Simple Fruit Salad

This is such a simple recipe that it almost doesn't need to be written down. 

Ingredients:
Canned and/or fresh fruit
Plain yogurt
Vanilla
Sweetener if desired

Directions:
Put as much fruit in a bowl as you will eat in one sitting. Cut it in bite size pieces. Add about half as much yogurt as fruit. Add a tsp (more or less) of vanilla and add some sweetener if you desire. Mix well and enjoy.

This can be made with any variety of fruit. It is especially good with raw apples, canned pineapple, sliced bananas and grapes. One morning recently I made it with home-canned pears, peaches and pineapple along with store-bought mandarin oranges canned in fruit juice. 

All my fruit is canned without sweetener. Peaches get canned in apple juice, straight from the can. Pears are canned with diluted pineapple juice. My sweet sister (in TX) canned fresh pineapple for me with just plain water.

We generally don't add sweetener to this salad but we have our taste buds trained to enjoy the natural sweetness of the fruit. And I use homemade yogurt which is milder than your store-bought plain yogurt.

This is simple breakfast (or anytime) food.

Do you have a simple recipe that is almost too simple to record?

Will you share it?

Air Show

Stephen told us a few weeks ago about an air show in D.C. that was scheduled for Saturday the 16th. We began making plans to attend and inviting others to go with us. 

Two children from the Romney Kid's Club went with us and one of the boys' friends from church. With too many things on our plates, we got a late start. The journey took longer than we expected. We stopped for a picnic lunch on the way. By the time we got to the parking field we were turned away and told to "come back tomorrow". 

Waves of despair, disbelief and shock rolled over us. All that effort for nothing? Then we recalled how we had been watching the show as we traveled. Surely there would be some parking lot closer to the show where we could see at least something!

We consulted Google maps and found places right close to the air field where we thought we could sit to watch. We chose a McDonald's across from the air field entrance. A lot of other people had the same idea. All the parking lots along that stretch filled up with people watching.

Small planes climbed high, straight up in the air and fell down backward before throttling their engines to climb again. Or they would twirl as they fell nose down, all the while pouring smoke out behind. We wondered how a pilot could remain sane while continuously twirling straight forward through the sky. Parachutes dropped from high overhead and then let out trails of color as they came down.

A bevy of six planes kept bumbling along in the background, flying in formation. They reminded me of geese in flight. Finally they flew straight over the field, streaming smoke trails out behind.

We loved every minute of it. Even, or especially, I. The boys thought it strange that I wanted to go. Wasn't this a guy thing? But as a child I would watch air shows from my front porch. We lived just across the fields from the Farmville Municipal Airport where there were occasional shows. Never anything big like the Thunderbirds but "small" things were thrilling as well. (Is it a small thing to fly smaller planes in such crazy maneuvers?) This brought back many memories for me.

The grand finale was a performance by the Thunderbirds. We couldn't see all of the performance but what we could see was quite impressive. Stephen was well read on their performances so he kept us informed on what was happening. He thought such and such a place was where the "sneak pass" would happen. It didn't happen exactly there but we knew what it was when we saw it. 

While the "diamond" was doing their show, another of the jets came "sneaking" in down low where it was unexpected. We could only imagine what was happening on the field behind the wall of trees that blocked our view. The roaring jet engines were as thrilling as the view. Such precision!

I didn't get many pictures but I did get this succession of photos
showcasing all six of the Thunderbirds in formation.

Have you been to an air show?

Have you ever watched one from your front porch/lawn?

Do you thrill to the sight of metal birds?

Home Library

"Oh, here is a good book. This is a classic. 

And here's another. 

And another!"

"Mama, you better stop", my son says as I load up on books at the thrift store. So with a dozen or more books we head out. How can you leave a good book behind when it's only $0.75?

When this scenario repeats itself many times, the books will increase. Therefore, some organization would be helpful. 

Yesterday Austin began to work on my dream home library. Not being able to find a simple list of categories, I gave him liberty to categorize in his own way. He is making good progress. 

 And to answer a few questions from yesterday-
The "feel-good" chemicals in your brain are called endorphins. Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin to name some. When you exercise outdoors these are produced naturally and work like anti-depressant drugs and morphine, without the side effects. So why not take a simple walk? Just dip in the river, Naaman!

Toad bellies, as I was told they are called, are also called frog bellies, Autumn Joy sedum is a more technical name. The reason they got the belly name, as I understand, is that you can rub the leaves until the two layers separate. You can then inflate the leaf until it resembles an amphibian belly.

Do you have a library?

How many books do you have?

Do you enjoy reading?

A Walk

Getting outdoors does wonders for the "feel-good chemical" in your brain. (Do you know the technical name for that chemical?) Knowing this and getting one's self out the door are two different things. This morning I took a few minutes to walk out our driveway, up the road a piece and back. On my way back I took a few pictures.

The sign at the edge of the property next to us.

The view to the right of the sign.
See the mountain in the distance?

The path before me. It appears as though
someone has sprayed the wayside with Round-Up.

Our driveway is at the top of the climb.

The woodsy lawn at the end of the driveway.

A sign Matthew, Melvin & Christopher made.

As seen from the end of the driveway.

To the left

The deck in the yard 

Deck with a bike ramp in the foreground

An old (working!) pump back of and
to the right of the Japanese Maple.

The upper path to the deck, basketballs in the yard and the black calf barely seen on the right between the bushes.

At the end of my walk I find one boy with binoculars
and the other shooting arrows.

The "toad bellies" are blooming.
What is their scientific name?

What happened to our beautiful flowerbed?
At least the morning glories are beautiful.

How do you inspire yourself to exercise outdoors?

Do you have a favorite place to walk?

I'd love to have your answers to my questions. (Just remember you can't reply to this by hitting reply if you got it by email. I'm sorry.)

Inspiration

There are different ways to receive inspiration. My inspiration comes from a young mother of seven who has begun to blog daily. If she can, I can too!

That brings back memories of the little one room school I attended as a little Amish Mennonite girl. There were two "big boys" in school. One shorter and very athletic. The other taller, more gangling and uncoordinated. If the shorter one accomplished a high jump for instance, the taller one would say, "If you can, I can too!" He couldn't always but his attitude was priceless.

Now that we've started "school", I spend time reading, studying and writing as I require the boys to do. We are trying to implement the Thomas Jefferson model of learning which says "Inspire, not require. But not neglect." It is very different from the "conveyor belt" model we grew up with so I am studying that as much as I can, trying to internalize the ideas. It is a more interest based way of learning.

Our studies begin with reading a Bible story together. This morning it was Genesis 6. The story of Noah finding grace in God's eyes and believing God when He said it's necessary to "evacuate". How believable was it that a storm of global proportions was coming? God can always, always be trusted. Why do we doubt His words?

Next we read a classic book aloud. The Little House in the Big Woods is the one we're in right now. Or as my somewhat dyslexic brain wants to word it The Big House in the Little Woods. I laughed so hard at myself after I did that. The mind picture... 

What constitutes a "classic"? A book that you get more from, each time you read it. It contains lessons and principles that don't change. The Bible is our greatest classic. Some educators say nature is God's great classic. Get outdoors and learn the many lessons He has for you.

In our story this morning we read The Story of Grandpa and the Panther. As we read how Pa screamed like a panther for Laura and Mary, we wondered what it actually sounds like. YouTube furnished us with an example that was spine tingling.

Melvin went on to practice his math facts at Xtra Math.Christopher did some writing and then math practice at Khan Academy. He is also studying different motor bikes and recording the specs. The boys' interests are so varied.

Melvin is reading The Incredible Journey. Christopher has a number of books in progress. Ender's Game, The Light Princess, Bruchko, and I'm sure there are others. He is an avid reader.

This book assumes you have a basic knowledge
of numbers and know your math facts.

We don't stress workbook types of math until they're good and ready. Researchers tell me that all the math we traditionally labor to teach children in the first 6-7 years of school is unnecessary. They are able to learn it all in one year of study once they go through puberty. This is because their brains take on the ability to comprehend abstract thoughts during this time. As one instructor says, "Don't teach algebra until they have hair under their arms." Just save most of it until then really.

Book used in 7th or 8th grade
Copyright 1960
(When people were smart)

All the time we spend drilling, drilling, drilling only results in creating a hatred or fear of math because it is so hard at a young age. Sure play number games. Do fun things with math. Study the Fibonacci sequence. Use recipes or building projects to learn about fractions, measuring and etc. Use numbers in real life situations. All. The. Time. Workbooks? Never. Until 7th or 8th grade. New ideas? No. It's the old truth revived.

Did you grow up during a time when schools taught in a smart way?

Have you heard of the Thomas Jefferson (or TJEd) model?

DIY Onion Braid

A garden cart with lots of onions from the garden. It's the best crop I've gotten in awhile.

 Here are some I sorted out to braid.

 A braid I completed earlier. 

 There were actually two completed prior to this.

But let's get started on the next one. Start with three onions.... 

 ....with long stems.

 Just start braiding the stems as you would braid anything.

 Now you see I've added a smaller onion on the left. Braid as you would a French braid, continuing to add onions as you keep braiding.

Completed braid. That's the hem of my (blue) dress you see there. I just sit on the floor, braiding toward myself. 

 I twist the ends into a "rope" that I can tie into a knot on the end. I doubt that's necessary.

 Three nice braids done. The rest will need to wait, cause I'm going to bed!