Recommended Reading: 4 winners

As I mentioned on Monday, I spent most of last week in the hospital with baby S.  That created some more reading time than I usually have. Plus, I missed a week of reporting on my books - so I have 4 for today!

1. Alice in Wonderland - this is a quick read, very sweet and fluffy, like the day dream that it is about.

2. Treasure Island - For some reason I have always thought of this as a story for adolescent boys.  I can see why they would like it, but I really enjoyed it too. Better than Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan by far. It was not too scary for me, but it kept me on the edge of my seat, anxious to see what happened next.  Also, I finally get a lot of pop culture references to treasure maps, Long John Silver, "pieces of eight", etc.  The only thing that I did not like was they did not go into much detail about what happened to them after the adventure.

3. No Time to Lose - I have been reading this for a couple weeks. I can't recommend it for everyone. It is about the epidemiology and discovery of Ebola and HIV/AIDS from the perspective of someone who was there - Peter Piot.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I have been working on or HIV/AIDS related projects since my undergrad research in 2002. It was interesting to hear how everything unfolded prior to that time and also the events of the last 10 years from a much higher vantage point (UNAIDS directorate).

4. Aglow in the Dark - I am only about 2/3 of the way into this book. It is not at all what I expected  when I ordered it from the library.  On our honeymoon, we went to Vieques, off the coast of Puerto Rico.  It is one of the few places in the world where the concentration of dinoflagelates in the sea is bright enough that you feel like you are swimming in a glowing pool. It was awesome!  Ever since then I have wondered about bioluminescence and how it works.  This little book tells about scientists discovering how creatures glow as well as the modern medical/biological uses of this "cold" light.  Pretty cool stuff.

Reuse Recipe: Lard or Bacon grease

Continuing on with last weeks oily theme -- Lard.  The "evil food" ingredient of the 90s.  And I would never suggest that anyone eat it regularly, but on the other hand you do love bacon, right?  Especially, the nitrate-free kind - like they sell at Trader Joe's.

And the end result of cooking the bacon that you paid at least 3$ a pound for is about... 2/3 cup of lard.  Not sure how much that weighs, but probably about a dollar worth of liquid.  It can be kept in the fridge for at least a week with no ill effects.  See my little ramekin of it below. What should we do with that lard?

 Tortillas are a favorite around here. I like this recipe since it makes 15-20 medium size tortillas, but there are many other good tortilla recipes out there.  I used part lard and part shortening in this batch, since I did not have enough lard for a big batch.

Other options?  Lard is the poor man's bacon - fry eggs in a bit for a bacon-y flavor, or cook spinach in it for the same reason.  I also hear that it is good for making biscuits and pie crust, although I have not tried either of those yet.

Vintage Finds

Some fun new fabrics going into my shop. 

Blue and gold upholstery weight cloth with a tribal pattern

Light-weight pink cotton with raised polka-dots

Sew Special - Cowboy Quilt 2

Quilter's block surmounted.  After a week in the hospital helping baby S recover from RSV, I'm back to sewing! Yay!

Home Schooling Summary for the Last Week

We have all been sick this week, including baby S. A little epidemic is going around. The pediatrician's office was extremely busy.  Still, we managed to do a few things. Lots of reading.

Exploration and Conquest is another history book that was a bit advanced for my daughter, but we looked at the pictures and I summarized the text.  She was just telling little brother M about a trip to South America -- I think that means some of it is sinking in!

American History Picture Book for a 4 year old

This Benjamin Franklin book is by the same author as Christopher Columbus from 2 weeks ago.  The illustrations are great, but again, I have to summarize the text or else it is too long for a 4 year old attention span.

I should note that I realize the chronology of our history lessons is a little off at this point. Anywhere from 1500's-1700's.  I think chronology is a little to advanced for a 4 year old.  At this point we are just familiarizing ourselves with the stories, names, etc.

Week of Feb 15, 2012

Not Recommended Reading: Peter Pan

I know that Peter Pan is a classic, but I have to say that I did not really enjoy this book.  It is one of the rare times when I can say the Disney movie was better, much more magical.  The narrator's comments and sarcasm were frequently annoying and unnecessary.

Skip the book and watch one of the many film versions!

Reuse Recipe: cooking oil

Knotted buns

We have been eating fried plantains about once a week lately. They are cheap and everyone loves them. The only trouble with them (and anything else fried) is the leftover oil - what to do with it?  I am always afraid it will start a fire if I reuse it for frying or get rancid by the time I fry something again.  Oil is used in so many recipes.  It can be put away in the fridge (to prevent the rancidness) until you figure out what to do with it.

Here is one idea - Quick Rolls / Cinnamon Buns.  My family has been using this recipe for years.  It makes a HUGE batch of buns and uses a whole cup of oil. I like to include white (7 c.) and wheat (3 c.) - especially when  covering it with butter, cinnamon, and sugar! Feels a little healthier at least.  If you are not feeding an army, I suggest making half the dough into rolls and half into cinnamon buns.

Cinnamon Rolls

Quick Rolls

3 1/3 C. warm water
1 C. oil
½ C. sugar or honey
4 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp salt

Mix and rest 10 minutes

Add:
3 eggs
10 ½ C. flour

Dinner Rolls: Shape into rolls. To make the knotted kind- roll out a snake and tie a knot. Let rise 10 minutes. Bake 10 minutes at 425 F.
Cinnamon rolls: Roll out a large rectangle. Top with a stick of melted butter and lots of cinnamon and sugar. Roll up the dough into a long cylinder. Cut slices 1 inch thick and lay out on cookie sheet (line with parchment paper if you have it). Let rise 10 minutes. Bake 10-12 minutes at 425F. Top with cream cheese or butter frosting.

Vintage finds: Calabash and Map

Usually I find things at the thrift store that are just right for some project or other. Occasionally  I find something and think "where were you 4 years ago?!"  This cloth map of Africa would have been awesome in the safari theme nursery that my kids had for the last 4 years, but now it is too late. We have moved on to the cowboy theme.  I have not decided whether to put this in my etsy shop or not. It might be good for homeschooling.

Cloth Batik Map of Africa

Tribal Calabash

Luckily, this little tribal calabash made its appearance just in time to be part of the new decor adjustments in the living room -- to match our phenomenal new artwork from my father-in-law.

Sew Special: Making Jeans Longer

Confession: Baby S is 3 months old.  My skinny jeans still do not fit! My in between jeans are too big though. These circumstances resulted in a trip to the thrift store and 2 pairs of very nice, but as usual a tiny bit too short, jeans for 5$. So I thought I'd show off my jean lengthening trick today--very easy.

Quick summary: (I don't have illustrations for all these steps as I was not planning to do this as a tutorial, but I could illustrate more if someone else out there needs help with this :)

Step 1: Undo hem. Unfold. Iron.

Step 2:  Use fabric marker to color faded edge

Step 3: Cut 6" wide strip of fabric, the same length as circumference of jean/pant leg at the bottom.
Step 4: Sew ends of strip together
Step 5: Fold loop in half,  wrong sides together, iron
Step 6: Sew to bottom of pant leg. Flip inside. Press.

Step 6: Top stitch 1/4" from bottom edge. Turn pants inside out. Stittch 1/4" from top edge.

Home Schooling Summary for the Week

Last week my daughter had an ear infection and this week she has croup, so we are using plenty of sick days. Luckily, I had ordered the first dvd of the "Liberty Kids" series on our Netflix so she has watched some "history" lessons on her sick days. She loves these shows. Even though it is a bit complicated for her to follow, I think it is good exposure to the events and stories. She asked if the characters were "real", which she often does, and it was nice to be able to explain that yes people like them lived in our land.  We also got the Wizard of Oz on cassette from the library last week so she was able to listen to the whole book as she was going to sleep each night. We started over the weekend and I was so glad that she liked it enough to finish it.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading	Phonics Bingo, Wizard of Oz	Phonics Bingo, Wizard of Oz	Phonics Bingo, Wizard of Oz	Sick	sick
Writing	X	X	x	X	X
Math	Connect the dots	x	Rag Bag shapes	x	x
Science	X	X	Optical illusions	X	x
History/Geography	Liberty Kids video	x	x	Liberty Kids video	Liberty Kids video

Recommended Reading: The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

I loved this book.  I saw the Hallmark movie when I was a kid and promptly went outside to start creating my own secret garden. My friend and I spent many hours outside working on it for a whole summer.  I wish I would have recognized back then how much I loved gardening for its own sake.
The Secret Garden is also such an uplifting story - so much instruction about being positive and the power of thinking positively. The characters are so distinct and loveable.


I also read A Christmas Carol this week.  I should mention here that both of these are part of a goal to read 25 "classics" this year.  I realized last week that it was already February and I need to read 2-3 per month to accomplish that goal... so I thought I would jumpstart myself with some "easy" ones.
I thought that A Christmas Carol would be more spooky, but I actually liked the book much better than any films I've ever seen of it.  It has a great overall message about avarice, but a lot of other minor themes that were profound, particularly, living in the moment, being positive in all circumstances, and prioritizing family over work.

A Christmas Carol

Reuse Recipe: Yogurt

What to do with leftover yogurt?

My kids love little yogurt cups. I have tried making them bowls using the plain yogurt mixed with jam or honey.  No one really gets excited about it.  But the little cups of yoplait, which they can BOTH open by themselves oh my, they eat them every day for breakfast or snack.  The problem is that once that cup is half eaten no one wants to finish it off. I don't want to eat it, but I don't want to throw it away either!  So it goes into whatever relevant dish is being made that day or within the next couple days. Yogurt can stand in for a portion of the milk in most any sweet recipe.  I use it in bread, waffles, muffins, cake, or if none of those seem to be in the works - smoothies!  Stick those gross little half eaten cups in the freezer and then dump them (their contents that is) in the blender one evening with some other frozen berries. Voila, everyone likes it again. I also really like to use leftover yogurt in banana bread and pancakes -- it makes them nice and moist.

Vintage Finds - "Love is Spoken Here" Cross-Stitch Book

If I did not already have so many projects in the works I think I would try making some Valentines from this lovely cross-stitch pattern book.  So much L-O-V-E in all these cute little sayings.  I am a sucker for needleworks with meaningful quotes.

Love is Spoken Here Cross -stitch book

Love isn't love until you give it away

A True Friend

Sew Special: Masquerade Costumes

Handmade masks

My husband's holiday party was on Saturday.  Each year there is a theme and this year it was - Masquerade Ball.  I sewed a new jacket for the event and wore the dress that I made for the Valentine's Ball last year. I also covered 2 plastic masks (gifts from a lovely friend when we had no idea that I would be needing these supplies so soon!) with fabric using modge podge. I added the trim with my glue gun.  My mom embroidered my mask and I just hot glued it on to the plastic.
Note: I don't recommend using a hot glue gun for gluing things onto plastic masks.  The low-heat glue gun did not melt the plastic, but the first squirts with the regular glue gun did, so beware!
I made the jacket using a franken pattern (the same way I did my wedding jacket). It is a mixture of Burda 7987 and Butterick 4731

Masquerade Dress and Jacket

Purse and hair barrette  

 

Home Schooling Summary for the Week

We are still enjoying our new phonics and math books that I showed off last week. We also ordered some more history books from the library:

Columbus 

The New Americans

These books are pretty dense for a 4 year old.  I like the illustrations and the information, but we have had to read them a few pages at a time rather than all at once like some of the others.

We also watched some cool science videos on you tube that I would like to replicate. Especially this one with food coloring and milk. I need to buy some more food coloring.

Progress for the week ending February 2nd:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading	Library Trip	Phonics o	Phonics u	x	x
Writing	X	Letter o	Letter u	X	1,2,3,4,5
Math	X	Symmetry	x	Symmetry	x
Science	X	X	X	X	Science experiments
History/Geography	Columbus Iceland videos	New Americans	New Americans	New Americans	X

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Reading

Library

Trip

Phonics o

Phonics u

x

x

Writing

X

Letter o

Letter u

X

1,2,3,4,5

Math

X

Symmetry

x

Symmetry

x

Science

X

X

X

X

Science experiments

History/Geography

Columbus

Iceland videos

New Americans

New Americans

New Americans

X