Something New...

Rachel's violin teacher tells us it would be good if Rachel could get a new bow for her violin. Apparently, an advancing violinist can only attain certain sounds and techniques with a better grade violin. "No big deal," I thought to myself. "We can do that." Yeah right! That's what I thought before we went bow shopping! I didn't realize that bows can cost way up into the THOUSANDS! Of course, the type of bow she'll need for now is priced in the mere hundreds....approximately $300 to $600. That's all. We have considered putting her on the street corner to play...and putting a tin can at her feet. :O) I dread the day when she'll need a better grade violin! If the bow costs this much, how much will be the violin be?? Her teacher also said she would really encourage her to try to get into the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. That would be wonderful. Of course, from our house, Knoxville is an hour and a half away. We'll have to check into it. If you're interested, you can see the KSO Youth Orchestra's web page here.

Jacob started his accounting class this past week. He seems to think he'll like it...but economics is more appealing to him. Ya never know...he could become the next Bernanke! ;O)

Katie and Spud are still good buddies. So good, in fact, that we all learned a lesson last week...Ya just better not mess with Katie while Spud is around. The other day Katie and Rachel were outside playing around with some big sticks. They started "sword fighting" and apparently Spud thought Rachel was trying to hurt Katie. He started barking, yapping, jumping at Rachel, and once he lunged at her so hard, it nearly knocked the wind out of her. (Bear in mind that this dog is a scrawny little runt!) He grabbed her stick (which is way bigger than he is!) and hid it! :O) Then he went and stood beside Katie...leaning against her leg. It was funny to watch...Rachel would go get the stick and he would start the process over again. It ceased to be funny though when he actually bit her on the arm! That little dog meant business. Now whenever they want to "sword fight", ol' Spuddy boy gets penned up. So if you ever come visit us...and you take a notion you want to mess with Katie...you better think again if Spud is around. :O) Wish I had a picture or video of it...I've always heard stories of very loyal dogs, but we've never actually had one...not until now.

For those of you who might be interested, I have started a new blog. It's mainly just for women...there are recipes, homemaking ideas, and such like. I'll continue to keep up this blog for family and friends to keep up with us. But you're more than welcome to check out the new one if you'd like! http://www.littlehouseinthefoothills.blogspot.com/ You *might* find something to interest you.

Well that's about all for now. Hope you're all well and happy. Til next time!

Do you find fingerprints fascinating??

Katie does. She's been studying fingerprints on her own...reading about them, studying pictures of them, making her own, etc... Did you know there are different fingerprint patterns...whorl, loop, arch, and mixed? Which do you have? Can a person have more than one pattern? Her little inquiring mind just had to know. :) So we did a little experiment last week. We made up a chart with columns for each of the different patterns. Then she fingerprinted herself, Jacob, Rachel, and me. She cut out each of the prints and placed them in the appropriate column on the chart. It was interesting to see that, yes, a person can have different types of prints. The most popular print? The loop, of course! ;) (You mean you didn't know that???) The least popular? Surely you knew it was the arch! For some reason, there was not a single mixed fingerprint pattern in the bunch. Mixed prints just must not run in our family. :O) You can click on the chart below if you're interested in seeing a bigger version of the chart. Go ahead. Click. You know you're dying to. :O)

Bet you're fascinated with fingerprints now, aren't ya? I knew you would be. Fingerprints are ok...I mean, actually, they really are quite interesting when you get to studying them and realize that no two prints are exactly alike. We really do have quite a creative God, don't we? And ya know what else? I'm thankful for inquiring little minds. They keep my "getting-older-and-tending-to-forget-things-mind" active. :O)

Getting Out of the House!

Because of the weather, I haven't ventured far from the house for 2 or 3 days. Oh, I did go out on the back porch to get wood for the stove a few times. :O) I am NOT a snow person. And it seems that the older I get, the colder I get...so I'm not much of a cold person anymore either...even though winter is probably my favorite time of the year. (Imagine that from someone who used to walk barefoot in the snow to get the mail!! Yikes! Did I really do that??!!) So anyway, we're supposed to see temps in the 30s today and after another cold night (low of 10 degrees) it'll be nice! Yesterday I couldn't have gone anywhere if I had wanted to. The brakes on the back wheels of the van froze up and it wouldn't budge! Matt did something with a hammer and unfroze it today though. Today is Wednesday so I'll be getting out to go to church! I'm getting a little stir crazy, though I must admit I've enjoyed these few days of lounging around in my warm fuzzy jammies. :O) The back roads have been pretty nasty...Matt slid and slipped most of the way to work. (They don't salt the roads way out here for some reason. Hmm.) We ended up with just a few inches of snow (believe me, it was more than enough)...here is a picture taken before it all fell....
The kids have had fun playing in it...."skating" on the creek, throwing snowballs, etc... And it seems that Katie's just got a thing for miniature snowmen. Here's another one she made...
And last, but not least, is just a random picture of icicles that were hanging on the edge of the roof that I thought was kinda pretty. :O)
I haven't mentioned school in a little while. I'm happy to report it's going well. Rachel...who is not a math-lover...is making great strides lately in that subject. She hasn't made anything below an 88 since our second semester started. Trust me, this is a good thing. And remember I said Jacob started his Accounting course this past Monday? Scratch that. It's next Monday. :O) Katie's breezing right along with her school work too. She's really developed a love of reading this year, and I'm always glad to see that. And what about their teacher, you might ask? She's learning right along with 'em. :O) And lovin' every minute of it. It really is a joy to be able to educate your own youngens...stressful days and all. :O)
Hope y'all have a good day!

Inauguration Day. My, oh my.

I ran across this quote by John Adams, our second President and signer of the Declaration of Independence, on another site this morning and the truth of it really struck me.

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

And what about this little gem from Noah Webster, the author of our first dictionary:

"[T]he Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government. . . . and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence."

Here's one from John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:

"The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts."

Wow, sure sounds like many of our forefathers felt that government without God was simply not going to work. I agree with them....on this *historic* Inauguration Day. (You can read more quotes HERE if you like.) I won't comment on these quotes any further...they speak for themselves.

And to quote Mr. Obama himself:

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

I may be wrong here, but I don't think he means we should get back to what our forefathers intended government to be. Have we, as a nation, gotten so big for our britches that we've outgrown God? It appears that we have. So now we need change. Any change from the original intent of what our government should be means moving away from God. Obama says "We" are the change we seek....obviously then, it's not HE (God) that he seeks.

I'll leave you (if you haven't already left) with a few quotes from the Almighty God Himself. He has the final word anyway.

"Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."
Proverbs 14:34

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."
Psalm 9:17

Doesn't sound like too good of a change to me. We need to pray for our leaders in government. We're commanded to.

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
I Timothy 2:1-6

Snowman...in miniature

I've already posted once today, but I wanted to put up a picture of Katie's little snowman. When I say "little", I do mean *little*. When she was outside, there wasn't a lot of snow so she just made do with what she had. :O) It has snowed all day long...but we had quite a few bare spots in the middle of the day. Seems to be sticking again now.
He's kinda cute, don't ya think...even though his eyes did get pushed to the back of his head. He doesn't mind. Really. :O)

Happy Monday!

We woke up to a smattering of snow this morning...not much...just a dusting.
The temperatures, instead of having lows of 4 and 6, are more back in the normal ranges for us....which is a relief! The pond is still iced over so it was completely white from snow. It is still snowing...in fact, it's really coming down. Looks like we'll end up with a bit more than a smattering. :O)
Speaking of snow, Amy sent a picture this morning of what she walked outside to find...you could barely distinguish her car under a big blob of white! The caption she sent with the picture? "I hate snow." :O) (See Amy! Told ya you need to move back down south.)
Even a flake of snow here seems to send the birds into a panic. They swarm the feeders (all 4 of them) like there's no tomorrow! When Jacob stepped out on the front porch to go feed this morning, he noticed a little bird that didn't fly away. He just sat there on the feeder watching Jacob. So Jacob walked closer and he still just sat there. Finally, Jacob slowly walked right up to the bird and just picked him right up. He just sat there in Jacob's hand...calm as a cucumber. Even when Jacob opened his hand, he stayed right there for a minute or so, then flew away.
A few people have asked about Spud, the little stray dog that came to our house last week. He's doing great. He's still a bit skinny....he really was pitiful when we got him. But he's fattening up a bit and even his fur doesn't look quite so "ratty". He's made himself quite at home now. Here he is to greet us as we went out this morning. :O) He's a pretty happy camper, can ya tell?
What was he looking so intently at when I took this picture? Guess. Yep...Katie. :O)
Oh by the way, can you see the little smiley at the top of the page...up there where the web address is? Isn't he cute? Made him myself. :O) I just love smileys. (let me know if you can't see it, ok?)
Jacob starts his 2nd semester college course today...Introductory Accounting I. Hope he'll enjoy this as much as he did Economics.
Well that's all for now. Y'all have a good Monday!

Molded Butter! Isn't it exciting?!

Ok, so y'all know by now that I am a nut over old-timey things. And y'all also know if you read this blog that I love churning my own butter. That's me in the picture above. HaHa! (No cute comments please.) Anyway, so...thanks to eBay and just a few minutes of time spent searching for butter molds, I found one I loved! It's just gorgeous! It came last week and I could hardly wait to try it. My first attempt at this process proved not *quite* successful. The butter came out of the mold ok but it didn't come out perfectly molded where the engraving was. Not to be daunted, I searched the world wide web to find out the best way to get the butter out of a mold. I came across the neatest site. http://www.oldandinteresting.com/ Take a peek at it when you have time. Anyway, so here's an excerpt I found from a book written in 1861:

Butter-moulds, or wooden stamps for moulding fresh butter, are much used, and are made in a variety of forms and shapes. In using them, let them be kept scrupulously clean, and before the butter is pressed in, the interior should be well wetted with cold water; the butter must then be pressed in, the mould opened, and the perfect shape taken out. The butter may be then dished, and garnished with a wreath of parsley, if for a cheese course; if for breakfast, put it into an ornamental butter-dish, with a little water at the bottom, should the weather be very warm.

Isabella Beeton, Book of Household Management, 1861

Aha! This armed me with the knowledge I needed! This morning while I was churning, I put my butter mold in the freezer to chill. When I was finished, I washed my butter, got the mold, wetted the inside with cold water, then packed the butter in the mold.

I prayed (don't laugh) then put it in the fridge to chill.
A few hours later, I was dancing across the floor squealing with delight!! (doesn't take much to make me happy, huh?) Here is the result!
Isn't it just the most beautifulest thing you ever saw in all your whole life?!

Apparently, Isabella Beeton, who wrote the book I mentioned, also wrote quite a few other books in her relatively short life. (She died at 28.) Her most famous book was the one I just quoted above. There's even a Masterpiece Theater movie about her...The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton. Most of her books had to do with domestic things...keeping the home, cooking, recipes, etc... Mrs. Beeton's "secret"??? She was a terrible cook! :O) You can read a bit more about her here http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/mrsbeeton/beeton.html

Didn't mean to run a rabbit there, but I did find that interesting.

Seems like there's been record cold weather across parts of the US. It was 4 degrees here this morning. We kept that old wood stove hopping all day yesterday and last night....adding wood every 2 or 3 hours. We've stayed surprisingly warm...wearing two pairs of socks helps too. These old houses can be pretty drafty. :O) See these cold, pink, pretty cheeks?
...and this cold birdy?
Hope y'all are staying warm! I'll be back soon!

Shadows

Shadows generally follow the pattern and shape of the original object, right? Well, I have proof that isn't always so. Case in point...one scared stray dog and one critter-lovin' 10 year old. Yesterday, a stray dog wandered onto our property. Our dog, Johann, didn't run him off...in fact, he was happy to have a playmate. We tried (ok...half-heartedly) to run him off, but when we got up this morning he was back. Matt had given strict orders to Katie to NOT pet the dog...he knew if she did, we'd never get rid of him. But today while she was doing school, the dog kept hanging around right outside the window where she was doing her math. :O) Finally, Katie could stand it no longer and told her Dad, "Aw, but Dad he keeps looking at me. Can't I please pet him?" It's true...the poor dog did keep staring in the window at her. :O) And it's true he was all pitiful looking. Of course, he probably knew just the right person to flash his little sad eyes to. Matt finally told her she could pet him...well technically what he said was, "Whatever your Mama says."...which was just as good as saying, "Yes, you can pet him." So, long story short...a little food, a few pats on the head, and "Spud" is home. Funny thing...Spud will not let Katie out of his eyesight. He follows her around just like he's her shadow. He won't get more than a few feet from her, unless she comes inside. If she comes in the back door, he waits on the top step til she comes back out. If she comes in the back door, he waits on the back porch. If she's on the 4-wheeler, he's trying to get up there with her. Since he can't quite make it, he runs right along side her. :O) Hopefully he'll make a good farm dog...but we'll have to wait and see how he gets along with the chickens. :OP

It Started Out as One of Those Days...

Today...is a good day. It really is. I'm happy. I'm healthy. I've been blessed with a good family. The Lord is good. I have no complaints. But have you ever had one of "those" days? You know the kind I'm talking about...the kind where you drop everything you pick up, or trip over your own feet, or say one thing when you mean another. :O) I was in my little kitchen this morning, after I had gotten the kids going in school...fixing a big ol' kettle of homemade soup, thinking what a pleasure it would be to serve it to my family for dinner along with a plate of cornbread. I was also planning what dessert I could make that my family would enjoy after dinner. So I figured I'd conjure up a chocolate layer cake with chocolate icing and coconut-pecan filling. I whipped together the cake, popped it into the oven, and got back to the business of math and grammar with the girls. The timer went off indicating my cake was done. Matt and I were talking while I was taking the layers out of the oven. As I was getting one of the layers out of the pan, I turned to answer a question Matt had asked, and lo and behold if the cake didn't fall right out of my hands and plop pretty-as-you-please right onto the floor. We both just stood there looking at the cake...shocked into not knowing what else to do at the moment! :O) I could only stand there...a full minute or so...and stare without blinking. I didn't cry and I didn't think bad thoughts. Honest. Never said a word...I couldn't! :O) It was just one of those things...on one of those days. :O) I got down on the floor and cleaned up the mess...and thought about what we wouldn't be having for dessert today! :O) Note to self: You have got to cut back on multi-tasking.
On a different note, my what strange weather we're having lately. It rained pretty solid for several days. This morning things turned pretty chilly again. I looked out the window saw it was snowing to beat the band...great big ol' flakes. Don't think they're calling for any accumulation but it sure had me fooled for a little while. :O)



Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Back to School! It's Raining!

Well, we're officially back at the old grindstone...we started our 2nd semester of the 08-09 school year on Monday. And...we're off and running! The kids just fell right back into their places...oh ok, maybe they were a bit slow and groggy at first, but now we're running at a smooth pace. Before a long school break, like Christmas vacation, we always try to find a stopping place at the end of a chapter, or with a test before a new subject. That always helps...not having to pick up in the middle of something after a long holiday. Jacob starts a new college course on the 19th of January. He'll be taking Introductory Accounting this time. He isn't quite looking forward to it as much as he did the Economics course...he loved that! But I think he'll find it interesting, and he's anxious to see if that's a direction he might want to head in after graduation. Here are a few pictures below of the kiddos diligently working in their studies (Jacob was too fast for my camera...he avoided it like the plague, so there's no pic of him)...


Remember back in the summer when I kept mentioning how dry it was? And the drought the year before that? Well. Times have changed and we have been abundantly blessed with rain! In fact, it's rained for several days in a row now. The ponds, which were dried up, are now filled, literally, to overflowing. But I'm not complaining! We needed it desperately. We are still under flood warnings, but I think the rain is supposed to stop today, and it's back to the cold weather tonight.


Though we're in the middle of winter, it's the perfect time to start planning our spring garden. I think of gardening everytime I open a jar of canned green beans, or bring up some potatoes from the cellar. Think we may plant some brussel sprouts early this spring. I have a hankering for 'em. :O)
Hope everybody has a good rest-of-the-week! I'll be back soon!

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!

Ok, so I'm a day or two late in wishing everybody a wonderful and happy new year! There are still 363 days left in 2009 to enjoy! And I hope it's a prosperous year for everybody! Made any New Year's resolutions? As a general rule, I don't make resolutions, but I have to admit it's a good time to review and re-establish goals. A few of my goals for this year include: (1) putting a little more "oomph" into the last half of the school year (seems like the 2nd semester of any school year is always a little "blah"), (2) re-organizing school records, (3) memorize and read more Scripture. I think lots of folks purpose to read the Bible through in a year. If you're one of those folks, here's a good plan to follow if you're just wanting to read straight through from Genesis to Revelation: http://www.heartlight.org/devotionals/reading_plans/straightthrough.pdf There are other plans listed here http://www.heartlight.org/devotionals/reading_plans/ There are also some good books I have on my "Wanna Read" list. :O) I love old books especially.

Speaking of old things, I'm lovin' my old butter churn!! Seems to take a bit less time to churn than to "shake" butter and I'd a whole lot rather churn than shake any day! :O) I'm now looking for an old butter mold. Keeping my eye on eBay! ;O)

I'll leave you with a spur-of-the-minute picture we took on the last Sunday of 2008. So from our house to yours, best wishes for a....

HAPPY 2009!