he's finished!

I am SO proud of Levi. All in all, his sick day hasn't been very bad. He's kept busy with his bear most of the time and was determined to finish it before his daddy and brothers got home. He looks at the pictures we took of the pattern and pieces of felt and remarks that he can't believe he did this all by himself. It's been a good day. When his fingers would get tired of pushing the needle through the felt, he sat on the couch absorbed in the new seed catalog we got in the mail today from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

felt teddy bear

Levi hasn't been feeling so well since yesterday. He spent most of his time laying on the couch looking at books and watching nature videos. I decided last night that if he was still down, I would give him a project to do. He loves to sew:



We found the idea and pattern to make it at Hearts and Trees. I will post a picture of his completed bear later. :)

He took a break for awhile and helped me to make more crackers to put in the dehydrator. This time we made sprouted wheat with onion and chives and also sprouted wheat with caraway seeds. I'm looking forward to the onion and chives crackers with some sunflower seed sour cream!

busy week

We've had a busy week with school... we seemed to have more projects than usual. Also, I've been experimenting in the kitchen with some raw food recipes from Rejuvenate Your Life by Serene Allison. We made some Italian Flaxseed crackers in the dehydrator and they were a big hit. We also made some raw pate' recipes: Mexican Chereezo Stuffer and Zinc Veggie Nut stuffer which are very good on the crackers or with corn chips. I wish I had photos to share. It made an attractive and colorful meal. I had a whole bunch of sprouted soft wheat that needed used up so we made crackers out of that too. I tried some in the oven and some in the dehydrator. I was surprised that we all preferred the dehydrated crackers over the oven ones. More raw, so that is good. I never expected them to be so crispy and cracker-like. They really are delicious!

God's goodness has been so very evident this week. We have heard and seen prayers answered for family and friends who have trusted in Him and believed that His timing is best.

window stars

My first Sew Crafty Friday! I've been doing a few crafty things here and there but haven't ever taken the time to share. This one is so fun so I thought I would post about it.


When we first started, we practiced on regular wax paper. Those turned out nice...sort of like snowflakes. Once we had the basic folds down we tried it out on the special colored paper.

We hung them on the windows in our dining room. We have bird feeders outside so we can watch the birds while we eat, but once in awhile they fly into the windows. Since the stars have been up they haven't hit the windows anymore.



We purchased the kit at Hearthsong.

If you would like to participate in Sew Crafty Friday or even just to see what others are working on, you can go here to Shereen's blog.

the Treehouse

Now I'm not talking about the "Family Treehouse" that we started last year...this is Levi's own treehouse that he built with Drew during their father/son week. We will be working on our big treehouse again this week. The camera I used in the beginning construction stage didn't take the best photos so I'll start here with the better photos:


The posts are in and the platform is in place and secured.



Next, the walls go up.

Here they are cutting the OSB for the roof.


Levi handing a section of the roof up to Drew from the deck of the scaffolding.

As soon as the rain and clouds go away I will go out and take some photos of the (almost) finished treehouse. They have the sides on, the shingles on and now all he needs is a door and windows.

Firewood

Something else that Silas wanted to do on his father/son time was to get firewood.


Last year we had some of our acreage logged which left us with an abundance of firewood and a lot of tree tops and brush to clean up. In three days they were able to get several cords cut, hauled to the house and stacked. They kept the brush piles burning too and the woods is really shaping up. In North Idaho we burned a lot of firewood and we always had so much fun getting it. Here in Missouri, we won't need nearly as much but they still had a lot of fun.

Backpacking

Silas and Drew went on their father/son backpacking trip and had a great time! They did a 12 mile portion of the trail in 2 days. We knew what time we were supposed to pick them up so we got a meal together and met them at their campsite. It was such a beautiful Fall day. Drew and I sat in the sun together while the boys played at the pond.

Silas found these HUGE puffballs. It was too bad they were over the hill. I'm sure they would've loved to have made them into puffball "steaks" for lunch.

This is Silas on the trail with his 20lb. pack! Drew said he did really well.

The end of Day seven

The roof is ready for the shingles. We're not sure when that will happen, but hopefully soon! As you can see, the gable ends still need put on and some finish work needs done before it can be stained. In time, a few windows will go in as well. What a week!

Day seven - Monday

By the end of the day, the whole roof was on and the tar paper was down. It is so nice to see them working together like this. :)

Doesn't he look happy? :) He has enjoyed this so much. I will post more pictures of the progress they made today. They were also able to get the sides on his cabin. It still needs more work but Drew is off this project for a time and on to backpacking with Silas. They leave tomorrow!

Day Six - Sunday

Roof rafters!! What a difference this step has made.

A view from the front. Ukiah has chosen where he wants to place bird feeders and a salt block so he can watch the birds, deer and other wildlife. I can already visualize him sitting on his front porch when this cabin is completed. :)

My Great-Grandma's Clematis

I want to tell you the story of this clematis. When I was a little girl, my Great-Grandma had a clematis so huge it covered one quarter of the garage behind her house in Pennsylvania. Now the garage wasn't that big but when the clematis was in bloom it was stunning! Masses of purple flowers cascading from the roof and down the sides. I wish you could have seen it.

She passed away when I was 15 and her husband remained in the house until he also passed away quite a few years later. I was now married and my great-uncle asked me if I would like to come and dig up the bulbs and any other plants in her yard. The house was going to be sold. Without hesitation, I said yes. Drew and I went and dug up literally hundreds of bulbs and many plants. The one thing I wanted most was a start from her clematis. Someday I would have a sea of purple all my own.

We took the bulbs and plants back to our home and found a special place for all of them. The clematis went in at the corner of our potting shed. Years passed and it did not do very well. A few blossoms here and there but not much more. I always hoped that one day it would just take off and grow right up over the top like hers did.

The time came when we decided to move to Idaho. As much as I wanted to take them along, I just couldn't do it this time. After three wonderful years in Idaho, we found ourselves on our way to Pennsylvania then Missouri to another new home. This time, Drew would be coming along behind us in another week. We had all been staying in PA until our MO home was ready. He needed to finish up some work. While there, my beloved husband was thinking of me and my Grandma's flowers. One day, he went to visit the people who had purchased our PA home and asked if they would mind if he dug up a few starts. They said "Take as much as you want!" When he arrived in Missouri he had a special surprise for me. As I remember that moment, tears are flowing. I opened boxes and containers filled with bulbs and yes, a start from my Great-Grandma's clematis. What you see in the photo above is the first bloom from that start, here in Missouri.
It bloomed this week! One single bloom. Earlier this spring we had rows of her daffodils blooming. I'm thankful that I have flowers to remind me of this special woman.

My husband's thoughtfulness and love amazes me. Yet I know that God loves us even more!

Day Five - Friday

This is SO exciting to watch. I told Ukiah that I want a cabin too!

Right now they are building the rafters. All four walls are up and it is really taking shape. When the siding goes on it's going to make a HUGE difference. I'm afraid I have "building cabin fever". This is just too much fun.

Day Four continued

Day Four - Thursday

We all joined them down at the building site in the morning. I arrived as they were finishing up breakfast by the fire.

Day Three - Wednesday - the floor!

Last evening, they stoked the fire and made up beds on the deck for their first night "at the cabin".

Day Two- surveying the progress

This is Ukiah and Drew at the end of the day on Tuesday. The foundation is complete and the joists are in. It is hard for them to quit! They are having such a good time. I tilted the camera so that is why it looks lopsided - really, it is level. ;)

Day Two - Tuesday

Working together.

Day One - Monday

They built a fire for the sticks and refuse they cleared from the site and got busy on the foundation. There is something about having a fire going when we're working outside in the Fall. Good smells and a place to warm our hands.

In this photo, they have stacked blocks for the piers and located the beams they will use.

Applesauce

The Cabin

Where has the time gone???I can't believe almost a month has passed since I posted last. We've been busy keeping up the house, cleaning out the garden and flower beds, working on school activities and canning applesauce. It is SO good to have all those jars of applesauce in our cabinets again. 100 total and 19 jars of juice.

Now, we are watching a cabin materialize right before our eyes. It has been Ukiah's dream to build a little cabin with his dad. He's looked at countless books and magazines for years, formulating ideas. Well, early Monday morning the building commenced. They are really making progress! They located a spot not too far from the house but not too close either...just right for a 12 year old boy. ;) They cleared the area, cut down a few trees and began setting piers for the foundation. Right now they have the whole foundation completed and floor joists put in. It is a 10'x14' cabin with a 7' porch. This is their special father/son week so when I went to get more building supplies today, Silas and Levi went with me. I came home with a trailer full of lumber and wood for the floor and walls. Shingles too. Drew found a great place that sells seconds and we were able to purchase the materials for far less than regular lumber yard prices. What a blessing! This time they've had together has really been worth the sacrifices needed to make it happen. Next week Silas is going to have his time with Daddy and they are going on a backpack trip. Levi will be next and has chosen to go canoe camping. They'll canoe the river awhile until they locate just the right spot for camping. Then, they'll pull in for the night and set up camp.

Silas and I have taken a lot of pictures so I'll try to post some tonight. I'm amazed at how fast this cabin is going up. Surely God is blessing Drew's efforts and commitment to spend this special time with his son.

One pet leaves..another one moves in

Ukiah found this little lizard last year when we first arrived in Missouri. She traveled with us all over - Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and more! Well, it's been a year and he was thinking he wanted to return her back to the wild. She has eaten well for us and even laid more than 20 eggs! That was really neat. Too bad they weren't fertile...that would have been even better. So, three days ago he took her out to a sunny spot and said his goodbyes.

I wondered how long it would take him to find something to put in his aquarium...

Today he found this:

This praying mantis has the same voracious appetite that his lizard had! It's a good thing Ukiah likes to catch insects. :)

A charcoal experiment

We've decided to try to make charcoal for medicinal uses. Since we've never done this before, I knew it would be an interesting experiment. We researched to find out what would be the best wood to use and ultimately chose willow. After we found the willow that was the right size, we stripped the leaves off and the boys cut it up into the proper lengths.

From what we read, we needed an airtight container to put the willow sticks in. The best thing we could come up with was one of my canners. I figured we would put the lid on and then secure it with C clamps.


So far, so good. The boys had a fire going so I tightened the C clamps - any tighter and I would've cracked the enamel. Then...onto the fire.


They cooked and cooked. THEN, I noticed that some smoke was escaping from under the lid. So it wasn't airtight after all. :( We were supposed to let it cook for 1 1/2 hours and then remove from the fire to cool entirely. If we were to take the lid off while it was still hot, the oxygen would cause the charcoal sticks to burst into flame and turn to ash. So, after determining that it was indeed leaking, we took it off the fire. When it was almost cool, the lid was removed. Curiosity was getting the best of a particular boy. ;) It didn't burst into flames-it had apparently cooled enough- and we discovered that we had made charcoal pencils! Those sticks were in the pencil sharpener in NO time. lol. So...that was our first attempt at making charcoal. It was fun and we ended up with something usable. Now, I just need to come up with something airtight that can go over the fire. Any ideas?

Tamale dollies

My friend Ruthie makes the BEST tamales. One day Drew was up at their place working with her husband. When it was time to come home, she sent along a big package of home-made tamales. After we devoured them for supper, Ukiah decided to wash off the corn husks and make corn husk dolls. Aren't they cute??

A beautiful week...

It has been so nice here. The air is starting to have that crisp feel in the mornings and it smells so good. It's been a typical week...catching turtles and snakes, riding the pony, school in the morning and working in the afternoons outside with Daddy. We've been finding ourselves making more cups of tea. Maybe it is the sense that Fall is on the way. We enjoyed 2 nights just sitting around the fire by the pond and talking. Yesterday we went to the river thinking it may be our last chance to swim...the water is starting to cool down. We had a picnic lunch first and Drew and the boys kicked a ball around. We bought Levi a Slinky for his birthday recently and they had a great time watching it go down the steps of the sliding board where we had our picnic. Life seems to have slowed down a bit even though school has started up! I know I'm making an effort to notice the small things in life that can bring so much joy. Speaking of that...I have added a new blog to the "Blogs I read" section. It is called Eyes of Wonder. Oh, how inspiring this blog is! The photos are a feast for the eyes...so rich. Such a full and gentle life.

Ukiah and I went to town today to purchase chicken scratch and to pick up our books at the library. We always come home with more than just what we get on interlibrary loan. lol. We found a good treehouse book...some inspiration to get back to work on our treehouse.

I can smell that lunch is almost ready to put on the table so I should close for now. Veggie chicken rice, tomato sandwiches, and red peppers from the greenhouse.

Opossums go to school

our little opossums

There are three little 'possums snoozing in a slipper. One of the boys thought it would help them feel like they were in a pouch. I thought that was a great idea and apparently, so did they. :)
Just finished up eating and are ready to climb under the towel and go to sleep.
Drew took this picture of the boys and I at the county fair last Thursday. Our church had a booth and we took a turn sitting there, greeting people and handing out literature. After our shift was over, we decided to walk through and look at the animals. Can you guess what is in my basket?? Yes, baby opossums. They were with me just about everywhere I went. Now that I know they are able to feed themselves from a dish, I do not have to 'possum-sit.

orphan opossums

We've had a new project lately. On the way to church 2 weeks ago, we saw a mama 'possum that had been hit in the other lane. As I passed, I noticed babies crawling on her! We didn't want to just let them there so helpless so we turned around and went back. Drew found three little survivors, scooped them up and brought them to the van. We quickly found something to put them in and headed for church.

Now, we are not new to this type of thing. Actually, we've rehabilitated quite a few animals. We have also given some to local rehabbers who were better prepared to handle the particular situation...like hawks or porcupines, but we have always made room if it is something we can handle. These little one were likely making the transition to living out of their mama's pouch and so they have been fairly easy to care for.

As a child, my mom and grandparents always had an interest in animals and the outdoors. I have very fond memories of a mischievous pet raccoon named Zeke. He was orphaned when his mama and siblings were killed on a construction site. Our cousin automatically knew where to bring the little baby. My mom also raised a baby opossum and I remember her riding around on my mom's shoulder, under her hair, with only her pink tail showing. We didn't do everything right back then. They slept with us and ate with us. We treated them too much like pets and weren't prepared for the day when Zeke matured to an age when he would be seeking a mate. It seemed like his temperament changed overnight and he was no longer friendly. He was released and I was so sad to not have him in my life anymore.

The opossums have been quite easy to care for and the boys are enjoying every minute. We made some phone calls to opossum rescues to get specific info. on their care. We also have a great book called "Care of the Wild, Feathered and Furred". The boys look for insects and worms and they help prepare their "milk" and other food. We've done some internet research together. I will include photos of this experience, along with some of the information we have gathered, in the boys homeschool notebooks. I am really happy they are getting the opportunity to make some memories like this. There is so much we can learn from nature and our wonderful Father who created it.

a new thought...

I think I've discovered one of the reasons why I'm having these huge gaps in between posts lately. I always want to have pictures to post along with what I write. That takes time...time I don't seem to have right now. The green beans have been coming in and we are now up to 117 quarts. Boy, that feels good. We have also been drying tomatoes and peppers. So far we have 2 gallon jars full of Principe Borghese tomatoes, all sliced and looking quite pretty. The peppers are coming along nicely too...about half a gallon so far. I am happy we decided to dry them so we can enjoy them all through the year. The plants are still heavy with developing peppers...this is so rewarding. The corn however has not been a huge success. First, we had raccoon problems. Then drought. Well, all in all, Drew processed 7 quarts for the freezer yesterday while I was laid up on the couch. We consoled ourselves with the lessons learned and that every little bit helps.

We've had a couple bouts with sickness, first stomach then respiratory. I'm not sure what's going on, but hopefully we're on the mend now. My fever is at 100 and I actually feel a lot better, just very tired.

Well, Silas just made spaghetti and green beans and heated up some baked acorn squash. I am feeling so blessed.

A butterfly surprise

One day we were all walking around the flower gardens seeing what interesting things we could find. The butterfly weed was in full bloom and especially pretty so we had a closer look.
Although this photo doesn't show it, there were MANY monarch caterpillars crawling all over it...munching away on the leaves.

For several days, we watched them grow. It is amazing how fast they grow! One day, we saw this: Then, a few days later...

Can you see its wings?! Wow. I thought this was incredible. I thanked God for showing us something so beautiful that we could share with the boys.

Then...the finale!!