Thursday, February 18, 2016

First Poetry Tea

I read about having a weekly poetry tea and thought it might be a good idea to try. Today we gave it a try with only 3 day care kiddos in attendance. We made gingerbread cookies this morning then added juice for little ones and peppermint tea for Maddie and Miss.Jenn. Yum! And we enjoyed the poetry too! We read some Robert Frost poems, poems from a book called Winter Bees and Jabberwocky (which Maddie picked out from the poem anthology in honor of Poppa Bill). Maddie and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Everyone under 4 enjoyed the cookies! We will keep giving it a try and see how it goes over time.




I also have to share Maddie's one nature journal entry from Winter Camp. I love it! She made the frozen lake and mountains behind it. Then she showed the cracks in the snow on the lake because she was fascinated with the frost she could see in the cracks. Then, just to round things out, she made her pancakes from breakfast! Sums up winter camp quite nicely I think! 


Sunday, February 14, 2016

Quiet House

Its been a busy weekend here. Saturday we all took part in the Schenectady County 4H Cabin Fever Day. I worked with 1 cloverbud to make homemade tootsie rolls and felted soap. Brian and I worked together to help the kids make breakfast for lunch-quiche, home fries and baked apples. Maddie took the woodworking class and made a bookshelf.
Bookshlef done and waiting for paint or stain.


Sunday morning Maddie and I went to church and helped with the inter-generational valentine lunch. I made pea soup and helped to serve and clean up. Maddie helped to set up and ate with the seniors, something she always enjoys. Then it was off to Camp Fowler for winter camp! She was so excited. Her friend Norah was coming along and she knew another friend from church, Becca, would be there too. When we arrived we discovered that all 3 girls were in the same room! Double yay!
see the white stuff on the ground...snow! We found some! 


They are in the Fawn Lake room.

Schedule! Busy, busy! 

The final "oh lets just be quiet, let them take a picture and get the out of here" shot.

Today is also Valentine's Day! Brian and I treated ourselves to dinner at Lanzi's on the Lake on our way home. The lake was out there somewhere but it was too dark to see! The food was good and we enjoyed it. Earlier in the week Brian sent me some flowers. I gave Brian his hat yesterday since the temperatures have fallen dramatically into the single digits with nasty below zero wind chills. 

hat modeling! 

beautiful orchids!
And now we have an oh so quiet house! Maddie will be home soon bubbling with stories of all that happened so we will enjoy the quiet for now. Happy Valentine's Day! 

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Yarn Along

I am working on a hat for Brian's Valentine's Day present and hopefully a scarf to go with it. This is the first time I've done cables and I am so excited that they are working! Its like turning the heel on a sock...I get excited every time.

Maddie and I are reading Cabinet of Curiosities which is a lot of fun. Plans are being made for organizing the nature shelf which would be great. The introduction is all about the history of cabinets and there are a lot that were created long ago that became the basis of museums still around today. On my own I am reading The Endless Steppe. This is a kids book and I think I will read it to Maddie when I am done. I am at the point in the book where the little girl is helping to provide for her family by knitting for other people! She is being paid with milk and eggs and bread. Its amazing and based on the author's own childhood.

What are you knitting and reading today? Linking with Ginny at Small Things.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

The Weekend

On Saturday Maddie and I went to 5 Rivers Environmental Education Center for a program on identifying trees in winter. We were early and had a good time strolling around for a bit and spent a good bit of time watching the birds at the many bird feeders.


Downey Woodpecker


chickadee




The program was good because it helped us a bit with figuring out the dichotomous key. We always seem to get wrapped up in analytical discussions about the 2 choices instead of just choosing one yes or no. I think we will be better equipped next time we give it a try on our own!

I wondered what or who piled all those up...kids? animals? the wind? but forgot to go back and ask once we got into the "Which tree is this?" discussion! 


On Sunday morning we had duck eggs for breakfast! Brian buys our eggs from a co-worker who raises chickens. We decided to scramble them and they were really rich, creamy and very good.



I also finished the first month of my temperature scarf! 

So we had some fun mixed in with the work this weekend!