeny small bit, feeling obligated, because I made an appointment and I was taking up her time, after all. I think about that set-up a lot these days-- how nice to have a store in my basement, to run down and pluck what I need off the shelf. Have a sign out by the road on days I'm open to the public or by appointment. No overhead costs, no lease to pay, just a bit of advertising and finding crafting supplies to stock the shop and sell. Is it worth it? Would I be offering a desired product? Would it succeed? Can I fill a need? Profit would be nice, but even better would be the convenience of a shop closer than 45 minutes. It's all a nice idea, maybe just a fantasy, since we're really tight on money and starting a business in this economy? hmph! 

I'll have to make do and look for an old teddy bear no one loves and cut it open for it's stuffing. I don't have enough stuffing for the dolls the girls are making. Can't afford a trip into town just for stuffing, and while I'm there, I'll be drooling over all the other stuff I'd really like to bring home with me. What I really just want to do is take the whole store, strap it onto the roof of my van and park it in my back yard.

Hawking

All this week, after finding an opossum in the chicken coop on the 31st, I have been diligent in going out at dusk and counting chickens before closing up the coop for the night. Wednesday evening was no different, the sun was still shining through the trees, though the light was thin and darkness was quickly closing in. My count always goes like this: 4 buffs, 2 speckled, 1 rooster, 5 reds, 7 babies. This night, though, I came up with 6 babies. I counted again. I physically moved the chickens because sometimes they huddle close and can easily be overlooked, but I still came up one short. I walked around the coop, maybe the last one was just caught late and huddled outside the coop-- the babies do that sometimes, but no chicken.

Crap.

I flashed the beam of my light further around the coop and saw nothing. I closed up the coop and walked around the house, checking the usual chicken hangouts. The babies don't tend to stray far from the house like the older chickens do, but I saw no chicken. It was cold, my fingers and my toes in my flip-flops were freezing. I went in to make dinner, then I'd go back out later to check again.

One more search before bedtime around midnight. I walked by the rhubarb patch by the side of the house and then I planned to walk into the woods and see if maybe I would flush out the chicken, but as I walked, something told me to stop and look down. I did, and there was my chicken, dead, partly eaten, feathers scattered all around.

Sigh.

I looked over the body, it was a young roo. It had the same marks as the one that the opossum was eating last week, so I am thinking the opossum got smart this time and took the chicken out of the coop instead of staying in there. It was freezing, late and nights in the country are very, very dark. I didn't want to carry the chicken all the way across the yard and into the garden to put it in the compost. I left it, planning to get to it in the morning.


I woke early in the morning and looked out my window, checking to see if the dead chicken was still there and what did I see? A Cooper's Hawk! What a surprise that was to see! I had no idea they would scavenge, but a freshly-killed chicken must be too good to pass up for a hungry juvenile hawk.

I tried to take pictures that were clear, but it was very hard to take decent pictures through the screen. I was so tempted to cut a hole just to get a better picture, but I knew that was just plain silly. The kids came to see what I was looking at and we all spent the next hour watching the hawk make a meal out of the chicken.

Archie and Lucy the cats came and chased the hawk away, but he just hung out in the tree until Lucy and then Archie got bored and went away.

He was a beautiful bird to look at. I've always admired hawks and it was a treat to see one right outside my bedroom window. After the cats left, he flew back down and ate some more. It was fascinating to watch it pull feathers out with it's beak then rip into the chicken and eat some more.

The kids and I all watched for over an hour until the hawk seemed to have it's fill and flew away. What a sight to see it's wingspan and watch it fly away. Afterwards, we talked about what we saw, looked up our animal encyclopedia and bird books for identification, but finally came up with a positive ID on the internet.

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I felt bad last night for losing another chicken, but on the bright side, at least it was a rooster and not a hen, and we got such a great nature show out of it. One less rooster to butcher in the Spring, but also one less rooster in the freezer. Counted chickens tonight: 4 buffs, 2 speckled, 1 rooster, 5 reds, 6 babies. All safe.

Afterthoughts

Have you ever had an afterthought that turned out well? A last-minute move that you didn't plan on taking and landed you in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? I had one of those the other day!

I had to run into town-- a missed appointment that turned into a month-long phone-tag game and I finally gave up and went to the office in person to schedule a new appointment. I wasn't planning to go to the Library, they have new hours and close early on Tuesdays, but since I was so close, only a few blocks away, I might as well go. I had Peter and Sylvia with me. Sylvia is old enough, at 4, to know how to behave and not run around the children's section like a maniac. Peter, on the other hand, let's just say I got some eyeballing from the other patrons there. As I checked out the dvds, I noticed the sign for the book sale they have going on the upper level. With Peter screaming like he was, I had no intention of staying a second longer than necessary, but then, he suddenly calmed down and he was quiet. What the hell-- I'll make a quick run upstairs and see what they got.

Normally, because it's such a small Library, the book sale is not much to look at.. a few tables with books lined in rows, spine up to see the titles, and this sale was no exception. A few random squeals from Peter squirming around in my arm and I almost didn't go around to the other side of the tables, but as before, he suddenly quieted and I went ahead and checked. Lo and behold! Quite a few volumes of the Life Nature Library Series!

22 books total! I haven't researched, yet, to see how many volumes in the set there are supposed to be, maybe 24 I'm guessing, but I am so pleased that my afterthought to the Library paid off! Other than smelling a little musty, the books are in pretty good shape, and the ones I checked, dated 1978. They will be added to our little homeschooling Library. For the most part, I'm not too worried about the age of the books, there haven't been a whole lot of changes with some of the topics and they'll mostly be used for leisure reading. I'll be encouraging the kids to look through these and come to us with any questions.

Any good finds for you lately??

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Thrifty Finds

We went to the thrift stores, yesterday and today, hoping to score another dehydrator for my apples. It'd be nice to have two dehydrators going, working twice as fast. We found one, but it only had two trays and they were asking a bloated $25 for it. bah! I got the two I have for way less than that. I'll just keep looking and hope I can score another dehydrator soon.

I have been on the lookout for the Bobbsey Twins books. I read the whole set when I was about 8 or 9 and then moved onto Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Oldest is a voracious reader and I am trying to get her some classics and other stories for her to read. The used book store we frequent sells Bobbsey twin books for $5 apiece (too much!). I found a flea market that was selling some for $2.50 each (eh). Then today, at the thrift shop, I found 9 books for $1 each (whoo-hoo!)!! I bought them all! I am so excited and can't wait for Oldest to read them! I may read them with her!

I also found another Bobbsey Twins book (not pictured) at a yard sale for 25 cents, so that gives me 10 books in all.

At the same yard sale where I found the lone Bobbsey Twins book, I found the complete set of Childcraft books at a yard sale for $10! I was so excited! They had lots and lots of older books and vintage children's items, and I think I would have bought more if I had the money, but I was pretty satisfied with finding the whole set of Childcraft. This is a great asset to our home schooling lessons.

At the thrift store yesterday, I came across THREE of these Texas Ware melamine splattered mixing bowls! They are so hard to find and go for a pretty penny on ebay, so I was really happy to find these. Especially 3 of them! After I got home and washed them, I discovered a crack in one of them, so that will be my new scraps bowl. I'll be posting these for sale in my etsy shop this week. *Teena, you want one?? If you do, I save it for you and sell the other one.*

Home School Lessons

Oldest lost another tooth-- this makes 5 baby teeth gone so far. 5 baby teeth closer to her adult set of teeth. It had been loose for some time, so it was a good time to learn more about our teeth and the care of them.

Check out this experiment:

Submerge an egg in a jar filled with vinegar-- I used white vinegar.

A few hours later: The egg is completely covered in bubbles and parts of the shell are starting to flake off.

The next day: the shell has gone soft and feels slimy and rubbery.

Pop! It took some effort to pop the shell with a knife. There's the softened egg shell draped over the end of the knife.

The experiment likens the vinegar to plaque on teeth and shows what happens if you don't brush your teeth: the plaque will eat through the enamel on your teeth much like the vinegar ate through the hard shell of the egg.

A home schooling mama-friend of mine sent this link to me about teeth and the egg experiment you can do at home.


http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/teachers/pdfs/2003S/030131BPt.pdf http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/pdfs/2006S/060127_bp3.pdf
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/class/pdfs/2006S/060127_bp4.pdf


Try it with your kids!

Thanksgiving Crafts

As of Sunrise Monday morning, hunting season is in full swing around here. West Virginians take hunting very seriously and the schools here close for a whole week instead of the usual 3 days for the holiday. Living where we do, with 2 sets of neighbors that are hunting around our property, we will be staying in the house just in case. No matter how skilled a hunter they are, accidents still happen and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

We have been doing crafts this month that are Thanksgiving related and I thought it would be time to post about what we're doing. Maybe you want some ideas on what to do to keep your kids busy while you're getting ready for dinner preparations, or maybe the kids said "I'm bored" one too many times... well, here's what we did:

Handprint and footprint turkeys! Trace hands and feet and then assemble to look like turkeys. Makes a cute picture and the bonus is to remember how small their feet and hands were. Oldest went a step further and drew feathers and then made a nest full of eggs for the turkey to sit on. She added black dots on all the eggs and when I asked why, she said the babies are peeking out of their shells. After Thanksgiving, these turkeys will go in their memory boxes-- I have a box for each child and I save extra special drawings and mementos.

Last Friday (I try to do art class every Friday) we had our new friend join us for art class and they made pilgrims! Paint pointy party hats black, then cut out construction paper to make faces, hats, arms and belts and buckles. Assemble and glue to parts to the hat and presto! A pilgrim! Oldest again, went a step further and cut out yellow construction paper for hair. Oldest and our new friend are both 6 and they did this project with minimal help from us, Middle is 4 and Youngest is almost 3 and they needed a bit more help to assemble and glue the pieces together. It was lots of fun though, and they'll look great on the table for Thanksgiving dinner!

While we waited for the paint to dry on the hats, we took a short break and the kids made cranberry bread. After the bread was put in the oven, we went back to finish the pilgrims. We found all sorts of recipes in cookbooks and on the internet, and they're all pretty standard. I've made several different kinds and they are always yummy, so if you've never had cranberry bread, now is the time to make some-- cranberries are on sale everywhere and you can buy extra and freeze them.

Happy crafting!

An Update...

Sunset at a local park

I have been wanting to write a post lately, but seem fresh out of ideas. Things are busy here, as they always are when the holidays near, and my head is filled with ideas of what I can make for gifts. I am constantly on the lookout for gifts that would be fairly easy for me to make on a mass scale and something that everyone would like. I have a few projects that are high on my list, I just need to find the time to make them.

I met a woman and her son at the Library last month and she also home schools. How lucky that her son is the same age as Oldest! We have been getting together, twice a week, to do lessons and art projects and I really enjoy her company. She had been feeling much like I was, looking for another home schooler and not finding very many who have the same or similar ideas. It's so nice to be able to talk to another adult (besides my lovely husband) and have an excuse to get out of the house and going somewhere other than the food store.

We have not had satellite TV service for nearly a month now and I am amazed at how much I don't miss it. None of us do, really. My husband apologized to me, saying he was sorry it took him so long to "see the light" and canceling the TV and he told me I had been suggesting it for over 6 years! Was it really that long? In any case, better late than never and we are doing so much more together as a family without the TV. The husband and I are also going to bed earlier now and I've actually started to wake up before the kids! I still have a few late nights when I have my nose stuck in a book that I can't put down, but for the most part, I am finding myself in bed before midnight or earlier.

It snowed here and we have a light dusting of snow on the ground. I am so grateful for all the hard work we put into gathering firewood and now we are enjoying the benefits of the woodstove. As my husband likes to put it-- "All our hard work is going up in smoke!"

The kids are asking for me to make snow ice cream, but I have to explain we need more than just a dusting of snow to make it. They're disappointed it isn't enough to go sledding or build a snowman, but I tell them we still have more months of winter to come and who knows what that will bring.

I'll be writing again when I have fresh ideas and a complete post in my head to put into words. Stay tuned...

Making Cookies

I want all of my kids to know their way around a kitchen, to be able to whip up meals and feed themselves instead of depending on take-out or microwave meals. Cooking is a good life skill and I am so grateful to my mom and dad for teaching me how to cook. Home Ec. was one of my favorite classes when I was in school and it's a shame that many schools no longer offer that class.

Reading recipes is also a good math lesson-- figuring out how many halves are in a cup and how many teaspoons make a tablespoon and so on. Cooking usually becomes a math lesson when I have one of the kids helping me. Makes for a yummy home school lesson.

The other day, the kids wanted to make cookies. Oatmeal with apples was the pick and while the Baby slept on a blanket on the floor, the girls got busy in the kitchen!

I keep a blanket in the kitchen for moments like this, sometimes I need two hands and asking for help is not an option and the Baby doesn't like the swinger and screams his little head off. Put him on a blanket and he's happy and then he falls asleep.

The girls kept pinching bits of oatmeal to eat. I'm glad they like oats, but I wasn't happy with the mess on the floor. I'm a lazy cleaner, which means I try to make the least amount of mess so I don't have to clean. My blood pressure went up when I let the girls make cookies all by themselves. I had to look away more than once and tell myself it's only oats, easy to sweep up; only egg, easy to wipe up; only batter, easy to clean up.

Oldest is cutting up the dried apple slices into smaller bits for the cookies. Between their snacking and the one cup designated for the cookies, they used up a whole quart of dried apples! Next year I will be drying more apples!

They took turns adding each ingredient and then stirring the cookie dough. They made the cookies all by themselves and I was so proud of them. I shooed them out of the kitchen when it came time to bake them but not before they all got a big spoonful of cookie dough to nibble on. Never did get a picture of the cookies, but they were quite tasty.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

We have some visitors that have been staying with us and have taken over the pool. And yes, that is our filthy little kiddie pool that the husband and I have neglected to wash and keep clean. We're busy and cleaning a pool is low on our list of priorities.


In the meantime, while we have been busy doing other things, a turtle and a family of frogs have moved in!

Here, Mr. Turtle (or is it Miss?) is checking out his new digs.

"Hmmm.. yep! This'll do just fine! What's the rent on a joint like this?"

The frogs have been busy and there are quite a few tadpoles swimming around in the murky water. Too tiny for me to take pictures with my cheap-o camera. We usually find between 3 and 5 frogs in the pool and the girls are having fun trying to catch them.

We have also discovered a family of toads living under a tarp that we have neglected to put away. (detect a theme of neglected items, do you?) I pulled the tarp out to lay it flat and let dry so we could finally put it away, when the girls spotted them. We counted 4 toads, so we put the tarp back and come Fall, we will put it up, because, surely by then, the toads will have moved on to find a more secure home for the coming winter.

What a perfect chance to learn about cold-blooded amphibians and reptiles!