a gypsy caravan

God Bless Christopher

He makes his First Holy Communion this weekend. :)

The Aster/Sunflower Family

The Aster Archipelago is the last stop on our journey using Shanleya's Quest.  Asters are a composite flower with one flowerhead composed of many smaller flowers.  The smaller flowers are composed of five fused petals surrounding the pistil and stamens.   The petals surrounding the disc are called Ray Flowers as each are a complete flower in and of themselves.

This family of plants contains over 19,000 different species.  You can see the tiny individual flowers in the center disc, along with the Ray flowers protruding petal like from the outside.  Each tiny flower produces its own seed.   

(by Chris)

Some of the flowers in the Aster/Sunflower family include marigolds, dandelions, sunflowers, zinnia, chamomile, calendula and chrysanthemums.  They are easy to spot because of their distinctive shape. 

You can view photos and find out more about the Sunflower/Aster family here .

(The characteristics of the Aster family by Ben)

(Sunflower Guardian by Mary)

Disclaimer: Do not ever eat a plant unless you are certain about its identity and edibility.  Do not use plants that have been sprayed with pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals.

Fun Things to Do:

• Plant chamomile in your summer garden, even a pot will do!
• Drink chamomile tea
• Pick dandelion greens for salad tonight.  It is a great digestive aid and reduces indigestion.  Choose small leaves as they are less bitter.
• Make granola bars
• Roast some sunflower seeds
• Plant a sunflower house
• Make calendula salve (here is a nice recipe though contains some new age-y jargon) and another simple recipe here.
• Have fun!

Dandelion recipes,   sunflower recipes , calendula recipes

Beach Treasure

I took the kids to the beach yesterday afternoon to spend time in the sand and sun.  My mom joined us as well and we all had quite a bit of fun.  Lake Erie's waters are only 53 degrees at the present, far too cold for swimming so we spent the afternoon walking the beach, looking for glass and playing around.  We started towards the lighthouse.  Chris walked on ahead along the water's edge while the rest of us meandered at Annie's pace .  When they returned a while later, Christopher told me he had found something special and wanted to give it to me.  I thought you might like to see it...

Isn't it the neatest?

I Always Get Choked Up

...on Memorial Day.  There's something about seeing those veterans marching down the road, in uniform, carrying the American flag that just starts my tears a rollin'.  Our town has a parade every year and we have yet to miss it.  The boys usually march with their baseball teams or Scout troop. 

This year I was a blubbering, tearful  mess by the end of the parade due to a noble WWII veteran wearing a uniform who wheeled himself in his wheelchair the entire length of the parade route.  He refused rides and help, wanting to make the route himself. 

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The Flag Goes By

by Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
Hats off!
The colors before us fly;
But more than the flag is passing by!

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the State;
Weary marches and sinking ships;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace,
March of a strong land's swift increase:
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverent awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong,
To ward her people from foreign wrong;
Pride and glory and honor, all
Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
And loyal hearts are beating high:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Why I Am Teetering on Insanity

Me: (Reading aloud at the table from 57 Saints): "Dominic Savio was the son of a blacksmith..."

Mary: "What's a blacksmith?"

Me: "A blacksmith is a person who makes things from metal, like the tools for our fireplace and the..."

Christopher: "The dining room chandelier?"

Me: "Yes, the wrought iron chandelier might have been made by a blacksmith if we had bought it years ago.  Now it was probably made in a factory.  OK, so anyhow, Dominic Savio's father was a blacksmith."

Mary: "What was his name?"

Me: "I don't know."

Chris: "Mr. Savio."

Mary: "Maybe it was Mike. Dad's name is Mike, like St. Michael the Archangel."

Me: "Maybe.  Ok, shhhh, Mary.  (Continuing to read) They lived in the small town of Riva, in Northern Italy."

Christopher: "The city of Venice is in Italy.  Is that near Riva?"

Me: "I don't know."

Mary: "There's more than one Archangel you know.  Gabriel and Michael and, what is the other one's name?"

Ben: "I'll get an atlas." Jumps from chair and runs up the steps to get the atlas.

Christopher: "Do you remember that book we read about Venice? About that little girl who sees all the lion statues?"

Ben (returning): "No, Riva is not that close to Venice. Vendela in Venice.  That's the book. That was a good book. "

Me: "Yes, it was.  Ok, now let's read more about St. Dominic Savio....(continuing to read)...Even when he was very small, he liked to pray.  Each morning, Dominic would get up at five o'clock with his..."

Christopher: "Five o'clock!! I used to get up that early and wake you up for breakfast when I was littler.  Do you remember that Mom?  Hey, don't the Fry's get up at five o'clock?  I wish we lived on a farm."

Ben: "Yeah, the Fry's live in Colorado so when they are waking up, it is seven o'clock our time."

Christopher: "Yeah, to milk their goats."

Mary: "I want a goat."

Happy Birthday Mary Kathryn!

Our little girl has turned five years old!  I can't help but feel a bit melancholy because, in my mind,  five is the turning point from babyhood to childhood.  Makes me want to hug her a little tighter. :)

Here are some of Mary's birthday highlights...

For the past four years, Mary has gone to Kiddie Park on her birthday.  Kiddie Park has been a lovely little place for children to play since 1952.   I have many fond memories of it from my own childhood. 

Happy Birthday Sweet Mary!

Will You Say a Prayer?

I had been trying to reach my grandmother, Kathryn,  for a couple of days.  Today, I found out she is in the hospital because she had a stroke on Tuesday.  She has a blockage behind her heart.  Will you say a prayer for her?  I love her so.

Lily of the Valley

Under a shady area in one of my backyard flower beds, my grandmother's Lily of the Valley grows alongside variegated hosta and Annabelle Hydrangea to make a pretty scene of green and white.  Grandma always had a bunch to give to anyone who visited her home around Mother's Day.  This flower is so cheery with its pretty white bells and it smells Oh-So-Heavenly.  Just looking at it makes me smile.  :)

Two summers ago I was at a yard sale where the hostess was selling plants from her lovingly tended perennial gardens.  She had a single pink Lily of the Valley plant in a pot for sale.  I had never heard of pink Lily of the Valley, much less seen one, so I purchased it on the spot.  This year there were quite a few pink blossoms in amongst my grandmother's white.  I thought you might enjoy seeing them.

Our May Altar

The children and I set up our May altar this past week.  It is something we have done for several years and we all look so forward to it.  The embroidered linen was made by my grandmother when she was a young bride. 

Soon after we set up the altar Christopher vacuumed the room, bumped the table leg with the vacuum and knocked Mary's statue to the floor, breaking off both of her hands.   The funny thing is that this has happened almost every year! Someone has knocked her over each and every May.   Her hands have been glued so many times but she still  looks as lovely as ever.

This year we sang "Salve Regina" and "Bring Flowers of the Rarest" and said prayers.  Christopher carried in our statue because he is our First Communicant this spring :)  I filled a basket of Marian books for the children to peruse throughout the month. 

The kids think it is fun to keep Mother Mary well supplied with fresh flowers from our yard.  May is such a lovely month for flowers in our region with so many different varieties blooming every few days.

Keeping a May altar is a simple thing to do but means a lot to all of us.  I hope the children will carry on the tradition with their own families,  When they are grown perhaps they will remember fondly the small gifts and prayers of love that they offered throughout their childhood for their little Heavenly Mother.

A Happy Mother's Day

...to all of you who love and care for children 24/7, who spend your days holding hands, reading books, wiping tears, watching ball games, cooking meals and singing songs.  To those of you who have fingerprints on the windows, a washer that is always full of clothes, cheeks covered with kisses and blouses covered with baby drool, I wish you a joyous, restful day of the same.  Because, really, would you want to change a thing? 

Have a beautiful Mother's Day! :)

Flowers in Bloom

Our yard is growing in color with each passing day!  Here are some of the plants ready that have been blooming or are ready to burst into color.

Bleeding Hearts

Violets

White lilacs

Pink Azalea

White Azalea

Peony buds

Lily of the Valley--almost ready!  Should be open just in time for Mother's Day.

What's blooming in your yard? :)

Sunday Evening Gratitude

I have mentioned in the past that our basement is prone to flooding.  It happens two or three times a year, sometimes more often depending on the amount of rainfall we receive.  Our floods are caused by the city storm sewer becoming overwhelmed and backing up into our basement. 

Friday, we had quite a storm.  The basement drain started to back up at dinner time but receded that evening.  Saturday morning we woke to 4 inches across the entire basement.  We are veterans at basement floods.  We have probably had twenty of them in the eight years that we have owned this home but they always incite a bit of panic when the water first starts to come in the house. 

I bought stock in Rubbermaid years ago and have approximately 30 bins in my basement that hold all of our storage items.  Our home does not have an attic or I would forgo the basement altogether.  The Rubbermaid bins work wonderfully until the water rises high enough that they begin to capsize, dumping their contents into the water.   

I have a list of things I am grateful for today as I am trying to keep my spirit from feeling weary from the clean up. 

Here goes! :)

I am thankful:

• for my mother who never tires in loving and helping our family
• for frozen pierogies, frozen corn and frozen Tyson Chicken Nuggets
• for paper plates and paper napkins
• for 55 gallon heavy duty garbage bags
• for rubber gloves
• for the folks who make Clorox bleach and disposable mop heads
• that my lilac bush is in bloom
• that my downstairs appliances still work
• for this very twaddly movie that kept my children occupied while I scrubbed the basement with bleach water
• for Crocs that can be hosed off and are always up to the task
• for Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss in  Sweet Pink that makes me feel just a little less grungy :)
• for a glass of Selbach Piesporter Riesling
• for Mass this morning where baby Annie folded her chubby hands and prayed for me

That's all for now.  I hope you have a wonderful evening with your family. Thanks for stopping by!

More on Woodcarving/Chipcarving with Children

Annette asked (ever so long ago, I'm afraid)  what tools and types of wood that Benjamin uses for woodcarving.  He carves with a Flexcut KN12 carving knife.  It has a nicely shaped and sized handle for a young person and it has served him quite well.  It is the topmost knife in the following photo.  The bottom knife is relatively new to him.  It is called a chip carving knife and is used to remove small pieces of wood from the surface of a carving.   There are some free beginning tutorials here and here.

Ben wears a thumb guard as seen at the top of the photo.  It is a heavy leather and has saved his hand many times.  We highly recommend wearing a thumb guard.   After slicing his hand once, he no longer forgets to wear it.  Carvers can also wear a glove on the hand they do not use for carving.   Ben's pair is pictured below.

They have a non slip rubber coating covering a Kelvar glove.  You can find some inexpensive safety items here.

Regarding the type of wood used, chip carvers traditionally use basswood or butternut as they are lightweight.   Here is some information on different types of carving wood.   

Ben has been working with a man who is teaching him chip carving.  This is his first project, an array of drawn patterns to practice chipping out.

It is so fun for me to watch him learn something completely of his own interest and skill.  I do not know how to carve wood, other than to whittle the bark off of a stick. :)  Ben has gained such satisfaction and confidence from his experience with carving. 

Thanks for visiting this weekend!

Webcam Fun with Dad

Getting it Done: The Front Closet

We have a tiny 1940's bungalow.  Everything about it is tiny, especially the closets.  In the living room, there is a tiny coat closet to which Mike added shelving.  It has held a number of things but most recently it has been home to our games and puzzles.  This is what it looked like before decluttering:

I am always so humiliated to show you my before photos but I think it is healthy humiliation. :) It is funny that I started this project after lunch and thought it would take an hour or so.  By the time I found all of the puzzle and game pieces and sorted them all out, in addition to keeping the children from playing with them all, it took several hours.   I gave away four large bags to Goodwill, thirty six games and puzzles in all.   How in the world did we ever accumulate that many games?  Some of them were never opened!

Here is the finished closet.

There is much empty space and I love it.  We have so few empty spaces in this house.  Since completing this project, I have enjoyed walking over to the closet and looking inside at the empty shelves.  Yes, I know, I am easily entertained. :)

Marsh Nature Study

Here in Northeast Ohio, we are so grateful to have such beautiful, diverse areas to explore.  There are forests, rivers, ponds, dunes, beaches and marshlands within miles of our home, not to mention the Great Lake Erie!  We spent an afternoon this past week at a nearby marshland.  Here are some photos from our visit:

Male Redwinged Blackbird

His mate

Their nest

Another mama on her nest--couldn't get any closer without scaring her away--click to see better

Beaver lodge-he was not out today but we have seen him swimming on other days

Turtles sunning themselves

More turtles and a male Wood Duck. 

Speaking of Wood Ducks, did you know that our small area of Ohio, specifically the North Chagrin reservation is one of the best areas in the world to photography Wood Ducks?  I owe you a better photo than this fellow on the log.  Will try to get a better shot next time. :)  In the meantime, scroll down a bit on this page for a photo of a drake and a hen. 

Jack-in the-pulpit

(Anyone know the name of this flower?)

We also saw quite a few swallows flying over the marshland but they were too quick for my camera. :)

Have a wonderful day!