Another mystery solved ...

Another mystery solved. I had been pretty dissatisfied with my holiday cards this year. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but they cards just seems to lack ... something.
Then last night, I happened upon some pre-made packages of cards and it dawned on me...the paper I had bought to make my own cards this year (after three packages in a row of which I paid for 8 cards and got 6) was much, much lighter weight than I am accustomed to.

What they lack this year is...substance! Literally.

Now I just have to figure out where I can buy the heavier weight paper in bulk. ;)

Oh, and in case anyone was under the impression that we are staid and boring...tonight's cooking adventure was briefly side-tracked by the largest head of cabbage we've seen in a long time, and we took evid, er, mementos.

I really don't understand hopw people can not like cooking -- it's crazy fun! :p

Homeschoolers, you really have to read this

Over at Colorado Adventure, I found the coolest article: 10 reasons not to homeschool.

(My apologies to the author -- I couldn't find your name to credit you ...)

I'm tempted to quote it -- but I can't find only one piece to quote for fair use - I want to quote the whole thing, so you''ll just have to head over and read it for yourself. :)

Head over here to have a look!

Cards, a retrospective

Planning and preparing: Ancient Greece, here we come!

We took several weeks off school at the end of the ancient Egypt unit to play Patrician (courtesy of big brother Corey), read everything in sight, and generally relax.

There would have been more outdoor play, except that for much of the vacation, Rod has been sick with a particularly bad viral infection.

We'll try to get Jack out to play this weekend so he can run off some of the energy that he's accumulated "being a good boy" while Dad rests. I know that's been hard on him, and while Rod is slowly recovering, I don't think he's going to be up to any real adventures for a couple of weeks yet. Fortunately, we have a long weekend ahead.

Anyway, I am gathering up our materials, making checklists, making Greek language flash cards, marking relevent pages, and downloading the free books we'll use.

We'll be taking a first look at Greek this unit. We're using the Greek words from English from the Roots Up.

We'll be starting our nutrition indoc, er EDUCATION with a look at Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma We don't agree with everything Pollan has to say, but it's better than the USDA's food pyramid! Once it'a available, we'll move on to Real Food Nutrition & Health For Kids by Kristen Michaelis.

In the What your First Gader Should Know, Jack came across a very brief catalog of Abrahamic faiths and he was intrigued. He asked to learn more about World Religions, so we'll do that this unit.

We'll continue with Math and Science, of course, but those are Rod's babies so I am far less familiar with them. We'll continue with herbology, and we've stepped up our astrology studies. This time, Jack will be making "posters" of each sign. Next time, houses, then planets. ;)

I still hope to get at least the checklists of what we've done and are doing up ... but that requires that Rod be both healthy and not too busy to help. I'll let you know when we get there, because I know we've had hits on them.

More soon, I hope -- but we have lots to do. Tomatoes are getting away from us! Time to can again!

May 14

The final digging goes into the garden today. (I hope -- there may be more to do Sunday if I wear out.) I plan to get the strawberry/raspberry patch dug and planted today. If I can find some rhubarb, that will go in, too. Then I'll work on the squash and melon beds.

I started foliar feeding this week. The lettuces, who don't mind the cold, responded imediately. The tomatoes are still unimpressed. (Of the nine we have started, I am only sure that three will make it, but I haven't given up on any of them yet.) Rod and I were talking about the difference between the produce of '07 and last year's. The difference in quality was unmistakable -- that first year, produce seemed to last forever and it tasted amazing. Last year, it was good, but not amazing and it didn't last particularly long. The big difference was that I was too sick to do the foliar feeding last year. I wonder whether this year will see a return to amazing.

Not eating grains has caused both my hearing and my sense of smell to return. I have to say, I now understand why my boys made such faces whenever I foliar fed the garden the previous year. My goodness, that smells bad! I'm thinking that, given their faces when I was playing with cow poop soup, that is probably as bad as worse. I won't know until the days are hot enough to "cook" the soup...something to look forward to. *grin*

Jack has asked me not to speak of his karate yet, so I won't except to say that I am very proud of his progress. (And more impressed with Sensei Hubbard and the dojo of Master White than I expected to be.)

Off to the garden, so I'll have time to get to the nursery to get Grandpa John's garden later. That goes in after we go to the dojo tomorrow.

And the one I was inspired to make after the class

Based, obviously, on the spring card we made in class.

Cards from the last Scrapbook Haven card class

I think they're all pretty!

But especially the first one.

The crafting draught...

I was wondering whether my unhappiness with my recent creations was "all in my head.

When I started crafting, I was almost never happy with my creations until after they'd "aged" a few days...

But, no. They've aged weeks or months. I still don't like the ones I made during the draught-- represented by these top two yellow ones. They're not horrible -- but I can't bring myself to send them to anyone who knows my work. I can't even put into words why I don't like them.

Oh well, the draught is over and I have made some I really like in the last few days.

But these I can send. Life is better.

Jack on Star Wars

I first heard about star wars from a magazine, which of course, my parents detested. But I'm now a fan of Star Wars. I've watched 1, 2, and 4. You know why I skipped 3? It was a little dark for my age. Well, maybe. I don't think so but parents outrank children. (wrinkles his nose at his scribe.)

I like Star Was because it has all those fights with light sabers and some fights with laser guns! I like fights because I'm a boy and don't all boys like fights? Well, I know one boy who doesn't. That's my friend Connor. He likes animals much more than anything. Do any of you like Star Wars?

My Mamma has only watched only numbers 4 and 2; 2 much more recently. Dad has watched numbers 6, 7, 1, 2, and 4.

Now this isn't to say that *I* have watched Return of the Jedi -- number 6, I think. And I've only, as you know, watched 1, 2, and 4. My favorite character would be between Master yoda, Master Mace Windu, and Master Obi Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. (Except not as a Sith.) I like them because a) they're really good at light sabers, b) they have good minds, and c) that they have good knowledge of The Force.

The start to every star wars movie is "A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far Away". I like that phrase because it's what really gets you started (marching dramatically).

In Attack of the Clones, number 2, it starts with a ship is not expecting a big attack and suddenly *pheeeeyouwwwwww* (That's guns firing, not that it smells bad) There was a big explosion with killed several, several people. And that's all I remember.

The Puzzle of Crafting...

I've been crafting for a few years now.  When I started, I figured it was a matter of learning the techniques and then it just happens.  Oh, you might be good at it or not good at it, but I kept hearting the crafts aren't creative like "Art", and so it was easier...

 

That may be, but I can't seem to hit the consistency stage.

 

Some days, when I sit down to craft, I "hit the groove" or whatever you want to call it and everything I create comes out just like I was hoping.  Other days, even if I am really in the mood to craft, even if I am trying to recreate a very successful card I had done before, I just can't seem to get it to work. 

 

I have missed some people's birthdays entirely and I have sent out some really regretable cards when that happens.  I feel bad about that, and I hope people aren't offended at getting a poorly made card.

 

I wish I knew how to tell before I sit down at my craft table whether it was going to be worth trying or not.

 

I've decided to stop trying to make cards specifically for individuals as I need them and just concentrate on making as many cards as I can when it's working. I have the list and I can make them for specific individuals ... but I'll make them weeks or months ahead when I can so that the bad ones don't have to be my only choice.

 

I have discovered, though, that it's sometimes worth hanging on to the duds...sometimes when I'm "in the groove", I can pick up a really sad card and make it look really nice...or at least nice enough.  Makes me wish that I had "do overs" on some of this years cards.

 

  

Oh well.  I'll get the flow one of these days.  At least the good ones are getting better, even if the bad ones seem to be a permanent fixture, too.

Guy Cards

As I said, I've been working on guy cards ... here they are!

Everyone says it...but it's true...

They really do look better in person. ;)

Card Making

Not having the Internet has left me a lot more time for crafting! That’s a good thing because I am sending out about 7 cards a month to honour birthdays this year. (I will probably be cutting way back next year. This has been fun, but it’s a lot of work, and a little disheartening to wonder if any of them have arrived as intended.)

I posted as one of my lasts posts before the Big Change that I wanted to experiment with a tri-shutter card I had found online. I have been working with the template for several weeks, and have made three versions of it. I’m pretty happy with how it’s come out. As you can see, I favour the romantic effect that first got my attention.
I have even started to experiment with the alternative template for a flat front card, and then I want to see what I can do with more modern or more masculine effects. (Guy cards are one of my biggest challenges. Most of my relatives are men and boys, but only rarely do I come up with a guy card I really like.)
Blogging from a Mac with no mouse and a teeny laptop keyboard is taking some getting used to -- but I will keep trying. Never fear -- I am still here and I am getting better at this stuff. I hope soon to have the last part of the curriculum series done and posted. Maybe by Tuesday...

Solstice banner

It's finally finished!

I made a Solstice banner for the parlour. It's inspired by the Dia de los Muertos paper banners from Mexico, but instead of cutwork, I was lazy and used acrylic paint and stencils.

It's not perfect, but I quite like it. (Note to self...red on green looks decidedly brown!)

Interestingly, Jack wasn't interested in working on this one with me, but once he saw it, he decided that the kitchen needs one, too, so we'll work on that this weekend. (And also on a Yuletide garland or two or three...)

Jhärtkorgar

Well, I did it.

I got all 70 Yule cards made by the first of December. The overseas cards are on their way and we'll wait a few more days to get the US cards out.

We never did get a holiday photo made and with all of us so sick, it seems unlikely that we will be able to before it gets silly to try to hold the cards. So no one gets a holiday family photo this year. Oh well. I'm sure we'll get one if we get to go to Sweden this year.

So now the cards are done (I didn't get a chance to photograph them ... I was still crafting away while we started the preparation and mailing process. Again, oh well. I did some for Bella and Leo that I thought came out cute, so maybe I can get a photo of those once the glitter and glue dries.)

With the flu lurking, cookies don't seem like a great idea, so since Stephanie has my imagination racing with her tres cool adventures with her kids, Jack and I have moved on. Last night we made Jhärtkorgar, a traditional Swedish Solstice decoration. Traditionally, they are filled with small treats and hung on the tree though since we don't do a tree, ours will hang from strings somewhere.

I am thinking we may move on to paper garlands and banners...and once my head clears, perhaps to a three dimensional paper snowflake...

And now, while I am not entirely better, it is time for me to get into the shower and back to work. For at least a part of the day.

(Oh, and my young guest blogger was over the moon that people responded to his first post! Thank you, Miss Karen, thank you Mr. Mark!) Of course, he insisted on posting again...and as far as I am concerned any writing is good writing. He dictates, of course. He'd have to concentrate too hard of he was also typing and he'd be done after two words. But this helps him to starting exercising his ability to pull his thoughts together.)

Edited to add, my goodness. It was pretty obvious that I was feverisah when I wrote this. My apologies!