Sound of Music

            Today was one of the besets homeschool days yet.



    We went to see the play, "The Sound of Music". And it was delightful. Punkin enjoyed it very much. The singing was right up there with the original play. It was great.

     We did our spelling test and Bible memory verse test while standing in line. We talked of the circumstances of the plot of the play with the times of the war, so we touched on history.

In the play they quoted scripture from the bible, and the examples of Faith in the Lord was touched on.
     It showed how if you learn and then practice what you've learned, you become very good at it, and people admire you. There was a lot to see and experience in the play.

It made me want to sit down and watch the movie again.

 I have always enjoyed the movie anyway, but to many things to do keep from sitting that long to veg.

Anyway, Check it out this weekend or when you have the chance. It was excellent.

Kalanchoe

I was given a new plant today called Kalanchoe.
I was told to observe it and take notes on it. So I googled it and found out all kinds of stuff about this little guy. They say it is easy to take of and doesn't take much to keep it happy.
This is so kind of my friend to give me this science project to do. Some thing Punkin and I can do.
This is a succulent and it is pretty.

What do you think of it?

Productive...

This was one of the better days of this year as far as productivity goes.

           Punkin stayed the night so she was on time for school.
   My youngest daughter had a successful job interview. Then came by to help me try to make Orange Marmalade. I say try because last year every batch I tried to make turned out to be syrup.
       She also showed a new dish that I had not had before.
And I made home-made Pumpernickel bread.

   Punkin was up and ready for oatmeal and toast by 7:30am and we were doing our daily bible reading by 8:30 and we even finished school by 2:30. Okay we did yesterday also,but two days in a row. I adjust stoked.

      My daughter came by right after her interview and we had lunch and then began the process of making the Orange Marmalade.
  Of course we read the recipe and still didn't do as it said. We added the sugar right away and we were supposed to wait about 40 minutes, whoops.

     But I think we may have actually succeeded this year. I believe it will be marmalade and not rock candy like my husband and I made several years ago. It is a little darker than my girl friends that used the same recipe from Food Network, Alton Brown's. But tomorrow I am going to open up one of the jars and try it.



   So after we finished making the jam, we made Tilapia with sweet potatoes and yams and steamed vegetables.
    The Tilapia, was fried with olive oil rubbed on it with herbs sprinkled on each one. The potatoes/ yams were pressured cooked with orange juice and brown sugar. And this became a syrup to pour over them in the end.

We had a very enjoyable meal with good company and it didn't take all day or night.


It was a very productive day and now I can relax.



Love It......

lila tueller designs: It's Giveaway Time again!

lila tueller designs: It's Giveaway Time again!

This is sweet stuff.
Go to her site and check it out.

Learn to Play...

Today is the first day of Piano Lessons (keyboard will work says teacher).



This was a great day and we did well for a Monday.



Back some time ago, My girl friend invited us to dinner. She said "Bring Punkin". So we went to dinner and had a wonderful meal.



But while we were there, Punkin sat down in front of the piano and began to stroke the keys. Not pound, but gently fingering them. That was when I thought ,' This may be the ticket '. To what I don't know as of today but, whatever.
Anyway, after rolling it around and then talking about it to my husband, we decided to purchase a key board for her for Christmas. We did and she was shocked. So was her mommy.

Any way my friend was /is a music teach also. Today the lessons began.
  I can only imagine where this may lead, but I will trust it to the Lord. It could be nothing if it is up to me, cause I could botch it up, but the wonder of the Lord could bring about some glorious surprises.

 We will see. Of course it won't be today, but time can tell and then that is when I will.

Playing Hard

This weekend I was at a Quilt Show called "Road to California". It was great to see so many faces and try to place where I have seen or know them from. So many were doing the same . "Oh Hi", with the look in their eyes of 'where do I know you from'.

 Quilters are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. But you get them all together in a place like this and some can be done right rude.

Although, I thank the Lord for the calm disposition He gave me this weekend. I just smiled and said 'Thank you'  when the transaction for their purchase was complete. We did good though. Man can women spend money. They whip their money and cards out like a cowboy with his six shooter. Some count every penny and wonder why it cost so much, while others never blink an eye at the total. Wow!!!
There were times where all I did was ring purchases and take cards and money for hours, never seeing an end to the line. At the end of the first day , I was wondering if maybe I was slow, but almost ten thousand dollars at the end told me "NO". On the second day which was Friday, I didn't move for fours hours except for the upper part of the body. No I was not sitting, but I was stuck to the place where people pay. And over ten thousand told me I wasn't to bad that day either.
Yes women can spend. And this stuff is for their therapy. It keeps the home happy.
I had a really good time and was so glad at the end of each day. knowing that I was sleeping in my own bed.

 There were a few times the last day
where we were able to take a breather and a potty break with out having to rush.

These are a few that I liked as I was able to walk through the show before the doors opened to the crowds.


 Eleven bus loads on Thursday, nine on Friday and eleven more on Saturday. Yes we ran out of stuff. But that did not stop them from making their final purchases up until the end of the show on Sunday.

 The Birds are still on the road for yet another show in Phoenix and then on their way home. But this is how they survive and make a living, I just did it for the weekend. Whew, don't think I could do that all the time. But I was glad to be able to play, it was fun.

close up shot of just a really cute quilt pattern

love this .

Over all I had fun and am glad to go back to the home life. 

Yes I found something  to buy myself. A Flannel quilt kit in green. Maywood Studios flannels are the best in my book. This kit has everything to finish a 62"x77" lap size, everything, except the batting. I am ready. I haven't bought fabric to make a quilt in over two years. I have been using my stash. So I gave in. It was a great deal. And my best friend told me that I earned it,  so buy it.  

  I love my best friend.

Semester Vocab. test

We started out this year doing vocabulary words on 3x5 cards. My youngest daughter came up with this idea and I love it. It has worked.

 Every week we would do three to four words. At the end of the week the student had to match the meaning to the definition. Almost every week she did very well. Some weeks went into two. But the meaning was beginning to stick in the mind. At the end of the first quarter we took the words and did a small test with all of them.

This week we are ending our second quarter and we are doing all of them. We have been going over them for two weeks now. I really hope that she holds the understanding of these words forever. They are not really second grade words but okay so we stretched her a bit. They all came out of her reading text, somewhere. Any way I will be away the next few days and hope that when I get back to school I see an A+ on the test score.
Mom will give the test.

 Good Luck    Punkin,   you go girl....

January Days

It was a great day.

                        The weather was in the low eighties and the skies were blue and we were in shorts. Love being in the sun in January. It isn't really hot and it just warms me up inside. Love it!

bright natural lighting

   We were able to be outside doing our school work.

    Reading about fairies and hide and seek, imagining playing it ourselves.

   The joy of freedom from the four
walls of a class room, is so relaxing.

     Having lunch in the great out doors with the animals on the ranch.
     Even if they only get the left-overs.

 Then to top off the day with a sewing project. Oh my favorite subject, SEWING. We made a cell phone -over the shoulder- bag and a hide in purse-snack bag.

 

This is great. We had a good time.
 I tried a new to be released pattern and Punkin designed and made me a snack bag. So this weekend while I am at 'Road to California Quilt Show', I can take some snacks in my purse where they won't be seen by the security.
  I will be working for one of the vendors and won't be able to get away for lunch. Besides it will be pricy.  So now I won't be hungry and PECKISH.
        
All things work together for those who love the Lord and are called for His purpose.

Ministry Fellowship

                   It was GREAT. We ( the Harvest Community) arrived anywhere between 8 and 9:00, and registered.
    We( lots of people) got our pictures taken and signed our lives away. Not really, we( those who had not already done so in the last three months) just had to fill out paperwork so they knew where we( servants of the Lord who help out in different church ministries at different campuses) helped out.
  We( the people and all who attended) worshiped with the best worship team ever, Harvest Christian Band.
  We( the people) heard great comedy and good clean laughter coming from the crowds. It was fun.
  They( the staff of the church) gave away prizes and one was a all expense paid trip to Australia for the next Harvest Crusade. I just wish it could have been me, but the good Lord knows who He wants there.
   We( servants) got a free burger or hotdog with chips and a drink. ALL the while the wind was blowing. Sure the enemy tried to stir stuff up but we( everyone) all a good time anyway.
      We were reminded of the beliefs that the church is based on. You know things like,
We believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God. All Scripture is  inspired by God.             (2 Timothy 3:16).
 That the trinity is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And eight others that I can not remember all of. But it is what I believe, and so I was glad to hear them all again, Should have taken notes.
   All the Pastors were there. It was a blessed day and it just reminds me how blessed I am that I am able to help serve my Lord in church that teaches the gospel truth, straight from the pages of scripture.  I  am also blessed to be so close to one of the best churches in America.

Punkin loved going to school there

This is where I serve now, both in Children's Ministry and As a teacher for my Punkin.

  

It is a great way to spend the day with love in my heart for those who I love and who love me.

 God has put me here and I am where I am supposed to be.

Blogging

                   I am so new to this that I don't make sense of what I am saying. I am just blogging.
    I have been following Ree Drummond /The pioneer Woman's blog and am engrossed by her abilities to write. She has contests and all kinds of different subjects that she writes about. She is really good.
    I so enjoy them all. Maybe someday I can write like her or her contributors. Even Heather from OMSH is  really helpful in the homeschooling ideas.
     I love the recipes that are available through Tasty Kitchen.

    So, someday, if I don't get intimidated by all these great bloggers and stop blogging myself, I may be able to blog like the best of them.

Until then I will just take baby steps and do my best with what I have.

Quilters Newsletter Article

Remembering Phyllis Schneck, Lost in Tucson Shooting

by Dana Jones

“Phyllis Schneck, quilter.”

That’s what the TV reporter said as he read a list of those killed in this week’s tragic shootings at an appearance by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona.

“Phyllis Schneck, quilter.”

As the reporter read her name, her picture appeared on the screen. It was the smiling face of the 79-year-old-grandmother and great grandmother. Her son said his mother wasn’t particularly political but did want to meet Giffords.

I wanted to know more about Phyllis Schneck. It’s not the norm to hear someone identified on national TV news as a quilter. Here’s what I learned from searching for her on the Internet: Phyllis Schneck spent summers in her native New Jersey and the rest of the year in Tucson, where she and her husband of 56 years, Ernest Schneck Sr., moved in 2000. Ernest died in 2007. In New Jersey and Arizona, Phyllis Schneck was active in church and women’s clubs. Family and friends interviewed in the wake of her death, all noted two things: she was a great cook and a whiz with a needle and thread. Her daughter, B.J. Offutt said her mother was active in quilting, crafting and Bible-study groups at her church. She helped create quilts the church sold two or three times a year to raise money for mission.

A New Jersey friend called Phyllis Schenck “an activitst for her community,” and many noted her generosity. A pastor at her Tucson church said: “Phyllis just had this very sweet spirit…She had sort of a quiet way about her, but on the other hand, she just had a poignant sense of humor.”

I never met Phyllis Schneck but feel I know her just a bit. She sounds like so many women in our quilting world who value the art of hand-crafted items and are willing to give many hours to make beautiful things for others –even folks they’ve never met. I hope the quilt world will join me in mourning the loss of one from our community. Please take a moment to think about the void in the lives of all who knew her, those who benefited from her labors of love, and especially her three children–B.J. Orcutt of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Phyllis Rautenberg of Calabasas, California; and Ernest Schneck Jr. of Rutherford, New Jersey–and her grandchildren and great grandchild.

Quilting quilts

This is my passion.
     To be the best of my kind. Professional Quilt-Top Constructor. I received a call from a  gal who I have had quilt some of the tops I have pieced. I have made four to date this year. (Three of which were on my camera, which was lost to every viewers eye but mine. That mistake I learned from after I reformatted my disc in the camera one night.) Okay enough of that, Anyway I so wish I could do that task much more than I am hired to do.

No, I don't have business cards and nor do I have a website or advertise. I do these jobs by word of mouth.
Tonight I got a call and it was nice to hear from Trina, but then the doubt has crept in. I hate that slimy devil, who does that to me. Makes me wonder if I am good enough for the quote. I think I am and I feel I am, but who can...,
 see there he goes again. It's like STOP Already.  I will find out if someone wants me to do a job for them or not. It is totally up to the Lord and His will.

Last year I did a couple of shirt quilts for a gal and they were stunning in the end. But sure the questions were there. Is it really worth the money. The owner of the quilts thought so when she received them.

He loved the "Angels"

silk and rayon and cotton shirts from her
belated wonderful husband

This was the center of the back and the
sky in the back was part of the same shirt

BQ with hubby's shirts

I can't go on doubting myself. I am a Professional Quilt-top Constructor, and I love it.

Tough times

      So we are going thru our day doing our studies and we are laughing, when all of a sudden, back she goes and I can not stop her. She hits her head and then it comes. The crying. Oh my, what do I do.                      

 I grab her up from under her stool and there is blood. Where is it coming from . "Run to the bathroom", I tell her. Like right, run? Well we get to the bathroom and I tell her to close her eyes so she doesn't see all the blood coming out of her mouth. I am rinsing her mouth out hoping no teeth are going to go down the drain. As time goes by I can see it is not her teeth, Thank the Lord. But is it her nose?  No.  She has a pretty good bite in her bottom lip though. We put gauze in between the bottom lip and her teeth.

         So we go back to the classroom and I try to get her focus on something other than the pain, and I keep seeing the gauze in her mouth getting redder and redder.
  All of a sudden I become very dizzy and remember that I faint at the site of blood. So we have to go back to the bathroom and change the gauze, as well as allow me to sit down, before I fall down. She see's me go very pale and gives me a big hug for comfort. That's my girl. Take care of the big baby.
We ended the day early.( One of her spelling words this week. In fact the only one she miss spelled.)
 But we read "Molly Saves the Day" until mommy got here. It was still somewhat bleeding up to at least a half a hour.
I am so 'Thankful" for the strength of the Lord for He is the one who was totally in control.