New-To-Me-Books

I got FOUR Paperback Swap wishlist books in the mail today!

The Voyage of the Armada by David Howorth will be used by my jr/sr highers when we study this period. I know almost nothing about the story, so I will likely read it before assigning it so I can hear narrations with an informed ear.

Prisoners of the Scrambling Dragon is by F. N. Monjo. I've liked everything I've read from him! We have most, if not all, of his "I Can Read" selections. This one is ninty-two pages so it definitely doesn't fit in the early reader genre.

The Story of Little Babaji is a remake of "Little Black Sambo" by Helen Bannerman. It's illustrated by Fred Marcellino. I have a beautifully illustrated, non-offensive copy of Little Black Sambo by Watty Piper and illustrated by Eulalie. However, I have wanted to add Marcellino's version to our library for a long time. I'm glad it finally came in!

My final prize is Washington's Birthday by Clyde Robert Bulla. I have many of his books, but he wrote over 60 so I am far from having a complete collection. This one, unknown to me, was autographed! I took three pics but could not get a clear one. Sorry for the blur.

It says: "For Kathy Knight, All good wishes, Clyde Robert Bulla" and is dated "April 25, 1983".

After opening all of these, I happened to check my e-mail and found yet another Wish List offer from PBS. "Captain Kidd's Cat" by Robert Lawson has finally been listed. I snagged it and now have no more credits. Click one of the PBS links, join, and post ten books you are willing to share. When you do I get a credit and can order another book. HURRY! Who knows which of my 192 wished-for books will be posted next!

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

My daughters made Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies to take to church. Half are covered with powdered sugar, the other half have raspberry jam. :sigh: They look heavenly. Sadly, another daughter got ill just before we would have been leaving, so they will be be staying with us. I am trying to be gluten free, so I will not be indulging. Do you want to taste a bite? You can make your own; they are quick and easy!

Raspberry Almond Shortbread Cookies

Chocloate Taffy

EmBlem, GirlofGod and Trixie are going to a swim party tomorrow. They wanted to bring something special to share so they were browsing recipes and kicking around some ideas this afternoon. They decided to make Chocolate Taffy. It was messy, it was fun, it's also pretty tasty! I love the skills they are developing in the kitchen.

Picture Postcard Pretty

This is my favorite picture from our 2011 camping trip. I want to cross-stitch it and hang it over my fireplace! I also want to build a cabin right here and retire. See you next year, Hidden Falls!

Ravensburger Games

I scored six Ravensburger games, all but one unopened, for $2.50 at Just Between Friends. They are authentic, too. Most do not have English instructions!

Kinder Memory is easy, of course. In fact, Missy, Troubles and I have already played a game.

Halli Galli Extreme has English instructions, so it will be the next one we try. It seems to be the most complicated of the lot.

Lotti has been a little harder to find anything online. I found a video that shows how it's played, but it's in Spanish. It's helpful, though. I can halfway understand spoken Spanish. It's a color matching and memory type of game.

Packesel seems to be simple. I imagine you choose colors of sticks and see who can stack them on the donkey without knocking the pile over. So far I haven't found anything in English about it.

This is more like a puzzle than a game. You arrange the pieces so all the colors match and have to make it work in a honeycomb pattern. There's only on solution. This game reminds me of Scramble Squares, which we also enjoy.

The final game is Ligretto, the green set. There are several sets, in different colors, to allow more players in a game. The gist of this one is to stack all your cards in order as fast as possible. Each player plays are the same time as everyone else, so no one is sitting around being bored. It's also a very quick game, which I appreciate!

Camping 2011

Looks like a picture postcard, doesn't it? This is where I spent the last four days with my family!

We've camped at this site five times in the last seven years. Whenever we're here, we take a family picture in front of this tree. I'll have to scan past years pics and post them for Grandma.

This is on the trail leading from our campsite. The smaller children hiked here over and over. Many adventures were played near this brook!

I love our forests. We can drive an hour from home and be in a whole different world!

One day, my Honey and I will have a little cabin somewhere up here, breathe fresh air all the time, fish every morning and see views like this from our front porch. I miss it already!

Micropencil

Jack created the smallest, tiniest, winiest micropencil that anyone has ever seen. He was so proud of himself. He used it to do school all day, too.

Everything old is new again

A while ago I lent my box of preschool activities out to a friend, so when we got it back last week, all the activities were new to the Littles again. Polly got out the wooden spools and built a pyramid.



Jack has been enjoying the peg boards and rubber bands. Missy is all about the counting bears; sorting, grouping, counting, and lining them up. Troubles pulled out the little bags of Legos right away. I love rotating activities so they are interested all over again!

Almost Time...

It's beginning to cool down.....my bike, and the forest, is calling my name.