Log Cutting in the Winter....(and a birthday)

It's not often I get to publicly express my love and honor for this man.  I suppose if I looked back, I might find something in the March archives of years past.  Birthdays are a good time to really let someone know how much you care.

I don't think there's ever been a year without a baby or toddler helping blow out the candles.  Soon enough though, the littlest one grows up.  Warren always says, "Someone has to be the baby."  I just love these two pictures......the lopsided cake, only 12 birthday candles, frosting that doesn't quite cover.  It sums up our life - we might not look like we have it all together, but somehow it all works.

The little kids like to pick out some kind of candy for a gift.  Maria picked out gum and tic tacs.

And Peter picked out a chewy mix from Fleet Farm.

The older kids know how much Dad loves the story behind the Edmund Fitzgerald, so this book should be a good read for him.

 And now on to the log cutting.  I don't know who said winter is a slow time for cranberry growers.  I do know they don't know my husband.  Yes, the cranberry vines are locked in ice, but that doesn't mean hibernation for the farmers.  Along with flooding, sanding, building kitchen cabinet doors, nutrient management plan writing, yearly budget hashing, taxes, equipment upgrades/repairs......the list could go on, Warren did some selective log cutting on the property.  The pile is really impressive if you're into that sort of thing - log gazing.  Of course, I had to pull the camera out for a little documentation.

Of course he uses a STIHL, but not this one.

This monster is 3 feet in diameter.

A pile of mostly red oak.

And that's a wrap on Warren's whereabouts.

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The Right Family

I'm popping in at the end of the weekend to remind you all that your family is perfect for you.  And my family is perfect for me.  Where did that come from?  Last weekend Warren and I attended an evening for couples hosted by our deanery.  Fr. Martin was the guest speaker and he gave an encouraging talk that spanned the ages.  Newly married couples, as well as us, ah, longer married couples were given the message that God doesn't make mistakes.  Every family pulls it together enough for the public, but we really need to remember that all families are dealing with issues.  Fr. Martin reminded us that depression, cancer, wayward children, addiction, job loss......every family has something behind the closed door.  But, God puts us in the family that's perfect for us.

We are a family.  We have issues.  We love each other.  We tolerate each other.  We like each other.  We annoy each other.  We have fun with each other.  This is my family.  I love them!

This showed up on my camera card.  Sam must have gotten ahold of the camera.

Hanging out with Grandma at the hotel.

They're all mine.

You've got your family.

Thank God for all the crazy, maddening, sweet, and stupid things they do.

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EXTREMELY small Batch Maple Syrup Making

I shared a picture from last week's tap setting, and now I have the rest of the story.

Sam has been learning all he can about maple syrup making in Wisconsin so he can write the winning essay for the Ag in the Classroom essay contest.  I don't know of any better way to learn than to jump in and learn as we go.  Here's a picture diary of the process.

Drilling for the first tap.

Setting the tap.

We're in business!

Running to the next Maple tree.

Little brothers helping?  getting in the way?

Now we wait for the first few drops of spring tonic.

Our sap running weather was very short and we only put out two taps, so not much sap before the cold weather set in again.  We got 2.5 gallons of sap and did a quick calculation:

                                                                1 gallon syrup            x

                                                               -------------------   =  ---------------

                                                               40 gallons sap          2.5 gallons sap

                                                                                         x  =  .0625 gallons

One more proportion to convert gallons to cups and we should yield a whopping 1 cup of pure maple syrup.  Let's see what happened.

We strained out bits of bark from the sap.

We assessed the strainings and felt slightly guilty for using a $1.59 filter for this tiny amount of sap.

This is a costly way of cooking down sap, but for our first time and such a small amount of  sap, and I couldn't spend a lot of time outside boiling with Sam, it worked best to have him close to the house in case he had questions or needed me.

Once it started boiling, Sam was sure it would only take a few minutes.  He was in for a surprise when after 30 minutes he was still hunched over the pot.  He must have realized he was going to be there a while because at one point I looked out and saw him dragging a lawn chair to his watch spot.  He stirred and checked the thermometer and stirred some more.  It cooked down so low that the thermometer wouldn't even reach.  Even funnier is we didn't even have enough syrup to check it's density using the hydrometer.  Finally it was time to finish it in the house in a wee sized kettle.

 And here you have it!  Our first taste of our own maple syrup.  Almost 1 full cup.

And for the record, it tasted so good on homemade waffles this morning.

Daytime temps are moderating again; the buckets are out again!

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Homeschooling Goodness with Handwriting Without Tears

Handwriting Without Tears is an excellent handwriting curriculum.  I've been using the kindergarten level this year with Joseph, Peter, and Maria.  They love the hands on approach, so this program is working well.  We're still working through the capitals using the wooden pieces and laminated alphabet cards.  This activity is always a favorite.  It's a no-fail way of making the letters.  I like that the cards have each "stroke" numbered so the child knows the order to construct the letter.  For example in the "L" below, the vertical line is #1 and the short horizontal line is #2.  So numbers and counting are reinforced as well.

I believe this program is working well for Joseph; he's getting a lot of practice forming the letters before even picking up the pencil.  Since holding the pencil properly requires significant focus on Joe's part, trying to hold the pencil and write the letters is nearly impossible at this point.  He can write an "o", "j", and "p", but that's it for now.

Today we also used another of my favorites, the Kumon workbooks.  He's working from the Animal Mazes book.  We complete the maze in pencil, hand over hand, first.  Then I let him pick either colored pencils or markers to retrace our line through the maze, independently.  Today he chose colored pencils.  He also uses a pencil grip.  This foam grip is my favorite.  There's no up or down or left hand/right hand positioning like the other grippers I've tried.  Just slip it onto the writing utensil and hold on.  After a few times, he figured out the most comfortable way of holding the pencil and it just so happens it's also the proper way of holding a pencil.

And whenever I'm engrossed working with the littlest ones, Sam takes advantage of the distraction to get out something fun, rather than doing Math or Grammar.  Today he made us balloon animals and hats using his balloon animal kit.  Even though he's not engaging in the core subjects, I'm glad to see him reading and following directions from the book and practicing generosity with his creations.

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Amber's Creamy Potato Soup

Soup is one of those foods I could eat everyday, so I'm always on the lookout for new soup recipes.  Somehow I missed this one on Pinterest, but my Pinterest loving daughter found it and it quickly became a family favorite.  I think it's safe to say it's become a favorite of many people.  Remember when the broom ball craze hit?  I served this soup to the hungry teens and every last creamy drop was devoured.  And a request for the recipe was in my inbox the next day.  Then we made this soup for a "thank you" meal that was delivered to Emily and Nick's personal finance teacher.  The next day, another request for the recipe in my inbox.

It's not paleo, low-carb, low sodium, non-gmo.  It's not AIP approved, THM, low fat, whole food based, organic.  It's not dairy free and I don't think it's gluten free.  It's simply SUPER fast to assemble and even more super good.  Once you pull out the ingredients and crock-pot, it only takes 5 minutes to assemble.  It's the perfect soup for those crazy days of homeschooling when you're everywhere, but home.

First gather your ingredients.

2 bags frozen hash brown cubes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 T. chicken granules
7 cups water
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 onion

Dice the onion.  Add everything to crockpot.  Turn to high and let it cook 5 hours.  I don't even stir it until a couple of hours into the cooking time.  But, if you're going to be gone all day, then give it a quick stir and cook on low.  *The original recipe called for chicken broth instead of water and granules.  Either way it tastes great.  I just happen to have on hand the chicken granules more often than chicken broth.

Since you have out the knife and cutting board, slice up some green onions for the topping.  Refrigerate until serving time.

 In the last 30 minutes of cook time, add 2 bricks of cream cheese.  Stir until melted.  Serve in soup bowls with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and green onions.

Last, but not least, if you can point me towards any other delicious, easy soup recipes, please do!  Thanks.

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