Blessings,

Below is S's creative writing today. It is the first chapter of a book he is writing, in the first-person, on World War II. His writing has not been proofread and is raw. S is nine years old.

Chapter One: Operation Husky

I sat at the briefing tent listening to the captain speak. he said we would have to take out 4 AA guns and to expect heavy resistance.  He also said that we would be fighting Italy's best men: The Black shirts. When we were done I picked my weapons: The Thompson, The M1 Garand and The Colt. I said to Sergeant Setzer this is something I don’t like and he said well I certainly don’t like parachuting that’s for sure. We got on the plane the good ole’ C17 when we were going towards Sicily we were accidently getting hit by our own navy, two men were killed but the rest made it out of the plane. As we were going down to the ground corporal Johnson was hit in the arm as soon as he got to the ground a medic got to him me and Setzer got together with corporal Dunn and private McCloskey and moved slowly to the mayors residence which I might add had  AA guns we found Braeburn  and Clarks with a few other guys under heavy fire from the Italians although originally armed with K98 rifles they are sometimes armed with MP40 machine guns. We ran in to a MG42 the famed German machine gun he hit Ward and Carter but before he did anymore damage Clarks hit him in the head with a Springfield sniper rifle I rushed in to the building killed 3 Jerries  1 Jerri went upstairs an manned the MG42  killing Johnson I went upstairs and killed the gunner got on the machine gun and killed 2 Jerries  but left because of heavy sniper fire I got to 1 of the  AA guns killed the Jerries and blew it up. Then I quickly got to the other one and blew it up I found a K98 rifle went to another one blew it up but then Setzer was hit and McCloskey and Clarks were killed I got to the last one and blew it up we completed all objectives and the Germans and Italians were in retreat. The war has begun may it end soon.

Blessings,

Part one of three of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford airs tonight on PBS. Starting tomorrow, you can watch part one online at PBS's website. I haven't read Cranford but I'm a fan of Gaskell's Wives and Daughters - the book and the movie - and those in the know say Cranford is delightful. So, you can guess what I'll be doing tonight: watching Cranford and crocheting a rag rug.

By the way, we caught Iron Man Friday night and it is awesome. Comic book action movie on Friday, corset drama on Sunday - that makes me well-rounded, right? 

Blessings,

S and D requested some freezer paper stenciled T-shirts. When I suggested the Transformers logo, they enthusiastically agreed. I made these yesterday afternoon. The kids wore their new shirts today and posed for a little photo session.

More photos are here.

My freezer paper stencil tutorial is here.

Blessings,

No May Day cones of posies, but D picked a lovely Firewheel Blanketflower for her tiny clay vase. Here it sits with two feathers we found in the yard.

Blessings,

We are having our Winter Term exams this week. The purpose of exam week is to give the children an opportunity to show what they have learned in the previous 12 weeks. One part of the children's art exams was to paint with watercolors a member of the Plant Kingdom.

Here is S's sunflower:

and here is D's Royal Palm:

Some other art exam questions they have had this week are:

*Tell about cave paintings.

*Draw an original illustration from "Black Beauty" or "At the Back of the North Wind".

*Sketch an object of your choice.

*Draw an original illustration from "The Age of Chivalry".

*Describe and illustrate some form of ancient art.

When S, age 9, was asked to tell about cave paintings, he wrote, "Cave paintings were made by people in early times. They usually depicted hunting, daily life, and fighting. They are called cave paintings because they were made in caves." He also drew two examples of cave paintings and drew an early artist painting a cave wall.

Blessings,

D enjoyed her watercolor paint-by-number so much (she says it's relaxing) that I gave her an acrylic one.

She added some personal touches. For instance: only a couple of the yellow flowers were in the pattern.

I love it but have no frame to fit it so it's sitting here 'til I find one.

Blessings,

Unlike the Black Racer, this Cooper's Hawk is a welcome visitor to my neighborhood.

D spotted him while bringing in the emptied garbage cans and she ran inside to tell me. I was lucky to grab my camera and take many photos of our guest.

He stood in my neighbor's driveway for quite a while, watching the large bush. Eventually, he sauntered into the bush and emerged with a bird in his talons. Then, he suddenly flew away with his lunch.

D and I think his leg feathers look like breeches.

Blessings,

Can you spot the snake?

Here's a better look. It's a Black Racer. I do not like snakes so I took these photos from the comfort of my living room.

I had to hold the kiddies back to keep them from getting up close and personal with our visitor. Obviously, they've watched too much Animal Planet.

Blessings,