Sharing

 

We pulled out the blocks today for something different.  There are lots of them and there was not a problem with sharing.  Emory likes to be right in the middle of the action.

 

 

After they were done we began to put them away.  I felt a little push on my arm and noticed that Emory had decided to share something with me.  Eww . . .

Mr. Curlilocks

 

I had my Tuesday visitors this morning.  We haven't done puzzles for a long time, but that was the first request for the day.  Cole's hair was falling in his face.  I asked him if he would like me to get something to hold it back.  So I got a clip and said it was a boy clip because it was copper.  He agreed and here is the result.  Much easier to do puzzles without hair in your face.

 

 

Emory asked for "my cell phone".  She picked out her shoes for the day.  One to match her top and the other her pants.

 

We broke out the marble works for the first time and that was a big hit.  Cole was hypnotized by the marbles going around and around in the red funnel piece.  The Coleisms for the day (after eating some dried apples) "Grandma, the apples are now inside my belly, not on the outside".  While we were looking for Waldo Emory wanted her blanket.  Of course, that means Cole did too.  He grabbed his blanket, stuck his thumb in his mouth saying, "I need to suck my thumb". 

 

October Fun

We have had the most beautiful October weather.  The only thing left in the garden is the baby tomato plant.  Pansies are planted.  The leaves and nuts are falling down.  It was fun to have Bonnie and her children here and to see Abigail's delight in finding the nuts.  They enjoyed a wheelbarrow ride and playing in the leaves.

Pumpkin Walk

Each year North Logan holds a pumpkin walk at the park.  I am always amazed at peoples' talents and creativity. 

 

 

 

The theme was children's literature and I think my favorites were the ones from Mary Poppins.

 

 

 

 

Off to dinner afterwards and look who loved the salsa!

 



 

 

Notice the shirt came off!  She was one dirty girl.

 

The Lickers

My front door is pretty clean six days a week.  But on Tuesdays, that is another story.  I haven't figured out why this is so appealing.  Cole has done it for a long time and now Emory likes to do what Cole likes to do . . .  Depending on their snack, it gets a little nasty.  Ick.  Time to go clean.

Emory's Take

Today was Tuesday and that means a morning with Cole and Emory.  Cole was sick last week and I missed having them here.  As usual, the morning started with looking for Waldo, or "Wah-doe" as Emory calls him.  She is pretty smart and sometimes spots him before Cole does.  I like to see what they remember from the week before.  Cole noticed the owls with the glasses - silly.  He could not remember that they eat mice, but when I told him he reminded me that his Dad does NOT eat mice.  Emory jabbers away and I understand some of what she says.  Cole's thumb is in his mouth and her binky is in hers.  Out it pops and she says "Bink".  Obviously short for binky, right?  No.  She let me know it was not binky.  Finally I figured it out - she was telling me pink - that her binky is pink.  And it is.  I asked Cole if his thumb was pink from sucking on it and he said, "no, it's copper".   We get a good chuckle when I relate their antics to Kevin as we visit about our days.

Mmmm . . .

I love fall - the changing trees, planting pansies for the spring, putting the garden to rest, gathering nuts.  And SOUP!  My methods of planning meals have changed with the use of technology.  Type in key ingredients, Google and voila!  This was Sunday dinner, and Tuesday dinner, and some other dinner later this week.  It makes a huge recipe and when I do it next time I will make a half batch.  Thank you Martha! http://www.marthastewart.com/318100/big-batch-vegetable-soup 

My alterations included:  Instead of using the canned chicken broth, I made my own with the remainder of a Costco chicken.  I had just the right amount of broth after pulling that bird out.  Pretty lucky.  Kevin asked if he could help so I let him do my least favorite task - deboning the chicken.  I used the meat in the soup.  I had a zucchini from the garden and used that as part of my 8 cups of veggies and cooked them all for 20 minutes as she instructed.  Next time I will add them after the rest have cooked for 10 minutes.  Some of them were a little too mushy for my tastes.

The Midwife's Apprentice

From "Brat" to "Beetle" to "Alyce", this young adult Newberry winner follows the story of a homeless girl in medieval England. Upon finding her in a dung heap to keep herself warm, the local midwife sees an opportunity for an assistant.  Though the midwife's motives are not good, the hardworking assistant learns quickly and find she enjoys the work.  It was very interesting to learn about medieval midwifery which was driven by common sense, herbal remedies and superstition.  There was no formal training and the job was a less than honorable profession.  Of course, germs were unheard of at that time in history.  The infant mortality rate was high and many mothers lost their lives in the process of giving birth.  Though her situation seemed grim, Alyce made the most of her situation.  The book also has touches of humor scattered throughout.  A quick and enjoyable read.

Over and Done for 2014

I finished the last of the canning today.  Just tomatoes in quarts for soups, etc.  It was a bounteous year.

This particular plant had between 20 and 25 very large tomatoes on it at this time.  It filled half of  my bucket.  This was not all of the apples.  Bonnie took most of them, but I did some applesauce and made some crockpot apple butter this year.  Very yummy.  Lots of pears as well. Luckily there were pauses in between and I was able to sew some skirts for Bonnie's girls. 

  

 

Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Just finished a delightful book.  I was checking out some of the old Costco recommendations and came across this one.  “We had been so close to missing each other, he and I. He had turned out to be the greatest gift of all.” - one of the last quotes in the book which describes a girl's new found relationship with her grandfather, a grizzled Civil War veteran.  The story takes place in Texas in 1899, ending at the turn of the century.  Calpurnia is the only daughter in a family of seven children.  While spending time with her grandfather, a whole new world of scientific wonders is open to her.  I was certain the book was going to end a certain way and was pleasantly surprised when it took a different turn. 

Birthday Celebration

We were so blessed with beautiful weather yesterday.  We celebrated Abigial's 4th birthday with a bounce house, cupcakes and lots of fun. 

 

Emory was not quite certain about sharing her cupcake with her cousin Lily.

 

She loved her new camera and princess dress!

 



Sunday Visit

Last Sunday we went to Smithfield.  It was Abigail's first Primary program and we wanted to see her.  She did as we anticipated.  Nothing.  One of the teachers took her up and she sat on his lap.  Then she hid behind the wall.  Oh, the torture.  She pulled the funniest faces, including the fake cry to show us what a hard thing this was.  But she stayed up on the stand the whole time.  Kevin wished we could have taken some pictures because she was so entertaining with the faces she was pulling.  When we got back to the house we were treated to a delicious lunch.  Abigail had to show us what she did at Lowe's the previous day and her new apron and safety goggles.

She knows that October "five" is her birthday and she will turn four years old.  Tomorrow we are gathering to celebrate. 

Eagle Eye Cole

We have a routine on Tuesdays when Cole and Emory come.  The first thing they want to do is look at the Waldo books.  We have looked at them so much that it doesn't take Cole too long to find Waldo, so I try to point out new and funny things each week.  He will remember them from week to week. Today it was three owls in the tree and here is the conversation from there:

Cole:  They have glasses on.

Me:  Do owls wear glasses?

Cole:  No, that's silly.

Me:  Do you know what owls eat?

Cole:  No I do not.

Me:  They eat mice.

Cole:  Mice?  My Dad doesn't eat mice.

Me:  What does he eat?

Cole:  Onions.  He likes onions.

Me:  Do you like onions?

Cole:  No I do not.

Summer Reads

What is summertime without a good book or two?  I just finished this one.  It was a very interesting and thought-provoking book.  Very compelling.  It is the true story about a Lutheran minister who enlists, at the age of 50, as a chaplain in World War II.  After the war is over he is assigned to administer to Nazi high ranking officials at the Nuremberg Trials.  Their crime - conspiring to commit crimes against humanity.  Pastor Henry Gerecke was asked to do something that had never been done in the history of the Chaplain Corps - to provide religious counseling to enemies of our country.  As I read about how he cared and administered to these men who had committed such heinous crimes, I was touched by this man's Christian discipleship as found in Matthew 25: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat:  I was thirsty, and he gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and he visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Just What You Wanted to Know . . .

Another Tuesday morning with Cole and Emory has come and gone.  Cole suffers from allergies and autumn in Utah is notorious for ragweed and sagebrush.  So we went through a few tissues today.  And this is what I learned from Cole:

• "Infection is gross"
• "Cole has a bubble in his nose"
• "Cole has double noses"

Words of wisdom from a three year old.

Oddities in the Garden

We found some interesting things growing in the garden this year.  If I missed going down for a day or two I never knew what I'd uncover.

The zucchini on the left was larger than normal, but the one on the right was a 10 pounder.  That blimp went right to the trash can.  That's even too big for grilled stuffed zucchini, which has become one of our favorite ways to use the zukes.  Here is a link for the grill instructions.  The beauty of this recipe is the versatility.  I have used rotisserie chicken, hamburger, pork, quinoa, rice, a variety of veggies, spices and cheese.  So good!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/08/grilled-stuffed-zucchini/

Sometimes my tomatoes get wedged around the wire cage and come up with the oddest shapes.  We were debating what this one looked like.  It made me think of a vulture.  It you twisted it a little it looked like a lopsided mustache.  It has been a good year for the tomatoes.  We have picked close to 3 bushels and they are still producing quite well.  Lots of salsa and spaghetti sauce lining our shelves.

Beach Fun

Megan wanted to take us to a different beach this time - Carpinteria.  She said we had to see the amazing sunsets.  She was right!

 

I love the sounds and smells of the ocean.  I love the mist and walking in the sand.  It is so calming and relaxing.  It is also fun to play.

 

 The week before we came to California we had seen a special on TV about the movie Frozen.  Ever since that time the song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" keeps coming into my brain.  It surfaced again on the beach and I wondered if we could build a sand snowman.  This was the best we could come up with.  She was charming.  We used bits of seaweed for her hair.  There was a long strand of another type of seaweed that we wrapped around her waist.  Some of the seaweed looked like carrots and that is what we used for the nose.  Lizzy and I had done most of the sculpting and Lincoln came and helped us put the hair and finishing touches on.  When we left she stood as a sentinel.  I'm sure she washed away with the next tide.

Do you want to build a sandman?