Snow Houses

Still catching up on my posting :) This event happened on December 2nd.

Snow houses are an annual tradition at Max's preschool.  Parents send in a 15" square piece of plywood and pint and quart sized cartons (all wrapped in aluminum foil), a can of frosting and another goody (mine was graham crackers). The teachers tape the cartons to the plywood and divvy up the goodies equally among all the kids. Parents arrive early on the decorating day to cover the cartons and base with frosting. Teachers bring the kids in a little later for the fun part- putting on the candy!  Max made a pond in the front yard of his snow house with teddy crackers swimming in it.  He also put up a pretzel fence to keep the riffraff out (like those gingerbread people).  The tree is an upside down ice cream cone covered in frosting.  A fun event! 

Max poses with his completed snow house



frosting taste test: yep, good enough to eat!



Girly Afternoon

Last Sunday afternoon Claire and I had some special girl time. We ate lunch at Claire's favorite Thai restaurant, did some browsing at two different girly stores, and went to the Brooks Center for an afternoon performance of The Nutcracker.  During intermission, I took the photo below. This nutcracker works just like the smaller versions- the mouth opens and closes with a lever on the back.  This was Claire's first ballet experience, and she loved it!

Claire posing with the giant nutcracker

Sometimes spontaneous photos are the best ones

Claire has been quite a shutterbug lately. In the midst of her latest session, she asked me to take a picture of her. I grabbed the camera and quickly shot one. Then I handed the camera back to her. As I was uploading the photos, I came across the one I had so quickly taken- and it was a keeper!  A beautiful photo of my beautiful daughter.

Max's Christmas Program

Max's preschool had their Christmas program this morning! One of the teachers told a story and the children sang some songs. Then everyone had cookies! My kind of program :)


Max, to boy on his right: "awesome tow truck sweater!" 
Boy with awesome tow truck sweater: "thanks!"



Waiting for the program to start (profile shot for you, mom- to show off his "nicely shaped head" :))

Not the clearest photo, but shows off the whole preschool

Mom, you're vacillating!

Claire's teacher is a vocabulary buff and enjoys sharing new words with her class. Actually, I think she just likes to keep parents on their toes. 
Here's an example:  Last week the kids and I were at the store and I was trying to decide between two brands of juice- you know, reading the labels and checking for hfcs (high fructose corn syrup) so that my kids won't bounce off the walls any more than normal, and Claire says:
"Mom, you're vacillating!" 
"Wait, I'm what?" 
"Vacillating, mom- it means you are going back and forth between two things and can't make up your mind." 
"Oh, thanks Claire." 
Wait, that's my six year old? 
I had noticed that she'd been dropping some bigger words lately, but this was the first one I didn't know. Talk about humbling. So I thanked her for enriching my vocabulary (and got to teach her what enrich meant- take that, teacher!) and we moved on.

And another example: Yesterday she told her brother he was being truculent, and if he didn't stop she was going to ostracize him.  Do you think the teacher's gone too far? What next?

Max starts preschool, and turns 5!

Max has had a busy two weeks!  He has started preschool and turned 5!  His second day of preschool was his actual birthday, and he brought banana muffins (his idea) to school. His teacher snapped this photo during snacktime and and sent home a magnetic frame to put it in!  It is now proudly displayed on our refrigerator. Max is going to school three days per week and is in the blue whales class (hence the sticker on the frame).  He is loving it so far, and I couldn't be happier with the school and his teachers.  Just wish I had started him sooner!   

Later that afternoon, Max had a birthday party at a local park with his friends and their moms.  We had pizza and more banana muffins, and the kids had fun playing together. 

When we got home, we had grandmommy up for pizza and muffins and opened Max's birthday presents from the family. Thank you everyone for the wonderful birthday gifts!  Max had a great birthday and I can't believe my baby is five!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

A happy girl, and a very proud mama

Claire came home from school today with two special papers- a coloring contest and a math test.  Her class of 36 each colored their own cornucopias, and hers was the winner!  Go, Claire!  The math test is the first of 18 weekly tests, with prizes for perfect scores.  So she came home with two prizes!
  

While not a creative drawing (aside from the stem she added to her plum),
it does show her fine motor skills. If you look very closely in the upper
right corner, you will see the word "winner" written in yellow!




The kids have a new test each week and are given two minutes to complete it.



Super Taco

Why Super Taco?  Well, just look at the photos below!


Taco keeps the kids clean and...



makes them laugh!

 But most importantly, she is a playmate and a friend. That's super for sure!

Claire, the early rising artist

Claire woke up before me both days this past weekend and surprised me with drawings on my bedside table!

I love the hemline and the stripes on this dress!



I love the fruit bowl, the chandelier and the high heels!

I love everything in this one!

Family Day

The whole family went to Greenville yesterday. We went out to lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Children's Museum of the Upstate. The kids had a great time. And the grownups had a great time, too!

Claire running the bucket loader in the construction area

Max loading the bucket loader

Claire's on break

Back to work, Claire! Here comes Max with another load of bricks!

Here they go again!



Max enjoying the "river"



Claire is running another bucket loader. This one is a lot more work as the buckets are full of water.
Looks like she's working hard, eh?



Halloween Fun

Robin Hood and Princess Claire at Downtown Clemson's Trick or Treat Event

The kids and I headed to Clemson for their Downtown Trick or Treat yesterday afternoon.  They close Main Street to vehicles and all the merchants hand out candy. It's kid nirvana.  We met up with some friends and the kids enjoyed seeing all the costumes. 

Then we headed to Camelot, and older neighborhood known for excellent trick-or-treating.  We met up with more friends, and the kids had a wonderful time running from house to house filling their treat bags.  And those bags were pretty full by the time we headed back to the car.

Claire had insisted on wearing her dress up heels, saying they were part of the costume and that her feet wouldn't hurt. She never complained while we were trick or treating, but when we got in the car, she said "Mom, my dogs are barking!"  And when we got home, we discovered that she had worn the soles completely off those little heels.

I didn't make Claire's costume this year, but I did make Max's. After initially saying he wanted to be a swordfish, he changed his mind and asked to be Robin Hood instead. Phew! How do you make a swordfish costume, anyway? I knew how to make a simple tunic, but I was stumped with the hat.  After a quick Google search, I found this Robin Hood Hat Tutorial. It is super simple and took just a few minutes to make. Add a feather and it's done!

Monday Morning on the Farm

Another misty morning here. Put on my sandals to go out to take pictures and my toes froze! Fall is here. Another sign? See photos.



This is the time for my American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) to shine. This native shrub is a big leafy mound
for most of the growing season, but it produces teeny tiny pink flowers in the summer and then makes these incredibly
gorgeous fruits. The color is unlike anything else I've seen in nature- a super vibrant deep magenta- and this photo
doesn't do it justice. The birds love them, so I need to be quick if I want to enjoy them.



This is a Tea Oil Camellia (Camellia oleifera). Its seeds are used in China to
make an oil used for cooking. I can only imagine how beautiful those farms
must be!  The bark, which is smooth and cinnamon colored, is my favorite
part of the plant. The flowers are white and fragrant, and are borne over a
long period in late fall.  When in full bloom, this shrub is gorgeous. 




Closeup of Camellia oleifera buds. It starts blooming around the first of November.





This is Camellia sinensis 'Rosea', the tea plant. The straight species,
Camellia sinensis, has white flowers. It and its variants are used to produce
commercial tea. The pink one is mostly ornamental, although you can make
tea from it.  I have never made tea from my plant, but I have friends who
know how. Maybe someday. It's a slow grower and I really love the flowers,
so maybe I'll just enjoy mine as is and leave the tea making to the experts.

 

Here is a rogue Camellia sinensis 'Rosea' flower that decided to face up. It
happens every once in a while.



This is Cyclamen hederifolium, which basically translates to "Cyclamen with leaves that look like a Hedera's."
Hedera is the genus for Ivy. It just finished blooming for the year. To see what the flowers look like, click here.



This is Edgeworthia chrysantha. Some people call it paperbush, since it is used to make fancy paper in China,
but I just call it Edgeworthia. The leaves fall in December, and it blooms in the coldest part of winter- sometime
in January or February, depending on the weather. The flowers last a long time, and they have the most
beautiful fragrance. A real treat!



Fall color on my Forsythia × intermedia.

Mud follows me around whenever I'm outside. She's a great companion.

Here she is again. I love the way she adds to this composition. Thanks, Mud.

Fall color on my Oak Leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). The kids found
a small oak tree growing in this shrub recently and it helped them to understand
the name.  I love it when mother nature helps out with my plant teachings.

I love having the Redbud's branch arch over the path.

Fall color on my Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and a view of my long-neglected but still beautiful shade garden



See that tall evergreen? That's a Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
we moved from a rock cliff overlooking our waterfall about ten years ago.
It was growing in a small crack and wouldn't have had room to grow
very large.  It has become one of my favorite trees and gets more beautiful
every year.  We're in the very southern end of its native range.




A close-up of the path, showing yellow fall color (just getting started) on the Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum'). This is a great three season plant that requires very little maintenance, provided you have a slightly moist, shady spot. The new shoots emerge pink in early spring, followed by bright green leaves edged in white. White flowers dangle from the arching stems in late spring, then you get the beautiful foliage all summer and into fall, when it turns a beautiful golden yellow. It is dormant in the winter.



"Mom, why do my words thound thilly?"

Claire just lost her third tooth, but the first one on top. The other front tooth is loose, too!

Frederic William Slater, Jr. 1929- 2011



Aunt Diane, Grandpa and me at Coquina Beach, Florida, 1994

My beloved grandfather passed away on October 15th. He had spent a month in the hospital after a fall that broke three ribs and punctured a lung. Complications arose throughout his stay, and he was never able to recover. He was 81.

Most of the family travelled to Florida for his funeral this past weekend. It was a sad occasion, but it was nice to see so many relatives. I hadn't seen most of them in at least a dozen years.  My dad's siblings were just as I remembered them, but my cousins had changed, of course.  I am the oldest of the grandchildren.  My youngest cousin is 10, almost a contemporary of my daughter.

My brother came from Canada, and that was a big comfort to me. I don't see him as much as I would like, and it was wonderful to have time to catch up.

It was also wonderful to see my dad and my step mom, two other people I don't see as much as I would like.  My kids loved having them around and it made the sad occasion easier for them.  My step mom arranged the hotel for us and helped with other travel arrangements. She made everything easier for us, which I very much appreciate. 

Grandpa was a warm and loving person who always looked on the bright side of life. He loved to tinker and to fix things. I loved to hear the stories of his yard sale or thrift shop finds that became useful again after he fixed them. He was very proud of his family, and always praised us for a job well done. He was known for his sense of humor and for his funny expressions, which often involved spoonerisms. I remember my little sister (she must have been 4 or 5) once asking him why he talked so funny. He then explained what a spoonerism was and taught us how to use them in funny ways. He was a fart smella, and the world was a better place with him in it. RIP, Grandpa Fred.

Lima Beans

I'm one of those odd people who loves lima beans. They were one of my favorite foods when I was a kid. This year I decided to try growing them. I chose two varieties; a bush one named Fordhook that I picked up at my local farm supply, Griff's, and a vining one called Violet's Multicolored Butterbean that I procured from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. 

I harvested the remnants in my garden this past weekend: limas, peanuts, a few stray tomatoes and peppers, and lots of basil. As I set about shelling the limas, I decided to look for a new recipe. I found several that looked delicious here, and decided to try this one- Baked Large Limas with Spinach and Feta- until I discovered I didn't have enough spinach. Oh well, maybe next time. So I went with the old standby- salt and a little butter. Your really can't beat them that way- especially when they're fresh!  If the pods are still green, you can cook the beans as fresh (much faster cook time, fresher taste). Or you can leave the pods on the plant to dry naturally. Then you have ready to store dried beans. The bush limas weren't as productive as the climbing ones. The green ones are the bush variety, the remainder are the climbing variety. Aren't they beautiful?

The bowl of shelled limas

This took me an hour

closeup of the beautiful beans

 

The dried pods. Those that were solid tan had good beans. They were the
climbing variety. The black spotted ones were rotten- the bush variety.
Lesson here? Grow climbing limas.

My finished jar of dried beans. Aren't they pretty?

Mud on the kitchen table

This was the scene when I walked into my kitchen the other day.

I had left the back door open to enjoy the breeze,
and look who sneaked in. But why is she on the
kitchen table?

Well, she is looking very perturbed about something.



And this is the something.



I put Taco outside and came back in to find Mud asleep.
And then I put Mud outside. I love my cat, but I don't
want her to sleep on the kitchen table!