Categories: Blogger Friend School

On the Drawing Table

Blogger Friend School Assignment #19

This week's assignment is to post a picture of one your family's/child's art projects or drawings. Be even more daring and post one of your own! Journal about the project.

When Clara was six years old, she was very interested in birds. We keep several feeders and a bird bath in our yard and, as you can imagine; we have very many books about birds and bird identification on our nature shelves. After spending the morning and the better part of the afternoon quietly watching the birds in our yard, she came to me with several watercolors she had finished. I thought they were beautiful then and I think they are beautiful now. The first one is an American Goldfinch. You can tell he is a male because of his black cap.

The second one is of a baby American Robin just toddling its way through the grass. You can tell it is a baby by its speckled breast and charming chubbiness.

The third one is, of course, a Blue Jay.

My favorite has always been the finch and I was tempted to just post that picture alone, but I think that showing all three of these paintings shows how she was able to capture the personality of each bird.

Hits & Misses

Blogger Friend School Assignment # 12

As we begin the New Year 2007, let's look at what were our Hits & Misses for 2006. This could include anything at in your life. Perhaps you tried a new curriculum, a different approach to discipline, a new cookbook, a better (or worse) way to organize your time. Maybe, you joined a new group, or tried a new class.

The assignment for this week is make a List of "HITS" and a List of "MISSES"!

Extra Credit (from Training Hearts Mom): Take your favorite Homeschool item and write Raving Review! Be sure to share from the heart and be honest. In your review include the 5 W's and the H...Who, What, Where, Why and How!

As I was writing down a list of what I consider the "hits" and "misses" of my life this past year, I realized that for every hit there seemed to be a somewhat related miss. It suddenly just jumped out at me while I was looking at the list. While I don't think some of them are directly related; some of them definitely are. So here they are.

Hits	Misses
1. Our new puppy Banjo 2. Dressing more modestly 3. Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History 4. Headcovering 5. Our new bed 6. My new kitchen	1. Spending time with my girls 2. Reading my Bible 3. Wise Up! Wisdom in Proverbs 4. Pleasing my husband (a.k.a. keeping up with the housework) 5. Getting on a good sleep schedule 6. Cooking better meals more often

Now I shall explain.

Numbers One
On January 5th of 2006 our sweet little Boston Terrier was born and we were able to bring him home in early March. Banjo has turned out to be a wonderful addition to our family. He's been a breeze to housebreak and has such a good temperament. God has really blessed our family with this puppy. On the other hand, I have had a strong desire to spend more time with my girls and feel like I haven't done as well as I possibly could have this past year. This is not because I have given all of my attentions to Banjo, but it did seem superficially related when I was drawing up my list. It is a hard thing to explain to non-homeschooling moms how you can spend just about each and every hour of your waking day with your children and still feel like you haven't spent time with them. I miss the days when they were younger and schoolwork didn't seem as pressing. Now that Lily is in high school and I have to think about what her transcript will ultimately look like, I suddenly miss the days of tent-building in the middle of our living room and of paper dolls. I want to play games with my girls and read to them. I find myself resenting the shadow "college" has cast over our days.

Numbers Two
Now this year I have had a good deal of success and satisfaction in dressing modestly. I am far more comfortable in dresses and I feel like it has been a blessing in my life. On the other hand, I have felt like a failure at spending more time in God's word. When writing up this list, I realized that, as satisfying as it may be to be dressing modestly, it is a small thing compared to keeping nigh unto God. It almost makes me feel like a hypocrite. I feel like a beautiful vase that remains empty.

Numbers Three
This year I decided to pull out a Bible curriculum that I bought a couple of years ago for Lily, but decided wasn't really for her. I thought, for some bizarre reason, that I should give it a try with Clara. It is a very nice study of Proverbs, but it is a workbook. We don't like workbooks. We really, really don't like workbooks. So, after several attempts at using this curriculum, I dug out our Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History and asked Clara if she would like to snuggle up and read the Bible with me. She agreed that this would be a great thing and we are all very glad.

Numbers Four
For several years now I have felt like I should wear a headcovering. Nobody in our congregation wears a headcovering, so whenever I questioned 1 Corinthians 11, everyone would say they thought that a woman's hair was the covering mentioned in those verses or that it no longer applies to modern day Christians. I kept having a nagging feeling that that wasn't enough. I read and reread this scripture and studied the Greek words that were being translated until I understood that God wanted me to wear a headcovering. I do not bind this on other women. This is between me and my God. I do not think that women who do not wear a headcovering will not have their prayers answered. I don't think it is a salvation issue. I just feel like it is an issue I needed to address in my life. I started wearing a headcovering in the spring of 2006 and have felt many blessings come from having chosen to do so. It has made me more aware of my place in God's plan for my marriage. I can see how it has changed my heart attitude in many ways. The other side of this though, the "miss", is that I know perfectly well what pleases my husband and I continue to neglect those things. I know that he is happiest when we have a tidy home and I am in the bad habit of letting things slide around here. I want to work on that this year.

Numbers Five
I have been having sleep problems for quite some time. I know that I need good rest and that I can let my sleep schedule get completely turned around in a matter of days because I tend to be a night owl. My beloved husband took me out shopping for a new bed this summer since we had been sleeping on the same one for twelve years. He felt that a new bed would help to alleviate some of my sleep problems. He had me lie down on several mattresses until I picked the perfect one. I felt like the princess in The Princess and the Pea. I have never slept on a mattress such as this. It is absolutely dreamy. It was a hit, for sure. Getting myself on a regular sleep schedule, however, has been a terrible miss. It is after one in the morning as I type this.

Numbers Six
Now you are going to wonder how I ever came into such a blessing with my husband when I tell you this. After living in our home for ten years and having to cook in a kitchen that was fifty years old, my husband took me out to pick all new everything for my kitchen. New cupboards and cabinets to replace the cupboards with doors that were falling off of their hinges and drawers that were without fronts. A new counter top to replace the one with cracks running through it and awful black, bubbled burn marks on it. And, no, I didn't create these horrific burns. He even got a new stove with a convection oven and a microwave above the stove and a new refrigerator. And a new sink and a garbage disposal and...Okay, I will stop now. I got a brand new kitchen because my husband loves me like no other man could ever even come close to trying. And, for several months, I cooked like I had never cooked before. I discovered Allrecipes.com and never have to wonder how to cook another piece of meat again. At some point, though, I quit. I am not sure why. So the kitchen was a hit and my cooking turned into a miss.

So there you have it. My wonders and blunders of 2006. I suppose I could use the "misses" to create a nice little New Year's resolution list. I've never made a New Year's resolution list before. What do you think?

Queen of Tarts

Blogger Friend School Assignment # 8

Blogger Friend School - Cookie Exchange Most people LOVE cookies and the holidays are just a perfect time of year to share our family favorite cookie recipes.

The assignment this week is to post your recipe and any family history behind the recipe.

If you have time to take pictures, please share a visual :)

Better yet, make it a homeschool project, put on your aprons, and have a baking day. Language Arts can be reading the recipe and spelling the name of the cookie....Math can be measuring the ingredients and guessing how many cookies your recipe will "actually"...Science can be experimenting with different food colors, Art can be decorating the cookies, and History can be sharing with your children about your time growing up and baking cookies.

Our favorite part of baking day is Snack Time!...BUT don't forget to toss in a good Home Economics lesson and teach proper kitchen clean up. Have fun!

I suppose that some people would not consider this a "cookie" in the classic sense; but my mother made tarts every year for Christmas along with every other type of cookie you could imagine. These were always my favorites and, I might add, are only made the better by a pot of hot tea.

You will need to try and find some tart tins, if you don't already have a supply of them. True tart tins are exceptionally difficult to find in the United States. They are not mini-muffin tins. They are very shallow compared to a mini-muffin tin. Here is a picture of what a modern-day tart tin looks like:

The tart tins that I have seem to be a bit more shallow than this one appears, but they were handed down from my grandmother to my mother and then to me. Williams-Sonoma used to have nice tart tins, but I don't think they carry them any more. One could ask, though. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll have to order them from England.

COCONUT JAM TARTS

(Makes about 40 tarts)

Pastry

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup shortening (Crisco)
1/3 cup milk

Coconut

4 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coconut

Line tart tin with pastry. Put about 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry jam in each. Top with about 1 teaspoon of coconut mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Count Your Blessings

Ed. #7 Thirteen Things For Which I Am Thankful

1. The pretty pies my daughter, Clara, prepared from scratch.

Cherry-Berry

Apple-Cranberry

2. The way my daughter, Lily, is so peacefully curled up on the sofa with her head on her father's shoulder.

3. How my husband remembers me even when he forgets my Dr. Pepper.

4. Hot tea and Pepperidge Farm Chessmen.

5. Our cozy home, my warm dress, and my sweater. (Can you tell I like being warm?)

6. The pre-cooked Thanksgiving dinner in my refrigerator.

7. That God has carried me through some of the saddest days of my life during this year.

8. How our home is crowded with good books. Some read, some unread as of yet, and some waiting to be read again.

9. For cranberry sauce with real cranberries and even for the jellied kind; because that's the kind that makes Lily happy.

10. The wooden plaque over the door in my living room that reminds me to

Psalm 46:10

11. The comfort a certain puppy has brought to my life.

12. The family God has given me. Both immediate and eternal.

13. The blessing of good health that my family enjoys.

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Name Them One By One

Blogger Friend School Assignment # 7

This week is the American Holiday, Thanksgiving! I know that there are several BFS Classmates from all over the world but I hope that you will join in our celebration of giving thanks.

Our assignment this week is to blog about your plans for Thanksgiving Day.....share your day in any creative form. Please try to include family traditions, your menus, who carves your turkey, do you save the wishbone, the list could go on and on.

I was having a difficult time with this assignment because as a family we really don't have any Thanksgiving traditions to speak of. For years we used to get together with several other families in our congregation that didn't have any family nearby for Thanksgiving. We would all sign up to bring various traditional dishes and meet at the building to spend the day together. There doesn't seem to be as great a need for it, apparently, so we no longer do that.

I tried to think about the Thanksgiving traditions from my childhood, but they felt too painful to contemplate right now. My mother is dying from Alzheimer's and, since she was so central to our Thanksgiving traditions, it made me rather mournful to think about it all.

My mother was a very good cook and she planned far in advance. I, on the other hand, do not always enjoy my forays into the kitchen and have never really put together an entire Thanksgiving dinner on my own. This entire past week I could not think of one thing to say about how our family was going to go about celebrating Thanksgiving.

Thankfully, my beautiful girls stepped in with some wonderful ideas as to how we should celebrate the day. Clara, who has always enjoyed cooking, made a list and went to the store tonight with her father so that she could get up early tomorrow and start making pies. From scratch! She's picked out some rather interesting ones from our Southern Living cookbook. One is an apple-cranberry pie and the other is a cherry-berry pie. Lily, who is a wonderful romantic and is rather good at thinking of how things ought to be, has come up with some new traditions for our family. She has suggested that we play very many games and watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe together. Lily went to see the movie at the theater and we have had the DVD forever, it seems. We were all just waiting for a nice day for all of us to watch it together. Lily's ideas seemed most agreeable to all.

Now, my little secret. I have ordered a fully pre-cooked Thanksgiving dinner! Laugh if you must, but think of how much more time I will get to spend with my family. And for that I am very thankful.

Someone Throw Me A Sword!

Blogger Friend School Assignment # 6

Currently in our world today, there is still of lot of persecution. I believe that most of us, blogging here, are enjoying our freedoms, to not only believe what we choose to believe but more importanty we can do it openly and without fear that we will be made a public disply and tortured. We can write our thoughts and feelings and even quote scriptures freely. We can go to a library and choose a book to read of our choice. I am very grateful to all those who have served or are currently serving in any military to protect these freedoms.

This week's assignment is taking a deeper look into our spiritual lives and the warfare that we are individually facing. I'd like everyone to seriously think and then blog about a situation in your life where you know that the enemy is attacking you and challenging your spiritual growth. What area in your life are you feeling burdened or challenged? The purpose of the assignment is to use this as a tool to arm ourselves better for this battle not to make you uncomfortable. If this is too personal for you, share an area in your life that you have perservered in a spirtual battle or share your feelings on freedoms in general.

ARM YOURSELVES and take time this week to thank our past battles that have created and protected our freedoms that we enjoy today. Try to visit at least one fellow Blogger Classmate and leave a comment to encourage them in this battle.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17

When I first read this assignment, I thought immediately of my clever title. I had visions of light sabers in my head. Sadly enough, though, I couldn't remember what the sword in the armor of God referred to. I had to look it up online. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ouch. The word of God. My Bible is lying near the door where it was left when I came home from Wednesday night Bible class.

There are many spiritual battles that I am faced with each and every day. Is it any wonder I have been faltering? I may have my helmet on, but I certainly am not going to get anywhere without my sword. Just last night I was brought down by my own gluttony and greed.

I keep finding myself glaringly aware of my shortcomings and equally determined to work on these things in my life. Unfortunately, I am like a new cook without a cookbook. Except, of course, I do have a cookbook. I just keep thinking I can do it on my own. I am only too ashamed of the recipes I have come up with. Even more so of the results of putting those recipes into practice.

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12

When did I decide I was so full of God's word that I didn't need it anymore? I know that you can hide His word in your heart, but I'm afraid I was not masterful enough to get the entire conversation into mine. He's still trying to talk to me and I am off trying to do it on my own. Babbling to myself.

I am going to commit this day to reading my Bible each and every day, searching out His will for me in His word. I am tired of stumbling around without the one thing that can stay me through the battle.

Blogger Friend School Assignment #4

In honor of the season, I thought we all could do something fun this week! I'd like everyone to share something to do with a pumpkin or pumpkin related. This can be a recipe, decorating idea, or if you are really creative "show" us on your blog :)

Set your tea kettle to boil! It's time for some special scones for the month of October!

PUMPKIN-GINGER SCONES

(Serves 12)

1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin, canned
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Reserve 1 tablespoon sugar. Combine the remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in 4 tablespoons butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add the pumpkin, sour cream and ginger; beat until well-blended. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface; knead 10 times. Roll out the dough into a 9 x 6-inch rectangle with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut the dough into 6 squares with a lightly floured knife. Cut each square diagonally in half, making 12 triangles. Place the triangles 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Melt the remaining tablespoon butter. Brush the triangles with butter and sprinkle with the reserved sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Blogger Friend School Assignment #3

The internet offers a lot of treasures! It may not be in the form of actual gold, although I'm sure some could find some on the internet. Being a Blogger Friend is all about sharing our treasures. The assignment this week is to share your internet treasures. Below is a list featurning things that homeschooling moms might be looking for : information, support, ideas, or actual items that pertain to our lives. Each one of us holds some or all of these treasures that need to be shared. Take this list and add your "golden" treasured sites so that we may all share the wealth.

A website that you visit everyday: Ladies Against Feminism

First place you look for a book to buy: e-Bay

Favorite Homeschool Support Area: An Old-Fashioned Education

Homeschool site full of information that you use regularly: Ambleside Online

Site that you buy your new curriculum from: Rainbow Resource

Site that you buy your used curriculum from: Since we use "living books", we don't tend to buy much in the way of curriculum. So when we do buy curriculum, it is usually new and we buy it from either the individual publishers (ie. Math-U-See) or Rainbow Resource.

Site that offers frugal tips to save money: The Hillbilly Housewife

A site that provides good wholesome recipes: Allrecipes.com

An informational site that shows you "how" to: How Stuff Works "Home Channel"

A homeschool family website that you purchase from to support them: Queen Homeschool Supplies

A charity website that you support: Alzheimer's Association

Favorite Graphic site to get graphics for your blog or other things: I like to create my own graphics for my blog's template so that it a unique place that says something about me. There are a lot of great graphics sites out there, though, for those who don't have the time or inclination to do their own graphics. A lot of these sites used to be completely free as long as you linked back to their site and saved the images to your own computer. Unfortunately, people abused these sites and now the owners either charge for their work or they have taken down their sites. It is important to read the terms of use on sites that generously offer free graphics.

Site that offers an educational calendar listing important historical events and also to keep you informed on upcoming events. (ex: Fire Safey Week): The site that I use to keep me informed on upcoming events is my state's homeschooling organization. I encourage you to check out your state's organization for a calendar of events.

Site that offers Homeschool Freebies: As a "living books" connoisseur, I have come to appreciate sites like Project Gutenburg, The Baldwin Project, and By The Fireplace. Free books. For what more could I ask?

Site that offers any kind of Freebies: PaperbackSwap isn't exactly free, but if you have some books you don't want and are looking for some books you do want, this is the place to go.

A blog to read that is always full of humor: Amy's Humble Musings

A blog to read that is always full of useful information: The Hillbilly Housewife's Blog

A blog to visit because it is eye appealing and easy to read: KSMilkmaid's Blog is not only easy on the eye, but easy on the heart as well.

A site that you would allow your children to visit: We enjoy using Sheppard Software's site for free educational games (especially their geography games).

List any other sites that you would like to share that have provided you with a wealth of golden information.

If you are interested in Charlotte Mason and the original PNEU (Parents' National Education Union), Victoria Waters has worked hard to share the original curriculum with us on her site Charlotte's Daughters.

After yhou have shared your gold, please start "panning" for gold by visiting your Blogger Friends Classmates and leaving them a comment.

************** EXTRA CREDIT FUN************ Library Lines - Below is a quote from a book. Can you guess what book this is from?

"They had driven over the crest of a hill. Below them was a pond, looking almost like a river so long and winding was it. A bridge spanned it midway and from there to its lower end, where an amber-hued belt of sand hill shut it in from the dark blue gulf beyond, the water was a glory of many shifting hues - the most spirtual shadings of crocus and rose and ethereal green, with other elusive tintings for which no name has ever been found...................."

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Blogger Friend School Assignment #2

Using the First letter of the Alphabet, describe things that are important or that will be descriptive of your personality. The hard part is to use only ONE word per letter.

is for Ambleside

is for Bible

is for Clara

is for Dresses

is for English

is for Family

is for God

is for Headcovering

is for Indolent

is for Jesus

is for Kitchen

is for Lily

is for Modesty

is for Nature

is for Old-fashioned

is for Photography

is for Quiet

is for Reading

is for Sweaters

is for Tights

is for Unfinished

is for Verity

is for William

is for Xylography

is for Yeast

is for Zinnias

Floral Alphabet by B.J.'s Design Shoppe

Blogger Friend School Assignment #1

I just joined a group of blogging, homeschooling moms at the Blogger Friend School. For my first assignment, as a new student, I was asked to introduce myself and to post a picture of my dream home. Since I already live in a dreamy house, I thought I would try to find something that would be really fun. Of course, I did. What else would you expect? I could just picture living in this house somewhere in the middle of the woods where no one would really expect to find any house, let alone this house.

There are queer people in the world - a great many of them - and it is not strange that there are also queer houses. Now, as our little book is made for everybody, it is but just that queer people and their houses should be represented in it. Very few persons, we presume, will desire to build a circular house, although it is the form, as geometry demonstrates, in which the greatest possible space may be inclosed by a given amount of wall ; but for the oddity of the thing, or because economy of space may be secured, somebody may wish to do it, and look for a design to adopt or imitate. Here it is!

This circular house, in many respects quite original in its plan, was erected by Enoch Robinson, Esq., at Spring Hill, Somerville, Massachusetts. No timber was used in its construction. The walls are made of plank sawed on a circle of 40 feet (the diameter of the house), nailed together, one above the other, in regular courses. The windows are made of four large panes of glass, in a single sash, which slides up into the wall, entirely out of the way. The inside blinds are arranged in the same manner.

The oval parlor is 24 feet long by 15 feet wide. The circular library, opposite, is 13 feet in diameter, leaving a fine front entry between these two curves. The kitchen, next the circular library, has a slate floor and walls of varnished white-wood. Between the kitchen and the large dining-room is the chimney and the kitchen and dining-room closets, so arranged as to occupy very little room.

On the second floor are seven chambers, two of them quite large, all opening into a pleasant rotunda, 13 feet in diameter, beneath the central skylight.

The accompanying sketch and plans will give a good idea of the general appearance and arrangement of this truly original and unique edifice.

Though made of the best materials, and of superior workmanship, this building was erected at an expense much less than that of a square house erected in the ordinary way.

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

As you can see, I would have a very unusual house, indeed. Hidden away in the woods with ivy growing up its walls, I would be able to do all of my favorite things. Of course, I would insist that the library come with built in bookcases as anything less just wouldn't do. And one of those upper chambers would have to be converted into an extravagant bath.

As for an introduction, I really don't know what to say. I'm a homeschooling mother of two daughters ages eleven and fourteen. My husband and I have been married for eighteen years. If you poke around my blog long enough, I think you will find out who I am. So come on into my dream home and share some tea and scones with me. I can't wait to show you the library!