So, yes… another homeschooling year has begun. We’ve already had the usual variety of commitments — planned and unplanned, absences and extra-curricular activities: some sick, some tardy, some cutting class (uh, that would be two of the teachers :-O ), etc., etc. Three days into the new school year: We’ve already had to revise our expectations — both raising and lowering them regarding courses of study and assignments for different students. We’ve had to do this many times through 22 years of homeschooling. We seem to forget this every year! Three days into the new school year: We’ve discovered we have too many of some and too few of other materials we need for each days’ work for each student. Again… this is a repeat of the previous 22 years. Someday we will “get it!” Three days into the new school year: The teachers have forgotten, missed, or been late to the kitchen table class. Ditto, the students. Three days into the new school year: For what can be accomplished in any given amount of time, we’ve had to revise our expectations. Up and down. Three days into the new school year: We’re saying: we are off to a great continue reading
View Article...Monthly Archives: September 2009
Month: September 2009 Aebelskivers
My husband’s birthday was on Tuesday — we began the day’s celebration with aebelskivers for breakfast for him! I make aebelskivers for special breakfasts — but sometimes, when it seems it’s been ‘awhile’ since I made them, someone will ask for them for breakfast (or dinner!). We serve them with powdered sugar (as you see here) and raspberry or blackberry jam or maple syrup. I’ve been making these for many years — and though at first they are a bit tricky to make, after some practice, they’re a very, very easy and fun breakfast tradition. I have some more photos and the recipe here! My favourite pan is the SCI cast-iron aebelskiver pan — you can purchase from the Solvang restaurant here. They’re often out of stock, though. 🙁 You can also purchase aebelskiver pans from Williams Sonoma. And I wouldn’t bother with two ‘hand tools’ for turning the aebelskivers. Just get a #4 knitting needle and use it for turning the aebelskivers. Medium heat to medium-low heat seems best (but you’ll get the hang of it and what temp works best on your stove). And use 1/2 butter-1/2 oil for the ‘cups’ of the pan. Too much butter makes continue reading
View Article...Month: September 2009 MM Fondant
I’m learning to make some pretty smooth fondant for wedding cakes — well, any cake, actually! This is so easy to make and tastes so nice, I can’t figure out why I ever bought “ready-made” fondant! Not to mention the price. Okay, I will. The cost to make fondant is *significantly* less than the retail price of packaged fondant. Another thing I love about making fondant is the ease of colouring and flavouring the fondant! I don’t have my A Bella Cake site ready yet, but I’ll be adding photos of cakes there. I’ll link to it when it’s up and running. I have a cake I’m dreaming up right now — a wedding cake for an October wedding. It’s not an autumn themed wedding… so, no need to try and come up with the majestic hues of autumn, but maybe more difficult for me will be to make this cake look as beautiful as the one I’ve dreamed of making. I’ll show you some photos when it’s made. The bride is a precious friend and I want her cake to be a blessing to her. I so wish I had had more skill and more experience when I made continue reading
View Article...Month: September 2009 Patriotism is one thing. But…
Month: September 2009 Robert Welch – 1958
Month: September 2009 Did you say Change or CHAINS?
The words on one protester’s sign. They say a picture’s worth a thousand words… millions around the country have gathered, spoken out, marched, in protest of the snowballing debt, sweeping policy changes (chains), etc., etc. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in peaceful protest this past weekend. Dozens of issues were being protested by people of all ages. These, from the lens of Barbara Curtis… see hundreds of photos here. Saturday, September 12, 2009 — the day after the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attack on America September 11, 2001. It’s interesting that that attack and the threat it revealed is still very fresh in the minds of the American people — regardless of a person’s political stand or even for those who say it was a covert operation of the US government, the ‘anniversary day’ was a reminder of the serious threat of terrorism, the horrific loss of life and preciousness of faith, life and freedom. And so it goes… ♥ pamela
View Article...Month: September 2009 So… things are working…
It feels like we’ve been in a sort of relay with changing and adding and moving our domains to a new account. I now have a ton of catch-up work to do on the A Christian Home website, the Welcome Home Company Store website the A Bella Cake website and this blog! In many ways, the ACH website that was begun ten years ago(!) still has the clunky old style look and feel — whereas most sites today have the ‘blog’ format or the pretty polished and well designed format — the ACH site is definitely “homegrown!” I started that site with very little web design and very little formatting/html knowledge and really had to work at every step of the production! Thus, every now and then I see a complete fiasco of links and mess and want to just delete the whole thing… but then I stop and want to protect it like a pitiful old friend and want to, in some way, revive and preserve what’s taken ten years to accumulate and arrange. So… much is needed — but the necessary changes will have to wait for long, cold winter days when I can just sit here at continue reading
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