Saturday, January 30, 2010

February Plans



Well February is on the doorstep, it is always a busy month full of Birthdays, holidays and lots of snowy weather.

Things to do and remember:
Feb.2 - Ground Hogs Day and Candelmas Day
Feb 3- Birthday!!!
Feb. 5 my sisters birthday
Feb. 6 Ganodagan Winter Festival
Feb 7- SuperBowl

Feb 12- release of The Lightning Thief Movie, Opening of the Winter Olympics!! ABe Lincolns Birthday
Feb. 14- Valentines Day
Feb. Susan B. Anthony's Birthday
Feb15-19 winter break
Feb. 16 Shrove Tuesday / Pancakes
Feb 17 Ash Wednesday
Feb. 23 Birthday
Feb.26/27 stampin Up Regionals
Feb. 27 Merit Badge University
Feb. 28 Birthday Brunch/ Yoda turns 10!!


No surprise that I like hands. These are sculpted at Ganodagan Historic Site. This weekend is their Winter Festival, You can go and observe Life in an Iroquois Winter. Play some Snow Snake, see how they make Snow shoes and tobogons or listen to stories in the Long house that they have on site. February so little time, so much to do!

Friday, January 29, 2010

History Day 2010


What can I say - History Day has consumed our time and house. Our topic was Velcro as the theme was Innovations. This was a multi-stage process that taught the kids as much about putting together a presentation as it did the topic. The last stage was making it presentable which has been the past week. There are paper snips and Velcro everywhere but it was turned in this AM so now it is onto Science Olympiad structures and finishing a cool Clay Mask for Studio in Art. - more on that later

Thursday, January 28, 2010

It's almost valentines, share the love!!


Well it is still a few weeks away but if we do not do a little everyday then we will never get it done. Yoda is working on his for school using these Pre-fab fun animals and fun Scrapbook paper cut up and then he adds other little paper accents. He has 25 in his class plus teachers and friends so I am thinking we are at like 30 + so there are only 24 of these cute animals so we will have to do something different for some of them. This may well be the last year that he is interested in making and passing them out. We record the firsts so well in life but it is often hard to catch the last time. The last time they will sit on your lap, need their nails trimmed, make Valentines . . . . Don't miss the firsts or the lasts, life is to short.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Sense of Wonder




If I had Influence with the good fairy, I would ask that her gift to each child be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.

Rachel Carlson







Rachel Carlson was a great Naturalist who looked at all of Nature as a grand adventure and had a keen sense of wonder. She worked tirelessly to preserve this wonderment for years to come.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Hummingbird Live Web Cam






See live Hummingbird Web Cam


The Bird in this picture is not the Bird on the nest in the Live web Cam
This is a really cool opportunity make sure to take a look!!


Thursday, January 21, 2010

Ronald Mc Donald Love

These are samples that I offered at Ronalds house last night. In the end the ladies/mom's that were there did there own thing being creative, making cards for Doctors/ nurses/ caregivers and family members.
They had a great time as did I. We had the General Ed. group and one who was definitely AP- Advanced Placement. There was a lot of love shared as they talked about their sick kids, treatments adn the families and communities that are supporting them. There was a lot of laughter.
When you have a sick kid your whole world shrinks to a very small size. It is filled with strange noises, new words and language that you try your best to understand. You get little sleep and you are filled with worry. You are trying your best to keep everyone updated and sometimes the phone rings off the wall.
Where most of the world is focused on Haiti right now, these families are focused on their kids. So remember the families at Ronald Mc Donald houses where ever you live. They have been given special gifts to care for and the days are long, much strength and courage are needed as they travel the pathway with their baby or child.
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Winter Sunset at Chestnut Hill


Sometimes the rare gem of a day is the sunset. We were headed out somewhere and I saw this happening, I hopeed out of the car to take a couple of photos- once the sun starts setting it goes fast!! This tiem of year we have a great view of it. Looks like tonight will be another beautiful one!!
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Hey- who's driving my Car?

I put her in on the passenger side but before I could get to the drivers side- whoops there she was in no hurry to move out of the way. Lets go driving in the car car!






Then we went on a long walk in the sunny weather!








Monday, January 18, 2010

Yum Yum


These two guys- Sol and Oren - both rescue cats can drive you nuts with meowing before you feed them. They think they should have food 24/7 but the Vet says just a little in the AM and PM if needed. We feed all dry food and have tried to switch to a type that has less carbohydrates and more protein. They did not like this at first but have slowly gotten used to it. Much of their day it seems is spent asking for food or sleeping. Even when the red/orange one is hunting a lot, he still wants food! We feed them here on the steps because the Dog does not climb steps so she does not eat their food! This is a very good thing.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

SNOW FUN!!!



These pictures are from just after Christmas when we saw our cousins and they decided to have an Epic Snowball Fight. They used Drywall buckets to make forts and had a couple of snowball makers. Also some shields from a Mid-evil Birthday party. It was quite cold out, below 20 degrees but this went on for at least 2hours. It ended when a brother planted 2 snowballs in a sisters face . . .If you have kids- nuff said here. The sun made a lovely appearance towards the end but for the most part it was typical gray Great Lakes weather. We take for granted our weather but it is highly dependent on the great lakes. My 15 y/o was commenting on how lucky we are to live with so much accessible fresh water. We take that for granted. She was thinking about Haiti as she was talking about this and the great need they have had there for fresh water not only now but always.
Get out and enjoy the outside where ever you are!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Cozy Winter Thoughts




Warm Pumpkin Soup, Yarn to be knit, Cats curled up sleeping . . . in the sun if they can . . . . just a few of warm winter things that make the season wonderful.
Enjoy it all!!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Off the needles




Well the brown one I made from here called a chunky Beanie, On the right side of her blog is a spot for Knitting patterns of hers. Look there. I made it out of a nice soft Alpaca for my husband but he did not like it at all so it needs to find a new home.

The colorful one on the bottom, my daughter made, I finished the crown a little bit for her. It was made from One skein of Nepal on Circular needles. It was a fast knit for sure.

Both of these hats fit very nicely and are easy to make.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Lil' Stamping



Well I finally was able to get to the area where the stamps Ink and paper are kept! It felt good, I just wish it could happen a little more often! I like this time of year, thinking about Valentines day, red, pink, purples, sweet treats, hearts, celebrating Love.
Hoping to get some more stamping done in the near future!


Friday, January 8, 2010

Friday Musings

Snowy Friday . . . . Snowy Week

There I go again, somehow hitting "post" before I have even written anything. It is a snowy morning here at Chestnut Hill. This is the medium wet sloppy snow. It makes the roads very greasy and pulls your wheels over at any slight chance. This type causes lots of cars in the ditch and it is easy to do "doughnuts" in .

This is the type that I hate to commute to work in.
The other type that is an issue for driving is the very dry type of snow that causes blowing and drifting. Snow can be a bear and it can be beautiful. Today all the branches of weeds and trees are covered and it looks like sugar coating. It is a very fine snow yet there is o much in the air that it looks like "fog".
It is due to be very cold this weekend again. With the right clothing it does not limit us from going outside. We may reduce the time spent out but we still go out and walk, play, do chores. The trail that I walk on frequently has a lot of animal activity. The tracks and trails left behind are fascinating to look at. Straight, criss cross and curving." The Animal Highways of the Forest." The Deer especially make this very apparent.

Some plans for the day: Walk, clean up kitchen, sort socks, take down tree, pack up christmas stuff, figure out how to down load new camera, write up Individual Scout accounts Policy, Thread up needles for binding on Butterfly Quilt. there is way more I would like to do . . . . and way more required items like take daughter to MD, make dinner etc... but I have little control over what will really get done. Enjoy your day. Go outside, be still and listen.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Winter Sounds


What does winter sound like?

Trees creaking
Nylon rubbing on nylon
Crunchy snow
wind blowing through corn stalks still in the field
Wind blowing through weeds
Dog tag jingles
Trees groaning
Ice cracking
Snow plows scarping the roadways
A lone bird calling
Ice scraper on the car window
Ice hitting the windows

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Welcome 2010 Ramblings . . . .


Wow it is finally here.
It is true the older you get the quicker the years go and the slower that you want them to go. You want to watch your kids at the stage they are a little longer yet yo know that they must move on in their growing and journeying.







Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Leo Buscaglia


Word ideas for 2010

Organize
Listen
Simple
Focus

I like to choose a word for the year that remains my guide to what I do.
This will be my third year doing it.