Winter: Bring it on!

The last couple of summers I've tried to do something to improve my food storage. Two summers ago, I stocked up on dry goods such as wheat, beans, rice, etc. This summer, I've worked on improving my canning skills. I've felt very blessed since much of what I canned was free aside from labor and supplies. The family I gardened with provided apples, pears, tomatoes and beans. My sister and I bought and canned peaches. I borrowed a water bath canner from someone in my school district and the strainer came from freecycle (a total score!). The end of the story is I have over 150 pints of these fruits and vegetables ready for winter consumption. My pantry looks comfortably full. I'm very grateful to all the people who helped me accomplish this: (especially my mother who was always willing to answer my questions)

Pictastory: The Great Race and the Hike of Death

I loved growing up in the Bay Area because there were so many things to do. Yosemite, only three hours away, became a favorite. We've done day trips as well as camped. This particular trip happened the summer my sister and her husband were living with my parents.

Par for the course we did two fairly hefty hikes--one to North Dome which is directly across from Half dome and one to Upper Yosemite Falls. Considering how hot it was, we did pretty well on both. On top of North Dome, we enjoyed the view of Half Dome and took lots of pictures. Maybe it was a sign of heat stroke setting in, but I suggested that we take a panoramic picture of us having "a race." As you will notice, Mom soundly trounced us all. Also notice that my brother-in-law got sucked into the vortex otherwise he might have won. You'll have to click on the picture to really see it well. (ctrl+- will let you zoom in.)


The second hike was tough enough by itself without having hiked the other the day before. I've been on a few hikes where I felt like death was near and this was one of them. We were hiking in the full July sun with limited water so the six and a half mile round trip felt three times the distance. On the way back, we drank from the stream (not normally recommended) and dipped our head gear in the ice cold water (always recommended in hot weather). The view, however was amazing though maybe not something I would sacrifice my life for.

Our destination was just to the left of the top part of the falls:
Looks pretty peaceful, doesn't it:
At least until you see this:
It's really hard to image the amount of water plummeting down nor the velocity:

Won't you be my neighbor

I love that I get to live next to wonderful people. I was in the process of opening my classroom door this morning when my phone rang. It was my neighbor calling to find out if I meant to leave my garage door open. Of course I hadn't and she said she would run over and close it for me. This is the kind of thing that happens when I get super busy or stressed, so I'm glad to know I've got people watching my back.

Besides that, it's an opportunity to remember a great American who made a difference in my childhood. Thanks Mr. Rodgers for reminding us to be good neighbors!

Pictastory: In which I almost get kicked out of a museum

This actually isn't exactly a good Pictastory entry as I don't have a picture to go with the main idea. But that's precisely the point.

Back in nineteen ninety something my family took a trip out east and stopped in Washington, DC. My mom, sister and I spent part of the time in the National Gallery of Art. I remember gazing with reverence at paintings that I had studied in my college Humanities class. I wanted to document the experience by taking pictures. A near-by guard kindly explained that I was welcome to take pictures as long as the flash was off. He helpfully suggested that if I stood at an angle to the picture, I would likely not have a glare when I had them developed. (Yes, this was before digital cameras. Call me ancient!) I have a number of pictures of paintings I had either studied or just liked.

Fast forward almost ten years and I'm in the British National Gallery of Art. Based on my previous experience I have my digital camera ready to go and excited that I would be able to document the paintings I would see. Being the upstanding citizen that I am, I approached a museum employee/volunteer to verify that I could take pictures.

I still remember the look of absolute horror on her face. It was like I had offered her a plate of fried eyeballs--curry or sweet and sour? I slunk away completely embarrassed. How was I to know the British considered taking pictures of paintings akin to treason? Sheesh!

It hadn't helped that when we had visited the British Museum the day before I could take pictures of whatever I wanted. Like this copy of the Discus Thrower:

Or the Rosetta Stone (focus isn't that great):

Or how about sections of the Parthenon:


Feel free to takes pictures of any and all. Just don't point anything at a painting.

Story of a 7th grader

I don't know how many of my readers have ever been to the principal's office, but imagine this:

You are blissfully sitting in your 5th period class when you get called out of class and down to the main office. There are a number of other boys there, all 8th graders. You don't really know any of them, but they all seem to know each other. Some of them seem like the kind of kid your mother expressly warned you to keep away from. As each boy is called into and leaves the principal's office, some seem subdued and a little contrite. Others seem ready for vengeance. Then it's your turn.

The principal asks you why you have been bothering a particular teacher on your way to your 4th period class. You really don't know what to say. Half your brain is telling you to say it wasn't me and the other half is telling you he'll never believe you if you do. You manage to stammer out something about how you don't walk by that teacher's room to get to 4th period. The principal looks at you and asks if you're in 8th grade. You vigorously shake your head no. He asks you if you know the teacher. You say that you are in her first period. Sitting back, the principal cocks one eyebrow and says there must have been a mix up and lets you go. As you walk back to class, you wonder how your name appeared on this teacher's apparent "hit list."

Later that day, you ask this teacher if she has anyone else with your name in her classes. She looks at you quizzically and then claps her hand over her mouth. "Oh dear! You didn't get called down to the principal's office did you?" You nod in the affirmative. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed. There is another student with your name, but not in my class and not a 7th grader. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear." With her hands on both sides of her face and an anguished look in her eye she promises to clear up the misunderstanding with the principal.

When you get home, you tell your mom what happened and she begins to wonder about the sanity of this supposed teacher. About an hour after school the phone rings. It's the teacher expressing her concern and letting you know that the principal does now understand what happened. You wonder what the next day will have in store for you.

I'm guessing on a lot of details here, but if it didn't happen exactly like that, it's probably not too far off. You can probably guess which end of the story is actually mine.

Astounding Majesty

This last weekend I attended a religious conference in Astoria. A lot of things happened--interesting, fun, and sometimes sad events that made the weekend memorable. Rather than go into a lot of unimportant details, I wanted to focus on Saturday night.

That evening we had bonfires on the beach. The weather was perfect. Hardly a cloud in the sky to obscure the thousands of stars. Not even the fires could hide their numbers. It was clearly a blessing as the forecast had been for rain. Someone had brought a mini scope and I got to see Jupiter with it's moons. The Milky Way was a band across the sky and someone finally explained how to locate the North Star in a way I could understand. As I stood there looking up at the starry, starry night, I clearly felt that God was in his Heaven's and that He could see me down there on that beach. I could feel His love for me and was astounded at the way he was showing it. I'm grateful for that feeling. I'm glad He has shown us His love in so many ways; we just need to stop and recognize them.

Photo from http://www.compadre.org/informal/index.cfm?Issue=40 Credited to NASA.

Pictastory: Happy Birthday Munchkin!

I have the pleasure of living close enough to my sister and her family to see them fairly often. The result is that I have lots of pictures and videos of the kiddos. Since today is my niece's birthday, I thought I would post some of my favorite pics and movies beginning with the earliest. Enjoy!


Three Months: Baths are great!



Six Months: Roll over, Baby!




Six Months: Yep, you'll get lots of nutrients from that!


Six Months: Chug that rice cereal!


Six Months: Mom, is this what I'll look like when I grow up?


Eleven Months: Yeah, I can walk, sort of.





One Year: My First Cake


One Year: Grandpa, I love this slide thing.



One Year and Three Weeks: I love to accessorize!



Twenty-Two Months: Gotta get this cleaned up for Daddy's birthday!



Twenty-Two Months: Now lets see, yesterday I watered the tomatoes . . .


Twenty-Three Months: I love to help!



Twenty-Three Months: Leaf anyone?




Twenty-Three Months: Oma, that thing's kinda big.



Two years and Eight Months: Got Sand? I'll take it!


Two Years and Eight Months: Look Dad--the rock splashed!


Two Years and Eight Months: If I do it just right, maybe it will go in.



Two Years and Nine Months: Just chillin'


Two Years and Nine Months: Posing with Great-Grandma



Two Years and Nine Months: Daddy's lap is the best!


Two Years and Nine Months: Impromptu Swim in Zion



Two Years and Nine Months: Clue to what's happening here-- "I don't think we should keep daisies in the garden. They really are drab little flowers."


Two Years, Eleven Months: Pure Happiness!

I love you sweetie!

Adventures in Quilting: My Niece's Quilt

My sister had been talking about making a quilt for my niece for almost a year. I started looking for patters and sending her links to check out. Finally, we decided to design our own using a Spinning Star block. We picked out fabric last Christmas and I took it home to cut the pieces. My sister started sewing it together, but as I am more fastidious, I took over to make sure the points all matched. As it was, this turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. The orange diagonal lines were killer hard, especially since we don't have a walking foot. In other words, don't look closely at all. I had it on the frame for about a month, and finished the last stitching around the border the week my sister was down visiting--the last time I would see her before my niece's birthday. So here it is:

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear

The beginning of the school year came rather suddenly this time around. I had more than a week of paid school time before the kids arrived, but it still felt very sudden when the little guys showed up last Wednesday. But I've made it through the first three days of school, though I'm tired and slightly overwhelmed. There are still a lot of changes to be made in student schedules since they're condensing my three Language Arts Enhancement classes into two and spreading out my three Language Arts classes into four. And I still don't have my disclosure document/syllabus done--in fact I haven't even opened it yet. But my room is mostly finished.

After making such a big deal about my quick classroom paint job, I figured I better show it off. Here is my classroom as of Friday after school. There are a few more things I want to do (like put up the fabric that caused me to paint), but otherwise, it's set.


Don't be fooled by the spacious feel, however. It's not as big as it appears. In fact, the desks are rather crowded. Just like the last two years, I have them in groups of four with a couple groups of five. Unlike the last two years, I have all the desks facing foward rather than have the front two of each group facing each other. In many ways I like it better this way. My students, on the other hand, aren't always so fond of it. Who ever sits in the front left desk (from the teacher perspective) is literally boxed in. They have to physically move the desk to be able to sit down. I've just been telling the kids it's good exercise. Whatever Ms. B.

Pictastory: In which I stumble upon something famous

This week's Pictastory goes back to 2002. That summer, my mom, her mom, and I went to England for two and a half weeks to do family history research. We didn't spend the whole time looking at old wills, however. We spent a few days in London and one in Stratford-Upon-Avon before heading off to North Hampton to begin the real work. From there we went to other counties and other records offices. We got to the point where we couldn't see any more immediate genealogy work to do so while my mom and grandma looked through some more film (film readers make me sea sick) I checked out the local library for possible tourist destinations. I was leafing through a book on the near-by Peak District, when I came across a picture similar to this one:
I thought, hmmm . . . could it be? No. Maybe? Well . . . maybe we should check it out. Without revealing my suspicion to my mom, I suggested we go see Lyme House in the Peak District. They both agreed and off we went. Try as I might, I couldn't keep my exceitment to my self, so when we stopped at an Tourist information place (why, I don't remember), I showed my mom a leaflet on the house and told her it's significance. She was as excited as I was.

We made it there and enjoyed touring the grounds and learning about the family who had owned the land and house. The house itself was closed that day so we didn't get to go in, but it was fun to find all the significant spots on the grounds. See if you can recognize these locations:

Location #1

Location #2
Location #3
Afterward, we continued to drive through the Peak District and followed the signs to this place:


It's not as recognizable from this side since the movie (a newer version of the same story as the one above) that used it filmed everything from within the park. We got there just before closing time so it wasn't worth paying the x number of pounds to see it for five minutes. Even though we didn't get to go inside, I still recognized it when I saw this version of the movie. It's rather ironic since in the book they do visit this place and yet in the movie it is used as his house.

Sorry to be so cryptic, but it's so much fun to see if people can guess. Have fun!

Early American Battle Tactics

It's probably apparent that I like alluding to things (usually movies) and seeing if anyone can figure it out. On occasion, however, I like alluding to things that my audience will not only never figure out, but also never notice that I've slipped something in.

Case in point: My letter to my new students.

In this letter I included some information about what books I am reading and what I like to do in my spare time. Can anyone figure out what I am subtly alluding to that none of my students will ever notice or figure out?

In my spare time, I enjoy reading all sorts of books. Right now I am reading a book about early American battle tactics and recently finished one about a teenage super-spy. I enjoy keeping up a blog so that my friends and family know what’s happening in my life. When I’m not writing blog entries, I like to quilt and play ultimate frisbee both of which are great ways to unwind. I also enjoy writing poetry and reading friends and family member’s blogs.

Pictastory: The day I fixed the dishwasher

Since it takes me almost a whole week to generate enough dishes to warrant using the dishwasher, I usually wash my dishes by hand. I still use the dish washer, but as the dish drainer. It holds a lot more and doesn't clutter the counter. I know previous roommates have had differing opinions on the process, but I like it.

There are time when there is justification for using this machine--as long as it is working. I don't remember what the occasion was, but some of my Utah roommates and I wanted to use the dishwasher and it wasn't working. The water would not drain from the bottom of the thing causing stinking standing water.

Not willing to pay someone else to fix it unless I absolutely had to, I undertook to figure it out myself. As you can see from the picture, I pulled out the washer and fiddled with the tubing underneath. I managed to unhook a bunch of things before discovering that the problem was a plastic tie that jammed the fan and could be removed without pulling the dishwasher out. Oh well. I'm guessing that the candles were there to alleviate the smell generated by standing water. Savvy, on the other hand, was no help at all. I tell you, cats these days!

It's a Wonderful Life

If you are a regular reader of this random blog, you will know that a couple of weeks ago my sister came down to visit and spent one afternoon and night at my place. (She stayed longer than that, but we all went to her in-laws place.) It's always wonderful to share my own space with someone, but especially with my sister and her kids.

After the initial hugs and kisses and moving things in, we all hopped in the car and went to visit the farm I farm-sat for. My niece had gotten to see all the pictures and videos when I posted them--if she drank all her milk for the day at least--and enjoyed them. It was even better in real life. We saw the baby goat who drank all her milk, the cows who make funny noises, the chickens and where they lay their eggs, the garden, the cats and dogs, and the pigs. (I never really talked about the pigs before because I didn't have to do anything for them since their food and water is automated.) We even picked black berries and beans--which were eaten on the spot--and tomatoes.

We headed home to dinner. My niece and nephew made short work of the living room and soon there were dominoes everywhere. They loved it. They got to take baths in Aunt Elizabeth's bath tub and climb/crawl up and down the stairs (it was my 10-month-old walking nephew's first experience with stairs he could use himself with supervision).

At some point in the evening, while my sister was doing something with the baby, my niece and I headed over to the small park in my development. The weather was perfect and had been all afternoon. As we were walking over, my niece said with complete awe in her voice, "This is a wonderful place." She said it a couple of times, actually.

I've thought a lot about that over the last few weeks. And it's true. I do live in a wonderful place. From her almost three-year-old perspective, it had been an amazing afternoon. I guess I had enjoyed it just as much as she did, but in my own way. It's just that in her innocent wisdom, she recognized what she had in all it's goodness and glory and said so. What an example!

So here I am, stating for the world that I live in a wonderful place. I have a wonderful life. I have more blessings than I can count and certainly more opportunities to serve than I take. The title probably doesn't count as an allusion since it's a title itself, but it is one of my favorite movies and illustrates the need to actively see and communicate the positive things in life.

Thanks to Jimmy Stewart and my niece for reminding me to see life in all it's wonderful glory.

Fastidious: excessively particular, critical, or demanding

Along with the new school year, a new principal, and a new curriculum, I am also getting a new classroom. You would think that I would be more concerned about the new Language Arts Enhancement class I will be teaching in addition to regular Language Arts, but no; it's all about color and walls.

In an effort to dress up my classroom, I have various blue and red patterned cloth swagged around the top of my classroom walls. I think it's fun and the star/solar system pattern works in nicely with our team's name: Stars.

My new classroom had two walls painted a very nice sea green; let me emphasize that correctly--a VERY NICE sea green. But sea green with a stars and stripes color scheme? I don't think so. I seriously lost sleep over the very thought.

The next morning I stopped by Home Depot for some color samples before heading to school to pack up books. On my way home for lunch, I picked up a nice light blue and with some help from a friend (Thanks Kristine!) I got a first coat on. Later that evening, the second coat went up and I was done for the week. It was my last week of summer vacation and I committed to stay away from school until my first contract day. Did I have a lot of work to do on curriculum? You bet! Did I do anything about it? No Way! But, my classroom will look great!

So here's the question: Does the title fit?

Oh where oh where have my dominoes gone?

No, I haven't lost my marbles, just the dominoes. My sister recently came to visit with my niece and nephew. They spent one night with me before we all headed down to her in-laws for the week. I don't have many kid toys--my collection includes one toy truck--so my sister pulled out the dominoes since they play with those at home, too. It was all good. My niece shared them with the cats hiding underneath the couch and made lines of them on the window seal. After the kids went down, my sister gathered them all up and put them away.

Later in the week, we ended up stopping by my house for dinner to break up the drive home from the beach. They pulled out the dominoes and had fun scattering them about. We ate quickly so we could be back for bed time.

The visit ended and I came back home where there were a few, but only a few, dominoes scattered around the house. I picked up a couple and went to put them in box, but the box was empty. Where were the dominoes? I looked under the couch where the cats had been hiding. I looked behind the chair where my niece had hidden once. I couldn't find them anywhere.

I continued on with my chores which included remaking the bed in the sewing room. There I saw this:
My niece had put the majority of the dominoes into the wooded basket (a gift from my brother and sister-in-law) and put it under the sewing desk.
The irony is that they were in the same place I found my missing box. From now on, I think I'm going to look under the sewing desk when I can't find something.

Pictastory: Cat in a Box

My cats are pretty silly which is a good thing considering how often I have to take cat hair out of my eye or clean up a hairball off the carpet. One of their antics is that they love getting into boxes, bags, baskets, anything that is small and confined. I bought them cute little cat tents and fluffy liners for boxes, but they seem to prefer the straight up box and one that's not intended for them. Most recently, Sambo decided to hang out in the empty pint jar box while I was working on tomatoes. Here's Savvy in a bag:

Sambo and Savvy hanging out in baskets:
And Sambo, hiding out in an empty water bottle box with the plastic still on.Thank goodness for the laughs!

Beans, Tomates, and Peaches

Between the two gardens I "sat" for I was able to pick enough beans to can almost two dozen pints. Now I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but for my first time canning by myself, I'm satisfied. I grew up helping my mom can doing things like snapping beans, pealing and cutting pears and peaches, juicing tomatoes, etc. What I didn't help with was the actual processing part. So when I got ready to can this summer, I had no problem with this part:
I watched Jane Eyre while I snapped beans. It brought back many childhood memories. When I got to this part:I was glued to the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. I did everything it said to. I started out with a small pressure cooker which holds three pints, but eventually made it to my large one that will hold seven pints. I had never used the large pressure cooker before and was a little nervous about it. Eventually, however I made it here:

I did have almost 5 pints NOT seal which was discouraging, but my rate of success did increase as I went along.

After the beans, I also juiced tomatoes to make juice and canned some whole ones for sauces. Through Freecycle, I picked up a juicer that had hardly been used. I couldn't believe my luck. I first used it to de-seed raspberries (see picture), but later used it to juice the tomatoes. I keep trying to get a water bath canner or a steam canner on Freecycle as well, but no luck yet. I was able to borrow a water bath canner until I can find one in my price range (i.e. free).
Next I canned peaches with my sister and her mother-in-law. My goal was to do those on my own also, but whose to argue when people want to help.

My next project is pears which are currently sitting in my fridge for the recommended time. My goal is to take them out of the fridge to let them ripen so that they are ready to can on Labor Day. Good luck to me on that one.

At the end of it all, no matter how many jars seal or don't seal (by the way, everything I've water bathed has sealed), I've learned something new this summer. It's exciting, refreshing, and a great boost to my self-esteem. If I can can beans, I can take on a new batch of 7th graders, right?