28 September 2015

October is Almost Here!

Wow! September is almost over and it is hard to believe that it has been a month since my mother has moved on. Over a year ago, I joined a group of people who help genealogists find information in cemeteries. Basically, you receive a request to walk a cemetery near your location and take photos of the stone. If you cannot, you provide information on the cemetery (for instance, it is very old and the stones are missing, broken of faded beyond reading) and send it to the requester. It is a great service and it is fun to walk the cemeteries and find what is a help to another person. I took a list and my daughters and we went and walked a cemetery and found quite a few. We will be working on another very old cemetery tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Here are more from the FB pages:

Patterns:
Hermione's Mitts
20 Stash buster Blanket Squares
Little Pigs
Elephants
Candy Corn Baby Hat
Mystery Amigurumi - CAL with Crochet Crowd -
Dover Plains Box Afghan
Hobbes - Cat
Parlor Cat
Laid Back Cat
Share Kitty - I need to make this for a friend's daughter...she likes pinks.
Reusable Swiffer Pads

Recipes:
Slow Cooker Lava Cake - need to buy chocolate cake mix, chocolate chips and ice cream!
Challah Bread Recipe
Iris Cohen Video for braiding rolls
Pumpkin Bread and Icing


Homeschooling:
Anatomy of a Eye with food
Non-Newtonian Fluid
Gallery Astrophotographs
How to Use a Semicolon
8 Science YouTube videos
50 Reasons Homeschoolers Like being Homeschooled


Halloween:
Harry Potter Style Party

Thanksgiving:
Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas

Books:
Cozy Fall Reads
Best YA Books
14 Laugh Out Loud Books
14 Books Like "To Kill A Mockingbird"
13 Books That Aren't on HS Reading Lists

FUN:
Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog
Words to "Slipping"

A few weeks ago, I caught my daughter listening to something and another daughter knew what. When I found out, I had to research the song and found out about this little Sing-a-long blog. I watched it after the kids went to bed and loved it. Then I let the watch it. Now they watch it more often. They sing with it and love the whole story.

11 September 2015

Birthstone Knits

September 2015 is Here

I saw where someone had made flowers and put them in a vase. I thought this would be a good way to have flowers like the ones that were in my mom's wreaths (which we got rid of on Monday). If I make enough I can make sure the girls all have some in their rooms.

Daffodils
Lily of the Valley
Roses - mom's wreaths had white roses and red and pink
Gardenia
Double Crochet Flowers - they look like roses
Gratitude Flowers
Crocheted Flowers
Spring Daisy
Crochet Flowers
Crochet Flowers Links
Crocodile Stitch Flower

Also, I love to make pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes. I use a lot of spices when I bake, so when I saw this on FB, I just knew I had to save it! To make your own pumpkin pie spice this is what you need: DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice ~ 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 teaspoon allspice. Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. - this is from Rita Helms Shearer

Homemade Butterfingers - this was one of my favorite candy bars. 

Hooty Owl Crochet Baskets - these are so cute. 

Mystery Crochet Along - from the Crochet Crowd. I did the Mike the Monster one. Now, I will make this one. Not sure who will get it. 

Crocheted Owls - one of my girls is really getting into these. 

Fanciful Pot Holders - I might make a few of these as gifts and for around my house. 


Banned Books

Some Banned Books by Year:
1982: Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
1983: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
1984: The Color Purple – Alice Walker
1985: In the Night Kitchen – Maurice Sendak
1986: Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
1987: Forever – Judy Blume
1988: The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier
1989: The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie
1990: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – Alvin Schwartz
1991: Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
1992: Sex – Madonna
1993: Go Ask Alice – Anonymous
1994: The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
1995: To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
1996: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
1997: All But Alice – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
1998: Daddy’s Roomate – Michael Willhoite
1999: Fallen Angels – Walter Dean Myers
2000: Captain Underpants – Dav Pilkey
2001: Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
2002: Harry Potter Series – J. K. Rowling
2003: The Giver – Lois Lowry
2004: King and King – Linda De Hann
2005: It’s Perfectly Normal – Robie Harris
2006: And Tango Makes Three – Justin Richardson
2007: The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
2008: Gossip Girl Series – Cecily von Ziegesar
2009: The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
2010: TTYL – Lauren Myracle
2011: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie

2012: Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Freire


To see the whole list for a year you can look here.

12 Books to be Thankful for Reading in English

12 Life-Changing Books from English Teachers
1.       A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare
2.       To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
3.       The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
4.       The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
5.       The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
6.       Lord of the Flies – William Golding
7.       The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
8.       The Odyssey – Homer
9.       Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
10.   Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller
11.   1984 – George Orwell
12.   Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier

08 September 2015

Required Reading for Middle School and High School

I saw a list of books for Middle School and High School and it asked how many have you read? I have read quite a few, so I will make some notations, but I am saving this list for my girls to pick from, also. 

Middle School Required Reading


1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie


2. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit - I read this on my own. It was never required for me to read. 


3. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume - I read this on my own, again, never required reading. 


4. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

5. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - Required reading for high school, not middle school. 


6. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George


7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I have a copy of this book, that I just got recently, I have not read it yet. 


8. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle - I read this with my daughters. 


9. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis - I read this on my own, I didn't have to read it for school. 


10. The Giver by Lois Lowry


11. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen


12. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman


13. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin


14. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls


15. My Brother Sam Is Dead by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier



High School Required Reading


16. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe


17. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou


18. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I had to read this for college. 


19. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - I read this on my own as an adult, I never had to read it in school. 


20. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - I had to read this for college. 


21. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - I had to read this for college. 


22. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - I had to read this for college. 


23. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - someone else had to read this for high school and threw the book away on the last day (that is what a lot of the girls did), since I loved to read, I snagged a lot of books this way.  I read it over the summer. 


24. Lord of the Flies by William Golding - I had to read this for college. 


25. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - I had to read this for college. 


26. The Iliad by Homer - I read this on my own. 


27. The Crucible by Arthur Miller - Another I read on my own. 


28. Animal Farm by George Orwell - my cousin a teacher at my high school told me not read this book voluntarily, she had not liked it. 


29. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - I read this on my own and then for college. 


30. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - I read this in college. 


31. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - I read this in college. 


32. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - I read this on my own. 


33. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - I loved this book, I have read it many times and read it on my own in middle school. 


34. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut - I read this on my own. 


35. The Color Purple by Alice Walker - I read this for college. 

05 September 2015

Yeah, I am Grieving

Yeah, my mom is dead. I am grieving. I am grieving that I didn't ever have the relationship with her that my sisters had. I had the misfortune of being the first born and I came on the most horrid of days...Thanksgiving. My mother never tired of telling me how I ruined her Thanksgiving! I would never think of telling my daughters they ruined my day. They made my day. I am so very proud and love them all very much. My daughters are great.
When I had my first baby, my mom was for all the world a happy grandma, but after having a hard labour and an emergency C-section and damage to a renal artery, I came home from the hospital and she didn't come over to help me. I had to manage on my own. She then instituted the you need to be invited before coming over to her house. I lived in KY at that time and was only 9 miles from her house, but you would think it was farther. I had my 2nd baby and she only came to the hospital again, once to see the new baby. Every time I called to ask her advice, she (a nurse) always said, I don't remember or I don't know. I leaned more on my mother-in-law. I actually miss her more than I miss my mom. I really miss the relationship she had with my sisters. I really wanted that relationship. A relationship that allowed me to come to her house, when we came to the area. A relationship that had her stop by my house on her way to or from the other places. It came to the point where I would go to my mil and visit with her. I would bring the girls around my mil. My mil would come to my house without warning and we would visit. I miss that relationship.
When I had my 3rd daughter, we were living 47 miles away and when we would come down to her house, she still had the only come when invited. On Nicole's 1st birthday (Thanksgiving), we planned a party for her and invited everyone. Only my mil, fil, bil came to her party. Why? Because it was Thanksgiving and it was so much more important than that child. Yep, I can say that, because she said so! My child at 4 yo asked why she was inconvenient. Because she heard all the messages every year saying that my family could not come to her birthday because it was inconvenient. Didn't matter if it was Thanksgiving or Saturday or Sunday celebration, it was inconvenient. So we stopped having birthday parties for all the girls and started a new celebration. The first party was an all day come when it works for you, come for lunch or come for supper, but come and celebrate. Only 3 came. I am grateful for those 3! They made my daughters always feel wanted and loved.
I have spent more years hearing how we lived too far away, that we should come down there. Interesting, we lived too far for them to see us, but not for us to come see them, when they wanted to see us. We created a life! A life with just those who wanted to be with us. We would go for almost a year at a time not seeing my parents or sisters or brother. Think of it, 47 miles separated us, but you would have thought it was thousands of miles! With my mom's recent illnesses, my sister made the comment that we moved so far away because we wanted to be far away from them, not for the real reason....Bill's job was closer to here than there.
Now that mom is dead, my one sister says, "We went through mom's things and we have a rosary for you. I'll give it to you the next time I see you."
This is the rosary I was given. I guess it is like the relationship I had with my mother. Broken.

After the funeral, my other sister and her cousins, I refuse to claim them as they don't think much of me, decided to go through mom's books and I get to go through what is left. Hmmm, the leftover books. The books no one else wants. I feel really special. It seems that their cousins deserve more consideration than I do. Oh, well. I just know that I will never have the relationship with the mother that they had and I will never have a relationship with them after this affront. I am finished trying. They are not worth my time.

Edit to add: They did not intentionally give me the broken rosary, but given how they have told me I am unwanted, it did feel a bit intentional. I still don't have respect or liking for the cousins, because of the sisters telling me how the "Whole family hates me and (the youngest's add) they want me dead." Sorry, but there has to be a good layer of truth to that one. This statement has been said to me way too many times.

Presidential Reading Lists

Presidential Reading Lists

Past and Present President have shown books that they have or are reading.

1.       All That Is by James Salter
2.       All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
3.       The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
4.       The Way Home by George Pelecanos
5.       Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
6.       Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
7.       To the End of the Land by David Grossman
8.       Rodin’s Debutante by Ward Just
9.       The Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell
10.   Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
11.   Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
12.   Plainsong by Kent Karuf
13.   Lush Life by Richard Price
14.   The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
15.   Next by Michael Crichton
16.   The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald
17.   Executive Power by Vince Flynn
18.   Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter
19.   The Stranger by Albert Camus
20.   Ana’s Story by Jenna Bush
21.   One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
22.   Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
23.   The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron

24.   You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe

Homeschool Saving

I started the journey to teaching my kids at home 3 years ago. But we just started our 3rd year actually homeschooling this year. But this year we are traditionally homeschooling. I try to save as many things as I can. Things that we are using or will use. Some these will help others, too. Enjoy!

CK-12 online  - about 2 years ago, I found CK-12 books on amazon for Kindle for free. I saved them to my cloud. A homeschooling friend found this and it is a great resource.

How to Make Your Own Google Map Envelopes - if your kid is a pen pal, these can be a fun addition to their letters.

Cool Science Class Projects - These are some great links to different science projects.

Physics

US States on Blank Map


Book Series

I saw where there was a list of books that are series, more than one and same author(s) and characters. It was a question to see how many have been read.

Series Books
1.       The Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne – I have read these books with my girls. They loved them.
2.       Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park – I read these when my sister was little and again with my girls.
3.       The Young Elites by Marie Lu
4.       Warriors by Erin Hunter
5.       His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
6.       Discworld by Terry Pratchett
7.       A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
8.       Harry Potter by J K Rowling – I loved these books. I gave my first set (before all were out) to my nephew, but I bought new copies and continued to collect and read them.
9.       The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I saw the movie before I read the books. I bought the 1st book and have borrowed the 2nd two.
10.   Twilight by Stephanie Meyers
11.   Divergent by Veronica Roth
12.   Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan – my girls loved these books. I have yet to read them, but I will.
13.   Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
14.   The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
15.   Robert Langdon by Dan Brown – I have read one of these books.
16.   Millennium by Stieg Larsson
17.   Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
18.   Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
19.   The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien – I have a few copies of these books but have not read them yet.
20.   A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket – I have read one or two of these.
21.   Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
22.   Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder – I have read quite a few of these when I was young.
23.   Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene – I have read many of these and still read them with my girls.
24.   Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
25.   Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich
26.   The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
27.   The Dark Tower by Stephen King
28.   The Maze Runner by James Dashner
29.   Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
30.   Goosebumps by R. L. Stine – I read some of these when my sister was little
31.   Ramona by Beverly Cleary – I read these when I was little and again with my girls.
32.   Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
33.   Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
34.   Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
35.   Alex Cross by James Patterson
36.   The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
37.   James Bond by Ian Fleming – I will read a few of these books. I never really liked the movies, but I will always read a book.
38.   How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell – I have read a few of these with the girls after the first movie came out.
39.   Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal
40.   The Selection by Kiera Cass
41.   The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
42.   The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
43.   Jack Reacher by Lee Child
44.   Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell
45.   Pendergast by Douglas Preston
46.   Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
47.   The Tudor Court by Philippa Gregory
48.   In Death by Nora Roberts and J D Robb (same author different names)

49.   Women’s Murder Club by James Patterson – I have read almost all, I think I am only one away from the whole series. 

More Book Lists

16 Books You Wish You Had Paid Attention to in School
1.       “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
2.       “Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank
3.       “Candide” by Voltaire
4.       “Sula” by Toni Morirson
5.       “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” by Carson McCullers
6.       “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo
7.       “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy
8.       “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley
9.       “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville
10.   “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck
11.   “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy
12.   “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway
13.   “Charlotte Bronte” by Jane Eyre
14.   “The Giver” by Lois Lowry – this has won a Literary Prize
15.   “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
16.   “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
10 Must Read Books About New York
1.       “The Tenants of Moonbloom” by Edward Lewis Wallant
2.       “Mannahatta  A Natural History of New York City” by Eric W. Sanderson
3.       “Conquering Gotham” by Jill Jones
4.       “The Epic of New York City” by Edward Robb Ellis
5.       “The Island at the Center of the World” by Russell Shorto
6.       “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning” by Jonathan Mahler
7.       “Great Fortune” by Daniel Okrent
8.       “The Great Bridge” by David McCullough
9.       “The Bridge” by Gay Talese
10.   “Triangle The Fire that Changed America” by David Von Drehle

Cozy Mysteries with Excellent Puns in the Title

1.       “Killer Run” by Lynn Cahoon
2.       “Feta Attraction” by Susannah Hardy
3.       “A Seamless Murder” by Melissa Bourbon
4.       “Lord of the Wings” by Donna Andrews (I have read almost all of her other bird books, this is the most current book.
5.       “Caught Read-Handed” by Terrie Farley Moran
6.       “A High-End Finish” by Kate Carlisle
11 Magical Books to Read if You Love “Harry Potter”
1.       “The Magicians” by Lev Grossman
2.       “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern
3.       “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman
4.       “A Game of Thrones” by George R. R. Martin
5.       “Witch and Wizard” by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
6.       “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic” by Emily Croy Barker
7.       “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness
8.       “City of Dark Magic” by Magnus Flyte
9.       “Vampires in the Lemon Grove” by Karen Russell
10.   “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman

11.   “The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell


Septemeber 2015

September is here and I haven't had much time to clear off my FB page from last month, so I will do this quickly and may be a little different than usual, but I just need to clear it off.

Patterns:
Autumn Leaves
Fish Dishcloth
Jersey Mitts
Dinosaur Amigurumi
Crochet Birds
20 Crochet Blocks

Recipes:
Reese's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheese Ball
Candy and Cookie Turkey
Bacon Cheese Ball
Pumpkin Fudge
Chocolate Cake with Mayonnaise
Black Magic Chocolate Cake - it has a secret ingredient (Tomato Soup)
Perfect Potato Soup
Garlic Crock Pot Sweet Chicken

Reading:
Read and Review - a way to get free ebooks. All you have to do is read 2 books a month and give a fair review of the books.