Updates, Books, and Product Reviews
From the Children’s Reading Corner:
I’ve been reading Jotham’s Journey with the kids. Usually we read One Wintry Night, but this year we are thoroughly enjoying the new book. We are a little behind due to illnesses, but I hope to catch up this week.
Ballet and Programs:
All of our Christmas programs are over. We had an awesome end-of-the-year program for Co-op. The Imp had a solo with her choir. The boys displayed their bird houses and science projects.
One of the ballet girls was injured after the program and couldn’t perform for the nursing home, so the Imp was asked to fill in. The ballet teacher came to the house and taught her the dance, which we filmed so she could practice. She was so excited to have a chance to dance! She practiced every day and then rehearsed with a couple of the girls the day before the performance, so that she knew what to do with more than 2 on stage. She was cast as one of the party girls and she danced a selection of the Nutcracker. She positively glowed and all went smoothly at the performance. Now she is interested in dancing again.
Craft Day
About a month ago, I decided that I would plan a little crafting day for the kids in our group to make Christmas presents for family members. We didn’t think there would be that many interested, because it was so close to Christmas. Well, the plans snow-balled and we ended up with about 125 children of all ages! We had about 5 project tables, 4 ornament tables, a toddler craft area, a toddler movie/play area, and a snack station going. The event went really well, the children behaved superbly, and I was so blessed to have moms volunteer and handle the craft tables. I am so happy to have all the craft supplies out of my dining room, which was buried for the last 2 weeks! Now to clean and bake to get ready for Christmas!
Latest Interest?
Lately, I’ve been feeling compelled to gather info for homesteading, survival items for living without electricity, and medical info to use if doctors and conventional conveniences become unattainable. I can’t explain it, as it doesn’t really make sense, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to learn and have some of these references in print form, just in case the internet is not available, sometime in the near future.
I read, and would highly recommend the book, The Encyclopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery. Her book explains all kinds of skills that have been long forgotten. She also shares the pros and cons as well as some of the less discussed aspects that she came across while learning some of the skills. It is chocked full of useful information, and I absolutely devoured it from cover to cover in about a week. Now I am going back and rereading sections that I can try out, in our current circumstances (no land of our own….. and in a subdivision setting).
Youtube also provided a wealth of information on slaughtering your own meat source (think chickens or rabbits). I don’t know as I would want to do it on a regular basis, but I think it would be a good thing to know. I do like the idea of raising chickens for eggs when we get land someday. I worry about all the chemicals in our meats, and would love to eat chemical free meat that was raised on corn and grass, but I would have to get over the tendency of thinking of every animal we fed, as a family pet.
The other book that I have been pouring over is Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child. With the colds, ear aches, and flu we just passed around for a month, we have already tried out several of the suggestions. I like that the book explains what causes the illness, then it explains the conventional medicine treatments and their side effects, then it lists homeopathy treatments, herbal medicines, acupressure treatments, and diet and nutrition aspects that may aggravate or enhance the problems. It’s great to have all that info in one book! So far, the homeopathy suggestions have helped with two ear aches, a swollen knee, a bug bite, and severe cramps. (Nothing major, but it’s a start!)
Christmas Baking
I’ve got at least 3 recipes for cookies perfected to use in my corner coffee shop, if Hubby ever starts up his own business (a family-run gun shop and range). Now I’m working on sweet rolls, donuts, and breads to add to that list. I bake almost weekly, and freeze some for parties and take the rest to events to pass out and get feedback so I can tweak the recipes some more. With all the baking and mixing, hubby blessed me with one of those massive stand mixers from Kitchen Aid. (I’ve been mixing everything by hand for 17 years and didn’t realize what I was missing……it is WONDERFUL!) I haven’t snapped any spoons or spatulas in the last week…….not even one! Cookies with an oatmeal base were very hard to get mixed so that they would rise properly, but now I can make them with no problem. I am going to make homemade bread or rolls to go with our Sirloin Stew, so I can try out the dough hook. Yum! My hubby is such an awesome guy!
