Thursday, April 30, 2009

Another Dental Installment

The other night I had been asleep about an hour when I heard my girl's voice "Mom I lost another molar!" She had lost one the week before and now lost the molar next to it. Don't ask me why she decided to wiggle her tooth when she awoke in the night...might have something to do with being eager to see the Tooth Fairy again...

Speaking of teeth - today I had another visit to my friendly dentist. He did a little more of this and that - causing me some "discomfort" (to use a dental euphemism). He feels confident that I ought to see a healing trend now...hmmm heard that before. But at least this time he did say that he was going to talk it over with a specialist today and show him the xrays... I'm not feeling too optimistic.


Said the Spider to the Fly

I had often heard the quote, "Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly" - but I didn't know (or had forgotten) that it was an actual poem, and a lengthy one at that.

We came across the poem during poetry reading this morning and the kids and I were both instantly impressed with it. It even has a nice little moral at the end to resist flattery :)

The Spider and the Fly
Mary Howitt

Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,
'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to shew when you are there."
Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!"
Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"

Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, " Dear friend what can I do,
To prove the warm affection I 've always felt for you?
I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome -- will you please to take a slice?"
"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind Sir, that cannot be,
I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"

"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise,
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."
"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you 're pleased to say,
And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."

The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple -- there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue --
Thinking only of her crested head -- poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour -- but she ne'er came out again!

And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

In Flew Enza

With all this talk about the "Swine" flu - I'm reminded of a supposed song children used to sing while jumping rope during the early 1900's pandemic...

"I had a little bird, its name was Enza - I opened the window and in flew Enza (influenza)."

If I remember the family story correctly, my husband's grandmother continued going to school during the 1900's pandemic even when all the other students stayed at home. She remained healthy. She later became a school teacher.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

"One Misty Moisty Morning"

"One misty moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather,
I met a withered old man a-clothed all in leather,
He was clothed all in leather with a cap beneath his chin, singin':

"How d' you do and how d' you do and how d' you do again"

Well I didn't meet any withered old man on my misty moisty morning walk today - that definitely would have added a bit of interest to the walk.

I do enjoy walking in the rain - not a heavy down-pour kind of rain but one just like today - mostly mist and drizzle.

Not much happening around here - yesterday I spent the day cooking up a large batch of pork (and no you CANNOT get swine flu from eating pork products) and reviewing the homeschool books I have on hand for the upcoming school year. I did some research on the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling which I've always found intriguing.

Anyone use Charlotte Mason? Any comments on it - good or bad?

For math we currently use Saxon, and for Language/History/Science we use Abeka along with a hodge-podge of other resources.

We basically homeschool year round - but take lots of breaks - rarely do we have "official" school 5 days a week. We feel like math needs to continue throughout the summer so that important concepts don't get forgotten and need to be relearned in the fall.

My root canal nightmare is on-going...so a call and perhaps a visit to the dentist will be repeated this morning. Unfortunately it hasn't interfered in my eating and caused me to lose 15 lbs during the 2 months I've been unable to chew on one side.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Lily of the Valley

Last yr we transplanted some Lily of the Valley plants from the farm to our backyard. This is the first year they have bloomed and as a rabbit or some other critter appears to be nibbling the plants - I wanted to bring in a little cutting before they get consumed.

Lily of the Valley - even though it has very tiny flowers - it has a strong perfume. It's one of my favorite flowers.

"He's the Lily of the Valley,
The bright and morning Star,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul."

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tennis

This morning we got up and out to the park by 6:30 AM to play some tennis before the hub left for work.

I've never been much for sports. I was the scrawny no-talent kid that was picked among the last for sports in school.

Watching sports on t.v. is painful. Watching sports in person is slightly less painful...especially if there is some good grub to go with it.

But I've been having fun with tennis!

The hub and I have been playing in the evenings after supper or in the morning before work. The kids play on the playground and watch while we play and then when we are finished - the hub throws some balls to the kids and they "play" some tennis. They are loving it too!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Impromptu Picnic

Today's weather was glorious! Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer and Friday warmer still - a high of 85!

This morning I cut the grass and cleaned up (with the help of the kids - the girl is especially a big help with raking, picking up sticks etc.) the yard. Just before lunch I realized we'd need more yard waste bags so we made a trip to Wal-Mart. All out of yard waste bags! Ugh. Headed to Target. On the way to Target decided that the weather was too nice to eat lunch inside and the hour was getting later - so we bought a jar of peanut butter at Target and some chocolate milk (and the necessary yard waste bags) and had a picnic at the park on our way home.

I usually keep a loaded picnic basket in the trunk of my car :) but as it's not used much in winter it's not as well-provisioned as it ought to be.

Right now it contains plastic cutlery, paper plates and cups, a bottle opener, a keychain flashlight toy from a Sonic meal last year, napkins, a can of Diet Caffeine Free Dr. Pepper, handi-wipes and probably a couple other little things. I usually keep a checkered tablecloth in it as well.

I decided to leave the jar of peanut butter in the basket and I think I'll throw in a package of crackers and some other long shelf life foods - one problem is that in the summer it will get super hot in there so I need to be careful what I include. Most of the time I'll just pack a fresh meal before we go somewhere - but it's nice to have something in there for emergency impromptu picnics even if it's only crackers and peanut butter.

Any ideas of what else I ought to include?

Reading material is needed in there so when the kids are playing and running around I can relax and read.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

GroovyGirl's Creativity

The girl has recently become interested in the game of Chess. Not having a chess game board and pieces didn't stop her!

This afternoon she whipped together some game pieces using Lincoln Logs and colored paper. I'm amazed at what she can come up with in a short time.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Speaking of Bizarre Foods


Knowing the girl's affinity for canned salmon bones - I left a large chunk on her plate.

She was quite thrilled - "Mmmm! Salmon backbone."

I love canned salmon but I don't like the bones - kind of like when you find a bit of eggshell in your cooked eggs.

And just another comment on the Bizarre Foods show - I'm telling you, it doesn't matter what food the host tries - he makes it look and sound delicious! Now I'm not going to run out and get a still-beating frog heart...but I just watched a segment on seafood and pretty much all of it looked wonderful!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Bizarre Foods

The other day I came across some video clips on YouTube for a travel program segment on "Bizarre Foods".

Basically a guy travels around the world to seek out and taste some very bizarre foods - foods that I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to even take a nibble of.

I haven't watched all the clips so I cannot vouch for their suitability to all audiences - but if you'd like to give it a try check this out: Bizarre foods. Or you can just search "Bizarre Foods" on YouTube.

Some of the clips may not be for the weak of stomach....

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Red Window

At the bottom of the front staircase out at the farm, there is a red glass window that I have always loved. When the sun shines through it is casts a red glow on the wall across from it.

The farm house was built in the early 1900s I believe - it's interesting that they decided to add that little bit of red cheerfulness...


Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Cake Contemplation

We celebrated the boy's 7th birthday out at the farm with his grandparents.

It was cold and rainy but the kids still got in a hike to the creek and some BB shooting with dad.

The boy requested a spice cake with caramel frosting.

Sister helped frost the cake.


After the cake was frosted it looked very bare and I had not brought anything to decorate it. "On the farm" means being 30 minutes from town.

A little creativity and some help from the girl and voila! Some G.I. Joe cake "toppers" cut from the box of a newly opened present :) .

Home Again, Home Again Jiggety-Jig

We arrived home Sunday evening.

I'm still trying to get caught up on everything - a literal mountain of laundry was the first thing to tackle. I think if we lived on a farm or in the country the washing machine would be going 24/7.

I'll eventually get around to posting some photos from the boy's birthday...

Thursday, April 9, 2009

At The Farm

The train ride up here went fine. An hour from our destination we had to switch over to a bus due to work on the tracks - but that all went pretty smoothly.
The kids have enjoyed just being outdoors. There is a cat and a dog plus a neighbor's dog that likes to hang out here - so the girl is especially enjoying the animal friends.
There is a heap big MOOOOOing going on. The cattle are being moved from another location so they are quite worked up about it all.
I'm just loafing about. I have a nasty head cold and my head aches - so I'm not feeling like doing much other than sleeping or reading or being on the internet sporadically...and with a dial up connection even the internet has lost it's appeal.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

"I hear the train a comin' It's rolling round the bend..."

Well the kids and I are off to the farm until Sunday.

We are traveling via Amtrak...going to celebrate the boy's 7th birthday on Friday, with his grandparents.

Dh will arrive Friday in time for the birthday dinner (I hope!).

The weather sounds like it's gonna be cold and rainy :(

On Sunday dh's cousin will be hosting a family Easter Dinner followed by an Easter Egg Hunt (actually candy hunt) for the kids.

We're anticipating a fun week - the boy especially, who has been counting down the days until his birthday for quite some time now.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Fancyflours - Beautiful Baking Accessories

The other day I came across some beautiful baking/decorating accessories at Fancyflours.

My favorite are the cupcake wrappers. If you don't know what cupcake wrappers are that's OK because neither did I until I saw them. They are decorative "covers" that you place around the cupcake after it's baked. They are pretty pricey - about $1 a piece.

Makes me want to go bake some cupcakes.

Here's a site where it shows you how to make your own wrapper out of a doily.

Monday, April 6, 2009

The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun

The other night we watched an interesting, albeit a bit odd, movie.

The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun is a documentary about an old, eccentric man who wants to make something “everlasting” so he decides to turn his ancient castle into a Monastery.

Plot summary by the director: "50 years ago Jørgen Lauersen Vig bought Hesbjerg Castle, situated in the Danish country side, with the purpose of turning it into a monastery. Now, many years later, he is about to realize his old dream. A group of Russian Orthodox nuns are on their way, and thus Mr. Vigs life-long dream is about to come true. But, nuns have plans and wills of their own, and Mr. Vig must realize that the road to fulfilling his dream is very different than what he imagined."


Saturday, April 4, 2009

So Are These Morels??? UPDATE - We Ate Them!

Hub just found them in the backyard next to the garage - we've never found morels in our yard before - but this is definitely the time of year for them.


It's funny b/c I had heard a story on the news just this week about someone finding some morels in their backyard.

These little guys were not even "hiding" - right out in the open next to the garage and trashcan :)

After doing some online research and sending a photo to my MIL and having her affirm their authenticity - I cooked them up.

Apparently the hollow insides are a signature of the morel.

Good thing we are only a family of 4 because there were only 4 pieces (half each). I used my MIL's recipe (below) for coating the morels before frying them up. Of course with our small amount of morels we didn't need the full recipe.


Directions:
cut in half lengthwise, cut off lower roots (the dirty ends)
rinse with cold water
beat a couple of eggs with some salt and pepper
dip mushrooms into eggs
roll in flour
fry in 1/4" of melted butter (I use part butter and part oil)
when crisp on one side turn and fry the other side until crisp
drain on paper towel

Thursday, April 2, 2009

More Dental Woes

Well I went back to the dentist today...over the phone his office said he'd just take some x-rays, numb me up a bit and lift the crown to check it out.

Sure he did all that - and then decided to re-do one of the canals...OUCH!

Thankfully the crown had been attached with only a temporary adhesive - so he didn't have to ruin my nice new crown.

Sooooo - I feel like I am back to square one. Will continue to be on antibiotics for awhile and got RX for various pain relievers.

The only good in all of this - a good excuse for eating soft foods like ice-cream :)

The daffodils are on their way out but thankfully the tulips are on the scene.


The tulip above reminds me of a poppy...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Watch Out For All The April Fools

This morning the kids woke me up before 6:30 AM - but I stayed in bed listening to all the racket they were making. Banging, laughing, planning, sneaking.

Awhile later they come to say "good morning" to me. Even though I didn't have my specs on I noticed something wasn't quite right. The boy was dressed in the girl's garb and vice versa.

The boy shot me with a water gun.

When I walked into the kitchen a paper something or other conked me on the head (confetti was supposed to pour out...of the paper thing not my head).

Well I paid them back. I made some French Toast. They like putting powdered sugar on the French Toast. I filled the dish with flour :) The girl covered her toast in the "sugar" but unfortunately the boy dipped his finger in the "sugar" and said "hey this is FLOUR". Just a small trick - but they deserved to be gotten back at. I'm sure they were happy to have mom be a part of their shenanigans.

I went to sit down at the table and couldn't pull out my chair. The "April Fools" had struck again! Tying all the chair legs together.

What next?? Guess I'll be on tip toes all day.