New Blog!

http://www.paisleypeace.blogspot.com/

I set up a blog that features some of my crafts, some custom, some from etsy and I'm even selling some home-made granola bars locally.  Anyway, I'd appreciate your support in helping spread the word by following this one as well.

Bean Peace

Bean Peace
A poem by Drew K.

A mystery wrapped in brown,
A fragile enigma,
Enveloping the senses,
With the earthy steam
Of a bean.

The mind wrapped in warmth,
The essence of dark roast,
Heating from within,
The senses thrill,
With every lingering
Sniff of the aroma
In the mug

Home School Blogs

If you would like to follow our home school year more closely, you can visit our portfolio sites. The one for the younger two girls is http://www.hydeportfolio09-10.blogspot.com/ Lydia is doing one all on her own complete with reports and pictures and she would love to hear from you. http://www.lydiacreates5thgrade.blogspot.com/

One Woman's Weeds......

These Turtle Head flowers (chelone obliqua) have taken over my Mother-in-Law's flower bed. So no matter their beauty, she hates them for choking out her lilies. I asked her if I could cut a few and she said " Take 'em all!!!" So now, every few days I go and pick a fresh bouquet of....well, weeds.

Breakfast in Bed

My babies brought me breakfast in bed this morning. It's always sweet , but historically when young, well-meaning children bring you a meal on a silver tray early in the morning, it is a version of an actual breakfast that you have to summon special Mama courage to choke down. Today, that was not the case, far from it in fact. The chocolate pancakes that my girls made FROM SCRATCH were the BEST I have EVER had. No kidding!!!

Thank you so much, my little ladies!

Shower in a Thunderstorm

Every time I think living in the country couldn't possibly get any better....IT DOES!

I just didn't think it was going to get warm enough this year for one of my favorite summertime activities. Then, the conditions rolling in gave me much hope. The humidity hung in the air like a wet blanket and the thunder cracked and made my dogs pace back and forth.
The wind was bending the trees and peeling the leaves off their branches. I put my dogs in the bedroom and opened my back door just in time to see torrents of rain splitting the tree tops and soaking the ground. The sound on my tin roof was deafening, so loud that even my cries of excitement could barely be heard by my own ears.

It was totally time.....First I stripped down and had a run around the yard stopping only once to rest in the rain-soaked hammock then it was on to the business of actual showering. I ran in the house to grab the shampoo and a bar of soap. I stood at the corner of the deck where the rain gushed out of the gutter and by the time I was done, I had clean hair and a crown of leaves!
Ahhhh! Refreshment like no other! Thank you Mother Nature

Eatons Tunnel

This awesome tunnel lies just 3 miles from our house and we finally decided to go together yesterday after living here for a year and a half! Eaton’s Tunnel is 1,840 feet long, and is the 2nd longest tunnel of the Rails to Trails. • In January, Eaton’s tunnel received the first annual Hollow Hill/ISPGH Award for the Best Haunted Place in the US or Canada.
http://www.geocities.com/wv_mountain_momma_ghost_hunters/eatons_tunnel.html

Thank You!

OK, My head is officially HUGE! Thank you all for your wonderful comments about the Herbal Day Camp.
For those of you that are considering putting one together, here is a day by day list of the things we covered.

Day One: Herbal Identification

Gather and read part 1 of Herbalist of Yarrow
Walk through the gardens with Hyde tour guides and learning about what we have growing here
Herbal identification activity: 21 herbs in various stages laid out and numbered. The children made note of the ones they could already identify
Discussion of the healing properties of those herbs
Lesson on plantain (the miracle plant)
Plantain harvest and hanged to dry

Day Two: Flowers

Circle Time
Herbalist of Yarrow Part 2
Harvesting fresh basil, rosemary, cilantro, nasturtium flowers and zucchini blossoms for lunch
Preparing herb lunch:
Pasta with garden zucchini and tomatoes, garlic and onion in olive oil with fresh-cut herbs and nasturtium flowers
Herb cream cheese filled zucchini flowers
Collected brightly-colored flowers and foliage and made beautiful nature-made pictures with leaves and petals
Learned of the medicinal value of red clover, lavender and rose and brewed a delicious tea to lift the spirits, ease pain and calm the nerves.
Collected the leftovers from the Art project and tea and made a fragrant potpourri to take home.
Day Three: Herbal Cooking

Circle Time
Part Three of Herbalist of Yarrow
Cooking Asiago Basil Focaccia bread topped with sage and sweet basil pesto pasta
Wildcraft (herbal board game)
Garden Yoga
Herbal leaf rubbing cards

Day Four: Herbal Medicine

Circle Time
Conclusion of Herbalist of Yarrow followed by discussion
All prepare lunch: Herbal Stone Soup and cheddar chive drop biscuits and fresh chocolate mint tea
Making olive oil and beeswax based skin salve using freshly harvested yarrow, comfrey and plantain along with dried lavender and chamomile flowers.
Created a Human Herb!