The theme of last Winter Wednesday was snow and well, no shortage of snow around here: a whole lot fell last night and more is on the way. I requested the book, Discover Nature in Winter, from the interlibrary loan, but it hasn’t arrived yet. But Barb mentioned the following experiment: melt and filter different …
Monthly Archives: January 2009
A Gift of Self-Sufficiency
Snow fell during the night and a good part of the day. It stopped by 3 and I set out. I used the tiny electric snow thrower that was given to us via FreeCycle, for about half the driveway, and shoveled the other half. Took me 2 1/5 hours in all for about 1000 sq.f. …
Sick – Not Me!
Amie has a cold. Dripping nose, little cough. No fever, but I’m thinking that might come tomorrow, and I’m sure she’ll be staying home from school. But all in all I am quite happy with her health since coming to live here. She has been sick less often and less severely than when we were …
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
A new law will be coming into effect on 10 February, called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It demands that all products for children aged 12 and younger be tested for lead and phthalates, and that those that haven’t been tested yet are considered hazardous and may not be sold. It’s about time …
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She’s My Little Sample
A while ago I was telling an older acquaintance about how few clothes we need to buy for Amie. We have several generous friends who have daughters a year or so older than Amie and who gladly pass on some clothing. – I love hand-me-downs, I said. To which my acquaintance whispered: – Ssshh, you …
Drawing Dinosaurs at the Museum
Over the holidays we made several visits to several Natural History Museums. Amie was keen to see the dinosaur bones. When she was 2,5 years old she learned that the dinosaurs are extinct. She was having dinosaur nightmares at the time and our discussions about their demise and the meanings of “extinct” and “dead” helped …
Homestead TO DO Lists
I can feel I’m back in the thick of things when I feel one of those big TO DO lists coming on. And boy, is there a lot to do! I decided to put these lists in my sidebar and I’ll cross out as I get things done (and for each item crossed out I …
Observational Drawing: 4 Pandas
I has just reread Lori’s Observational Drawing Lesson on the Camp Creek Blog when I looked up and spotted the perfect occasion for such drawing: Amie sitting at the table, waiting for her grandparents to appear on the troubled webcam, paper and pencil, and a panda bear mask she made in school. Okay, I thought, …
Snow Ghosts and Full Wolf Moon on Snow
It’s 8 in the morning and everyone is asleep but me. I’m in bed, next to the sleeping bodies, trying to type quietly. They lie so deep, while I’m on the surface, eyes wide open. I’m looking out of the bedroom window at the trees in our western garden and in the neighbors’ garden: beeches, …
Learning Drawing from her Peers
Over the holidays Amie got to stay for several days over at her friend, E’s, place in NY. E is four and a half and bright as a button and she loves playing with Amie. They are well matched for verbal communication – they both love to talk – and they are both interested in …