We are home now and getting back into the swing of things but I hope to continue to journal the rest of our Florida trip.  We have one camera that is currently missing - and Hannah took her camera with her to a friend's house this evening...so I'll be adding pictures as I find them!

Island on the road....Day 4

Easter Sunday!

Yes, the tell tale red egg that signifies a visit from the Easter hare was spotted quickly as two boys emerged from the camper -

The red egg!

Hmmm...I think all that's missing is the Wolf suit

.

We had a nice breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, citrus fruit, bacon, and toasted crossiants.  This camping toaster is actually one of our favorite pieces of camping equipment.  It was a gift from my sister-in-law and family and I have to admit that we were skeptical at first but it works great!  One of the great things about camping is that you can bring special little items that can make a meal feel homey - like my sicilian orange spread. Yum!

I was a little worried about Easter clothes being presentable for Mass.  I had ironed everything, placed the clothes on hangers and then carefully spread them out on the beds of the pop-up under the bedding.  Once we arrived I could hang them up and I think we all managed to look pretty well for campers.

Easter 2010

Mass was beautiful at the Cathedral Basilica of St.Augustine.  After Mass the children all enjoyed their first ice-cream cone after our traditional lenten sugar fast.  And later that afternoon....we were on the beach!   The only thing that didn't get planned out so well was Easter dinner - hot dogs over the campfire.  Oh well, there were no complaints.

Island on the road....Day 3

Saturday was the last stretch of driving through North Carolina, South Carolina, and a bit of Georgia before we reached sunny Florida!  We were very grateful that the weather was pleasant and the children all traveled very well.  I passed the time getting ready for Easter morning in a pop-up camper.  I wasn't sure your typical Easter baskets would travel very well so instead I printed out some paper baskets from The Toymaker

I printed a bunny basket for each child.  For the girls I chose the pretty little egg basket from the same page and for the boys I picked put the Chocolate truck.  I printed them before we left, along with tape, scissors, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, and thread.  When I had all the baskets cut out I started making butterflies.

We rolled into the campground around 7:00pm.  We are pretty good at setting camp up quickly and we were all settled by bedtime.  The children were tired from traveling and went to sleep quickly.  I set up a little corner of the camper for Easter morning.

A surprise waiting for the children

But I know the big question on Aidan's mind as he difted off to sleep...would the Easter Hare find us in Florida??  We'll see!

Island on the road.....Day 2

Most of Friday was spent driving through Virginia.  As we got closer  to the mountains we appreciated the scenary as we've been watching the Waltons on DVD's from Netflix.  Hmm....we all wondered where Walton's mountain might have been.  We expected to get to Grandpa's house around 2:00pm.  But the GPS seems to calculate the arrival time based on the posted speed limits of the roads being traveled.  We all wondered how on earth these twisty curvy roads could be traveled at 55 mph by any vehicle let alone one pulling a pop-up camper.

As we watched the GPS add more and more minutes to our destination time we did enjoy the land of Christmas trees!  The boys were busy imagining which hills would be best to sleigh ride on.

Finally we get to Grandpa's!  We haven't seen Grandpa in over five years.  In honor of Good Friday we had a fish and chips dinner with hush puppies.   The beautiful smokey mountains were in the backdrop. 

We went to sleep to the sounds of peeping frogs and a babbling brook.  We were up the next morning and on the road again but we were all very happy that we got at least a brief visit with Grandpa.

Island on the road........destination St. Augustine, FL


We're ready!

All packed and ready to go!

Crossing Dingman's Bridge takes us out of New Jersey and into Pennslyvania.

Dingman's Bridge

The plan was to make it through Pennslyvania, Maryland, and West Virginia before stopping at a Virginia campground for the night.   But....before we made it out of PA we got the news that the campground in Virginia did not accept campers after 10:00pm.  We were not going to make it.    Ok plan "B" except that we did not have a plan "B".   That was the first insance that we were all glad Ed brought along his netbook.  We stopped at some point in West Virginia to find a hotel.

A family seeking shelter for the night - will there be room at the inn?

YES!  We found a hotel in West Virginia that included breakfast in the morning.  Next stop - North Carolina to see Grandpa.

We're almost ready.....

Well...sort of...there's still the actual business of getting everything into the pop-up camper but we are getting there.  I am trying not to dwell on what we will be missing here at home as we attempt to take our road trip in these last days of Holy Week.   I did recently purchase Lingua Angelica which has selections that are appropriate for Holy Thursday through Easter.  I also have The Beloved Son to play as well.  Of course I'll try to sneak in some of these selections between listening to stories on CD. We are well armed to battle the many hours of driving with  -

The Lightening Thief

Book 2 of this series we started on a different trip

and Book 3

These should be good for about 25 hours of driving time and just in case..we've got one more The Hobbit.

And speaking of being armed and ready, apparently Aidan has big plans for our trip to Florida, here are the items on his very own packing list -

Wallet

Tiger

Panther

(I think it is a leopard, I suspect Aidan thinks of him as his own personal Hobbes)

Wind up LED lanterns

Circle-a-word book

sketch pad

Glow-in-the-dark book

And last but not least.....

his turtle back pack

Upon examing the contents of the backpack this is what I found:

Aidan's alligator catching kit

Yes, Aidan plans to catch himself an alligator,  hence the need for a large carabineer and old clothesline.  The screwdriver is in case he loses the key to the alligator's cage.  The caution tape is in case the alligator escapes.  And of course the small tape measure is to measure his alligator. 

The other items are simply what any boy might need to enjoy any trip - a harmonica, cars, flashlights, pencil, and a phone.  After negotiations (as in Mama saying "No, you can not bring that") we decided that the broken flashlight and old hand held house phone would stay home.

Back to packing....

It is really feeling like Spring.  The temperatures have been so mild that we haven't had anything but a small fire in the woodstove for days.  The turtle has been spotted on his favorite log, the Spring peepers have been heard peeping, the coltsfoot has been spotted, and the robins are quarreling in the yard!

We are in full swing cleaning and getting ready for a big trip over Easter to Anastasia State Park.  But I  will be back for the opening of a new forum that will  help us Encourage One Another in this endeavor to parent and educate our children.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Although...when you have a bagpiper in the family it is more like Happy St. Patrick's Week!  The weekend before and the weekend after St. Patrick's Day are big parade days.   This year the first parade Hannah was scheduled for didn't go too well - after standing in the rain for 45 minutes the parade was cancelled due to the threat of wind.  But since everyone was there and assembled why not play a set or two?

Here's a nice shot of Hannah at the that appeared in a local paper.

But apparently - the police officers who were trying to reopen the road to traffic were...less than pleased...with the band taking matters into their own hands.  There are even  rumors that when the parade is rescheduled the band may not be invited back.     Good grief - where has the world's sense of humor gone?  Or how about a sense of adventure! Or spontaneity! 

A happy but soggy Piper!

Back at home we've been enjoying selections from A Pot O' Gold: A Treasury of Irish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, and (of Course) Blarney.  We especially liked the story of "St. Patrick and the Salmon" - I bet you didn't know it was St. Patrick who blessed the salmon with the ability to jump.  The story is that much more vivid to us having seen the salmon run this past fall on the Oswego river in NY.

I bought a corned beef at the supermarket - even after I read the label - I am now pretending I just didn't see the "ingredients" at all - in fact I guess I might as well pretend it was completely home cured from a cut of grass fed organic beef - I figure everyone's entitled to their own bit of blarney on St. Patrick's Day - right?

And we thought we made Irish Soda Bread but actually what Hannah made was two loaves of what might be called "Spotted Dog Cake" according to the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread.  I am scandalized that this lover of all things *authentic* did not catch onto this sooner.  Well now I know how not to embarrass myself at an Irish Feis if I ever dare enter a "Soda Bread"!

And I have been feeling a little blue lately, a little overwhelmed, a little well...lost.  I have three things that help ease my more melancholic episodes....a visit to the ocean....cleaning...and crafting.  No visit to the ocean but my husband's Explorer is "mostly" clean now and this little fellow has joined our  St. Patrick's Day Festival Table :

A wee Leprechaun

I see that he is missing his hat band - I'll have to fix that - and he needs a bit more curve to his hat - but overall I like him.  I was first inspired by this post at Wee Folk Art but lacking the wooden body piece I improvised with different colored roving I had on hand. 

And of course a post about St. Patrick's Day would not be complete without an Irish Blessing -

May those who love us love us.
And those who that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping!
--From A Pot O' Gold (the treasury mentioned above).

Maple Sugaring 2010

The torch has passed from older sister Hannah to younger sister Katie.  We put in our first taps around February 20th.  The ground was covered with quite a bit of snow leftover from our only impressive snowstorm of the winter season.  The first gathers of sap were not fun as the buckets of sap had to be lifted and carried above the snow.  But very soon the snow began to melt - when the trees are tapped you know spring is just around the corner.

Snow covered ground a few days ago.

Katie carrying heavy buckets.

But now the snow has disappeared and the rising tempatures at night mean that our sap flow may disappear as well.  The sap flow depends on the contrasting temperatures of below freezing at night to above freezing during the day.

Today

With the ten day forecast showing temps above freezing both day and night, Katie's first season of syruping may be rather short.  But she will have another try next year.  Katie is using any money she raises from syruping to help fund a trip to England with her orchestra in the summer of 2011. 

I never thought I'd be hoping for those colder temperatures to stick around for a little while but....we have a lot of people who are asking for our syrup!

The big 7th and 8th grade Winter project in our homeschool has become Maple Sugaring - this activity has tied into so many great topics in science, literature, business, art, marketing and more...  My oldest daughter in now a homeschool freshman, the project has been passed to her younger sister, but we found one more opportunity for Hannah.

A friend of mine teaches kindergarten in a local charter school and she invited Hannah to tell the children about her Maple Sugaring experience.  Hannah put together her presentation completely on her own - complete with props and drawings to help the younger children understand. 

Here is Hannah setting up for her presentation complete with a maple tree stump, and jars of sap and finished syrup.

She used the stump and a section of branch to explain how you can identify a maple in winter when you don't have their leaves for identification.

Here is the picture she used to help illustrate how the sap comes up from the roots to the higher branches.

She did a great job presenting the material in an age appropriate way.  She has had several years of experience with younger children - not only her younger siblings - but helping her Dad at a science and technology based summer camp as well.

Aidan and I had a weekend to ourselves and boy did he keep me busy!

We went to the library to stock up on books and pick out a movie.

We made lots of paper airplanes.
Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes

We made Carrot Cake to bring to the pot luck supper -

We went to Mass and the pot luck supper where we had a very nice chat with Fr. who joined us for dinner.

We made pancakes - well Aidan made the pancakes - all by himself.  "I can do it, Mom."   "Umm... Mom can you get me..."  "Mom...I need..." but really he did a great job.

We played many, many games of  Pictureka!  He beat me every time!

We played  Marbles.  Our kitty Curry wanted to play too but that didn't work out so well.

And so much more!  Whew -

"Today, the Mysterious Benedict Society's third full day of classes, S.Q.'s lesson had been called "Personal Hygiene:  Unavoidable Dangers and What Must Be Done to Avoid Them."  Like all the lessons at the Institute, this one was a barrage of details - pages and pages worth - but the gist was that sickness, like a hungry predator, lurked in every nook and cranny.  Every touchable surface was a disease waiting to happen, every speck of dust an allergen poised to swell your nose and clog your ducts, every toothbrush bristle a bacterial playground.  On and on it went, and all of it greatly exaggerated, Reynie thought, though not entirely untrue.  What made the lesson so confusing was the "logical confusion" S.Q. said must be drawn:  Because it was impossible, in the end, to protect yourself from anything - no matter how hard you tried - it was important to try as hard as you could to protect youself from everything."

- The Mysterious Benedict Society

New Year's Day Outdoor Hour

A place of wonder!

Van Campen's Glen

Mary Mother of God

"Mary had borne only one Son, the tiny Child she held in her arms, but he held in his love all that was, heaven and earth, angels and archangels, men and women and children, because he had made them and was their God, and so she, holding him, held them too.

-from "Saint Nicolas" a story for the Christmas season from The Lost Angel by Elizabeth Goudge.

All Things New

A new cousin!

A new calf!

A Happy New Year to fill with.....

New adventures, hopes, dreams....

Prayer and wonder!

Happy New Year!

Dolls and Boys

In any Waldorf Kindergarten there are generally plenty of soft bodied dolls to go around.  Even into first grade there is usaully a small corner in the classroom set aside for play including dolls.  My husband recalls how he always longed for a doll when he was a child - but a baby doll for a boy?  Not happening in his house but he did have a soft bodied Spiderman doll that he loved dearly.

I am glad that we have no problem allowing our boys access to doll play.  The boys don't often take an interest in the dolls - they are much too busy building, sword fighting, and generally rolling around and getting into trouble.  But every once in a while some little bit of inspiration strikes them and I find dolls in some curious places.  Like stuffed in the shark shaped back- pack.

"Uh Christian - did this shark eat the doll?"

"No Mama - the doll lives inside the shark and eats the meat."

Hmmm - we'll just put that in the *sorry I asked category*.

But other times you come across such scenes of sincere gentleness that I wonder if someone had snatched my son and left some other child in his place.  As was the case recently with youngest seven year old Aidan a couple of weeks ago.  It must have started with an offhand remark I made while "helping" the boys to clean up their room.  I happened to say "Oh we'll have to get all the dollies dressed for Christmas".  A couple of days later Aidan asked for the dolls clothes box and soon everyone was dressed and in their own beds.  We don't have a bed for every doll  but Aidan remembered that Katie had made hammocks for the dolls one day with a couple of our silks.

And then later that night all the dollies needed to be changed into jammies and tucked in for the night. 

Christmastide Outdoor Hour

Our snow is almost all gone now.

With our recent rain the Little Flatbrook (or is this the Big Flatbrook?) is rushing along.

No fish - but still fun trying.

Do you have a favorite tasty something that would make food editors the world over shudder with horror?

This is my favorite extra special holiday treat -

You take a bagel - a wonderful fresh bagel from your favorite bagel spot - lightly toasted - spread each side with a thin layer of cream cheese - adorn with wild caught smoked salmon - and add a baked potato patty - sheer culinary bliss!

Christmas Day Outdoor Hour

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter,

Long ago. 

 

-Christina Rossetti

 

 

 

Tree for the birds

One of our favorite traditions this time of year is putting up a tree on our deck for the birds.  We make simple birdseed ornaments to adorn the tree and the birds that come for the feast make the tree so much more beautiful - nature's own lovely winged ornaments.

We have a big alumimun pan filled with birdseed.  We have several heart and star shaped ornaments cut out of cardbooard and then threaded with yarn for a hanger.  Make sure you have your hangers on before adding the paste and birdseed  - I made that mistake once - only once.

To  make the paste mix equal parts of confectioner's sugar and flour in a bowl and then add enough water to make a not too thick - not too thin consistency.    Use a brush to paint the paste onto the cardboard ornaments and then bury the ornamants in the seed.  You can let them set a for a couple of minutes - but they are pretty much ready for the tree once they are covered in birdseed.

All ready for the birds!

The tree is enjoyed by all members of the family!

We usually get our tree for birds ready on the winter solstice but we're running a bit late this year!

Oh Christmas Tree!

This is probably the latest we have ever decorated our "inside" tree.  I  made a bit of a blunder - I had forgotten that last year I had purged nearly all of our Christmas lights.  The strands that were left would not light - I tried - I switched countless bulbs and little fuses to no avail.  Ed was out last night to take Hannah to bagpipe practice - yes - three days before Christmas and they still had practice - and offered to get me new lights (among all the other things he had on his list).

And he tried - he could tell which of the wide open empty shelves once displayed Christmas lights.  There was evidence of a stray little bulb here and there but aside from neon green and blue rope lights there was nothing. 

I am glad that we do have our candles for the tree and without the electric lights I might just summon up a bit more will to light the candles.  Usually we unplug the tree and try to light the candles on the Christmas tree each night of the 12 days of Christmas.  Some years this actually happens more times than others - this year I hope it will happen more often than not.

Maybe, just maybe, the children won't even miss the electric lights and I will never again lose an entire day plugging and unplugging wee little bulbs and rethreading burnt out ones.  One can only hope.

Even without lights the tree  still looks pretty.