11/21/2010

Catching My Breath...

The first quarter of our school year has gone by way too fast. The girls are doing wonderfully in their enrichment classes. I am very proud of how they have adjusted and learned to deal with a classroom setting and what seems like mountains of homework. Our school at home is doing well also. Though we are a tad behind. Hoping to catch up after the holidays. We have had a round or two or three ( lost count) of the flu/cold that just has hung on for what seems like forever. I am finally beginning to feel better.So its time to catch up with my blog! I will start with our recent biology fieldtrip.
We live very close to a river and the atlantic ocean. This week we were studying birds. Specifically learning how to identify them. We have been doing this most of the childrens lives so this is not a task. We headed for a small park on the river just a few blocks from our home. We were joyfully entertained by this Yellow Crowned Night Hawk. He was stalking something in the water. ( this bird is about two years old thus the dull plumage) Remember to click on the photos to enlarge them. There are seven Night Hawks in this photo. Six of them were sleeping. Of course the seagull is a given where we live. We spent a very long time observing this birds behavior. He put on a fabulous show.



We spent a long time taking photos and just enjoying the fall colors and crisp air.





We really enjoyed the afternoon. I learned that I just need to get out there and do this often. It was refreshing!
After our biology we took a trip to our favorite thirft store with two dollars in our pocket. It is still a box for a buck. We had a blast finding treasures. books, wall decorations, and so much more. Here are a few of my redone wreaths, and other treasures.
This one is very large and just needed a little cleaning and tweaking.

This one I cut in half and tried to make a swag out of it. It sorta worked.

This is an adorable half basket. Please excuse the spider web!!!

This photo and old frame was looked at by my husband and myself on our first trip to the thrift store. We decided it was just too wore out. But then my daughter picked it up on our second trip. She noticed that it was the style "mom" collects and thought it would clean up nicely. You know what? She was right! I did indeed manage to clean it up and it is front and center on one of the mantles. Its a litho from the 1940s by a dutch artist. It was so dirty I could not see that it was my favorite flower:roses! Here it is in it's dirty state. I promise a cleaned up photo on a later post.

This is a cute candle holder. It lets off a soft glow. Much prettier than it looks! I think it is actually a garlic roaster but the lid is gone.

We found lots of small Christmas items. These are for my daughters growing collection of nutcrackers. These are not true nutcrackers but she loves them anyway. The little truck was just cute. It will probably find its way to our neighbors little boy.

This is a bowl of glass spheres and rocks. I am sure I will find a use for them. The bowl alone is beautiful.

This is such a treasure! They are costly to buy. This one is quite large and fits perfectly in my kitchen.

Our son is taking glass blowing this year. ( he is in college) Here are a few of his very first projects. I treasure them!


I am leaving you with this picture of some of our fall color. We have had the most beautiful fall.

3 comments:

  1. Looking forward to seeing the "after" pic of your rose picture! And I love the pic of the girls peeking out from behind the trees. Thanks for chatting last night and sending me this link; the new layout is very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds like you had a wonderful day outside. Outside time is so wonderful! We're planning to walk today, and it's wet and cold and snowy, but I'm still sure it will be great.

    We, too, are behind. The Little Misses told me, "Mom, the snow will melt. The schoolbooks won't."

    Oh, well, life is learning, too.

    Blessings,

    Annie Kate

    ReplyDelete
  3. So good to catch up with you again, Tina! Sounds like a great biology field trip...and what a great haul from the thrift shop! Looking forward to seeing the cleaned up picture :-)

    We went camping in the US Virgin Islands for Bryan's 13th bday (can't believe it, almost 6 years ago!), to a place called Maho Bay Campgrounds. There they had a glass blowing studio and they taught classes...the boys got a private class! They did it all...from gathering molten glass out of the "glory hole" to "marvering" to gathering color, to rolling it on the bench arm, using the tongs and cups for shaping, and yes...blowing, too! It was amazing...and the kids were 11.5 and 13!!! There teacher was awesome. Your son would love it! Here's a link, for fun:
    http://www.maho.org/GBP.cfm

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete


Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Psalms 143:8