The Barren Blog...or Because I'm Not, This Blog Is
Nov. 9, 2009
Worth Your Salt
Posted By callmekate
My oldest son, Chad, decided he wanted to see how much salt was in sea water. What is cool about this is that Chad has never been too interested in science - he's a history/music guy. So, of course, I took him down to the beach and let him brave the wind and rain to gather two gallons of sea water. One thing I love about Oregon beaches is how desolate they are on days like that. It was just Chad down by the water with nothing but the shipwrecked Peter Iredale (the iron remains of a ship that ran aground about 100 years ago) for company. Of course, as soon as he left the car, my Prius decided to flash an unfamiliar warning light at me. While he was enjoying the surf, I was frantically thumbing through my owner's manual, trying to decipher this strange symbol lit up on my dashboard. The bad thing about Oregon beaches on days like this is that they are desolate - just me and my Prius and possibly in need of a tow home. Todd was at home asleep (he had to work later) and the younger two were home but they would be of little use. I did have my cell phone but, fortunately, I figured out what that dang light meant. I had put my cell phone on the car charger for the first time and this light was to politely tell me that my phone was fully charged. AS IF I NEEDED TO BE TOLD! The symbol was of a key with an exclamation point through it. I ask you, does that mean "cell phone fully charged" to you? And the owner's manual showed the symbol but conveniently forgot to say what it meant. I discovered on my own by unplugging the cell phone charger, thinking that it might have something to do with the light. It's a good thing I have a few wits about me.
Anyway ...
We got home with the water but waited until the following day to start boiling. We were thinking it would take all day. We have been discussing Lewis & Clark for the last month or so, since we just went through some of the places that they traveled. And the Salt Works where the Corps of Discovery made their salt during their winter stay here on the coast is down south of us in Seaside, about 17 miles away. We have visited this place in Seaside and during the summer, there is a Salt Work reinactment down on the beach where the actors immerse themselves in the roles of the Corps. If you ask them about anything modern, they don't understand but they'll tell you all about the Lewis & Clark expedition and the making of salt from sea water. So, now, Chad wanted to make his own salt.
It actually didn't take that long. We got it boiling pretty good and after about 45 minutes, salt started boiling over onto the stove top. I think it took about an hour for the water to boil away. Chad ended up with nearly a cup of salt. It was pretty amazing to me. He spread the salt out on a cookie sheet to let it dry out thoroughly. We are not going to consume this salt as it has a lot of impurities in it but the boys will be using it for further science experiments. I think they want to figure out some kind of fuel source involving salt, something like that.
So I think the experiment was a success. Chad enjoyed the process and we all learned something. Fortunately, we don't need this salt to season rotting elk meat, as I believe that was the reason Lewis & Clark needed their men to make salt. The next time you use your salt shaker, be thankful you don't have to work too hard for it. I know I am.
Isn't he just so handsome?! I'm taken yet again! :) He is so very precious and I am just so happy to have another baby brother to love and hold! :D I know that picture isn't enough, so here is more:
Our Five in a Row group studied Madeline this month. To go along with our study I decided to coordinate a field trip to our local kids science museum. They have an exhibit right now called, Grossology~the impolite science of the human body. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a little boys dream come true and my girls loved it too.
Did you ever want to know the science behind a sneeze? Well, this exhibit not only explained the process but then the giant nose you stand inside of sneezes on you!!!
This lovely fellow explained all about allergies, sniffles, colds and anything else that can cause you to have a runny nose. Yes, his nose ran frequently! See what I mean about a little boys dream....
The kids spent lots of time at the life size operation game. Remember that game? What a concrete way to learn where all the body parts go. It didn't hurt their eye hand coordination either.
The girls could have stayed in the digestive system playground all day. Yes, they crawled through the whole digestive system. The joke of where they came out of the digestive tract was not lost on them either. Yucky!!
The skin climbing wall was loads of fun too. While they climbed along they were supposed to guess if they were climbing over a pimple or mole or hair follicle.
I did not take pictures of all the things to smell. Really gross things to smell. Aren't you glad this is not a scratch and sniff blog. LOL! Somehow I missed pictures of the statue that you crank up and make burp or the tooting machine. We will have to go back when it is less crowded. The exhibit just got to us and lots of the school groups were there. All in all it was a really cool and gross exhibit. Hey, IT"S GROSSOLOGY!
I never really thought about it. It just didn't matter. After all, why did it concern me? I'd never bothered it; why should it bother me? The dark whispers on the street corners honestly made me laugh. I mean, these people were taking things WAYY to seriously! I knew it wasn't evil. It gave us nice things, like school, and money to buy stuff without having to work for it. That wasn't bad! No, it was nice. It took care of us. All these theories were just the mattering of people who had lost their minds from age, or just wanted to chew on something. It's over now. I know more. And I know that it's my fault, not because of what I did, but because of what I didn't do. But before you scream at me for bringing this on you, you should know something about Americans as they used to be. We had everything. Nice homes, nice cars, good food; it all fell in our laps. Even low-income families had computers and iPods. We were invincible. Except from within. Everything collapsed. And all because of greed. When politicians see a rich, happy people, they want some of their wealth. So they promise you food, housing, healthcare, an education, and eternal happiness if you'll just elect them and pay a few more taxes. So you peel off the greenbacks and drink the honey of their talk and sit back and enjoy yourself. And like the old Energizer bunny, it kept going and going and going....And every time, they put the butter on a little thicker and took away a little more, keeping us distracted by throwing mud and worse at each other. It picked up in '09, and people started noticing things. I can remember them, the nutcase conservatives waving signs at the Tea Party rallies. But I didn't understand why anything was wrong, and besides, there was always a flap around election time. But nothing quieted down. People were getting more and more worried. When my dad went to buy ammunition for hunting, almost a year after the election, he had trouble getting some; it was still flying off the shelves. "I wonder where it's all going?" he asked himself and me and we drove home. Were people stockpiling it? If so, why? I tried to laugh it off, but my more conservative friends shook their heads dolefully. "Few forms of government have ever lasted much over 200 years. When they hit the two hundred year mark, there's always some kind of upheaval. The country may remain intact, but the system of government changes." "But this is America," I protested. "So it is, and here lies a spirit of tenacity that, no matter how dormant it grows, is surpassed by few, if any other nations." Their eyes were glowing annoyingly. "And here, if we wake up, there is a chance to break the cycle, or at least have a peaceful transition." I thought they were crazy. Life was good. Seriously! The politicians were working for our good, weren't they? Why couldn't anyone see that? 'Upheaval.' Pshaw! I was wrong. Alot of people were wrong. But things did start happening, and I saw that it wasn't all that I had thought it had been. It was bad, or at least, worse than I had ever dreamed. There was some violence. Shots were fired. People got killed. And we still don't know how it will end, because you're writing the story. The future swings on what you do and what you don't do. What's your choice? --Amelia Turner Amelia Turner is a character of my own imagination, but the things she speaks of aren't. Yes, this is random stuff that drifts from my head, but I hope that, for once, this is more than playful writing.
Hello, friends. I'm not dead, can you believe it?! There's entirely too much to explain at the present time, but I have just today started a new blog. You can read about why I haven't posted since November and why I'm moving by hopping over to http://drgnfly1010.wordpress.com.
Thank you so much for reading my blog and keeping up with me and commenting.. I know I've been off-kilter not only since August, but even before that, but I'm hoping that that's all going to change now ;). So please check out my new blog and follow it! I'm still in the process of catching up on all of your blogs, as well, but I don't think I'm going to be able to catch everything, so if there's something particularly exciting or life-changing, let me know!
I'm Stephanie, thrilled to be Gary's wife since May '85 and mom to six girls (9/89, 7/91, 5/93, 4/96, 11/04, 1/07) and three boys (2/98, 1/00, 11/01). We live with Gary's parents (ages 90 and 88) on an acre of land in western CO.
