For Dad, who says my posts on sewing do not interest him. So I will not mention that the girls' dresses are some of the Regency style dresses I sewed last year.

Banana- Blueberry Muffins

2 large mashed bananas
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup blueberries

Beat together mashed banana and egg until creamy. Add milk and oil. Beat well. Measure in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat well. Gently mix in blueberries. Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

These muffins are not super-sweet but very moist and taste wonderful with butter! This is one of my family's favorite recipes!

In honor of all the mommies-to-be on my side of the family (three babies expected by my sister and sister-in-laws this year!), I am posting a few of the maternity patterns I found in my patten box. Some of these styles could pass as "in fashion" today. I imagine these would only work if you were slim and youthful, though, which my mom was back in the 60's. I wonder which ones she made up and wore.

Congratulations Christy, Debra and Joy!

March Projects

I hope to go to the fabric store next week and start looking for fabric and trims for these patterns. I started fitting my oldest for the Advance pattern last fall, but realized that with the way she is growing, it wouldn't fit her by spring. So I'll try again and hopefully she can wear it for Easter. Hope's Easter dress is almost finished- I just need to get a bit more fabric. I usually sew our Easter clothes and it is fun to look back on the pictures and see how everyone has grown and changed!

38 by 38

Sallie over at "A Gracious Home" is turning 40 soon and will be doing a series of posts on forty things she has learned thus far. She is calling it "Forty by forty". I am shamelessly stealing (or commandeering) her idea since my birthday is less than two weeks away. I'm not sure I can come up with 38 things, so I'll start with a few and see how it goes. I would love to hear some things that YOU have learned in your life's journey.

- You can't change people. You can pray for them and try to be a good example though.

- The more I 'm aware of my own sinfulness, the easier it is to forgive others when they hurt me.

- No two people will ever agree completely on everything. And usually, that's o.k.

- People are interesting. You can't put anyone in a "box" and think you've got then all figured out. They'll always find a way to jump out of that box.

- We can be mistaken in our first impressions of someone or a situation.

- It is important to speak kindly to your family members and treat them all with respect. It makes the home a pleasant place to be.

- The hurt when someone you love dies never goes away. It just softens with time.

- The hurt you feel when you lose someone makes you long for heaven much more than you ever would have before than loss.

- Parenting is the hardest job I've ever had. There are no eternal consequences if I burn dinner or the underwear comes out from the dryer pink, but it sure does matter how I raise my children.

- It really is more blessed to give than to receive.

- I have less control over my life than I thought I did. But I have more control over my thoughts, actions and responses than I thought I did.

- Life is short. Don't waste time doing or not doing things that you will regret on your deathbed. Also, use the good china. A lot.

More later.

Sprained ankles and Jane Austen

Brian used our new snowplow to plow our driveway and our neighbor's driveway on Saturday. The kiddos were outside for quite a while with him and got tired and sunburned. Afterwards, Abby rested on the couch for a bit, stood up and promptly sprained her ankle. Her ankle was pretty swollen by Saturday night and she stayed off her foot until today when most of the swelling had gone down.

What is an active girl to do when she is confined to the couch with her foot elevated? Watch all the Jane Austen movies that we have in the house (Emma, the six hour version of Pride and Prejudice - "Shelves in the closet? Happy thought indeed!"- as well as the newer two hour version and Sense and Sensibility). I think we have all had our fill of Jane Austen for awhile.

In more domestic news, I am feeling the need to learn how to knit. I have found some patterns that I really, really like and I like them so much that I may have to break down and learn a skill I never liked as a child. I hope knitting is more fun now than it was about 30 years ago. The thing I knitted looked like something a rat had gotten a hold of. Or maybe I could have one of my kiddos learn and I could just supply the pattern and yarn... (or persuade my dear mother-in-law to knit them all for me!)

Finally, for your trivia, we did find our trash cans on Sunday. They had quite a trip, but are now back home safe and sound.

Orange Pudding with Shaved Chocolate

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk
2 beaten egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 vanilla
one large orange for zest and juice

In a heavy medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 2 minutes more.Remove from heat. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into egg yolks.

Return all to mixture in saucepan. Add zest and juice from one large orange. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla until butter melts. Pour into individual cups or a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Just before serving, top with shaved chocolate.

The girls take a Geometry class with four other homeschooled girls. The lady who teaches it has graduated her only son from school (he is twenty) and has always taught supplementary classes to homeschoolers. This Geometry is very hands on and uses "patty papers"- the papers that go between frozen hamburger patties to keep them from sticking- to help students understand the concepts. The girls are at the midpoint of the lessons and already they have learned so much.

When I began homeschooling, the only fear I had was of Geometry. Of course I didn't have to worry about it while teaching grade school but that fear was in the back of my head that SOMEDAY I would need to find out a way to teach the kiddos this subject. In high school my Geometry teacher was so bad he had a reputation of being the worst teacher in the school, but couldn't be fired because of tenure. So even though I worked with a tutor, I never could learn it. But God, in His great mercy, provided this dear lady with great math knowledge at just the right time. Now Hannah says that she loves Geometry and she is doing well. Abby struggles, but she is also the youngest in the class and might take it again later. Even with her challenges, she knows far more than her Dad or I on this subject!

It was very windy when we left for class this morning, but the wind picked up while we were away and blew even more snow on the driveway. Coming back home, the car got stuck in the snow and we had to walk to the door. We noticed our trash cans blowing across our fields...Maybe we'll find them again, maybe not. Abby and Hope were blown over by the wind on the way to the house and fell in the snow. We had a nice lunch of hot potato soup and now we'll finish our movies from the library. We watched one on the Orphan Trains of the early 1900's and the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire yesterday. Today we will watch one on the Gold Rush.

Stay warm and out of the wind!

I just received my ebay purchase in the mail. There is a lady that sells vintage trims that I have bought from a few times before and she has some neat things. I still have some pieces that I have no idea what to do with, but I'm sure an inspiration will come along at some point and I'll be ready. Either that or my kiddos will have a fun time selling off my sewing stash after I'm gone!

Happy Valentine's Day

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hard at work

After our reading together in his science book, Jacob is writing several sentences to summarize the lesson in his own words. I'll check it for spelling, grammar, neatness, etc. This was his last subject of the day. Now off to play!

Sunday Afternoon

Books for the Middle Years

Also good for group reading at any age are the "Little House" books. We especially enjoyed "Farmer Boy" and reading about how much that boy ate! Yikes.

The "Anne of Green Gables" series was very good, although we only read the first three books as a group. The characters you meet in these books are unforgettable.

Heidi- wonderful, only I wish the print was bigger in our copy (squint)

To Fly- the story of the Wright brothers. Jacob loves this one.

Noah's Ark- the best book I have ever seen on the subject. It even shows dinosaurs on the ark! The pictures show what the real ark would have looked like and is a wonderful book in every way.

More for the Middle Years

Most of these books we have used for group reading when Hannah and Abby were younger.

Cheaper by the Dozen- I think Hannah has this one memorized

Belles on their toes- the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen

Grandma's Attic Series- everyone ought to read at least the first two books in this series! It's too good to miss.

Island of the Blue Dolphin

Abbie Burgess Lighthouse Heroine

Swiss Family Robinson

Anything by Shakespeare (but not for group time yet!)- a favorite of Hannah

Books for the Middle Years

Some of these books are very good for early readers. The stories are interesting and hold the child's interest, especially if you read the books to the child before he/she reads them the first time.

Frog and Toad books

The Josefina Story Quilt

A New Coat for Anna

Once the child is a more solid reader, they can enjoy more complicated reading:

Sarah Plain and Tall- they made a movie of this and it is wonderful. Jacob is determined to visit Maine after watching the series.

Stuart Little

The Fourth of July Story

The Secret Garden

A Little Princess. Our copy was loved so much I could only locate half of the book on our shelves. They made a movie of this, once with Shirley Temple and another one recently and the book is far superior to either movies.

Amelia Bedelia

Five O'Clock Charlie

Stand Back said the Elephant! I'm going to Sneeze!- a favorite

Enjoyable Books

These are a few of the twenty in the total set of the McCall Storytime Treasury set that we have loved. The pictures are so beautiful. My brother and I loved these books and my children have, too. The poor books are a little worse for wear now, but they can still be loved carefully for quite a while yet.

Books We Have Enjoyed- For the Younger Years

I thought it might be a good refresher for me to list a few of the books we have enjoyed and the favorites of our library.

For younger children, we have enjoyed classic fairy tales from the McCalls "Storytime Treasury" series because of the fabulous illustrations.

For Bedtime reading, my kiddos have enjoyed:

Caps for Sale

Angus and the Cat
Angus and the Ducks
Angus Lost (all Angus books are very loved)

Bread and Jam for Francis- and all books in the "Francis" series

Blueberries for Sal
One Morning in Maine
Make Way for the Ducklings

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Children's version of "Little House on the Prairie" - "My First Little House Books"

Madeline (and the series)

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Curious George series

Courduroy

Raggedy Ann and Andy, by Johnny Gruelle

Tasha Tudor books such as "A is for Annabelle" and "The Lord is my Shepherd"

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

The Little House by Virginia Burton

The Snowy Day

Mercer Mayer books

I know there are more books that I am forgetting (and can't locate right now). But this will have to do at present!

Later, when I have more time, I'll track down some of the books we have enjoyed for the middle childhood years.

In the Classroom

Sadly, we finished the last chapters in "Little Women" today. No matter how good, kind and humble Mr. Bhaer is, Abby will never forgive Louisa May Alcott for having Jo marry him instead of Laurie. Ah well.

We are deciding on our next book for group reading now. Hannah wants "Emma" by Jane Austen but I'm wondering if it is too "girly" for Jacob, after reading "Little Women". Jacob is requesting "The Incredible Journey", but I'm not very interested in that one. He is going to be reading it independently though. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to let me know. It's hard when most people in the family read a lot- you run out of good books after awhile!

I remember getting so frustrated as a child because I had read all the books in the house and was desperate for more. What a joy when my mother finally started taking me to the library when I was a teen-ager! I remember reading a lot that one summer when she took me regularly. Now we not only go to the library but we buy lots of books as well.

Hope is almost through her reading program and will be on to easy reader books soon. I hope that she will be a passionate reader (she is showing signs of it). Now what we need is a fireplace to sit and read by (sigh).

Fun in the Snow

Happy Day at the Antique Store

Before Christmas, I saw this set of twelve glass plates at the antique store in a nearby town. They were on sale at the time, but not on sale enough. Yesterday we were back in the store and I saw them for half price- putting them a little over a dollar a piece. So I snapped them up and plan to use them for the first time on Valentine's Day. I think they call out for chicken salad, tomatoes and cucumbers, eaten sitting on a quilt under the maple tree. Not now, but perhaps sometime this summer.

Saturday Morning

Daddy usually makes breakfast on Saturday morning. Breakfast may come later in the morning, but no one walks away hungry.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It is supposed to be in the 50's today so hopefully we will have a lot of melting this week. We are going to go outside and enjoy the warm day! It's been too cold to spend much time outside since before Christmas and we miss the sun.

For Jon

Buy it we did. Eat it we will. Try it you must. May the Force be with you.

Hannah is working on "Jessica's Theme" from "Man From Snowy River". She picked up a book of movie songs from the library and is enjoying playing some new tunes. We are enjoying it, too.

February 2, 2007

Today would have been my mother's sixty-third birthday. Happy Birthday Mom. I miss you every day. I love you.