Coloring Pages

Here are six intricate Mandala designs for those who like intricate coloring. They open in Adobe Acrobat and you can print them for free.

New Wallpaper

Isn't that beautiful? You can get it here.

6:30 am

Miss M still isn't asleep. She took a nap and then woke up at midnight, mad because her nose was stuffed up. She's been up since then, alternately fussing, playing, screaming in frustration, and almost dozing. Maybe she's teething.

720 Extra Days of Childhood

Seen at rivendellwis blog:

"What if you could give your child the ultimate gift? What would it be?" How about 720 Extra Days of Childhood? Read more at Mozart and Mud Pies. A blog well worth reading. Good job, Ann L. Collins.

What I'm Reading Today

I ordered two books by Victoria Boutenko about raw foods, they arrived today and I've read both of them. I haven't done much else, it's a lazy, sit-around-and-try-to-stay-warm day.

I liked both books, especially Green for Life, which details the benefits of green smoothies and scientific logic for why they're good for you. For years, all the reading I've done in diet and nutrition has seemed to be pointing to one conclusion - that people do best on a diet of rabbit food. No matter which diet is glorified, if you really look at what the author is eating day to day, it's mostly salad. Sure, they may say you can eat cream, steak and cheese if you combine correctly, or you can eat lots of carbs if you stay away from animal products, or if you count fat grams, or if you stay away from sugar - but, when you look at their own real life diets, they're eating a lot of salad. My own conclusion was that, if you eat mostly rabbit food, it doesn't really matter what else you eat, you're going to be healthy.

As it turns out, my sarcastic conclusion wasn't far from the truth. Victoria Boutenko points out that chimps are closely related to humans, so much so, that we use them for scientific experiments to find cures for humans. But if we reverse our perspective and try drawing some conclusions about the best diet for people by looking at what chimps eat in the wild, we might prevent the diseases we're trying to cure. And chimps eat a LOT of rabbit food. They eat almost half fruit, a third leaves, and the rest is insects and other stuff. Her conclusion is that humans should be eating a whole lot of fruit, almost as many greens, and only a little bit of everything else. But our bodies are so out of balance that we've lost our natural taste for greens. The solution: blend them with sweet, delicious fruits in a green smoothie! She notes an experiment she was a part of where volunteers drank a quart of green smoothies every day for a month. She made the smoothies and delivered them to a central location where participants would pick them up. They continued their usual diet, but added a quart of green smoothies each day. The book lists all the symptoms they saw improvement in after a month, and it was everything from bad digestion to allergies, and fatigue and warts in between. It sounds like a typical miracle cure, but I do think there's something to it, if only because every other diet that works seems to point to greens as a necessary portion (if not the base) of a healthy diet, although that's never the part of the diet they advertise.

She goes into hydrochloric acid and acid/alkaline balance, which I think is a more plausible explanation for why raw foods work than the live enzyme theory.

More reading: I found an interesting question about John Locke, and Charlotte Mason's conclusion that he was partially responsible for the terrors of French Revolution on one of the blogs I regularly check, CM, Children and Lots of Grace. I've printed it out and I'm off to read it now; I hope to gain some understanding.

Thanksgiving Evening

We had a wonderful day. I spent most of yesterday and then all day today in the kitchen. We're not very fussy, we don't have exotic tastes, so everything we make is just plain old-fashioned traditional Thanksgiving fare - roasted turkey, plain old bread stuffing like my mother always made (she says she got her recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook), mashed potatoes, frozen corn, carrots with tarragon and butter, canned sweet potatoes with butter and maple syrup, jellied cranberry sauce from a can, gravy from a jar and a dark green salad. Everything came out great!

What did I eat? Salad and a wonderful, creamy soup I made by putting three plum tomatoes, an avocado, and a teaspoon of salt in the blender. It looked like a little bowl of refried beans, but it was delicious! Nice and salty. I've been craving tomato soup or spaghetti sauce lately. I really need to go online and find a thick, tomato-ey raw soup recipe, but this worked for today.

The pecan pie was really good, rich, sweet and decadent like real pecan pie. And you feel about the same afterwards - like you ate too much rich, dense dessert. The rest of the family had pumpkin pie (baked from frozen) or apple pie (Walmart) with Cool Whip.

After dinner, I read aloud while the guys cleaned up. :) Food for the mind as well as the body! I read an article I'd printed out days ago that I found from The Common Room and Dewey's Treehouse. It's called The Image Culture, and is about the various aspects of visual images replacing the printed word. It articulated what I've suspected all along about Power Point - that it allows people who have nothing to say, to say it with polish.

One message board I visit asked everyone to name five things they're thankful for, and here were my five:
--My family, and the opportunity to be a Mom; a husband who really loves me, values family, and doesn't mind helping out
--A comfortable home and enough to eat
--The freedom to adhere to what I believe is true, read what I choose, say what I think, homeschool my kids if I want
--the wonderful women I work with in the Ambleside Online project who are more than intelligent, they're also role models for everything I aspire to be
--The best friends I've ever had, who I met since moving here (one is an online friend, but I still met her since I've lived here) For someone as reserved as I am, who doesn't make close friends easily, this is truly a blessing and a source of amazement to me.

It's hard to stop at just five!

Pie and Cookie

This is the raw pecan pie; it's in a little pan about the size of a tea saucer. The little bit I tasted was very sweet. Pulverized nuts and dates - what's not to like?

And I baked chocolate chip cookies, I used the recipe from Marilu Henner's book Total Health Makeover book , it's a bit healthier than most. And Miss M sampled one - her first homemade cookie! Thus far, all of her cookies have been from the health food store. She loved it!

Raw Eggnog

I'm trying to be better on my raw diet, and I've decided to stick to raw foods, if I can, for Thanksgiving. I've been feeling pretty good this week sticking more (yet not religiously) to the diet, and I don't want to get back to cheating a lot and then dealing with the cravings again.

One thing I really want, though, is eggnog. I found a recipe on my favorite raw foods message board, and I altered it (it called for almond milk, but that sounded like too much work) so I used sunflower seeds and water instead. And I didn't have any cardamon, so I left it out. What does cardamon taste like, anyway? To me, it's the nutmeg that makes it eggnog. It was brown from the sunflower seeds and vanilla--it looked more like creamy hot chocolate. But it tasted very good!

I'm going to make a small serving of raw pecan pie, too (mostly pecans and dates, much of it pureed in a food processor). The rest of the family is having a normal Thanksgiving turkey dinner.

Eggnog, 1 serving

1/4 c sunflower seeds (raw, of course!)
1 c water
2 medjool dates (no pits)
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1 t vanilla
half a dash sea salt

Run it all through the blender until smooth.

-------------------------------

I'm editing this out of guilt. ;)

The Common Room posted that I have "some raw food recips for Thanksgiving!" But all I have is the one piddly little eggnog recipe. So, here's a link to a whole page of holiday recipes from my favorite raw food message board.

And here's the raw pecan pie that I'll be making. This is just half the recipe; there will be a traditional apple and pumpkin pie, too, so this will be just for one person - me! This is from Alissa Cohen's book, Living on Live Food.

Crust - Blend fine in food processor:
--1 cup pecans
Add and blend some more:
--1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
--1/4 cup pitted dates
--1/16 teaspoon vanilla (a pinch? smidgen?)
Press into dish. Fill with filling:

Filling - Blend fine in food processor:
--1/4 cup pecans
Add and blend more:
--3/4 cup pitted dates
--3 Tablespoons unpasteurized honey
--1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
--1/4 cup raw cashews
--1/4 cup water

Garnish with:
--1/2 cup walnuts


There. I feel better now. :)

BTW, for anyone considering a raw diet, I can recommend Alissa Cohen's DVD (it really helps to actually hear her explaining how it all works, and see her making some of the food) and/or Carol Alt's book Living in the Raw (check your library). They both make it seem do-able even for a beginner and give tips for going from theory to practical application.

Need a Monkey

For years, the boys have had fun making up ridiculous things that their imaginary chimpanzee, Gibber, does. Gibber doesn't like monkeys, he calls them "swabs" (I have no idea what he means by that), but I think he'd appreciate this anyway.

Why Our SWAT Team Needs A Monkey

New Bibs

Miss M needed new bibs; she likes to pull them her bib when she thinks she's done with it, which is always after she's done with the business of eating, and ready to play with her food. And that's when she really when she needs it most. All the bibs I see at Walmart and other places are velcro or pull-on with a stretchy neck, and she can pull those right off. So I made some out of an old towel, and sewed the trim and ties on, made from scraps of the tunics we made for the boys to wear when they go to the Narnia movie in costume. She can't get this one off! It's big enough to cover everything, and she has three of them, all free! Yay!

Interesting Observations

This evening, we watched West Side Story for the first time. After years of resisting our rules about play-fighting and shooting, one son said he didn't enjoy the movie because it was too violent, there was too much fighting.

And, during the movie, Miss M picked up a particular stick that all of the boys have never been able to resist using as a play weapon over the years, and tried to brush her hair with it.

There must be some scientific conclusion that can be drawn from these incidents, but I'm not quite sure what.

Burning

A pine needle hung above the fire
Sweating in the blazing heat
Then leapt, engulfed in short-lived spire
Of living flame. It curled and hissed—
Became a coiling, writhing snake,
An ashen serpent breathing smoke,
A memory of the ancient drake—
A twisted glede of glowing wire—
Till, burnt by its own flame, it broke
And lifeless fell into the pyre.
When all the flames had died away
And fire had quench'd its burning lust
There nothing of the snake remained
But lightless, shapeless, lifeless dust.

Does this offend you?

Why is this picture being removed as offensive? Buried Treasure Books has a blog entry that explains.

The Headmistress at The Common Room (which is where I found this bit of news) has some comments about it here.

I've always loved this painting, so I was happy to share it here.

Imagine

I'm watching my sons play with their Lego, and it got me thinking. Imagine if Charlotte Mason were here today and could see the toys available today. Plastic, lots of colors, such variety! In her day, children had fewer toys and mostly wood, I think. I wonder if she'd be distressed at the number of toys my children have? Which toys would she recommend for children?

Imagine if she could see the kinds of things children are into today - the twaddly books, Disney movies, video games, Saturday morning cartoons, educational software. I imagine she'd be horrified.

Imagine Charlotte Mason alive today, seeing the state education has come to, and the re-discovery of her methods.

Imagine Charlotte Mason alive today - and blogging! LOL!

Miss M and Friend

I took a camera to piano lessons yesterday to take some pictures while waiting for the boys to finish their lessons.

The pictures are gone, but here's all the guys:

Norms and Nobility

The Headmistress at The Common Room posted her personal notes to Norms and Nobility, a book about education by David Hicks. In her notes, she writes that learning happens somewhere between what we already know how to do, and what we can't do yet. It's not easy being asked to do what we can't do, but if it's never asked of us, how will we ever progress beyond where we are? Teachers need to challenge students to do what they don't think they can because it seems too hard. That's how we learn. Wise teachers challenge students to demand more of themselves. But it isn't just teachers who ask this of students. If we, as parents, want to learn and grow beyond where we are, we have to ask it of ourselves. [Yes, I re-wrote it in my own words. In fact, her notes were so good that I rewote the whole thing in my own words. That's the way I seem to "get it" best, by breaking things down into little bitty words and short, elementary-school level sentences. :) ]

That's just a small part of everything she posted. If you want to be inspired and challenged as a homeschool teacher, you can read the rest for yourself here. Norms and Nobility is on my list of books that I hope to read someday.

Raising Your Spirited Child part 5 of 5

The last section is barely worth posting about. It's just two pages (one sheet of paper printed back and front) kind of summing up and encouraging parents to take heart (as I remember; I seem to have misplaced my book!)

I also wrote about Positive Discipline for Preschoolers here.

Raising Your Spirited Child Part 4 (of 5)

Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

Part 4 - Socializing with Spirit

That's clever, how each Part begins with "___ with Spirit." But I'm getting tired of it. ;)

This section has tons of practical help for helping a spirited child succeed in public - at Grandma's for Thanksgiving, at the playground, on vacation. I've never thought of any of my kids as especially spirited, but I can see how some of the situations and suggestions apply to us. A lot of the tips read as if they came straight from Jane Nelsen's book Positive Parenting. There are many of the same tactics, and I would recommend the book if you're looking for creative solutions to working through behavioral problems.

Sprited children don't always know they're being socially ill-mannered when they talk too loud, express emotions too forcefully, or infringe on other people's personal space by getting too close. They need help identifying boundaries and proper behavior, and then doing it. There are specific suggestions for learning to share, handle teasing, and resolving conflict with words instead of physical fighting.

On vacations, it's best to have realistic expectation and plan well. Holidays and vacations can be stressful in themselves, so we're stressed when our spirited kids need us most. They may be expected to wear uncomfortable dress clothes, sleep in unfamiliar places, deal with crowds, and eat new foods. It helps to plan less activities so there's more time for down time. Children may need very specific instructions on how to enter a room and politely greet everyone. They may also need to practice receiving gifts so that they respond appropriately if they get overly-excited, or if they're disappointed.

School can be a great experience, or a disaster. Use your power of choice to select the best schooling option, whether it be a particular school in the county, a private school, or homeschool. Find a classroom that fits your child, the place where he will be treasured for being himself. Share what your child is like with the teacher. Tips are given about how to effectively communicate with your child's teacher.

Raising Your Spirited Child part 3 (of 5)

Part 3 - Living with Spirit

Part 2 is here
Part 1 is here

By planning for success, situations with potential for disaster can be avoided or reworked so that everyone is smiling by the end of it. Grocery shopping might be done with both parents, so that one shops while the other takes the kids around the store doing fun tasks or games. Difficult situations can be broken down to isolate where the greatest source of trouble or frustration is, and adjustement can be made - if choosing the day's outfit is an issue, maybe that can be done the night before when there's no rush or pressure. If making transitions is the problem, plan a way to ease them and give the child time to adapt. Be aware of environmental settings - if dinner at a restaurant is out, maybe an outdoor picnic would work. Bring along toys if that helps.

Sleep is also adressed with tips for each temperament type, but the main point here is to do what works and what keeps everyone happy, not what relatives or neighbors think is acceptable. Most spirited children need help to soothe them to sleep. A routine, calming activities, and a warning time to wind down and give closure to the day can help.

Mealtimes can be especially challenging with a spirited child. Thay can be intense about their tastes, and how they prefer to eat. As a parent, your job is to offer healthy food instead of junk. It's your child's job to choose from your limits. So keep good food well-stocked and appetizing, and keep junk out. That alone will prevent lots of hassles. Kids should be able to help themselves to snacks, so buy healthy snacks and make them self-serve. Each temperament type has a section of tips for succeeding at meals. Kids may not like a food, but they can learn to have manners and say, 'no thank you,' instead of, 'yuk!' There are more good specifics for avoiding mealtime hassles.

Dressing can create problems if kids are hyper-sensitive to things like seams, or easily distracted, or frustrated. A distraction-free place to dress, easy clothes, and some organization can help. There are pointers for shopping and choosing clothes that will encourage success.

Heard Frequently

"Nooneeyuh. Da Lion."

That's Miss M commenting when her brothers show her pictures from the upcoming Narnia movie.

Pictures of Autumn

I've made a gallery of fall photos. Some of them:

These seem to be some sort of seedpods. If you, my gentle reader, by hap know what this plant is, I would be grateful for the knowledge.

Raising Your Spirited Child Part 2 (of 5)

Part 1 is here

Part Two - Working With Spirit

Almost half the book is Part 2!

There's a chapter to help identify whether the child is introverted or extroverted. Where does his energy and refreshment come - from being with others, or from time alone? How much physical space does he need? Then parents identify their own energy source. Knowing this helps them work together.

Intensity - Parents need to learn to pick up cues from their child that warn of an impending crisis. Some children get stiff and jerky, some get impatient, some get louder or test the rules. Children also need to learn to recognize their own cues so they can take positive steps to avoid a meltdown. Parents can ask their child what they feel when they seem out of control, and help them find words for what's inside them. Children need to learn to put their feelings into words instead of lashing out physically. They learn by hearing it: "You seem to be feeling mad," or "you're upset, but you'll be okay." Then the child can learn to verbalize his feelings to himself: "I can be angry without hurting anyone," or "I'm feeling tense, I need to find a quiet place."

Parents should find out what calms their child. Some are soothed by relaxing in water, or creating jewelry, or patting play-doh, or reading, or with comic relief. Time out can be used to re-charge, not as punishment, but as a quiet place to regain self-control.

Spirited kids have big, intense feelings. If they're forced to deny those feelings or hide them, there will be problems. What they need is to learn positive ways of expressing them. They can learn to breathe through anger, take a break from frustration, or find a place to yell.

Persistent Children - Parents can decide which battles are worth fighting, especially if their child is overly persistent. Try to find opportunities to say yes when you can. Steps are given to help negotiate compromise for peace. What rules absolutely aren't negotiable? A toddler needs an environment where most things aren't off-limits and they can do things for themselves without too much frustration. Tips are given for setting consequences of misbehavior, such as 'it's easier to take something away from a child, such as TV, than to make him do something, like vaccuum the living room.' Find the right balance between too much authoritarian control and too much chaos so that the household is peaceful.

Sensitivity - Some kids are sensitive to noise, or things touching them. Over-stimulation makes them difficult. Learn to read the cues before the child has a meltdown. Teach him to use descriptive words to tell you when he's uncomfortable. The stimulation of TV is bad for these kids. They zone out while watching, but overreact later.

Easily distracted or hyper-perceptive - Spirited kids can have keen senses, but they often have trouble sorting incoming information, so they become confused or distracted or zoned out. Find out how your child listens to you best - whether it helps to touch him, or write a note, sing your message. Get eye contact and keep your instructions simple. Instead of telling them what *not* to do, tell them what they *can* do: instead of 'don't go left,' say 'let's go right.' Don't break their concentration while they're doing a task by giving additional instructions or even praise.

Difficulty with change or transitions - Spirited kids have a hard time stopping one activity to go to another one (such as, ending play to eat lunch). Help them verbalize that they don't like the change. Establish a routine that they can count on. Allow time for them to mentally make the switch by giving them some warning a few minutes beforehand. Make a game of going to bed by pretending to 'walk to the moon' and go through the pretend steps of preparing to make the journey. This kind of game can win cooperation. Allow children time and space to be upset at unexpected change.

There are also tips on dealing with kids who are unpredictable in their schedule, energetic and unable to keep still, and moody.

Spirited kids have spill-over tantrums (meltdowns, or uncontrolled emotional outbursts) that show up in infancy, before they're old enough to be manipulative. Find the triggers: are there peak times, cerain places or situations that cause them? In the midst of a tantrum, different things work for different kids. But most kids need you to stay close to help them through it, may need your guidance to tell them when to stop, and might need you to put things into words to help them sort out their emotions. Be kind but firm, don't give in. Adding a spanking to an already charged situation rarely helps. If tantrums are making you dislike your child, get professional counseling.

Tag -- I'm it.

Camille tagged me!! The rules are:

1. Search your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (this is meant to say something about you).
4. Post that sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

-----------------------------------------

The truth is, I was tagged before to do this. But my 23rd post was results of our end-of-term exam, so my fifth sentence was an exam question ("What invention do you think most changed the world?") Maybe that makes me out to be a hard task master, always demanding that my poor overworked children manifest discernible results to validate my teaching effort?

So I'm re-doing my count, I'm taking my 23rd post after that post. Ah, this is more like it! I posted about the Ambleside Online conference that I'd just come home from. What a wonderful memory that was! But there are only two sentences, I was nnouncing a new photo page I'd set up about the conference. The closest thing to a fifth sentence would be the second sentence: "Let me know what you think -- leave me a comment!"

Yep, that sounds like me! Always second-guessing, wondering what everyone else thinks, needing some feedback to justify my existence! LOL!

I already tagged five people, and I don't really know anybody else who's been blogging long enough to have 23 posts.

The care and feeding of "winter skin"

Help for dry skin, posted at Our Blue Castle. I think the most important one for me is drinking more.

From Amy's blog:

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Your personality type is RLUEI

You are reserved, moderately moody, moderately organized, egocentric, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.

The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Richmond, Denver, Providence, Louisville, Washington DC, Austin, Harrisburg, San Antonio, Baltimore, Indianapolis and these international countries/regions Bulgaria, Canada, Brazil, Poland, Finland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Hungary, Germany, France, Argentina, Portugal, Thailand, Switzerland, Spain, Russia

What Places In The World Match Your Personality?
City Reviews at CityCulture.org

Little Hand

Raising Your Spirited Child Part 1 (of 5)

Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

I'm going to quickly go through what's in this book. I don't want to give away so much that you don't need to read the book yourself, but, hopefully, if you have a Spirited Child, having a taste of what's in this book will convince you that it's just the book you need. :)

Part 1 - Understanding Spirit

Spirited kids are more intense, more persistent, more sensitive than other kids. "On the good days, being the parent of a spirited child is astounding, dumbfounding, wonderful, funny, interesting, and interspersed with moments of brilliance. The dreadful days are another story. On those days, you're not sure you can face another 24 hours with him. It's hard to feel good at parenting when you can't even get his socks on, when every word you've said to him has been a reprimand, when the innocent act of serving tuna casserole instead of the expected tacos incites a riot, when you realize you've left more public places in a huff with your child in five years than most parents do in a lifetime. You feel weary, drained, and much too old for this even if you were only in your twenties when your child was born. It's hard to love a kid who keeps you up at night and embarrasses you in shopping centers."

Then follows a list of nine characteristics that spirited kids often have - intensity, persistence, sensitivity, etc. Parents didn't cause their kids to be spirited, and they aren't alone. Spirited kids often grow up to use their intensity creatively.

The first step is changing the way spirited kids are labelled. It's much easier for us mentally to deal with a child who's "flexible," "assertive" and "curious" - rather than one who's "unpredictable," "stubborn," and "nosy." And positive labels help the child to focus on his strengths, rather than feel discouraged as a failure who has nothing but faults.

Is hyper-sensitivity a problem? Is your child unable to adapt, or very perceptive? There's a chapter to help parents determine which specific character traits/temperament types apply to their particular child. There's also a chapter to help parents figure out their own type, and see how it "fits" with their child. That can help you find working solutionsl and establish boundaries based on your specific case and comfort level.

Finished Dorian Gray

It ended exactly like I knew it would. Really, there's only one possible way it could end. But I don't want to say too much and give anything away. ;)

It did get me thinking, though, about our influence on others. Do we inspire those around us to be better people, to take the high road, to feel good about making right choices? Or do we try to make them our partners in crime, encourage our friends to say things they shouldn't, feel justified for the wrong things, or involve themselves in things they wouldn't normally? Are our intimates and acquaintances better people for knowing us? It's an interesting thought, although I don't think there are many of us who have the kind of power or sway over others to influence them as much as was in the book.

What does influence have to do with a book about a painting? Read it and find out!

Next on my list: a whirlwind skim through Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka (I originally got it to read with a friend who isn't going to have time for it), and then a book about Maria Montessori, which I'll be summarizing as I go.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

I'm hesitant to post much because of spoilers. So I won't say much. I think I can say it all in three words: "Worse, and worse!"

I remember my mother saw the movie at some point in her life and it must have made an impression on her because she told all of us kids about it. She used to tell us the storyline of movies we couldn't see. She recounted the entire 'Poseidon Adventure' movie after she saw it in the theater because it was rated PG and we weren't allowed to see it. And she told us the story of The Monkey's Paw. She was narrating before Charlotte Mason became popular! LOL!

I'm in the middle of chapter 14. I've just taken a quick peek at sparksnotes.com, I'll probably take a closer look after I finish the book. I wanted to see if the book that fascinated Dorian Gray so much is a real book, and it appears that it is. Dorian Gray is a fascinating study of the results of choices that we make, and the potential, as Charlotte Mason said, for both good and evil in each of us. Dorian Gray could have gone either way, he had a few golden opportunities to turn his life around, and chose not to. I see a bleak future ahead for him, and a tragic ending to the story. Kinda like watching a train wreck.

My name is Toddler

Athena in a Minivan's Weblog posted some TODDLER LAWS OF OWNERSHIP. I was going to leave a comment, but she installed a new system where you have to type in coded numbers and I can't view them from Mozilla! I even tried the "view image" button, but instead of opening a new window like it usually does, it opened the image in the same window. So then I was able to see the numbers, but the page was gone.

LOL! I don't know what the event of distinction was for which her Baby became Toddler, but Miss M just had her second birthday; maybe she should cease being Baby and be henceforth known as Toddler, too! The laws certainly seem to apply!

Stuffing Rice

This is a crockpot recipe that I, uncook though I am, actually made up myself!

Actually, I just converted my Thanksgiving stuffing recipe so I could eat wheat-free stuffing last year, but everyone else in the family liked it, so I've started making it regularly in the crock pot.

Saute:
1 minced onion
1 stick butter, margarine or oil

Add:
chicken, diced (I used 1 chicken breast)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Throw in the crockpot with:
1 1/2 cups brown rice
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water

Stir and cook on high 4-5 hours. It takes a LONG time for brown rice to cook in a crock pot.

A Moment of Our Day

Miss M is running up and down right now singing "Defer, defer, to the Lord High Exutioner!" at the top of her lungs (the right tune too). Brother J has just gotten out of his heavy PVC mail hauberk (which he had on for hours) and is helping our mom make dinner while I read Beowulf aloud.

"Lo, so may he say who sooth and right
follows ’mid folk, of far times mindful,
a land-warden old, that this earl belongs
to the better breed! So, borne aloft,
thy fame must fly, O friend my Beowulf,
far and wide o’er folksteads many."

Prophetic, Hrothgar. Prophetic.

What I'm Reading

I started The Picture of Dorian Gray last night. Oscar Wilde casually adds in a lot of his own opinionated comments that make it really interesting, but also make it a book you can't speed through.

My copy is a Barnes and Noble Collector's Library edition. I love them! They're small enough to be comfortable to hold, hardback so they have a solid feel, and the print is large and easy on the eyes. I hope to someday have the complete collection!

Making for Dinner

These are from the Narnia cookbook. I listed the ingredients and simplified the instructions, and I've tweaked the soup to make it easier--I'm not making my own broth, just using bouillion and adding chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. I have no idea how to spell bouillion. Yes, I could get up and look on the jar, but I'm too lazy. :)

Oatcakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Sift together:
2 c flour (we used a quarter whole wheat, the rest unbleached)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Rub in with fingers (I used a mixer instead):
6 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons oil (instead of shortening)

Mix in:
2 c rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 c sugar

Add:
1/4 c milk (we used soy milk)

Knead until it holds together, roll out to 1/4 inch thick, cut into small rounds. Bake 10 minutes until they just begin to brown. Makes 36 oatcakes.

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Cock-a-Leekie Soup

1 bunch leeks, diced (3 or 4 large leeks, less than a pound) cut off green tops, wash well to remove sand
1 pkg chicken (trying 2 chicken breasts) cut into pieces
1/2 c quick-cooking brown rice
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
12 pitted prunes
8 c chicken broth (trying vegetable bouillion)
parsley to garnish

Cook on high in crock pot for 4-5 hours

Edited to add our results:
The oatcakes were wonderful! Light yet hearty, just the right touch of soft sweetness without being overly sweet. Using oil (no trans fat!) instead of shortening worked fine.

The soup was good, too. Using chicken breasts instead of juicier dark meat was fine, and the soup isn't as fatty. It was too salty, though - I think that, if I use bouillion, I need to omit the salt. And Tim says it could have used a pinch of powdered cloves, which we apparently added last time.

New Favorite

Miss M's new favorite book: The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. She got it for her birthday and has been asking me to read it over and over ever since. She asks for 'tewwit seed" and she laughs at each page as everybody tells the little boy that his carrot seed won't come up. It must be two-year-old humor?

Brother L's Beowulf Character

You scored as The Dragon. Ancient, chaotic, and a bit mysterious is the Dragon figure. Awakened from your happy slumber upon a pile of gold, you go about the country slaying its occupants. Beowulf manages to kill you, but not before you ensure his death. Congrats. The Dragon 75% Grendel 50% Wiglaf 50% Hrothgar 42% Wealhtheow 25% Beowulf 25% Grendel's Mother 0% If You Were in Beowulf... created with QuizFarm.com

The Beowulf Quiz

You scored as Grendel. Anti-social and cruel, you are Grendel. When the Danes started having a little too much fun in their fancy-pants Golden Hall, you decided to take them down a few notches by killing bunches of them...and yes, eating them. Some upstart Geat named Beowulf rips off your arm, though, and you slink off to die alone. Grendel 75% The Dragon 67% Hrothgar 67% Wealhtheow 50% Beowulf 50% Wiglaf 33% Grendel's Mother 33% If You Were in Beowulf... created with QuizFarm.com

GRRRRR!!!

If I Were In Beowulf...

You scored as Wiglaf. Loyal and brave in your own right, you are Wiglaf, one of Beowulf's Geats. You are the only one of Beowulf's hand-picked troop who stood by his Lord's side as he faced the dragon. After Beowulf's death, you rebuke those who fled when they were needed most. Wiglaf 67% The Dragon 67% Grendel 58% Beowulf 58% Wealhtheow 50% Hrothgar 42% Grendel's Mother 25% If You Were in Beowulf... created with QuizFarm.com

Staying healthy

From I Have to Say - herbal health remedies for avoiding viruses this season.

Baby's Got Bible . . .

This was on a message board I frequent. It's a rap music video, very funny!
http://www.unc.edu/~shoyle/BigBibles.wmv

The New Doll

Miss M is enjoying being a little mother to her "l'il bay-bay." My sister gave us a toy high chair and cradle that her own girls had played with, and we brought those upstairs this evening. She knew exactly what to do with them! The cradle used to be mine, it was a Christmas present when I was a girl.

These are pictures are from just before she had a fit of frustration because the tray for the high chair won't stay up.

Miss M's Birthday!

I created a page to journal her second birthday. It has pictures from her whole day!

Narnia Feast

Periodically, the kids (my boys and their friend) like to do a Narnia Feast. They dress up in Medieval costumes and make medieval-type food, usually using some recipes from the Narnia Cookbook (we got it a couple years ago new, but it went out of print and used copies are now selling for $150!). The kids decided to schedule a feast for yesterday. This time, they did a lot of the planning, preparation and cooking. It was a little last minute, and we still hadn't decided which house to do it in by that morning, but it went off well, and was pronounced "the best Narnia Feast ever."

Boys with friend. (No, Anna Popplewell didn't come over; the face is superimposed to protect the identity of those who may wish to remain anonymous.)

The menu:

snack: oatcakes and oatmeal cookies with apple cider

First course: salad with herbs and olive oil/vinegar dressing
Second course: cock-a-leekie soup (chicken, leeks, prunes) in bread bowls (we used kaiser rolls)
Main course: meat pie (turkey, chicken, nuts, raisins), baked salmon, round loaves of bread
grape juice in pewter goblets

dessert: pumpkin pie, pecan pie, M&M's, hot chocolate and, of course, Turkish Delight!

The table

Something you don't see every day: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

The toddler costumes from different angles. (More on her page.)

Cockaleekie soup in a bread bowl

The pies, salad, salmon and bread

Turkish Delight

And here are the ingredients for the Turkish Delight that we made. It's like jellied, lightly flavored candy squares. We used the recipe from the Narnia Cookbook, but we didn't have the lemons it called for, so we used the juice of oranges instead. And it turned out to be the best Turkish Delight we've made to date!

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup hot water
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons fresh juice from an orange
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
about 1/2 cup 10x confectioner's sugar

Dissolve gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water.
Bring sugar and 1/2 cup hot water to a boil, add gelatin dissolved in water, simmer for 20 minutes. (The gelatin stinks during the simmering period.)
Cool for 10 minutes, add orange juice and lemon extract.
Pour into a pan (or tupperware) that's been rinsed with water and is still wet, but not dripping. Cover and chill overnight.
The next day, use a hot, wet knife to cut it into squares. Roll squares in a plate of confectioners sugar.

Turkish Delight absorbs the confectioners sugar, so you have to eat it soon after making it, or re-roll in more confectioners sugar. The sugar coating can turn into a soggy, sticky mess if you wait too long to serve it.
Re-rolled, it keeps for a long, long time. We had a tupperware of Turkish Delight in our refrigerator for two years before it started to show signs of mold.

Meat Pasty

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup lard or cold shortening
5 Tablespoons water

Mix first three ingredients. Cut in shortening, mix in water with a fork. Work the dough as little as possible. Chill one hour.

1/2 lb top round, minced or chopped in food processor
2 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes (to make 3/4 cup)
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 small onion, chopped (to make 1/4 cup)
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cover potatoes with boiling salted water, bring to a boil, simmer 10 seconds, then rinse with cold water.
Saute onion and garlic in butter.
Combine meat, potatoes, sauted onions, parsley. Salt and pepper.

Roll out pastry to 1/4 inch and cut out 4.5 inch circles. Brush edges with egg, add tightly-packed meat filling. Fold circles in half to close, press edges to seal. Poke steam holes.
Bake 10 minutes, reduce heat to 325 degrees, bake 30 minutes more.

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The Narnia movie is due to be released Dec 9, and we hope that Harper Collins will republish the Cookbook, maybe adding images from the movie.