10/30/07

Felt Projects

I so enjoyed making the felt pillows that I decided to tackle a few more projects that have been floating around in my head. So far I have used inexpensive polyester craft felt from Michael's, but I would like to find a good source for some wool felt. The colors and richness of the texture is so much nicer. At 10-20 cents a sheet this stuff is really cheap though! Cheap is always a good thing when you are playing around with new ideas.

A goodie bag for Shawn's door. You are never too old for Halloween candy. Two refills on the peanut butter cups and counting.

Julia's goodie bag has had its second refill of Dove chocolates. Hmm, it appears to be empty again at the moment...


An orange-marmalade cat bookmark for my sister Kathy. We both have fall birthdays and will be celebrating together in a couple of weeks. Since she is in South Carolina right now and away from her computer I am safe showing the pic before the gift is given!

A work in progress. This time the pillow will be for Christmas. I drew the swirly winds with chalk and am now stitching them with silver metallic embroidery floss. The polymer clay mittens have been waiting for a purpose. I poked button holes in them before they were baked. Now I can sew them on the pillow, swirling and twirling in the frosty breeze. A few stitched snowflakes will complete the wintry look.

Mitten detail.

Little winter mittens are precious things don't you think? I shall have to update you all when the pillow is finished.

10/29/07

Spiffy New Wheels

Julia and Earle picked up her new (to her) car on Saturday. A beautiful, green Subaru Legacy with four wheel drive is just the thing in the winter for a student who lives on a hill and attends college on an even bigger hill. The van she was driving will be donated to the National Kidney Foundation as a kidney car. This is a great program and a way to donate to a good cause.

Road Kill





Wow, life is rough having teenage drivers! Seriously, I think we did a pretty good job- me with the makeup and Earle with the paint and spare tire. Our collaborative creativity was for a Halloween party hosted by a co-worker on Saturday night which Earle attended. It is an annual event that attracts people from as far away as Germany. Last year I went with him, but this year I was Shawn's transportation to another Halloween event. He volunteered at the museum for their Haunted Happenings. Earle did manage to bring me back a few tidbits from the famed, ten foot long chocolate buffet. That will have to do until next year!

10/23/07

School Update

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted! We've been so busy here with school and such.

First here is an update on Julia. She is still at the local community college pursuing her associate's degree in science and looking forward to transferring to a four-year school after that. She was recently inducted into the school's honors program which means she is able to take honors level courses. The honors program is open to students who have a gpa of 3.5 or greater (hers is 3.9) and are recommended by a professor. Presently, she is figuring out her schedule for next semester. She could be done at the end of next summer, but is contemplating stretching the work out over the coming year so she can take some extra courses she is interested in like genetics and so she can accept the paid position that was just offered to her for next year as lab assistant to her biology professor. She would be able to quit her part-time Kohl's job and a lab assistanceship would look great on her resume.

Now on to Shawn. He had a rocky start to some of his courses this year. We decided our original history choice, Notgrass American History wasn't working for him, so he has switched to Boorstin's A History of the United States which he is much happier with. The depth and the detail just weren't there with the Notgrass program. He thought it was more of a middle school level than a high school level course.

His math thus far has consisted of review in preparation for the PSAT which he took last Wednesday at a local Christian school. He prepped for the math part of the test by using the Chalkdust SAT math prep DVDs. They were fantastic. We can't say enough about the teacher Dana Mosely. Shawn will be reviewing them again in the spring before the SAT. Now we need to move on to some other math. I'm not use what route we'll go: Precalc with Chalkdust or Consumer Math with ABeka. We will do the consumer math either as his only math or as an elective. I have to decide if we want to tackle more advanced math at home or if it will wait for the community college!

Now that the PSAT is over, Shawn has added in more courses. We have picked German back up with our usual slow and steady pace using The Learnables. He has also added in ABeka's American Government and the computer science course Earle wrote, Computer Technology and the PC, but never finished to publication due to all the travel with his new job. Maybe someday he'll complete it. It has even been beta-tested and well received. Now if he could only find the time needed.

Finally, I wanted to update you on Shawn's art program which I am pleased with and which is going well. He is making his way, with my help, through Artistic Pursuits Senior High Book I . I chose this particular curriculum because it most closely emulates the way I have taught drawing to high school students in the past. The first seven units cover the elements of art: space, line, form...etc. The rest of the units, 8-16, cover composition (what I would call the principles of design): balance, rhythm, ...etc. There are ample opportunities to practice each skill along the way and there each new element or design principle is examined via a print of a famous artist's work. While, as an art teacher, there is much more I could/would add to this type of course if I was teaching it in a classroom setting, for individual use by a homeschool parent with little or no
art training I find it more than adequate and highly recommend it. Here are some of Shawn's exercises so far:





Focusing on shape

Shape and texture


Line quality. Enhancing shape and form using different thicknesses of line.


Shape. Don't you just love the perfection of shape in a natural object.


Space. Learning to arrange objects in a pleasing manner in the picture plane.


The artist at work on:

Showing texture using various qualities of line.

He has also completed a project on shape and is working on a project on form now. I will have to take more pics soon!

So, things are finally flowing along nicely on the homeschool front. All the kinks have been worked out and I expect we will settle in to our new workload in due time.

10/9/07

Cargo Safely Delivered

A car load of precious cargo left here yesterday morning and arrived safely in a small town along the St. Croix river in rural Maine last evening. Earle, Julia, and her boyfriend Derek made the eleven hour trek across four states, over the river and through the woods, to arrive at grandmother's house in time for loving family hugs, a turkey dinner replete with blueberry gingerbread for dessert, and a welcoming, warm bed. Along with the human cargo a couple of gifts were transported across state lines: a decorative fall pillow for Grammie which I made and a photocopy of a pencil drawing for Grampie which Shawn made (Shawn's best friend Deborah was delegated as the recipient of the original). All have arrived in one piece. Tomorrow, after a restful sleep, they will be off to cut some of the overgrown trees at our land to ensure the best view of the salt marsh, and then most likely a good, stick-to-your-ribs, Down East Maine dinner of fish and chips to refuel the tree trimmers. Be sure to breathe in a little of that salty ocean air for me!


Bringing some of that brilliant fall color inside: a pillow for Grammie

From the hands of one of the many artists in our home, Shawn, a ship tossed about on the sea. Inspiration came from a Currier and Ives print. I hear the giving of this gift resulted in a tale, as tall as the masts, of a storm at sea in the North Atlantic experienced by Grampie aboard a ship in his younger years.

10/2/07

Entertainment


I've done a little reading and movie watching and have some more recommendations for you all.

First up is Tailchaser's Song. Julia recommended and then loaned it to me. If you are a cat lover and haven't read this book yet, it should be on your list. The author spins a wonderful tale (or is that tail) of felines on a mission. The story is entertaining and the characters become very real friends of yours as you read. I've been finished with the book for weeks and still miss opening it every day to find out what the felines were up to next.

The other book I just finished is The Sufferings of Young Werther by Goethe; a classic novel written in epistolary form told through the eyes of a tragic hero who allows himself to be slowly tortured emotionally. Werther is an artist who is hopelessly in love with an honorable married woman and can see no way out of his dilemma. I'll bet you can deduce the ending.

Now I am on to the C.S. Lewis' classic Out of the Silent Planet, the first of his space trilogy. This also comes as a recommendation from Julia who claims this set of novels is her favorite sci fi literature. I am not very far into it yet, but I'm sure it will prove more than worthwhile as all of Lewis' works do.

I also have a movie recommendation to make. Several days ago we watched the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring, the fictional story behind a very real painting by the famous 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer. We really enjoyed the film. It was well done. The setting was great as was the costuming and of course the acting was wonderful too. Although fictional, it was entertainment and an art history lesson rolled into one.

Next up in the Blockbuster pile will be The Painted Veil and then the Firefly sci fi series. I have The Last of the Mohicans ready to pick up at the library (I have seen it before, but it fits into Shawn's history lessons nicely) and we just finished watching The War, Ken Burns' new documentary about World War II that just aired on public television in seven parts.



Happy reading and viewing everyone.

10/1/07

Pie Princess

On Saturday we picked two pints of raspberries at the apple orchard. They are a favorite of one young lady in our house who immediately thought they would be good candidates for a pie. Yesterday I guided her through the pie crust making process and we scoured the internet for a raspberry pie recipe. Old Betty Crocker failed me this one time. There is no recipe for raspberry pie in my book. The recipe Julia used worked beautifully and was easy as pie!! It called for a top crust, but Julia is a crumb topping fan. It was a wise choice and tasted so, so good. Wow, warm pie and vanilla ice cream, what a treat.

Cutting in the shortening


Don't those berries look good?


Great job, Julia! We all think you should bake more often!!