Monday, June 8, 2020

February, briefly

 Nathan spends way too much time practicing on the organ. W moved it to the library so that the piano students could get practice time in at the same time.
 After four years in the house, we now have a sink in the upstairs hallway bathroom. If the towel goes missing for a few days, nobody complains...so maybe nobody uses it anyways. ;)
 Snow! A nice deep snowfall is so fun to play in.
 Making forts in the snowplow piles.


 Chickens don't like deep snow either, but they do like scraps.
 School



 
 I picked up some stuff at Value Village, and Daniel scored a small model that was included in the bag with the things that I'd wanted.
 Melanie whipped up an apron and chef's hat as a gift for a new girl in our church.
 Evelyn got to try them on for size.
 Melanie made a mat for herself (she gave up asking me to make one) like her piano teacher's...spending time waiting for her siblings to do their lessons she sorted out the construction of it and decided to make her own.
 Evelyn made some sandals.
 A bit tricky to put on, but they work!
 Things seem to be growing ok!
 Yup, I'm still here.
 Melanie's room all done up with her handmade rug and "my" curtains. Her and Nathan did the triangular pelmet boards. Looks very cozy in there. The only thing it needs is the red squirrels out of the ceiling. (sigh)
 This chicken had a health concern, so Mathew brought her in for closer monitoring. I think the hatch door might have swung loose and nipped off the tip of her toe...it seems to have only got off a tiny bit of skin plus the toenail. So she was right as rain quickly. :)
 I'm not sure that the homemade pencils make the schoolwork go faster, but they do make it more interesting!
 Hard at work.
 Math. Again.
 Evelyn loves doing her piano work first. She's a very dedicated practicer.
 And yay, a bit snowfall!!
 The magical response to the ringing of the bell. Guaranteed to work if it is about snack time, but results are less astounding when you want the van emptied of groceries.

Monday, June 1, 2020

Second half of January

 We enjoyed some time with my brother. It was really nice to connect. The kids loved it too, learning lots of random facts during the visit. 
 A robot game that involves computer programming skills. Dad can help with that!!
 Memory in the bedroom.
 Daniel the pirate with his homemade robot. (they make for an interesting pair!
 Evelyn has been working hard at reading, and moved into chapter books.
 So it was time to get her her own Bible! And she was ready for it. :)
 We hosted the daughter of a friend for a couple of days, so her parents could enjoy a brief getaway. There were enough players to satisfy her desire to play many rounds of her favourite board game.
 I invested in a grow light this year. I always have lots of plants sprouting by the end of spring, and this way I could try be a bit more successful with a few fussier ones.
 Grow little flowers, grow! (only a few special plant started as early as Jan)
 Ice fishing
 See any seals in there?
 Melanie bundled up a sled full of seal blubber
 Almost packed up and ready to go.
 Nathan putting in some hours to get the ice back up to snuff. Skating is where it is at, none of this "playing house" for him!
 Jennifer busy with her own thing (while Matthew and Evelyn went off trying random hills in the back of the property.)
 The ice is ready!!
 A rowdy game of hockey is the result
 I stayed out of it this year, can't handle all the competitiveness!

 Oooh, look at the cute little flowers all coming up!
Evelyn trying out a "jet engine" from the engineering book.