a gypsy caravan

Injury-For Immediate Release

Bresnahan joins Hafner, Martinez on DL

Injuries mount for growing list of Cleveland Baseball legends

by Mike Bresnahan

(AP)- The 8U All Stars, along with its parent organization,  the Dairy Queen Aeros, announced today that First Baseman / Shortstop Christopher Bresnahan has been placed on the 60 day disabled list, effectively ending the season of the eight-year old phenom.  Chris sustained multiple fractures to the right arm after a freak accident that the club would not comment on.  However, sources close to the family said they witnessed the first baseman “swinging out of the play house window on a rope” shortly before the injury occurred.  It was not immediately known if such activity violated the terms of his contract.

“This is another big blow to Cleveland Baseball,” lamented Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro.  “It just seems like anything that can go wrong this year, does.”  Bresnahan was in the midst of an eleven-game hitting streak and his uncanny ability to leg out infield hits earned him the nickname “Bullet Feet”.

“No doubt I will be back next year, better than ever”, quipped Bresnahan , who is already looking forward to facing former teammate and all-star pitcher Ben Zimmerman in his first year of kid-pitch at the nine-year old level.

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Surgery scheduled for early next week, plus an eight week recovery and physical therapy.  Not quite the way he envisioned the summer...

Summertime Faces

St. John's Nativity/Midsummer Night's Eve

Young John the Baptist by William Bouguereau

The kids and I had a bonfire tonight to celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.  I understand, traditionally, the bonfires are celebrated on the eve of the feast but we had baseball last night so... tonight it was. :) 

I made berry punch with strawberry ice cream floating on top.  We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  My mom and the neighbors stopped and sat around the fire for a while.

I so needed some down time with the children, to just sit and enjoy one another's company.   We had such a relaxing  time together.

Some great explanations on St. John's Nativity here. 

More info here , and here.

How to build a good bonfire

Have You Heard of Freepeats?

"Baby, Kid and Maternity Stuff.  Free near you!"

Kind of like a Freecycle for Mommies. :)

Check it out!

We Interrupt this Normally Peaceful and Non-Political Blog

to ask...

Does this scare you?  'Cuz it scares the britches off of me!

Am I the only one who thinks this is creepy?

Read the full text on S.1858 here.

It's already law. 

How did that happen?  Where was the general public?  Am I overreacting?

(Common sense warning:  I want to add that I do not regularly read any of the blogs that I linked but found their explanations when googling this bill.  I cannot recommend them for regular reading and saw some offensive comments/ ads on a couple of them.  Read with caution.)

I do not consider myself either a Democrat or a Republican so I have no political agenda here but can't help but feel kind of freaked out about this bill.   It passed the House, the Senate and the President's desk.  Why do I still feel afraid?  Certainly someone out there would have objected had it not been a good idea. 

If there is anyone out there who can tell me that this law has been revised to include parental consent, a voluntary clause to the mandatory testing/storing of DNA in the proverbial warehouse,  please speak up so I can sleep better tonight. 

Mary's First Embroidery Project

Mary Kathryn has had some sort of stomach virus for the past two days.  She has been in and out of sleep.  When she is awake, the most energy that she can muster is to sit up in her bed propped by pillows.  This has made for a bit of a dull time for her so I decided to teach her to embroider to pass some time.  I drew a little flower pattern in pencil on the front of a $1.50 doll t-shirt from our local craft store.  She followed the pattern and learned the running stitch.  Mary is so excited to have completed a new shirt for Miss Felicity.

One More Prayer, If You Will

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for my grandmother Kathryn after her stroke last month.  She was out of rehab and home for a while but was readmitted to the hospital last week due to dehydration and irregular heartbeat.  Today, she is having surgery to insert a pacemaker.   I would so appreciate any prayers you might send up for her.  Thanks so much. Love, Rebecca

Updated to add: I called the hospital this evening and was told that Kathryn is doing well following her surgery.  I do not have any other details yet due to privacy laws but hope to find out more tomorrow. 

Tasha Tudor 1915-2008

Our family was so sad to hear of the death of Tasha Tudor. Her books and drawings have brought us much joy over the years. May she rest in peace.

Wordless Wednesday

You Tell On Yourself

You tell on yourself by the friends you seek,
By the very manner in which you speak,
By the way you employ your leisure time,
By the use you make of dollar and dime.

You tell what you are by the things you wear,
By the spirit in which you burdens bear,
By the kind of things at which you laugh,
By the records you play on the phonograph.

You tell what you are by the way you walk,
By the things of which you delight to talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat,
By so simple a thing as how you eat.

By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf:
In these ways and more, you tell on yourself.

--- Author Unknown

Taking Botany Too Far

Driving down the highway at sixty miles per hour:

Mary: "Mom? Mom! MOM!! STOP!"
Me: "What is wrong? What is it?!"
Mary: "I just saw some garlic mustard with its white flowers growing on the side of the highway!"
Me: "Mary, you can't scream like that about a PLANT.  You about scared me to death!  That is not an emergency."
Mary: "But Mom, garlic mustard is an invasive species! We need to go back and pull it out!"

I'm Grinning from Ear to Ear

That Went Well

Today I began a ten day detox lemon juice fast based loosely on the Master Cleanse Diet. I had bought two dozen lemons the other day in preparation for the fast. This morning at 8:30 I drank my disgusting salt water beverage (of which I drank half and then ran to the bathroom). I, then, prepared several glasses of warm water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and sweetener (I used unsulphured molasses). I drank these throughout the day along with a number of quarts of purified water. By four o'clock I had a pounding headache.

At five o'clock I made a tray of cheese manicotti and a huge salad. I ate several helpings and now I feel all better.

Favorite lemon recipes please? :)

May Crowning and First Holy Communion

We have had quite a lovely, though busy, past few weeks.  Our homeschooling group had its annual May Crowning late in the month.  I have written about it in the past.   This year was quite special for our family as Christopher was a First Communicant and was able to wear his FHC clothing along with the other boys and girls who were receiving this year. 

Here he is holding his new rosary made by Kimberlee.  (Shameless plug: Kimberlee's work is absolutely gorgeous.  You will not be disappointed by anything you order from her.)  After Mass, we have a rosary procession to the statue of Our Lady which is up the hill, in the woods.  Christopher led the first decade for our group.  It was just so very sweet. 

Every year one of the first communicants is chosen randomly to crown Our Lady.  Chris had been hoping to be able to have the honor and he was delighted when he came up with the long straw.

My mom and Mary

All the flowers left by the children

Christopher's First Holy Communion went so beautifully.  It really was a perfect day.  He woke much earlier than I did and when I asked him why, hetold me that he was too excited to sleep.  He said his rosary while waiting for the rest of us to awaken.  After Mass, we had a party at the beach with a few families of friends and his grandparents.  The weather held up nicely and all the children had such a fun time.  I always make far too much food for these types of events so we had plenty of meat, salad and vegetables to last us through the rest of the week.  :)

We have been working on his FHC notebook for several months, a page every so often.  It was completed and we brought it to the party for his guests to see.   I hope to post photos of it in the sidebar as soon as I get a chance.

We are so proud of and happy for you, Christopher!

Corners of My Garden--the Kousa Dogwood

When my father passed away a few years ago, two of Mike's aunts sent a gift of a Kousa Dogwood by which to remember him.  The Kousa Dogwood is sometimes called a Japanese Flowering Dogwood.  It is different from other dogwoods which blossom before getting their leaves.  The Kousa blooms much later, well after the other dogwoods are finished blooming and after the tree has already grown its foliage.  I thought you might enjoy seeing its pretty blossoms.

My friend Jackie had sent a little garden angel when we planted the tree and I placed it at the base of the trunk. 

I think the variegated green and white hosta look so nice next to this tree.  Right now the dogwood is about twelve feet tall, though very thin.  I understand they begin to branch out horizontally as they age.  I hope to be able to sit in its shade someday when I am much older and watch the world go by.   

Thinking Aloud

This time a year is always a good time for me to reflect back upon the past several months.  I look back on what we have done, what has been successful and what I would like to change for the upcoming year.

Our plan for the fall is to follow Laura Berquist's well laid plans for the children, as we have done in other years,  but adding the special elements that have worked so beautifully for us and that add flavor to our learning. We will be notebooking certain subjects, as we have done this year.  We will leave chunks of time for handcrafts, circle time and nature study.  All of this has brought my children such happiness.  The littles especially have enjoyed the rhythm of a day that looks similar to the one before it but is different enough to be interesting. :)

I've made a few guidlelines for myself regarding my computer time.  Last summer, I cut back considerably and even stopped blogging altogether.  I plan to cut back again this summer, but will continue to record our experiences and memories at A Gypsy Caravan.  The difference will be, that instead of allowing myself time on the computer each day, I will do so on one weekend morning or evening.  I will pre-publish posts that will appear throughout the week in my absence. Rather than posting them each day and being unavailable to my family, I will jot down things I'd like to post during the week in my notebook and will post them over the weekend when I have more time.  I still plan to check my email each day, though the number of times I do that will be greatly reduced.   I will allow myself time to read blogs on the weekend as well.  I think these guidelines will help me to keep my family first and not to get sucked into spending too much time online.

Though my boys have baseball most evenings, the girls and I will only attend two games per week so as to cut down on the amount of time we are away from home. I will continue our decluttering efforts and will hopefully start the next school year with a lot less stuff.  :)  So, I look now with excitement on the year ahead and towards a slow paced, peaceful summer.  Hopefully, this summer will be the segue into a wonderful schoolyear for our family.

Peonies in a Milk Glass Vase

I am so happy that my peonies are blooming.  Last week, I thrifted the milk glass vase and antique hand-knit doily.  It always makes me smile when I find something for only a few cents that makes my home look more lovely.