The comings and goings of our day to day life while homeschooling on the farmstead http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 6 May 2007 14:45:00 -0500 Sun, 6 May 2007 14:45:00 -0500 We decided to not only celebrate feeling better, but Cinco de Mayo also  I decorated the kitchen with  a few God's Eyes, probably not a Cinco de Mayo craft, but the only Mexican craft I know.  Here is a great tutorial  I'll tuck our decos away for Christmas when I get tired of looking at them... I had so many novelty yarns that it was fun using fun furs, mohairs, cottons ,nubby yearns etc.. I bought some el cheapo colorful margeritta  glasses  the other day and made mock Sangreia Mock Sangria 6 cups of cranberry or other fruit juice ( I used cherry) 1/2 cup Oj 1T lemon juice 3 cups of chilled gingerale or club soda sliced fruit  oranges, pineapples and lime slices Mix juices and chill for one hour, to seve gently stir in the gingerale and fruit... We also had Homemade Tortillas I use this one fromLaines Letters  If you haven't read her site give it a go...! Flour Tortillas Flour Tortillas 1/2 c. lukewarm water 1/4 c. oil 1 t. salt 2 c. bread flour Put in order in the bread machine and hit dough cycle. Let knead really well until it is a nice ball. Take out and cover with a bow to let rest for at least 20 minutes. Repeat process if you would like more tortillas. (I usually make a couple of doughs.) When you are ready to roll out, cut each ball of dough into 8 balls. Roll out each ball into a round circle. Cook immediately over a hot, dry skillet (I prefer black iron for this), or put in between wax paper to cook one at a time later on. Keep well covered so they won't dry out. You cook each one about 1 minute on each side until they are lightly brown.  They are delicious hot with some butter!         I also slice these into quarters and deep fry them for tortilla chips I served it with homemade salsa... I think the actual name is Picco de Gayo...I could be wrong... Fresh Salsa 1 1/2 C cubed fresh tomato 2T minced jalepeno pepper 1/4c sliced scallion 1/4 cup lime juice 1/4 cup chopped cilantro mix and marinate for 3 hours or more.. and lastly Fajitas 1 1/2  lbs  beef flank steak 1 onion 1 green pepper 1 red pepper 2 cloves minced garlic 1t chili powder 1  8oz can  chopped tomatoes ( I used garlic and olive oil) salt to taste I dump all of it in a crockpot and slow cook for about 6 hours  and then serve with shredded cheese on the warm tortillas. ...so we had a wonderful evening of stuffing our faces with goods food and enjoying each others company... I hope you all do the same... and have a fine day... all day long!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/324669/ Sun, 6 May 2007 14:45:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/324669/ I've been playing around with a new blog for awhile... not ready to give this one up quite yet... but you can find me here: The Needle in a Haystack Come give me a visit ...I'll be posting here sometimes too.. ..and have a fine day..all day long! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/320143/ Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/320143/ Well... Day 2 of CD being in New Bern... his 12 hour days and the fact he has to do manuel labor and he falls asleep at 9:00 make being away from home easy for him....I could say the same thing for myself today!  Not sure why everything int eh house had to break the 2nd day he is away from home.  I rose tot he challange and I too am exhausted tonight... Woke up to take C to biology class.  The heater wasn't working very well and there was frost on the west side windows...bbbrrrrr... its only Oct! ...dropped C off at bio ( 45 minutes from the house) and hit walmart to see if they had any baby yarn on sale for the little hats I am crocheting...BINGO... some cutie yarn for only 2.50 a skein.  I worked up one hat this evening and it gives just the right size for what I want to send.  ...Poor C is having such a tough time in Biology...we talked about it on the way home.  He knows he is just going to ahve to give a bit more time to it. ...came home and the computer was dead... actually the modem... called C in New Bern who tried talking me through some things.... nothing.... I finally got off the phone with him... took a deep breath and step by stepped followed a process to discover it was a bad plug... Ahh... easy fix once I solved the problem... ..... then the water pump died... now.. I suppose most folks learn from their parents how to fix things.... I applied my knowledge to the situation at hand.... ....years ago my folks owned a really old car... and sometimes it just died....my dad being Superman in disguise ( to me) would simply open the hood, knock three time ( sounds like a Tony Orlando song huh?) with his tool of choice... .....yep... an umbrella... kept it tucked under the front seat... so it was never fear.... dad and his umbrella are here ( OK.. maybe he was more ...yeah...I'm thinking more Underdog... but it worked!  So... off I trotted with not an umbrella....but a mop... ......I was going to use the broom, but there was something pulsing in the back of my brain about a metal broom pole and striking something with 220 volts.....shades of 9th grade Physical Science trying to push its way to the fore front of my brain.... Mrs. Cook would have been proud... I hit it three times with plastic...it started and stopped and I had to make three runs  to the pumphouse and back... in the dark... with heavy breathing deer ( or obscene hunters) tracking my moves... ...AND a trip back to walmart where Christopher and I sucessfully picked out an oil filled heater thingy guarunteed to keep us cozy while the rest of Kinton Fork freezes...and so after talking to my honee on the phone... weaving a small basket with Christopher, and solving all the micro disasters of the day... I think I'll fix a spot of tea... and mosey on out to the corral and kiss my horsey goodnight( great line John)   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/225997/ Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:32:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/225997/ so much for the monster post I wrote that got gobbled in to the neither world..( insert manuel buzzer here)... anyhow... the gist of it was .. not much going on except for the day to day stuff... lots and lots of travel with Christopher going to and from basketball& biology......sitting for 4 hours won't be so bad once I crank up the new think pad Chris gave me...I have already stalked Panera Bread once  but I need to get the hang of the little red mouse button...also, I ahve taken on crocheting Caps for the Capital, little newborn and preemie hats My goal is 30-50 hats... these work up so quickly and go to a great cause... If you are a knitter or a crocheter you can go here to learn more about it. www.savethechildren.org I have 6 done.... My basket reed order has come in and I hope to spend time next week designing a Christmas basket.  This will be a blend of flat and round reed  with various dyes... hopefully it will turn out well. ...I'll have plenty of time with CD gone to New Bern... only 4 days and 3 nights but we are both just a bit pouty over the whole thing...this will be our life for the next 8 months or so... I do plan on heading down when I can and seeing all there is to see... just makes it a bit tough with Christopher having obligations... ... I am hosting a Mystry Crochet ALong at www.crochetville.org I designed a small pattern and post 8 rows a day... it has been a blast so far and I have made a few new online friends... and all of us are crocheters using arcylic yarn( gasp)... and according to some pattern designers in the crochet world, that puts us right there with serial killers and axe murders... awe well... I did order cotton thread today ( like about 10 balls worth)so perhaps I am not the lowest of the low! ..and finally I leave you with the artery busting meatloaf I made for dinner... it was a new recipe and I must say we all enjoyed it. ( C did say it could use some sausage, gets that from his mother)... Bacon Mushroom Swiss Meatloafdo the dishes ... and relax with my sweetie......so have a fine day... all day long! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/224194/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:23:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/224194/ .... my friend Susan sent me a note tell how grieved she was at recent events.... Colorado... Wisconson... PA..... our own country  with the leadership gone astray.... ...... we should all be grieved.... Who casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? but who takes off his eye from a comet when that breaks out? Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? but who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world? No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/214411/ Wed, 4 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/214411/ we're back from our Ohio/PA trip.... exhausted but happy! we started out Friday morning traveling across southern VA to hook up with the WV turnpike. We made a stop at the family favorite quick fix .....one of the few places you can get fries for breakfast... unfortunately as much as I love em... the MSGs drive me crazy... I probably shouldn't have eaten the biscuit either cause the curving mountain roads gave me a splitting migraine by 9:00..... ....the guys snacked their way across the state, goldfish, twizzlers, beef jerky.... I napped until about 1:00..... .......nothing like blue lights in the rear view to make you sit up and take notice...~ " do you realize you were going 81 in a 70"....~sigh~ and why don't you have a registration ( just go it in the mail and it was on my desk).... he took Chris' license and came back with a warning ticket..... I was getting ready to play the old " My son is an MP" card but didn't have to.... We spent the rest of the turnpike going 79 ... and listening to 1776 by David McCullough..it was wonderful... we finished it up about the time we rolled into Columbus at around 4.00 that afternoon... ... We relaxed a bit... checked the emails and dressed for the rehersal dinner... ... Wonderful evening... lots and lots of folks , many we had never met and lots of family we haven't seen in awhile. Great food and a game of corn holes going on in the back yard.. .. Corn holes is really more of a midwestern thing I think... even my mom drives around with corn hole "targets" and bean bags in her trunk... I am seriously considering whipping up  a set for us... we are great Bocce ball players  but this might give us a bit of variety... this sort of gives an overview: http://www.cincinnatigames.biz/Pages/Rules.html The whole family went back to the motel and slept like rocks, despite the fact we were right next to the airport! ......there is great comfort in family... knowing who loves you despite all the wrinkles and warts.... ... so go grab a family member...give em a big hug... and have a fine day... all day long! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/213716/ Tue, 3 Oct 2006 17:58:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/213716/ ....have I been living under a rock????? Of course I hear on the news from time to time that harry Potter is causing a bit of a stir....but... well.. I ddin't know the American Library Association keeps list on the 100 most challenged books... these are books that folks deem umm..."evil"... now some I probably wouldn't want MY kiddos reading...but as a lover of classic literature....I'm having a tough time understanding some of this... I picked up the cue from another blogger and decided to do a 13 on Thursday.... My fav 13 challenged books: The list of the top 100 are here: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm   ...and my list. 13. Where's Waldo 12.  Adventures of Tom sawyer 11. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 10. slaughter House 5 ( any other Vonnegut fans out there???? I could write a whole post on Cat's Cradle) 9. James and the Giant Peach ( perhaps protest from Ga. peach growers????) 8. A Light in the Attic (?????) 7. A Wrinkle In Time ( my fav book from 6th grade 6.  Of Mice and Men ( Peta???) 5.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 4. The Outsiders ( first book I ever read with a curse word that my parents knew about...can't count Love Story by Erich Segal that lived under my mattress) 3. The Catcher in the Rye ( fav 11th grade book) 2. Lord of the Flies ( dh's fav highschool read) 1. To Kill a Mockingbird ( Attickus is rolling in his grave over this one!!!!) ...Fantastic weather the last couple of days... I went out to do a mintectomy in the flower beds.... Mint....3 Me.......1 Gosh that stuff is fiesty....sort of like cockroaches... the bomb will drop and there will be roaches and mint! signing off for the night... one tired hubby ( dads VS kiddos)....bengay time.... ...have a fine night ... all night long.... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/210995/ Thu, 28 Sep 2006 21:12:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/210995/ Happy Birthday Google http://www.google.com/I absolutely love the graphics they do  for special days! With basketball practices now in full swing,...I enter into yet another  life of riding the roads to get  number "31" where he needs to be.  The upside is visitng with all the other moms in the same boat. Lots and Lots of suppers fixed in the crockpot... This week we have had basketball, biology ( weird things growing in petri dishes around the house), lots and lots of reading on Lewis and Clark and watching th wonderful Ken Burns DVD ;" Corps of Discovery, Lewis and Clark".  Christopher is reading "Of Courage Undaunted", on the journey, and I found the Lewis and Clark Journals that I have been reading every night. I wish we were heading out west to follow the trail, but instead we are heading north for a bit .  We have a wedding in Columbus Ohio, then on to Mentor on the lake to visit my aunt , who will just have returned from Mongolia, then on to Gettysburg and a swoop through washington DC and then home.  I'm really not of the Civil war frame of mind right now but I know the trip will be wonderful.  October is our month to try and do short travels. Three wonderful postcards in the mail today... Mary and Al hailed us from Strasburg... My aunt sent one from China before going into Mongolia, and my mom is caught in Hungry, just in time for a bit of political goings on ( she loves it)..... Thanks folks!  They are going in the collection.... ..For those of you who collect Junior Rangr patches, or want to start... The Lewis and Clark Trail offers one by mail...you can find the activites here: http://www.nps.gov/archive/lecl/Education/JrWebRanger/NewActivities.htm ...and I have a new favorite snack food.... These folks , are delicious... and speaking of delicious... its lunch time here at End of the Road... I'll break the male child away from his "work" of loading the laptop with games to play on the trip and we'll whip up a couple ( few) grilled cheese sandwhiches... ...until later....have a fine day... all day long... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/210053/ Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/210053/ I couldn't have asked for a better day to teach my basketry class yesterday.  I had 10 talented and willing students  who learned the old art of basketry from 10:00-2:00... The temps were floating in the 70's with a light wind...~ahhh~... and each student completed their basket without frustration.... ...Today will find us outside.... the last weeding on the flower bed and gathering seeds from a few plants... basketball tonight ( of course) ... and congrats to little Abigal in MO who was identified and rescued by her birthmark!  Sort of makes a person proud to have one..... I am the proud owner of a port wine stain myself.... Port-Wine Stains Another kind of hemangioma is a port-wine stain. This isn't puffy or raised like a strawberry or cavernous hemangioma - it's level with the outer layer of skin. A port-wine stain is an area of skin that is either maroon (a purplish-red color) or dark red. It gets its name from port wine, a type of wine that is dark maroon. Kids who have port-wine stains usually have them on the face and neck. It is much to great a day to be inside... of to pack my breakfast up and head out doors! Have a fine day... all day long! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/206325/ Thu, 21 Sep 2006 07:47:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/206325/ Remind me never ....ever... to eat Ben & Jerry's Mint Cookie Ice Cream before I go to bed again! ...I had the weirdest dream!!! First of all... the fellow from one of the blogs I read, www.daveblackonline.com  was sort of this mafia figure... and I was at my old highschool ( Springfield North, Springfield Ohio), outside by the theater... and he had... umm.. thugs.. I guess with him... and I think they were politely going to dispose of me because I hadn't written a paper!  The thug was none other then Mark Jacobson, the owner of the dealer we bought our new car from.... They were both very polite but I could hear the shots in the woods from others who had not written their paper .... insert here that it seemed like the surreal scene in " A Good Man is hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connery.. absolutely one of my fav authors....You know the scene, where the family is being quietly and politely being led off  and shot while the main killer talks to the old woman ... I'll not spoil the ending  but suggest everyone rush to the local library and check out the short story yourself.... anyhow... I digress....back to the  dream.... so I'm sitting there ready to start pushing up daisies... when along comes none other then Ted Kennedy ( quite a mixture out there on that field beside the school huh????) but.... Ted had in his hand.... a 5 paragraph paper...typed and polished .............and it hasn't finished getting weird yet............as I was thanking him and the paper mafia was retreating.... a parade of elephants tail to tail were walking across the ball field.............I have never been one on dream interpretation although I did take a class in college where the professor was all about dreams... He said that everything and everyone in your dream represents you..... hmmm... about the only thing I might identify with  would be the elephants....hmmm....off to drink chamomile tea before I go to bed tonight!   Sweet dreams all... and have a fine night.... all night long...................... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/203613/ Sat, 16 Sep 2006 21:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Endoftheroad/203613/