Nutmeg Documentary

 

I really enjoyed this documentary about nutmeg. I learned many things about the tree and fruit but also about the history of European trade and conquest in the Spice Islands.

The second time that watched this documentary my children joined me and I considered it part of homeschooling (even though we watched it on the weekend.) I even drew these coloring pages and made copies for my children to color.

Nutmeg is native to the Banda Islands, which was a closely guarded secret by spice traders for many many years. When the European companies and governments finally figured out where nutmeg was coming from each power tried securing a monopoly on nutmeg. In the end England ceded their Banda Island to Holland as a trade for what Holland called New Amsterdam in America. New Amsterdam's name was changed and today we know it as Manhattan Island of New York!

If you would like to print my coloring pages you should be able to use the links below to access my scanned drawings and print them.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11gy7ypraOyYkr99KzdZ7S6RfD9orzyu0/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11WghLsYNdG-ul3Si-kqs--vmNHripS5P/view?usp=drivesdk

My son had this idea for a funny cartoon depicting the British leaving the Banda Islands to the Dutch saying, "Enjoy your monopoly on nutmeg!" all the while having hundreds of nutmeg seedlings to take and grow elsewhere.

I thought it was such a good idea so I drew it like this:

Demonstrating How I Flute A Pie Crust

I roll my pie pastry out. 

I want it to over hang the pie pan by an inch or two.

For a double crust: wet the top edge of the bottom crust.

I dip my fingers in the water and rub them on the crust before adding the top crust.

I trim the pie crust with scissors.

I hold up the overhanging pastry with my left finger tips.

I rest my scissor blade on my middle finger at the first knuckle. That is how I measure the overhang and trim it to the right length.

I push my pointer finger against the edge of the crust.

With the same motion of pushing the edge, I sweep the edge up and fold it under.

This is how it folds:

I go along the pie crust pushing with my left hand pointer finger and cradling the inside of the crust with my right hand pointer and thumb shaped into a chicken beak.

And that is it. Just practice a lot and you should be able to perfect your technique!

Camille Saint Saen's The Swan

I have been loving Camille Saint Saen's The Swan recently. Something about that piece of music really resonates with me. I just can't get enough of it! It is so peaceful and dreamlike.

While learning about this piece of music I found out that The Swan is just one part of Camille Saint Saen's Carnival of the Animals.

I watched a really informative video on YouTube where I learned about each piece included in Carnival of the Animals. The suite is made up of 14 movements:

1. Introduction and March of the Lions

2. Hens and Roosters

3. Wild Donkeys Swift Animals

4. Tortoises

5. The Elephant

6. Kangaroos

7. Aquarium

8. Characters with Long Ears

9. The Cuckoo

10. Aviary

11. Pianists

12. Fossils

13. The Swan

14. Finale

The funny part is that Camille Saint Saen wrote Carnival of the Animals as a joke. It wasn't a serious work, but it became his most famous musical accomplishment. He lived at a time when a lot of musical innovation was happening. Music was rapidly evolving, or, in Camille Saint Saen's opinion rapidly devolving. I have only read briefly about the composer, but the impression I have is that he was a stickler for 'proper,' tried and true, old-fashioned music techniques and theory. You know, the way music was taught when he was a youngster at conservatory. Doesn't every generation say something like that? 

Anyway, how ironic that his least serious music became just about the only music that he is remembered by.

I have been listening to Carnival of the Animals on SoundCloud and becoming familiar with each part. My favorite's are The Swan and Fossils. My 8 year old likes Aquarium and March of the Lions the most.

A trick that works for me to be able to listen to music on SoundCloud advertisement free is, that I go to the SoundCloud website in my mobile browser. I don't sign in to any account. I use the search tool to search for specific music that I am looking for, sometimes by title, sometimes by composer. I can play the music in the background or while my phone screen in off. The only trouble is that sometimes the next song that plays automatically is not my choice, and I have to get back on the page and turn it off.

When I am absent mindedly listening to the whole Carnival of the Animals suite and The Swan comes on and I think to myself, "Boy, this music is so nice!" And then I pay attention and I realize, "Oh, this is The Swan, of course, I think it is so nice!" And I chuckle to myself. 

Are you familiar with The Swan by Camille Saint Saen? If not, I encourage you to give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Here is the YouTube video that I found to be so informative:

 (in case the link doesn't work the title is, "Listener's Guide to Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint Saen," on the YouTube channel Odd Quartet.)

I have no control over suggested videos or advertising.

Chameleon Art

 

What does Art have to do with a good education? I enjoy the arts, but I tend to think of art as a more frivolous pursuit. A luxury for the affluent. I value more highly the subjects that I associate with production; Reading, Math, Science. These subjects have real practical applications. Skills in these areas keep food on the table, they keep people alive. 

Art has been added to the STEM education acronym for a while now, making it, STEAM education now. STEAM stands for: 

S- science

T- technology 

E- engineering

A- art

M- mathematics

I am coming around to seeing the practical value in learning art. This experience shows my progress:

I saw a really nice picture of a chameleon in a board book that I rented from the library for my 2 year old. I really wanted to try my hand at drawing this chameleon, just for fun.

It was fun, but I really had to slow down and pay attention to details. That is a practical skill that art helps to develop. Observation, noticing differences, and minute details are valuable skills. Paying attention to details saves lives! 

Art also exercises one's creativity. Creativity also has practical applications. Being creative helps develop new products and come up with solutions for problems.

I made some step by step drawing instructions on how to draw a chameleon for my children.

Easy Version 

This is the easy version with obtuse shapes and stick legs. 

Step 1. Is draw a rectangle for the body.

Step 2. Add sideways U shape for the head and a tail. Make your tail spiraled or tapered.

Step 3. Add a hood and stick legs. Make elbows/knees point towards one another. Draw the toes forked like an upsidedown letter Y.

Step 4. Draw the face. Chameleon mouths point down, so, give your chameleon a frown. Draw a sawtooth line of points down the back and down the chin/belly.

More Details 

Soil Sterilization Debacle

 

This post is not a tutorial for sterilizing soil. This story is purely for entertainment purposes. You can laugh with me at all that went wrong!

I was excited to start some seeds this spring! I had heard about sterilizing soil in the oven and I wanted to try doing that with my soil in order that I might kill any weed seeds. Soil from the store is already weed free. I have recycled potting soil, though, so my soil was possibly contaminated with weed seeds. 

I dug through our garden shed to find all my bags of dirt. I had this very large, heavy duty, aluminum tray that was also in the garden shed. I thought it would be the perfect thing to bake all this dirt on in the oven.

I brought the dirt inside to my kitchen. It had to sit around for a couple of days to thaw. Once the dirt was thawed throughout I carefully piled dirt onto the giant aluminum tray. Cautiously I lifted the tray full of dirt and took it to the oven entrance only to find that the tray was too wide to fit into the oven. What a pain!

I had to scoop the dirt off the giant tray and distribute it among several of my good baking trays.

I baked the soil at 400°F. for 30 minutes.

The house was filled with the smell of wet dirt. Reminiscent of what it smells like outdoors when it starts to rain after a long dry spell. I can't say it was the most pleasing aroma to fill my house with. Little did I know how much worse the house was about to smell.

I had a lot of dirt to cook. I ended up doing several batches. I scooped the hot steaming dirt into large Tupperware containers and then refilled all my baking trays with more dirt. I was in a time crunch because I had a friend coming over in the afternoon. Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to cook a bunch of dirt before having company over. 

My thought process went like this,

"I don't want this thawed dirt sitting here on the kitchen floor when my friend comes over."

"I must get it all sterilized so that I can put it away before she gets here."

So, now my house stinks and I am having a hard time containing this dirt. It is getting on my table and floor and clothes!

The last portion of dirt that I had to sterilize was mostly peat moss. I didn't think peat moss was much different than soil. I certainly didn't think it would ignite in my oven!

Smoke began to permeate through the house. At first it blended in with steam and went unnoticed. The smell went from wet dirt to smoldering organic matter. Think of musty leaf mulch burning. It was nasty!

I opened the oven to find burning coals of peat moss and waves of stinking smoke! 

I quickly took the baking tray of peat moss outside to the porch. 

I had one more batch of peat moss to put in the oven. I soldiered on! More peat moss on the trays, back into the oven they go. Only 15 minutes this time.

Back outside to check on the tray of burning peat moss. There was a gentle breeze outside supplying my burning peat moss with plenty of oxygen. The flame continued to burn and consume more and more of my peat moss! Agh! 

I fetched a bucket of water and put an end to the fire once and for all.

I hope you take this take into consideration if you ever sterilize soil in your oven.

In conclusion, I was able to air out the house sufficiently to have my friend over in the afternoon. I had a funny story to tell her as I explained why there may be a smokey smell in my house. We had a good laugh! 

All's well that ends well!

Have I Found The Key To Laundry?

 

Am I so presumptuous to claim that I have found the key to the looming task that is LAUNDRY? Du...Du....Dah... (Dramatic music)

Perhaps not everyone loathes laundry as much as I do. (as much as I did) I used to say many times a week, "I hate laundry. I hate folding clothes!" 

It dawned on me in back in December that chanting, "I hate laundry. I hate folding clothes!" probably wasn't a healthy habit. I was reenforcing and entrenching a pathway of thinking that was unhelpful to me. The more I said it the more it became true.

My Grandma told a story of how that when she was a little girl she hated Ox Tail Soup. She had the poor judgment to say out loud how much she hated Ox Tail Soup when it was served to her one supper time. Her Daddy said, "There are staving children around the world who would be happy to eat Ox Tail Soup." She had a smart alec retort: "Well then send it to them!" Her Daddy made her say, "I love Ox Tail Soup." every time she took a bite. And every time Ox Tail Soup was served she had to say, "I love Ox Tail Soup." And Ox Tail Soup became her favorite soup. Right up to old age she said Ox Tail Soup was one of her favorites.

I experienced something similar with eating tomatoes. When I was a girl I hated tomatoes. They made my stomach turn. When that slimy gel surrounding the seeds in a tomato hit my tongue it made me gag and want to puke. They were acidic gross little fruits not meant for human consumption in my opinion. When I was 10 I decided that I was too old to be a picky eater anymore. I made a resolution to like tomatoes. My rule for myself was that every time tomatoes were available I would take one on my plate and eat it. Cherry tomatoes in salads and vegetable trays, sliced tomatoes on sandwiches and just as a side I now took every opportunity to eat. Before long I got accustomed to the texture and flavor and eventually learned to like tomatoes. Today I love tomatoes!

These stories testify that you can change your feelings towards things. Your mind is in control of your feelings. 

The Psalms show this too. How often does the psalmist say, 

"I will rejoice," 

"I will praise," 

"I will declare," 

"I will not fear," 

"I will offer," 

"I will sing," 

"I will arise," 

"I will be glad," 

"I will give thanks," 

"I will trust,"

"I will hope,"

.......?

There is no mention of being filled with joy prior to the declaration, "I will rejoice." The goodness of God is the only fact that precedes this rejoicing, or gladness, or praise, or trust, or hope. No feelings are mentioned, only a declaration of an action that the psalmist will take: 

"I will rejoice."

"I will praise."

"I will declare."

"I will not fear."

"I will offer."

"I will sing."

"I will arise."

"I will be glad."

"I will give thanks."

"I will trust."

"I will hope."

I was in the midst of a smoldering depression one time when I read Psalm 28:7

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."

And I thought, "I can't rejoice." "I can't praise." This verse is not for me now.

Then I read Psalm 70:4

"Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified."

I began to realize the ball was in my court. It was up to me to rejoice. It was up to me to change my feelings. One of the key factors to changing your feelings, based on these and other verses, seems to be changing your words.

Now we are getting back around to the laundry topic...... My feelings towards laundry needed to change. To rephrase that, I needed to change my feelings towards my job of laundry. I decided to start with the words coming out of my mouth. I made two rules: 1) no saying, "I hate laundry," and 2) everytime I fold a piece of laundry I would say, "I love folding (insert child's name) pants." "I love folding so and so's shirts." And so on and so forth.

Everytime I say, "I love folding Mr. In The Mid-west's t-shirts," or, "I love folding the baby's onesies," my heart warms a little. A surge of satisfaction with my own work wells up inside of me. I hear my family members names and I am reminded of how much I love each of them. I am forced to recognize what a rich life I am blessed to be living. Slowly, I am learning to like folding laundry. Forbidding spoken complaints and instead requiring spoken gratitude has led my feelings. I am changing my mind by changing my language. And that is the key to laundry for me. I have been able to conquer the laundry mountain and keep it in check since implementing this technique. This is a huge victory for me! Perhaps you will be intrigued to give this method a try in any areas that you are struggling to overcome.

Proverbs 15:23
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth:
 and a word spoken in due season, 
how good is it! 

Basic Economics|Book Review

 

I finished reading Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. It took me a while to get though this book.

All 654 pages! I had to check it out twice from my library and renew it 4 times. 

But, I did read it all.  

I have never been interested in the study of Economics. I read this overview of the subject as a challenge. I had been in a discussion about public policies with an individual many months ago. They said to me, "You don't know anything about economics." Well, that statement wasn't entirely baseless. I didn't know very much about economics. But, I could change that. I could educate myself. So, I took it as a challenge.

After reading Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell I would still say I don't know very much about economics. I know a lot more than when I started, though. The thing about economics is, that it can be complicated. An economy is like a web where no transaction happens in isolation. All the purchasing decisions of individuals are interconnected in this web of consequences. It can be hard to determine what effect a single action will have or the accumulative effect of multiple single actions will have in the long run. 

Right off the bat in the book, Economics is defined as the study of the allocation of scarce resources. This definition is driven home chapter after chapter. What is the scarce resource? Money? Labor? Capital? Milk? Fuel? Time? These resources are not infinite and there are systems set up within societies to allocate these resources to their end purpose. 

The book makes a case for free market, price driven economies as being the most prosperous. When the pie is bigger even the people with a small piece are benefited.

 I really enjoyed the style that the information was presented. There were many current real world examples, and many scenarios illustrated by real historical events. Nothing was confusing. I could follow all the points. I feel like the information was laid out and then restated a few different ways just to make the points clear. I really "got it" once I finished a chapter.

This introduction to Economics has made me interested in learning more. It has made me aware of my own deficiencies in this area of knowledge. The saying, "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." Is true.

One of the neat things about this book and Thomas Sowell is that he has created questions to go with each chapter for those using this book as part of their homeschool curriculum. The questions are in a PDF file that can be downloaded from his website: tsowell.com.

What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments!

Ecclesiastes 12:12 

And further, by these, my son, 

be admonished: of making many books 

there is no end; and much study is a

 weariness of the flesh.

Doll Hair Tutorial With Yarn

 

Of course a Doll can't grow hair, but have you ever wondered how a Rag Doll goes from this..........

to this,.......?

In this blog post I will share how I give my Rag Dolls a full head of hair. 

(IF you are interested in purchasing my Rag Dolls or my Rag Doll pattern visit QuietStandards on Etsy.)

Back to the tutorial.

The supplies are:

Thread 

Needle

Thimble

A whole bunch of yarn strings cut to 12-14 inches long

Use a pencil to draw a line down the middle of the back of the doll's head.

Carry this line over to the front of the doll's head.

Take a strand of yarn and fold it in half.

Stitch the center of the piece of yarn to the doll's head, using the pencil line as a stitching guide.

Loop your thread around the center of the yarn.

Use your needle to stitch down into the doll head at the back side of the yarn and bring your needle up a few millimeters out in front of the yarn, setting up for the next piece of yarn.

And then loop the next stitch back over another piece of yarn and so on and so forth....

Keep going.

When you have stitched the last piece of yarn onto the doll's head, tie off the thread in an inconspicuous area of the head where the knot will not be visible once the hair is braided.

Tie the hair into ponytails using a length of thread or yarn.

Tack the ponytails to the sides of the doll's head with a couple stitches that go around the thread or yarn tying the ponytails and back through the fabric of the head.

Carefully braid the ponytails and tie off with thread or yarn.

Use scissors to trim the long ends, leaving as much tassel as you like.

 

Even up all the ends, making all the strands the same length.

And that concludes this tutorial. If you have any questions, please send me a message or leave a comment!