Be Gone Bugs!

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My project on Friday consisted of the Terminix guy coming by again.  This time we showed him what the bugs were that were bothering us.  German cockroaches.  You can't get rid of them by spraying.  You can't get rid of them with fogging.  They simply move to a new location.  So our very helpful bug guy put out traps with bait that is irresistible to this variety of bug.  He also sprayed some of the bait in some of the cracks in the cupboards.   The traps seem to be working.  We are very impressed.  ~Lena 

Small Vest

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Monday's Project:For my youngest, I had to make a pattern for his vest.  This was fairly simple to do since he has this cute blue vest that fits him now. Tools: Pencil, paper, tape, fabric, scissors, thread, sewing machine, iron My blue tape in the picture doesn't look very blue.I Procedure: I  traced the vest onto paper and gave myself a half inch seam allowance.  Then I cut out the fabric pieces and sewed them together following the same basic steps as last week's vest.
 

 Finished except for the buttons.  That's a project for another day.
~Lena

Strawberry Fig Jam

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 I was so lucky to get figs from a friend and since figs wait for no man, I made jam right away.
 Love this recipe.  It's our family's favorite jam recipe.  We love to serve it with fresh bread when the missionaries come over to dinner.  Also great on pb&j's.
Tools:


 Wash and remove stems from figs.  Mash them up.  I use a hand blender.
Strawberry Fig Jam
6 cups mashed figs
1 box pectin
1/2 tsp margarine
6 cups sugar
2 (6 oz) boxes gelatin (strawberry, raspberry or black raspberry flavor)
{or 4 (3 oz) boxes gelatin}

Mix together mashed figs with pectin and margarine (prevents foam).  Bring to a boil.  Add all at once the sugar and gelatin.  Stirring constantly bring back to a boil and boil 1 minute.  Ladle into hot, sterile jars.  Wipe rims clean with a clean, damp cloth.  Place new lids and ring on jars.  Hand tighten.  Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.  If the lids pop down and stay down, they are sealed and can be stored in your cupboard.  If the lids pop back up, then they are not sealed and the jars should be reprocessed or put in the refrigerator for immediate use.



~Lena

Large Vest

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For today's project I had to make a pattern and vest for my big boy.  He's too big for the boys' pattern, but too small for the men's  pattern.
Tools:Large roll of paper, pencil, scissors, pins, fabric, sewing machine etc.
Procedure:Using big boy's measurements and boys' pattern, trace a larger pattern, then cut out pieces for vest.   Once all that was done, simply sew together all the pieces same as done previously.
 I'm glad that is done.  I was not looking forward to making the pattern, but it was easier than I mentally set it up to be. It's vacation time so no projects.  Yea!  I'll post some other projects that have gone on concurrently  with these.  I'm glad to say I've been doing good with my projects thus far.  School starts in a few weeks.  Let's just say that this summer is not nearly long enough.~Lena

Vacation Home

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We decided to take separate vacations this year.  Princess Sally visited our royal friends and we headed to the big city for lots of sight-seeing. To make our separation easier to bear,  and since princesses can be, well princessy, we thought Sally would like to stay in a new vacation home.
For inspiration my right hand man looked at these plans here and here.Tools: Circular saw with Rip Cut, Kreg Jig, pocket screws, drill, jig saw, hammer and nails, wood, and shingles Be sure to have extra builders ready to lend a helping hand or 6.
 Procedure:
Measure and cut wood, drill holes, screw and nail pieces together.  Using the Kreg Rip Cut and Kreg Jig made this project a lot easier.  And we were able to use up extra wood that we had in our stash.  So cool!

 The kids had lots of fun helping with this project.
 And playing in the house.  Kind of irresistible isn't it.
 I think a playhouse needs to be put into our cue of projects. 
Princess Sally seems to like it, as long as she takes her own bed with her.  Princesses and their ways!  Good thing we can accommodate her demands and whims.   I'll have to post the "after" pictures later.  Princess Sally's new abode is now purple with black shingles.  Thanks hon for the new vacation home. ~Lena

Poke Cake

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Here's fun summer treat to make with your kids or to take to your next get-together or barbecue.
 
Poke Cake
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sour milk or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Turn on oven to 350 degrees F.  Sift together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Add wet ingredients.  Mix until batter is smooth.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely.

6 oz Flavored Gelatin (also known as Jell-o) {1 lg box or 2 small boxes 3 oz each}
2 cups boiling water

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.  Any flavor will do.  Poke cooled cake with a skewer, fork, chopstick, whatever you have on hand.  Be sure to poke the cake all over.  Pour gelatin over the cake.  Put into the refrigerator until gelatin is set.  Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.  A fun cool treat for a hot summer's day. ~Lena

Dresses fit for Cinderella

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The boys are getting all fancy with their vests.  We need three fancy dresses for the girls to match. I used Simplicity pattern 9497.  Deborah helped me with the first dress.  She cut it out and sewed the bodice.  It was so fun having her here for a few days to help me out!   I finished the 1st dress and got the 2nd dress cut out and sewed and the third dress is all cut out.  I can't wait to sit down and sew it.
Tools:  Same as for any sewing project.  Pattern, fabric, pins, scissors, sewing machine etc., no extra bit of blue required for this project.Procedure:  Follow pattern directions.
Here is the beautiful bodice.  When I saw it I instantly thought "Cinderella."
 Use a sewing gauge to measure the hem, then pin it and iron it before sewing, it helps make the hem line nice and even.
Medium dress.
Small dress.   I need to make the small dress longer, but I think I will add some tulle or something to it.  Plus I need to add white ribbon sashes to all the dresses.
Large dress, all cut out and ready to sew.  A project for another day.
~Lena

All Dressed Up

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Sorry to be slow with posting.  With traveling, getting ready for school and seminary to start and trying to get my home in order things have been a little hectic around these parts, to say the least.  My sister-in-law got married at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan, Utah.All of our hard work paid off.  Everyone is so cute!    My adorable family all dressed up and ready to party.

 The flower girls loved helping their aunt with her train.
 My other sister-in-law made this gorgeous wedding cake.
 The decorations were hired.  Great choice.

 Doesn't he look so spiffy!  I had to make a bow tie the night before to go with the vest and pants that I made.  We tried to find a regular dress shirt for our little guy to go with the tie I already had made to match the big boys, but we were fortunate enough to borrow a little tuxedo shirt before we left town.  Everyone loved the little bow tie.
And we sent them off right to live happily, ever after. . .

~Lena

Today's Nugget

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Ah, reality sets in. Here is the second "daily" nugget (the first one having occurred three days ago.... ::sigh::)

When I was teaching my kids phonics, I had a bit of a difficult time explaining the “wh” sound.  I mean, I “get” that it has an “h” sound in it, and a “w” sound, but it always sounded more “hw” than “wh” when I pronounced it and explained it. My daughter actually said to me that it ought to be spelled “hw”, but I didn’t know what to tell her.
This week I learned that in Old English, it WAS spelled “hw”. Sometime, when English was transitioning, “hw” was changed to “wh”, but the sound remained the same.
So, hwen English went from Old to New, some things were changed hwich affect our spelling. Let’s try to remember that hwen we are correcting our childrens’ spelling tests next time! J

King Alfred's English: A Schoolhouse Crew Review

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During the month of July, I was given the opportunity to ready a new book that rocked my socks! And today I get to tell you about it!
 King Alfred's English: A History of the Language We Speak, And Why We Should Be Glad We Do, by Laurie J. White - or King Alfred's English, for short.
Let me start by giving you some of my personal background. First of all, ethnically, I am 1/2 English, 1/4 Finnish, and 1/4 Norwegian. So, I've always thought of myself as half British. Until recently...
I have been homeschooling 22 years. When my two oldest students were studying world history, the Middle Ages, and various aspects of the older civilizations, I read along with them and tried to understand what was going on, but I was lost. If I was lost, they probably were too. I couldn't keep up with the Angles and the Jutes, the Saxons and the Burserkers... They all just left a fuzzy, cloudy recollection in my head that they were part of European history, and that was it. And I had an understanding that at one point Rome extended to include England. I remembered that Gaul was what we now call France, and that Normandy is part of France too...
But after reading  King Alfred's English, I understand so much of this material so much better! And it is an easy, quick read, and I want to go back and re-read it and go through the study materials to really, really wrap my brain around the entire thing completely!
For one thing, as I inferred before, I now am no longer content to to refer to myself as merely 1/2 British, and now being 1/2 English means something entirely different to me than being 1/2 British. What my "real" heritage is depends upon where, on the island, my grandparents were from. If  they were from Cornwall, as I think they were, then I can still call myself 1/2 British in heritage. But if they were from a more central part, like London... That is where the Angles settled, and that becomes an entirely different heritage. But I won't tell you; you have to read it yourself.
I have also long been a logophile (if I am correct, this should mean a lover of words), or more correctly I have been one who studies word origins to help my students understand word definitions and spellings.  I also teach my children phonics. I have now learned why "wh" sounds like "hw" (but I'm not going to tell you; you have to read it yourself). I learned:

• that languages simplify over time; how, and why;
• the history of "ain't"; that it used to be an acceptable word;
• the origin of the terms "upper" and "lower" case for letters;
• the ongoing battle of Latin: what it's about and why it's important;
• this history of the toilet (ha! ha!);
• more about druids, 
• corrected my history understanding about Constantine;
•  learned the origin of the Christian XP symbol and the origin of the term "Xmas";
• where the name "jeep" came from... and so much more.

Reading this book was such a hoot! Every day I was sharing new tidbits with my family, "Did you know that..."  ...and since they weren't reading the book and didn't have the context, for the most part they didn't care! But a lot of the time they were interested and thought the information was very interesting. I can't wait to go back and read it again, this time studying the material more deeply using the Student Page as I read so that I can get even more out of it!
Laurie White has really hit the mark with this book! I look forward to sharing it with my son fully this coming school year. But I sense you may not be completely convinced. I have a suggestion. Read the first chapter and see with you think! You can also see more about the contents by taking a look at the Table of Contents.  If you decide to have your students cover the material in the book, you can also refer them to the Student Page, and you yourself have your own Teacher's Page to get worksheets and tests for your students, as well as their answers.
 King Alfred's English is available in Kindle through Amazon.com for $5.95, and is available in paperback format from Rainbow Resources for $14.95 (as I write this, but normally $16.95). There is also a group discount if you purchase EIGHT or more books. And you can also see a List of Resources that were used to create King Alfred's English.  If you are still not convinced, you need to read Reasons to Study King Alfred's English.

If you would like to buy a copy of  King Alfred's English, I have FIVE DISCOUNT CODES that I have permission to GIVE to FIVE of my readers! I will give these codes to the first five people who ask for them, so please reply below and ASK for a code if you want one! This code will give you a discount on the paperback to buy the softcover book at the wholesale price of 50% off, or $8.47. So leave your comments below!

King Alfred's English is brought to you by PNP and TheShorterWord.com (to understand that name, read the book!). This company also offers Baktar: A Tale from the Andes; Barn Roofs, Quail Coveys, and General Mischief;  and World History/Bible.

DISCLAIMER:
I received a free Kindle copy of King Alfred's English in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I was not told what to say.

This has been a TOS Schoolhouse Crew Review.

" alt="Photobucket" border="0" />To see more Schoolhouse Crew Reviews, go to the Schoolhouse Crew Review Blog page for King Alfred's English:

Fall Wreath Redo

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My fall wreath needed to be redone.  So here is a step by step of what I did.  I wish that I had a total before picture, so you could see the sorry state that this was in.  It looked a ton better with everything off.  I kept the ribbon since it was in good shape, and I still liked it.

I added some shiny pumpkin ribbon as well.  I wove it over and under the existing ribbon and hot-glued it in place.  Next I made some loops of the shiny ribbon, twisted on some stiff wire, and then hot-glued them in between the loops of the bow on the top.

Next I wove in a garland of leaves in and out of the ribbon.  I then hot glued  in some shiny pumpkins that I bought at Hobby Lobby on sale for about $1/each.  I also glued back in the small pumpkins and berries that were on it before, in and around the big bow on top.

I had this spray of these small yellow berry things.  I pulled off the individual sprays and then strategically glued them around the pumpkins and in the bow.

I also glued these weird purple berries that I had left over from another project as well as some reddish purple mums that I had.

Here is a close-up of the bow on top.

And here is the finished wreath--BEAUTIFUL!!!!  I love how it turned out!  Not bad for a $3 investment.