Apples & Eggs

 My family loves - L-O-V-E-S - apples. Red apples. Yellow apples. Sweet, juicy apples. Green apples. Apples that make you pucker.

 After washing and slicing, they are put into the dehydrator. Some are left au-naturel, some are sprinkled with cinnamon for a little added anti-oxident and a flavor explosion.

 After a couple of hours, the house is filled with the sweet, warm smell of baked apples and we have handfulls of sweet apple treats.

 And, Suprise! Green eggs and ham for dinner. The lone surviving spring chick started laying last week and we are getting these fabulous-green shelled eggs. The hen is an Aracauna, the breed is also known as the "Easter Egg Chicken" because of the soft, pastel colored egg shells. Our other chicks are about 8 weeks old and should start laying between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Broken

This was me as Tatum and Rikard watched me being carted away in an ambulance last Saturday. It really is a silly thing, while walking across the park I slipped and broke my ankle. I didn't trip on a stick, didn't fall into a hole, didn't bumble over a curb. I just fell straight down, feet forward onto my behind.

Technically it is a spiral fracture of the right fibula. During surgery, they repaired the break with a plate and seven screws. There is also an "anchor" screw which holds the fibula and tibia together during the healing process. I am off my feet for at least two weeks, probably more.

During this down time, Rick has gotten me pretty well set up. I'm habitating the recliner in the dining room. He's brought me a stitching project, my laptop, my thesis notes and a television. At least I can keep my mind occupied.

Another Beastie

Look who moved into the flower beds!

The kids have named him Fred the Frog. He serenades us from his home among the newly planted hydrangea when the evening air begins to cool.

His nearest neighbor was Tim and Spider, who built a very complex web near the patio door. Tim apparently didn't like it here very much, he "moved out" while we were away from home Sunday.

Bobble heads

Ever notice you can buy sports equipment for adults in all sorts of sizes, but manufacturers expect children to all be roughly the same size? It isn't a one-size fits all world and Keeli - AKA the bobble headed t-ball player - is a perfect example.
The season opened Tuesday and Keeli had a great time and - hopefully - is grasping some of the game's concepts. That giant helmet and the way it shifts forward, backward and side-to-side on her head with every move she makes is very distracting for a 5-year-old.
Ready position - enough said - no comment. I can't stop laughing when I see this going on!Her friend Mia did her best to tag Keeli out as she approached first, but the first rule of t-ball is all runners are safe and all runners get to score! Yeah for everyone!!! Keeli celebrates each and every advancement as if she were scoring the winning run. So, maybe she doesn't have all the concepts down quite yet. She has time to learn.

Last Bus Ride of 2009-10

We closed the books on another school year Friday.

When the bus returns next fall Tatum will be headed to 6th grade, Rikard will be in 4th grade and Keeli will join them on her way to Kindergarten.

Both Tatum and Rikard returned home with "acceptable" report cards. I'm not sure I like the standards based grading system that is now in effect. They are both passing all their subject areas, although Rikard got a low mark in neatness and the component of music that has to do with carrying a tune. The system we have doesn't allow for any comments from the teachers regarding the level they receive (0-4 scale with 4 being the highest). And, most of their marks were 3s, which means they meet the grade level expectations. The biggest problem I have is that the system is very nebulous to the parents, we don't see the rubric or system their grades are based on and some of us - mainly me - do care.